Chapter 1 Elle
2177 Words
Elle
Everett woke up early this morning and sat straight up in bed. Today will be his first official day as the Chief of Black Wing, and I could feel his anxiety. His ceremony last night was celebrated with all of our tribe and a few guests from Crystal Scale, Blood Fire, and the council.
It took about six months to get everything prepared for Denny to pass the role to Everett. He shadowed to learn about all of the different aspects of the Chief role. There was a lot that the Chief did behind closed doors that I had never known.
"Good morning," I said to him as I rolled over. "You're up early."
"I thought I'd get a workout in before I start the day," he said. "Go back to sleep, kitten."
"Not without you," I said. "I'll come to work out with you."
I pushed myself out of our bed and headed to the bathroom. My hair looked insane as I looked into the mirror. We had moved into the master bedroom of the castle that had been his parents bedroom. I felt weird about it like I was pushing out Patricia and Denny, but mom insisted and said being Chief comes with perks.
When I cleaned myself up and dressed in my workout shorts and a tank, I turned to see Everett standing shirtless with his long basketball shorts hugging his waist. I had to thank the Goddess again for the blessing she gave me that was Everett Connors. Not that being her peace speaker wasn’t a gift, but more icing on the cake. I ogled my handsome husband unashamedly until he felt my gaze on him and turned to smile at me.
"Like what you see, Mrs. Connors?" he asked and flexed his muscles.
"I may be biased, Mr. Connors, but you are the sexiest Chief I've ever seen," I purred back.
"Maybe we should start the workout on the bed," he said as he strolled to me and took my hand. "Start my first day as chief with a bang."
I rolled my eyes at his corny joke as I followed him to the bed. I don't think there has ever been a time I passed up an invitation to feel this man between my legs and his warm tingly touch on my skin. He gripped me by the waist, pulled me tight against him, slid down my shorts and panties, and leaned me back into the bed.
About twenty minutes later, Everett seemed a lot more relaxed when we finally made it down for breakfast. He smiled at everybody when they greeted him as Chief. They won't call him that all the time once the novelty wears off. He plans on keeping things relaxed as they've always been.
"Ready for your first meeting as chief?" Ginny asked when she and Elias arrived at the castle.
"I've been going to the morning meetings for months," Everett replied. "It won't be any different."
"Yeah," she said. "But all decisions are up to you now."
"I know that," Everett grunted at her. "Don’t start with me; I'm your chief."
"But you're my brother first," she said, smiling at him.
"Don’t make me have to order you to behave,” Everett replied.
“Wow, day one, and you’re already threatening to abuse your power,” Ginny said
“Ginerva Gladys Abernathy, you will show the Chief the same respect as you showed your father,” Patricia said as she came into the dining room.
“Aw, come on, mom, you can’t tell me you didn’t give Uncle Argus a hard time when he became Chief,” Ginny said.
“Argus wasn’t my chief,” She replied sternly before going back to the kitchen.
“Don't,” Elias said as it looked like Ginny was about to rebuttal. “Just don’t, Gin.”
“Okay fine, I’ll be nicer,” Ginny sighed and turned to Everett. “Everett, you know I love you.”
“Love you too, lard butt,” Everett said.
“Ugh,” Ginny groaned and sat down to eat her breakfast.
“Just give it up, Gin,” Ian called as he came in carrying Neve on his back. Tasha followed after him holding the cutest baby I’ve ever seen.
“Oh, can I hold him?” I asked. “He's so squishy I can't help myself.”
“You mean I can eat with both hands?” Tasha said and handed over the bundle of fun. “Sure! Thanks.”
Ivan was Ian and Tasha’s second child, and Neve was a super big sister. She hurried off her daddy’s lap and came to sit beside me. She loved ‘helping’ him eat since he’s got a few teeth already. Ivan just liked to stare at everything and everyone, drooling all over himself and the table.
“When are you guys leaving for Russia?” Everett asked Ian.
“Tomorrow,” Ian answered. “Her parents have been dying to see the kids.”
“You know they can always visit here,” Patricia said. “They haven’t visited since Neve’s first birthday.”
“Sabrina’s been keeping them busy with her triplets,” Tasha said.
“Triplets?” Patricia gasped. “Oh, I have some catching up to do.”
Patricia turned and gave Everett, Elias, Ginny, and myself a look. She can’t wait to have a castle full of grandchildren and drops unsubtle hints like these almost daily. Ginny pointedly ignored the look and turned to play with Neve. Everett looked like he wasn’t even listening, but we’ve been trying to get pregnant the past couple of months.
“Take it easy on them, Patty,” Uncle Argus chuckled as he walked into the dining hall. “I just wanted to say goodbye to the new Chief before we took our leave back to Blood Fire.”
“Thanks, Argus,” Everett said. “Have a safe flight home.”
“Pretty soon, you’ll be coming to see Clementine’s ceremony,” Argus said with a clap to his shoulder. “It warms my heart to see such amazing leaders in our tribes. Congratulations again nephew, I look forward to giving you a hard time just like your old man!”
“I look forward to it,” Everett chuckled.
We said goodbye to Argus and Mary, and Everett headed to his morning meeting with Elias. Ginny and I were going with Gwen and Freyja to have lunch with Becky and Ludo. After Ginny’s wedding, Becky went to Scotland for three months. Ludo couldn’t bear the thought of her being away, so he decided to go with her and work as her assistant. Today will be the first time we have seen them in three months.
“I’m just saying, I bet they’re getting married,” Freyja was saying when I got into the car. “Ludo sounded strange when I talked to him.”
“Strange how?” Gwen asked.
“Like he was freaking out on the inside,” she answered. “I bet he’s going to ask for our blessing.”
“Why would he ask you for the blessing?” Ginny asked.
“Isn’t that the way it goes?” Freyja asked.
“The man is supposed to ask the woman’s father for her hand,” I explained as we headed out for the hour and a half drive. “It’s a human tradition.”
“So he’s supposed to ask her parents?” she clarified.
“Yes,” I said. “Everett asked Brenton.”
“Elias sort of asked dad,” Ginny said. “He went to talk to him, and dad just handed him his mother’s wedding ring.”
“Sounds like Denny,” I laughed.
“Well, shoot, was I supposed to ask your parents?” Freyja asked Gwen, making her laugh.
“No, you don’t have to ask my parents,” she said. “I’ve always made my own choices.”
“So, is this a social occasion, or is this a wedding planning session?” Ginny asked the girls.
“Both probably,” Gwen said. “Becky is our wedding planner, but also our friend.”
“She pulled off an awesome wedding in three weeks; I’m curious to see what she can do in three months,” I said. “I can’t believe you guys finally set a date.”
“Things got a little chaotic in the Southern hemisphere dragons,” Freyja sighed. “I was worried I wouldn’t make it back here in time for Everett’s ceremony.”
“Sorry, I probably should have gone with you,” I said. “The southerners are a bit hard-headed.”
“You’d think the world protector would have a little bit a peace speaker abilities,” Freyja said. “But we do make a good team.”
“Exactly,” I chuckled. “If I weren’t a part of the ceremony, I would have been there.”
“Next time, just call her and put it on speaker,” Ginny said with a shrug.
We laughed and talked the whole way to meet the cottage that Becky rents when doing events in Ireland. It was a cute little place nestled in a quiet little town with a lovely private backyard surrounded by trees. Ludo came out of the small shed beside the house as we pulled up. He smiled and waved as we parked.
“Hey, you guys made it,” Ludo said. “Probably because Elle drove.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Freyja said, rolling her eyes and hugging her brother. “Long time no see Lu, did you miss me?”
“Freyja, you mind-link me almost every single day; you don’t give me time to miss you,” he replied. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“I worry about you, Lu,” she said.
“I’m with Becca,” he said with a raised eyebrow. “I’m perfectly safe.”
“Speaking of your better half, where is she?” Freyja asked, ignoring him and walking around him to the house.
“She’s inside,” he chuckled and greeted the rest of us with a smile. “Gwen, I don’t know how you put up with her.”
“She’s pretty,” Gwen said with a shrug and followed after her.
“Elle, Ginny,” Ludo said. “How was the drive?”
“Not bad at all,” I said. “Are you guys going to come to the house sometime? You know Patricia wants to see you.”
“We will be there next week,” Ludo replied. “We’ve been settling back in after being gone for a few months. We didn’t get back here until yesterday morning. I’m sorry we didn’t come to the ceremony; we were both exhausted.”
“Don’t worry; I understand; just tell mom that I passed the message on,” I said.
“Message received,” he chuckled. “Let’s go in.”
Ginny and I followed Ludo inside the cottage to find the other girls chatting with the blonde beauty that was Rebecca Oakley. She was Elias and Ginny’s wedding planner and is now planning Freyja and Gwen’s big day. She was also a hybrid dragon-lion which is the most exotic thing I had ever seen. Her body was an elegant lioness with two lavender dragon wings on her back.
“Hey, Becky!” I said and gave her a big hug. “It smells amazing in here; what are you making?”
“Salmon and roasted vegetables,” she said and went back to cooking. “You guys have a seat, and I’ll be done in a minute. Ludo, can you get the appetizers and cheese plate?”
“You bet, princess,” he said and went to the fridge.
“So, what’s new?” I asked. “How was Scotland?”
“It was good, we had four weddings, and if it wasn’t for Ludo, I don’t think they would have gone as smoothly as they did,” Becky said. “I thank the Goddess every day for him.”
“Aw,” we all squealed, making Ludo blush more.
“I can’t wait for my parents to meet him,” she said, and his face immediately flushed all the color from his face.
“Wait, what?” Ginny said. “When are you meeting her parents?”
“Next weekend,” Ludo said, trying to smile. “We are taking a weekend trip to England.”
“Oh, I see,” I said. “That’s exciting; how long has it been since you’ve been home, Becky?”
“Since before I met Ludo,” Becky said. “They know I met my mate, but we just haven’t had the chance to get together; it is my busiest time of year.”
“Wow, that’s exciting,” I said.
“I can’t wait,” Ludo said though still a bit pale.
- Writer
