Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Alexa watched her friends play games late into the night.
She took part too and they rotated in and out through the group, each one taking turns winning a match.
The guys were still out for blood, but Alexa was calling it a night.
Plus, with Raine gone, it was all guys in there, and the macho male talk was reaching snooze level.
“I’ll walk you to your room.” Mikah listened to her laugh, and she shook her head.
“I’m perfectly safe, Mikah. Keep playing. Goodnight, boys.” Alexa patted Mikah on the head before she made her way out of the room.
Soft light spilled down the passage, and a couple of guards were scattered down the hall.
She greeted each one with a small nod of acknowledgment, finally making it to the door that would take her upstairs.
It was a long staircase that would lead her up to where her family stayed.
Brody, Chelsie, Raine, and Mikah all stayed up there too.
It was like their own private house, separate from the castle.
Her father had demanded his privacy long ago, and this place was given to him.
She slowly walked to her room, quietly shutting the door behind her.
She made her way over to the far end of the room to her closet.
Once inside, she moved things around until she found what she was looking for.
It was a clear bag specially designed to contain scents.
She opened the bag and pulled out a shirt, holding it up to her chest. Leaning down, she took in the smell.
This was the shirt Ken had put on her cousin Lucie when he rescued her from Erebus.
Lucie had given the shirt to her, and she’d kept it safe ever since.
It still had remnants of his scent on it, but it was starting to fade now, even with the special bag.
It was only a matter of time before the scent disappeared forever.
“I swear I’m going to slap you upside the head when I see you.
Why do you have to be such an idiot? I would rather spend one day with you than a thousand lifetimes without you.
” She buried her head in the shirt. The small, sweet traces of his scent tickled her nose and calmed her insides.
Just hints of his scent could do this to her.
She could only imagine what being in his embrace would feel like.
She folded the shirt up and sealed it back in the bag, covering it back up in her closet.
What if Ken didn’t come for her? What was she going to do next?
It was something she didn’t even want to think about, because that truth would be painful to face.
But if that asshole didn’t show up, she was still going to find him and give him hell.
She had eternity. Eventually, she would meet him, and he would think he was still in the ocean with the salty tears she planned to make him cry.
Because even if he didn’t want her, he could at least reject her properly.
How was it possible to love someone you’d never even met?
But she did. And when he saved her cousin Lucie from Erebus, she loved him more.
He knew Lucie was important to her and he rescued her for that reason alone.
This wasn’t the act of someone who didn’t care.
Ken was wasting precious time when they could already be together.
Deep in thought, she walked to the opposite side of her room to her balcony and stepped outside into the crisp evening air.
The wind swirled gently, playing with the ends of her hair.
The moon was shining high above her and lighting up the ground below with its gentle light.
She stood there, looking out toward the garden and the sparkling fountain.
Behind the fountain, she caught the slightest hint of movement. She concentrated on the area, making out a body in the distance, and decided she would go and investigate, since they didn’t appear to be one of the guards.
She jumped off the balcony using her ice to glide her to the bottom.
It was more discreet than shifting into her wings.
She gracefully reached the bottom and walked cautiously toward the garden.
It was located toward the rear of the castle, and thick, green bushes surrounded the whole outer area.
She reached the path to enter and walked in toward the fountain.
Alexa furrowed her brows and scanned the area.
She heard a sound from her side and immediately turned her head.
A number of figures walked out under the moonlight.
They had human-like features, gray skin, and a foul odor.
Their eyes were dull and lifeless but were fixed on her.
A low growl or groan came from their throats as they stepped toward her.
She wondered if these were the voidless she had heard about before that her cousin Lucie was dealing with.
She raised her hand and rotated it gently. Sparkling ice rushed from her fingers and engulfed the undead creatures. She spun, twirling her hand in the air, and her ice overwhelmed another group of the undead. Her ice shimmered under the moon as it shattered, tearing apart the creatures.
She felt a presence behind her and went to send a wave of ice toward it. Her ice missed the target as someone grabbed her hands and spun her back against their chest.
“Beautiful. A deadly beauty.” This was a deep voice that she didn’t recognize.
She looked over her shoulder to try to look at who was holding her. “Who are you?”
“What? You don’t recognize your mate? It’s me, Ken.”
She didn’t feel anything. No tingling sensation from the mate pull.
Nothing. She furrowed her brows and moved her head to the side more.
This wasn’t the same scent on her shirt that was Ken’s.
And then she noticed it … the slick white hair that was pulled back.
She stomped her foot, sending up an ice shard toward the man, forcing him to let go.
She jumped away from him and turned so she could face him.
She looked at his white shiny hair and brown eyes.
This was not Ken. There was only one person this could be.
Erebus. She clenched her hand, creating an icy sword in her grip that swirled with little sparkling snowflakes.
Only they weren’t snowflakes but tiny, sharp shards.
This was something she’d developed all on her own.
“Is that any way to treat your mate?”
“You are not my mate. I am the chosen mate of the dragon prince.” Alexa stood tall and narrowed her eyes at the evil man, his eyes glinting with humor.
“Perhaps you are. But that doesn’t change who you have a connection to.” Erebus took a step closer and Alexa raised her sword up at him defensively.
“Go ahead and try to kill me. I think you’ll find I’m much more troublesome than my cousin.”
A cruel grin spread over his face. “Kill you? Oh no. After I captured your cousin … which was quite clever. It took a lot of research to find out I had picked the wrong princess. Or did you think I wouldn’t realize that there are two fairy princesses?
” He chuckled as he eyed Alexa up and down.
“After I captured Lucie, I realized something. Trying to break her was entertaining. It made me feel alive. So, I intended to do the same thing to you. But, no, you’re different. You are special. You’ve captivated me.”
Alexa gripped her sword tighter. The way his possessive gaze was glued onto her was making her feel repulsed.
“How am I different?” she spat out, looking at the deity angrily.
After everything he’d done to her cousin, she wanted to rip him apart.
But he was a god, and she needed to be clever with how she proceeded.
“You remind me of someone that was quite dear to me. Her name was Ivory. Her hair shined like yours. And just like her, you are beautiful. Your powers are amazing. I don’t want to hurt you. I want you to come with me. Stay by my side. There is no limit to what I could give you.”
Alexa almost choked. What the hell was this asshole saying? “Wait a minute. You tortured my cousin, and you think I’m going to just agree to warm your bed? I guess you really are crazy.” She listened to his chuckle as he raised his shoulders.
“I would treat you well. You can’t hold the past against me. For you, I’ll change.”
“Aww, how sweet.” Alexa rolled her eyes dramatically. “But it’s still a hard pass.” She swung her sword toward him, unleashing her shimmering, deadly snowflakes. He vanished, and a second later, he captured her in his arms, knocking her sword from her hand.
“Alexa.” His hot breath beat against her neck. “I’m not going to fight you. I want to cherish you. Give me a chance to prove it to you.” He pressed his body against hers and ran his nose over her neck.
There was an overwhelming difference in their power. Even if she was strong, she wasn’t on his level. She tried to shift into her dragon, but in his arms, she couldn’t. She couldn’t reach her wolf, Yuki, either. It was like his arms were a block to them. Well, he couldn’t block her magic.
She focused her ice power and allowed it to swirl around both of them. As the swirling ice dust raced around them, it hissed angrily. The ice shards bit at his arms and attacked his back, blood droplets falling to the ground. But instead, his arms tightened around her, almost gently.
“I expected this reaction. It’s okay, Alexa. Give in to me. I’ll give you the world and treat you like a queen.” His lips brushed against her neck as he spoke to her. Her ice shards cut his cheek, and his blood dripped onto her shoulder.
“I don’t want the world. I don’t need your delusion of what a relationship should be. You have no idea what love is. And I don’t want to be the one to teach you. This is just another sick game you’re playing to try to hurt Ken. I’m not going to be your catalyst to cause him pain.”