Winter's War (Her Guardians series Book 4)

by G. Bailey

  “Girls night. Everything is so serious, and well, I think we could use a relaxing night in,” Alex says as I look around to see her, Katy, and Leigha sitting in front of the fire which is lit. There is a movie on pause on the TV, and I try not to laugh as I see Milo sat on my bed, a selection of chocolate surrounding him. The little demon looks more than happy, and his green outfit has been exchanged for some duck pyjamas. I have no idea where he is getting these clothes.

  “And Milo? Milo isn’t a girl,” I say as I slip my shoes off and walk over, sitting in between Alex and Katy.

  “Milo is, well, Milo. He saw the snacks, and here we are,” Katy says as she picks up the bowl of popcorn and hands me it.

  “I do not blame him one bit,” I say, and we all look over at Milo who burps loudly and grins at us all with a chocolate-covered face. We all can’t help but laugh, but Milo doesn’t notice as he continues eating away.

  “The demon is cute, but where does he get the outfits from?” Leigha comments, thinking exactly what I am.

  “I don’t know,” Alex shrugs.

  “Milo come here a sec,” I shout over, and he looks between me and the chocolate. I can see it’s a difficult choice, but he does get up and fly over. Milo lands on my lap, and I try to wipe some of the chocolate off his clothes.

  “We wondered where you got your outfits from.” I ask him, and he nods.

  “Prime,” he says, and I frown at him. Prime?

  “Oh my God, it makes so much sense now.” Alex says, and I look over at her in confusion as she glares at Milo. He looks down, but I see the little smirk.

  “Okay, so I have Amazon Prime, and my account kept saying I was buying Build a Bear outfits. Dozens of outfits. Now, I haven’t had time to think about it but . . .,” she drifts off as we both look at Milo and start laughing.

  “Man delivers to woods,” Milo says proudly, and I just don’t want to think about the poor person who delivered packages to the woods. Or, if Milo actually accepted the package. I can just imagine the poor man’s face when a tiny demon with blue hair appears out of the woods to sign for the delivery. I bet the man dropped the packages and ran off.

  “You even bought a Minions outfit, I mean what?” Alex says, looking up from her phone.

  “Yellow?” Milo asks and then flies off back to my bed and the safety of the food. We all chuckle as we watch him start eating, and Alex mumbles about closing her Amazon account somehow and wondering how he got the password in the first place.

  “The demon is lovely, I like him and want to see him in the minion outfit,” Katy laughs around a small cake bar she is eating.

  “He is, well, compared to the rest of his race,” I say.

  “Well, come on, you’re part demon and pretty lovely, Win,” Alex knocks my shoulder, and I drop some popcorn on the floor.

  “Look what you did,” I laugh and pick a piece up and throw it at her. She only laughs and catches it before eating it.

  “Where are all the guys, then?” I ask her.

  “Wyatt wanted to talk to them all anyway, so it was easy to convince them to leave us for a night,” Alex shrugs.

  “So, what are we watching?” I ask.

  “It’s called Bad Mom, it’s brilliant,” Alex says, and I smirk at her as I glance at her stomach.

  “I seriously hope you’re not watching this movie for tips?” Leigha says, but there’s a small smile as she leans back.

  “You’re pregnant?” Katy asks in shock, and we all look at her.

  “You didn’t know?”

  “Nope, I missed that memo,” Katy laughs, “But, congratulations, you’ll make an awesome mum.”

  “Thank you,” she says with a smile, sliding her hand into mine and squeezing it before pressing play.

  “Shh,” I whisper to Leigha as she stands up, and we look down at Alex and Katy who are sleeping on the rug after falling asleep during the film. Milo is sleeping on Katy’s stomach, and I gently walk towards the door with Leigha. I get why they are all tired, with the training and the stress at the moment, they aren’t the only ones tired these days.

  “Can I have a word?” Leigha asks as I open the door for her. I knew she wouldn’t want to sleep here when she got up after the movie. She is at training stupidly early in the morning these days. I quietly shut the door behind me, and we walk down the corridor and away from the rooms. We come out of the corridor to the main level, and it’s empty. Leigha stops near the bannister to the stairs, and you can see all the way down.

  “What’s up?” I ask her, and she frowns at me, pushing her long hair over her shoulder.

  “He is coming any minute now,” she says, and I just lift my hands in the air as a response just as I see Wyatt coming up the stairs with Freddy and a familiar, older vampire.

  “Hey,” I say as Wyatt gets to me and gently kisses me.

  “Winter, you remember Harold?” Wyatt introduces me as Harold and Freddy come over. Freddy hugs me and moves away as I offer a hand out to Harold to shake.

  “Queen Winter, it is lovely to see you again and looking so well,” Harold says and bows his head as he shakes my hand.

  “It’s good to see you too, but what’s going on here?” I ask, because it’s a little suspicious us all meeting in the middle of the night like this.

  “We are crowning Wyatt tonight and Freddy as heir, in secret. There is a lot of disruption in the castle and with our people, I believe it would make more sense to have the crowning private, and we do not have the crown to give Wyatt anyway,” Leigha tells me as she walks over.

  “What about Jaxson, Atti, and Dabriel?” I turn and ask Wyatt. I do agree with him in a way. The angel crowning is coming up, and there is already enough worry throughout the castle. Wyatt being crowned isn’t the issue, it’s the fact the vampire crown is on the head of the demon king, and Wyatt is naming a half breed as his heir. There are rules, I’m sure, and it makes everything easier to do in secret.

  “They are setting it up,” he tells me, but I already guessed he wouldn’t keep this from my other mates. They are like brothers to him and, really, the only people we need there.

  “Drake?” I ask as Wyatt places his hand on my back, and Freddy takes my other hand as we walk down the stairs.

  “There too, but no one else. Leigha, Drake, and Harold are my new council of the vampires and the only ones I need there today.”

  “Aren’t there usually four on the council?”

  “Yes, I’m naming Freddy as the fourth.”

  “You can’t do that,” Freddy protests, and the statement echoes around the stairs. Leigha glares back at us and places a finger on her lips to suggest we all be quiet.

  “I can, and I will. You are the prince of the vampires and heir to the throne. A seat in the council will teach you what you need to rule one day.”

  “I might not even rule, if Winter has a child, they will be heir to all the races,” Freddy says, and Wyatt glances at me with a strange look. He almost looks sad, and it confuses me. Why would he be sad about the idea of us having a child in the future?

  “No one knows the future, son. For now, will you do this?” he asks. Freddy doesn’t say a word as we walk down the final set of stairs. We follow Leigha and Harold down one of the corridors, and they open a door, walking in when Freddy stops.

  “I will do this, but it means nothing,” Freddy says, not looking us in the eyes as he walks in the room. Wyatt catches my arm as I go to walk in and pulls me to him. I gladly slide my hands around his neck, and he gently kisses me.

  “I remembered that I never asked if you want to be my queen?” he says, and I chuckle a little.

  “Wyatt, I chose you the moment you kissed me, all the way back then. It’s me and you,” I tell him, and he nods, resting our heads together for a while as we look into each other eyes.

  “I’m lucky to have met you, Winter, to be part of your life,” he whispers and then steps away from me as I hear footsteps next to us. I look up to see Jaxson leaning against the door and
watching us.

  “Are you coming in?” he asks with a smirk, and I roll my eyes at him.

  “Coming, wolfman, so impatient,” I reply, making him laugh as Wyatt slides his hand into mine, and we walk into the room. The room is a pretty basic one, with some chairs around the room, and it’s been recently painted by the smell in here. Harold is standing at the front of the room with Freddy, Leigha, and Drake at his sides. Jaxson joins my mates who are standing near the back of the room, and I smile at them all as Wyatt walks us in. We stop in front of Harold.

  “I usually speak the Latin or French version of this, but this time I will use English for the new queen,” Harold says gently, and I give him a grateful smile. It would make no sense to me otherwise, and I could be swearing to protect a race of pumpkins and not know it.

  “Please bow as I say the ancient words,” Harold says, and I copy Wyatt as he kneels and bows his head.

  “The council has been chosen, and the chosen have come here to crown their new king and his queen. Royal vampire council crowns the new king. Only death shall break the vow you will now make. Your souls are now joined and here to protect the vampire race. May the vampires also protect their new king and queen.”

  “I vow to protect,” Wyatt says, and there’s silence until someone clears their throat. Crap, I think I’m meant to say that too.

  “I vow to protect,” I say and there’s silence until I feel a finger under my chin and I lift my head to see Wyatt standing in front of me.

  “This ancient book has the blood of every king and queen that has ruled. You must cut your finger and place your finger on the book,” Harold explains as he comes over with a very old-looking book. It’s a weird thing, but who am I to judge?

  “Okay,” I say and watch as Wyatt pulls a dagger out of his suit jacket and cuts his finger quickly. Harold opens the book; one page has two bloody finger prints on it and another language written around the prints. I would guess it’s Wyatt’s parent’s names and their blood. I watch as Wyatt presses his finger on the book and then hands me the dagger. I shake my head and push the dagger into his hand.

  “I trust you to do it,” I say and hold out my hand for him. Wyatt keeps eye contact with me as he takes my hand, only looking down for a second as he cuts my finger, and I try not to wince at the sharp pain. I quickly place my finger next to where Wyatt had placed his, and Wyatt takes my hand off the book, putting my cut finger into his mouth. I have to admit it’s pretty sexy, despite the room full of people watching us.

  “Later,” I mouth silently as he lets my finger go, and he winks at me in response.

  Chapter 15

  Winter

  “I seriously doubt you could have chosen a bigger dress, Alex,” I say, and she chuckles as she looks at me. The dress has a massive, black skirt at the bottom, with a white, frost pattern laced down the dress on one side, and the top part is all white lace. Alex put my hair into a bun that is on one side, and there is a little curled bit left out that shapes my makeup-filled face. I don’t usually wear this much, but the smoky eyes and pale lipstick does look pretty. The thoughts of my long night with Wyatt flash through my mind; the things he whispered in my ear as he was inside me. The way he held me in his arms all night afterwards, last night was perfect. Only when I left Wyatt’s room this morning to get dressed in my own, I didn’t expect to walk into the selection of dresses and madness that Alex had turned my bedroom into. The dress is every bit perfect for the crowning of the angel king and queen, well me and Dabriel. Alex couldn’t have chosen a better dress for me to wear, and even being in it is giving me some confidence about today. The black represents the dark angels and the white lace, the light angels. I want us all to be united, and this dress shows off that. I love that I didn’t even have to tell Alex this, she just knew.

  “This one isn’t as tight as the red one I made you wear last time,” she says, reminding me of the night I was stupid enough to let the vampire king use me to open that portal. The dress was amazing, though. I look over at Alex as she straightens her long, red hair, and memories of growing up with Alex flash through my mind. I remember the first time I met her and sharing my ice cream. I remember holding her as her parents hadn’t fed her in two days and giving her my lunch before taking her back to my house for the first time. Once I told my mum, she adored and looked after Alex as much as I did. Alex was always more of a sister to me, and despite the fact the demon king has killed all my family, I still have Alex. I will fight to the very end to see her live through this war.

  “You’re my best friend, you know that?” I tell her and walk over, giving her a hug. Alex has on a simple, white dress with little, black flowers up the sides. Simple, but stunning. Her red hair brings that little bit of colour to her outfit, as well as the red, jewelled necklace she has on. I don’t recognise it, but it’s lovely.

  “Yes, I think so, although I miss the days where we planned our nights out and not how to survive a war,” she replies.

  “I miss those, too, but I think this was always planned for us. All of it,” I say and place my hand on her still small stomach.

  “What did Drake say?” I ask her, and she smiles at me. I haven’t had much time to speak to her alone about everyone’s reactions to the pregnancy. I know everyone knows but not how she told them.

  “He was over the moon and told everyone. I’ve never seen him this happy,” she tells me with a bright, happy smile. Alex is almost glowing recently, with what I’m sure are pregnancy hormones.

  “Want to know what the army brat said?” Alex asks me, referring to Leigha.

  “Something about locking you somewhere safe, I bet,” I reply, knowing what Leigha is like.

  “Yep. She insists on training some poor girl to protect me and locking me away,” Alex says. It doesn’t surprise me one bit.

  “My mates all say she is amazing at training, that all the people respect and listen to her. Jaxson thinks it’s best to let her and Harris work together permantly to train everyone. They are both very good,” I say.

  “Only because they are scared of her and too scared to say anything about her in case either Harris or Drake hear them. Both of them are seriously protective of Leigha,” Alex chuckles, and I remember Leigha training me, I was scared of her, too.

  “I think Harris is good for Leigha. He has that playfulness that is good for her. She is too serious on her own,” I reply.

  “Like how your mates are good for you. Each one of them. I don’t know, it’s like they make you complete and happy.”

  “It’s because I love them. It’s that simple.” I say gently, thinking of them as I smooth my dress down, and there’s a knock at the bedroom door.

  “Come in,” I shout.

  “It’s time,” Lucifer says as he walks in. Lucifer has a long, black cloak on, with dark-black clothes on underneath, and there is a clip with double wings holding the cloak together near his neck. His large, black wings fold in on themselves, so I can only see the tips of them as he stands waiting for us. There is only him and Gabriel left from the council, and it’s custom for a council member to walk the new queen to the soon to be crowned king. This was explained last night by Dabriel before he left me with Wyatt and went off to play cards and have a few drinks with the other guys.

  “Good luck, but you don’t need it. You’re every bit the queen they need, you’re kind, strong, powerful, and most of all, you’re meant for this,” Alex tells me and walks out as I take a deep breath. She is right, but it’s hard to convince myself of it.

  “Let’s go,” I tell Lucifer as I walk over, and he offers his elbow, so I link my arm in his.

  “I wouldn’t have chosen a better queen for us, even if you are no angel. Only angels have sat on the throne for many years. But, times are changing, we as supernaturals are never going to forget this war or the fact it’s brought us all together,” Lucifer says, and I laugh a little.

  “Have I ever told you that the Goddess shows me the past in my dreams sometimes?” I ask
him.

  “No, you have not,”

  “In the past, all supernaturals lived together in the castle. In peace,” I say, knowing that this has worked for the supernaturals in the past, and it will work again. We just need to put our differences aside and work towards our future.

  “Can I ask you a favour?” he asks as we walk down the corridor, and he stops us at the top of the stairs. The stairs are lined with flowers, all white, and have been tied to the bannister. Someone has even tied fairy lights around the bannister in-between the flowers and the effect is amazingly beautiful.

  “You can ask, but I can’t guarantee I will be able to help,” I reply, knowing as a queen my word is not something I can just hand out to anyone. I’ve come a long way since I first met everyone, and since then, there is a lot of responsibility resting with me.

  “My son Josh, is a half and what he is . . . well I don’t want anyone ever knowing. Especially, not him,” Lucifer tells me, and I look up at him.

  “Why not?” I ask, because I don’t believe in anyone not knowing who they are, what they are. My own past and who I am was kept from me, and that nearly killed a lot of people.

  “Because it would destroy him,” he tells me, his dark eyes watching me, and I don’t know what to say to him.

  “Did you love his mother?” I finally ask.

  “No, my sister loved his father,” he tells me, and it starts to make some sense now. I know angels only mate to one person, so having a child with another would have to have happened after he was mated. I know this does happen because of what Dabriel told me of his father and his siblings.

  “So, he isn’t yours?” I ask gently.

  “No, but no one can ever know that. My mate, well she dislikes Josh but won’t ever tell the secret of where he came from. She was bound by my sister before my sister died in childbirth. Angel births are difficult to survive, and with who his father is . . .,” his sentence drifts off when some witches in cloaks walk past us, stopping to bow at me before going down the stairs.