Chapter 8 ~ Perfection is hard to top

Kendrick’s POV ~

Bella had gone to meditate..and the King asked to have a word and I agreed. He poured us each a tumbler of whiskey.. not a shot.. not a rocks glass.. A Tumbler. So, I am definitely thinking this is a really serious talk..and I’d be lying, if I said I wasn’t nervous!

He prefaces the talk by welcoming me to the family..and I thanked him. He grins.. “Don’t be nervous, son! You’re a member of the family, now. That’s already a done deal! Bella is exactly that! She is the absolute, undisputed Belle of our family. But there are things she doesn’t know… things even Alex doesn’t remember.

When they were a year old…fourteen months old, actually… Bella was stolen by a witch from her aunt’s coven. We searched frantically for her.. I wreaked havoc across these lands…killing every rogue I came across in my search. I ransacked packs…searching every nook..every cranny.. to no avail.

We found her quite by accident. A seven year old human child saw her in the park, one day. She told her mother and stepfather that something was off about the way the couple that had her.. they didn’t act like parents to her. When she described the ‘parents’, the stepfather..who is a lone wolf.. registered red flags in his mind. He contacted Blake.. and gave the description of the woman…and we realized it fit a witch, by the name of Adelaide…from none other than Helena’s coven.

Long story short…a location spell was done on Adelaide’s magical signature, and when we pinpointed where she was…we stormed the little cabin. And after five long months… We found our Belle…sick… her magic weakened. The witch had been siphoning from her. The man who had been with them was never found. We have his scent.. that is all. No description..no name.. nothing.

Helena made an example of Adelaide… by draining all of her magic.. transferring it to the only person the magic would accept, since it was already mixed together.. making Bella an extremely powerful witch. Then Helena burned that piece of shit at the stake! Bella’s magic has been sealed… Since it is impossible to lock it away forever.. Helena arranged for it to be set free upon her marking and mating.

It will be overwhelming at first.. and I am not all sure you are aware of Alexis’s glitching… but although, quite amusing, it has caused some sticky situations.. So…good luck with that until Bella learns control! Her mother, aunt, and grandmother will help her.. but until then… don’t be alarmed to find things like..boulders in your bed..a lake in your living room.. things of that nature. She’s been taught the importance of meditation…and I am sure that will help.

I told you we don’t have any idea who the man is.. or why they took her… although we would like to believe it was to siphon her magic.. we are not naive enough to believe that was the reason. Or what the eventual plan was. The point is… That man is still out there! And, I am worried he may be the one behind these abduction attempts…

Her safety now falls to you! I wanted you to be aware of the entire situation, so that you may have an idea on how you would like to proceed. It is only fair you know what you might be facing…and prepare accordingly.”

I sat there… mulling over everything he had just told me. If I am honest… I am a little pissed off! By not telling Bella… they have, more or less, lied to her, her whole life. She is going to be heartbroken when she finds out. And, of course, I am going to tell her! She deserves to know… and I will always be one hundred percent open and honest with her! I plan on starting out… the way I will continue. I respect her too much, for anything less!

I look at him.. “She is going to be so hurt when I tell her. And I would venture to say Alexander is going to be royally pissed.. no pun intended. But I won’t NOT tell her! She deserves to know! If this man is behind the abduction attempts… the people she trusted most, willingly and knowledgeably, put her in danger… again! Forewarned is forearmed! And you all made a life-altering decision that puts her in harm’s way! That is unacceptable! What were you thinking?”

He responded “It was not my choice! It was certainly not my decision! Alexis chose to keep the secret. We all obeyed…because, as her mother…it was her choice! I argued until I was blue in the face… Blake spent many nights on the couch because of the disagreements it invoked. But, Alexis was adamant… and we stuck by her. I have always said this would come back to bite us in the ass! But, at least, I didn’t break my promise to my daughter.. I told Bella’s mate…not Bella!”

I scoffed “No.. you didn’t break your promise to your daughter… you just broke your granddaughter’s heart. Not sure that’s the route I would have chosen. But hindsight’s twenty twenty..they say. I will be taking Bella out tonight.. a date.. so I’m not sure if I will tell her.. until tomorrow. I won’t sit on the information long. I don’t want my ass bitten!” He laughed…but it was without humor.

I linked Jaxson..telling him I was taking Bella to dinner, tonight.. then afterwards, we would meet at the Pub for drinks. Then went in search of my beautiful mate.. finding her in the backyard playing hide and go seek with Baron’s little sister, Delilah.. and a few other kids. I stood and watched her.. Her beautiful plum colored hair looks almost purple in the sunlight.. her lavender eyes seem to glow.. But, it’s her smile… those dimples.. that has me mesmerized!

I fianlly walk over to her.. taking her hand, asking “Walk with me?” She nods.. letting the kids know what she was doing. She tucks her little hand in mine.. and we walk down a path, leading to the river. We sit side by side on a huge rock and she dangles her feet in the water. She asks “What did you want to talk about? Is it important?”

I grin at her “It is very important! And I couldn’t wait to discuss it with you!” She waits patiently..even though her eyes widened in anticipation. I kissed the tip of her nose.. like she had kissed my cheek, this morning, cooking breakfast.. “ I was wondering if you would go out on a date..with me, tonight?” She squealed and through her arms around my neck “Yes! Yes! I will! Where are we going? How should I dress? Casual? Comfortable? Cocktail?” I laugh… “Cocktail… I think! I want to take you to dinner. Then, I thought we could meet the guys for drinks at The Pub…and you and I could dance?” Her smile lights up her whole face… “I would love that! Now.. come on! I have to hurry! I need time to get ready!!”

I smiled at her “Not much you can do! Perfection is hard to top!”