Chapter 5

After my mom left, Elliot helped me clean the kitchen and he grabbed my hand and took me to his office. I looked around and asked, “Is there a reason you have nothing on the walls?” He laughed, “The house was done being built the day before we moved in. They managed to get all the furniture delivered right before I left for the ball.” I gasped, “Wow! That was cutting it super close. Is there a certain theme you want it decorated in?” He nodded as he took my hand, sat in his chair and led me to sit on his lap, “I want pictures of you and us. That’s what I want in here.” I smiled, “You are too sweet. But seriously, how would you like it done?” He chuckled, “I was serious. When we have children, I want photos of them on the walls too.” I shook my head, “A family man already, ay?” He beamed, “There is nothing wrong with wanting to show off my mate and family.” I smiled, “I do love that about you. So, do you want a photographer to come out?” He shook his head and grinned at me, “I have a better idea. Grab your phone and come with me.”

Elliot and I spent the afternoon exploring the woods around our cabin and taking pictures in scenic areas. At one point, we happened upon a beautiful river with a huge waterfall. I gasped when I saw it. Elliot smiled, “That’s one of the main reasons I bought this part of the mountain. I can see us building a dock on the water and putting a boat out there. We can have days where we stay on a boat out on the river all day.” I smile, “I do love the sound of that.” Then he seemed to snap back to present day and told me, “When the weather is warmer, I want to take you up here and get pictures of you in a bikini.” I laugh, “You are nuts. You know that don’t you?” He nodded, “I am nuts about you, my love.” I asked, “So what would happen if your dad walked into your office and saw those kinds of pictures on your wall?” He smiled, “He’d laugh and tell me I’m whipped. To which I would tell him I am… happily.” I just shook my head and laughed.

When we got back to the house, I started cooking dinner, while Elliot uploaded all of our photos. While I was at a good stopping point, for about ten minutes, I walked into the office, and saw Elliot printing out a bunch of pictures. I laughed at him, “Are there any we took that you didn’t like?” He grinned, “There were a few that were my least favorite.” I looked through the ones he printed and asked, “You didn’t print any of you! I wanted a few pictures of just you.” He cocked his head at me, “You do?” I chuckle, “Yes, I do. You’re my favorite person on Earth. Why wouldn’t I?” He smiles, “You need to tell me which ones.” He pulls them up and I smile as I point to five of them. He asks, “What are you going to do with five pictures of me?” I raise my eyebrows, “Same thing you are going to do with one hundred photos of me.” He blushed as I turned to go back into the kitchen.

When supper was ready, I told Elliot to come and eat. He looked at what I cooked, and he was really happy. “Oh, my Goddess,” he smiled, “I love spaghetti and meatballs!” I laughed, “I’m glad you do. I made cheesy garlic bread too.” He tasted both, and moaned, “This is so good.” I smiled, “Thank you.” We finished eating, and there was a knock at the door. Elliot jumped out of his chair and ran to get the door, while I went to the kitchen and started cleaning up. Out of curiosity, I asked, “Elliot, who is it?” He smiled, “Apparently, your mom sent a truck with all your stuff in it. Luckily, she sent a couple guys to help unload it and take the truck back too.” I smiled, “Aw, how sweet! Can they just put them in one of the spare bedrooms for now?” He nodded, “You got it, my princess.”

When they were done unloading and left, I walked up there, and started looking for all of my clothes. I really wanted those put away before they got wrinkled. I found the boxes and started putting my clothes away when I started hearing Elliot talk to someone. I walked downstairs, and he was talking to a mountain of a man in out living room.

I walked into the living room, and Elliot smiled, “There she is! Koda, leader of the werebears in our area, meet my beautiful mate, Elisa.” Koda smiled as he stood from the couch, “It’s very nice to meet you, Princess. I will have to bring my mate to meet you too. The is the princess of the Angel Kingdom.” I smiled, “Please, it’s just Elisa to friends and I would love to meet her. We will have to have you over for dinner soon.” He smiled, “We would love that.” Elliot chimed in, “Koda is one of the allies in our multi-species alliance. I was just talking with him about your situation and why we need to add security to keep you safe.” I smile as I stand behind him. I bend to wrap my arms around his shoulders, “I do love that you want to keep me safe. Why don’t you just call a meeting, and we can talk about it with the whole alliance?” He nodded, “I probably should do that. We would have to do it at the castle. I don’t have a conference room set up here yet.” I smiled, “It would take a morning to set up a conference room in one of the bedrooms. I’m sure we can make seven bedrooms work for our future family.” Koda laughed as I grinned at Elliot. Koda laughed, “I am betting that you will want to stop at two or three.” Elliot smiled, “Maybe, but it’s nice to be prepared for more.” I chuckled as I stood to go back to unpacking my clothes. I told him, “Just arrange it for tomorrow evening, and we can go to the furniture store tomorrow morning to get everything set up for it. Meanwhile, I am going to finish unpacking my clothes while you guys visit.” I kissed Elliot’s cheek and told Koda that it was nice meeting him and walked back upstairs.

When I finished unpacking my clothes, I walked back downstairs, and Koda and Elliot were still talking. I asked them, “Would you guys like a snack? I still have some homemade apple pie.” Koda smiled and slapped Elliot, “You didn’t tell me your mate could cook!” Elliot laughed, “Yeah. I got lucky with her.” I brought a piece of pie to each of them and smiled, “I’m the lucky one.” Koda took a bite of pie and started moaning. I laughed as he swallowed that bite and playfully slapped Elliot on the shoulder, “She’s smart and she can cook! Man, you better do everything in your power to keep this one. You don’t find that very often at all.” I laughed, “Thank you, Koda. I appreciate that.”

Elliot’s smile beamed, “She is stuck with me for life. I’ve waited for this woman since we were ten years old. I would never want to hurt her.”