With the recorded message in hand he quickly made his way down the stone corridor, avoiding as many of the Drakesthai brutes as he could. He left the eyrie and the dark red sky crackled with lightning above him. He couldn’t wait to get off this planet.

Then her scent hit his nose and he spotted Adelina on the narrow bridge, staring out at the fiery landscape – her face void of emotion. There was nothing in her eyes or even her body language that gave any indication of what she was feeling.

He slowed down and stopped when he was only a step or so away. She was too close to the edge for his liking without a railing, as the Drakesthai preferred. But Adelina wasn’t Raena. She could never end her own life to escape a situation she didn’t like.

“My Queen,” he murmured, bowing before her. In so many ways she was his queen. It was difficult to keep the smile from his face. “I know we’ve had our difficulties over the last few weeks, but you can talk to me.”

When he straightened Adelina was staring at him with that strange blank look, as if she were trying to decide if he was more or less disgusting than before. It was difficult not to react, but he wanted – no, he needed to know what she was thinking. She was his queen after all.

“You were there, Alpha,” she said, turning those cold amethyst eyes back on the river of lava, flowing from the mountain in the distance.

Lightning cracked again, becoming more frequent as the day wore on. No doubt there was a storm coming. He should leave before it affected his ship. “I was there, but that doesn’t mean I know what you’re thinking or feeling right now.”

There was a flicker of that glorious rage he’d seen before. Adelina was the most alive when she was furious – so beautiful when she was angry and seeking to inflict pain. “I knew Giselle didn’t want the throne, but to throw it at me like this in the midst of a war?” The Queen of Draga flexed those claws again and he knew when she finally drew blood how right it would look on her.

“Giselle is weak,” he spat. “She was never meant to be queen.”

“And what exactly is she doing now, off cavorting with her secret lover and shirking her duties?” Adelina demanded. Then she waved her hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter. She’s Asher’s problem until I return.”

He tilted his head as he studied the female before him. Adelina had truly grown into something wondrous. At first he hadn’t been sure, but now there was no doubt in his mind. She was perfect and he was one hundred percent loyal to her in every way. She would be the most phenomenal queen in three galaxies.

“Are you angry about your new title?” he asked.

Adelina glared at him then. “I’m not sure why I’m telling you any of this.”

He shrugged and took another step closer so they stood shoulder to shoulder like they had when he was her constant guard. “We grew up together. Old habits die hard, I suppose. I am sorry I lied to you about the council meeting that day. I…I just didn’t want you to get hurt.”

Her expression when the blood had sprayed her face – he would never forget it, not in a million cycles.

Something about his admission eased some of Adelina’s fury. She sighed and her shoulders slumped. Then she wrapped her arms around her middle as though she were cold. “I know, Alpha, I know you didn’t. It’s just…it feels like the people I can trust are becoming fewer and fewer. And now this? I’m not ready to rule. I’m not prepared to make alliances with a cula’ting bitch who wants to steal my children. I have no idea what I am doing, and it makes me feel like an imposter.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tucked her in close to shield her from the wind whipping around them. “You’re not an imposter, Adelina. You have always acted like a queen. It’s why I’m so relieved you accepted the title and the Crown. It suits you if I’m going to be completely honest. Raena and Giselle were never meant to rule – not the way you were.”

And with that neat little dominance trick of hers? She was a goddess.

She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed again. “I suppose it doesn’t really matter, does it? This is my fate and I must deal with it regardless of how I feel personally.” He could feel the tension leave her body at the admission.

It was his moment.

In one lightning quick motion he stuck the needle in her neck and hit the depressor with his thumb. When she looked up at him in shock and betrayal he held her face so gently, looking down at her with a soft smile. “It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he whispered.

“Alpha?” she asked, her body going limp.

She weighed nothing as he swept her up in his arms and cradled her to his chest. He carried her towards his ship and pressed his lips to her forehead. “I’m not Alpha, my Queen. But don’t worry, you’ll soon understand everything.”

He grinned and his steps were light as he closed the distance to his ship. Soon…everything would be perfect.