Chapter 40

(Two Weeks Later)

About a month ago after everyone else finally made it back to the castle Bowen was kicked into the doghouse. Artemis didn't speak to Bowen nor did she even look at him, they both were heartbroken at what Bowen had done. Bowen stayed in his nest at the highest point of the castle and wallowed in pity. He didn't make any attempt to check on the She-Raven Charity or check on how his cubs were doing. He didn't care if Ezekiel was going to take her as his Queen either. He only wanted to finally reject her so that he could start making his way back to his Queen, Artemis. Artemis couldn't tell if she was more heartbroken or angry at the betrayal. She knew that Bowen didn't intentionally do anything except drive himself mad looking for her and she can't blame him too much for that. Presently both Artemis and the She-Raven Charity were expecting Eagle cubs. Artemis made sure that Charity continued to be treated by a doctor and was fed the proper diet for a pregnant bird. Charity should be laying her eggs soon and Artemis will have to carry the little Princess for a little while longer until she is ready to be born. It was frustrating but there was nothing else Artemis could bring herself to do about it. Her other mates couldn't bring themselves to bother her with it either so they let her be. They are going to let her deal with it her way therefore Ezekiel has spent even more time away from the castle in the White Wolf Kingdom as he prepares his home for his Queen. Ezekiel apologized to his Queen Mother so many times in hopes that her frustrations would go away. He didn't like that she was put in a hard place by her King Consort and his future mate. A Queen should never have to be put in this type of predicament, it's embarrassing and disrespectful. Charity will have to stay in her place. Because of her past she won't be able to leave the land of the White Snake Tribe and she will have a bodyguard on her like his sister Princess Eden who has Billy. He started to notice how close those two have become in the past couple of weeks and it kind of bothered him but he knew Billy would protect the Snake Princess with his life so he brushed it off. Ezekiel was proud of how far he has come as a Snake King. He was not interested in going far out and trying to find other female snakes to mate with because it would be too much work with a high possibility of failing. He was fine right where he was just outside the White Wolf Kingdom and he will be great when he has Charity by his side.

The White Snake Tribe was becoming well established under Queen Artemis' protection and King Ezekiel's leadership. Exekiel's half brothers have all dug up their own homes in the ground all throughout their land. They've been working so hard to complete maturity so that they could transform into human form like their King Brother Ezekiel. After they transform they will be able to mate. They knew they wouldn't have a Snake female to claim as their mate and it was unfortunate but they knew they could find a different mate in the other females they are bound to come across in the White Wolf Kingdom. It is no secret that since Artemis came back to the Beastworld females are being born. She must have extreme divine powers to make this happen. After she was born and disappeared to the human world no female had been born since and now that she is back she has given birth to two females herself and is currently carrying another and she even adopted another female cub.

"Brother! Brother! Help!" princess Eden shouted running into his underground cave. "Eden! I have told you not to just run in on me!" Ezekiel shouted back at her. Any Beastman is territorial about their nests especially when they have a mate and cubs. Exekiel being a grown man now has really tried to wean his sister Princess Eden off of him. She is so used to being by his side she can't help herself. But Princess Eden is also a young woman now. She had long wavy white hair flowing down her back and she had the perfect waistline. Her chest was voluptuous and her behind was just the same. Men in the castle stared at her and even the other male Snake Beastmen had to stop and stare all the more reason for her to stay inside of the castle walls. "Brother you have to help. I can't find Billy anywhere!" Princess Eden cried out. "What do you mean you can't find him? Did you run here all by yourself then?" Ezekiel asked. "Yes. I woke up and he was not there waiting by my bed. I can't find him in the castle either. Call him. Make him come back!" Princess Eden cried softly pounding her small fists on Ezekiel's chest. "Calm down, calm down. First let's start getting you back home before Mother notices you're missing and freaks out" Ezekiel said, guiding her out of his cave. "But what about Billy?" Princess Eden cried. "Don't worry. I will find him for you and beat him good for making you worry." Ezekiel said to comfort her. "Don't beat him! Just make sure he's okay first!" Princess Eden pleaded with him. Ezekiel rolled his eyes as he continued to lead her out of the White Snake Tribe. "I need to get to Charity anyways. I've been giving her space as she will be laying the Eagle Prince's soon." Ezekiel said to Eden. "I can't believe you're going to take her away. The Queen Mother is too forgiving. I would leave her chained up with her own mother!" Princess Eden said "Oh shut up. She will give me strong Snake Prince's. Strong men for our tribe. At least now the burden is not solely on you to give us heirs." Ezekiel told her. "So that's the only reason you want her. To give us heirs to the White Snake Tribe?" Princess Eden asked her brother. Exekiel seemed to think about his answer for a second. He sighed and loosened his grip on her arm. " I don't think she'll grow to love me as her mate. I'll just be providing her with a home and food as she provides us..." Ezekiel said to Princess Eden. "That is kinda sad." She replied. "I'll be lucky if she doesn't try to bring another male in." Ezekiel said, shrugging his shoulders. "I hope she gives you a couple of girls. You at least deserve that. Any other female can give you plenty of Prince's. Maybe you felt the mating bond with her because she will give you Princess's!" Princess Eden said excitedly. "That would be a blessing. If that's the case she won't be going anywhere with anyone else anymore!" Ezekiel said, nodding his head. Princess Eden snickered and let her brother continue to lead the way back to the castle. They made it back to the White Wolf Castle safely in little to no time. The whole time Eden complained about Billy's absence and Ezekiel's weird changed behavior. Ezekiel was happy to drop Eden off with Princess Winter and promised to go find Billy.

Afterwards Ezekiel strolled over to check on Charity and see how she was doing. Papa John was standing outside Charity's room talking with King Daniel. Ezekiel took a deep breath and continued forward to greet them. "Hello my King." Ezekiel said, bowing his head. "My son," Danny said, patting Ezekiel on his shoulder. "You have a heavier burden on your shoulders, my son taking on a rejected mate" Danny said to Ezekiel. "I know my father. It gets stressful but it may be for the best." Ezekiel nodded. Papa John chuckled a little and patted Ezekiel on his shoulders as well. "Young Charity has begun the birthing process. She is very strong and is having no complications" Papa John informed him. "She has? That's great!" Ezekiel said, throwing up his fist. "She has laid two eggs so far, the midwife tells us." Danny said, smiling for Ezekiel's happiness. "Two! Is the Queen Mother okay?" Ezekiel asked, showing genuine concern. "Jenny and Little Wen are with her in case anything happens but everything seems to be fine" Papa John nodded. "This is great!" Ezekiel said happily.

Charity laid the Eagle eggs like a pro. She barely dropped a sweat and didn't even make a sound. She was relieved when she was finally done laying three huge Eagle eggs, bigger than her fists. The midwife had to use two hands to hold one egg. After laying the eggs the midwife moved them to a seperate room and into a nest even though it was unclear if Bowen would sit on them until they hatched. After being allowed to clean herself up Charity laid back in her nest to get a day of rest before being whisked away to the White Snake Tribe to be mated to the King of the White Snakes. She didn't cry or argue when the eggs were being taken because she never built any type of connection with them or their father which made it easier to have them and watch them go. Exekiel was allowed to go in to see Charity after a while and when he did Bowen was right behind him. Charity sat up in bed quickly when the two men walked in. "My King, my King," Charity said, bowing her head to each of them. "Thank you for keeping to your word my Queen. I'm sorry but now that you have given us the Eagle Prince's. I am Bowen. King Consort to the White Wolf Kingdom, I reject you Charity!" Bowen said to her. Charity cringed and groaned. Her mating mark was disappearing and so was his. "I really am sorry for the trouble this has caused you. I hope you and the Queen can stay together and reconcile." Charity said, nodding her head. "You have done well keeping yourself out of trouble and you have been through a great ordeal. I would like to bring you home to my tribe once you have healed" Ezekiel said to Charity. She nodded to him. "I would like to continue keeping up my good behavior. I would like to be your Mate." Charity said to him. "Good." Ezekiel nodded. "Are you going to lay on the eggs?" Ezekiel asked Bowen. "No. I have hired a nanny to do so. As long as the eggs receive constant body heat they will be okay." Bowen said. "Okay." Ezekiel nodded. "I have to go." Bowen said before turning and leaving Charity and Ezekiel alone.

In the hallways Bowen almost ran into Artemis. "My Queen." He said getting down on his knees. "Bowen." She replied, looking down at him. "Stand up. I don't like looking down at you like this." Artemis said to him. "I don't know how to stand and face you, my Queen." Bowen said to her. "Be a man and face me. Are you going to cower and beg for forgiveness forever?" She asked him. "What was done is done, Bowen. You now have three Eagle Prince's and an Eagle Princess depending on you." Artemis said firmly. Danny walked up behind Artemis and rubbed her shoulder for comfort. "Bowen. It's time for you to forget what happened so that you can move on from it or else it'll be too late. Our Queen is giving you a second chance." Danny said to Bowen. Bowen shook his head no and balled his hands into fists. "I forgive you Bowen. I don't know how to continue loving like this. You're supposed to be my first King Consort but I feel so separated from you." Artemis said slowly getting down on her knees in front of Bowen. "My Queen. On the floor like this is not a place for you to be." Bowen said, immediately reaching for her. Artemis quickly grabbed Bowen and pulled him into a tight hug. "No matter what. We still have each other and now we have four baby Eagle's together." Artemis said, holding back tears. Bowen hugged her back and gently lifted her off of the floor. He stepped back a little and put his hands on her stomach to feel her and the Princess. "Princess Emersyn." Bowen said out loud. "Three Eagle Prince's and this one Princess Emersyn." Artemis said, rubbing Bowen's hand over her swollen stomach. "I will stop spending my time focusing on everything all at once. I will spend more time with you and our whole family." Bowen said to Artemis. "I'm sure we all would like that. I for one am tired of watching you watch us making sure we all are okay." Artemis told Bowen. "I would like you to enjoy time with us as well, Bo. Now that you have Eagle cubs our family is even bigger. We all should enjoy each other." Danny said, slapping his hand on Bowen's back in a brotherly manner. The three of them hugged each other for a minute until they were interrupted by one of the Nanny's in charge of hatching the Eagle eggs. The nanny was a White Wolf Beastman, he had a white skirt covering his private parts and ran up the hall barefoot. "My Queen, the most incredible thing is happening! The Eagle Eggs are hatching!" The Beastman said to her excitedly. "What?" Bowen asked, confused. "Yes. I know. I was prepared to wait at least a week for them to hatch but they are wiggling and making small cracks already!" The Beastman told them. "Oh my Queen. What strong Eagle cubs you have in there!" Danny said to Artemis excitedly. Danny pulled Artemis and Bowen into a tight hug once more before heading to the room with the Eagle Prince's. "I think Princess Emersyn is excited too. She wont stop moving." Artemis said, putting her hand on her stomach wishing she could make it stop.

The room with the Eagle nest was lot by a few torches and a huge window. In the middle of the room there was a huge nest that Artemis had to lean over to look into. Bowen and Danny helped her and thats when she saw the three huge eggs sitting huddled together but shaking and wobbling. "Oh it's true. They're gonna break out just like Princess Eden did!" Artemis said looking with excitement. "My Queen. Everywhere you go there is a blessing that follows. I hope you live a long and healthy life here in the White Wolf Kingdom'' said the wolf Beastman nanny. He had kneeled down to her out of extreme respect. "I hope to help more of your children come into this world and watch them grow to be as powerful as you." He added. "Thank you my friend. I hope you find more happiness in life here as well!" Danny said, shaking the Beastman's hand. "Look, I see something!" Artemiss said pointing at the eggs. All four of them watched as the three little Eagles made their way out of the eggs. The first thing they did was wobble and squeak at first. As they wobbled they seemed to get a feel for their legs and feet until they were able to stand up straight. "Whoa there!" Bowen said watching them in surprise "I can't believe what I am seeing." Bowen said, shaking his head. "I mean. Maybe learning like this is a very good thing." Danny said watching the Eagle Prince's. "Yeah. I have never seen this even with chicks, but maybe they are this strong and intelligent." Artemis said, shrugging her shoulders. Once Artemis spoke, the Eagle Princes stopped squeaking and turned their heads up in her direction. The three eaglets were about a foot long with Grey fuzz covering their entire bodies. Their beaks were a soft yellow and their eyes were bulging but barely open. "This is incredible. Eaglets usually don't hatch for a whole month. It seems like they developed while inside of Charity's womb and that's why they hatched so quickly." Bowen said watching the Eaglets as they watched Artemis. "Incredible isn't even the word. Do we need your father to come in and take a look at them?" Artemis asked Bowen. At the sound of her voice again the Eaglets started to wobble towards her using her voice as direction. "Look. They are following your voice!" Danny said pointing. "Of course. I am their mother." Artemis said, clutching her chest emotionally. "Yes. Of course they should be this affectionate towards their Queen Mother already." Bowen said smiling. Artemis was watching the Eaglets as they tried to watch her when she felt pressure in her stomach like she had to use the bathroom or pass gas and she had to try very hard not to do so. Suddenly she felt like a valve had been turned and water started gushing down her legs. "Uh Bowen!" Artemis said frantically looking down at her feet. "Oh brother, you too!" Danny said, smacking his forehead. "Yes, me too!" Artemis said, slapping his arm. "Help our Queen to her room," Danny said to Bowen, opening the door for us. "It is time for Princess Emersyn to make her grand entrance!" Bowen announced going through the hallways.