His to Protect: Book 1 in the Bound to Him Series by Sandra Antoni (the reading list TXT) 📗

She came running around the corner and down the hallway to the entryway. Thomas, another member of our pack, stood at the door with a Christmas tree. I ushered him inside, and Chelsea reached for my hand. I could see the excitement on her face as we followed Thomas into the living room.

I had already pulled the tree stand and ornaments out of the attic, and they were ready and waiting for the tree. Thomas got it set up, and we all stood back and admired the nine foot tree. It was perfect for the space. The smile on Chelsea’s face as she gazed up at it would not be something that I forgot any time soon.

After introducing her to Thomas, I shook his hand and walked him back to the door. When I walked back into the living room, Chelsea was going through the boxes of ornaments that I had laid out. When she turned that beautiful smile on me, my heart melted once again.

I was glad that I could give her this. She needed to feel normal once again, and what better way than decorating a Christmas tree. I joined her in pulling out the decorations. She had an eye for décor, so I followed her lead, letting her decorate the tree however she saw fit.

She wasn’t tall enough to reach the branches on top, so I helped with that. When she pulled an angel out of a box, she held it gingerly. The angel had its arms spread out wide and had a white flowing dress that was covered in a sheer material. Chelsea looked up at me from her place on the floor.

When she handed me the angel, I stepped towards the tree. A nine foot tree made it quite difficult to put the angel on the top, but I finally managed it. I plugged it into the string of white lights that we had strung through the branches.

By the time we had finished, the word “elegant” came to mind. I had purchased way more decorations than were necessary, but whatever was not used would go back in the attic to be stored. Chelsea excitedly stepped to my side.

“What do you think? The tree is perfect in this space,” she exclaimed, her smile indicating the happiness that she felt. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close.

The tree was decorated in royal blue, glass balls, silver icicle ornaments that sparkled in the light, and white, delicate snowflakes. There were also several wooden ornaments spread around the tree. The whole look was elegant and yet still a bit rustic. It was perfect.

“I think it’s beautiful. But it does not compare with you,” I replied, turning and capturing her lips in a kiss. I would never tire of seeing her smile and, knowing that I had something to do with it, brought me even more joy.

The house seemed full of people a couple hours later, even though there were just five of us. Chelsea, Emily, and Jessica had insisted on cooking lunch for us, and Brady and I were content to let them. He and I sat in the study for privacy, but I could hear the laughter of the women in the kitchen.

“Were you able to get ahold of the governor?” I asked him when we were both seated.

“I put in some calls,” Brady replied. “I have a lot of contacts, so it is just a matter of time,” he replied. Just then, his phone rang.

I couldn’t help listening to his side of the conversation. We were the only two people in the room, and he did not try to find somewhere private to take the call.

“Yes, sir…We have found your daughter…Someone is after her. Someone tried to kill her…She is safe here…Ezekiel won’t let anything happen to her. She is his mate…Yes, of course, I’m sure…She didn’t even know that she was a shifter. She was raised by humans…She wants to meet you too, sir…She is definitely your daughter…Marissa Feldman…Of course. We will wait for your arrival expectantly.”

“The governor is coming here. Today,” Brady said when he disconnected the call. I had pretty much summed that up from the side of the conversation that I had heard.

“What do we tell Chelsea?” I asked him, not knowing quite what to think about the governor’s imminent arrival at my home. Brady shrugged his shoulders.

I knew that she would want to meet him, but I was not sure what the end result would be. I knew the governor as a hard-ass, but maybe that was only because he thought his wife and daughter had been murdered by his own kind. His wife had definitely been murdered, but his daughter was alive and well, and she was my mate. I would do anything to protect her.

“It’s okay, Zeke. He knows. He just wants to meet her. This is the best place for that meeting,” Brady replied, reading my uncertainty. Suddenly, a smile came to my lips.

“Let’s keep this a surprise. I know she wants to meet him, and Chelsea loves surprises,” I told him. With that, we both headed back to the kitchen.

The five of us sat around the dining room table for lunch. The conversation was continuous, and the smile never left Chelsea’s face. She had settled into my life so quickly and easily. Sure, she’d had some rough times and even more to come, but she was a fighter, and she had handled all of this better than most people would have. I was proud of her.

She had broken down and become vulnerable and lost, but then she had picked up the broken pieces and carried on. There was no one more worthy of being my mate, and I loved her more every day. When she turned those big green eyes on me, I knew that there was nothing that I would not do for her.

When lunch was over, I helped Chelsea clean up. She stood at the sink