Reign Of The King The Falcon Ridge Series Book 10

The escape from the mine shaft was really an eye opening experience.

I don’t know why, but hearing Ricky’s pleas and seeing her face, made me want to fight harder as I was about to just let go of that wall.

When she pleaded, I felt like I had to try.

As it turned out, it was just enough to allow me to live.

As much as I would love to just sit and sort out my feelings, I have a deeper problem.

“WHERES DAMON?!!” I boom at Redrick as we sit in our Falcon Ridge council room. I walk with a hand on my hip and I scrub a hand down my face.

“We have all our offices looking for him around the globe, Zander. He’s nowhere.” Redrick says, leaning on the table from his chair.

“Not good enough! I have an army of vampires right here! The commander has to be somewhere.” I growl.

“Were they at the shaft. Did your fighters get them?” He asks.

I shake my head. “No. The shaft was empty. We searched the others and they’re empty too.”

He stands. “So, what would you like me to do?”

“We need to find Damon. I also need my guard here. If Damon is starting a war here, I want my army.” I eye him.

“You’ll have your army, My king. Don’t worry. Damon won’t get what he wants.”

I bite my lip and nod.

“How are you?” He puts a hand on my shoulder and looks at me.

“I’m…I’m good…I think.” I say.

“This girl?” He smiles.

I huff out a laugh. “Ricky. She saved my life, you know.” I look at him.

He nods. “Sounds special. Sounds like you can move on.” He crosses his arms.

I rub my neck. “Maybe. I’m not sure.”

“What’s in question?” He arches a brow.

I look at him.

He tilts his head. “You’re still hoping for a second chance aren’t you?”

I lower my head and nod.

“Zander. As your brother at arms and your friend, it’s not going to happen. You hope beyond hope. If you continue, what’s right in front of you, will disappear.” Redrick speaks on a soft caring voice.

I raise an eye to him. “It’s my heart Redrick. It won’t let go.”

“Then you free it, Zander.” He smiles. “Call Hope. Demand she free you from your pain.”

“I don’t know if I want to, Redrick.” I lower my head again.

“Free your heart. You’ll see. Once it’s freed, it will open again. Call her.” He eyes me.

I heave a breath. “You’re right. I need to take care of this one way or another.”

“Yes, you do.” He shakes me. “Now go. I’ll summon your men.”

“Thank you.” I clasp his wrist. “Of all my trusted companions, I trust your words most.”

“I know. You wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for me.” He chuckles and pulls my arm.

I chuckle too. “That’s true and you remind me of it often.”

“I have to. You have a mind of a gnat some days.” He laughs.

“Get my men.” I smirk pushing him off me.

I walk down the halls and to my office. Redrick is right. I need to be free of this trap I’m in.

Whatever I’m experiencing with Ricky is being held back because Hope is on my mind and my heart in some way.

She’ll never have me and I need to be free of her. She needs to remove herself from my soul. I need to stop loving her. She needs to stop loving me too.

It won’t be an easy conversation for me, but if I’m to ever pull myself out of this misery, it must be done.

I open the door to my office. I stop. Her long brown hair hangs down her bare back. Her blue flowing dress hangs off her delicate hips.

My face softens in pain and want. She turns and it hurts even more.

I stare at her and her radiance fills my eyes. I suck in a breath as I walk into my office.

She glides to me, her blue dress flowing behind her.

She stands close to me. Shivers run through me. She grabs my cheeks and kisses me. Her sweet lips satisfying the ache mine have had for so long. I thread my fingers into her hair as I deepen the kiss. My body feeling the familiar burn I had before.

I part and she smiles. Her thumbs rubbing my cheeks as her sparkling eyes look into mine.

“Hope.” I whisper. “What?”

“Destiny told me of the loop hole, Zander. My answer is yes!” She tilts her head to me.

I lean into her. “Yes?” I swallow the lump that’s developing in my throat.

She bites her lip. “Yes.” She giggles.

“I…uh…I don’t know what to think.” I look away from her.

“What confuses you?” She finds my eyes.

“I wanted you to set me free. Free my soul and my heart, but you want it now?” I look into her eyes, my face full of confusion and pleading that this may actually be happening right now.

“Yes, Zander. I never stopped loving you. Now, we can be together. No one can stop it.” She softly kisses my lips again.

My forehead rests on her as my hands rest on her waist. Tears well in my eyes.

I look into her eyes. “I missed you. So much.” I say as a small tear falls down my cheek. My wolf and my emotions are all over the place. I can’t get any of it straight.

“I missed you too.” She wraps her arms around my neck and I wrap my arms around her waist pulling her into me.

My chin resting on her shoulder. I bury my head into her neck. My breath hitches as I feel her body in my arms.

She runs her hand down the back of my head. “I love you, Zander.” She whispers.

I suck in a breath. “I love you too.”

She pushes me back and I quickly wipe my eyes.

She smiles again. “So is that a yes?” she tilts her head.

The corner of my mouth ticks up. I bite my lip and nod yes.

I rub the back of my neck. “There’s…um…a few things I need to take care of first.”

She nods. “Of course. I’ll come back when you’re ready.”

I nod again.

She leans in and kisses me again. I melt into it like we never stopped. Like the years apart never happened. I felt the tear in my heart mend a little more. In time it will be completely healed.

As we kissed, Hope blinked out of existence and I was left kissing air. This made me chuckle a bit.

I walk to my desk and sit. I put my papers on my desk. I turn my chair to my window and my smiles fades as the image of Ricky’s legs dangling in the air pop into my head.

I turn back to my desk and I fold my hands on top. I look at them and open them up. The memory of Ricky’s skin tingles on my nerves.

The thoughts of our nights. The crazy stuff she did. The crazy stuff she made me do.

I lean my elbow on the arm of my chair and rest my chin in my hand.

I open my drawer and pull out Destiny’s slip of paper. I lay it flat on the desk. Its words in front of me.

I hold it down with both my hands as I read it again. I raise my hand and look at it. Then I clench it into a fist. Sucking in my top lip slowly fold the paper.

The hand that was a fist, rubs the back of my neck.

I put my elbows on my desk. I place my hands in a prayer pose in front of my nose.

‘Don’t leave me’

Ricky’s words echo in my mind.

‘I love you, Zander.’

Words I’ve wanted to hear from Hope for so long.

My hands slide to the back of my head as I struggle.

“Need some help, son?”

My head shoots up and my desk is in a black cavern tunnel with fire lanterns on the walls. The floor and walls are damp and musty.

At the end of the hall is a cage. Barely enough room for a man to stand. It’s wrought iron bars containing a creature who could potentially destroy the universe he created.

“Why did you call me, Eternity?” I growl as my hands turn to fists.

He’s sitting on the floor in the front corner of the cage. One leg out and one bent at the knee against the bars. His thick, muscular torso is against the other bars. Wearing jeans, construction boots and a black tshirt. He looks like a regular man.

His black, perfectly trimmed, short hair and stubble beard, make him look almost normal.

He looks at me with dark, blue eyes. Smiling a smile that makes you want to punch it off.

“Well,” He gets to his feet and fits his arms through the bars. “I had one phone call and saw you struggling, so I reached out.”

“I’m not struggling.” I grit. “I don’t need your help.”

“Come on, Zan. I’m you’re dad. You can’t lie to me.” He smirks.

I get up from my desk. “You are not my father.” My lips threaten a snarl.

“Zander. That’s not nice. I maybe be locked up, but I’ll always be your dad." He tilted his head to me as his finger lace on the other side of the bars.

“No!” My voice bounces off the walls of the cave. “No father of mine would do what you did!” I yell my growl while throwing my finger at him.

He nods. “It was unfortunate.” He says.

“Unfortunate?” I run and slam the bars making him step back. “UNFORTUNATE?! SHES DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!” My face is heated. Twisted in pain and anger. My eyes sting.

“I know. I saw.” He looks me in the eye before I turn and scrub a hand down my face. “it couldn’t be helped, Zan.”

I spun around. “Did you? Did you see everything? Did you see the suffering? Did you see the crying and begging on her knees night after night for you to come back? Did you watch as she slipped deeper and deeper into insanity?” I stepped close to the bars. Tears well in my eyes. “Did you watch as she climbed the tallest tower of the palace and throw herself off it? BECAUSE I DID!!” I slam the cage again and walk away.

I rub both my hands up my face and up into my hair.

“I’m sorry you had to see that, son.” He says low.

I turn and point at him. “No! Don’t you dare! You could of come back. Relieved my mother of her pain. But you didn’t.” I walked back up to the cage.

“I wanted to, Zan. In the worst way, but I have a universe to run. When Adele…..” He pressed his lips together. “The entities found out and I had to run. I begged them to let me go to you. Let me help you, but fucking Fate and her smug ass, refused to let me correct the wrong. Well, I want to correct it now. I want to be your dad again, Zan. I want to help you. Let me help you.”

I sniff and suck in a breath. “No.” I shake my head. “I don’t want your help.”

“I’ve been watching you, Zander. You’re an amazing King. Better than any I’ve created. You’re an even more amazing person. I’ve also been watching your struggles. With the uprisings. The vamps.”

I roll my head to him and met his eyes.

“You could be so much more, son. You have a chance to be the most powerful Zeta to walk the earth. More powerful than Damon. You kill him and you will be known in all four corners, but you know you’re equally matched.”

I bite my lip. I may be able to fight Damon, but actually killing him is a hard fight. We are equally matched. Most conflicts end in stalemates.

I nod.

He moves down the bars abs finds my face. “Hopes blood will give you the power you need.” He says softly.

I turn to him and narrow my eyes. “How do you know about that?”

He crosses his arms. “It’s my loophole. I created it. I couldn’t use it on your mother because by the time I pulled my head out of my ass, it was too late. Don’t let it be too late for you.”

I look down. “Ricky.” I whisper.

“Ah yes. The mortal.” He stuffs his hands in his pockets. “She’s a spunky one, isn’t she?”

I nod again.

“Son, you have a big weight on your shoulders. The fate of the world rests in your hands. If Damon wins, you know what would happen. You can’t allow it, Zander.” Eternity places his hands on the bars.

“What do I do?” I roll my head to him.

I can’t believe I’m even listening to him, but he seems like he genuinely wants to help me and save the world from being overrun by vampires.

“I think you know. You had your fun, son. Now its time to get back to work. You have a world to protect.” He tilts his head to me. “Once it’s over, you can look at things in a different light if you wish, but you know Hope loves you. You love her. Can you say the same about your mortal?”

I swallow. “I don’t know what I feel.” I whisper.

“Your heart does. What does it tell you? Really listen to it.” Eternity leans on the bars.

I close my eyes and lower my head. My love for Hope is real. I feel it. Ricky’s amazing. I care about her so much, but can I say it’s love?

“Take the blood, Zander. Save the world. Have the life you dreamed about.” Eternity whispers.

I open my eyes and I’m back in my office.

I wrap an arm around my waist and scrub a hand down my face and the back of my neck.

“What do I do?”