Nadine Book 7

64. Walk

An hour later, the boys know how to not turn to a wolf every time 1 of us screams.

I get a bunch of sideways looks when I get out the door. Why the hell do these people not go home?

Dipak and Marcus turn to dragons and fly for the boat.

The people gasp and watch him.

I smile at Tye. "This makes sense now. They like seeing dragons."

Savannah nods. "They like seeing anything different. Don't worry about them."

Decker, Tye, and Johen run down the steps and turn to wolves again.

"I am not ruining this dress." Tye nods and runs off with them.

Tre kisses my head. "I'm going back to the boat baby. Let me know if you need anything."

I give him a hug. I know he's not a big fan of villages to get dirty in.

Most of the werewolves leave. I'm left standing there with Nik, Elek, Kodan, and Mason.

"What do you want to do, babygirl?"

"I kind of want to walk around. Never seen a werewolf village that doesn't have my guards all over it. Also, I would like to see the house we're staying in, and I should probably check on my patients."

"I'll go see if the male is awake or when he should be waking up." Nik walks off with Kodan and Elek.

"Where's the house? I can probably find it."

Mason smiles. "I'll walk you to it. It's a bit outside the village. But stay in the pack house, it's safer. If a pirate attack happens in the middle of the night, the outside ring of houses get hit first." We start down the path.

"I was wondering why I woke up there. I remembered you talking about a house."

"You were already sleeping. I figured I would put you in a guest room. Dipak wasn't letting you stay alone though. That wasn't an option. Now I understand why. He's your mate."

"Yea, he's the most stubborn when it comes to me. Marcus and Tre probably wouldn't have let me stay alone. Johen and Tye will probably pass out somewhere weird and assume I'll be fine. I don't know about Nik really."

"Why not?"

"He's my newest mate, and we've had a lot of issues. I guess we're still getting to know each other."

"Who's the other 1 that is here all the time?"

"Elek. I think Elek is who you're talking about. Was he at lunch?"

"Yes. Him."

"He's the boy everyone thinks will be my 7th mate. It's between him and Tobias really. Tobias is with us on the boat too. I haven't seen him since. I'm pretty sure Elek is my final mate. But we have to deal with some issues before we can sort that out."

"How come he's not walking with you now?"

"I never have time alone with any boys. My boys don't like it. They watch Elek and Tobias so close. And we're stuck on the same boat. It's impossible to get away from anyone. If Elek was here now, Nik would be too. And probably Tye. Tye is not a big fan of his. Threw him halfway across an arena once. But Elek doesn't like Tobias. He threw him out my office window." Mason laughs. "Boy drama. What about you? You have lots of girl drama?"

"No."

I crack up laughing. "It's just me then."

"Wolves, I guess, are simpler. We see our mate and know it. No use fighting or arguing about someone. If I need a date for a formal event, I pick someone from the pack. But it's just that. It's not a real date."

"That's the way it's supposed to be for vampires too. We know who our mate is right away. But I'm too young to feel the mate bond. So I get pulled to my mate more slowly I guess. But a group of magicians figured out a blood test. If the test comes back a certain way, that boy is my soul mate. Dipak doesn't let me test with anyone though. He waits until I at least like a person. If not, the test won't come back right."

"Have you tested with Elek or Tobias?"

"Elek yes. It comes back blue. Which is really close to soul mate. But not quite. Everyone says it will change over time. We have more growing up to do. The first time I tested with Tye, our bond markers were so far off. Everyone said no way we would ever be mates. But it eventually came back that he was mine. I've never tested with Tobias."

"Do you want to?"

"No. I like his beard and he seems nice. But that's about it."

"And you like Elek?"

"I do. He's fun. He seems to be getting along with my boys now too."

A guard smirks. "Lovely day for a walk."

Mason starts looking around. "s**t. I missed the turn. Back this way."

We turn around. The guard walks off laughing and shaking his head.

I can hear a stream from somewhere. The birds are making noises. "It is beautiful here."

"Yea, I've always loved it. Most wolves like it somewhere colder. Fur makes us hot. But I always loved this island. And I'm not the only 1. A lot of wolves like tropical weather. We have to limit the amount of time we spend as wolves. Don't want to overheat. But we can swim year round and play in mud holes." He nudges me with his elbow and I start laughing. "And there is plenty of stuff to hunt here. So, it's not for everyone, but those of us who love it, really do."

"I could love it here. Minus the bug. I did not like that big bug."

"Yea, we do have big bugs. But the butterfly's make up for it."

I nod fast. Then I see a butterfly. I stare at it.

"Do not pounce in those shoes. I will be carrying you back again."

"Yea, that would hurt."

Nik smiles. "Where are you going?"

"I'm showing her the house your people are staying in."

He looks back at Mason all confused. "Did you need help finding it?"

I laugh. "We're walking a bit. I wanted to see the place."

"Alright." He flies off.

"I see what you mean. They really do watch you close."

"Yea, I'm used to it though."

He pulls my arm. "We have to go down that path. I nearly missed the damn turn again. No wonder why he was confused. Probably thinking I'm lost in my own village."

"It happens. So, did you ever get to go to a mating ball?"

"Yea. I've been to about 15 of them. Most of the time I can think of a reason not to go. Sasha is a pain in the ass though. She has shoved me out the door the last couple of years."

I crack up laughing. "She does seem the kind that would do that."

"And Kodan lets her. Go get your damn mate, I'm tired of dealing with your grouchy ass. Do you think she's going to fall out of the sky?"

"There have been times in my life. Where I have sat at my desk. And been like, I am not searching anymore. If he wants me, I'm right here. His ass can show up in my office. I'm not going out anymore."

He starts laughing. "Exactly."

"My friend Thora. You met her briefly. She has Jackal. She is the same way as Sasha. She'll shove me right out the door. Go find him. She has sent me on so many blind dates with men who could be my mate. It's sad."

"Worst date?"

"I don't think I could pick. One of them was so old, he never moved or talked. My guard fell asleep standing up. Another 1 thought I would want him because he's a prince." He nods. "Oh and then there's the 1 that found out his mate was Elek's brother."

He loses it. "I don't think you should let her send you on any more dates at all."

"I don't plan on it. Wonderful best friend. Terrible matchmaker. So what about you? You have a worst date story?"

"Yea, I guess I do. It's not a real date though. I had to go to an event at another packland and needed someone. One of the girls who used to live here said she knew someone who wanted to go. I said alright. That's good enough. This woman shows up dressed like a million dollars. Fancy head to toe. I ignored it, I mean, we're going to a fancy ball. It made sense at the time. But she walks around looking down at everyone and everything. She hated this place, but we left so quickly it wasn't like we stayed. We get there, and she is still snubbing everything. It was a nice place. But she spent the night thinking she was better than everyone. Kodan told me about halfway through the night she was having s*x in some closet with a beta or something. I could not understand any of it. I offered to take her home to be nice. I mean she was my date. But then she put her nose up at me, so I walked away. I don't know if she ever got home or not."

"Yea, that's a bad date."

"So, what about the worst date with 1 of your mates?"

"There have been some bad dates. I think I've been to a ball with about all of them. Except Nik. I've never went with him to a ball. Usually I get ignored after a certain point, so they can go be kings." He nods. "Other than that, Tye and I ended up drugged and in a dungeon once. Another time I killed a princess because she touched him. She was all over him and wouldn't stop. Kept calling me a little girl. I cut her damn head off when she touched his leg. But you see how he was with the mating ball. He's about the only 1 who takes me out regularly. The rest will, but Tye's the easy one for me to talk into stuff."

"Yea, he seemed excited to be able to take you and do the games and stuff."

I laugh. "And then even more excited when he found out he can do stuff without me too."

He stops, so I stop too. "There's a waterfall over here that's gorgeous. So, are you excited about the mating ball?"

"Yes. I mean, I know I'm not going to find a mate there, but I'm still excited about seeing it. I've always loved seeing how other people live. It's amazing that I get to see this. If it were anywhere else, the boys would never agree to let me go. But we know Ronion's castle will be safe."

"How did you meet our king?"

"Decker came up to me and Tre when we were having a picnic. Ronion soon followed."

"I know he's young but as protective as he is of you. I'm surprised no 1 thought you would be his mate."

"It's been brought up. Mainly the consensus is, there will not be a vampire in line for the werewolf throne."

"But you're a werewolf too."

"That happened 6 days ago. We haven't factored that in yet." We both laugh. "But it will most likely be the same answer. If I change all the wolves into vampires or vampires to wolves, then they're not the same species. Not saying I couldn't change some of them, but definitely not all."

"That is true. You're making hybrids. That's not a wolf or a vampire. It's both."

I nearly fall over. I grab onto him so I don't fall. "I'm sorry. Wrong shoe choice." I take my shoes off and carry them. I stepped off the path. Or actually it ended. We're in the woods now.

"Those are quite fancy shoes for a werewolf village." He smirks.

"You and your fancy polished shoes can't say anything about my shoes' sir."

We laugh. "It's this way... I think."

We change directions again. "So, how long have you lived here?"

"About 15 years. Once I got old enough to get out from under my parents, I got on a boat and we landed here. I fell in love with it. I built a little house and lived here with Kodan and a couple of others. Then, slowly, more and more wolves showed up. At the events we talk about the island and how much we love it. People come to see it and never leave."

I smile. "It is perfect here. Other than the big bugs and bears."

He chuckles. "Where is home for you?"

"I'm still in the castle I was born in. That's my home."

"No, where do you go that feels like home?"

"The stars."

"What?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I have a spaceship. I can travel to different planets. But not yet. My ship is still buried. But I can time travel and go to a time when I have my ship. I love being in the stars. Everything is so beautiful up there."

He nods.

"You don't have to believe me. I live at a castle with my parents. I was born the vampire princess. I have a big village and arena. We put on racing games. It's a lot of fun."

"Over here is the waterfall."

A momma's letting her babies swim while she gets some sun. I smile. "How perfect is this?"

"You better be careful, you'll fall in love with the place too."

"I would get pulled out of here by my ears. It wouldn't matter."

The wolf pups spot us and run over. "Boys, get over here and leave them alone."

Mason puts his hand on my back and guides me away from the boys. "Sorry, they won't stop if I start playing with them."

"Tye has that problem too."

"I think Tye doesn't want to stop playing."

I bite my lip and nod. "Yea, you're right. So do you like ships? You said you found this place on 1."

"I do actually. I like being out on the water. We go fishing sometimes. But it's dangerous at times." I look at him funny. "We have to breathe."

"Oh yea. Johen had to breathe for a long time too. He was born human."

"Really? You took a human mate?"

"He's mine. He's only 19 years old. I recently turned him vampire. Then dragon. Now I guess werewolf too. He's having a tough year."

"I thought Tye was the youngest."

"Nope. Tye was born vampire like me. He's a prince. He's just over 400 years old."

He chokes on air. "400?"

"Vampires age slow. Pregnancy is 20 years. Then it takes us 400 years to be old enough to find our mate. Dipak says it's another 300 after that before we stop acting like teenagers. Dipak and Marcus are both over 1,000. Then it goes. Nik, Tre, Tye, Me, and the youngest is Johen. But I guess Johen's age equals somewhere around 400 vampire years now too. We couldn't change him as a kid. He would have stopped aging and stayed a kid forever. We had to wait for that. So I'm the only 1 not old enough to bond with my mates now. Almost though. Less than 10 years left."

"I knew you were immortal. I guess I thought you didn't have to grow up or something. Or maybe it was more like wolves. We grow normally for the first 20 years. Then we're adults."

"That's a lot like humans."

"Yea, but we live for about 200 years or so. Humans don't live that long."

I stop and give him a hug. "I can't imagine losing people." We start walking again. "Johen's dad was sick before. We turned him into a vampire."

He smiles at me. "You did it?"

I shake my head. "That would have been horrible. He would have turned werewolf too. No, it was done in our medical area. I had nothing to do with it personally."

"What in the hell are you 2 doing?" Kodan is standing beside us in shorts. "You are so far outside the perimeter. How you even got out is beyond me. But now you're a half hour late for dinner. A dinner that you planned."

Dipak lands beside him as a dragon and flips back.

Kodan shakes his head. "Told you I could find them first. It's the nose. I can scent them out."

"Well, it's your land and you had a head start. I can get back to the village first."

"Oh whatever." Kodan shifts to a wolf and is gone.

"CHEATER." Dipak is up in the air and gone.

Tre lands beside me and rubs his eyes. "Let's go."