Taming Her Beastly Mate
Chapter 35

Aken woke up as he felt the body shiver next to him. Alexis’ breathing was erratic, and her heart rate was racing. His first thought was that she was having a bad dream probably from being so exhausted. She was safely next to his side so nothing else could have happened to her. His aura would be keeping her protected…

“My love.” He called to her gently as he rubbed her arm. Her body continued to shudder and a quiet whimper left her throat. “Alexis.” He spoke loudly as he lifted her body upright.

Her body was unresponsive to Aken trying to wake her up. Her body squirmed as her face contorted. He squeezed her tightly in his arms and leaned his head into hers. He realized that this was not just a normal nightmare. Impossible.

Aken could hear the faintest of whispers in his head.

‘Please…someone…anyone…help me.’

Aken felt desperate and tried to mind link with her. Yet he was met with a solid mental barrier. He beat against it with his mental link with all his godly might. The barrier still held him out. It couldn’t keep him out for long. But he was desperate for any extra help he could get. Alexis needed help.

‘Micah! Something is wrong with-’ Aken didn’t even finish the thought when Micah burst into the room.

Micah had been resting right outside of Alexis’ door. He didn’t know why but he started to feel uneasy. His princess was with the Kraken she was fine. But he needed to be close to her room. The moment he heard Aken’s voice in his mind he catapulted into Alexis’ room. His gaze darted to Alexis and at Aken’s troubled face.

“Can you reach her? I’m going to keep trying. I will breakthrough. But we need to get to her now. There is no time to explain.” Aken watched as Micah stormed over his eyes growing feral as he grabbed onto Alexis’ hand.

Alexis suddenly screamed out in pain and then b***d began to seep from her eyes trickling down her face. Aken’s eyes grew dark. He knew what could cause something like this. And he would be foolish enough to do it.

Micah and Aken’s aura’s projected out in a ferocious clash as they pushed it against the mental barrier holding Alexis hostage.

__

“Shh it is over my treasure. It’s over. I’m so sorry that I had to hurt you. It’ll be okay. It’s all over now.” Erebus cooed to Alexis as his thumbs wiped away the b***d from her temple.

Alexis lay there panting with her eyes clenched. It felt like a red hot iron was shoved into her eyes as something sharp was implanted in both of them. They were stinging and burning with so much intensity that she was afraid to open her eyes.

When Alexis saw his hand moving towards her eye she squeezed them shut and tried to avoid him. But she was no match for him. He shoved something sharp through her eyelid and into her eye. Even though she couldn’t shift she could still feel her body healing itself. But what evil did he do to her?

“What have you done to me?” Alexis whispered out.

“You are perfectly fine. Go ahead and open your eyes. The pain will start subsiding soon.” Erebus watched as her eyes slowly fluttered open.

“What have you done to me?” Alexis glared at Erebus with a new found dark contempt for him. She already hated him but now it was becoming even more personal.

“It’s just a small present. You can thank me later.”

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Alexis shot up on her feet as she staggered backwards. Her brows were furrowed as her chest heaved angrily.

A cruel smirk rose on Erebus’s lips. “When you look at your heart’s desire you will instead see your nightmares.” A sinister cackle left his throat. “I wonder if you’ll be able to be near ‘HIM’ now.”

The whole room shook violently as pieces of the world began shattering around them.

“What the fu.ck is this?” Erebus stood up as he looked around nervously. A ferocious growl shook the room as the illusion began to rip from both sides. There were two strong energies breaking into the area. One he recognized but the other he wasn’t sure. He snorted and shrugged his shoulders. “No mind. We are done here for now. I’ll see you again soon my gem.”

Erebus walked towards her. His eyes wandered over her body as she stood there facing him angrily. He reached his hand out towards her…

_

Alexis gasped and shot up. She shook herself free and jumped to her feet. Where was she? What were these surroundings? She felt her ice at her fingertips and she shot out the icy energy.

“Lex. My love, it is okay. It’s us.” She heard a voice that sounded like Aken.

“Lex. Deep breaths.” This one was Micah’s voice.

Alexis inhaled slowly recognizing their scents as her blurry vision began to come into focus. She felt a set of arms cocooning her as his scent rushed to calm her. She looked down at the ground and was trying to prepare herself for what she might see.

Alexis glanced over at Micah and was relieved to see his blue eyes staring back at her. She slowly tilted her head up to look at Aken as he was lowering his head closer to her face. It was Aken’s voice, it was his scent, but this was not his face. She gasped and jumped backwards.

“Hey, you’re okay.” Aken went to move towards Alexis, but she shook her head slightly and held up her hand for him to stop.

Alexis backed away a couple of steps until she reached the wall. She felt the cold stone on her back, and she leaned into it as she slid her body down to the ground. Her hands came up to cover her face as they trembled slightly. She knew it was Aken, but he now looked like the cruel deity with white pulled back hair. Erebus was her worst nightmare…

“What happened?!” Rhea ran in hearing the commotion as she came up the stairs. The door was left open, so it was no longer soundproof. She looked down at the crumpled mess of her daughter on the floor. “Alexis…” She knelt at her side and rubbed her back.

“Lee,” Rhea called out and his body instantly manifested next to her.

“Alexis? What happened?” Levi turned his head and glared at Aken.

“Is this b***d?” Rhea asked as she looked at the red streaks on her temples.

“Lex,” Aken whispered out and watched as she tightened her fingers together.

“She was trapped in her dream somehow. I don’t know. It was different than when she was in the dream world with Bella.” Micah watched as Levi looked over at him.

“He…” Alexis whispered out and touched her eyes. She grit her teeth and began to tremble with anger. “He shoved something into my eyes. He pulled me into some type of dream world that was real. He said it was a counter curse.”

“He… you mean…” Rhea whispered, and Alexis spat out angrily.

“Erebus, the deity who is now so obsessed with me that he shows me he loves me by hurting me. He pushed something into my eyes and said that when I look at my heart’s desire, I will instead see my nightmares.” Alexis steadied her breathing and turned her head to look at Aken.

“I know you are Aken. I can smell you. I know your touch. But I see Erebus now.” Alexis felt her heart sink as she glanced between Aken and her parents. “Is this permanent? I don’t know how I am supposed to deal with this. I won’t be separated from you again. I’ll learn to adjust.” Alexis focused on Aken she wanted him to know she had no intentions of staying away from him.

“Damn… this is what he wants. He is trying to condition you. He is like the scent changers. The ones that can mock your mate’s scent. Eventually, in a half awake state, the body gives in to what it naturally knows.” Aken balled his hand in a fist. “He felt confident that you would see his face. He wants you to get used to seeing him.”

Levi’s eyes grew to a dark blue that almost looked black. “He touched my daughter… again?! Enough is enough. I’m going looking for him.”

“Stay here and take care of your family. I’ll go.” Aken watched as Levi snapped his head over at him.

“And a lot of good that has done!” Levi snarled as his rage began to boil.

“We aren’t going to replace him. He is hiding himself too well. We need to follow the bread crumbs. We need to replace the original demon he is working with and wait for him. But first thing is first. We need to help Alexis.” Aken’s gaze softened. “Lex, I can leave the room if that will be easier.”

“Please… don’t leave me.” Alexis bit her bottom l*p as she looked at the face of Erebus. It was torture for the man she loved the most to look like the man she hated the most.

Micah knelt down in front of Alexis and cupped her cheeks in his hands. He stared at her eyes as Rhea did as well. He needed to focus on Alexis before he destroyed the room. His rage was slipping into a dangerous area. He took in a calming breath as he tried to look for the foreign object that was shoved into his princess’ eyes.

“If he shoved it in, we can remove it right?” Rhea leaned closer, pushing her fairy vision forward.

“He injected it in the dream world. It will need to be removed the same way.” Aken grit his teeth and huffed out a breath through them.

“Do you know what it is?” Micah asked and listened to the low snarl from Levi.

“Yes, we know what it is.” Levi turned his face away in disgust. “It is something that demons have used to… to take a woman of their choosing. Nembrant glass can make the person see either their heart’s desire or their worst nightmare. Depending on what effect the owner gives it. Usually, it is used by the person so that they look like the one you love. Making seduction easier. Erebus twisted it. Of course, he would. Making it that when you see your heart’s desire you would see your worst nightmare instead.”

Aken growled. “The truth is he likely planned to use it the other way. He was going to make himself look like me. I think he had other plans in mind before Micah and I destroyed the barrier he was keeping you in. Honestly… that’s very impressive, Micah, and we should have a discussion about it later.”

“If you know what it is you know how to reverse its effects, right?” Rhea said with a bit of edge in her tone. Her wolf Lumi was growling angrily at someone touching her pup. Rhea was fighting for her own control this time. She wanted to rip out Erebus’ black heart.

Aken looked up at Levi.

‘Kali isn’t here anymore. Our next best chance is Bella.’ Levi listened as Aken let out a low growl.

‘The dream world is dangerous. Shiva is looking for Kali now.’ Aken watched as Levi’s sharp blue eyes pinned against his.

‘I know it is dangerous. Don’t tell me what is dangerous and what isn’t. Don’t for one second think that it doesn’t terrify me to even suggest it. That’s MY daughter! I have been there through it all. I’ve been by her bed through every fever. I was there helping her when she first shifted. AND I WAS THERE WHEN SHE CRIED BECAUSE YOU WEREN’T.’ Levi’s mental voice boomed in Aken’s head.

Aken inhaled sharply as he winced. He then returned his own icy glare towards Levi. ‘When it comes to these things we both know I know better. Having said that… Bella will need to be trained on what to do. The longer they are in the dream world…’ Aken watched as Levi nodded his head.

‘The Great Sage should be able to give her lessons on what to do.’ Levi then turned to look at his mate and daughter.

“There isn’t an immediate fix. I’m afraid preparations will need to be made first. And it isn’t without risks.” Levi looked at Alexis who shook her head.

“I don’t care what the risks are. I can’t live like this.” Alexis tucked in her bottom l*p as she glanced up at her mate. She needed him now more than ever. But at the same time, her body screamed at her to get away from him.

“Okay don’t tell me I am the only one who has a temporary solution?” Micah chuckled and watched as Alexis glanced up at him. “Ever heard of the saying… put a paper bag over it?”