58. Uncle teddy bear.

"What do you mean? The little girl right there is my youngest daughter! You can't come into my house and address my child as THAT! She is a living and breathing shifter, nothing close to an object, let alone one you could claim to be yours! Have you lost your goddamn mind? She's four!" Eros growled; this time, the male didn't bother to keep quiet or hide the frustration and anger he felt. The way Sloth kept staring at little Bea pissed him off even more. Where did he get the nerve to come into the King's home and announce that he owned the little Princess?

"Anna, bring Bea back to her room, imminently!" Eros turned around, facing the nanny and his daughter. As soon as he shouted out the command, Bea looked at her father with nothing but sadness in her eyes. The little girl didn't want to go back, not after she had noticed the mysterious male sitting in the living room. He had a funny facial expression, but he seemed like someone the little girl could befriend. And she did dream about having a friend, or at least someone who could pretend to be her big brother.

"But daddy, I don't want to go! That uncle looks like a huge teddy bear, just like my Brian," Bea lifted her hand, showing off the teddy bear she clung on. "The uncle can be my friend, can't he?" The little girl frowned, looking at her father with the most adorable puppy dog eyes.

"She's precious," Sloth gasped, still staring at the King's daughter. The deadly sin didn't possess any unholy thoughts; for the time being, he was more than ready to be her friend. To stand close and protect the little girl whenever she needed him. Sloth would watch over her, making sure that she has everything a girl could dream of having. Images of her growing up with him around did make the male swoon even more over the girl. Sloth understood that the King feared losing his daughter- one was taken away by a deadly sin, and now the youngest one faced the same fate. Eros didn't know that Sloth had no intention to kidnap the little girl and take her with him. All he wanted was to see her time by time and be near until she reaches adulthood. After that, Bea would choose to accept or reject him- whatever made the girl happy.

"Bea, follow your nanny; I'll let her know if you can join us!" The King growled out, barely holding himself down. The deep sound woke up Eve, who sat up a little and looked around them in confusion. The Queen smiled at Sloth, nodding her head in greeting.

"This is unfair, and definitely the last time I listen. I'm going to be a rebel. just watch me, daddy!" Bea slapped back in the most adorable manner possible. She stomped upstairs, dragging the teddy bear along. As soon as she reached the top of the stairs, the little girl turned around and smiled, yelling: "Bye, uncle teddy bear, I hope to see you soon! Let's have a tea party one day; you'll love the stuffies daddy and mommy bought for me!" As the announcement was made, Bea ran towards her room.

"What the hell is going on here?" Eve rubbed her eyes, trying her best to understand what had happened without any hints from both males. The stranger kept staring at the stairs, a warm smile plastered on his lips, while Eros threw death stares at the male.

"Oh, I apologize for my rudeness. My name is Sloth; I am a friend of your daughter's mate, hoping to meet him here. As the King already knows, Wrath hasn't appeared close to where we live for a while now, which is rather unusual, so I decided to look for him. It looks like I found more than I hoped to," unlike other deadly sins, Sloth was a true gentleman, well aware of the importance of good manners. If he was treated with respect- he would return the favor with the utmost respect.

"Eros?" Eve turned her attention back to her mate, who still glared at their guest. Since Sloth mentioned that the King knew what happened- she hoped to get some answers. Of course, her mate was too busy trying to intimidate the male, so he kept quiet. Eve rolled her eyes and poked his chest until the male finally averted his gaze from the deadly sin. "I asked you a question. And don't even try to avoid it or lie; I am pregnant, hormonal, pissed off, tired, and damn hungry at the same time. You better explain why the hell you keep glaring at that polite young man!" The Queen crossed her arms in front of her chest, glaring at her mate. If he wanted to act like a dick and make someone feel uncomfortable- his Queen was more than happy to give him the same treatment.

"I'm sorry, love, I was too busy watching that damned thing; I missed the question. Could you please repeat that? I'll buy you cookies if you do," the male smirked, aware of the things he could use to talk Eve into doing something. Chocolate cookies were the Queen's weakness; if he ever messed up- all Eros had to do was bring her cookies and apologize.

"I want to know what happened while I was asleep, and why do you keep giving that boy an attitude? What is wrong with you? You, my dear husband, are a King, not the school bully, so behave like one." The look on Eve's face was murderous; if this pregnancy were anything like previous ones- Eros would receive a huge backlash if he didn't reply to her question. One wrong move and the King would sleep on the same sofa he was sitting on right now.

"He's claiming that Bea is his," Eros sighed, avoiding all unnecessary details and getting straight to the point. The King wasn't sure how Eve would take the news, but it was better if she found out sooner than later. She was a smart woman; knowing that she's carrying a child, Eve wouldn't do anything she could regret later on.

"Listen here, young man. My daughter is just four years old, until the day when she reaches adult age- she will live under my roof. After that, it's her choice whether she will follow you or not. I made a huge mistake by trying to hide my eldest one from your friend, and I won't repeat the same mistake twice, as long as you can follow simple rules. You see, your friend didn't seem like the right man for my daughter; I couldn't say that he ever put any effort into getting to know her family as well. But as time went by, I was moved by his honesty and how he went out of his way to warn us. If my daughter hasn't decided to run back home crying- she is happy. If Ally would be in danger, I could sense it. It's about time for us, as parents, to accept the fact that our children grow up rather fast. Now, let's stop wasting time; you are free to join us for dinner, we can get to know each other better, and afterward, you can spend some time with Bea. We shall be there, of course; I can't trust someone I don't know that easily. Does this sound good?" Eve smiled, nudging her mate's side. Eros stared at his wife as if she had grown another head, but the change pleased him more than made the King feel disappointed. She was right, their children grow up, and there's nothing they can do to stop it.

"I would love to join for dinner," Sloth grinned, his eyes nearly burned by the number of sparks in them. The deadly sin felt happy for the chance the Queen was giving him and her words, which seem to convince the King.

"I guess this means that our family will have one more deadly sin then," Eros laughed, unable to believe how ironic the situation was. First, Ally found Wrath, and now his little Bea would end up with Sloth. Well, if she wanted to, but her interest in the stranger was enough for them to know the answer. Even at an early age, many Lycanthropes found their mates, holding now knowledge in who the person was for them. Some of them grew up side by side with their mates- in the ancient times when their breed wasn't nearly extinct. "Bea, ladybug, you can come downstairs," Eros announced, his voice barely audible. The little girl ran downstairs; she didn't go far enough, well aware that her dad would allow her to join the rest soon enough. Thankfully, the little girl knew nothing about mates and would forget the conversation soon enough. The Princess would grow up without suspecting a thing, and perhaps that was better.

The little girl sprinted towards Sloth, stopping a foot away from him. She bowed, showing off the little bit of good manners she could remember from all lessons. Her nanny was the one who had to teach those to little Bea since her parents were extremely busy most of the time. Anna did a great job- the little Princess kept following rules, rarely talking back and nearly never showing off attitude. While Ally was a real firecracker as she grew up, little Bea was the silent child. "Hello, uncle teddy bear, welcome to our home. Let's be friends," Bea extended her arm, holding her hand out for a handshake. Sloth chuckled, amazed by the little girl, yet wondering if she would ever want him near after reaching the age of eighteen.

Sloth carefully took her hand in his and lightly shook it, smiling like the happiest person on the face of the Earth. He did feel like that. "I would love to be your friend, but you can call me River, not uncle teddy bear," he grinned, surprised by the fact how fast the male gave out his real name.

"My name is Bea; I'm sure we will be the bestest of best friends ever. Let's go, uncle River; we will make some pancakes for the stuffies," the little girl dragged him towards the kitchen.

Everyone, including Sloth himself, fell silent. He was surprised how energized he left- for the first time in years; he wanted to do something, anything, as long as he stood near the little girl. Eros and Eve smiled, watching how the large male and tiny girl instantly found a connection. Any other child could be afraid of someone in the size of Sloth, but again- for the Princess, he was an overgrown teddy bear. Eros was about to speak up, wondering if he still needed to bring the cookies for his wife when the sound of breaking glass sounded from the kitchen. Soon after, a furious woman yelled: "Help, a goblin, no, a giant in the kitchen! Get this bumpkin out of my kitchen before it destroys everything!"

Eros let go of his hold, ready to run into the kitchen, see if anyone had been hurt and if the situation was as bad as described by a servant woman. Instead, he was stopped by the angelic voice of his daughter. The proud father felt a tear sliding down his cheek- little Bea used the dominant tone of a Princess, forcing everyone in submission.

"No, you go away, don't get your filthy paws next to my uncle teddy bear! I watched you; you haven't washed your hands, it's disgusting! Go to your room and think about what you just did, then come back and apologize when you understand your mistake! Leave miss, helper; we don't need your help." Eros could imagine his daughter's judgemental facial expression, the same as how she would point the finger at the woman.

"I have work to do here, how..." the woman tried to fight back, but not a word left her lips as a loud bang echoed against the kitchen walls. Eros stormed there like crazy, fearing that something might have gone wrong, that someone might have hurt his daughter.

What he didn't expect to see was little Bea, jumping up and down, clapping her tiny palms against each other as her eyes were set on Sloth. On the other hand, the male stood with his back to Eros, holding someone against the wall. The King ran closer, his eyes falling on a servant, which was held by her throat. Sloth stared at her with a murderous look in his eyes, ready to snap her neck.

"What the fuck is happening here?" Eros growled, irritation growing in him. The King didn't want to face the moment when his mate might join them; she shouldn't see such things, same as his daughter.

"Daddy, that's a bad word!" Bea gasped, scolding Eros for cursing in front of her. This wasn't the first time the male managed to do so, yet Bea would always remind him how impolite he was.
The King ignored his daughter, growling at the deadly sin, which was way too close to killing one of his servants. Eros didn't need unnecessary deaths in his castle, especially among the staff.

"Let go of her, don't do something you might regret later," Eros placed his hand on the male's shoulder, attempting to deal with the situation as calmly as he could.

"No."

"She didn't do anything aside from scream like a lunatic, and that's not a crime. We don't need deaths of innocent people; we don't live by those old rules anymore," Eros tried to reason him. The King didn't know if anything really happened, and if something triggered Sloth- it had to be grand.

"She pointed a knife at my little treasure," the deadly sin snarled, putting a little extra pressure on the woman's neck until it snapped. He let go of the lifeless body and turned around to face Bea.
Everyone expected her to freak out or cry, but instead, the Princess raised both of her hands and yelled: "Pancakes!"