Chapter 66: 66: The Queen of Supernatural

BELLE

Grayson instantly sprang into action, shifting into his wolf faster than I could blink.

He growled at the person sitting in the armchair in the corner, approaching them in a crouched position with his ears folded low against his head.

The figure in the corner giggled. “Oh my, you do have a big wolf. No wonder you’re the next hybrid king. You may even be bigger than my mate.”

My breath stalled in my throat. “Evangeline?”

She looked so elegant and confident, sitting with her gloved hands folded neatly in her lap and her legs crossed at the ankle.

She was wearing a turquoise dress the color of the Caribbean Sea, and her silver-blonde hair was pinned up into a sleek bun on the top of her head, loose tendrils hanging out to frame her face.

She smiled brightly at me. “I was wondering when you were going to give me a call.”

“I-I, um…” I wasn’t nearly as blubbery as the last time I talked with her, but I didn’t exactly know she was the former queen of the entire world last time, now did I?

“It’s so nice to see you again, my dear,” she continued. Her gaze slid to Grayson, who had moved back to stand protectively in front of me.

He was still snarling at her threateningly, crouched low. “You can shift. I am no threat. Look at your mate—she is not scared of me.” She smiled at me. “Are you, Belle?”

I hesitated for only a moment before shaking my head slowly. “No, I don’t think so.” I put my hand on Grayson’s head. “You can shift,” I told him.

Grayson didn’t move for several moments, then he spun and clamped down onto the front of my shirt with his teeth, then promptly began to drag me toward the door of our bedroom.

It became clear to me that he was bringing me in there so he could shift and get dressed while still keeping an eye on me.

“Oh, um,” I looked back at Evangeline as we entered our room. Thankfully, she was watching us with an amused smile on her face. “We’ll be right back, I guess.”

Evangeline waved. “I’ll be here!” she called after us.

I smiled back and quickly closed the door. Grayson was already human again when I turned around.

Before I even knew what was happening, Grayson had his hands on either side of my face and was smashing my lips against his. Tingles zapped through my form.

“I’m so sorry for not believing you,” he said once he pulled away a second later. “You’re wonderful and beautiful, and I’ll never not believe you ever again.”

I giggled. “Good.” My eyes trailed downward as if they had a mind of their own.

Now, get dressed. We have the queen of the supernatural sitting in our living room.”

He kissed my lips one more time. “~You’re~ the queen of the supernatural, baby. And don’t you forget it.”

***

After putting on a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt, Grayson left the room first, pulling me behind him with his hand tightly grasped around mine.

It was sweet how intent he was on protecting me from the sweet old lady sitting in front of us.

“King Grayson Stoll,” Evangeline greeted, “it is so nice to meet you.”

“Queen Evangeline Viotto,” Grayson replied, tilting his chin in acknowledgment.

Evangeline laughed. “No one has called me that in ages. It’s nice to hear it again. It’s nice to be back here again.”

She looked around with raised brows. “Although, I don’t ever remember it being quite so…modern. Every room I stayed in was lined with gold and had a personalized chandelier. I must say, this is much homier.”

“The room you and King Elijah stayed in still exists. It is where the Mortars stay now.”

Evangeline nodded. “Yes, the Mortars. Still inhabiting the palace, I see.”

“You’re…alive,” I said.

“It would seem that way, wouldn’t it?”

“How?”

“I am happy to answer any and all of your questions, but I will let you know that my time here is limited.

“I will not be staying much longer—and I have a feeling you have far more important questions to ask me that don’t have to do with the state of my mortality.”

I stepped forward, only to be stopped by my still hesitant mate.

I rolled my eyes. “Come on. I trust her,” I said.

I sat down on the couch across from Evangeline, and Grayson quickly followed behind.

I already knew he was going to try and pull me into his lap when he sat down next to me. He did that when he was feeling protective and possessive.

But there was no way I was going to have a conversation with Evangeline Viotto while sitting on my mate’s lap, so I quickly pressed up against him when he sat down, so I was nearly on top of him.

He purred softly and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me impossibly closer. Success.

“You have the big, scary alpha king wrapped around your little finger.” She hummed. “I know the feeling. So to what do I owe the pleasure of your call, my dearest Belle Dupree?”

I took in a deep breath and gripped Grayson’s hand tightly in mine. “We need to know about fairies.”

Evangeline threw her head back and laughed. “Yes, I’m sure you do. Any specifics?”

“Shifting,” Grayson interjected. “We need to know what shifting into a fairy will be like.” His voice was tense and low. His body was stiff next to mine, and his eyes were a dark maroon.

This whole ordeal was really stressing him out. It made my throat raw to think about the fact that he had been dealing with this all on his own for so long.

I mean, the jerkwad ~did~ do it to himself…but ~still,~ it had to have been a lot.

I squeezed his hand, trying to offer him some comfort. He immediately squeezed it back.

Evangeline’s grin had fallen the slightest bit. “Ah, yes.” She let out a deep sigh that didn’t sound the least bit promising. “Unfortunately, that is the one thing I cannot help you with.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I was born a fairy. My powers may not have developed until after I met the king, but even then, I never had to go through the process of shifting. I’m not sure anyone ever has,” she explained.

Grayson snarled, baring his clenched teeth at the ceiling.

I quickly turned to him and framed his face in my hands, determined to calm him before he did something stupid—like killing the former queen.

He stared at me with his livid crimson eyes, reminding me of a volcano about to erupt.

“Aren’t I supposed to be the one freaking out?” I asked him, trying to keep my tone light. “This is happening to me, remember? How did I become the one comforting ~you~?”

He snarled again, lower this time and more threatening.

~Okay, so that had been the wrong thing to say.~

He grabbed onto both of my wrists, squeezing them lightly. “You can’t get hurt, Belle.” His voice was strained and deep. “I can’t let anything happen to you. You’re my everything.”

“I know,” I agreed. Emotion welled in my chest. “You’re my everything too.”

Evangeline leaned forward, grabbing both of our attention.

I released my hold on Grayson, turning back to the former queen. “Why are we assuming shifting into a fairy is going to harm Belle?” she asked.

“The Fae are not like werewolves. We do not have to break bones or grow new limbs. We are human at our core.”

“It was agonizing when I became a hybrid and acquired my vampire. Vampires are also human at their core, are they not?” Grayson pointed out.

“Ah, yes, but your body had to process an extreme amount of highly toxic venom when becoming part vampire. That is not what becoming a fairy will be like.”

“How do you know?” Grayson continued to challenge. “Can you promise that?”

Evangeline’s eyes fell from his for a moment. “No, I suppose I cannot.”

Grayson was on the edge of exploding. His anger was palpable in the air around us. Mix that with his overwhelming fear for my safety, and it felt like I was nearly drowning in my mate’s intense emotions.

I put a hand on his knee in a pathetic attempt to calm him, but he just continued to seethe.

“So, what, I’m just supposed to mate with her, knowing that it might kill her?” he snarled at Evangeline.

“I can assure you it won’t kill her—” she said, trying to console him.

“You don’t know that,” he interrupted. “You ~can’t~ know that. So the only thing you can ~assure~ me is that I can never be with my own mate.”

“You ~will~ mate with Belle, young alpha, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. You are mates. And it is in the prophecy.

“You will complete the mating process and take on the roles of the king and queen of the supernatural reincarnated whether you want to or not. Your fates are already written for you.”

“Will I get wings?” I cut in.

Both of their gazes snapped to me.

“I’m sorry?” Evangeline asked.

“Will I get wings?” I repeated. “You know, like a real fairy.” I studied her wingless appearance with a frown. She looked nothing like what I thought a fairy would look like.

Both of them stared at me for several seconds. My attempt at changing topics was pathetic and obvious.

But I didn’t know how much longer Evangeline would be here, and I didn’t see the point of continuing to talk about what shifting would be like when there was clearly no true answer. I had other questions.

“It’s possible,” Evangeline finally said. “Wings are common with Fae, but each Fae develops their powers based on need and circumstance.”

“So we have no idea what being a fairy will be like for me?”

“I can tell you that you’ll have powers. I’m afraid that is all I know.”

I shifted uneasily. My own frustration over the lack of information that was available on Fae was starting to surface. I had no idea what I was getting into.

“Can I ask what your powers are?” I asked Evangeline.

She gave me a small smile. “I have many powers. It would take a very long time to list all of them. I believe there are other more useful ways to use this time.”

Grayson let out a growl. “So you can’t give us any useful information,” he snapped.

I gasped. I refused to believe he had just said that. “Grayson!” I chided, elbowing him in the ribs. He ignored me.

“It’s all right, Belle,” Evangeline assured me. I was relieved to see that she looked more amused than offended. “This sort of behavior is to be expected from an alpha male trying to protect his mate.”

“That doesn’t mean it should be tolerated,” I grumbled, glaring at him.

Grayson seemed totally unconcerned with my reprimanding tone and gaze. “I don’t want it,” he said suddenly, staring at Evangeline, jaw set.

Evangeline’s brows tugged together as she waited for him to expand on his confusing statement. After a moment, she said, “I’m afraid I don’t understand. You don’t want what?”

“I don’t want to be king,” he replied, his voice unwavering and hard. “If giving up my title means assuring my mate’s safety, then so be it. I will step down as king of the supernatural.”

“Grayson…”

“That’s not possible. A prophecy isn’t a negotiable thing. It is an inevitable part of your life. Your story is already written.”

“Then fucking unwrite it. You made this prophecy, right? You must be able to change it too.”

Evangeline began to shake her head, but Grayson abruptly slammed his fist down on the coffee table, growling loudly.

I gasped and jumped, gripping Grayson’s arm tightly.

“~I will not lose my mate!~” Grayson exploded.