To Have And To Hold

The Sweet Sounds of Victory...

Chapter Two: The Sweet Sounds Of Victory...

HORACIO

The minute Tati echoed in my mind that she was bringing me to Mystic Fire, I was beaming ear to ear, anxious to have my arms around my beautiful Fairy Queen. We had both been so busy all day that links between us had been few, leaving me desperate for her once I had finished my morning duties...

The minute I appeared at Mystic Fire’s main house, however, it wasn’t Tati’s face I saw—it was Tink’s, who greeted me with a wide, wicked grin on her face, mockingly exclaiming while wrapping me up in a bear hug, “My King of Fury! I’ve missed you today! Come on! Tell me how much you’ve missed your Tink and how I’m really your favorite instead of my boring gorgeous sister so I can inform her that victory is mine! It’s the only way I’ll let you go!”

I heard Tati’s sweet, musical giggle behind me—as well as Aruna’s and Luminara’s, while Beast chuckled under his breath, “Sorry, Horacio—I tried.”

Turning my head to warily look at Tati, I deadpanned, “I thought we agreed you two wouldn’t do this to me again, love.”

Taking three steps forward, Tati placed her hand gently on my arm, peeking around my body to amusingly chortle, “Alright, Tink, I let you have your fun. Release my King of Fury from your attempt to be claimed as his favorite triplet so I can make up for this little game you love to play.”

Tink boisterously laughed as she let me go, satisfyingly straightening her red t-shirt as she made her way back into Beast’s arms, “Fine! But you can’t fool me, Fury! Deep down, I know you love our game—and me—that you have missed me, and I am your favorite triplet. I think the four horsemen charm you gave me proves it, but I’ve been informed by my enemy that you have to actually say the words. I won’t give up until I win this battle with Constance!”

My eyebrow arched as Tati took Tink’s place in front of me, looking beautiful as always in a beige cotton v-neck dress covered in a myriad of blue and white flowers and leaves of different shapes, outlines, and sizes with high slits on the sides—the garment showing off every alluring head to toe curve and making every platinum curl sparkle even brighter—her little feet sparkling too thanks to the off white blingy sandals. A soft hand was immediately laid upon my cheek as my Fairy Queen smiled brightly at me, “Hello, handsome!”

My wolf was elated to finally have her close again—and I couldn’t deny I was too, lifting her tiny body up into my arms, relishing the feel of my Fairy Queen pressed against my body and her slender arms around my neck, amorously breathing out, “Finally! The face I really wanted to first see when I arrived. Hello, beautiful!”

Running her fingers along my stubbly salt and pepper cheek, she affectionately told me, “I have missed you tremendously today and while Tink has a beautiful charm proving your love for her and I’m well aware of your deep affection for Constance, I hope the stunning sparkler on my ring finger means I’m your true favorite.”

My own devilish grin expanding across my face, I playfully bantered back, “You are currently my favorite, love, but if you allow this game to continue, I’m afraid Constance and Tink may surpass you as I’m finding their sweet greetings—and vicious ongoing battle for my affections—to be quite endearing. I dare say they may be able to steal my heart away from you.”

Scrunching her nose at me in distaste of my words, Tati then countered in a humored breath, “LIAR!”, before kissing me tenderly. As our lips parted, she adoringly blew out against my lips, “Besides, I’m the best cook out of the three and knowing the true way to your heart is your stomach, I believe that alone will keep me in the top spot!”

“Mmmmm, very good point,” I hummed out, grinning, “Speaking of which—”

Knowing me as she did, Tati humorously joined me in my question, our voices echoing out in unison, “I’m starving. What’s for lunch?”

“One of your favorites—lasagna,” Tati sweetly replied afterwards, “But I need to stretch my legs for a bit first—how about we take a walk to the Enchanted Garden? I’ve got snack bags of cookies for you, Luminara, my gentle giant, and sweet girl to tide you all over until we get back.”

“Are you in pain today?” I worriedly asked—ever since she had been crushed by those trees, Tati continued to have trouble with cramps and pain in her lower limbs. I hadn’t felt that she was suffering, but that’s not to say the sneaky Queen hadn’t found a way to conceal it somehow with her overwhelming powers.

Tati eased my mind, telling me that she was a bit tired, but feeling well overall—she also linked me directly after to inform me that Nicholas had requested that we distract his mother for a bit, bringing a broad grin to my face as I linked back that I wouldn’t mind finding a room in the main house for a little wickedness myself after lunch...

We took our walk, my arms extended out slightly at my elbows as I escorted Tati and Aruna—two of my favorite wise and beautiful women on either side of me—taking in the beauty of magic reflected in the glittering blooms across the field. Tink and Beast were holding hands ahead of us with the powerful, towering warrior also extending his other arm out escorting Luminara as the three regaled us all with stories of the mischief of their youth. Laughter abound, the air was filled with joy when Jace and Constance appeared to join us, giving me the opportunity for a little payback...

“Well, hello, my dear Goddess and her very fortunate mate!” I heartily greeted, leading Tati and Aruna to cutely snicker.

Constance looked lovely as always too in a long, flowy white sundress with a fitted waist accentuating every inch of her tall, elegant frame and cascading blonde curls, epitomizing her nickname as she looked like the Moon Goddess herself, and sounded as loving as her too in her soft greeting, “Hello, my beloved Horacio. I take it my sister played her little game with you again—another sneak attack in our ongoing battle for your affections as favorite triplet?”

Tilting her head up high, Constance brought her finger up behind her left ear lobe that was facing Tink, proudly boasting, “Did you tell my enemy about the beautiful new sapphire earrings you gave your favorite triplet last night?”

“No, he didn’t!” Tink guffawed, darting her horrified gaze to me, “You gave her new earrings? You know I’m not girly like that—big time bling is not my thing! Jewelry is one the few weak spots Constance can exploit in our war. No offense to you when I say this, Auntie—love you all my heart, forever a lot, it’s your style—but Constance loves all that blingy crap, which means it could potentially be my downfall! I don’t even have pierced ears! Do not give her the upper hand, Fury! It will force me to do something I don’t want to do—I’ve never wanted pierced ears!”

“It was an early gift for her wedding,” I innocently defended, as Tati and Aruna softly laughed beside me, “I can’t help that Constance loved them so much that she decided to wear the new sparklers now as symbol of my affection for her in your flattering battle for my affection.” Flashing her sister an adoring smile, I complimented, “They look lovely by the way, Goddess.”

Tink let out an irritated sharp breath as Constance beamed at her, “Ahhhhh! The sweet sounds of victory!”

“This battle between them has shown me a whole new side to my Goddess—it’s been quite entertaining, this competitive assertiveness she’s displaying,” Jace chuckled, greeting Tati with a kiss on the cheek.

Constance continued to be unrelenting, lightly admonishing, “Just accept defeat, Clementine and stop tormenting my Horacio by forcing him to see your face first instead of Auntie’s when he appears—and stop sweet talking your Auntie into playing along!” I laughed as she added a little salt to Tink’s wounds, “How fortunate are we that your Auntie is my Mother, allowing us to both be her favorites?”

Tink gasped in return, “How dare you use the C name! And bring up that you get to call my Auntie ‘Mother’ now! That’s dirty play, Constance! And beneath you—I’m the Dark One, remember?”

Folding her arms in front of her, she then confidently retorted, sending us all into another fit of raucous humor, “You know I’m competitive and have a dominating personality—and I don’t give up. This isn’t over between us, especially after that dastardly, underhanded move of yours! You’ve just taken it to a whole new level. Mark my words—I will defeat you, Sister! I will be both Auntie and Horacio’s favorite! Bling or no bling!”

“I’m beginning to worry about sibling rivalry,” Luminara amusingly sighed out, looking down as she comfortingly rubbed her belly, “Being an only child, I’ve never had to deal with it before. This is quite eye opening—and a bit scary, truth be told. It may explain the incessant kicking happening currently—I think the children may be choosing sides currently in Tink and Constance’s battle.”

“I’m afraid you’re right,” Tati knowingly giggled, “Boy—Team Tink, Girl—Team Goddess. She’s already enamored with Constance just based on her nickname and plans on calling her that. Our young man is on the fence until he sees her, but I have no doubt he will be using the same reference."

“Awwww, how sweet! It will warm my heart every time they say it,” Constance excitedly gushed before turning her attention back to her sister, smiling brightly, “I bet I will be able to obtain my adorable young man’s loyalty too once he arrives!”

“Personally, I’m starting to question loyalty,” Jace impassively stated, “First Horacio, now the twins—am I to battle for favoritism as well, my Goddess?”

“Of course not,” Constance lovingly replied, placing a sweet kiss on his lips, “I will always be first and foremost your Goddess, Smooth Talker. It has a different special meaning with Horacio and both the twins.”

“Not so fast, Sneaky Sister! A new battle has formed—a fight I will also win—the boy is mine!” Tink mockingly returned with great confidence, as everyone once again fell into uncontrollable laughter, “He’ll need someone with great expertise to train him in plotting against a sister! I’m the perfect partner in crime!”

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes at her sister, Constance came up to hug me, “Nothing like sibling rivalry—fortunately I have time to come up with plans to save the poor child.”

Leaning back, I was surprised to see Constance appearing a bit anxious as she sweetly said, “But, in all seriousness, I do love your beautiful gift, Horacio. I will be wearing these earrings now and always. They are very special to me—just as you are very special to me—which is why I would like to ask you to do something special at my wedding that would mean the world to me.”

“You know I will do anything for you, Constance,” I earnestly replied, “All you have to do is ask.”

Her bright blue eyes glazed over as Constance cleared her throat before she hesitantly began, “Okay, then. So, I thought I would be okay—you know—walking by myself down the aisle at my wedding. But the more I’ve thought about it, the more I find my greatest wish is—for you to walk me down the aisle.”

While I was left stunned, Constance seemed to regain confidence as she enthusiastically continued, “The deep connection we share is one that I hold so very dear. You have a very special place in my heart, Horacio, which is why I would like you to be the one to place my hand in Jace’s. I know you don’t like to dance, so you won’t have to worry about that at the reception. But—it really would mean a great deal to me if you would agree to give me away.”

Touched deeply by her request, my breath was stilled when Tati’s hand came to rest on my shoulder, gently reminding me to breathe. Warmth filled my expression—a smile full of adoration given to my little blonde beauty that would forever hold a place all her own in my heart, as I gave her my heartfelt reply, “Nothing would mean more to me or make me prouder than to walk you down the aisle to Jace, Constance. Thank you for bestowing upon me one of the greatest honors I have ever received.”

“Really?” Constance breathlessly asked, nervously biting her lower lip, “You’ll walk with me?”

Pulling her back in to hug her tightly, I exhaled out, “I’m afraid that you’re stuck with that decision now, Goddess. There’s nothing I want more.”

“Thank you for making my Goddess incredibly happy, Horacio,” Jace appreciatively said, “I’ve been trying to get her to ask her wish of you for the last few weeks. Your kind gift helped me convince her to do so today.”

“Damn you, King of Fury,” Tink affectionately called out, unable to deny the beautiful moment, “You even have me willing to give my sister a temporary victory right now. I might even put our battle on hold until after her wedding. Probably for the best—gives me time to work on my battle plans—I really don’t want to pierce my ears!”

**************

NICHOLAS

There was nothing like the feeling of victory, especially this kind. With every moan of pleasure from our lovemaking, I felt my Alpha’s anxiety easing and with every feel of her touch and vibration of her inner walls surrendering to me, I too was pleasurably elated and at ease, as was my wolf, although, as always, it wanted more...

Laying sweet kisses on my mark as we both attempted to catch our breath, I murmured against her skin, “If we lay here too long, Auntie is going to have to take everyone for a hike to the brook so I can take a more—long-winded approach in my worship of you.”

Her fingers lazily tracing the outlines of the firm muscles on my back, Madeline softly flirted back, “That sounds lovely, my Alpha, and there is nothing more I would love to do than to finally claim victory of control again—by any means necessary, rapid-fire or long-winded. Thanks to your amazing, pleasurable maneuvers, I’ve been left with no alternative but to willingly relent to your complete domination. However, our appearance is expected downstairs, so I’m afraid we will have to re-engage in this battle of ours at a later time.”

“That is very disappointing—but a good point,” I huskily breathed out, “Rapid-fire—is my love at least more relaxed from the great effort I put forth to calm her?”

“Yes,” Madeline satisfyingly exhaled out, slowly bringing her fingers up to run through the back of my hair, “For the moment, at least. Thank you very much for all the thought put into every loving touch upon my skin, my Alpha. I’m feeling quite at ease now thanks to your masterful manipulation and dirty play. You have definitely achieved victory against M The Defender today for her past actions against you.”

Pushing myself up to peer deep into her brown eyes, which reflected she was telling the truth, I lightly chided, “A bit of a long-winded reply, but I will accept the admission of victory. Auntie made one of your favorites for lunch—lasagna. Let’s get dressed and tell her we will be down in a moment.”

“Mmmmm, that sounds wonderful. I am hungry,” Madeline delightedly returned, “And perhaps during lunch, we can convince Horacio and Auntie to take a day for themselves. They are both burning the candle at both ends as of late.”

Kissing her softly on the lips, I quietly encouraged, “I will agree to help, but please don’t start worrying about things already. You seem to be very excited about your wedding dress—concentrate on that. You know, if you would let me in on whatever this secret is you are keeping from me about it, it would give me another way to help ease your anxiety. You don’t have to go into great detail, just a generalized description of my surprise, so we can both be excited about this special touch to your dress that you’ve been teasing me about.”

I was glad to hear Madeline’s laugh in response to my dirty tactic, as she steadfastly replied, “One—that was long-winded, so you have disqualified yourself from obtaining the knowledge. And two, if you truly love me, you will allow me at least the small victory of surprising you on our wedding day. But I will willingly accept your help in something that would ease my concern, making for a very pleasurable battle between us later on.”

“Well, when you put it that way,” I grinned, “You’ve already achieved victory, my Alpha! Count me in—for both!”

************

ARTURO

Sitting at my desk, I was reading over the love note I had written to add to my little gift as Lucious stood behind me, “Do you really think this is necessary, Arturo? I believe your efforts could be better utilized helping create our battle plan with Igor instead of obsessing over this secret of yours that I’m keeping.”

Satisfied with the note, I satisfyingly grinned, “Thanks to you, I’m still alive, Lucious, but it would be wrong not celebrate that fact with her too after everything she’s done. And one should always include a nice note with flowers.”

“I might as well stop wasting my breath arguing about this with you. Your twisted mind is made up,” Lucious defeatedly murmured, walking towards the door, “I have no idea why I am keeping this secret for you. Just get it over with and satisfy that insatiable thirst of yours. We’re supposed to meet with Igor in a couple of hours. Don’t be late this time—he hates that—and we need him, which is why you need to stop this now! This can’t be a regular occurrence, Arturo.”

Opening the door, I heard Lucious sarcastically greet, “Hello, Ursula. Come on in. Your favorite patient is anxiously waiting for you.”

“Seems Arturo is always anxious for a magical rendezvous with me,” Ursula aloofly replied, walking in wearing her usual simple long, black cotton dress and carrying her bag of potions. Peering over at me, she closed my door, quietly greeting, “Good morning, Arturo. You are looking quite invigorated today. I see you have been using the lotions I have created for you. Your scars appear to be fading in intensity as I promised. Maybe we can work on a stronger variant of the potion to continue minimizing their appearance after we finish our little private dirty play.”

Running my hand down my puffy scars along my cheek, I earnestly stated, “You have no idea how grateful I am to you, Ursula. Your potions have worked miracles on my face and neck. While I know they will never fully go away, I can at least look in the mirror now without breaking it.”

Standing up, I walked over to her, tenderly kissing her cheek as I handed over the small, folded piece of paper, “For you, my dear Ursula. Thank you again for taking care of me."

Sighing heavily, Ursula took the note, “Igor better not find out about this! I don’t know why I appease you like I do—did you forget the flowers I know you have for me?”

I reached over to grab the three black roses from my desk, a broad grin on my face as I amorously exclaimed, “Of course not! And you know you love me, Ursula!”

“Love is a bit much,” Ursula dryly breathed out, taking the flowers from my hand. Holding them with the note, she coated them in her yellow magic, holding them within it for a long moment before closing her eyes and extending her arm out, slowly stating, “A gift for a witch with platinum hair. Three flowers and a note with words her enemy is desperate to share. Send these to a place the Fairy Queen will find. So, she can know exactly what is on Arturo’s mind.”

My flowers and note disappeared from Ursula’s hand and with any luck, would soon be found by Tatiana and shown to Horacio—my true intended target with my gift of torment. Afterwards, Ursula made a new concoction for me to use on the scars permanently left on my skin from the Spirit Walker Beta. I thanked her again, just as my next guest knocked on the door...

I opened it, feeling quite victorious to find Raphaela on the other side, who looked a bit irritated—not that I cared as long as it didn’t affect her masterful and satisfying care of my desirous needs, “Seems you got your wish, Arturo—you are the lucky one who gets my attention this afternoon.”