Taming Her Beastly Mate
Chapter 45

Alexis woke up from the best night’s sleep of her life. Unfortunately, her stomach sank knowing that Aken would be leaving her today. She wasn’t sure what time it was, but her internal clock was telling her it was morning. She moved slightly and felt Aken’s hand rubbing over her shoulders.

“Good morning, my love.” Aken crooned to her as his lips brushed over the top of her head. He felt her body shiver into him and he smiled, loving how she responded to him.

“Morning? Are you sure? It all looks dark to me.” Alexis couldn’t see a thing with her sleep mask on. Maybe she could just pretend it was still night. She listened to his chuckle and the loud snort from Micah.

“It’s way past morning. It is almost afternoon, princess. Aken should have left hours ago but he wouldn’t leave until you woke up.” Micah clicked his tongue. “You do realize that if you keep spoiling her, you’ll create a monster.”

Aken smiled and brushed his fingers through Alexis’ hair. “I fully intend to spoil her. Lex, I shouldn’t be gone long. If Terra is waiting where I sent her, I should be able to be back by tonight.” He was leaning up on his elbow looking down at her longingly. He wanted to sink his mouth into her lips allowing for his tongue to wander through her mouth. But there were just too many risks with the unknowns of the Nembrant glass. He lifted her up and held her close in his arms.

“I’ll be back before you know it. Stay with Micah and be good for him.” Aken listened to the airy laugh Micah made and he turned his head to look at the man. Their eyes met and Micah smiled at him and nodded his head.

“I’ve been keeping her safe all this time. Go do what you need to.”

“Aken,” Alexis whispered as she felt his chest move slightly. She couldn’t see him but could still feel his gaze on her. “Be safe.”

“You aren’t worried about me now, are you?” Low vibrating tones rippled through Aken’s chest as he brought strands of her hair up to his lips. “Don’t worry my love.” He felt Alexis’ fingers tug at his shirt as her hands clenched the fabric. “Nothing can keep me from you.”

“The same goes for me to you. Nothing will keep me from you. If you don’t return I will come for you. I don’t care if I have to freeze hell in order to replace you.” Alexis heard a low growl from Aken’s chest.

“Lex, no matter what happens I want you to wait here for me. I don’t ever want you going into the demon realm. Someone like you should never step foot in that place. Just trust in me. I will come back to you. If I am late don’t worry. It just means I still haven’t found Terra. She is a smart girl and would move around if she needed to.” Aken turned and glared at Micah. “Don’t you dare let her come looking for me either.”

“As if I would.” Micah scoffed.

“You see… you saying things like that makes me think you anticipate problems,” Alexis whispered out. She wished she could go with him.

“I don’t. But at the same time, I don’t want you worrying. If I am not back tonight it doesn’t mean anything, okay my love?” Aken sighed and gave her one more longing embracing. “I love you. I’ll see you soon.”

“I love you too.” Alexis felt the body disappear around her. The moment his presence vanished she flipped the sleep mask off of her eyes. She looked around and her eyes landed on Micah’s.

“Don’t worry. He will be fine.” Micah stood up and stretched. “I’m starving. Let’s go and rustle up some grub.”

Alexis nodded her head and stood up. She needed to try to keep herself busy so that the day would go by faster.

“I wonder how things went with Brian and Bella.” Alexis suddenly felt energized thinking about the topic. She grabbed some clothes and beat Micah to the door. “Get dressed and hurry up.” She teased.

Yes, it would be best for Alexis to think about everything and anything. She needed to keep her mind occupied. She raced to the bathroom and quickly got ready. Soon both she and Micah were down the stairs and heading into the dining area.

Nicolai and Anna were sitting at the table and across from them were Ryker and Raine. They all seemed to be busy eating their food that was spread out on the table. Alexis and Micah walked up to the table each taking a seat as they greedily eyed the food.

“Where is everyone else?” Alexis asked as she reached for some food placing it on her plate. Breakfast and lunch were a casual affair. And since everyone had different schedules, it was constantly ready throughout the day.

“Let’s see… Troy and Nia are with Misty and Cole. They were supposed to be chaperoning a children’s event. And we haven’t seen Brian yet today.” Raine said thoughtfully.

A wry smile spread over Alexis’ face after hearing that. “So we haven’t gotten to talk much Raine. I know you were filled in about everything but you haven’t talked to me about your news.” Alexis leaned her head down to look at Ryker.

Raine smiled and shrugged. “I marked him last night.” She boldly stated and the clanking sound of silverware was heard across the table.

“You marked him? How?” Nick asked as he glanced up at Ryker. “I don’t see a mark.”

Ryker chuckled and pulled his shirt down. Right above his peck was a red long mark that resembled a sword. “It was a very nice night last night.” He chuckled with a wink.

“Yeah, Destiny was right. The urge just sort of takes over. I didn’t have to know what to do because my body already did. It was like instinct. It seems like my mark is similar to how dragon’s mark. It branded his skin.” Raine looked over at Alexis. “But did you see the shape it made? Destiny said her mark on Harley is also in the shape of a sword.”

“Anna, you want to put a mark on me?” Nick wiggled his brows at her playfully.

“So how are things with you two? Usually, you two are always fighting. But now that you are mates…” Micah looked between the two as Anna smiled shyly.

“I always liked Nick. His flirting with others infuriated me though. Whenever I saw him, I felt aggravated thinking about how he was with other women…” Anna admitted quietly.

“I wanted Anna the most, so I tried to make her jealous by flirting with other women. I guess it backfired. In our case, we are lucky we are mates. We were able to be with the person we really wanted to and move past the misunderstandings.” Nick smiled over at Anna and snaked his arm around her waist. “There is no one out there that is a better fit for me than her.”

“I’m uh finished eating…” Anna stood up and Nick immediately followed suit. There was fire in their eyes as they quickly left the room.

“They must have an upset stomach.” Micah chuckled. Everyone knew exactly where they were going. Mates had a strong s*x.ual desire and for new mates it was almost uncontrollable. Suddenly Ryker stood up and Micah arched his brow over at him. “What you too?”

“Brian needs to talk with Alexis.” Ryker turned his head. “Alexis, will you meet Brian in his room?”

Micah stood him and g*****d. “I just want to eat.” He pouted as he stacked a couple pastries in his hand.

“Micah, you can stay here.” Alexis smiled as she stood up.

“Ha! And let the squid berate me later? Not a chance.” Micah snorted as he bit into his food. “Well? Let’s go.” He said in a muffled tone as crumbs fell from his mouth.

“Tell Brian if he needs me to let me know soon before I start second breakfast.” Ryker winked down at Raine who covered her scarlet face.

Alexis laughed. “I’ll tell him.” She walked out of the room with Micah, and she grinned up at him. “You know what this means…”

“Yeah, there is about to be a surplus of babies running around.” Micah chuckled as Alexis rolled her eyes. “I still think this complicates things.” He frowned as they walked down the hall.

Alexis and Micah walked down the long restricted corridor. When they finally reached Brian’s room Alexis reached up and knocked. A moment later Brian opened the door and quickly motioned for them to come in. Alexis saw Bella standing a few feet away with a fresh new mark on her neck.

“Oh, Bella! I’m so happy for you.” Alexis chirped and hugged her.

Bella smiled and reached up to rub her neck. “Thank you. It just all felt right. And I’m happy.”

“Lex, I’m sorry I went ahead and marked her. I completely forgot—” Brian started but Alexis shot a wave of snow in his face shutting him up.

“Don’t be silly Brian. Of course, you should mark her. It’s fine. We can still work around this and now with Bella being marked you won’t have to worry about unmated dragons.” Alexis watched as he melted the snow off of him and he smiled at her in appreciation. “Can you temporarily move upstairs? That way you and Bella can share a room without suspicion. It’s that or Aken will have to play teleport switcheroo.”

“Actually, I was thinking the same thing. That I could temporarily move upstairs until things are settled with Erebus.” Brian looked over at Bella. “That is if this is okay with you?”

Bella giggled and wrapped her arm around Brian’s. “Of course, this is okay with me. But what isn’t okay is I am going to be late. I am supposed to meet Grandpa Sage.”

Brian nodded his head. “Right, which is why we needed you two to come. We didn’t want to risk her being seen with just me with a fresh mark on her neck. Speaking of mark… how long will yours stay like that?” He nodded his head over to Alexis’ neck.

“I’m not sure. This is the first mark I ever gave myself.” Alexis giggled and shrugged her shoulders. “But I will check it every morning to make sure it doesn’t look faded. I am purposely not healing it.”

Brian nodded his head and then looked a bit confused. “Where is Aken at? Did he go hunting for Erebus?”

Alexis shook her head. “No, he went to go replace Terra. Hopefully, he won’t be gone for too long. Anyways, let’s get you to Gramps. Otherwise, he will take his wrath out on Brian.” She giggled as Brian snorted in agreement.

“Gramps is always rough on me. But nothing is too good for Lex. Gramps favors the girls.” Brian pouted as he grabbed the door handle. He stopped and turned around to place a soft k**s on Bella’s lips. “While we are out in the public eye, I’ll be keeping my distance from you. More so now that you have a mark on your neck. But know I’ll be thinking of you the entire time.” He watched as she nodded her head, and he lifted his gaze up to Alexis. “Alright, showtime.”

Alexis walked back down the corridor tucked in Brian’s side while Bella and Micah followed behind them. Neither Alexis or Brian were in the arms of who they wanted to be with but it was a necessary evil.

Alexis couldn’t help but think about Aken. She wondered if he was close to replaceing Terra. Already she was too used to his presence. The world felt foreign without his heavy scent around her. She missed the sweet tingles his closeness brought her. There was no way she would ever be able to manage to be separated from him for long again. She needed him more now. Almost as much as she needed air.

Alexis reached up and touched her necklace with her free arm. She felt the warmth of the gem k**s her fingers. And she tried to pretend it was Aken himself, kissing her and telling her he would be there soon.