Found (The Crescent Chronicles #3) Read online

  “Or?” Levi looked at me hopefully. “The other one has to be a better option.”

  “You can have me as your mate, but give Cade a kingship.” I searched his face, looking for a hint to his answer. “What about the West Coast?”

  “Wait, you want to be Levi’s mate but give me the West Coast?” Cade looked at me questioningly.

  I nodded. It was exactly what I wanted. Not only would I get the man I loved, but it meant we’d have another family to align with. Hopefully it would mean avoiding any more of the fights I’d just witnessed. When I’d first mentioned my proposed platform to Georgina, I hadn’t imagined I’d try to maneuver it the way I did, but I just knew it was what I had to do.

  “Absolutely. Done.” Levi nodded before pulling me back into his arms.

  Cade smiled. “I’m okay with that.”

  “I’m not officially king yet, but I give my word.” Levi shook Cade’s hand.

  “She already gave it…” Cade nodded at me.

  I sensed there was an unspoken conversation between them, or maybe the handshake held more significance than I realized. I was too relieved to worry about it.

  “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon.” Cade kissed my hand.

  I smiled. It was a real smile. “I’m sorry if I misled you.”

  He grinned. “I want you, but I understand. It was my fault for not seeing through your words. But anyway, my girlfriend will be thrilled about the turn of events.”

  “Girlfriend?”

  “Yeah. I didn’t even know about you until a few months ago. You are gorgeous, though. Levi’s a lucky man.” He winked before disappearing through the doorway.

  “That was a lot easier than I expected…” I turned in Levi’s arms to look at him. “Aren’t you supposed to be angry?”

  “The West Coast is more trouble than it’s worth. My job’s going to be ten times easier.”

  “Is that the only reason you’re okay with it?” I hoped there was more.

  “No. The reason I’m okay with it is because I get you.” He started to kiss me, but I pushed on his chest. Toby was watching.

  “I guess that’s my cue.” Toby looked down at the carpet.

  I stood up. “I’m sorry, Toby.”

  He shrugged. “This sucks, but maybe when you actually become his mate, my feelings will fade, or at least the supernatural ones. I know I love you for more reasons than that.”

  I sighed. “Thanks for everything, Toby.” I hugged him again. It was a goodbye hug, and we both knew it.

  “I’d do anything for you. I wish I’d made you see that sooner, but you never looked at me the way you look at him. You probably never would have been as happy.”

  “Thank you.” Levi nodded at Toby. “Thank you for bringing her back to me. Thank you for making such a sacrifice to protect her.”

  “I didn’t do it for you.” Toby gave me a small smile.

  Levi looked lost in thought for a minute before he turned back to Toby. “Do you want a job?”

  “A job?”

  “You’re now the head of your family.” Levi stood up next to me.

  “Yeah. What’s your point?” Toby asked.

  “Want to manage New York for me?”

  Toby’s eyes widened. “Like as a king?”

  “No. I’m not giving up more than my princess here already has. You’d work under me in title, but you get the decision making power.”

  “Yes.” Toby held out his hand to shake with Levi.

  Toby stepped toward the door. “Be safe and be happy.” He didn’t give me a chance to reply before leaving Levi and I alone.

  “Are you ready to go home?” Levi asked.

  “Don’t we have to take care of things?”

  “No, I think we’re good for tonight.”

  “Then let’s go home.”

  ***

  I must have slept through the whole next day. When I woke up it was dark again, but there was enough light spilling in through the window to know we were home. “Levi?”

  “I’m right here, babe.” He kissed my shoulder. “I want to do something special for dinner tonight.”

  “Special? Please, no French food or wine.” The thought of eating Oysters Rockefeller again made me sick. I never wanted to relive that experience ever again. “How about Mexican and beer? That sounds perfect.”

  Levi laughed. “Mexican food and beer?”

  “Or sangria. Get Georgina’s recipe. It’s fantastic.”

  ***

  In the end, I was the one who called Georgina. She’d been thrilled to hear I was okay, and she was more than happy to share her recipe. They were just as good I remembered, and after two glasses, and some awesome Mexican food from Superior Grill, we moved into the living room. I took a seat on the couch. Levi didn’t sit next to me.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. I’m fine.” He still stayed standing, shoving his hands in his pockets.

  “Are you sure?”

  “There’s just something I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while.” He shifted nervously.

  “Yeah?”

  He dropped down to one knee and my breath hitched. “Allie Davis, will you do me the greatest pleasure in the world and become my wife, and my queen?”

  My heart leapt. “You’re proposing?”

  “Yes…” He opened his hand, the ruby ring lay on his palm.

  “What happens if I say no?”

  His face blanched.

  “Sorry, just kidding. Yes! Of course, it’s yes.”

  He slipped the ruby ring back on my finger, and I knew in every fiber of my body that it was never coming off again.

  He sat down next to me, and I fell into his arms. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  “Remember what you told me? That you kind of wished I was proposing that night?” His eyes were full of a happiness I’d only seen once before—the night in the cave.

  “I actually said I thought about how I’d like it at some point.” I slipped his sports coat off of him, it was in my way. He’d insisted on us dressing up a little even if it was for takeout. I now knew why.

  “Same thing.”

  I laughed. “All right.”

  “This time I really did.”

  “Yes, you did.”

  He stroked my arm. “So what’s next?”

  “We make you king.” I took his hand and led him upstairs into our bedroom. “Do you remember what you did last time?”

  He put his hands on my hips. “I just made love to you with the intent to make you mine forever.”

  “Do it again.” I started unbuttoning his shirt. “I’m doing it too.”

  “In a hurry?” He laughed, already unzipping my dress.

  “As a matter of fact, yes, I am.”

  “Me too.” He reached around to unclasp my bra as soon as my dress hit the floor.

  I discarded his shirt before pulling his white tank over his head. “Are you as excited this time as you were the first time?”

  “I’m just as excited every time.” He leaned over to kiss me before picking me up and carrying me to the bed.

  I unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his pants. “Can you lie on your wings?”

  “Dare I ask why you want to know?”

  “I’m in control tonight. I need to be on top and you always transform.”

  “Sure, I can lie on them.” He sat down on the bed next to me. “Especially for this reason.”

  I yanked off his pants and boxers just as he pulled off my panties.

  I leaned over him, making him lie down on the bed. Climbing on top of him, I took a moment to think about the step I was taking. I was about to willingly tie myself to Levi. I could leave without the ring if I wanted—but leaving was the last thing on my mind.

  I leaned down to kiss him. “It’s really going to be forever.”

  He looked me right in the eye. “I can’t wait.”

  The first time was incredible, and it had only gotten bett
er, but that night brought things to a new level. He put his hands on my hips, and we moved together in perfect synchrony. I could think of nothing but how amazing it felt to connect with Levi, to feel so completely open and vulnerable, but also incredibly safe.

  We reached our climaxes together, and I fell down on top of him, exhausted, but feeling completely alive.

  “I love you,” he whispered as he cradled me in his arms.

  “I love you too.” I didn’t need to check the ring to know it wasn’t going anywhere, but I did anyway.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Happy Birthday.” Levi kissed my lips gently.

  “Thanks, but we both know that’s not the big celebration of the day.” I pulled the sheets up around me, Levi had shifted away from me, leaving me cold.

  He got the hint that I was cold and pulled me back into his arms. “What could possibly be more important than the birth of Allison Davis?”

  I sighed contently, glad to be back in his arms. “Hmm, I don’t know. Maybe your coronation?”

  He laughed. It was that deep laugh he only used when he was really happy. “Your birthday is still more important. I’d have no interest in becoming king if it weren’t with you by my side.”

  “Where did this sappy Levi come from?” I snuggled even further into his chest.

  “Sappy? It’s romantic, babe.”

  “I know.”

  He kissed my shoulder. “Do you think you’ll ever get tired of giving me a hard time?”

  “No. If I did, I’d be worried.”

  He laughed again. “Good to know. If I see it happening, I’ll just come up with new ways to drive you crazy.”

  I glanced at the alarm clock. It was one of those that wakes you up with light and not noise. At first I was skeptical, but it really worked. We hadn’t set the alarm the night before and were cutting it a little close. “We have to get up, don’t we?” I picked up my phone from the night stand. I had a missed text from Jess. We were talking a lot again. Her life had finally returned to normal, and, thankfully, she didn’t seem to hold a grudge against me. Maybe it had something to do with Emmett asking her to move in. I don’t think she could be mad at anyone after that.

  “Yeah, we do. But on a positive note, we still get to take a shower.”

  “Oh, you think you’re joining me?”

  “No. I know it.”

  “Ohhh, Mr. Confident now.”

  “First I’m sappy Levi, and now I’m Mr. Confident.” He rolled me over on top of him.

  I giggled. He made me do that so often. “I’m your mate. I’m allowed to make up as many names for you as I want.”

  “Mmm, there’s something sexy about the way you say that. I like hearing you call yourself my mate.”

  “Well, it’s true.” I trailed a line of kisses down his chest.

  “It is. You were before, but now no one can deny it.”

  “You say it.”

  He ran his hands up and down my arms. “You want me to call you my mate?”

  “No, I want you to call yourself my mate, or is it not called that?”

  “I’ve actually never heard a Pteron refer to themselves as a mate before.”

  “It can’t go one way.”

  “It doesn’t with us. I’m your mate, Al.”

  I grinned. “Now you’re being Mr. I’ll do or say anything to get you naked in the shower, Levi.”

  “You’re already naked, Al.”

  “I am, aren’t I?” I pushed off the sheets and hopped out of bed. “Glad you pointed that out.”

  His eyes devoured me. “Glad I’m the only one who gets to see your birthday suit.”

  “Yeah, that makes two of us.”

  I headed to the bathroom. “Are you joining me?”

  “Is that really a question?” He was out of bed with his hand on my hip within seconds. “That’s an offer I’ll never turn down.”

  ***

  My first time in Robert’s office was one I wouldn’t forget. Dressed in a floor-length ball gown—ruby red of course—I listened as Robert went through my instructions.

  “Do you understand what you have to do, Allie?”

  “Yes, Robert. I can handle it.”

  “There’s still some time. Are you sure you don’t want me to get someone from town hall in here?”

  “No. It’s not that I don’t want to marry Levi, but I want to do it my way. I also refuse to deprive my mother of her right to be part of it. It’s going to be hard enough to explain to her that her future grandchildren are going to have wings.”

  Helen laughed. I really was lucking out in the mother-in-law department.

  Robert made complete eye contact. For once, it didn’t intimidate me. “You are already bonded with Levi as his mate, but generally the queen is already married to the king.”

  “I want a summer wedding. I think after everything you can respect that wish.”

  Robert actually smiled. “I think I can. I also respect that you take your mother’s feelings into consideration.”

  “My dad’s too.” I may not have said it, but I needed him there too.

  “I promise I’ll make her an honest woman this summer, Dad. We can’t wait any longer for the coronation though.” The wedding formality was for the human world, but it was important to the Laurent family too. More important than I expected.

  “No, we can’t wait. It’s time for you to become king.” Robert beamed at his son, and Levi looked equally happy. He may have downplayed it lately, but becoming King of The Society was huge to him.

  “Have you two figured out what your retirement plans are?” I asked. Robert had been grilling me enough, it was his turn.

  Helen smiled. “We’re traveling. We haven’t traveled on unofficial business for years.”

  Robert put an arm around Helen. He was so much more relaxed than usual. “This city is too small for us to stay around. It’s Levi’s turn to rule.”

  “Both of ours. Allie and I are doing this together.” Levi squeezed my hand.

  A knock on the door let us know that it was time.

  “Let’s do this,” Levi whispered in my ear before he led me out on his arm.

  The chambers were as cold as always, but I didn’t mind it with Levi right next to me. We walked in behind Robert and Helen, and I held my head up high. I was about to become queen, it wasn’t the time to get nervous. I looked around the room, grinning when I caught sight of Tiffany and Anne sitting in a middle row of stone seats. I smiled back when Toby gave me a thumbs up sign, and Cade winked. I looked all over for Hailey, and finally found her with Jared and Owen off to the side. I sighed with relief. Levi had listened to my one request.

  Levi and I stood to the right of Robert and waited for him to begin.

  “Welcome to this most important of occasions. After forty years, I am ready to hand over my crown to my son, Leviathan. He is ready to become your new king. His rule will only be enhanced by his queen, Allison. I assure you that I am leaving The Society in the finest of hands.” Robert turned and took one of my hands, and one of Levi’s.

  Levi nodded and his father stepped back behind him. Helen kissed my cheek and did the same to Levi. I followed Levi’s lead and kneeled. Robert placed his crown on Levi’s head, and Helen removed my tiara and gave me her crown instead. The new headpiece was even heavier, but I didn’t care. The reality of the situation hit me as Levi took my hand, and we stood up. I was a queen. I was the queen of a supernatural society.

  Levi easily commanded the attention of the room. “Thank you all for being here today. We’re glad you could witness this momentous occasion. Now, as is tradition, I will select my head of security and chief advisor.”

  “There’s no one better prepared to assure to the security of the Laurent family and The Society than Jared Florence.”

  Jared shook Levi’s hand before kissing me on the cheek and giving me a hug. “Glad we’ll still get to spend time together, Allie.”

  I returned the hug, positive Levi had m
ade the right decision. “I guess this means you can’t call me princess anymore?”

  “Officially, no, but I might slip accidently.”

  “That’s all right. I might slip and call you a goon.”

  Levi leaned in to whisper. “If you two are done, I have another position to announce.”

  Jared grinned and faced forward.

  Levi continued. “And Owen Kaye is the only one I’d trust as my advisor.”

  Owen and Levi shook hands before he hugged me. “Glad you guys worked everything out.”

  “Me too. Congratulations.”

  I looked out into the audience and found his parents. They looked like they might burst with excitement. This was big for them—huge.

  Loud applause drowned out the conversation Levi had with his friends. I waited for the signal from Levi.

  He took my hand before continuing. “Although tradition is important, sometimes it is just as important to embrace change—and create new traditions. Your queen has decided to take on an advisor of her own.”

  “I couldn’t take on the position as queen without a trusted friend and advisor by my side. Hailey Kaye, will you accept the position?” Hailey meant more to me than I knew how to express in words. I needed to have her by my side as I moved into my new role.

  “Yes!” She ran over and hugged me, eliciting laughter from the crowd. When we broke the hug, I saw Hailey’s dad holding her mom. The pride on her face brought tears to my eyes.

  Levi whispered in my ear. “All right, my queen, are you ready?”

  “Of course. This is the easy part.” He squeezed my hand before we left the room and headed upstairs to the reception.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Levi removed his hands from my eyes. “You can look now.”

  “The flamingo? You got me the flamingo?” I took two steps forward and ran my hand over the beautiful wood. He’d anchored it into the wall.

  “Is it the right one?”

  I felt the tears, and I didn’t fight them. “Yes.”

  “Good.” He put his arms around my waist, giving me just enough space that I could look at him.

  “How’d you find it?”

  “There weren’t too many amusement parks that were selling off rides when you were seven.”

  “I can’t believe you did this. It’s unreal.” I put a hand on his shoulder.