Fae- Beginnings Read online

  “Maybe because you just found out you aren’t human and just happen to be a long last princess.” Atreyu smirked up at Mor.

  “Fuck. Did I say that out loud?”

  “Yep. You did.” Max grinned. “Sweetie, it makes sense that you are feeling lost.”

  “Yeah, I guess ya’ll are right.” Mor sighed heavily and leaned into Max. “I just don’t know how to handle it. I’ve never led anyone for anything. I literally was trained to be silent and follow. I was supposed to be a trophy wife.” Her frustration bled through into her voice. “I have no fucking idea how to be a queen!”

  Ben pulled her away from Max, wrapping an arm around her waist and then gripping her chin to force her to look at him. “We will be with you every step of the way. The four of us will help you, always. Do you understand?”

  Mor closed her eyes briefly before saying, “I understand.”

  Kissing her forehead, Ben loosened his grip and looked at the others. “Max is right, Trisha will have our hides if we don’t get to the party on time.”

  “What do we do about all the stuff?” Mor asked as Michael, Adair, and Faelan came out of the house.

  “It’s already packed up. Trisha did most of it before she went to Fae to get the party set up.” Michael smiled. “Good morning, Your Majesty.”

  Groaning, Mor pressed her hand to her eyes. “You really, really don’t need to do that.”

  Michael’s grin just got wider and he swept her a bow. “But Your Majesty, we must show respect at all times.”

  “Uuuugh.” She shook her finger at Michael. “That isn’t going to work. Cut that shit out.”

  His face turned serious as he looked at her. “Mor, when we are in public that is how we must address you. In private…it can be different.”

  “I don’t understand.” She held up a hand, stopping the explanation. “Frankly, I can’t handle an explanation right now. Later. But can someone explain how Trisha did all the work and then planned a last-minute party?”

  “Brownie magic, of course.” Cassandra smiled. It seemed like she always had a smile on her face. “Their magic is primarily based on the home, so for her it was quite easy.”

  “And this party may or may not have been planned starting the moment we found out you had a birthday coming up.” Max smiled, unrepentant.

  Mor opened her mouth to say something, but Sebastian came out of the house. “All right then, let’s get our queen to her birthday celebration.” He held his arm out for Mor. “Come, darling.”

  “Are we going to have to be formal at this party?” Her lower lip threatened to stick out.

  Isabella slipped ahead of them and marched toward the faery circle. “No, these are our closest allies in Earth and Sebastian’s family only.”

  Heaving a sigh of relief, Mor let herself be pulled into the woods.

  Chapter 2

  Ben

  Ben followed along behind the group. He didn’t feel safe with the poor visibility of the forest surrounding them as they walked toward the faery circle. Before all of this had started, he wouldn’t have hesitated to let a toddler walk through that forest alone. Now - with the most precious person in his life in front of him - he couldn’t stop scanning the woods. “We’re going to need guards.”

  “What are you muttering to yourself about?” Atreyu dropped back to walk beside him.

  “Guards. We’re going to need guards. And a secure base. And - ”

  “Woah, Ben. One step at a time.”

  Ben snarled at Atreyu. “We almost lost her.” His voice was low and a growl was steadily coming from him. “We cannot take any risks.”

  Atreyu snarled right back at Ben. “I know. I was there.” He reached out and shoved Ben’s shoulder. “But we can’t risk going too quickly. We need people we can trust.”

  Sighing in frustration, Ben ran a hand over his short hair. “I know. I know. We’ve been gone so long…I’m not sure who we can trust, anymore.”

  “My parents and brother can help. And Sebastian’s family always has dirt and ways to dig it up.” He clapped a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Tonight, lets concentrate on giving our mate the best birthday she’s ever had.”

  “You’re right. Thanks, Atreyu.” Ben smiled tiredly at Atreyu. “She deserves it after the crap she was put through.”

  They caught up to the others and stepped into the faery circle. Before Cassandra could start the spell, Ben pulled Mor up into his arms. “No lying on the ground this time, my love.” As Cassandra started speaking, Ben held Mor’s gaze. When they arrived, he set her down again.

  “I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do that without falling down!” Mor grinned up at Ben.

  “All you needed was a little distraction.” Kissing her softly he took her hand and led her out of the circle.

  Ben wrapped his arm around Mor as they walked. She looked up at him and said, “How far do we have to walk?”

  “Not far. The manor is near the circle so people can come and go easily.”

  “Ok. Let’s do this shit.” Mor tried to force a grin.

  “Love, stop trying to force it. I promise it’s going to be fun.”

  Mor rolled her eyes at him. “Whatever, Ben. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

  Chuckling, Ben pulled her closer for a moment and kissed the top of her head. “Have a little faith in us, Mor.”

  She heaved a sigh. “Alright. I’ll keep an open mind.”

  “That’s my girl.” Just then they rounded the corner. “Look.”

  Ben watched her eyes widen. Mor gasped, her jaw dropping open. “This is not very well off?”

  Ben turned a critical eye on the property. “It’s pretty, but it’s definitely small.”

  Her eyes widened even further, giving Mor an adorable look. It made Ben want to fuck her senseless. “If this is small, I’m a little afraid to see what you think is big.”

  He smiled down at her. “Wait until you see your castle.” Before she had time to panic, Ben pulled her down the path. “Atreyu’s family is small compared to most High Fae families, although that’s changing in Fire and Water. There are only three in the ruling bonded family. His parents decided to change the house to allow people in need or visitors to stay whenever they want.” He pointed to the right side of the mansion. “That’s the family wing. The other side is for visitors and official functions since Michael, Cassandra, and Isabella rule Earth.”

  “Wow. So we’ll be staying…?”

  “In the family wing. Trisha is setting up a suite for us.” He led her up to the door. The others had already gone in, but Mor paused before going through the open door. “Are you ok, love?”

  “What if they don’t like me?” Her voice was a whisper. “I’m not a queen. I’m not a leader.” She looked up at Ben, eyes desperate.

  He took a minute to search her eyes before answering. “Mor, who stopped my family?”

  “Well, I did, but - ”

  “Who kicked Marissa out of our house?”

  “Well, that was different - ”

  “Who agreed to be bait?”

  “Well - ”

  “Who really fought off John?”

  “I - ”

  “If you say anything other than that you are one hell of a woman, I just may take you over my knee.”

  She flushed. “Those were different.”

  “How?”

  “I - ” She paused. “They were little. Fighting for a throne, ruling a country? Those are huge.”

  “Mor, it’s just a matter of scale. The same kinds of problems apply. The only difference is you’ll need to learn to delegate to people who are strong in those areas. No one can do it all.” He kissed her forehead. “That’s what we are for. We’re your team.” She sighed and snuggled into Ben’s arms. He wrapped her up for a moment before gently pushing her back. “Come on, love. I’m sure they’re waiting for us.”

  Ben felt his heart warm when she gave him a smile and let him lead her onto the path. He would do anything to keep th
at smile there. They went through the doors and turned left. Ben could hear the party going in the ballroom. As soon as they got to the double doors opening into the room, silence spread across the floor. Sebastian, Max, and Atreyu were waiting for them and immediately made their way over to Mor and Ben. Max came to stand next to Ben while Sebastian and Atreyu fell into line on Mor’s other side. Ben couldn’t help the grin that stretched across his face. His family was complete.

  Isabella stepped forward into the resounding silence. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Her Royal Highness, Mor, Queen of the Four Realms, and her Bonded Mates.” She kneeled formally, the rest the Fae following her.

  When Mor didn’t say anything, Ben leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You have to tell them to rise, my queen.”

  Mor shivered and Ben took a deep breath through his nose, smelling her arousal as she said, “Please, rise.” She looked over at Atreyu, “I thought this was going to be informal? And small?”

  He laughed. Atreyu was always happy - well, almost always. It’s what Ben loved about him most. “This is small, beautiful. And if it was formal there would have been speeches, and swearings, and formal robes, and blah blah blah.”

  She started to pale so Ben hooked her arm through his. “Why don’t we go get a drink and find Sebastian’s parents? I know they want to meet you.”

  “Sure. Yes. Drink first.” Mor was looking a little blank, like she trying to shove down her feelings. Her hair, however, had started to float around her and her glow had deepened.

  Keeping his smile to himself, Ben turned her in the direction of the bar. He glanced at Mor to see if she had a preference, but she was still trying to take deep breaths. “Two whiskeys on the rocks.”

  “Whiskey!?” Mor whisper-yelled at him.

  “You’re going to drink this one fast, then you can have a glass of wine to take with you. It’ll help you relax a little.”

  “Oh. I guess that makes sense.” As soon as the bartender set her drink in front of her, Mor chugged it. The bartender gave her an appalled look but Ben just chuckled. “Shit, that was good. I wish I hadn’t chugged it.”

  “There’ll be plenty of time for good whiskey.” He put a glass of white wine in her hand. “Ready to go face everyone?”

  Mor pulled in a deep breath. “Yes. Maybe. Mostly yes.”

  Ben forced his smile down, knowing this had to be overwhelming. He spotted Sebastian standing on the other side of the room, talking to his family. Max was standing with him but Ben couldn’t see Atreyu. He was probably with his parents since he really didn’t get along with Sebastian’s. Guiding Mor over to them Ben wished Sebastian was facing them. Ben felt a burst of surprise and Sebastian turned around.

  “You rang?”

  “Didn’t think that would be possible yet.”

  “What wouldn’t be possible?” Mor’s gaze was switching between them.

  “The bond.” Ben looked down at her. “We’ll explain later tonight.” He grinned and dropped a kiss down on Mor’s lips when she started to talk. “Right now, we need to introduce you to Sebastian’s family.”

  Sebastian slipped his arm through Mor’s and walked her over to meet his parents. Ben followed them, slipping in to stand next to Max. Sebastian’s parents were extremely formal and stuffy, but they still supported their son even when they didn’t agree with his decisions. Ben respected that. He just stood silently, knowing they would eventually acknowledge him.

  “Mother, fathers. This is my mate and our Queen, Mor of the House Byrne.” He turned to Mor. “Darling, I have the privilege of presenting my parents Brandon, Joshua, Ethan, and Amelia.”

  Ben watched them with a critical eye. He wasn’t really sure if they would back Mor. They did like power. On the other hand, having their son mated to the Queen of Fae…He heaved an internal sigh as the men completed formal bows while Amelia curtsied. Ben turned toward Mor, his face softening without thought. She was still pale, but she held her own as she asked them to rise and began to talk to them. He tuned them out, trusting Max and Sebastian to keep tabs on the conversation. They would let him know if there was anything to worry about. He saw Adair standing across the room. When Adair gestured for him to come over, he slipped away without a word.

  When he made it to Adair, he said, “What’s going on?”

  “I have some information.” He looked around. “We’re going to need to meet soon.”

  “Tomorrow? I don’t want to leave Mor at her first real birthday party.”

  “It’ll hold.”

  Ben hesitated before going back to Mor. “Sebastian’s parents…”

  “Do I trust them?” He waited for Ben’s nod. “I do. Your parents went to them after leaving you.”

  “Why would they do that?” Ben couldn’t understand why they would do that.

  “They were under the impression that they would convince Sebastian to convince you to leave Mor.”

  Ben laughed, hard. When Mor turned to look at him from across the room he grinned at her. “Why the fuck would they think that?”

  “Who knows. Reportedly, Sebastian’s parents really let into them.” He sighed heavily. “The part that worries me is that when your parents left they made a soft threat. Something along the lines of ‘You’ll regret not siding with us’.”

  Ben didn’t say anything right away. “What’s your source?”

  “Trisha’s brother Sam.”

  “Well, that is a good source.” He clapped Atreyu on the shoulder. “Tomorrow morning after breakfast.”

  “See you then.”

  Ben turned back to Mor to find her watching him. With a smile, he made his way back to her. The rest of the party went smoothly. Max made sure Mor did try the eight cakes Trisha had made. Her favorite was the Italian cream cake. When she picked that one, Atreyu told her it was okay for her not to be perfect. By the time they made their way upstairs, Ben’s face was hurting from smiling so much. Mor was yawning and since everyone except family had left Ben swung her into his arms.

  “I can still walk,” she said around a yawn.

  “I know.” When he didn’t let her down, she snuggled into arms. Ben kissed the top of her head and followed Atreyu to their suite.

  When they got in, Ben set Mor down in the bathroom. “Your stuff should already be in here.” He searched through a couple of drawers and found his toothbrush. As soon as they were done, Ben followed Mor out into the room. The others were sprawled across the bed. Ben sat on the edge and started to lay down when Mor interrupted.

  “So, anyone want to explain what ya’ll were talking about earlier?”

  “Fuck, I forgot about that.” Sebastian sat up.

  Ben cleared his throat and glanced down. Mor was wearing a tight tank top that left nothing to the imagination. As he stared at her, her nipples hardened. “Ben! Eyes up here!” Mor’s voice snapped out at him. When he looked back up at her face, her eyes had deepened into a darker violet and her hair was floating again. “I’m waiting. You are getting no cuddles until you explain it to me.”

  “Right. When the bond is completed between mates it creates a…connection…between them.”

  “Just between the mates?” Mor put a hand on her hip, stretching the material across her chest. Ben heard Atreyu swallow hard behind him.

  “No, between the group.”

  “Explain.”

  He stared at her. There was no doubt in Ben’s mind that she would make a great leader. She was magnificent, standing in front of them and expecting answers. They just needed to make sure she learned to have confidence in herself. “It’s not mind reading or anything like that. Mostly you get feelings from your bondmates. You can send basic feelings along, as well, and as the bond deepens you get more specific feelings, directions, and so on.”

  She was silent for a moment, her gaze sweeping over them. “Anything else I should know?”

  “We’re going to start planning tomorrow. But I also want to start training you to defend yourself.”

 
“And you need to start learning your magic. It’s strong and you need to learn control,” Max spoke up from behind Ben.

  “Sebastian? Atreyu? Anything to add?”

  “Nope, we’re good. Bonding, training, planning. Come cuddle.” Ben looked back to see Atreyu grinning. When he looked back, Mor had cracked a smile. Thank the gods for Atreyu. He always could lighten things up.

  “Fine. Cuddling is good.” Mor crawled on to the bed with them and snuggled in. “This is so nice because I never need blankets.” She laid her head on Ben’s chest and sighed. Ben kissed the top of her head as Atreyu turned the light off. He stayed awake even after the others had drifted to sleep. He couldn’t stop running scenarios through his head. He wouldn’t let Mor down again.

  * * *

  The next morning, Ben was up before the others. He snuck out of the room and headed downstairs. Trisha was in the kitchen directing the chaos. She handed him coffee and sent him on his way. After a few minutes of looking he found Adair and Isabella in the conference room going over maps.

  “We need to get Mor to the castle as soon as possible.” Isabella took a sip of her coffee.

  “Do we have any idea who is on our side?” Ben asked as he walked up.

  Adair shook his head. “Earth will be no problem. Our people are loyal. I’m eighty percent positive about that. Fire and Water…I’m banking on them fighting.”

  Ben grunted. “My family only thinks about their own power. And Max’s…they’re worse.”

  “So what’s our first move?” Adair looked up at Isabella.

  “You need to go on a little trip, son. Before anything else, we need to know what’s happening at the castle. I’m not going to bring our queen there without making sure the way is clear.”

  “It’s too bad we can’t just use the portals.” Ben grimaced.

  “It was done for good reason.” Adair clapped him on the back. “I’m going to get ready. The sooner I’m gone, the sooner we can get our queen home.”

  “Come, Ben. The others are having breakfast.”