IN FULL COLOUR - Dark Fantasy

Axel

An agonizing eight hours had gone by, and King Gaute still refused to unlock the iron gate, debating that it was too soon. That Dreams and Seduction might be lingering close, waiting for us to strike back.

A plan, he kept saying. “Give me a detailed outline on your retaliation plan and I would grant you a brief opening.”

Prince Gerek had weaved his magic over the lever, encasing it in a web of electric currents so powerful, whenever I tried to approach it, I could feel the charge vibrating through the floor, resulting in the tiny hairs all over my body standing up in static anticipation.

So, I sat in walking distance from the lever, constantly keeping a watchful eye on it while I planned our suicidal rescue mission.

We had ten warrior wolves, including me, one high fae prince, Locke, and twenty Lighthaven warriors. In total, thirty men against an army of beasts and fae. Not to mention the advantage Dreams and Seduction had on ground coverage.

Gabrielle had already warned us they were setting traps, who knew what else might be waiting for us beyond the gate.

Jarryd sighed beside me and rubbed his forehead, “what about Lighthaven’s nether fae? Can’t we use them in some way? A distraction maybe?”

Images of that Mansoor who had latched onto my leg that day in the hall came slamming into me. I contemplated it.

“Bloody disgusting things those toad-like hounds,” he muttered to himself.

I had to agree. The sight of them alone had unsettled me deeply. It was the first time I had ever seen a mythical creature other than a werewolf, witch or vampire.

“What about Coyne’s Regmus?”

My mind stilled.

Coyne. I had retrieved the disorientated young king caught in a harrowing state of withdrawal from Dire Mountain, but where had he gone after that?

“King Coyne?” I said, looking up. “Where is he?”

Jarryd’s eyes glazed over. “Pamela has him in one of the allocated wolf houses.”

“Take me to him.”

We made it all but ten steps, before Alpha Blake and Dorian stepped in front of us, “Axel, I need to have a word with you.”

Without waiting for me to reply, Alpha Blake pulled me aside and said, “I felt it when you marked my daughter.” Oh, that conversation. I should have been expecting it. Alpha Blake was now practically considered my father-in-law.

“Yes, Sir. I-uh, it was a spur of the moment type of thing.” The Alpha’s eyes widened.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that, I, she…” Shit, my rubbish dump of words was coming out in the worst possible ways, “I knew I wanted to mark her, but the moment…”

I shut myself up, taking a deep breath.

“I marked her in that moment to establish a connection between us. I couldn’t bear the thought of her being out there somewhere with no means of communicating with me. I needed to know what she felt, what she endured.”

Alpha Blake’s eyes softened in understanding, “that’s what I thought.”

“I love her, Sir, and I don’t regret doing what I did.”

The Alpha nodded, “have you had word from her?”

“Not in the last four hours, no.” It pained me to say it. To admit that she had been moved so far away that I couldn’t get through to her anymore.

“Will you pledge allegiance to Dire Mountain?”

Right. I was still connected to Hollow Stone. In order to sever the link and establish a new one with Dire Mountain, I had to pledge my allegiance to their Alpha and partake in a small blood ceremony which would create the physical connection between me and the pack. The blood ceremony would also symbolize my entrance into the pack and open the mind-link.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“Gabrielle is my only heir. If you chose to remain with Hollow Stone, Dire Mountain’s days would be numbered.”

I knew this, but I never trained to be an Alpha. Never wanted to be one.

“I think the Moon Goddess knew exactly what she was doing when she paired you with my daughter. Two strong bloodlines and an Alpha male without a pack of his own.”

I cringed at the Alpha’s words, and he saw it.

“Whether you decide to join our pack or not,” Alpha Blake looked me dead in the eyes, placed his large hands on my shoulders and said, “bring my daughter home.”

“You have my word, Sir.”

He nodded slowly, let go of my shoulders and took a step back.

“Alpha, I’m sorry for the way I treated-” Alpha Blake waved his hand in the air in dismissal.

“Don’t,” he said. “I forgave you the moment she did.”

I blinked, the only sign that the Alpha’s words had struck a chord. Not just at the confession that he had forgiven me, but also at the realization that Gabrielle had too. I didn’t deserve her forgiveness since I never formally apologized to her.

~

We found Coyne curled up on a smallish cot in Pamela’s assigned quarters. She was scurrying around, crushing herbs, mixing various blends of oils and patting the young king down with a wet cloth.

“Here, help me keep his body temperature down,” she said by way of greeting and shoved a bucket of water and the wet cloth into my arms.

Coyne’s face was contorted in pain, and he was gritting his teeth, hugging his knees to his chest, shaking. Sweat was pouring from him, soaking the bedsheets underneath his pale, weakened form.

The dark swirls underneath his skin had gathered in clusters, forming blackened patches of movement around his eyes, down his neck and over the expanse of his now bare chest.

He gripped the sheets so tightly, his knuckles turned white, and his eyes were buried in a shabby, soaked pillow.

Jarryd took the cloth from me and went to work, wiping the king down.

“The withdrawal is too sudden, too harsh. We need to do it gradually. He is going into shock,” Pam said, throwing her hands up in the air. She seemed nervous, worried.

“What do you expect me to do? Give him some more poison?”

She didn’t even flinch.

I shook my head. “No!”

“Axel, he might die!”

“Didn’t you hear anything he said? He cannot die, not without the other half of his soul.” It was one of the effects of the curse upon him.

“So you are just going to leave him like this!?” She yelled and pointed at the panting, shaking king.

My mouth fell open, “are you on fucking drugs? This man,” I also pointed at Coyne, “has immense power, too strong for us to manage and the poison reduces him to an animal. Do you want to be stuck in a damn mountain with a magic possessed animal?”

This time she flinched.

“He would either kill you or fuck you without an ounce of self-control or humanity! Is that what you want?”

Sorrow flickered in her teary eyes, and she turned to fully face Coyne again. Her heart went out to him, that much was clear, but we had to think this over.

“If I give him small amounts, just enough to take the edge off, it should not bring out the animal inside of him,” she said, looking weary and uncertain of herself.

I sighed and dragged a heavy hand through my messy hair, “where do you expect me to get poison from?”

“There are two slaughtered Aqrabuamelu beasts just beyond the iron gate,” Jarryd finally spoke up.

It was true. Locke and his brother had finished them off and their kinsmen didn’t even bother to drag their bodies away to hold a proper burial.

Pam nodded in thought. “That might work. Bring me their stingers.”

My stomach churned.

Jarryd exchanged a worried glance with me. He too had seen the bright green liquid dripping from those fat black stingers.

“Here, put this on,” Pam said as she pulled something yellow from a desk drawer.

Rubber gloves hung from her outstretched hand as she turned to face me. I stared at it unmoving, thinking that this was probably the worst idea I had ever participated in.

Coyne moaned into his pillow and convulsed a few times.

Shaking my head, I grabbed the gloves and left without saying another word.