Chapter Eleven

DANTE

“Father.”

“Hello, son. It's late, what's wrong?”

“I believe I have found her.”

“The princess.”

“Yes, sir. However, it’s hard to tell with the limited information we have gotten. She is unaware of who or what she is. She cannot bond with her wolf. Despite that, I put her under a hypnotic trance and Titan linked with her wolf, Larissa.”

“Hum. Good job, son. You must bring her to me as soon as possible. You are not strong enough to help her. She's doomed if her wolf fails to manifest soon. Her human nature will oppose being three entities in one. I hope we are not too late.”

“I apologize, sir. I gave it my best shot. As you said, I'm not powerful enough. An ancient Alpha like yourself is the only person who could assist her. “

“Bring her to me promptly. There’s no time to waste.”

“That might be hard for me to accomplish. One entity within her took over tonight, and she attacked the Alpha’s son. I have no knowledge of his condition, but he didn't appear to be in good shape when I was leaving. I also messed up by shifting so I wouldn’t be late getting her back. Amongst other things I wish not to disclose.”

He regards me, and I can feel the tug of him breaking into my subconscious. Memories of home prevent him from pushing into my thoughts. He grunted and broke the tether.

“Be careful, son. You mustn’t grow attached. If she is the princess, she is promised to another.”

“And what of her wolf, Father? Is Larissa not destined to have a mate?”

“I am unaware of what shall happen. A mate for her would bring war. She must reject her mate to keep the peace.”

“Then I would be mateless. I cannot rule without a mate and an heir.”

“She isn’t your mate, son. You have forgotten why we are here. To locate the princess and return with her."

“I’ll do as you wish and stay away from her for the time being. However, if she is my mate, I will not reject her.”

“We’ll deal with that situation if it arrives. We’re done here. Rest up. We have a long day ahead.”

“Yes, sir.”

XILLON

“Would you want me to come inside with you?”

Annalise regards me, smiles, and shakes her head.

“I should be fine on my own, Xillon. You overlook that I'm usually by myself.”

“I plan on changing that. It’s time everyone accepts you for who you are, Annalise.”

“It's possible that rejection and solitude are my fate.”

Pain shoots through my chest from her sad sky-blue eyes looking up at me.

“Bullshit. You deserve to be cared for, just like everyone else. The goddess wouldn't have placed you here otherwise."

“Yeah, well. Selene turned away from me from the time I was born. She bore me into a freak. Look at me Xillon.”

I reach out and caress her lupin lobes and smile.

“I am. You are gorgeous as you are. To be honest, I have always thought you were beautiful, Annalise. I’ve been immature and stupid. I am aware of that now. Once more, I apologize. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“We'll see about that. I should go.”

“I understand, but first.”

Pulling her toward me, I brush my lips to hers, and she stiffens. She shoves me aside, shakes her head, and smacks me. Damn, that stung. Rubbing the pain away, I shake my head and groan.

“Please forgive me. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“No, you had no right to have. Goodnight, Xillon,” she says and turns her back on me.

As I watched her go, I tried to reconstruct everything that had transpired between Annalise and me tonight. How an entity that is not of her wolf shone through. The slightest brush of my lips to hers that sent an electric charge coursing through my system. Did she feel what I felt? Or am I alone in this?

ANNALISE

The nerve of him trying to kiss me. What the hell was he thinking? That he could apologize for a moment and it would be alright for him to lay a hand on me afterwards.

I must admit the spark that surged through my body was nice, but he doesn’t have the right to touch me. No one does. Except for Dante, of course. Even with him, I ought to keep a suitable distance between us. Selene, you suck.

***

“Trex. If you are in there and are able to hear me. I need you to assist Jarek. I'm not capable of mind linking with you like Cadance, but I'm hoping that I will still be able to connect with you. Jarek needs your cooperation. I know you are upset with him. The last couple of days have been rough, as far as his treatment of me. We had a breakthrough this afternoon, though. You were present for that. Please Trex, he needs you.”

Upon my arrival, Cadance disclosed Jarek’s condition. Which has worsened in the last few hours. She performed a tracheostomy due to my shattering his trachea as I had feared. He has a tube in his throat to help him breathe and I kicked him so hard in the temple that if Trex didn’t come to the rescue, he could die. There are tubes and wires all over the place.

“I need to go get mom and dad. They would want to be here for this.”

“I mind linked with the Alpha, they are on their way.”

“Right. Of course.”

I clutched Jarek’s hand and laid my head above his heart and sobbed.

“Trex, please! I feel terrible, Jarek. I don’t know what happened. How could I have hurt you? I'm only human, whereas you have superhuman strength with your wolf. I just…. Trex, if he dies, you die too. Come to his aid!”

Mom and father arrived and after a failed attempt to reach Trex through the mind link from father, they decided Jarek would need to be transported to the pack hospital where Cadance could perform brain surgery and repair Jarek’s trachea.

****

“Selene. I do not know if you take notice of my existence, since I have called out to you numerous times in my life, unanswered. If ever a time for you to hear me, it would be now. I’m left here with my thoughts, with no one to console me. Alpha and Luna demanded I stay home. They are upset with me. I understand, but Jarek needs your help. Trex won't come to his aid. So that leaves you. I wish there were more I could do. Please, Goddess Selene, heal Jarek. Don’t let him die.”

I sobbed for who knows how long, pleading to the moon goddess Selene to save my brother. Until I fell into a deep slumber.

***

“Trex?”

“Without a doubt, my sweet.”

“I’m dreaming?”

“If you would like to call it that, certainly.”

“Jarek needs you. You must go to him.”

“I have the thought of completely abandoning him, as a mere human. He does not act as an Alpha. He isn’t worthy of my power, what the moon goddess has blessed him with.”

“Trex, I beg you not to abandon him. I love him. Beyond all the messed up crap he has done to me in my life. He is my brother. He will change his ways. I know he certainly will. Plus, I love you. If you abandoned him, you would abandon me, too. Don’t leave me Trex. Help him, ok?”

I'm plunged into the night, with no input from Trex.

***

“Annalise. Rise and shine, baby. We are home.”

I'm startled awake by the sound of my mother’s voice as she jostles my shoulder to wake me.

I feel as if I have been drugged. My head’s pounding and it's hard to open my eyes.

“Sweetheart, you are burning up. I’ll fetch Cadance once she has arrived to drop off Jarek.”

“He’s okay?” I ask, not opening my eyes because the effort is too much to bear.

"It will take some time for him to recuperate completely, even with Trex’s healing. But yes, he is well enough to come home and relax in his bed. Trex came to his rescue just in time. Before Cadance began the surgeries to repair his brain and trachea."

“I had a dream where Trex materialized. I pleaded with him to go to Jarek and help him. Before that, I prayed to Selene. I don’t think she acknowledges my existence, though.”

“The moon goddess heard your plea and sent Trex to you.”

An overwhelming urge to throw up took over me. I shot from the bed and sprinted towards my ensuite bathroom. Barely making it to the toilet before purging.

“Oh, my goddess baby.” Mom cried as she ran into the bathroom to help me.

“I don’t feel so goo…”

My vision blurred and all I can remember is my head banging against the toilet as I crashed to the ground before darkness overtook me.