I huff at him and narrow my eyes, making him chuckle.
“I take that as a yes. You see, that woman you tried to keep for yourself? She’s my wife to be, and I don’t take too kindly to you…well, trying to keep her to yourself. I suppose, however, I should thank you for keeping her alive in the woods until we could find her.” He smirks. “Silly woman, thought she could survive out there without me, but now she is back where she belongs—with her people. And you? She will forget you, wolf.”
I lunge, smashing my fangs into the bars. He stumbles back with a yelp, the fucking pussy. Some goddamn man he is.
He straightens and, with a narrowed-eyed look that can’t hide his fear, he offers me a parting remark. “She’s mine now, wolf, and I plan on making sure she knows that. Oh, but don’t worry, you will be dead before you hear her screams of pleasure at my hands.”
His laughter follows him as I roar in anger, throwing myself against the bars, trying to break free and rip the son of a bitch apart. I see red, howling and snarling like the wild animal they believe me to be.
Alejandra!
I feel her gasp as my mental call sinks in. It takes a moment as she flickers through my mind, first with happiness, then worry…then fear when she realises what’s going to happen to her and me.
I don’t care about me, only her, and before the magic cuts me off, I tell her one thing.
Run, darling.
Alejandra
Run, darling.
His panicked voice fills my head. No! I yell mentally, reaching for him, but now there is only emptiness where he resided before, and it staggers me. I didn’t even realise how much he filled my head and heart until now. I feel empty and so alone. Tears fill my eyes as I try to reach him.
Just as I’m about to scream, the door to my bedroom unlocks and swings open. I step back warily. I woke up here, knocked out with magic just after Slate. I have vague memories of being carried through the streets as I was brought here, then nothing until I sat bolt upright a few hours ago, heart pounding, fear filling me.
They got me.
I will be punished for running, but it’s not me I’m worried for. It’s Slate. Why did he tell me to run? What is happening to him? Does he really think I would leave him? I watch the woman who steps into the room with anger.
“Mother, let me go,” I hiss.
She flinches at my harsh tone. It’s uncouth, and it was a threat. I could be whipped for that, but she doesn’t punish me, instead she watches me sadly. Her ice has melted into fear…for me. That’s what makes me freeze as she shuts the door softly and steps closer.
“Are you okay?” she asks quietly.
I nod, and she shudders. “Thank the goddess. I was so worried. We don’t have much time, Alejandra. You will be brought in front of the queen for your actions, but there are ways to explain what transpired. You are chosen to be the future queen, so she cannot kill you.”
“That is not what I care about,” I snap.
“No, it never was. You never cared about status or any of that.” She looks away. “I hoped…I hoped it would change as you got older, that you would be more fae, but the goddess was right—”
“What are you saying?” I interrupt with a frown. “The goddess?”
She glances nervously to the door before bringing her gaze back to me. “I owe you the truth…” I frown at her, and she continues. “You have to understand, my child, you are all I ever wanted. Your father was sterile, and I wanted a child for so long. I prayed to the goddess and, Alejandra, she answered. But the goddess never gives you what you are anticipating. She told me you would be different. That you had a purpose, a destiny, and were fate chosen.”
I inhale, and she rushes on.
“I thought I could handle it, keep you here and safe, and nothing would ever happen. I thought by not telling you…I was saving you. All those nightmares… Alejandra, they are not just dreams. You are part of the goddess, of this world and land and magic. It is in you, it is you. You aren’t imagining things. They are things that have come to pass. They are happening right now…or are yet to happen. But they mean nothing, you can choose to ignore them. The goddess has given you another path, to be queen!”
I stagger back at her admission.
It all makes sense now—my curves, being able to lie, my growing magic. I’m not just fae, I’m part fae…part goddess? My head spins, and she steps back, changing the subject as if she did not just throw my whole world into chaos.
“You have a purpose, my daughter, and your place is here. Your people are here. You want to help them, you always did. Are you going to throw away your chance at being queen, at having real power to change those suffering below…for a wolf?”
I stare, unsure what to say, and she offers me a sad smile. “I will leave you to think on that.” She sweeps from the room, leaving the door unlocked behind her. I rush to it before stilling. Is she right?
And if I do go and find Slate now, how will we be free? I have a duty to my people, I know that…but I have a duty to my heart as well, to my mate, to my wolf. I step back, knowing I cannot run out there without a plan. They are undoubtedly watching, I would be dragged back here. No, I have to be smart. I have to use all of my skills.
I am not leaving the man who saved me, who took care of me, who loved me for who I am and gave me the freedom to become the person I wanted to be. He deserves his freedom, not to be locked away again…but can I really go with him when so many are suffering here?
I’m not sure, but all that matters is finding him and getting him into the forest. The rest I will think on.
I venture downstairs, but I hear Theo, so I return to my room and exhaustion suddenly hits me. Frowning, I stumble to the bed and fall onto my back, my eyes already closing as I smell the sweet scent that accompanies our goddess.
It smells like the forest. I hear the running of water and the whisper of the trees in the wind. But it’s all too bright, too perfect, and flowers grow from everywhere. My bare feet don’t even indent them as I wander forward, the bright sun shining down on us, giving everything an ethereal look. I circle a tree and there, in a flower-covered clearing, is a woman.
Sitting cross-legged on a bed of flowers, she watches me venture closer with a mysterious smile on her face. I gasp when her features shift to that of an older woman, and as I stare, her appearance morphs repeatedly. Old, young, all beautiful. I feel the power flowing from her.
“Goddess?” I gasp, dropping to my knees before her.
She laughs, the sound like tinkling bells, and reaches over and covers my hand. “My child, it is about time you came to find me for answers.”
I raise my gaze at that, my head aching as she continues to morph. “Answers?”
“About who you are, Alejandra, and more importantly…what you are, and what your true purpose is. There have been so many lies surrounding you that it can be hard to see through them. I am here to help you unravel them and find your destiny.”
“Why now?” I inquire hesitantly.
“It’s time now. Plans are in motion, and you are a part of those plans, but I am getting ahead of myself, come and sit.”
When a goddess asks you to sit, you do. She holds my hand, and her face finally stops on that of an older woman. “What your mother told you is true, you are fae…but you are so much more. You are a part of me, my magic runs through you. When she came to me to ask for a child, I knew you were needed. The Fates have been waiting for this for years—for your birth, amongst others.”