Chapter Forty #2
“We already have a few nominations. I have dossiers on all of them, and when everything settles down, we will invite them for dinner so you can get a feel for each of them and then make a decision.”
“Did your family come?” I ask Titus, who is looking at his phone.
“Yes, they just arrived. General Bryson and Lady Sable are escorting them here and will be with them as their protection.”
“That’s good.” I share a smile with him and feel his relief and joy as if it were my own.
“What about my mother?” I ask, bracing myself for the answer.
Hunter and Liam exchange a glance. “Jenny and Joseph arrived without her. Jenny says they haven’t seen nor heard from her.”
Worry niggles at me. It isn’t like her to not take the opportunity to try and steal the spotlight from me. I would have thought she would be here, wearing her most scandalous outfit and flirting with everyone.
“Where are my grandparents?” I ask, wanting to see them before all this kicks off.
“They are in the VIP seating,” Brodie tells me. “I escorted them there myself. They said to wish you luck.”
I consider sending one of the guys to go get them, but before I can, the door opens, and Bryson and Sable enter, followed by three people.
The male is the spitting image of Titus, with the same green hair and pointy ears, as well as similar green wings as his son, but instead of silver accents, his are gold.
The woman is slightly shorter and more curvy than her mate.
She has pretty, silver and bright purple delicate wings that flutter behind her, and she shares similar features to Violet.
The younger girl with them is stunning, with long green hair like the two men in her family, but her wings are purple and gold.
“Daddy, they have wings. Am I going to have wings?” I hear Archie say to Adam, and I stifle a smile. I don’t hear Adam’s reply though.
“Aunt Calla,” Violet squeals and throws herself at the woman who startles before smiling widely and hugging her niece.
“Violet, my gorgeous girl. I didn’t expect to see you.”
“Colbie is my friend, and she asked me to be her lady-in-waiting,” Violet explains as she switches her attention to the younger girl who I’m guessing might be close in age to her or maybe slightly older.
“Hi, Holly.” Violet gives her cousin a hug as well, and the girl smiles at her, but her attention keeps shifting to another area in the room. I follow her gaze and find Gretchin staring at her with extreme interest.
“Colbie, these are my parents, Calla and Koa, and my sister Holly.” Titus joins me and drags me forward to meet his parents. “Guys, this is my mate, Queen Colbie Karridge.”
I greet both of them, welcoming them to our kingdom and assuring them that I hold their safety as a high priority, but the whole time, I hear the rumble of a jungle cat behind me.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Gretchin.” I whirl around to face my bodyguard. “What is the problem?” I demand and find she’s moved as close as possible to Holly and is sniffing her.
“What the fuck?” Liam mutters behind me, and one of the queens scolds him for his language, but my focus is on my friend and Titus’s sister.
“Does your sister have a mate mark?” I ask him, and he shakes his head.
“Not that I know of, but it has been a while since I went home for a visit.” He raises an eyebrow at his parents who are watching everything with closed expressions.
Koa sighs. “One appeared a few days ago,” he admits, and I gasp.
Did it happen on the same day the magic activated Titus’s and Micah’s?
“Can we see it?” I coax gently, but the girl ignores me, focused completely on Gretchin.
Before I can ask again, the two of them collide in a smoldering kiss that has me fanning my face.
“I’m going to go out on a limb and say they are mates,” Brodie says, scrunching up his nose. “Gross. I don’t want to see my sort of sister making out with someone else.”
“Imagine how I feel,” Titus mutters as the two girls get a little handsy.
“Pfft, we have to watch all of you with Colbie,” Gracelin reminds us, beaming with joy at the fact her sister has found her mate.
Before anyone else can say anything, there’s a flash of light, and the goddess appears. The two girls stop making out, and everyone but me bows to the deity.
“Right, we’re all here. Let’s get this shit show on the road. The sun should be rising any moment,” she tells me.
I guess we aren’t messing around. A swarm of butterflies swoops in my stomach, and my heart starts to beat so fast I’m afraid it’s going to pound out of my chest.
“Just give us a moment to get to the VIP section please.” Bryson and Sable wave for Titus’s family to join them.
We have to physically separate Gretchin and Holly, Titus grabbing his sister and Gryffin his.
Holly starts sobbing, and Gretchin snarls at Gryffin.
Gracelin steps up and slaps Gretchin across the face.
“Get your shit together. Let’s get Colbie safely crowned, and then you can hole up somewhere for days if you need to,” she tells her sister who seems to snap out of it.
The goddess smirks, and she meets my eyes, giving me a wink. Meddling busybody, but I am happy for Gretchin. Aramis waves her hand, and they disappear in a flash, aided to their seats by her magic. I hope it’s not as disorienting as Titus’s sift is.
“Right, let’s just make this a little bit more of a spectacle than it already is. I do enjoy drama.” She waves her hand again, and my mates are all wearing black cloaks with hoods concealing them from the rest of the audience. She rubs her hands together. “This is going to be so much fun.”