The Rise of the Fallen Queen

Chapter 14

A reader bribed me with coffee and cheese emojis so I'm posting an early chapter.

CHAPTER 14 (MATURE CONTENT)

Nymphs Forest in the Sprite Kingdom...

The flickering lights of the large bonfire cast deep shadows over the field and forest. Reilly Baines moved around the dancing figures and copulating crowd. At one time he would have been dead center of the revelry. Finding his mate had changed him for good and he was the happiest he had ever been. He longer felt compelled to join in or even glance over at the barely clad forms.

His best friend from childhood, Landon Page, however stared wide eyed at the hedonistic party and all of its players. Landon had never had the chance to get as wild as his friend. While his parents didn't mind the friendship between their son and the Beta's youngest. They were careful not to let him out to any of the more troublesome endeavors. Jack Mason, the son of the Alpha at the time, was another friend that opted out on his own. Without his friends to keep him in check Reilly did everything and anything he wanted as long as he stay out of his father's way.

At times, Landon was envious of Reilly's free-spirited adventures and wished he could have joined in before meeting his mate. Jessie and their children were Landon's everything but being here brought out desires that he had to long suppress.

Reilly didn't notice his friend's wandering as he looked for his other more recent friend. Prince Firelight of the Sprite Kingdom had come to Cub Creek several years ago to train Tracy for her role as the Protector. He and Reilly had become really good friends since Jack and Landon were both busy with responsibilities and their new mates.

One of Reilly and Firelight's last outings before Reilly met his mate had been to the free-spirited Nymphs'. Unlike their Sprite counterparts, Nymphs didn't wait to find their Other Halves nor were they hurt when they had sex with other people or creatures. Sprites, like vampires, could only have children by their soulmate while Nymphs could get pregnant by anyone although it was rare. Instead, Nymphs believed in free love and everyone was their family. A monogamous relationship between two Nymphs was unheard of. Children were raised by everyone in the community and outsiders were welcome to join in the fun.

Reilly had come back to this place solely because of the drunken phone call he had received from Firelight. He and Landon had been on their way to go bowling as part of their Friday night ritual. They called their mates to let them know that they would be late or coming in the next morning depending on what state they found Firelight in.

Asking around, Reilly was finally able to locate Firelight in a crying heap next to a large huckleberry bush surrounded by bottles of the potent natural herb drink known as "Nectar."

"Dude." Reilly said sympathetically.

Reilly knew the story behind his friend's relationship. The Sprite Queen, Rosa, had saved Firelight's life by combining her magic with the magic she had gathered from the man who had been posing as her Other Half. His named was Atticus and he wasn't a Sprite at all. He was a demon baring a curse. That curse was passed onto Firelight along with his powers. Firelight was doomed to be cruel to his Other Half. Finding one of the last Dark Fairies named Shula had been the best and worst moment in his very long life.

Firelight intentionally hurt her but didn't understand why. He thought that he was keeping her prisoner for information in relations to his missing aunt but his treatment went beyond what it should have. She endured five years of his abuse. He even went so far as to bring back the Royal Torturer.

Fortunately, Shula was able to escape as Lord James was about to set to work. She met up with Hezekiah Mallory and who took her to Cub Creek. It was there that she met a rogue cat shifter, Luke Osborne, who was sent to guard the scared garden site by the rogue king, Dameon Wilde.