SWNOVELS Discovery of a Queen: Chapter 25
As I battle my way out of the darkness that encompasses me, I hear people around me arguing. At first, I can’t make out what they’re talking about, but it seems to be pretty heated. I continue to combat the waves of unconsciousness, fighting my way closer to the surface. Finally, I rouse myself enough to understand what’s being said. I can’t open my eyes or indicate that I can hear them, but I can at least listen.
“Do we have any idea what the hell happened out there?” Caleb’s tone is laced with frustrated fury. I can hear him pacing near me. “How the hell did he make it out of that attack?”
Are they talking about Malick? Panic flares through me, pushing me back under the surface. I battle to stay afloat, needing to hear more.
“We’re not sure, Caleb.” Dante this time. “We all saw the same thing, but we aren’t sure how it happened in the first place. All we know is that right before the blast hit him, something just came and scooped him out of the damn ground.”
No. No, no, no. That can’t be right. If they’re really talking about Malick, that means I’m dying for nothing. Darkness threatens, stronger than before, and it takes everything I have to cling to consciousness. They have to be wrong. There’s a mistake. They aren’t talking about Malick.
“Our best trackers are out there right now looking for him.” Olivia. She sounds stronger, more confident. “If he’s still alive, we’ll find him. I’m about to join them. I’m still not completely sure how to use these new powers, but I can sense demons, so that has to be of some use.”
Their voices start to fade again. I struggle to stay above the waves that threaten to pull me back into the darkness I’ve just emerged from, but they’re too strong. I slowly sink into the abyss.
“She’s fine. Caleb, I swear. She’s okay,” Kelly states. I’m once again struggling to the surface of my mind, trying desperately to open my eyes, to give those around me some indication that I’m here. “When she released that blast a month ago, it completely drained all of her magic. If we thought mind diving was rough, it’s nothing compared to what she did on that battlefield. But she’s pulling through.” There’s a note of surprised pleasure in her voice at the last part.
Wait a minute…a month? I’ve been like this for an entire month? But what about the battle? What about Malick? How many were wounded? Dead? Have they been able to find any more of Malick’s compounds? I fight harder against the waves threatening to pull me under again. I want to scream when I can’t open my eyes, but no sound escapes me. Panic and fury wind sinfully through my veins. I attempt to harness them, hoping they’ll give me a boost of energy so I can even just flinch a finger. Something. Nothing. Damn it, nothing happens.
“Och. I know.” Mate, my mind purrs as Caleb speaks. “She only wakes to eat, and even then it’s not really her, it’s her dragon. How are her magic levels?” He sounds worried and haggard, as though he hasn’t been sleeping. I want to reach out to him through the bond. I can feel it anchoring me here, keeping me alive long enough for my magic to replenish itself, but I can’t connect with him through it.
“Based on what I can feel, she’s close to what she was before all of this started. But given what’s happened to her, I’m not sure how much longer it’ll take for her to regain all of her magic. She’s far stronger now than she was when she was taken. I’m hopeful she’ll wake up soon though.” Kelly comes closer, and a cool, soft hand brushes my forehead. “We don’t really know what happened to her, Caleb. Malick did something to her while he had her. She also said something about goddesses on the battlefield. I’m just not sure.”
I grasp on to the mention of Malick, willing them with every fiber of my being to mention something, anything, that will tell me what transpired. Caleb lets out a frustrated sigh as he, too, comes closer to the bed I’m on. He sits on the edge, the mattress dipping beneath his weight. I wish my body would move so I can touch him, but I can’t seem to wrench my eyes open, let alone curl my body around my mate.
“We still haven’t found that asshole.” Caleb’s voice is low and filled with menace. “Kelly, the bastard just disappeared.”
“We’re trying to find him, Caleb. It’s possible that even though he somehow vanished, he was still too injured to survive. Even if he is still alive, Ayla wiped the floor with him, so we don’t need to worry about him attacking while she’s weak like this.” Kelly attempts to soothe Caleb by keeping her voice calm and low. She’s used that tone on me countless times, it’s always helped keep me levelheaded, I hope it works on him.
Malick got away? How? Confusion whirls inside me. I try reaching out to my dragon to see if she can explain, but I can’t find her. It’s possible she only surfaces when I’m out, and I can only surface when she’s dormant due to the extent of my injuries and the fact that I drained all of my magic. That doesn’t make this any less frustrating though.
I can feel the depths calling to me again. I fight as hard as I can, wanting to stay with Caleb and Kelly a little longer, but ultimately, I fall back into the black void.
When I finally, finally, come to, it appears to be early afternoon, judging by the light that’s streaming in through my window. I’m tucked neatly in my bed at the packhouse. I blink several times as my eyes try to adjust to the light. I’ve been in the dark for so long that my eyes sting something fierce. Surprisingly, I’m alone. I’m thankful for it though, because I need a minute to settle into myself now that I’m finally awake. I’m not completely sure how much time has passed since the battle, but based on the fact that I was completely drained of magic, I can assume it’s been quite a while. My memories during the time I was recovering are hazy at best.
I struggle to sit up in bed, my muscles weak, but thankfully they haven’t atrophied. My dragon must have been moving my body for me while I was recuperating. Still, I’ve lost a lot of muscle mass, and I’m going to need to work my ass off to get back to where I was before. My fingers inch their way through my hair, which is blissfully knot-free, and I notice it feels longer than I remember. The shaved part of my head has more than just a little peach fuzz too. At least a month, then, if not longer.
That’s when the memory of listening to Caleb and Kelly floods back. I’m not sure how long ago that was, but it had been a month after the battle. And they hadn’t been able to find Malick. The fucker could still be alive. I feel a small part of my soul shatter. That recollection opens up memories from earlier. Dante and Olivia had been talking about tracking Malick down. I feel tears prick the back of my eyes. Damn it!
If he’s still alive, we’ll try again. We’ll be stronger. My dragon’s voice settles me. She’s right. We’ll get stronger, train Olivia, and prepare Kelly and Darcy. We may even have Isobel and Sorcha with us. I plan on telling my community about my sisters. They have a right to know. And if we can find them before Malick does, we’ll stand an even greater chance of stopping whatever he has planned.
Still, I feel as though I’ve failed myself, my mate, my community, my mother, and, well, everyone. I slam my fist down on the bed and hear a loud snap. Startled, I look down as my bed creaks. Cautiously, I hold my hand above the bed, not wanting to touch it again in case it breaks. I hadn’t realized it was broken.
It wasn’t. My dragon’s voice is filled with laughter. You just broke it when you punched the mattress. Shock races through me. I broke it? I gingerly lay my hand on the mattress, staring at my hand like it has a mind of its own. I told you, my dragon giggles, we’re stronger.
The door eases open, and I turn my head to watch as Caleb walks into my room. His head is down, and he’s running his fingers through his hair. He’s thinner than he was when I was awake last. He’s also sporting a bit of a hobo beard. I giggle. Caleb’s head snaps up at the sound, his eyes going wide, and the emotion I see in them brings tears to my eyes. In a blink, he’s by the bed staring down at me, a broad grin spreading across his face.
“Ayla!” His dragon also rumbles a greeting in my mind, brushing against my dragon affectionately. Caleb sits next to me on the bed.
It collapses to the floor, causing Caleb and me to land in a tangled heap. Every worry, every question I had on waking vanishes. I lose it. My laughter rings out, breaking the shocked silence around us. I start laughing so hard my sides hurt, so I wrap my arms around myself in an effort to ease the ache. Caleb begins laughing right along with me, a deep, belly laugh that’s so insanely attractive, it sends raging lust flying through my body, heating me pleasantly before pooling between my legs. Suddenly, I want to climb this man like a damn tree and stay there for days.
Caleb can feel my mood shift through the bond and an answering searing hunger slams into me. He’s just as anxious to get at me as I am to get at him. But his concern for me floats through next as a gentle whisper across my skin as he checks to make sure I’m truly okay. I let him conduct his inquiry without fuss, opening myself completely to the bond so he can see I’m fine. A pleased rumble vibrates from his chest when he finishes, happy that, while I’ve lost weight, I’m otherwise perfectly healthy.
I turn my head to look at him, feeling love and lust dance throughout my body. Caleb’s eyes darken with desire when I meet his gaze. We don’t need to say anything, everything that matters flows through the bond between us. But it still isn’t fully complete, I realize with shock. Caleb senses where my thoughts have drifted, and his eyes narrow on my neck. While our mental bond seems to be complete, our overall mate bond isn’t. We don’t carry each other’s scent, our heartbeats haven’t synced. Those won’t happen until we mark one another. Which had better be about to happen.
I launch myself at Caleb, not giving him even a second to think before sealing my lips over his. Now that I’ve decided to see this through, I don’t want to wait any longer. If he wants to wait, well, I can be the most annoying bitch on the planet.
Thankfully, it seems that Caleb is just as eager to cement the bond as I am as he starts ripping at my clothes, not bothering to remove them properly. I start to do the same, it’s faster this way, and easier to get access to his warm, velvety soft skin. Skin that hides rock-hard muscles and brute strength. Skin that’s slightly paler than the last time we came together. He’s been spending far too much time inside with me. I make a mental note to talk to him about this later, right now we have better things to focus on.
When we’re both finally, blissfully naked, Caleb rips his mouth from mine as he moves on top of me. We’re both panting, and I can’t seem to take my eyes off his lips. I want them everywhere. Now. Right now. But I also don’t want to wait to feel him moving inside me. Does this count as a first world problem?
“I want to take my time with you.” His voice is deep and laced with heat. “But that’s going to have to wait. I need to be inside you. Need to feel you squeezing me.”
I barely have time to nod before he’s thrusting deep, my pussy clamping down tightly around him. It’s been too long, and my body needs time to adjust, so I wrap my legs around his hips to hold him still. Caleb buries his face against my neck with a soft groan, shaking slightly as he fights the urge to move.
“Hey, Caleb, we need to go over…” The door opens as Malcolm’s voice reaches us. “Oh, sweet goddess! I need eye bleach!” It quickly slams shut again. Caleb growls so loudly, my entire body vibrates.
“I realize you want to rip the naughty witch to shreds, but you need to start moving now or I’m going to rip it off and finish the damn job myself.” My threat breaks Caleb out of his trance, his head snapping up so he can look me in the eye. His eyes flash to his dragon’s for a moment before returning to normal.
And then he’s moving. Thank goddess, he’s moving. This isn’t a soft, slow, peaceful lovemaking. This is hard, fast, and rough. This is a reconnection to ensure that the other is safe, alive, and whole. This is mates who have waited far too long before fully cementing their bond and committing to one another. This is everything I never knew I needed and more. So much more.
I gasp when he pulls out completely, spinning me around so I’m on my hands and knees before him. He quickly thrusts back in, causing me to whimper as he slams against my G-spot. And he doesn’t let up. Each rough thrust continues to hit the same spot until I’m a panting, moaning, whimpering mess of lust, my body right on the edge of oblivion.
Caleb fists his hand in my hair as he sits back into a kneeling position, yanking me up until my back is flush with his chest, never once stopping his relentless attack on my G-spot. He holds my head against his chest as his other hand snakes down and starts to gently circle my clit.
Oh, fuck. Oh, yes.
My hands fly up to cup my breasts, my thumbs and forefingers roughly pinching my nipples. I’m so close to the edge, but I don’t want to fall until he does. I can feel him getting closer through the bond, but he’s not as close as I am. With one hand staying on my breast, the other glides down my body and past his hand. I make a V with my fore and middle fingers, placing them just outside the entrance to my pussy, and I gently squeeze, providing additional friction at the same time I purposely clamp my inner muscles around him.
Caleb snarls loudly, his thrusts growing rougher, wilder, until I shatter, screaming his name to the heavens. As he continues to move inside me, he quickly spins me around so I’m facing him again. Instantly, he sinks his teeth into my neck, causing me to come all over again. I quickly bite the same spot on his neck, riding out the waves of pleasure. Caleb comes with a roar against my skin, his hips jerking roughly against mine.
Reluctantly, we both remove our mouths from the other’s neck, both gently licking the wound. I can feel his heart racing against my chest, and it’s pulsing in time with mine. Awe and pleasure race through me as I realize that our heartbeats have synced. We’ll be able to easily tell when the other is injured, scared, aroused, anything, even if the mental bond has been closed off. I inhale deeply, our mixed scents swirling through me, creating a sense of peace and contentment I haven’t felt since I was a child. I feel complete.
“Finally,” Caleb whispers huskily in my ear. I chuckle quietly. “I can finally fucking feel you everywhere.” He tightens his hold on me, molding my body to his, still semi-hard inside me. “I’m never letting you go, queen.” I laugh, thrilled.
“As if I’d let you go now, Alpha.” I move my head back so I can look him in the eye. “When I woke up alone in Malick’s little love den, I instantly wanted to reach out to you. I can’t tell you how much I regretted not completing the bond, how much I regretted being so damn stubborn about not being willing to talk to you about potential solutions. Some damn attorney I am.”
“Hey.” Caleb’s voice hardens. “I didn’t fight to find a middle ground. And you were right.” He looks at me sheepishly. “There was a part of me that didn’t want to give up the power I’d come into. I’m so used to running the show that the concept of giving up power didn’t sit well with me, even though I knew you outranked me. I didn’t mind that at all actually. I don’t know.”
I gently place my hands on his cheeks, leaning in to give him a soft kiss. “I understand. Things aren’t the same as they once were. Even if we’re getting a new generation of queens, we can’t go back to the system we had with the old queens. But we can’t stay with this current system either. We’ll need to work together to figure out a way to keep all of the supernaturals safe.” His arms loosen around me as he leans back to look me over, a smile gracing his insanely handsome face.
“Together.”
I nod. “Together.”