Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
It had been a couple of days since Ken had visited her.
She couldn’t help but think about him. Was he alright?
Her fingers unconsciously brushed over the warm gem resting on her neck.
What if he needed her? She had no way to go to him.
She wasn’t a deity, but she was a demigod and still strong.
She wanted to be with him. She didn’t care if she was fighting by his side or curled up on a couch with him.
As long as she was beside him, she would be happy.
Alexa sat on the couch with her feet tucked under Brian and her head on Mikah’s shoulder.
Nick and Misty sat on bean bags in front of them as they watched a movie.
Nia and Troy sat cuddled up together on the single chair.
Their arms were wrapped around each other, and they could care less about the movie.
Jared had left to go get snacks for everyone mid-movie, which meant he couldn’t take the upcoming scenes.
Jared was always squeamish when it came to ghost movies.
She hadn’t seen Raine and Ryker since they’d found out they were mates. Her aunt Chelsie was happy for her, but her uncle Brody was pouting about his baby girl finding her mate. He was happy she would be remaining in the West Dragon Kingdom, though.
“Lex, your feet are ice cold.” Brian grunted and squirmed, trying to edge away from her feet.
“Hey, do your job and keep my feet warm. Or I’ll show you what cold really feels like.” Alexa gave him a devilish smile and listened to him chuckle.
Brian grabbed her ankle and sent a warm sensation over her feet. He winked at her as a cocky smirk spread across his lips.
Misty and Nick suddenly tensed in front of them. They looked around in confusion, lifting their noses and taking in small whiffs.
“What is it?” Brian asked, straightening up to look around. He turned his head to see his cousins from the North Dragon Kingdom walk in, Anna and Cole, Dex and Ciana’s children. They both halted abruptly and stared into the room, an intense look on their faces.
Nick and Misty both turned around and their eyes met with Anna and Cole.
“Mate,” they all said simultaneously.
Alexa watched in shock as Misty ended up in Cole’s arms. And then there was Nick and Anna. The two who used to always pick on each other. They stood apart just staring at the other before Nick walked toward her slowly. He reached her and took her into his arms.
“So you’re the reason I exist.” Nick smiled as he leaned his forehead against hers.
“Okay, that is some wicked voodoo right there,” Mikah teased, pausing the movie. “This is some weird, crazy coincidence, though.” He turned to look back at the new mates … all royal mates from different kingdoms.
“I’ll go and let the parents know.” Troy got up, pulling Nia up with him and leaving the room.
Alexa watched the two new couples leave to get acquainted as mates.
It was shocking but in a good way. They were all so close and now would be even closer.
She turned her head to look over at Brian, and that was when her heart broke.
He sat there, staring off into space. There was an emptiness on his face that she’d never seen before.
Everyone around them was finding their mates.
But even if Brian found his, he might not be able to have her.
She bit her inner lip and glanced over at Mikah. His eyes were filled with concern for Brian as well. No matter what Brian said, this had to be a painful moment for him. The weight of his reality had to be hitting him full force.
Brian turned to look over at Alexa and Mikah. He forced a smile as he cleared his throat. “Well, that was unexpected. I guess we won’t be hanging out as much as I thought. We’ll be lucky to see them now.” He let out a dry chuckle.
Alexa didn’t know what to say. It was obvious he was hurting, but he was trying to hide it.
What could she say to him? There wasn’t anything that she hadn’t already said.
We won’t give up. We’ll keep trying. There has to be a solution out there.
He’d heard it all before. But nothing was guaranteed.
The only thing she could guarantee was that she would never give up.
She would hunt Shiva down herself. She hated seeing Brian get put through something like this. He didn’t deserve it.
“Hey, where did everyone go?” Jared asked as he walked back in with a tray of food.
“We won’t be seeing everyone. They all found their mates” Brian said dryly.
“Really? That’s crazy. Who?” Jared asked as he sat his tray down. He grabbed one of the empty bean bags and plopped onto it, shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth.
“Anna and Nick are mates. And Cole and Misty are mates,” Alexa said as she continued to watch Brian.
“That’s amazing. So Anna will be the South’s new queen? That’s wonderful. What a freakish way for everything to work out. I mean, what are the odds of them all being mates?” Jared went on enthusiastically.
Alexa wanted to kick him in the head. Could he quit talking about mates right now? Brian was still adjusting to the whole mate shock. He’d been hit with everything at once, and it was a tough blow to him.
“Lex.”
The sound of Brian’s voice interrupted her thoughts, and she lifted her gaze to meet his.
“I’m fine, Lex. Don’t.”
She could see a bit of agitation on his face as he stared at her with a look she’d never seen from him before. He looked … annoyed with her. His eyes suddenly softened, and a faint smile rested on his lips. She searched his hazel eyes as he reached out and took her hand.
“I’m not going to break, Alexa. You don’t have to worry. I’m not glass.” He tilted his head to her.
Alexa scooted over and wrapped her arms around him. She didn’t need to say anything. There was nothing to be said. But she wanted to show him she was here for him. There was something that was bothering her, though.
“Brian.” Alexa looked into his eyes as she shook her head in confusion.
“Dragon mates are different than wolves. The Moon Goddess has a hand in manipulating werewolves and their mates, but my father doesn’t mess with setting up mates.
He lets the natural mate pull happen for those who are compatible. But this …”
“I agree. Too much coincidence.” Brian glanced at Mikah, then Jared.
“You don’t think they’re real mates?” Jared asked in confusion.
“They’re real mates. That isn’t what they’re saying.” Mikah spoke up and then rose to his feet. He reached for Alexa. “And I think right now your fathers are probably discussing this very thing.” He gazed at Brian, who also rose to his feet.
“Right. We need to be there for this conversation. Jared, go have some fun at the party. We’ll catch up with you later.” Brian could see Jared didn’t quite grasp the situation, but he nodded his head anyway.
“Alright. I’ll catch you guys later,” Jared said as they parted ways.
“A coincidence?” Grandpa Sage said as he shook his head. “None of this is just a coincidence.” He looked at Xander. “You were mated to the Princess of the North. Weston, the Southern King, is mated to your half-sister and a demigod.”
“And I, the Dragon King of the North, have a rare light dragon as my mate.” Dex said, turning his head toward Mason.
“And my mate was a princess from the Southern Dragon Kingdom,” Mason said as he pulled Ruby closer to his side.
“And now most of your children are mated to the next generation of royals. This is …” Grandpa Sage looked down in deep thought.
“It’s unheard of,” Levi said, his lips pursed tight and his forehead creased with worry.
“Why would this be? You don’t practice pairing up mates,” Alexa said as she walked into the room, followed by Brian and Mikah.
Levi looked up at his daughter and shook his head. “I don’t pair dragons together.”
“But you were paired, and Ken was paired.” Xander watched Lee nod his head.
“Selene can use the wolves to manipulate the mate senses. But with Ken, it was a soulmate bond. She didn’t do that on her own.” Reiya pressed herself into Lee’s side and he wrapped his arm around her.
“She must be using all the resources she can to pull off something like this. Of course, with Endymion back, she has a lot of means to do what she thinks is needed.” Lee held on to Reiya tightly. What future did Selene see? She was creating powerful soldiers once again for something, but what?
“Lucie mentioned seeing a premonition of a strange future, where the world looked to be in ruins. Is this maybe what she’s trying to prevent?” Alexa asked, and her mother’s eyes twitched slightly.
“The future is always changing. But there are some futures that can’t be avoided, only adjusted.
This must be some adjustment. Just like her pairing you with Ken while I was pregnant in order to guide me from the black hole.
We can only guess what Selene’s reasons are.
Her power of seeing the future is far greater than ours.
” Reiya spoke in a calm voice and smiled up at Lee.
“These pairings are not a bad thing. We shouldn’t act like they are.
Let’s embrace this as a strong moment for dragons.
It looks like you’ll be busy with a lot of mate blessings. ”
“You know they’ll be expecting Brian to mark his mate too.” Dex glanced over at Levi and Xander. The four kings had discussed Brian and his aura before. And Lila, being his sister, kept him informed on everything that was going on. Including the fake chosen mate setup with Brian and Alexa.
“They will, but there are ways around that for now. And hopefully, before the dragon party is over, Ken will be able to be here to claim Alexa. What Brian is doing now is just like a level of protection. Just like what Xander did for Reiya and me before.” Levi looked up at Xander and smiled at him.
“Tonight kicks off the first official day of the party. We’ll make an announcement of all the new mates and prepare for the acceptance kiss for each mated pair.
And we can say that since this is Brian’s home, he will be the last acceptance kiss performed.
” The Great Sage nodded his head as he wobbled through the room.
“Now back to my studies. I need to learn how to suppress a powerful aura.” He winked at Brian as he passed him and walked out of the room.
Alexa listened as everyone chatted amongst themselves. They were all great friends and family. Her mother looked so happy to see everyone again. But there was a look in her mother’s eye. What vision had she seen? What future would ultimately come to pass?