Chapter 64: 64: Fairy Queen's Dilemma

GRAYSON

“You’re kidding, right?” Belle asked.

“Not kidding, love. I wish I were. Everything in that prophecy is true.”

Belle turned, and I knew she would’ve tried to move away from me in a panic if I didn’t quickly cage her against the podium by pressing my body to the front of hers.

She stared at my chest, her gaze unfocused, her thoughts racing a million miles an hour. “A fairy. A ~fairy~. Okay. I, um…” She let out a big breath. “Sorry, I’m just trying to process all of this.”

“That’s okay,” I said, trying to soothe her. “Take your time.”

“A fairy,” she repeated once again. “But what does that ~mean?~” Her voice rose an octave. “I have to become a fairy if we ever want to be together?

“I don’t even think I know what a fairy really is. What do they do? What kind of powers do they have? And is it going to hurt?

“You told me shifting into your wolf was really painful the first time. Will it be like that? Will it happen right away? Like right after we finish, I’ll just pass out, or will it take a few days and—”

“Hey, hey, hey.” I gripped her face between my hands. “Take some deep breaths for me, okay? I need you calm so my wolf doesn’t flip his shit.”

I could already feel my inner beast getting ready to fight against consciousness.

He wanted to wrap her in his fur and force her to sleep, convinced that a good night’s sleep was what she needed whenever she was upset.

Belle didn’t listen to me at first. I could see her thoughts racing behind her eyes as she tried to process all of this.

“Come here, love,” I purred, pulling her to my vibrating chest.

She only fought me for a second before tucking her head against the vibrations and wrapping her arms around me. Her muscles started to relax almost instantly.

“There we go. That’s my girl. Just breathe.”

We stayed like that for a few seconds. Then she spoke into my shirt. “Is this why you haven’t…been with me?”

I stiffened. “Yes. I would have taken you that first night back in that hotel in Maine if I could have. It’s been killing me not being able to tie myself to you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted to. You have no idea how much I wanted to tell you. But I had just found you again. I was throwing so much at you already with Azazel, and my vampire, and becoming queen.

“I couldn’t risk freaking you out when I had just started to earn your trust back.” I ran my hand through her hair. “I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

“So does that mean…we’ll never complete the mating ritual?” Her hands curled into my shirt. “You’ll never be with me in that way because you’re scared of what would happen?”

“Absolutely fucking not. I’ll be having you and your sweet little pussy. And soon. Have no doubt about that.”

“But what about—?”

“Nothing and no one will keep me from taking what’s mine, you hear me? We will both go insane if we don’t mate. The bond is already pushing us together.

“And then you go prancing around in fucking mouthwatering lingerie—”

“Yeah, I’m not apologizing for that. It did its job; it got your attention, didn’t it? You’re finally being honest with me.”

“Oh, it did more than that. You have no idea how close I was to ravishing you on the spot.”

Standing on her tiptoes, she wound her arms around my neck. Then the little minx just barely brushed her lips over mine, whispering, “Once again…doing its job.”

With a mind of their own, my hands slid down to cup her perfect little ass, abruptly drawing her forward so that she could feel just how much of an effect she was having on me.

“Don’t tempt me, Belle,” I groaned. “I’m already barely hanging on as it is. Have a little mercy, okay?”

Her pupils dilated so much at the feel of my rock-hard dick against her stomach that almost nothing of her diamond-blue irises was showing anymore.

I was very aware of the fact that we were drawn to each other.

So desperate for connection on a deeper level—which included me thrusting my rock-hard cock into her soaking wet pussy until she was screaming my name beneath me—that we could barely get through this serious conversation.

Belle was the first to pull herself out of the trance the mate bond had put us in, blinking the lust out of her eyes.

“So, uh, what are we going to do then?” Her breathing was becoming labored. “What exactly does it mean to become a fairy?”

My jaw clenched. “I honestly don’t know. I’ve read all of the information I could get my hands on about the Fae, but most was just myth or superstition. Evangeline Viotto was born a fairy.

“She never had to shift. So as far as I know, you’ll be the first-ever made fairy. I don’t know what to expect. I don’t know how to protect you.”

All of a sudden, Belle moved back and hit me in my chest. Then she did it again and again until she was basically throwing a little fit against me. It didn’t hurt of course. In fact, it was more adorable than anything.

“~Why. Don’t. You. Tell. Me. Things?~” she shouted as she continued to smack me with the palm of her hands with weak little smacks.

“You big jerk! You asshole! You’ve been dealing with this all on your own without telling me what’s going on?”

Although I could feel her genuine anger through the bond, I couldn’t help grinning as I watched my cute little mate take out her frustration from the last few weeks on my rock-hard chest with half-hearted strikes.

“All right, baby, all right. That’s enough. You’re going to hurt yourself,” I said, grabbing her wrists.

She continued to struggle, trying to pull her hands out of my grip, but I wasn’t budging. She was going to bruise her perfect palms at this point if she continued.

My vampire started to purr for her, hoping to help calm her, but it seemed to do the complete opposite as her angry gaze snapped up to me and she glared.

“No! Stop using your stupid purring to make me do whatever you want, you big, dumb, stupid, manipulative, vampire, werewolf, dude…thing! ~Ugh!~”

My brows raised. I had imagined a lot of different reactions from my tiny mate when I told her about the prophecy, but never expected anything like this.

She obviously needed to vent. I released her wrists and stopped my purrs, allowing her to do whatever she needed to do to calm down.

“Ow!” she yelled when her hand connected particularly hard with my pectoral. She glared up at me with a renewed vehemence.

“And why are you so muscly? You’re more like some giant rock than a real person!” She hit me again and again, but her strikes felt more like soft little taps than anything else. She was fucking adorable.

I didn’t respond. I just continued to stare down at her in amusement, allowing her to let it all out.

A minute or two later, her energy finally ran out, and she collapsed against my chest with a huff. She was still grumbling her displeasure when I started to run a hand up and down her back, trying to soothe her.

“Feeling better?” I murmured against her hair.

“No,” she rumbled back. “You really bother me sometimes, you know that?”

“So you’ve mentioned.”

After a moment of silence, Belle asked, “Will I get wings? Oh my god, will I be able to fly? Fairies can fly, right?”

I shook my head. “I have no idea. I wish I could tell you more, but legend says fairies develop abilities based on need. It’s never the same. I don’t know what will happen to you.

“I could tell you what to expect if you were shifting into a wolf, but the Fae have been extinct for years. It’s why we have to approach the matter with caution. I will not risk you getting hurt.”

“So… okay, you’re afraid that having sex with me might kill me. Is that right?”

I growled, hating that we were talking about her death so casually. “Yes.”

She nodded. “Okay, but hear me out, because I think I might have the perfect solution…” She paused. “What if we just had sex anyway?”

“Absolutely not.”

Her head rolled back, a groan coming from her throat. “I think you might be overreacting a little bit. Look, the prophecy said I would become queen. I can’t exactly be queen if I’m dead.”

“Evangeline Viotto was a queen too, and look at how things turned out for her. I’m not going to risk it, Belle.

“We don’t know what shifting into a fairy is going to look like because no one has ever done it before. Even if you survived it, it could still hurt you, cause you permanent damage… Are you even listening to me?”

There I was, talking about her possible demise, my actual worst nightmare, and she was staring off into space, paying me no mind.

Her eyes snapped back to mine. “Sorry, I, um… It’s just—I think I might have an idea. I think I might know how to fix all of this.”