Chapter 536: Episode 534: A Botanical Garden
Zarek’s massive, warm hands completely covered her eyes. They blocked out the starlight shining through the bedroom window in a single second.
Roxy gasped softly. She reached up. She touched his thick, rough fingers. She couldn’t help but smile.
"Zarek? What’re you doing?" she whispered.
He leaned down. He pressed his lips gently against her ear. His deep, rumbling voice sent a massive shiver straight down her spine.
"I have one final surprise for you, my Queen."
Roxy let out a totally tired, happy laugh. "I’m wearing my pajamas. I don’t even have shoes on. I’m totally exhausted from David’s visit today."
"You don’t need shoes," Zarek promised, keeping his hands firmly over her eyes. "Just trust me."
"I always trust you."
He gently guided her forward. Roxy took a small, careful step. She couldn’t see a single thing. The darkness was totally complete. But she didn’t feel scared at all. She knew Zarek would never let her fall or trip. He kept his thick arm wrapped tightly around her waist. He supported almost all of her weight as they walked.
They walked right out of the master bedroom. They moved slowly down the long, quiet hallway. The thick carpet felt incredibly soft under her bare feet.
"Are we going downstairs?" she asked.
"Yes," Zarek answered simply.
They reached the grand staircase. Zarek didn’t even make her walk down the tall wooden steps in the dark. He just scooped her completely up into his arms. He carried her down the stairs like she weighed absolutely nothing. Roxy rested her head against his broad, warm chest. She listened to the strong, steady thumping of his heartbeat.
He carried her through the massive living room. She knew they were in the living room because she could smell the faint scent of wood smoke from the huge stone fireplace. Then, she heard a heavy door click open.
The cool night air rushed inside. It hit her face instantly.
Zarek set her gently back down on her bare feet. The ground beneath her didn’t feel like carpet anymore. It felt soft, damp, and totally alive. It was grass.
"We’re outside," Roxy noted.
"Keep your eyes closed," Zarek warned playfully. "No peeking yet."
Roxy stood perfectly still. She heard the loud crunch of heavy boots on a gravel path nearby. Then she heard a very familiar, totally annoyed groan.
"Move your elbow, Torian," Kaelen muttered quietly in the dark.
"I can’t see anything in the dark either, Kaelen," Torian grumbled back. "Stop pushing me."
"Both of you, be quiet," Syris hissed sharply. "She’s right here."
Roxy giggled. All of her giant, terrifying mafia husbands were standing outside in the middle of the night. They ran a totally ruthless criminal empire, but right now they sounded exactly like a group of little kids trying to hide a massive secret.
"Okay," Zarek said softly. He stepped right up behind her. "Open them."
He slowly pulled his hands away from her face.
Roxy blinked. Her eyes needed a second to adjust to the total darkness.
Then, somebody flipped a switch.
Hundreds of soft, glowing yellow fairy lights clicked on all at the exact same time. The bright lights completely illuminated the massive space around her.
Roxy gasped loudly. Her hands flew straight up to cover her open mouth.
She completely expected to see the wild, dark pine forest that usually sat behind their mansion. She expected to see normal trees and dirt. She wasn’t looking at a wild forest anymore.
She was standing right in the middle of a massive, perfect, totally secret botanical garden.
It was absolutely huge. It was easily the size of a professional football field. And it was sitting right in her own backyard.
Roxy literally couldn’t speak. She just stared.
"How did you do this?" she finally whispered. Her voice was totally shaky. "How did you hide a giant construction project from me?"
"We have a lot of money," Syris smirked, walking out of the shadows. He adjusted the cuffs of his expensive shirt. "And we’re very, very good at keeping secrets."
They had used their endless billionaire wealth to build it. They paid the construction crews double to work completely silently while Roxy was busy inside with the babies. They built it behind a thick row of tall pine trees so she couldn’t see the heavy dirt trucks from the house windows. It was a masterpiece of total secrecy.
Roxy slowly walked forward. Her bare toes curled perfectly into the soft green grass.
She looked up. Giant, heavy stone walls wrapped completely around the entire park. The walls were at least twenty feet tall. They were incredibly thick. Thick green ivy grew all over the stones, making them look beautiful and totally natural.
"I designed the walls," Syris explained, standing proudly. "Those stones are reinforced with solid steel. No cameras can ever see over them. No paparazzi can ever take pictures of our children. No enemies can ever get inside. It’s a completely safe fortress."
Roxy felt a huge lump form in her throat. She looked past the walls.
Right in the center of the garden sat a massive glass greenhouse. It glowed warmly in the night. The glass panels were totally spotless. Inside the greenhouse, she could see bright, exotic flowers. There were huge green ferns and wide, leafy plants. It looked exactly like a tiny, perfect piece of a wild jungle.
"I picked the flowers," Ren smiled, stepping up beside her. His bright purple eyes shined happily. "I made sure they’re all your absolute favorites. There are thousands of them in there. They smell amazing."
She turned her head to the left. There was a totally flat, massive grassy field. It was completely free of any rocks or dangerous holes.
"I mapped the field," Kaelen said softly. The Wolf King looked totally content. "The kids need room to run fast. They have way too much energy for the living room. Now they can run completely wild, and they won’t ever trip and hurt their knees."
She looked to the right. Massive, beautiful climbing trees stood tall against the dark sky. Their thick branches reached out like giant, welcoming arms. They were practically begging for seven energetic kids to climb completely all over them.
Torian pumped his giant fists in the air. "I built the treehouses!" the White Tiger cheered. "I used my bare hands. I hammered every single nail. There are three different wooden forts up there. I even put in a long rope swing. Drake is going to absolutely lose his mind."
Roxy laughed, wiping a hot tear off her cheek.
Then she heard the soft, calming sound of rushing water. She walked a few steps further. A perfectly clear, beautiful little stream cut right through the garden. It bubbled softly over smooth, round river stones. It ended in a shallow, sparkling pond.
"I handled the water," Caspian smiled sweetly. The Sea King looked incredibly proud of his work. "It’s perfectly clean. It’s totally shallow so the babies won’t get hurt. My daughter is going to spend the entire summer swimming right there."
Roxy stood perfectly still in the middle of the grass. She was completely surrounded by the six men she loved more than life itself.
They didn’t have Beastworld magic anymore. They couldn’t snap their fingers and make a forest grow. They couldn’t cast a magic spell to keep the bad guys away. They were just normal humans now.
But they had done something incredibly magical anyway.
They used their pure human muscle, their brilliant minds, and their endless devotion to build her a totally perfect sanctuary. They knew the giant stone mansion sometimes felt a little bit too much like a prison for the kids. They knew the kids needed to feel the sun on their faces and the grass under their feet. They knew Roxy wanted them to experience the wild beauty of the outdoors without any of the danger.
So they brought the outdoors directly to her.
Zarek walked up behind her again. He wrapped his massive arms securely around her waist. He pulled her back against his solid, warm chest. He rested his chin gently on the top of her dark curls.
"Do you like it, my Matriarch?" Zarek asked softly.
Roxy turned around in his arms. She looked up into his glowing golden eyes. She grabbed the front of his dark shirt and pulled him down for a deep, totally passionate kiss. Torian cheered loudly in the background. Kaelen groaned and told him to be quiet.
Roxy pulled back. She smiled the biggest, brightest smile of her entire life.
"I love it," she whispered. "I love all of you so incredibly much."
She turned back around to look at the massive, glowing garden. She pictured the girls running across the grass. She pictured the boys climbing the tall trees. She pictured David and Lira sitting on a blanket by the stream.
The Kings have built a perfect, massive, totally secret botanical garden. It is a stunning, billionaire-level private park with a beautiful greenhouse, tall climbing trees, and completely safe, high stone walls where their energetic human kids can safely run wild away from the city and the cameras. It is a perfect slice of paradise right here on Earth, built exactly to her tastes.
