66. Allison.

Eros couldn't stop thinking about Eve's safety as he speeded down the streets like a maniac. His main goal was to deal with the meeting as fast as possible and speed back to the packhouse. When Eve is back in his arms, he and Ares can stop overthinking and fearing the worst.
At moments like this, Eros envied people who could trust their parents. He was sure that he would have trusted his father if he was still alive. Eros believed his grandmother, even though he had to keep her hidden.

"For her own safety," he whispered to himself.

Luna, on the other hand, was a completely different story. He wouldn't trust his mother even if his life depended on it. No matter how hard he tried, she became worse. Eros dropped his interests in school to join warrior training, ending up in the hospital, now forced to wear a mask. He studied at night, keeping a perfect record in school, hoping for his mother's approval. It never came. No matter what he did, it was never enough.
He sighed, gripping the steering wheel.

"We can turn the damn car around and get her out of there. Even better- we can shift. I'm sure nobody will dare to stay in our way if they see the true form. Stop being a little cunt, Eros, she's in danger and you know that!" Ares growled, pacing back and forth in his head.

"No, we can't. We have a fucking meeting to attend, and Eve assured us that she would be safe. She's our mate, not a prisoner. Imagine how disappointed she would be if we go back there. We have to give her a little more freedom. Remember- a Queen doesn't ask for anyone's permission, she does as she pleases, and our responsibility is to respect her decisions. Even the stupid ones," Eros didn't sound convinced; he couldn't believe his words, let alone make anyone else listen.

"I know, but do we really need that meeting? And true that she is our Queen!" Eros could feel the smirk on his beast's lips as he spoke about Eve. Both his civilized and primal sides were completely, and utterly in love with the human.

"We do. Weren't you the one who nagged me about accepting the throne? If I remember correctly, you do want to become a King. Listen, there will be a lot of responsibility thrown on our shoulders, and we will have to live up to their expectations. Even more, we can't make Eve our Queen if we don't become a King in the first place. I don't want the throne; I don't want the power; I'd rather spend the rest of our lives in a little forest cabin with our mate and pups, but the decision is not just ours. Balthazar spent decades finding the closest relative to King, and it happens to be me. The Kingdom needs a leader, and both of us will have to work a lot to deal with it. Are we in the same boat?" Eros sounded severe, determined to aim for perfection.

"I miss Eve," Ares suddenly whined, completely ignoring the little rant of his human.

"Out of all I just said, you managed to catch only her name. Wow, just great. Thanks for listening, beastie." With that, Eros blocked his beast and focused his attention on the building in front of him. The first thing which came into his view was Mary dropped on all four, digging a hole.

"What the fuck is she doing?" Eros thought to himself, unable to fight the smile forming on his lips. He parked the car in the driveway and got out of it, slowly striding towards Mary. She was so engrossed in whatever she was doing, she didn't notice Eros approaching her, eyeing her actions suspiciously.

"Good afternoon, Mary. Would you mind if I ask- what are you doing here?" Eros kneeled next to her, startling the woman.

"Oh, Gosh, you damn boy!" Mary yelped, placing a hand over her heart. "You scared me! Don't you ever sneak up on me like that, I might have a heart attack!" Mary scolded him like a child, making Eros laugh loudly.

"Jokes aside, what are you doing here?" He raised an eyebrow, looking around the area. Weeks ago, this place was covered in beautiful grass; now, the whole place looked like catacombs. What on earth was this woman sniffing?

"Well, you see- the last time I met your mate, we spoke about gardening a bit. It turns out that Miss Evangeline has quite a passion for plants, so I decided to surprise her. I assumed that both of you would want to get some time in privacy, out of that claustrophobic apartment. Since she never had a flower garden, I'm making one that she can take care of later. I already questioned her about her favourite flowers and plants. Then I made a sketch, planning, and a little trip to the warehouse. That's how I ended up here, digging holes and planting everything according to my sketch. I hope that this will be a pleasant surprise for her," Mary said quickly, admiring the amount of work she had done. Eros looked around, finally noticing how much different flowers now grew around their house. It didn't look so dim and depressing anymore. Now, the whole backyard was covered in colors, making Eros think about that beautiful smile Eve had, whenever she was delighted.

"Thank you, Mary" he suddenly wrapped his arms around the tiny female and pulled her into a tight hug.

"No problem at all, my boy. Now, let go of me and let me finish what I started. Don't get your clothes dirty; it's easy to cover yourself in the dirt, yet hard to get those stains out. Balthazar is waiting for your arrival, he's been quite anxious about this meeting," she smiled, gently pushing him away. Eros nodded and stood up, letting his eyes roam over the beauty she had created.

"If you need any help, let me know. I'm not the person you would dare to let close to flowers, but my best friend's mother has the thing others call ‘green fingers’. I'm sure she would be happy to help," Eros announced proudly. Mary nodded but didn't reply. He took it as a polite refusal and headed towards the house. As soon as he stepped into the building, he was pulled into a bone-crushing hug by none other than Lord Balthazar.

"My boy, I'm happy to see you here," he said as he stepped back, letting go of Eros. His eyes roamed around the room, a little frown appearing on his face. "And where is your mate? Isn't she joining you today? We were kind of expecting two guests. Mary prepared some lunch for us," Balthazar said, his eyes lighting up as soon as he mentioned his mate. The feeling was all too familiar to Eros. He knew that he had the same bright spark in his eyes when he spoke or thought about Eve. Since she appeared in his life, she had brought nothing but happiness. Sometimes he feared fate. Eros had never been as happy as he was now, being a little superstitious, he feared that people might envy him.

"She's a bit busy today. Eve promised to visit my mother. I dropped her at the packhouse and will pick her up after our meeting is done," Eros groaned, not bothering to hide how displeased he felt.

"In that case, we must hurry. I'm sure you miss your mate already. Let's head to the office, there we will talk. and Mary will bring us some snacks later on." Balthazar turned around and headed for the stairs. He slid his palms into jeans pockets and casually walked upstairs. Both of them kept quiet, neither willing to break the rather pleasant silence. Eros couldn't be more grateful for Balthazar than he was now. The man knew exactly how he felt, exactly what he was thinking about, and more importantly, who was the centre of his universe.
They walked into the office, sat down, and looked around the room decors.

"So, what was the important matter to discuss with me?" Eros cleared his throat before he spoke, hoping that Balthazar would take the hint.

"We should discuss your coronation. Before that, though, you will have to mate Eve- completely. Perfectly impregnate her. We, Mary and I, are waiting for some grandchildren, a couple actually." Balthazar, as always, sounded serious. It felt as if this man never joked around. Eros could understand him- for someone who had gone to hell and back, seriousness was a pretty good trait.

"We can discuss the coronation, but not children. The mating thing scared Eve; she's not ready. As for the pups- I would love to have some, yet Eve isn't ready. She needs time to get used to her new lifestyle. Me, asking for kids will make the situation more awkward. I'm not willing to force her into giving birth. That is not who I am," Eros slid his fingers through his thick hair and sighed.

"I understand. No pressure." Balthazar stood up, approached the oldest looking bookcase, reaching for a thick book.

"You should read this one, a couple of King's responsibilities and awaited manners are listed there. I hope this is not too much," Balthazar handed the book to Eros and sat back in his place again.

"Might sound a little nosey, but have you thought about names? Have you told Eve that you want pups in the first place?"

"I have given a few ideas to Eve already. For now, we haven't spoken about us having kids even theoretically. I am over thirty years old; of course, I'm ready to build a family and raise kids. Eve is only twenty-one, she still feels way too young for motherhood," Eros said, opening the book and looking down at it.

"No pressure, my boy, I'm just a little nosey. Mary has been killing me with all of those children's conversations," Balthazar grabbed onto the sides of his head.

"You will need an heir," he whispered.

"I know," Eros shrugged, avoiding eye contact with the Lord.

"Little things aside, what are the chosen names?" Balthazar leaned closer, biting his lip anxiously.

"I came up with the idea that we should name our daughter Allison so that I could call her Ally. For a boy- I would go with a much easier yet practical name- Zeno. Eve approved the girl’s name but hated the boy’s name."

"I do believe that no matter what you or Eve choose, the name will suit and compliment the little heir," Balthazar sat down, looking straight into Eros' eyes.

"Hope for the best, expect the worst," Eros shrugged the question off and pretended to be absorbed by the books. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, making him look intimidating.

"Okay, let's get back to work then." Balthazar grabbed a pile of paperwork and divided it into small sections, placing a couple of the more important ones in front of Eros.

"I do hope that Miss Eve will get pregnant soon, we would be more than excited to welcome a cub in our family," Balthazar added matter of factly. The color drained from Eros' face; jaw dropped; eyes widened. As soon as Lord noticed the surprised look on his face, he cleared his throat awkwardly and started describing the documents in front of them.

"I hope so too." Ares agreed with the Lord.