Althena

45. Gifts

An hour later, we're lying by my pool. It's a huge pool with a built-in hot tub. The house is big, but nothing like the palace district. On my running tour, I found 8 bedrooms. But the kitchen is nice and it even has a theater room.

Conner sits on the edge of the pool. "You should get a boat. You have a dock."

Mike nods. "That would be fun on the river."

Clayton lays on a sun chair. "What is up with you getting gifts? You take them, say thank you, and move on."

"I never got physical gifts. My mom didn't do that. She would always make me a cake for my birthday. We would go somewhere together on special occasions. Millie made my favorite dinner for my 16th birthday. And she made me a cake. It was chocolate. Those are the gifts that I received. I love them, and I'll remember them forever."

Jax glances at me. "How old were you when your mom died?"

"13."

"And at 15 your aunt kicked you out?"

"Pretty much. They gave me a shop to live in. I wasn't homeless or anything."

"At 16 you were in woodland. Did you do anything for your 17th birthday?"

"Yea. Well, I was in the hospital on my birthday. A few days later, Darmon took me out on a boat. We had dinner and cake. He gave me a necklace."

Chris nods. "Nobody could see them together there. His fiance wouldn't be told, it is our guess."

"Oh well." I stretch out.

Mike kisses my fingers. "Your mom didn't give you gifts?"

"I think, she believed I would get used to getting birthday gifts early in my life and then expect them. She didn't always have money to get me something. She didn't want me to expect something and be let down. We would do something around my birthday. And she always made sure to make me a cake. That's what I remember. She knew I loved chocolate cake. She never forgot."

Chris smiles. "That's a nice memory."

Jax nods. "So, what did you get today?"

"A flower. Jewelery. A dress. Shoes. Tickets. This place."

"I saw the Winter Moon display of money."

Clayton laughs. "Yea, most people won't even give gifts around them. They'll wait until another time. Nobody will compete. Even if they can, they don't want to waste that kind of money on a gift. But I'm not surprised the Dancing River gave her this house. They have a lot of money and knew Drogon would go for jewelry. Drogon's dad is pushing him to try and claim her already. Drogon picked the jewelry out. His dad gave him unlimited money to do it."

"Why?"

"If Drogon marries her, he'll be in line for the throne. That's the goal. The throne."

I sit up. "No way. He winks too much."

"What?" Mike side eyes me.

Clayton laughs. "I think Drogon does like you. He's always got his eye on you. However, dad has already thrown his dad out of the house twice because he is trying to sign his son into a marriage contract with you. And his dad's name is Storm Winter."

"Does Drogon know?"

"No idea. All I know is that from this point forward, Drogon's dad will be pushing him to spend time and money on Thena, all in hopes of claiming the throne. Drogon wants the throne too, but I don't know if he understands how far his dad is going to secure it."

I sit up. "Does he know about Mike?"

"Nobody cares. Until his mark is on you, you are single. They see him as your teenage boyfriend. And you can't feel the mate pull with him, so no matter how many times you say he's your mate, nobody will hear it. That's just the way it is."

Mike nods. "I know that. But you are mine, babygirl. We know, and that's what I care about."

"Me too."

He kisses my head. "Don't worry about what other people think about us. We'll show them in the end."

Chris scratches his head. "How do the 3 other mates play into this? You're going to have to date, I think."

I wrap my arms around Mike's neck. "No."

Mike laughs. "I have no idea."

"How is she ever going to get to know anyone if she doesn't let go of you?"

"We'll talk to her grandma about it. Maybe she can... I have no idea."

Clayton nods. "When's that concert?"

"Tomorrow."

"I'm going."

Conner smiles. "How many tickets did you get?"

"They said, VIP box or royal box or something."

Clayton nods. "It's 25. I checked it. We can all go."

"UGH." Mike rubs his face.

I giggle. "You don't have to go, love. I know you don't like them."

Chris jumps up. "We can take Drogon."

I shake my head. "Why?"

"Because Mike won't be there. You'll need someone to open the doors."

"Pretty sure I know how to open a door. And I work chairs better than Clayton."

"My pants leg got stuck."

Chris waves him off. "You're going to get everything you want from Winter Moon. Date the man and get more stuff."

Clayton cracks up laughing. "That's not a bad idea."

"No. I'm not dating someone to get stuff. That's not right."

Chris nods and sits back down. "You still have 3 mates missing. You could get to know him. We'll all be there. It's not like you'll be alone."

"I'm not going to ask him to go to the concert. I don't know him. I know nothing about him. He probably hates the band."

"I got it." Clayton puts his hand up. "I'll get dad to tell Storm if his son wants to go, he can. Winter Moon will take it as a win because it's showing dad will let Drogon around you. He's not going to block you 2 spending time together. He's only blocking the marriage contract."

"Whatever." I lay back in my chair. "As long as it's not a date. I guess I wouldn't mind getting to know someone."

"It starts at 7. We have to eat and be there by 6:30. We'll find some clothes at noon."

Jax nods. "So, who is going?"

Clayton counts on his fingers. "Me, Thena, Conner, Chris, Drogon, you, I'll take a date." He cracks up laughing. "We only need 18 more people."

"My brother will go. He likes that band."

I shrug my shoulders. "The only person I know here is Clover. I have no idea if she knows who they are."

"She'll go for the experience."

"That's enough. We'll have room to relax and if anyone brings a date, we'll have room for them."

Jax nods. "Security will take a few of the seats as well. That'll work."

"I'll go have dad call Winter Moon and give them the message. You might want to tell Clover. Let's meet at the palace at noon. We'll have lunch then go shopping."

"Good plan."

I text Clover and she is so excited. She asks me 84 questions over text. Eventually, Chris takes my phone and calls her.

Jax calls his brother and I can hear him start yelling over the phone. He looks at Mike. "I'm going to be the only adult there."

"I can tell. Good luck."

I snuggle up with him. "What are you gonna do, love?"

"I have an idea. I'm going to see if I can find anyone with multiple mates. Maybe it would help you to talk to them."

"I wouldn't know where to start. It seems so rare. I've never even heard of it."

He kisses my head. "I'll see what I can figure out, baby. Don't worry about it for now. You enjoy your concert."

I hug him. "It's not a date."

"I know. I love you."

"I love you too."