Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Alexa sat there staring at the two men. She had just finished explaining everything about the curse and Bella. Brian appeared in deep thought, but Mikah looked like he was about to flip the bed over in anger. His muscles bulged as his face turned a deep shade of red.
“I’m so pissed. Your father is going to go nuclear. I hope Ken finds out and he mutilates this asshole.” Mikah growled lowly, piercing Alexa with his gaze. “Don’t you dare go without me.”
“If that was the plan, I wouldn’t have told you.” Alexa grinned.
“I’m coming too.” Brian finally looked up after being deep in thought. “Maybe Bella can remove my curse too? It doesn’t hurt to ask.”
“That’s a great idea, Brian.” Alexa's eyes widened. She was shocked she hadn’t already thought of this.
Bella seemed like she was good at removing curses, so maybe she could also help Brian.
“I wonder if I should maybe talk to her first. She seemed shy about others.” Bella was doing her a favor, and it wasn’t fair to make her feel uncomfortable.
She seemed very kind, though, and she hoped if she asked her, she would agree to help.
“Well, we’re coming with you anyway. You aren’t going to go anywhere by yourself,” Mikah said tersely. “I wonder what exactly this curse will do.”
“She didn’t explain, but we didn’t have a lot of time.”
“When the time comes, we’ll go and get everything sorted out. Though we should probably take your father with us.” Brian watched her face contort.
The more Alexa thought about it, the more she realized that this was a journey she should probably take on her own. She didn’t want to risk upsetting Bella. She wasn’t sure what to do and needed to give it more thought.
“Well, since your wolf and dragon are out of commission, do you feel like taking a walk? Dragons have been arriving. Let’s go see if it’s anyone we know. I know Nick is already out there scoping out the hopefuls.” Brian smirked and raised his eyes to Alexa.
“So, you’re saying you want to go, but as your mate, I should be with you.
If I’m going to keep up the pretense, I need to be on your arm.
” Alexa smiled and nodded. He was the one doing her the favor.
Even being considerate enough to know he should have her with him on his strolls.
Dragons who have taken a mate rarely leave their sides.
They made their way outside and headed in the direction of the guest housing.
The building stretched out ahead of them, gleaming, big enough to swallow a small village whole.
It had always reminded Alexa of a cruise ship that had wandered onto land and decided to stay.
Dragons poured in from all over to live there for months at a time, and it gave them no reason to ever leave.
There was a grand dining hall, bars and lounges where music drifted out at all hours, pools and steaming spas, libraries for the quiet ones, casinos and theatres for the loud ones, and sparring grounds for anyone who needed to burn off a little fire.
Every room was soundproofed, and considering what the gathering was really for, that was less a luxury and more a mercy.
For the guests, it was one long vacation.
It was also one of the most anticipated events of the year. The highlights were sex and finding your mate. And for those already mated, it was a special time to visit with their friends and family across the kingdoms.
“Hey, is that who I think it is?” Alexa said, pointing in the distance at a young man walking toward them. She looked up at Brian and watched a big smile spread across his face. He picked up his pace to meet the man approaching them.
“Ryker, is that you? Man, I thought you were dead.” Brian reached out, pulling the man in and patting him on the back.
Ryker laughed and shook his head. “No, not dead yet. I was hanging here and there, floating between tasks. Just swinging in the breeze. But as you can see, somehow I’m still breathing.”
Ryker was a dragon they’d found a couple of years ago.
He was lying on a cliffside, unconscious and badly beaten.
When he came to, he didn’t remember anything except for his name.
It was clear he was a strong dragon since Brian’s aura never bothered him.
But he’d forgotten the most basic things about being a dragon.
Brian took him back to the palace and the two formed a tight bond.
Ryker was completely devoted to Brian, partly because he was the one who found him and because he respected him. There was chemistry between them, and Ryker seemed to know what Brian was thinking. They could handle tasks quickly and efficiently.
Once Ryker was fully recovered, he was sent to an elite training school for exceptional dragons.
He’d been gone for over a year now, and Brian was hoping he’d completed his training.
Before Ryker left, he gave his oath upon his flame to serve Brian with his life.
Because of that, he was to be Brian’s right-hand man when he returned. Much like how Reese was to Xander.
“It’s great to see you again. So, are you finished? Can you finally come home?” Brian asked eagerly.
“Yes, I just finished up the last of my tasks today. I can now fully take my position next to you. But Brian … I still haven’t recovered my memories. Are you sure it’s okay? I don’t know anything about myself from before.”
“I don’t care about your past, man. You’re my friend, and now my right-hand man.
My captain of the guards when I take over as king.
I trust you. Besides, you also swore upon your flame.
It isn’t like you can take that back unless I release you from it.
And I never will, because I’m keeping you around forever. ”
“Alexa. Mikah. How have you two been?” Ryker asked as he stretched out his hand for a handshake.
Alexa giggled and walked toward him, giving him a hug. “We’re closer than just shaking hands, right? We’ve been well. But look at you? You’ve really filled out. Looks like they put you through some intense training.”
Ryker chuckled and blushed in embarrassment. “Well, I may have matured a bit too.”
“Ryker, it’s good to have you back. How are you feeling? Does it feel good to be back?” Mikah asked, searching the man’s eyes.
“I wasn’t sure at first how it would feel coming back. But this is the closest place I have to a home. It feels good to be somewhere familiar. And even better seeing all of you again.” Ryker looked around, his brows furrowing. “Speaking of all of you, where is Raine?”
“She’s in Elysia. She should be coming back anytime.” Alexa watched him look between her and Brian.
“The word on the street is you two are taking each other as mates?” Ryker wiggled his brows. “I guess I missed a lot.”
Brian cleared his throat nervously and chuckled.
“You have no idea how much you’ve missed.
” He wanted to explain the situation to him, but not now.
It would have to wait until they could come clean with their relationship.
The more who knew, the more likely their secret would get out.
For now, they were trying to keep it between the four dragon kingdoms and their close family.
“I’m happy for you two. Congratulations.” Ryker grinned widely at Brian.
The conversation quickly took off from there.
Ryker told Brian about all the things he’d been doing.
He explained how intense his training was and how hard they were on him at the academy.
Ryker was a dragon of unknown origin and was commonly treated as a deserter or rogue.
Being a powerful dragon didn’t seem to help one bit.
“Come on. Let’s go find my father. I want him to officially declare you as my captain.” Brian turned and looked at Alexa, who nodded her head for him to go ahead and go.
“I actually am feeling a bit run down. I think I really need that nap.” Alexa felt Mikah’s arm land on her shoulder. She glanced up at him to see him giving Brian some sort of male silent talk. Honestly, she was really tired. She thought the feeling would pass, but instead she felt more drained.
Brian walked up to Alexa and pulled her into his arms. He lowered his head down to her neck and inhaled her scent. It was important to keep up appearances. “I can come with you. Let me walk you back.”
“Don’t be silly, Brian. I have Mikah with me.
I’m just going to go rest. I’m not going anywhere.
” This was a bit strange for Alexa. Especially when her whole body screamed for Ken.
But this was necessary. Dragons were possessive creatures and affectionate with their mates.
They needed to put on a convincing show for everyone, since they had no way of knowing who worked for Erebus.
There could very well be traitors among them.
“LEX!!”
Alexa smiled widely and turned toward the sound of her cousin. Raine was running toward her, her curly black hair bouncing around her as she ran up to them, excited.
“Raine! I’m so glad you’re back. We have a lot of girl chat we need to catch up on.” Alexa embraced her cousin tightly. She felt her cousin tense and jolt a bit in her arms. Alexa pulled back to see Raine looking at the ground in confusion. “Raine?”
Raine felt blanketed by a strange sensation, one that was pulling her and overwhelming her.
She lifted her gaze up to Alexa and then looked around.
What was this feeling? A smokey aroma invaded her senses, making her feel a deep sense of longing inside her.
Then her eyes met his. And it was like the alarm finally sounded clearly. He was hers. He was her mate!
Alexa followed her cousin’s gaze, which was glued to Ryker’s. He was also staring at her possessively, almost greedily.
“MINE!” Ryker growled lowly and slowly walked up to Raine.
Alexa's mouth parted in shock. She then looked back at Brian, who looked to be equally surprised. Raine and Ryker were just standing there, inches apart from one another, neither one of them closing the gap between them.
“I understand if … you don’t. I don’t know anything about myself. And—” Ryker started but Raine raised her hand, placing her fingers on his lips. A smile spread over her face and his lips twitched upward slowly. No words needed to be spoken. The look in her eyes told him everything.
“Brian, I guess you have time to walk me to my room now.” Alexa bit her bottom lip and smiled.
Raine and Ryker needed time alone now. They needed to talk and work on the next step for them, which was usually marking and several rounds of mating.
So they were going to be busy for a bit.
Unfortunately for Alexa, her meeting with her mate didn’t go that way.
As they walked away, Alexa noticed a peculiar smile on Mikah’s lips.
“What are you smiling about?” Brian asked, noticing it too.
“Oh, I was just thinking of how Brody is going to react when he finds out his baby girl has found her mate.” Mikah grinned and looked over at them.
“I think he should be thrilled. Especially because she has a mate that will keep her in the West Dragon Kingdom.” Alexa watched as Mikah shrugged slightly. “You forget that Mom and Aunt Chelsie are here to keep Brody in line.”
“Isn’t that the truth.” Brian chuckled.
Alexa glanced back once to see Raine and Ryker walking away together. She was happy for her cousin. She couldn’t wait until she could also have her fated mate by her side.
Hopefully, it would happen soon.