Ryker Dare
“I became blind as a side effect from a binding ritual.” Kei began as I twirled her hair with my finger lazily. “It was the witches that did it, three sisters to be precise, and from what little knowledge I know about my childhood, they are close to the fae king. I am assuming they are still alive,” she said with a shrug.
“Why exactly did you need your powers bound?” I asked, trying to piece it all together.
“I’m not exactly sure myself. My memories around that age are spotty at best, and what I do remember are only little snippets of the bigger picture. What I do know is, at my young age, I was beginning to develop into my potential a tad bit too fast.”
“Just what kind of powers do you have?” I asked, my hand dropping away from her hair.
“That’s the million-dollar question and one that I would love to know as well,” she said with a sigh. “But over the years I’ve been asking around as I traveled—witches, vampires, every supernatural being you could possibly think of I asked, except for the fae unfortunately, and what I managed to conclude in the end was that I was beginning to show signs of possessing some rare Gifts.”
“That’s just another mystery to add to the list about the fae,” I remarked.
She chuckled lightly before nodding. “Here, I’ll try to clear up some of the confusion for you. As you know, the fae can possess up to six Gifts with varying uses while the sixth gift is the rarest out of all of them.” She sat up to face me, holding up her index finger. “The first of these strange powers is the most common, and that is the ability to manipulate one of the Earth’s elements: wind, water, fire, earth. These are pretty common not only in the fae but as well as the wizards and witches.”
“The second Gift is what I have. The power to see energy or, as I put it, auras. That allows me to see emotions, but I’ve heard rumors that some can even taste other people’s feelings. The third is also seen pretty frequently, and that is the ability to actually speak to nature.”
I raised an eyebrow at this. “As in talk to trees and things?”
“I would assume so. I think that includes animals as well,” she said thoughtfully. “I wonder what plants think about, anyways.”
“Didn’t you say you could see their energy?”
“Yes, but I can’t tell what they are thinking. Personally, I find it strange that plants can talk at all, so this one seems more like a rumor than a truth to me.”
“You say this while we are living in a world where scary werewolves and bloodthirsty vampires aren’t supposed to exist,” I said.
“Good point. Now, the next one is where the powers start to become rarer. The fourth would be the power to heal. I researched a lot about this one and what I learned was that there are two different types of healing: physical and mental. There is a downside to this, however. Not only could one heal but they also have the power to destroy and make the damage done to a person ten times worse, quite a dangerous double-edged sword, I would say.”
“No kidding,” I said wryly.
“Don’t worry. The next one isn’t as bad. Actually, it’s pretty awesome I think.” She laughed before explaining, “Gift number five allows you to stop time. Is your mind blown yet?”
“Kei, my mind has been blown since we’ve met.”
“Well, isn’t it completely blown away now?”
I chuckled at her teasing smile and finally nodded. “Yes, my mind is so far gone that not even the Goddess could get it back.”
She let out a low whistle from my explanation. “Dang, I didn’t know I was that good.”
“What’s the last one, you teasing woman?”
She laughed and looked at me with twinkling green eyes, the sight momentarily making my heart stutter in my chest.
“Do you love ghost stories, King?”
I shrugged. “I can’t say I’ve heard a good one to give me chills.”
She leaned closer, a secretive smile on her face. “The next one is going to knock your socks off then. The sixth and final Gift allows you to see the dead.”
My brows furrowed. “Why is that?”
She shrugged. “No one knows. But here’s the kicker to this one. A fae has to die and come back to life for them to receive such power. A story I’ve heard is that there was one fae who held such power, but there is not much known about what had happened. Only one fae in history was ever documented, though, and therefore, a lot of debate has been going on as to whether it’s really a Gift. I think it’s just a bonus if you come back to life and see the dead.”
“If you died, why would you want to see the dead when you came back to life?” I raised an eyebrow at her.
“You can’t tell me it wouldn’t be cool to have dead people as your friends. They could give you all the dirty little secrets hiding behind every wall,” she expressed with excitement.
I shook my head at her. “I don’t find the pleasure of knowing every little secret going on. If I did, I might go crazy.”
“Really? I would be entertained beyond belief. It would be way better than whatever TV shows people watch nowadays since I can’t even watch it. Though, I do get curious about some shows. From what I heard of Jersey Shore, it leaves me to wonder what goes on in the human world. Goddess knows I am so far behind in most technology pleasures of this generation.” She became silent to let me digest all the information that she just told me.
She definitely shed some light about this mysterious race, Axel commented.
Yes, she did. But she is also just as much in the dark as we. As I stared at Kei, who oddly started to braid her hair.
A thought occurred to me. “Kei.”
“Hmmm?” she responded.
“Why didn’t you ever go back to the fae?”
Her hands froze before starting slowly again. “I tried, but as we all know, the faes are experts at hiding.”
“So you couldn’t find a way where they were located?”
“No, and I’m not too worried about it at this moment. I have more pressing matters now, but once my grandfather sends for me, then I will consider going.”
“Wait, your grandfather?”
She finished her braid before tossing it over her shoulder without tying it and nodded. “This is where I explain who my parents are, which may give reasons as to why I’m so rebellious towards you.”
“Oh, I want to hear this,” I told her.
She chuckled and turned, settling in front of me while grabbing my hand and entwining our fingers. “Does the name Declan Valancia ring a bell?”
I tensed in surprise, and she nodded. “That was my father.”
“If I remember correctly, he was the alpha for the Silver Rose pack,” I said lowly.
“He was,” she replied softly. “I remember how guilty he felt when I lost my sight, not only him but my mother as well.”
“He was a good man. I remember once he came to my territory to discuss some pack issues, and he would talk nonstop about his beautiful little girl.” I chuckled as I remembered the light-hearted man and how he would gush about his young daughter.
—Goddess, don’t you realize how creepy we sound? We are talking to the woman who was the little girl of the man who would go on and on about how adorable she was.
—It is quite comical I think.
“I can only assume that the little girl he was talking about is me,” Kei said.
“Yes, and he loved you dearly. They both did.”
Her hand tightened around mine. “I know. And they showed me every day.” I heard her swallow before sighing.
Trying to ease the pains of the past, I kissed her cheek gently. “We can take a break if you want,” I told her gently.
She shook her head. “No, it’s all right. Besides, me being an alpha’s daughter allows me to be just as bossy and possessive as you,” she said playfully.
“That’s alright. I’m curious to see your jealous side,” I teased her, and she scoffed.
“Oh, you’ll probably see it here soon. And when you do, you better get some popcorn ’cause it will be quite the show.”
I laughed out loud, loving how she could admit it so easily that she would be jealous. “Not only my father but my mother was pretty strong-willed as well. Lo and behold, she was the princess to the fae race.”
My eyes widened, and I leaned to the side so I could see the side of her face, a small grin adorning her lips as she tilted her head to face me.
“So what you were saying earlier is your grandfather is the king?”
“Yes, but I haven’t heard about him in years, and I don’t know if he sent people to come find me once the news about my mother reached him. Of course, I do not hold anything against him. I pretty much disappeared off of the radar for a long time.” She suddenly became quiet, and I waited. “I don’t know where I get my eyes from. What I can remember is that my father had blue eyes while my mother had hazel. However, my silver hair did come from her side.”
“You seem to come from a very powerful family,” I said in amusement.
“This is probably why my powers are a little more potent than the average supernatural person.”
“You don’t say,” I replied dryly, staring at Kei in a slightly new light. If she were involved with this whole rogue mess, which I was beginning to doubt, she would definitely be capable.
“I know. Crazy, huh? So, fast forward five years and I was twelve years old, five years after escaping the rogue attack on my family.”
“Wait, if your parents were so powerful, who were the rogues that were able to kill them so easily?”
Her expression suddenly became clouded.
“Werewolves weren’t the only ones involved. You do know a vampire’s blood can be quite deadly against a fae if entered into the bloodstream.”
I gritted my teeth as I was suddenly filled with rage, my power crackling around the room.
“You mean to tell me that the blood bags were involved?” I managed through gritted teeth.
She nodded. “Yes, my father was shot with a bullet infused with Black Roza right through the heart while my mother was stabbed with a sword engorged with vampire blood. Even if my mother was the princess of the fae kind, she wouldn’t be able to survive very long without some help of some kind. What made her death sealed was that she was bitten.
“Even vampires venom is poisonous to us. Everything about their kind means the end of ours, it seems. That’s how they got the name of the Silver Reapers from the fae kind,” she said bitterly, her other hand fisting beside us. “Yet I can’t make myself hate them because I was saved by two of them.”
I jerked in response to this, my mind blank with shock.
“Two vampires saved you?”
She nodded. “Yes. They were a kind couple, but circumstances made it where we had to split ways and haven’t heard from them since. Which brings me to the part that I dread the most about telling you. I was twelve, and I was going from pack to pack, picking up all kinds of different information for survival. I was lucky enough for five years to be shown kindness, but that was mainly because I was only a child still. However, that luck ran out when I was kidnapped by another pack of rogues, and let’s just say, they didn’t care if I was a kid or not. I was a young girl, and they were all men. You can only imagine what happened next.”
I felt my blood freeze in my veins, the cold fury seeping through my bones. “What?” I said the word slowly, trying to rein in my anger as much as I could.
“I was…sexually assaulted in other words.” Her voice came out as a quiet whisper now, yet she kept going. “That wasn’t the worst part, either. I became pregnant, and I tried to hide this fact. Even though it was created by the monsters that held me captive, I still loved him. It was my baby, and even at such a young age, I felt my motherly instincts kick in. However, they found out.” I felt one of her tears land on my hand, and I pulled her back closer to my chest, the emotions in me raging like a blazing fire.
“They didn’t want to deal with a pregnant little girl, so they chose the easy way, and that was to get rid of it. That was the worst day of my life, and I would rather die a million times than experience that pain ever again.” She shuddered against me as she recalled the horrors of her past. “I still feel their touch. The men that kept me captive for two years always found new ways to torture me. At one point, I wondered what it would be like to die, to finally have relief from the hell that I had lived. I was almost at my breaking point until I was saved. Or so I had hoped.” She let out a choked laugh.
“Turns out, I was simply thrown into a darker nightmare. The man that I thought was my savior was the exact opposite. Granted, he taught me most of what I know today about my fighting skills, but then, he kept me as a pet of some sort. For some reason, he was always so fascinated with me, and I could never figure out why. Of course, I don’t know if that was a blessing or a curse, as his weird fascination saved me from my previous predicament, but now, I think it’s both.”
“Why is that so?” My emotions were raging inside my body and my mind like a storm, but I still wanted to know more about her and her dark past.
She looked up at me, her lashes dark and long.
“Because I was able to escape, travel everywhere, and finally, meet you.”
My mind calmed, and I stared down at her as she stared up at me with such vulnerability that I knew with absolute clarity that she had no involvement whatsoever with today’s problems. Gripping her chin gently with my thumb and my index finger, I lifted her face up and laid my forehead against hers.
“We are so lucky, Axel and I, to have you as our mate.” My words were barely louder than a whisper, and her eyes showed a determined glint.
“Mark me,” she said strongly, her voice holding no hesitation.
I cradled her in my arms gently, holding her as if she were made of glass.
“Kei, you just told me a part of yourself that wasn’t really easy to say. I think we need some time to—”
“Please don’t tell me to wait,” she said with a groan. “I mean, I appreciate how you’re worried about me—don’t get me wrong, but let’s face it, I am a woman with some emotional issues. You can trust me when I say I am completely clear-headed in this decision.”
I smiled down at her softly. “You’re really amazing.” I was happy to see her familiar smirk make an appearance.
“King, that’s our line.” She raised herself up onto her knees and leaned forward, rubbing her nose against mine, and smiled. I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer while I reached up with my other and pushed her hair away from her neck. I placed small butterfly-like kisses down her neck and stopped at the juncture where her neck met her shoulder. She sighed against me, pushing her body even closer to mine. I could feel all her soft curves against my hard planes as her slender hands reached up and ran through my hair. Pleasure and anticipation made me dizzy as I felt my canines lengthen.
Kissing the spot one more time, I bit into her skin before pulling back and tilting her face up. I memorized the way her red eyes glowed and her small smile played on her lips.
“Well, what’re you waiting for?”
I chuckled and bent my head down, meeting her lips gently with my own. The mating process is a lot slower and sweet than one would expect. You cannot run into it headfirst with the fires of passion nipping at your heels. No, these moments are what make the whole thing more sacred to our kind. It brings the mates closer, not just physically but emotionally.
“I gotta say. That was the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted.” She licked her lips and grinned at me.
“You haven’t been tasting what’s been on my tongue, Lune, or what’s going to be.”
She raised an eyebrow while her smile widened. “Was that a dirty innuendo that just came out of your mouth?”
“Hmmm, was it?” I murmured. “I simply meant that I would do this.” I leaned forward to lick her cheek.
She laughed and slapped my arm playfully. “You know, I would have found that gross if I wasn’t part dog.”
“Good thing for me, then,” I said, grinning.
She chuckled and began kissing my neck the same fashion that I did earlier, the electricity between us heating the air in the room until it almost felt like a sauna.
“Did I ever tell you what you smell like?” she murmured.
“Not bad I hope,” I joked.
“No. You smell so divine. It’s almost like I get a sweet tooth whenever I catch a whiff.”
I frowned a little. “Do I smell like a dessert?”
“You smell like dark chocolate. I love chocolate.” She pulled back to face me, and her expression was so serious I had to hold in my laugh.
“You better hurry up and mark me, or else, some other she-wolf will think that I am free as a bird.”
She looked at me, unamused. “Guess I should speed it up, then.”
“Go ahead and make me yours,” I said quietly, just as she bit into the same place that I had with her. I closed my eyes and felt the pleasure build up inside, not only that, but I could even see our connection become a solid thing between us. A golden string, thick and strong, formed between us, and her mind was now open to me as was mine to her. I saw her memories flicker quickly, too fast for me to process, but I did catch thoughts that she was having at this moment.
Was this too quick? He better not run away or else I will down his furry butt until he has nowhere else to hide.
I chuckled as her thought filtered into mine and smiled.
—Lune, you don’t have to worry about us leaving. Not even the Goddess herself could separate us now.
—Good. ’Cause if you ever decide to leave, just know that even Hades or hell or whatever place would be a better place than what I would have in store for you.
“I don’t doubt it,” I said out loud, watching as she pulled away. She licked at the excess blood and smiled at me, giving me a quick peck on the lips.
“Now, let’s go to bed. I can only imagine how late it is, and we have to go back to Brad’s pack in the morning.” She yawned and got off the bed, slipping her jeans off but keeping her tank top on. I pulled my t-shirt up and over my head, leaving me in just my sweats.
When I had settled beside her, she scooted as close as she could to me and wrapped a leg over my own. I chuckled quietly and wrapped my arm around her waist.
“Have sweet dreams, Lune,” I said into her hair, kissing her forehead.
“You too,” she said with a chuckle, yawning once more as her eyes drooped shut. I smiled softly and stared at her for one more moment, once again reveling in her beauty.
We’re so damn lucky. Axel seemed to be entranced by her as much as I was.
I know.
Without another word, I closed my eyes with her sleeping face as the last image on my mind before I fell into a dreamless sleep.