I swivel in my chair to look towards Alexander. He's talking to Aren and Christian about something. I whisper his name quietly, "Alexander?"
His head turns towards me, he mouths, "What?"
"Come here." I speak. He tells Aren and Christian he'll be back. As he lifts off the ground, black curls toss around his head. As he comes closer, his large hands swing around my waist. Those plump lips of his try to kiss me, but I put my finger on them, smashing them back into his face. "No kissing."
He playfully pouts, "Why not?"
"We need to talk about something important, and you kissing me is only going to be distracting." I grab his hand and lead us down the hall. I could tell he was a little stiff by how his hand clamped onto mine. Yes, he should be scared.
At the far end of the hall is a small bathroom, this house is so big that I don't feel like going up to his room. I turn the light on, push Alexander in and shut the door.
Those illustrious eyes of his curl around me. "If you want to make out, I could run us up to my room. In the bathroom is so weird, but I can deal." He starts to kiss at my neck, but I push him away.
"No, we need to talk." I lean against the bathroom sink; this bathroom is a bit snug maybe we should have gone to his room instead. Right next to us is the toilet and a small circle window. His hands rest on the side of me as he waits for me to talk. "I had an interesting chat with your mother."
His left brow lifts, "Oh really. About what, may I ask."
I cross my arms across my chest, his eyes attentively watch as I accidently push my boobs up. "I didn't mean to do that." I go on with what I want to say, "She told me that you begged your father to get security for me."
"Yes, I did." His lips purse up.
"And the reason is because some guy was stalking us in the park. The time you took me to go see "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang." He nods his head. "Why didn't you tell me?" I question.
He sighs, "I didn't want to worry you, Quinn. We just got back on good terms and I didn't want to scare you away. You can't lie and say I wasn't walking on egg shells around you, I just- just wanted everything to be perfect for a moment."
I had a whole speech ready in my head about how wrong he is to keep information from me, but he just wanted to the keep the peace, for a moment. How can I be angry at that?
I rub his cheek; he closes his eyes and leans into my touch. He's so warm, and feels so good. "You have to tell me these things." I say softly. I kiss his prickly chin.
"I know. And I'm sorry." He kisses the inside of my palm, small tingles vibrate through my body.
I further on to get answers, "What did the guy want? Why me?"
His jaw clenched, shoulders became tense. Those black eyes of his become hooded and lost in thought. "He came from Insofar, he wanted you."
"But WHY me? I'm not that special." His hand grips my waist as his lips kiss the sides of my face.
"I- I don't know baby." I could tell he was lying, something was being kept from me and I don't know what it is. I would question him more, but I'll leave it this time.
Realization comes over me, why didn't I piece this together in the kitchen? "Is that why your hand was injured when you came back from the truck?" I take his hand in mine, feeling the already healed scar on his knuckles. I bring it to my lips and kiss it, he shudders.
"Yeah, I punched him in the face. God, that guy was a fucking jerk, you should have heard what he said about you."
"What?"
His jaw locks as his eyes go full on golden brown. They only get that color when he's truly angry, I rub my thumbs against his ribs to calm him down. When that doesn't work, I lean up and give him a sweet kiss. "Just tell me."
"He was looking at you sexually, saying how your-." He stops talking as his eyes become even more golden, if that even is possible. "Your skirts turned him on. He also wondered if you were a screamer." I see why he didn't want to say it, my checks flush. His fingers trail against the hem of my new skirt. It's a tennis checkered skirt I got from Hot Topic in the mall. They had a sale.
"Oh."
"I punched him square in the jaw and kicked him in the stomach over and over again. I wanted to kill him Quinn, the way he talked about you like you were just an object or something." His hands tighten on the sides of my hips as his head sinks into the crook of my neck. He breathes in my smell to calm down. I just hold him against me, kissing down his neck slowly.
"Thank you for defending me. If a girl said that about you, I would have punched her lights out." He laughs against my neck, his hot breath trickles down my body. The smell of pine circles up my nose.
"Anything for you Quinn, I would do anything." I bring his head from my neck and kiss him full force on the lips. He's taken back by my boldness and sinks into me. He sits me on the edge of the counter top, spreading my legs apart as he came between them. He moans into my mouth as my hands tangle his hair, I suck down his moan holding it in the pit of my stomach.
"I'll never get enough of you. Ever." I tell him. He presses his pelvis into me, making my private regions warm and fluster. I wrap my legs around his waist, trying to keep that sensation there. I rub up and down his back, aching to feel his muscles flex under my small fingers.
I could feel how hard he was against the corner of my thigh. I reach my hand down to rub his crotch, but he moves away from my touch. My lips let go of his, his eyes are now dark black. Lust paints them, swirls and twirls of colors blend together.
"Let me touch you." I whisper.
He groans, "No Quinn. I- I can't."
I whimper, "Why not? You let me before." In my bedroom after the movie in the park, we kissed under the streetlight. I then invited him to my room and we made out, hard. He let me grope him, leaning into my touch for more.
His hand grips the inside of my thighs, a rough thumb strokes near my underwear tenderly, my eyes widen. "I don't know if you know this about werewolves, but we have a strong sense of smell."
"Yeah, I know."
He continues, "But what you don't know is I can smell when someone is aroused." His lips lean down to my ear, his breath smells of cool ranch Doritos. "I can smell the wetness between your legs, and if you touch me down there, I'm going to want to do more with you and won't be able to control myself. And I don't want to lose it around you." I try to squeeze my legs together, but he forces them to stay open. "Don't try to squeeze your legs together, it won't mask the smell."
"This is so embarrassing." I mumble.
He laughs and kisses my cheek. "It's totally normal. At least I know you're attracted to me, because your soaking wet right now." I blush.
"So, what can I do to satisfy you?" I ask him innocently.
"Just, be here with me. That's all I need." I nod and pull him close to me. I rub my fingers through his hair as he slowly breaths. We stay like that for what seems like forever, never wanting to leave the comforts of each other.
I wake up to someone shaking me awake. I'm still here, still in this cold dark cell with Katana. The location of Kai is still unknown. "Wake up Quinn, breakfast is here."
Breakfast. I've been asleep for over 10 hours. The flashback was so real, I mean it was obviously real, but in the moment, it was like I was back there, in Alexander's arms. The only thing holding me down is pain and cold air from the vents above.
I turn over to see two metal trays being carried over to me by Katana. I haven't eaten in so long; my mouth is as dry as the Saharah Dessert. On the tray is a dry, hard biscuit, a sausage patty and square eggs. A tall glass of slightly clear water is next to the food. The food doesn't look at all edible, but I'm in no position to object or judge.
I devour the eggs and sausage, it's a bit chewy and too salty, but it's better than nothing. I look up to see Katana gawking at me. "You hungry, huh." She chuckles as she sips her water quietly.
"I've never known what's it like to starve, and now that I do, I don't want to go through this again." As I keep chewing my food, I find all of it is now gone. Saddened by the loss of food, Katana hands me her sausage. Her scarred and bruised hand holds it out.
"Oh no, I couldn't take your food." I object.
She shrugs her shoulders, "I don't mind Quinn. You need all your strength."
"And so do you." I counter.
Her eyes roll, "Take it, now." Her voice is stern. I reluctantly, but eagerly take the sausage and chow it down.
"Thank you." I mumble with a mouth full of chewy, salty sausage. We sit in silence as I eat, and Katana drinks her water. I huddle into myself, trying to guard away from the cold air. Why couldn't the Nygaard Kingdom be located in the desert, or even the Amazon Forest? They could at least given us blankets.
My mind drifts off to Kai, I wonder where he is? Katana told me she screamed his name, but no answer. That means he can't be down here with us, but where would they put them? The last moment I remember of him was when he was tased, his perfect teeth clenched together in pain. I shake my head, trying to rid my memory of that haunting moment. Lord knows I already have enough of them.
After eating the food, we sit in silence as we try to get warm. Seeing me shiver, she pulls me under her arm. That warm heat of hers makes me warm up instantly. It's like I'm under a blanket, or Alexander's dark night fur. As my head hangs low, I hear the prison doors open. A man with a ring of keys, all black clothes and a face that scares children looks down at us.
"Get up." His voice booms.
"Why?" Katana questions.
"Don't question me, just get up or I'll make you." I look to Katana, scared out of my mind that this man may drag us across the cold cement floor into the inferno.
"Let's go." Katana says softly. She helps me stand up; my legs buckle under me dropping my body to the ground. "Come on Quinn." I struggle to get back up, but I do.
We walk out of the cell, on the left and right of us is just two long halls with more cells. Oh, I wonder how many people are down here? The man walks down the left hall, we follow behind him. I have to use all the strength inside of me to keep walking, but the determination to save Alexander roots deep within.
He stops at a door; I ask him the question on Katana and I's mind. "Where are you taking us?"
He turns around, a scary feeling comes from the man, "To see the King, of course." My blood freezes over.
We're going to see the King of Nygaard.
🌺🌺🌺🌺
I feel like my legs are going to crumble under me. Katana holds onto my arm, but even that doesn't help the surging pain running courses through my body. There are times that I wish I was a werewolf, Katana seemed to heal from her pain within the hour. The only thing that shows are her bruises and scar marks over her face and hands.
To distract myself from the pain, my eyes roam around the castle hall. It's a medieval designed castle with beautiful ancient walls and thousand-year-old art work. High ceilings and large pillars that you see in Greek paintings. Under our feet is a majestic marble floor that you could eat off of. Cathedral windows bring in the warm sun that kisses the coldness of my cheeks.
The only people that we've seen is servants that work in the castle. They wore your basic servant's uniform, long gray skirts and flower designed aprons that wrap around their waist. Some of them steal a few glances at us, I can just assume the questions that are raking their brains. "Who are these girls? "Why are they here?" "And, why do they smell so bad."
I can agree with the last one, we both smell like a backed-up sewer. It's not our fault, they wouldn't let us bathe or even brush our teeth.
My attention turns to Katana, a cool look is on her face as her one hand holds onto my arm, trying to keep me upright. After walking down two halls and taking a couple of steps, I'd remembered how to walk, and walk fast.
The man who's taking us to see the King didn't even try to walk with us. He's speeding down the hall, like he's got other places to be. But, every now and then, he turns around and glances at us. Making sure were there and haven't run off.
With this whole time spent of me thinking WHY the King would want to see us, I forget that his niece is walking next to me, clutching my arm for dear life. I wonder what she's thinking, is she scared, or calm and collected? From the look on her face, I can't read anything.
So, instead of trying to read her face, I ask her. "Hey Katana."
"Mhm?"
"Are you nervous to, you know, see your uncle after all these years?" Her blazing eyes look over at me, sinking into my brown ones.
Then, she looks forward and says, "No."
No?
"Do you think he'll recognize you?" In front of us is a spiral staircase with golden railings. As we walk down and down and down, I start to feel a bit dizzy. As a child, the only thing girls want is to live in a big, ivory castle with their dashing prince. Fuck that. Just walking down these swirly, long stairs I would rather live in a shack.
"Honestly?" She asks.
I nod.
"No, I don't think he will. The last time he saw me is when he invited my father and mother over to make amends. I was 12 at the time, short with metal braces on. I wasn't a Khan at the time, just envious of my father and uncle, what powerful men they were. I knew I wanted to be like my father from a young age, the way he took charge and his fighting skills, ohhhh, you have to see my father fight one day you'll be blown away. Anyway, this is the first time he'll see me, the 26-year-old woman who's killed and fought. Will he know it's me, yes, but he only remembers the innocent me, not the killer me." That's all she says once we arrive to the tall golden doors with designs etched on them.
I quickly whisper to Katana, "How do you greet a king?"
"Just bow and say your majesty. Don't speak unless spoken to and don't look him straight in the eyes, it's disrespectful."
Before I'm able to digest all that, the doors fly open, if I thought I was surprised by the outside, this room makes those thoughts go away. It's a big room with a long oak table in the middle of the floor on an accent rug. Three big windows are in view and the sun's rays pour in. Golden designs are all over the wall as pictures of previous Kings and Queens are on them. Centuries of rulers were in here, delegating wars and business. If I wasn't so scared, I might ask many questions.
Me and Katana do a low curtesy that makes my legs wobble as I mustered out a, "Your Majesty."
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Says a man in the corner of the room. I couldn't see him because my eyes were too busy taking in the beauty of the room. From what I can see he's wearing a white tunic, black trousers and riding boots. Hands are stuck in his pocket and his long hair is tied up to the back. Curly hair tingles on the nap of his neck. He has to be in his forties, late fifties with how old and hairy his hands and arms are.
I answer him by saying, "Yes." My voice wavers a bit. This is crazy, I'm talking to a King.
Behind us I hear the doors open, entering inside is Kai. His black hair is tousled over his head as his clothes are ripped up and loose over his body. He might look bad physically, but I could tell he was keeping his spirits up. Me and Katana look at him with a surprised look upon our face.
I thought he was dead; gone from this world the last time I saw him. I don't bother hiding the happiness that's growing inside of me, my arms wrap around his neck. He's taken back by my forward behavior, but wraps himself around me. We stay like that for what feels like a millennia.
"Quinneth, get off him." Katana whispers to me, but I ignore her.
"No, let her hug him. It may be the last time she does." The words he says make my body tense in Kai's arms. He lets go of me, pats my cheek and walks over to stand by Katana. He brushes his fingers over her cheek and smiles at her, all she does is nod. A nod that maybe speak volumes if I had time to read into it.
The King finally turns around and I'm able to take in his full appearance. His eyes are a light brown mixed with orange, hair is color of brown sand and chocolate skin that glistens under the sun rays. He has a gray beard that's braided like a pirate, and to top the pirate look he has an eye patch. I wonder what happened to his eye?
"From the way you're looking at me I can tell your pondering on what happened to my eye?" He says, a tint of amusement is in his voice. My lips form a flat line as my eyes revert to the ground.
"I didn't mean to-."
"I had a fight with someone who used to work with me, in result he ripped my eye out. Never fight a man when drunk." He chuckles. His voice now turns serious, "When my guards told me that three Khans were hiding out in my town, I was shocked. But it made me wonder. Khans don't travel in three's, it's dangerous and could cause suspicion. So, my mind danced and danced and wondered who the third person could really be. Then it sparked a light inside of me, my spies reported that the Zastitnik went missing almost three days ago, and you guys were caught. So, it's nice to meet you Quinneth Worthingshire." He holds out his hand for me, I lift up a shaky hand and shake his.
His rough hand grips mine, making me jump. He grumbles a laugh. "Scared? Don't be, I haven't even done anything bad. Yet."
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