Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Alexa was awakened suddenly by the pressure of something soft covering her face, and she struggled to get out from underneath it. She felt someone beside her and grasped at them, sending a wave of frost across their body.
“Damn it, Lex! You don’t play fair.” Mikah pouted as he removed the pillow from her head.
“I don’t play fair? You’re smothering me in my sleep.” Alexa squinted into the bright light of her room as her eyes came into focus. She looked at the young man with light blue eyes and black hair, his brows furrowed as he swatted the ice crystals off his body.
This was Mikah, her guardian. He was a werebear that had been given special powers in order to be the shield and sword to the fairy princess.
All fairy princesses had a guardian. Brody was her mother’s guardian and her uncle.
Her grandparents had adopted him when he was a child along with his twin brother Chasen.
But it was different with Mikah, since he wasn’t raised as her brother.
When Alexa's mother Reiya visited the fairy kingdom, she didn’t find a compatible werebear guardian for her daughter.
It wasn’t until Alexa was three years old that Reiya felt a strange pull while traveling with Levi, Alexa's father. They went to investigate and found a young boy who was five years old, bound in anti-shifting cuffs. The boy was badly beaten, deep lashes everywhere underneath his tattered clothing. Unfortunately, he had been discovered by dark elves and was taken in as a slave after his parents were killed during the demon war. For three years, he’d lived a life of torture, poorly clothed, hardly fed, and very much unloved.
Levi incinerated the dark elves that were holding him captive and Reiya took Mikah back to Elysia, the fairy kingdom.
She’d planned to adopt him as her own just like her parents had done with her adoptive brothers, but because of the trauma Mikah had experienced, he had extreme and powerful outbursts.
He had an intense energy that radiated from his young body, and he was a premature shifter.
Because of that, his anger explosions were serious.
It was decided that he would stay in Elysia where he would be cared for by Lita and Asher, the Queen and King of the Fairies, and he would begin his training as a pupil under the powerful, seasoned guardian, Grayson.
It took several years of discipline and training under Grayson to help Mikah learn to reel in his temper and emotions.
What was surprising was how strong Mikah was.
Even at his young age, he was the strongest guardian that had ever existed.
Lita the Fairy Queen had concluded that it was because his charge was the most powerful fairy princess to ever exist. Fairy magic was clever that way …
and at times, it had a mind and a life of its own.
Alexa visited Mikah often in Elysia. It was easy to do since their family each had pieces of a black pearl that allowed them to portal to the other pieces instantly.
This allowed her to see Mikah daily, which was important for both of them.
They grew up together and were just like siblings.
Reiya wanted Mikah to consider her as a mother, but he’d never accepted it.
Still, Mikah was always treated like part of the family, but it was no secret that he looked at Grayson as his father.
He even called him pops affectionately … and maybe teasingly too.
Mikah still had to work on controlling his temper, but he’d never lash out at Alexa. However, heaven help anyone who upset her. His emotions were tied to her. When he was angry, it was almost always on her behalf. She was his family, and he would do anything to keep her safe and happy.
“Geez, Lex, my sweat turned into little ice beads.” Mikah sighed, still dusting the ice crystals off of himself.
“Eww! Mikah! Why are you shirtless? And you’re wiping your nasty frozen sweat beads on my bed.” Alexa snorted, sitting up angrily.
“I was training early this morning, princess. Unlike you, who’s been sleeping the day away.” He chuckled as he watched her eyes land on him icily.
“And you’re in here because …?” She raised her brows at him and folded her arms over her chest.
He grinned mischievously as his eyes flashed at her in amusement. “Oh, I was just curious how you responded to Jared’s love confession.”
She looked at him, stunned, her cheeks flashing through several different shades of pink. “How did you know?”
“I overheard him practicing his speech on the balcony.”
“And you didn’t warn me? Isn’t that your job?” she snorted, sighing heavily.
“My job is to protect you. And that I will do with my life. But who am I to interfere with that powerful, overwhelming emotion between a woman and a man?” he teased with a Cheshire cat grin.
He watched her shoulders heave as she looked down at her hands on the bed.
His eyes softened and his smile faded. He didn’t like seeing her like this.
He moved slowly and gently sat across from her on the bed. “Lex …”
“I can’t give up on him, Mikah. I’m frustrated to death with that man.
And maybe I am stupid, but I need to see him.
I can’t move on unless he outright rejects me.
The fact that he hasn’t rejected me … I can hold onto that, right?
That it means he doesn’t want to reject me. ” Mikah gazed at her with concern.
“You know, I think Jared really likes you.”
“He told me he loves me, but he probably has a fated mate out there. He’s young for a dragon, and he has a lot of time to meet her.
I’m not sure what he is really offering.
Does he want me on his arm to pass the time until he finds his mate?
Or is he really saying he will throw that away?
Because … I can’t. I like Jared, but as a friend.
” She looked up at Mikah, who was deep in thought, a small frown on his lips. “What is it?”
“Lexi … the thing is … this whole Erebus business. You know what he did to your cousin, right? He beat poor Lucie and abused her, thinking she was you. If he realizes you’re the one he should be after …
” His light blue eyes looked straight into hers pleadingly.
“Ken knows Erebus will come for you once he knows you two are mates. And as your guardian, I don’t want you in danger.
Can’t all this wait until your father finds Erebus and kills him? ”
She stared at her fingers quietly for a moment.
She’d tried to forget about the lunatic deity, Erebus, who was hell-bent on destroying Ken.
Because of that, he’d captured her cousin Lucie, thinking she was her.
The things he did to Lucie were horrible.
Alexa’s family was extra cautious now because there had been a premonition of Erebus killing her.
But it was just a premonition, and those often changed.
“What Lucie did for me … I can never repay her. She pretended to be me to protect me.” She shook her head slightly as her determined eyes stared back at him.
“But I won’t live in fear. So what if Erebus knows who I am?
With Leviathan and the Kraken here, he would be a fool to come for me.
Not to mention I’m not exactly a pushover.
I’m not a god, but I am a demigod. And as the fairy princess, I also have ancient magic at my command.
Everyone is scared because of some premonition they saw and they don’t even know the details.
What if that premonition only happens if Ken stays away from me? ”
“After everything you’ve learned about the Kraken … you still want him?”
A small smile reached her lips. “I don’t care about his past. I just want him by my side. I have no problems putting a collar and a leash on him if necessary. He is mine. I don’t intend to give up on him.”
“You know, he sort of needs to agree to that.” Mikah chuckled and shoved Alexa lightly. “You can’t force him to take you as his mate. No matter how stubborn you are.”
“I know Jared wants me to think about this, but honestly, I don’t need more time than what I’ve taken. I know I’ll never be satisfied unless I capture my mate and tame him. So that’s what I’ll do. I’ll be the Kraken tamer.”
Mikah chuckled and stood up from the bed.
“You set the bar high, princess. You should have started out on a smaller beast and worked your way up.” He let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.
“I know this is going to mean more trouble for me. But I’ll do my job.
I’ll protect you no matter what. So if you intend to draw hellfire up here, I’ll be your shield. ”
“I don’t need you to be my shield. I’ll ice hellfire to a smolder.
” She smiled and demonstrated summoning ice crystals by twirling her fingers.
This was one of her powers as a demigod.
She could control the ice element and summon it from thin air.
Her mother could summon water but only through her summon connection with her father, Levi, otherwise known as Leviathan, the water dragon deity.
But for Alexa, ice was her power, not a summons.
“Well, princess, before you master simmering out hell’s fire, you need to work on that dragon and wolf issue of yours.” He smirked and extended his hand. “Time for practice.”
She groaned as she accepted his hand. “I need food first.” She pouted as he pulled her up.
He was right, though. She was a dual shifter.
She could shift into a wolf or a dragon.
She needed to work on shifting between the two seamlessly.
It was still a challenge to shift from her dragon to her wolf and vice versa.