“We are home now. Soon, you will see everything. It will be perfect.” Ben was very excited to be back. She could see the happiness on his face, but she didn’t feel it. She missed her home and though there was this new and exciting thing with Ben, she was lonely. She missed her parents, her friends, her freedom. Everywhere she went now, Ben was with her, or someone was watching her. She was always in danger, so any sort of freedom that she had was gone. While Teri didn’t regret coming together with Ben, it wasn’t her choice anyway. She was just making the best out of the situation she was thrown into.
Teri nodded, not saying anything. There was an immediate change in Ben when they got around more people. Even though it was the tail end of the village in the cold mountains, there were obviously lookouts. There was a huge gate that they had to walk through, opened by his own people. It stood thirty feet tall at least, and Teri wondered to herself what in the world it was keeping out. Or in.
The vibe through the village was not a comfortable one. She knew that there were going to be some people that were curious about her. She came from so far away, but that wasn’t the curious look that she received. It was instead of reverence. Teri’s clan had an Alpha and he had kids, but there was nothing to the way that Ben was treated. He was loved and respected like he was the Alpha already. Teri didn’t know what to think of that. The jealousy from a few women in the crowd was disheartening as well.
What she noticed the most was how they were all dressed. Some had shorts and tank tops on. Teri was close to freezing to death and others there were acting like it was a warm, sunny day. Teri was shivering more just looking at them. How strange she must appear to them. Teri tried to not grip her arms together as much. She tried to appear not as cold as she felt, but Teri didn’t know if that worked or not. Either way, all eyes were on her, and it was more than a little disconcerting.
Teri felt out of place. No one there looked like her. Everyone had blonde or light brown hair. Their eyes were distinct, and there was a glow to Ben’s people. He had told her of the extra power that was there, and she could almost feel it when she stepped onto their land. It was a different power that he retained. Ben’s skin glowed and his mood lifted. He was obviously affected by what was going on and where he was. Even Teri felt affected by what Ben called the Pearls.
He also didn’t take long to need to have to leave her side. Teri was shown to their room by another one of his soldiers and Teri felt strange. She felt like she was home, but it was more of a prison than anything else. Every step she took was watched and now she was made to sit in a room and wait for him? She didn’t ask the quiet shifter next to her, he didn’t look at her, had no personality or anything. Teri wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do with the moment. Ben was obviously busy, but what was she to do?
Teri looked around the room and it was masculine, but everything was of the best quality. Through their cold procession to the large house at the center of the village, Teri hadn’t seen any of Ben’s family. If she had, she didn’t know it, because Ben didn’t point any of them out.
She wished that Ben was with her. Teri looked around her surroundings and then she sat down on the bed. The whole room smelled like Ben. The furs that they’d traveled with were nothing in comparison to the softness that she encountered on the bed. It was so comfortable, and she was warm in seconds. It was like Ben was there warming her up, even though he was gone in a meeting. Teri didn’t know what they were meeting about, but she imagined it was because of the attack and the deaths as they came back.
Even though Teri didn’t want to go to sleep, she couldn’t help it. She felt safe and warm and after the anxiousness that she had about everything, shutting her brain off was preferable. She dreamt of Ben and some of the naughty things that they were going to do together.
Chapter 19
Ben
His father wanted to see him. He wanted to congratulate him in person for the heirs that would be there soon.
“I hear she is beautiful.”
“You could have gone out to greet us. Everyone else was there.”
James waved his son off. “I knew that you weren’t going to miss me. You barely want to be here right now. Fate really did a number on you, son, didn’t it?”
Ben asked him what he was talking about, and he was surprised that his dad seemed to know how smitten he was. He was head over heels in love with Teri and that had nothing to do with Fate. Sure, they had brought them together, but there was something there, a connection that was just Ben and Teri, and no one else got to say that it was because of them.
“I guess I should be thanking you for needing to be saved all those years ago, Father.” Ben said it with a smile, knowing that his father would hate to admit it.
“Yes, I was young. It’s shameful now that Ross helped me. I did make a promise though, and I have now fulfilled it. I am sorry if you feel like you have been slighted.”
Ben assured him that he didn’t feel that way at all. “She is more than I could ask for.” Ben meant it too. He had never imagined that he would love his wife as much as he did. Teri was a treat, and he couldn’t stand how it had all turned out. He didn’t deserve to be so happy.
“Now, son, you can tell the truth. She has black hair from what I hear. I wouldn’t have thought that she would have her father’s coloring. Is she at least pretty?”
Ben agreed that she was, but he didn’t like the way his father was talking about his mate. It wasn’t something that was going to happen, it had already happened. They were together, bonded. Why was his father talking about her in a sense that she wasn’t going to be around for long? Why did Ben feel like his father had something up his sleeve? He had been gone a little over a month, but there were some changes that Ben couldn’t put his finger on. He didn’t understand exactly what it was all about, but something was in the air, and he didn’t like it at all.
“Did you really call me here to ask about my wife? You could have seen for yourself a little while ago.”
James smiled at his son, but then frowned before he asked him what had changed. “You’ve haven’t been gone that long, but you hold yourself up like a man. She ignored you for weeks, so why are you coming back defending her against me of all people? I made you do this, son.”
Ben was confused with what his father wanted. He didn’t know what he was looking for him to say, but he obviously wasn’t saying it.
“How do you know how it went when we were in her village?” Ben wanted to know. His father had been spying on him? Through who?
James grinned. “Son, you act like I don’t know all. I know what is going on with you all the time. Is there something that you are trying to hide from me?”
Ben agreed that there wasn’t. He and his father didn’t have the best relationship, but it was even more tenuous than usual. He didn’t know what to say to him and since he was acting so weird, Ben had no idea how to respond. He wanted to get along with his father, but it was just too hard. When James was acting so strangely, Ben didn’t know what to do.
“I just wanted to catch up, Ben, make sure that you are okay.”
Ben assured him that he was fine. He wasn’t. He had a lot on his mind, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t something else going on. He didn’t want to deal with his dad at the moment. He wanted to go to Teri and make sure that she was getting herself acquainted with everything that was going on. He knew that there was a lot that she needed to ask and find out. He wanted to be there for her, never leaving her side, but James wanted to talk for a bit. By the time he was ready to get away from his dad, hours had gone by, and Ben was for some reason more nervous than usual. He had a sinking feeling that something bad had happened, though he couldn’t pinpoint what made him feel that way.
***
