21. CHAPTER 21
Helia squeezes my hand. Her palm is clammy and her face is slightly pale. I rub my thumb across the top of her hand to soothe her a bit. She turns her beautiful green eyes up to me, her lips curling up in a small grateful smile. I wink, wordlessly telling her that we’re in this together.
“Thank you all for coming,” Garren says when the last of the guests enter the Greenwich Ballroom of New York City’s Four Seasons Hotel.
Garren wanted to have this meeting at the Grey Manor, but this event was too important not to have it on neutral ground. After organizing it for the last month, we couldn’t afford the risk of anyone skipping the attendance. If this is to work, everyone needs to agree to it.
As two of the representatives, Helia and I are seated on the podium with a view of the room. It also gives everyone else the opportunity to measure us up and weigh our worth.
My eyes jump from guest to guest, studying their faces and connecting them with the names I’ve studied. I’ll have to personally get to know all of them and allow them to get to know me.
They’re sitting in separate groups,my wolf observes.
We can’t expect miracles all of a sudden,I reply. We’ve been killing each other for centuries. It’s going to take some time and a lot of adjusting for this to change.
I glance at my family in the front row, my eyes going from my mother to my father, and then Graham by their side. Gavin and Garren are both up on the podium, along with Alyssa and the now heavily pregnant Leia. Other Lafayettes fill up the rest of the left row. Behind them are the representatives from the Farrells, the Dubois, and practically every other royal family, including the ones whose kingdoms are established on other continents.
The Alphas of the packs as well as the military commanders and other important members of the courts have also been invited. It’s important that everyone agrees to the terms and signs the documents. That’s the only way for this peace treaty to work.
We’re making history here,my wolf says, not bothering to hide his excitement.
Let’s hope that everything goes according to plan,I comment just as I turn my attention to the right side of the room.
We’ve been assured that all the leaders from the covens around the world would attend. While I don’t recognize any of the weathered and fierce-looking faces, I have no doubt that Helia can name more than half of them.
Tearing my eyes away from the crowd, I look at my beautiful mate instead. Despite the importance of the event, she refused to wear anything overly formal, insisting that it wasn’t the way of the witches. That’s why she’s now sitting next to me in a simple but elegant sleeveless light green dress that falls just above her knees. Just by looking at her, my cock twitches in my pants, fighting the restraints and aching to get into her. I awkwardly shift on my chair and cross my legs to try to subtly cover my erection.
You’re a fucking horny idiot,my wolf mutters, making his disapproval clear.
Mercifully, my brother unfolds his speech. The microphone catches the rustling sound of paper which now echoes throughout the room. While it breaks the silence, it doesn’t do anything to cut through the heavy tension in the air.
“I am King Garren Gray,” he introduces himself, his voice strong and powerful. “I would like to formally begin the talks for the official peace treaty between the wolves and the witches.”
A murmur of voices spreads throughout the room like wildfire. Though some faces don’t look too happy about this turn of events, they’re still in attendance, which means they’re willing to listen. As long as everyone keeps an open mind, peace will be possible.
“Our two species have been enemies since before any of us were born,” Garren continues. “We’re fighting a war that nobody even knows how it started. We all grew up, listening to the stories of our own species, but I think I speak for all of us when I say that not one person in this room can claim with absolute certainty what was the reason for the curse.”
I scan the room as Garren pauses. He’s giving the guests an option to speak up and to object. Even though he’s the one doing the speech, he’s trying to present it as a dialogue.
“There is one thing that we all know and have all experienced,” Garren starts again. “One way or another, whether it was directly or indirectly, we’ve all been victims of this war. It could be that we’ve lost a parent, a spouse, a child, or a friend. Maybe we had to pack up our entire lives without a warning and move across the country. There is more than one way in which we could’ve been affected. More than one atrocity that we were forced to live through. And for what? For something that we don’t remember. For the hate that was drilled into us from before we learned to walk.”
He”s good,my wolf comments.
I never knew him to be such a powerful speaker,I agree. He has no problem holding everyone’s attention.
My brother keeps talking for another ten minutes or so before inviting people to come to the podium one after another to say their piece. There are more things to be talked about than we’ve initially imagined. The witches have different worries than the wolves. Some of them never even crossed our minds.
The event ends up lasting four whole days, but towards the end of it, the animosity between the species isn’t as notable anymore. Helia and I have been voted the ambassadors to represent the interests of our species. The job won’t be easy, but it does bring us closer to peace.
As predicted, my father isn’t too happy about our family’s role in the treaty. My brothers don’t let him rain on our parade. Everyone is elated with the development. With Gavin’s baby boy on the way, we’re all eager to build a world where our kids won’t need to look over their shoulders.
Helia and I want safety and community for everyone. If they want to keep separated, that’s fine. But if they want to mix and mingle, it won’t be rejected and frowned upon anymore. Freedom to choose friends and lovers. Freedom to live in any place and pursue any career. It’s something that we didn’t have. It doesn’t mean that some didn’t try, but once they officially left the kingdom, they were outcasts. But that’s over now. Helia and I will make sure of it.
“Are you sure you want to go back to my place?” Helia asks when we wave down a taxi after the official ending ceremony. “Your room at the manor must be at least twice the size.”
“I want to go to the apartment more than anything,” I assure her as I intertwine my fingers with hers. “In fact, if you’re okay with it and if it’s not too fast, I would like to talk about us moving in together.”
Helia’s eyes widen, but the smile that follows quickly soothes my nerves. She steps on her toes and gives me a soft kiss, then murmurs against my lips. “I would love that.”
“Yeah?” I ask, wanting to hear her say it again.
“Yeah,” she confirms and gives me another kiss. “But we should probably consider buying a bigger apartment. Maybe one that has an extra room for children.”
“Wait,” I breathe, pulling back to look her in the eyes. “What are you saying? Are you...?”
Helia grins and shakes her head. “Not yet, silly. But in time, I would like to be.”
A strange mix of disappointment and relief washes over me. I’ve never thought about having kids, but after this little tease, I’m beginning to realize that I would like to have a little Helia or a baby Grayden running around the house.
“We should get a couple of extra rooms,” I tell her, wrap my arms around her waist, and lower my head, slowly closing the distance between our mouths. “We could already start practicing on filling them up.”
Helia laughs and gently pushes me away as the taxi stops in front of us. She takes my hand and waits for me to open the door before climbing into the backseat. We give the driver the address to her apartment where we can continue this conversation as well as start the search for a bigger house that we could turn into our forever home.
We run up the stairs, laughing and grinning. The happiness and joy are openly displayed for the world to see. Neither one of us cares about what people might say. Life is too short to worry about other’s opinions. Times are changing, and we are the ones riding on the wave of that change.
I hoist Helia up, her legs wrapping around my waist. My cock twitches as it presses against her softest area. I blindly walk toward the bedroom as we kiss. We arrive there without damaging anything valuable.
Helia giggles, the pure joyous sound making my heart sing. I gently set her on the bed and kiss her neck. Her hands travel down my back until her fingers grab the hem of my shirt. With her legs still wrapped around my waist, I slightly thrust forward, pressing my cock against her pussy.
“Grayden,” she moans, but that’s about as far as we get because her phone rings.
“Leave it,” I murmur against her skin.
“Sorry, but I can’t. I’m on call today,” she reminds me breathlessly, sounding just as disappointed.
I reluctantly get off her, sporting a hard-on in my pants. Helia gives me an apologetic smile as she reaches for the phone. I retreat to the living room to give her some privacy.
Less than ten minutes later, Helia comes from the bedroom, wearing her hospital scrubs. I get up to give her a quick kiss with a wordless promise of more.
“There was a mass casualty accident,” she tells me. “Don’t wait up.”
“Stay safe,” I call after her, catching a smile on her face before the door closes.
I take a quick shower to take care of my erection. The familiar bathroom tiles bring back memories of what feels like an eternity ago. It’s surreal to think just how much things have changed.
With a towel wrapped around my waist, I make a mental note to bring some of my clothes to the apartment. Luckily, my previous outfit is still good to go. As I’m buttoning my shirt, my phone rings in the living room. I rush to it, hoping to hear my mate’s voice. I frown when Garren’s name flashes on the screen.
What does he want?my wolf wonders just as surprised to get my brother’s call so soon after the event ended.
I shrug and pick up. “Hello?”
“Hi, Grayden,” Garren’s voice comes from the other side. “I’m sorry to bother you.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” he assures me quickly. “It’s just that I was talking to Gavin, and we came up with an idea that we wanted to run by you.”
“Okay,” I say slowly. “What is it?”
“Would you mind coming over to the Grey Manor?” Garren asks. “It’s better if we talk in person.”
I’d say it’s weird, but he sounds too calm,my wolf comments. There’s only one way to find out.
“I’m on my way,” I reply and hang up.
Helia’s at work, so I might as well do whatever I can to keep myself distracted. Besides, after the meeting, I can grab a couple of things from my old room to bring back home.
Yes, that is what this feels like. This is what Helia feels like. Home.