45. The seeders arrival.

"You must be fucking kidding me!" Eve spat through her teeth, looking at the nearly written letter they received minutes ago. The envelope was shattered in pieces, dropped straight next to the Queen's feet. Since the moment when she took the tiny piece of paper in her hands, Eve couldn't move a muscle. She stood frozen on the spot, her eyes following each inked word, angering her beyond limits.

"What is it, love? I know how stupid it is of me, especially when you're so angry, but I have to ask you to tone down a bit. They just brought Bea back home; our little one had a long journey here; she needs to rest." Eros stood behind Eve, placing his large hands on her tensed shoulders.

They had received a mysterious letter just a while ago, addressed to Queen Evangeline Frost, so the King didn't dare to read anything that wasn't meant to be seen by his eyes. With a quiet sigh, he moved a little closer, tracing his hands down to her waist. The King embraced Eve's tiny form in a tight hug, waiting for the moment when she would speak up. If Eros knew his mate, she surely needed time to process things, peculiarly if there were any demands from his side. Not that he tried to demand anything, but the plead for silence might be mistaken as a demand if Eve was angry.

"Let's go down to the study; I don't want to lose it and start screaming like a maniac. Bea needs some rest, remember?" Eve sighed, sneaking out of the King's hold and storming to the study downstairs. The way how her jaw tensed and the way how she squeezed the letter in her hand didn't give Eros a glimpse of hope for anything good to come his way. It was bad enough to deal with her temper these days, newly transformed Lycanatropes was a pain in the ass, but having them angry was another level of trouble. Eros massaged his temples and let out a frustrated groan before following hot in his mate's steps.

When the King reached the said study, he noticed how the door was left wide open. Stepping a little closer, he overheard the Queen cursing under her breath, throwing random objects at the walls. For a moment, Eros tried to think of how much he valued his life- coming eye to eye with such an angry shifter might end rather lethally. Her strength didn't stand behind the title even though many thought her being a Queen made Eve stronger. Quite the opposite- she was dangerous only because she had just shifted, her human and beast sides still tried to fight for dominance and overpower each other. Right now, she was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode with any wrong move someone would make.

"You know, throwing things and destroying my study won't solve anything. I was hoping you could sit down, breathe, and tell me what is happening." Eros leaned against the door frame, choosing to hold a safe distance between himself and his enraged mate.

Eve dropped her arms in defeat, her facial expression making Eros more worried than he was before. Was she about to cry? The King felt how his body started trembling in anger, eager to find out who had been fearless enough to make his Queen cry.
"Who?" He growled through gritted teeth, his frame widening in anger as he stomped towards Eve.

"Here, take a look at this. Even better- read it out loud, please tell me that I read what I read, and I'm not going crazy. I swear, Eros, it feels surreal, am I fucking hallucinating?" Eve extended her arm, handing Eros the wrinkled piece of paper. Was she holding onto it even during her anger outburst? Lord, who could understand women.

"Alright, let me take a look. Sit down, love; you look like a ghost." Eros patiently waited for Eve to climb onto the giant sofa. It was quite a funny view to see since this particular study was massive, and most furniture was meant for tremendous guests. This is where Eros came to an agreement with the mountain giants, keeping them away from a small shifter pack they nearly destroyed.
The King grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Eve, hoping that her body didn't shake out of anger, better yet because the study was kept quite cold. Eve gladly accepted her mate's gesture and smiled at him, nodding her head. "Thank you." She whispered, genuinely grateful for the care Eros kept showing her even at her lowest behavior.

"Ready, my love?" Eros cleared his throat, stepping back a little, waiting for any reaction from the Queen. As soon as she nodded her head, his eyes traveled down to the piece of paper.
"Alright then, let's start." He announced, opening the letter and starting to read it aloud.
*"Dear Queen Evangeline Frost.*
*With my utmost respect, I hereby announce my arrival at the Castle. You might have noticed the presence of dark powers, yet if not- I am watching. Prepare yourself, for I am on the mission relatively peaceful. I do not mean any harm for you, the King, your children, or shifters you rule over. My arrival might surprise many, but I assure you- the information I hold is priceless. Please, prepare yourself for a civil discussion; my master warned me about hot tempers Royals might have. I come with peace, and I shall leave with it.
-Yours sincerely:
The Seeder."*

Even though the words had already left the King's lips, he kept staring at the letter intensively. The Queen watched how his eyes outlined each letter written by the creature, which obviously already sneaked in their home. How on Earth could they miss the presence of darkness around them?

"Eros? What are seeders? And what could one possibly have to tell us?" Eve bit onto her lip, trying to remain as calm as she could. The Queen couldn't believe those words, but when they sounded the same from the mouth of her mate, Eve decided to wait for the arrival of said creature.

"Seeders, my darling, are puppets of the dark forces. One must be extremely powerful to possess one and use them as marionettes. Usually, they carry a message and die soon after the message has been delivered, but I believe this wouldn't be the case. You see, the seeders arrive unannounced, killing everyone in their way to reach the goal. They have human bodies, so of course, they are not immortal, but the energy of their owners create them close to undestroyable. Then again, seeders would never announce their arrival beforehand, so I'd be bold enough to assume that someone beyond centuries of old owns this one." Eros hummed, staring down at the letter. He could have so many assumptions about whom the particular seeder is coming from, but right now, the suspicion fell only on one person. Fenrir.

"So they really wouldn't hurt anyone around here? Eros, I'm worried- Ally is God knows where, hopefully safe, and Bea is asleep in her room. I can't let anything happen to my babies; it would kill me. We have to keep them safe, no matter what it takes, no matter how many men we lose as we do! I love the shifters of the Kingdom as my family, but the safety of my children will always come first!" Eve gasped, grabbing the sides of the blanket and ripping it apart.

*"She sure does look hot when she's angry."* Ares decided to pop in, drooling over his angered mate. The wolf kept quiet most of the time, waiting for the moment when his mate would accept the human and the other side around. He wasn't much of a talker by nature, but whenever he decided to appear- most of the time, he managed to piss off Eros.

*"Get your fucking mind out of the gutter, it's been stuck there for way too long time. Forget about that, and try to focus on the scent. Doesn't it remind you of certain someone?"* Eros replied sternly, pushing his wold to think with his head rather than dick. Any shifter out there had massive sexual drive, and it did affect Eros and Ares as much, but at least one of them knew where the limits should be drawn.

*"Smells like the Underworld, but I can't track the owner. I guess we will have to wait until its arrival and see how it goes. We have to sit down and wait, as soon as the seeder will feel that the two of you are calm- it will appear out of nowhere. Calm down and wait. If the letter was a lie- let me take over, I'll deal with the situation quickly, and so will our mate."* Ares spoke with proudness lacing his words. There was no way how the beast would be able to explain how proud he was of Eve. She shifted before the given time to protect their child, and the Queen would do that again without a second thought.

"Eros? Earth to Eros?" As the King opened his eyes, he noticed how his mate was jumping in front of him and calling his name. Perhaps next time, he should warn Eve about having a discussion with his inner beast.

"I'm here, sorry, love. I had to discuss something with Ares. Right now, all we can do is sit back and wait. The seeder will come out when it will feel safe, so we must assure the creature that we mean no harm. If we aren't able to hold ourselves back, it will leave, and we will miss a pretty important thread of information." Eros sighed, walking to the massive study chair and plopping down on it. The male rubbed his eyes in frustration, catching himself, thinking as to why nothing could run smoothly. Their life reminded a bad Mexican melodrama; the more days passed, the more things went wrong. Couldn't they have a day to breathe in and relax without anything going wrong?

"How about I make ourselves a cup of tea and one for our sudden guest? No matter who is about to visit us, we can't forget about manners." Eve smiled, slowly walking towards the study door. She winked at Eros and left without waiting for his answer.

The King shook his head, a slight, amused smirk appearing on his lips. Sometimes he spent hours wondering why the Moon Goddess gave him someone like Eve. Of course, their journey wasn't one of the easiest ones, but every second together was worth it. Most shifters around the Kingdom joked how their King and Queen were a match made in heaven, an actual power couple. Eros lost himself in a trail of thoughts, but the sound of a cup, placed on the table brought him back to reality. He smiled at Eve, thanking her for being so kind, and grabbed the cup.

"We have company," Eve whispered, turning around and facing the furthest corner of the study. A genuine smile grew on her lips as soon as she noticed how the particular seeder looked like. It wasn't an adult; it was a little, cute girl, dressed in a puffy pink dress. Her smile was genuine as she bowed and addressed the Royals with a polite greeting.

"Oh my Gosh, how are you so cute? Can I touch you? Can I hug you, please?" Eve squeaked, gaping at the seeder as if it was one of the seven wonders of the world.

"Sure? I mean, I don't mind? Sorry, this is my first mission; I'm extremely anxious to face such a powerful couple as you two. Oh Gosh, I should stop mumbling, right? Get yourself together, Bella, you're on a mission! Do it for the master; he is a kind one; you're lucky to be chosen!" The little girl blushed, attacking herself with whispers at the end of the sentence.

"I haven't had a chance to face a child being a seeder. This is something new, indeed. Bella, right? Would you mind explaining why a child has been chosen as one's seeder? If I remember correctly, that's illegal. Unless..." Eros hummed, eyeing the tiny creature as he expected the explanation. He had a hard time no to smile, seeing Eve's overexcited behavior. If that woman was a Queen, Eros was a clown. She ran to the seeder and nearly jumped around the little girl, mumbling all sorts of compliments as she did.

"That is true, King Azra. My mother was chosen as a seeder by a vicious man; he didn't care about her early stage of pregnancy. She begged him to let go of her until she would give birth, but to no avail. When I was born, he tried to auction me, since fool blood seeder is a highly valued possession. My master bought me, gave them twice the price to save me from the fate other auctioneers had in mind. Therefore, I am extremely loyal to the man who saved me and gave me a chance." Bella's voice echoed against the walls of the study. By now, Eros frowned, and Eve hugged the little girl, sobbing against her cheek.

And there they were- the power couple, most feared shifters, dropping on their knees in front of a cute child. Eros cleared his throat and smiled at Bella, offering her a seat and a cup of tea. As they enjoyed their drinks, Eve didn't step away from the child, growling at any servant who tried to approach her.

"So, Bella, would you mind telling us what has brought you here? No rush; we can give you time if it's needed. As you said- first time mission, it's only natural to be nervous." Eros leaned closer to the girl, hovering over the large desk. A smile of encouragement didn't leave his lips, making the little girl think that he could be trusted.

"Oh, right, sorry. My master didn't want to do anything behind your back, but for the Princesses' safety, there are a few things he has to do. More like he is forced to do them, again- for her safety. My master, Wrath, will mark your firstborn daughter as we speak." Bella smiled at Eros and Eve, watching how their overjoyed facial expressions fell.

"No fucking shit."