The One Who Watches
The One Who Watches:2251words
Update Time:2024-11-01 09:40:42
[Rock]By the end of Pyla’s party, everyone was in very high spirits, but tired. When Tana went in to unlock her, Forrest and Pyla stayed in the room a little longer so she could mark Forrest and get dressed. We cheered for them when they came out and I could see Pyla tearing up a bit. It wasn’t the huge celebration that Forrest’s party had been, but it seemed to be more than enough for her. The other trolls congratulated them on their way out the door. Pyla thanked Tana and Kaya for taking care of the party for her and they gave her hugs before heading out. All of the non-troll guests stopped to give their well wishes and hugs. Beth took a picture of Forrest and Pyla together. I was more than sure it was in order to show to Pyla’s fan club in the pack lands. None of us told Pyla or Forrest, but everyone knew how closely all of the werewolves were following their romance. “There are some gifts in your room,” I told Forrest. “The softies all followed their own tradition of bringing gifts for a birthday.” “Pyla will enjoy that. Thanks for being here. It means a lot to us to have you and Carmen here, even though it’s the middle of the work week.”“We wouldn’t have missed it for anything. You’re taking the rest of the week off, right?” I asked. He nodded. “Yeah. I appreciate you giving me the time.” “With Viola there, I know Carmen’s safe. Plus, her father hasn’t been seen in at least six months. He was really my only concern after the Rhett situation got worked out.” “Have you seen the warlock lately?” Forrest asked. “No. I know he’s around because I’ve felt someone watching us, but never see anyone there when I look for them. He must be busy with something else. I’m kind of relieved. He’s powerful but irritating. I think that’s even more frustrating.”Carmen gave Pyla a hug and they started making plans for getting together before the spring ball. Tana and Kaya joined their conversation. Tana had been to the ball before, but Kaya had lived more of her life in the fae realm. She wasn’t familiar with the traditions here. Elbio and Mica came over, trailed by Jett. We watched the girls talking so animatedly about the ball and I couldn’t help but smile. Carmen fit right in and never let anyone talk over her. She made sure she wasn’t overlooked even though she was so small. “Now we just have to wait for Jett to find his true mate and the set will be complete,” Mica joked. “There’s no telling what she’ll be. We have two full trolls, a half troll, and a werewolf. I wonder what the goddess has planned for Jett. He doesn’t care about looks, so he might end up with soft mate, too,” Elbio laughed. “That’s assuming a lot about Kaya. Maybe she’s really my mate and not yours, Elby.” Elbio scowled. “You want to challenge me, Jett?” “Nah, I’ll let you keep my mate company until her coming of age,” Jett replied with a cheeky grin. “I’ll kick your ass if you try anything with her.” “You’ll try. I might be blind, but I can still mop the floor with you.” “Enough,” Forrest interrupted. “Go fight outside. If you break my ѕhit, I’ll have to kick both your asses.” They shoved each other a little, but didn’t get into a fight. Jett sometimes teased Mica about Tana being his mate back before Mica came of age. It was one of his favorite jokes. It was strange to think of us all being truly adult trolls. I didn’t think I had changed much since my coming of age, but I was seeing the world differently. Maybe it was Carmen’s influence, though. Perhaps I might never know, but I saw how Mica changed and I had already seen some changes in Forrest. Soon, everyone had left except for Carmen and me. She had gone with Pyla to get the gift from her and Gemma. Carmen wanted to know what Pyla thought of the dress. It was something Carmen and Gemma had been planning for a month or so and they were putting finishing touches on it all the way until I left for Pyla’s party. “So where do you go from here?” I asked Forrest as I helped him pick things up. “Pyla wants to go visit her family in the fae realm. She is really eager to introduce me to her father, stepmother, and half-siblings. I know they love her more than her mother and I want to see that.”“We don’t have a lot of long weekends. You can take more time off, if you want, since it’s like a honeymoon, essentially. Did you want to take next week off to go visit them?” I asked. “You’re sure about that?” “I gave you a job that never existed before because you’re my friend. I’m not saying I don’t need you, because some of the guys have chilled out now that they know you won’t allow them to rough house in the office. I’m saying an extra week isn’t going to kill anyone.” He smiled and gripped my shoulder. “I appreciate it, Rock. Pyla’s going to be excited when I tell her we can go see her family. We also have to see the seers and find out if she’s going to have any issues with having kids, like Carmen will. I know Pyla can handle me, but she might not be able to carry more than one baby.” “It would be a good idea. You’ll let us know, right? Carmen wants to plan for Pyla to join her and Gemma in their family planning.” Forrest laughed. “Just like our moms did. Our kids are going to be best friends.” “Definitely,” I replied. As we finished cleaning up, Carmen and Pyla returned with the gift. They hurried over to us to show off the dress. Pyla paused where we could see her in the dress. The dress was made of the softest silk, in a deep, rich blue. It was simple yet elegant, with a fitted bodice and a flowing skirt that moved like water. It was strapless, with delicate embroidery around the edges, and a long train that cascaded down the back.Forrest whistled appreciatively. “Wow, that’s beautiful.”Carmen beamed with pride. “Isn’t it? I knew Pyla would look stunning in blue.”Pyla blushed and twirled around in the dress. “It’s perfect. Thank you so much.”Forrest stepped closer to Pyla and took her hand. “You’ll be the most beautiful troll at the spring ball, I promise.”Pyla’s eyes lit up and she leaned into Forrest’s embrace. They looked happy together. I went to Carmen and took her hand. It was time for us to leave. They would want their privacy in their home. “We’re heading out. Talk to you later,” I told Forrest. “See you,” he replied. We headed out of the house and down the street. Carmen was talking about the dress and how happy she was that Pyla liked it. I just listened to her while we walked home. I loved listening to her when she was happy. As we got closer to our house, I noticed a figure lurking in the shadows. It was a troll, but not one I recognized. He was taller than Forrest and muscular, with dark hair, piercing yellow eyes, and huge tusks. He seemed to be staring directly at us.I tightened my grip on Carmen’s hand and quickened our pace. But as we passed by, he stepped out of the shadows and blocked our path.“Move it,” I said, trying to walk around him. “We need to get home.”The troll didn’t move. His eyes flicked over to Carmen, and a wicked grin spread across his face. “Well, what do we have here?”I pulled Carmen behind me and growled at him. This wasn’t good. I wasn’t a full troll and, even if he didn’t have any training in how to fight, I would lose to him just based on his size. “Let us pass,” I replied. The troll just chuckled and took a step closer. “Why should I listen to you, half-breed?”Carmen snarled behind me and I stepped forward, trying to keep the troll’s attention on me. I was ready to fight if I had to, but I didn’t want to put Carmen in danger. “You’re not going to touch her,” I said firmly. “Now, move out of our way.”The troll laughed even harder. “You’re funny, half-breed. I’ll give you that. But you’re not going anywhere.”He stayed where he was. I tried to take a step around him, but he moved to block me. The house wasn’t very far away, but I couldn’t figure out how to get there. Carmen stepped out from behind me and growled very plainly at him. The troll looked down at her and smirked. He turned toward her and moved closer with an aggressive posture. She didn’t flinch or back down. I didn’t try to protect her again. Carmen wasn’t going to let anyone stop her from backing me up. “Interesting. Your werewolf is brave. She doesn’t seem to have any problem challenging a troll warrior who is much larger than her. Then again, you don’t seem to have any problem challenging me, either. This will be an interesting job...” he said. He was clearly up to something, and I didn’t like the sound of it. Carmen, on the other hand, seemed unfazed by his words. She stood her ground, her hands were shifted into claws, which were extended, and her eyes locked on the troll’s eyes.“What do you mean?” I asked.“I’m Wylder Steinmann. Your mother hired me to help protect you and your mate. I thought you would be some weak little noble half-breed. I can tell from how you hold yourself that you know how to fight. Your mate isn’t really trained, but she’s obviously willing to commit violence to help protect herself.” My eyes widened. Steinmann was a name as well-known as Montblanc when it came to fighting. The Steinmann family didn’t live in the troll village near us, but we all heard of them. They didn’t work under any of the noble families. The whole family was full of highly trained warriors. My mother had hired one of the best warrior families to protect me. I sighed and hung my head. It was something I was used to, but my mother usually talked to me first. I didn’t like to be surprised by things like this. “Why does my mother think I need a bodyguard?” I asked. He shrugged. “Something about a cult being interested in your little wolf. They’re after her for some reason. Your mother didn’t go into too much detail, but I’m here to make sure they don’t get their hands on her.”I looked at Carmen, who was still standing her ground, her eyes locked on Steinmann. She was still in protective mode and using her magic to watch the troll, ready to fight if she needed to. I knew she was strong and could fight if needed, but having a trained warrior like Steinmann around would make me feel a lot better.“While in the fae lands, Carmen should be fine. Normally Forrest Montblanc works security for my office. I don’t know what you can do after he comes back, but while he’s visiting the fae realm, you can work in his place,” I told him. Steinmann laughed. “That’s not how this works. I’m tellin’ you I’m around and lettin’ you see me so you know I’m not an enemy if ѕhit happens. From now on, you won’t see me, but I’ll be there. No one tells me how to do my job. I make decisions about how I work.” He straightened up and turned away from us. As he walked away, he gave one of those half-hearted, two-finger waves. I reached down and took Carmen’s hand. Wylder was definitely living up to his name. I headed to the house and pulled Carmen inside. As soon as we were inside, I let out a deep sigh. It was a relief to finally be away from the troll and have some time to process everything that had just happened. I turned to Carmen, ready to ask if she was alright, but before I could speak, she wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace.“I’m okay,” she whispered.I wrapped my arms around her as well, holding her close. I didn’t know how long we stayed like that, but it felt like a good while. Finally, I pulled away and looked at her.“We’re going to be careful from now on. I want you to always go out with other people. At least one troll. That means no shopping days with only Gemma. Steinmann might be there to protect you, but having more than one person who is trained as a warrior is a good idea.”“Gemma is trained as a warrior, but I understand. You mean trained as a fae warrior. Those are the strongest warriors you know, but I trust Gemma. I’ll do what you say so you don’t worry about me,” Carmen replied. I nodded, relieved that Carmen was taking the situation seriously. I didn’t want to take any chances with her safety, especially if there was a cult after her. I knew that I had to stay vigilant and keep Carmen safe, no matter what.