Chapter 3

Three

When we returned to the house, the other three crowded into my bed, taking any place they could, at my feet or head, just anywhere that they could touch me.

I slept surrounded by their touch and woke feeling refreshed.

That feeling was short-lived when I went to the bathroom and saw the curse mark had spread and was now a strange star symbol. Rushing out to the bedroom, my fears were confirmed when I saw the mark on all of the guys' faces as well.

"Fuck," I gasped. Grabbing my phone, I took a picture and sent it to Kara.

She texted back, "Looking into it."

"What's wrong?" Riddick asked as he rolled over and blinked sleep-filled eyes open.

"All of you have the curse mark now," I told him with a rough swallow.

"I already messaged Nana Kara," Caleb said, his voice muffled by the pillow his face was pressed into.

"Come back to bed," Triston said and reached a hand out for me.

"No, we need to get up," Caleb said, groaned, and rolled onto his back. "We have things to do today."

"What are we supposed to? Should we really go anywhere with a contagious curse mark?" It didn't seem like a good idea for us to go out around other people if we might give them the curse as well.

"We aren't going out around other people," Caleb said. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "Everyone, get ready and meet in the foyer. Don't touch my parents."

"How should we dress?" I asked.

"Jeans and a t-shirt," he answered, swung his leg out of bed, and shuffled to the door.

Triston and Branson followed him.

Riddick stood, wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me back onto the bed.

I yelped and then laughed as he cuddled me close.

"Five more minutes," he whispered and kissed my forehead.

"I think we can get away with five more minutes," I agreed, and wrapped my arms around him.

"Promise you're not mad at me anymore?" he asked softly.

"I won't lie and say I'm not still hurt," I whispered. "But the anger has gone."

He nodded. "We were pricks. I'm sorry. I swear that we'll make it up to you."

"Shh, you're interrupting my five minutes," I teased.

Squeezing me, he quieted and held me.

"What the shit?" Caleb demanded. "You two went back to sleep? Get up, you bums!" He hit us with pillows.

"Hey! Stop!" I shouted and put my hands up, trying to defend myself.

Riddick shifted into his cheetah form and pounced on Caleb, knocking him to the floor.

"Ember, help!" Caleb said and hit Riddick with the pillow. "I'm being mauled."

I folded my arms across my chest. "You started it by attacking me. Riddick is just being a good boyfriend and defending me."

Caleb knocked Riddick off and dove onto the bed, pinning me down. "Caught you!"

"I didn't try to run," I said, rolling my eyes.

"What the heck?" Triston asked from the doorway. "I thought we were leaving?"

"Right. Right," Caleb said and stood up, he pulled me to my feet and swatted my ass. "Get dressed."

I looked over my shoulder as I sauntered to the closet, sashaying my hips, and said, "Yes, alpha," in a deep voice.

He growled and took a step to come after me, heat in his eyes, but Triston and Riddick grabbed his arms and dragged him out. "Tease!" he shouted.

My phone dinged with a message, so I picked it up and my eyes widened when I saw the date on the lock screen. Our one year anniversary was in just a few days! Crap! Being asleep for several days had eaten up the time I should have had to finalize my plans.

The message was from Leona, asking if I was okay.

Sending her a quick message, I let her know that I was awake and feeling good.

Hurrying, I got changed, brushed my hair and teeth, and put on a little bit of eye makeup.

Satisfied, I ran down the stairs to the foyer. "I'm ready," I panted.

"Good, time to go," Caleb said and headed outside and to the garage. He tossed me my keys. "You're driving."

"Wait, we're going without a guard?" We never went anywhere without a guard.

"Yes," Caleb said with a nod.

Was that wise, considering they'd almost killed us just a few days ago?

"It'll be alright," Caleb reassured me.

Nodding, I climbed into the driver's seat and started the vehicle. It took me a minute to adjust the seat and mirrors to my liking before heading out.

"Where are we going?" I asked, glancing at him in the passenger's seat.

"I'll give you directions," he promised. "Head towards Leona's."

I hated not having advance notice or being unable to review the directions before going anywhere. Scowling, I accepted that he wanted to surprise me, and I was just going to have to go along with it.

Since I hated traffic, I took the longer route to drive around the city instead of through it, and no one complained.

Nearing Leona's, Caleb started to give me instructions on which routes to take. An hour later, we were deep within a forest, and pulled up to a huge iron gate with a symbol I had never seen before.

There was a keypad next to me and Caleb had me punch in four numbers. The gate swung open and we drove down a bumpy, dirt path, the tall trees towering over us.

The trees opened to a large clearing where three buildings stood. Two of which were still heavily under construction, but the main building was finished and I knew exactly what it was when I saw it.

"Our house," I breathed and put the SUV in park. Climbing out, I stared at the house, the wrap around porch and balcony exactly as I had requested it.

The front door had that same symbol as the gate.

"Welcome to our new pack home!" Caleb said, his arms in the air as he walked backwards, a huge smile on his face.

"Whoa," Triston breathed, "it's huge."

Caleb pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and jingled them. "Ember, would you like to do the honors?"

I shook my head. "You're king, you should do it."

He walked up to me, forcing me to tilt my head back to see his face, and whispered, "What is a king without his queen?"

My heart thundered in my chest. "I, uh?—"

Grabbing my hand, he gently set the keys in them, then spun around me, and pushed my lower back, ushering me to the front door.

I walked up the steps and ran my fingertips along the wood that still smelled freshly cut. To my right was the porch swing I had requested, and I felt tears in my eyes at the sight of it. There were two pillows on it, each with a rabbit outline.

Putting the key into the lock, I twisted it, and pushed open the door.

To the right was the sunken living room, two steps down, with a couch around the room and a huge rectangular cushion in the middle.

On the left was a dining table large enough to seat fifteen people. Straight ahead was the kitchen, large, full of brand-new appliances, and sparkling.

"It's perfect," I breathed.

"The only perfect thing about this place is you being here," Caleb whispered in my ear and pressed a soft kiss to my ear.

Romantic Caleb was definitely one of my favorites.

"Let's go look at the rooms," I suggested and started to head that way, but they all rushed in front of me to block me.

"You can't see the rooms yet," Riddick said.

"They're not ready," Branson added.

Okay, so they were clearly doing something to surprise me.

"Okay," I said and held up my hands, taking two steps back.

They relaxed and I used that distraction to try to run around them, but Triston snagged me around the waist, making me squeal.

"Not so fast, missy. I knew you'd backed down too quickly." He nipped at my ear and I chuckled.

"Foiled," I sighed. "What's the symbol on the gate and door?" I asked once he'd set me back on my feet.

"Our symbol," Caleb answered.

"Huh?"

"Every clan has a symbol," he explained. "Now that I'm taking on the mantle of King of the Hybrids, we needed a clan symbol."

Turning back towards the door, I walked up to inspect it. It was a combination of wolf for the werewolves, dragon wing for the dragon shifters, fire for the mages, tree for the elves, and musical notes for the sirens.

"It's beautiful," I whispered and stroked my fingers across the burned wood.

"Riddick designed it," Caleb said.

"You did a great job," I praised and turned to give him a smile, smiling wider when I saw the red on the tips of his ears.

"Speaking of you taking on the mantle, is there going to be a ceremony?" Branson asked. "Don't you always hold a ceremony for a new crowning?"

"Each clan holds their own, but since we don't have our clan fully formed yet, we won't hold one," Caleb said and I could not only see the sadness in his eyes, but hear it in his voice.

"No," I said immediately. "No, we're going to have a ceremony. It doesn't matter how small our clan is, we are going to crown you."

"It's not necessary," Caleb said.

"On the contrary, it's more than necessary, it's required," Triston said. "Ember is right, as our king, you are going to get the whole thing."

"Our clan no longer consists of just the five of us," Branson reminded him. "We have other members now."

"And it will send a message to all hybrids out there, to let them know we are here and welcome them to join us," Branson said. "We can have pictures from it sent to the news outlets and post on our socials as well."

"Well, it's going to have to wait until we figure out this curse mark," Caleb reminded us.

I flinched. "Sorry."

All turned to me.

"Why are you apologizing?" Branson asked.

"Because I'm the one who got it and spread it to you all."

"You didn't ask to be cursed, Ember. You can't think it's your fault." Riddick shook his head. "The fault is on the one who cursed you to begin with."

"Are we here to isolate ourselves?" I asked. "That will be hard to do without me going to the bedroom."

"We are going to sleep in the living room," Riddick answered.

"Wait, we really are staying the night here?" I asked, looking around at them.

Caleb nodded. "We brought food since the pantry and fridge aren't stocked yet."

"Oh." How was I going to finalize my anniversary plans now? I was still debating how I wanted to handle the delivery of the mating stones.

"You sound disappointed," Branson commented.

"No, I just had a few things to do at the house." I still had a couple of days. "It will be nice to spend our first night together here."

"Let's carry in the supplies," Caleb said and headed out the front door.

Branson and Triston followed, but Riddick stayed with me.

"Ember, I know you and I haven't had much time alone and I know things have been … insane, but I wanted to tell you how sorry I am about how we treated you after the battle. It's been weighing on my mind ever since and I know a simple apology won't fix things, but I really am sorry."

He did look like a man tormented. Reaching out, I gripped his hand and asked, "Do you love me, Riddick?"

His hand squeezed mine and he reached out to grab my other hand. "I do."

"Promise me something?"

"Anything."

"If this curse kills me, don't let Caleb shy away from becoming king still. I feel in my soul that this is what he's supposed to do."

"You're not going to die, Ember," he said sternly and pulled me into chest, hugging me tightly. "We're going to find a way to break the curse and enjoy our anniversary."

"So, you guys do remember our anniversary?" I teased.

He pushed me back and asked, "How could I forget the day the most beautiful woman in the world tossed the mage king across her lawn?"

Laughing, I shook my head. "That feels like it was a lifetime ago."

Fingertips brushing my cheek, he smiled and said, "It's been the best lifetime I've ever experienced."

Going up on my toes, I pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you."

"Riddick makes breakfast since he didn't help carry supplies in," Caleb ordered.

Riddick winked at me and said, "Worth it."