The Elf King & His Complicated Mate (The Hybrid Series) Book 11

Chapter 29: Business

Over One Year Later

Emile

I had been busy lately, so many things had been done to make Elvira a haven for everyone and ensure violence of any kind was down. A few months back, the Fae Twins lost their father in an assassination attempt on Prince Michael, which was stupid because he was deadlier than, King Cayden. Ty's granddaughter was kidnapped along with Michael's mate and Lord Fehmir ended up on the run after being found out as a traitor to the crown. Zack burned the farm down and turned it into a parking lot, he paid a fine for torching his s**t, I wasn't happy about it, but he was adamant. I let him do what he needed to heal his broken heart, however, he became cold and spoke to no one, not even me, it was like the progress made regressed with his heartbreak. I was taken out of my thoughts as I felt my legs of pants being tugged and looked down to see my niece smiling at me.

She always sneaks into the office when Levi is caught up with work, I picked her up and said, "Back so soon from Bearmore," she said, "Mummy dropped me off, I am looking for Daddy." Levi said, "Sorry pumpkin, I couldn't get out of the meeting fast enough," I put her down as she ran towards him yelling, "Daddy." Levi caught her as she jumped into his arms, and they hugged, he loved his daughter, I could see it, and smiled at the great father he had become to his seven-year-old daughter. Polly found her mate in the civil war years ago and broke off their engagement, they remain great friends while co-parenting their daughter. However, Livia lives here with Levi as she has more of her Elvin features than Bear, we weren't sure if she would have a Bear but Polly let her live there with her dad.

I kept tabs on Laddie, he opened a marketing firm and has a lot of clients, Bran helped him, and he is doing well for himself, he had stayed away from Zack. They own a condo downtown together and adopted a son a few months ago, he was living it up while my son had shied away from the world alone. Zack still has his galleries, and they make money, his art has changed a little with his heartbreak, but they are hits with his clients. He moved to Ironside the last time I checked because he plans to go into fashion and open a modeling agency. I want to reach out to Zack, but he has never returned my calls after the breakdown of his marriage, his first failed relationship, and he is going through this alone. At least he keeps in contact with Jared, who keeps me posted on his well-being. Mendai also found his mates in the civil war, he has two, and I smiled because they are Elijah and Jasper's twin daughters.

Mendai hated the idea of two mates and played hard to get because he still loved Marion, he also hated that they were vampires because he hated their feedings until he realized the intimacy behind it. I left the office for a drive to have time to myself, I thought about my past life and what my life would look like going forward. I knew who my mate was, but I had to wait until she could feel the bond, I refused any picture of her and I promised, Ty, I would stay away from her until she was old enough to understand about mates, well to be fair, at least twenty-five. I reached the rain forest and headed up the trail, I reached the top and sat at the edge of the cliff overlooking the city, I closed my eyes and inhaled, I started crying. I couldn't believe I made it after losing Eva, I loved her so much but my family kept me grounded. I also thought about Zack, I should have fought harder to save him from a lifetime of pain and regret, I failed him, I mind-linked him, "I am sorry, Zack, I hope you forgive me one day."

******

Flashback

I was in the library going over some rules I would need to implement, I heard footsteps and looked at the door knowing it was my pride and joy. Zack pushed the door, "Papa, I got a new horse, you have got to see this, Laddie promised to teach me a few tricks and take me up the trail." I smiled and looked at Laddie as he touched my son's shoulder to keep him grounded, and I said, "You need to keep him safe not just spoil him." I hugged Zack as he told me about what he did for the day, I could see he took a liking to Laddie, and I was glad because it meant I could trust him as his guard. Zack said, "I love you, Dad," kissing my cheek before he ran out the door, I saw Laddie looking at him a little too lovingly, and he said, "I will protect him with my life, Your Majesty," before following him out.

*******

Present Moment

I was brought out of this memory when it dawned on me that Laddie had preyed on my son, I was furious but glad he was out of his life. Zack linked me, "I am sorry too, but I am not ready to face you or anyone, I am not ready to hear you say 'I told you so,' I need to face what happened to me. He roped me in, and I let him, he strung me along, and it still hurts, but I will contact you when I am ready to come home, Dad, I am not sure anymore....." I cut him off saying, "Promise me you won't harm yourself, Zack, I can't lose you too," my voice cracked. He said, "I thought about it, but I won't give him the satisfaction of seeing me broken," I said, "I know he was your first, but he won't be your last, you have a mate out there, or someone who will love you for you." I heard him sniffled, I said, "Don't cry, Zack, let me love you, let me see you," he said, "One day, Dad, give me time."

I agreed, but before he closed the link, I asked Zack, "Did Laddie coerce you into a relationship or force himself on you?" He sniffled and asked, "If you are asking if he raped me? No, not in so many ways, but I will admit in some way, since thinking about it, he groomed a naive me." Zack closed the link and I folded my hand in anger, I wanted to take the pain away from my son, but in time it would hurt less. It was late, and my phone rang, I answered, and it was Lamira, I smiled, and she asked, "Where are you, Eme?" I smiled to hear her beautiful voice and told her, "Watching the stars," she smiled and said, "I will be in town tomorrow, we can link up, I know it is hard on this day that Eva died." I closed my eyes because she was right, it still haunts me and I hope she has a better life than the one I give her if she is reincarnated.

******

A Few Weeks Later

Lissa

Bradley was my fated mate, and we had been dating each other behind Allison's back, I wasn't proud of it but I loved him, he was my everything. I packed a bag for me and Bradley in case we needed to get out of there in a hurry, Bradley just ruined everything by killing Allison prematurely. I need to fix this, we need to make it believable that he had nothing to do with killing Allison. I walked with a potion to erase his memories in case the Supremes drank his blood, they would not let this slide. I drove over to the store and saw Bradley's car in the parking lot, I went inside, and he was on the floor just like we planned it, his mark was gone, he was no longer mated to Allison, and deep down, I was happy that I had my mate all to myself now. I touched his face, feeling the sparks from our mate bond, and leaned over and kissed him, hoping he would wake up soon.

I went in the back to get the cash out of the safe as we would need it just in case we had to go into hiding, but then I heard Drax and his men, I froze and chanted the invisibility spell hiding from everyone. I listened and waited but Drax said something I couldn't understand, he was speaking his ancient language. They took Bradley off the floor before opening a portal and Drax looked in my direction. If I didn't know any better I would have thought he had seen me, he was looking directly at me before he smirked. I knew my mind was not playing tricks on me before he closed the portal, I needed to take care of business if I wanted to save my mate. I sped out of there heading to my sister's hideout, I was crying because they would kill my mate unless Sheila helped me.

It has been weeks since I felt when Bradley died, they killed him, and I was lucky I wasn't marked, or I would have miscarried. I found out I was pregnant a few days ago, and I am currently hiding out, so I can have his baby and raise our pup. It will be hard without him, but it's survival of the fittest. I was angry and wanted to be alone right now, I had cut myself off from the coven and my sister wasn't pleased. She has also gone off her rockers with her obsession with Ty, that obsession will get her killed, she is playing with fire and I don't want to be around when that happens. A lot more witches feel the same way about Sheila and pulled away from her craziness, she was unstable, and it is starting to show. Sheila is my adoptive sister, her mother adopted me when I was four, Mom found me eating out of the garbage can without any memories of why I was there.

I owe everything to my adoptive mother and my sister, but I needed to save myself first, that's why I ran to Elvira, it was a haven for those who needed it, as long as I wasn't a fugitive, so I needed to hide my identity. I haven't met King Emile and don't think I want to, I don't know how much influence the Supremes have on the King. The Elves usually don't mix with the other Kingdoms, unless it's business, they are a secretive species. I also wanted a way to avenge Bradley and I would succeed where he had failed, I would kill Allison for what she did to Bradley, she could have saved his life. I cry in pain every time I think about it, I loved him so much, I would have done anything for him, but now, I have no one. Everyone heard how he died and even laughed about it, some have videos up on Weretube, it's like YouTube. He was killed and that b***h stood there laughing flaunting her lover, and Bradley's head just rolled away, I shake in anger every time I see it.

I looked around at this apartment I found it was neat but what I needed to blend in, it was big enough for me and my future pup, I rubbed my belly, knowing Bradley's legacy would live on. I needed to find a job and I left home to find one, the people were so welcoming and nice, I ended up at the library, it was huge and they needed a clerk. I was hired and excited to start over, I made sure to lie low, this would be perfect for me to do my research and find a way to avenge Bradley. One week later, this new guy named Jared was hired, he was so sexy, he had his hair in a man's bun, he was blonde, and wore glasses. He was well-toned, you could see he worked out and towered over me, Elves were tall, but I felt so little next to him. I saw his tattoo on his shoulder and back one day when he was packing books, he looked at me and said, "Hey, do you want to get lunch together?" I smiled, blushed, and agreed, forgetting I was a pregnant witch.