Chapter 47

The following days, we wait for the Council to arrive. Richard has been keeping a close eye on the baby. We noticed that as long as Benji is being taken care of, nothing strange happens.

"Weird," Richard comments as he stares at sleeping Benjamin. Xavier is in the kitchen searching for some snacks while I'm in my bed reading more dark faeries myths.

"What is weird?" I reply absentmindedly.

Someone walks inside my room without knocking as their scent quickly fills my lungs. I glance at the intruder seeing that it's Richard's wife. She sighs, looking at her husband. "You're paying more attention to that baby than your children," she says.

He straightens his back, facing her. "What brings you here?" he coldly asks.

My ears perk up to the tension. I stare at the open book, not even daring to make a sound by turning the page.

Gabriella snorts. "Damn, you're an asshole. Look, I thought about it, and I think it's best if we take some time apart. The boys are coming with me."

My head snaps to the couple. I can't see Richard's face since his back is on me, but Gabriella is definitely holding back tears by how fast she's blinking.

"Wait, what?" he asks, dumbfounded.

"I'm moving back to the city. You feel suffocated, and I miss the love and attention we used to give each other. I don't see a better option than me leaving," she explains.

"You said you would never leave me," he says in a quiet voice.

Gabby rolls her eyes. "And you promised that you would always love me, yet here we are. Not even our felines are on the same page anymore."

"Are you cheating on me?" he growls out.

My jaw hangs. I thought he was one of the smart guys.

Fire is burning behind the intense stare Gabby is giving, while a suffocating vibe makes my feline lower herself in submission. Damn tigers. "You're a fucking idiot." And with that, she walks out.

Richard is too stunned to move as Xavier slowly walks inside from behind the wall with a bowl of popcorn in hand. I mouth him a 'really' as he tries to quietly eat them.

He shrugs his shoulders in reply.

"She's cheating, isn't she?" Richard asks no one in particular. "That will explain her leaving me."

I frown. "Gabby is leaving because you're a dickhead."

"I've never mistreated her."

"You don't have to. Just the tone you're using with her is enough to be a dick," I say.

It's been a year, and this couple has been having more downs than ups. Although they try to keep their business private, everyone by now noticed that something changed between them.

They're more distant, they talk less, and the icing on the cake is Gabriella sleeping in another room.

Xavier dips the bed, sitting on the edge of it. "Do you even love her?" he asks.

"Of course, I do," Richard instantly replies.

I roll my eyes at that. "You don't. Your feline loves her. It's different. I heard the way you talked to her when she came here, and there was no trace of love."

Richard doesn't say a word, walking out of the room, leaving Xavier and me alone. I sigh, pushing my back against the headboard. The sound of raindrops hitting the window relaxes me. "Kiss me," I say, pouting.

Xavier smirks. "So randomly?" he asks, already leaning forward.

I nod, putting the book down on my lap before getting kissed. His plump lips open up to let his tongue invade my mouth. I think he put the bowl on the bedside table since he twists his body toward me with his hands sneaking inside my shirt.

"Right in front of the baby?" a new voice asks.

We push each other off at the speed of light. Three members of the Council are standing behind Benjamin's crib. The warlock, the faery, and sexy Alpha Denver. The amethyst eyes of the sorcerer are twinkling in joy. "Sorry, it took us so long to come. We had some business to finish," he says, pulling the long sleeves of his button-up black shirt to his elbows.

"How are you here? And who is the girl?" Xavier asks, side-eyeing the tanned, violet wavy-haired girl with pointy ears.

She smiles, approaching the crib, putting her hands on the rail. "Just a faery that can relate to your son. I'm here to figure out what type of faery he might turn into."

I raise an eyebrow at Alpha Denver, receiving a shrug of shoulders from him. "I just wanted to see the kid's powers with my own eyes."

Slowly nodding my head, I get up from the bed, crossing my arms over my chest. "Alright, so, what's happening now?"

"Not much. I'll try to get inside the baby's mind, searching for the faery blood in him," the girl says as her sapphire eyes turn to an almost white color.

I quietly approach Benjamin, seeing his eyes back to black, intensely staring at the faery. Silence reigns the room as we all wait for the verdict when blood starts dripping down her nose. The warlock gasps. "Ti–"

She puts a hand up, immediately stopping him as more blood drips down her nose, and as if it were getting lead by someone, it slides down to her neck, circling it. Fear paralyzes me, but it's not mine.

It's coming from Xavier, and it's strong enough to make my heartbeat quicken its pace for it. I glance back at him, finding the lion tapping his foot on the floor as he watches the faery risking her life for us.

When I look back at her, the blood that looked ready to choke her slides further down, drying against her skin. She blinks a couple of times, releasing a sigh of relief. Her eyes turn back to blue. "Well, he's interesting, that's for sure," she says.

"What did you find?" I nervously ask.

"He's a hybrid, a mix of werecat and faery. It will either make him stronger or weaker. It's too early to say anything about his werecat side, but the faery one is already clear. He's a dark faery that can control blood, but he can't connect to nature, nor fly, or go invisible in the human's eyes. He can only control blood, which I'm guessing it's the consequence of the experiment that the bastard did to you," she explains.

"But he can start a rainstorm," I say, frowning at my son. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The faery chuckles. "That's temporary. Baby fairies communicate with their parents through rain, snow, sun, and anything like that, but it lasts until the baby can communicate on their own."

My head tilts to the side. "So what does rain mean?"

"He might have felt sad, or there was an unpleasant atmosphere around him that made him sad. You have to be careful around him," she warns before turning to the warlock. "Did you write everything down?" she asks.

And indeed, he has a phone between his hands, typing everything away. "Of course," he states, putting the phone back into his black pants. "We'll be kept updated by Richard about the baby's wellbeing. Be warned that if we consider him a danger for the Creatures, we will have to lock him up for their safety."

"We understand," Xavier says before I could even open my mouth. I want to ask if there might be another way. But I also don't want to start another fight with the lion. Especially in front of Benjamin, so I nod, agreeing with him.

The Council doesn't stay with us for long, bidding us goodbye and vanishing from our sight in a blink of an eye. "Imagine being able to control space," Xavier comments once they're gone.

I sigh, picking Benjamin up. "I wouldn't want that. You get weaker every time you use it, and he used it twice today. He'll probably feel like shit tomorrow," I say as I sway side to side.

"That's a con I would be happy to live with. Now, turn around, will you?" he asks.

I do as he says and almost drop the baby from the sight. Blood rushes over my cheeks in seconds, making Xavier grin. He's kneeling in front of me with a stunningly thin, gold diamond ring in an open black velvet box. "What–what are you doing?" I stutter, feeling flustered.

"Alexa Reeds, if you hadn't agreed with me earlier, I wouldn't be in this position right now. I know you aren't on board with the Council's methods to handle danger, but the fact that you nodded your head for me instead of fighting back means a lot," he says, making me frown.

How did he know?

"I could feel it through the bond," he continues, "I've had the ring ever since we came back from that awful mission. I know how fond you are of human ways of demonstrating their love. I would have been happy with mating only, but I want to make you the happiest, which is why I was wondering if you were willing to marry someone like me?"

I can't seem to form a sentence, so I nod as I sniff the emotional tears away. Foxy loudly purrs in my mind. What kind of question is even that? Of course, I will marry you!

Xavier's eyes are sparkling, but nonetheless, he tilts his head to the side, putting a frown on his flushed face. "I'm sorry, I don't think I understood. Was that a yes or no? I want to hear it, or it won't feel real," he says.

I only nod before slowly putting Benjamin back into the crib. Without another word, I walk up to Xavier and drop to my knees, pulling him into a hug. "I will marry you," I breathe out, and it comes out in hiccups since I can't stop the damn tears. They're happy tears, at least.

Xavier wraps his arms around my back. I can feel the velvet box pressed against my side as I bury my head on the crook of his neck, hiding the grin from the world.

I'm getting married!

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