Page 68 of Veiled

“My future kids. I already have them planned out in my head. They will be gorgeous.” I said wistfully. “Can you imagine just how hot I’ll look in a thong bikini, nine months pregnant?” I started laughing and the guys rolled their eyes.

“Like hell you’ll have my babies in a thong,” Grumbled Hunter.

“Not them, me, and they will be my babies, you are all just the donation sperm bank,” I stuck out my tongue.

“I’m calling in my promise the moment we get to where we have to go, for that smart ass mouth,” Hunter whispered through my mind. I tossed him a wink.

“I'm next! I have the perfect Lullabies for my babies! Pass me the phone.” Ryder snatched the phone and started playing “Cold Beer Drinker” by Luke Bryan and the guys all sang along and pretended to have cowboy hats and danced back and forth on beat to the song.They will definitely not be singing lullabies to the kids.

“Wooooo I’m about to start throwing dollars back there!” I joked.

Grayson snagged the phone next and put “Body Like a Back Road” by Sam Hunt and actually carried the tune very well. I cheered for him, “Aww baby, I’ll be your back road.” I laughed.

“Angel, you’re my everything,” his deep voice made me shiver and I blushed. Fuck, I’m becoming a blushing bitch... these guys I swear.

“Who’s next! I will sing baby shark unless someone goes next!” Hunter threw himself pretty much across the car to catch the phone. That song is the devil, I admit.

“Over my dead body,” he flicked through and found a song and smiled and tapped Zane. The notes of “Tell Me It’s Real” by KC and JoJo played softly but when Hunter and Zane started to sing, it was the Karaoke version. Holy shit, they can dance, fuck, sing, fight, fuck, not to mention fuck. I won the jackpot.

“Well shit, now I feel like I have to fuck this shit up and make you all cry,” I teased.

“Remi, your turn! What are you singing, and no isn’t an option!” She grabbed the phone and then started rapping along to “Lollipop” by Lil Wayne.

When she finished, I jabbed her, “really the one girl in here that doesn’t lick lollipops?” She rolled her eyes and the guys groaned.

“You motherfuckers wish I had hundreds of years of experience with lollipops, I would have had the Fae world under my spell,” she giggled.

“You Fae whore!” I teased.

“Oh, I don't know Remi, YouTube has some pretty good tricks. I know firsthand,” Hunter laughed.

“TMI, bro, TMI. I don’t need to know about the cum guzzling,” Remi quipped, I choked back a laugh and the guys shook their heads. I admit, this type of comradery is exactly what I expected when I thought about having my little family.

For the next few hours, we sang and joked in between rest stops, and the tension in the car eased considerably.

Zane

For fucks sake,I thought for the 56th time since we parked the cars in some west bumble fuck part of the woods. How long was this fucking trek? Hunter whistled as he skipped through the woods. He loved being in this shit. I didn't hate it, but I damn sure didn’t want to walk in the forest for hours. Bad enough it was getting dark now, with the caws of birds slowly turning into the soothing sounds of insects and owls. Kalen, Luca, Jensi and Grayson were in the front, discussing security measures. I smiled softly; Grayson was the thinker. The theoretical and practice of his job was a bonus. However, he always thought things through before acting on them, only acting out if pressed, and recently his only trigger was protecting Hudson.

Ryder and King were in front of me, giggling with Hudson, making jokes and movie references. Watching her walk and enjoy her time, okay, despite the shit that has gone down in such a short period of time, was incredible. She left home, finally ready to settle down and go to school, and ended up mated, attacked and was now moving to a safe location. I sighed, I would do anything to keep her safe, so if this was just another way for me to do that, I didn’t care.

I observed Remi standing in the back observing her surroundings, not letting anything miss her gaze. She may have made some pretty shitty decisions, but I knew firsthand how Hudson can make you see stars even in the sunshine. I felt shame and sadness coming from her- it must be the bond between us. I felt the urge to just help her in any way I could. Hanging back, I walked at her pace. Her eyes flicked my way and she sighed.

“Remi,” I said softly, “Part of me understands.

She looked at me a little confused, and I chuckled. “The bond. I can feel your guilt, apparently. But yeah, I get parts of it. I wouldn’t want anyone telling me to love someone or be with someone I didn't want to be with out of duty. I can’t imagine the pressure you were under, but I’ll go ahead and say that it was a shitty way of going about it all.”

“You don’t think I know that…” she whispered angrily, “now.” Quickly deflating. “I justified it for years, you know. I kept saying that the prince’s daughter would be the best idea, that she needed to take her place and I would just let the throne go. It sounded like a good idea. Alvor was always against it, urging me to take the throne. We got into a few fights about it actually. I just kept telling him no until he just let it go. I just...I just, couldn’t do it. It wasn’t the power that scared me- it was the idea of having to do something that was emotionally, mentally, and physically abhorrent to me…” She sighed, and looked at Hudson laughing, wistfully. I looked at her too; it hurt me for two years, knowing I fucked up. I can’t compare years of planning a kidnapping to my choices, but who am I kidding, they were pretty much on the same level of awful.

“She’s my mate Zane, our mate, but beyond that she is my friend. We are so much alike,” she smiles, “In all my years, and I wish I could say it wasn’t true, I have not had a true friend. I don’t trust anyone, and I met Hudson and it was immediate. I know it was part of my duty, but it didn't feel that way. It just felt right. I know she is not really upset about it anymore, but I feel like I have to make it up to her somehow, you know?” I thought about it for a few minutes.

“You could let her nut punch you. Or rather clit punch you,” I teased, and she laughed. “No, but I’m serious, she hurts hard - it's how she’s been wired since she was younger. But she loves harder. She started to fall for you, and usually she is comfortable in her anger because it helps anchor her. But she isn’t angry and that’s saying something. I think you are pretty much out of the woods. We just have to be here together and help her move past what comes next.”

“Yeah, you are right...” she nodded. I bumped her shoulder lightly.

“If you still feel the need to do something extra, we will talk to the guys and we can come up with a plan.”

Thinking quietly for a few I realized something, “you know, you mentioned Alvor - I would have thought he would have come along, being part of the entire plan and all.” She looked at for me for a moment and sighed.

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