Rage of the Alpha (Part 2 of the Alpha Queen series)

SABER

“What? That’s all you have to say? What is wrong with you?” She demanded angrily. It was one thing for him to act all weird toward her. But Saber remembered how he acted in the cave, at the mention of Neall and her mark. Something was horribly amiss with Asher. Even his magic felt off, more wild, like her own.

Neall stepped toward Asher, asking, “Would you mind if I took a look at you? I find I do not like seeing my daughter upset. If you were both angry I wouldn’t be interfering, but your reaction does seem odd.” With that, she laid her hand on his cheek.

A confused “Oh,” slipped from her lips as Asher grabbed her arm and sneered.

“Now, I don’t believe it very polite to go around touching people without their consent. Am I wrong Princess?”

“And I believe you are not yourself Prince Asher, even your own magic doesn’t recognize you.” Neall freed her arm and looked at Saber. “He seems to be under some spell, a witch’s spell.”

“To what end? Can he be trusted?” Sebastian wanted to know.

“If I wanted any one dead I could’ve done it before all this talk. I am commanding the Queen’s army. My… brothers, are looking for more allies. To strategize without all available information is a fool’s errand. I, am, here,” he spoke as if they were slow to understand, “to gather that said information.”

Saber never took her eyes from his, listening to him speak just made her blood boil. Moving unexpectedly, she hurled Asher through the open window and followed. He pivoted through the air, landing like a cat on all fours and turned to face his opponent. Saber stopped an inch from his face.

They stared at each other as the air around them turned to static. She felt herself being consumed by her inner turmoil. There was love, but it mixed with her anger at his betrayal. Even more anger at his uncaring manner. Snarling and growling at his face helped, but he needed a good pounding.

“Hey stop!” Shouted Sebastian. “Take it outside the village!” But when neither made a move he added, “You’re endangering my people! Get your fucking asses out! NOW!” He hurled his Alpha-voice at the pair.

Both shed their skin and turned into their beasts, not looking very affected by his command. Asher’s dragon-tail knocked away a corner of the pack house roof as he took to the sky with Saber hot on his heels. The effect was immediate. The air was clear once again, the atmosphere breathable without the static trying to force its way into their throats.

“Well, what now?” Sebastian looked to Neall for answers.

“I guess we wait?” Neall didn’t know if she should be worried or not. “It’s not like we can help either of them. We would only be in the way.” She shrugged.

“Why would we help him?” Disbelief colored his tone.

“Because they are true mates. That bond cannot be broken. It cannot be rejected. And they could never hurt one another. Which is why we can’t help, because we would die, not them.”

Sebastian had known that though. He’d seen the pain on Asher’s face that day, and felt Saber’s as she tried to sever their bond. But him and all his wolves had felt that connection even after they left the palace grounds. The moment Saber took control of her power and became their Queen, all of them felt it.

Her will was theirs now, even the rogues would start showing up, because her heart had called to every wolf that day. And not one wolf, even an Alpha, could hurt Asher.

Prince Asher of the Fae held their Queen’s heart. Sebastian could only pray to their Gods that he was worthy of Saber.

RAGON

“Sire! We have the last stone in our grasp. A few more hours to imbue its power so it can be safely connected to the others. Then all we need is for someone to possess a body on the other side to connect with.” The young man’s excitement was infectious to the point that Ragon felt himself grinning.

“Finally!” he roared with anticipation. Just a few more days then, a week at most until we can start moving our forces through the gates. I hope you’re ready for me, Mab my sweet. I’m aching to release some of this tension. What should I do with you first?

He turned to the youngster. “Ravellas? Let your team know we will celebrate before we start moving the armies. I have good news to deliver my people,” he added with a bigger smile. “We need to test the gates as soon as they are powered.”

“Of course Sire!” Ravellas hurried out of the room to spread his giddiness some more.

They had all been preparing for this day for 15 millennia. And finally it was here. During Mab’s absence, Ragon had not just built an empire, no. His empire stretched across 15 dimensions. One civilization for every thousand years she made him suffer.

MAB

Her life was splitting apart at the seams and it seemed no matter what she tried, her end in this realm was coming closer. That feeling of impending doom had always seemed so dramatic when others spoke about it. Now she could not deny it.

And all of it was her own doing. If she had not acted on a simple dream she had a decade ago, none of these events would have unfolded. She had thought the dream was a warning. But now Mab believed the dream had been her mind warning her not to overreact like the spoilt being she tended to be.

She had managed to rule this realm by ruling the Fae. Altering their memories were not only the easiest route to get what she wanted, but as they were considered the leaders with their four High Courts, none had doubted them.

The Elves and Vampires had turned on the Fae when their Queens became unstable, but it was never a concern. The Fae could stand against all the creatures and still be victorious.

What Mab should have done was leave things as they were ten years ago. She should never have searched for the Heart. She should have known something was wrong the moment the Alpha King met with her while his mate was dying from an incurable disease. No mate would do that. Not true ones or chosen ones.

Her own stupidity had been haunting her from the moments she laid eyes on Asher at their meeting. Another thing she was reminded of was her daughter’s burial. Mab had watched for three days as the servants kept the pyre ablaze, waiting anxiously for Neall’s tiny body to reawaken. It never did.

Mab realized now that the fire had to die so it could be infused with the deamon-child. A careless mistake on her part. It should’ve been clear from the beginning that this world would make her take things from it, nothing would be given freely.

And that pyre had just raged and raged, fed by Mab’s stupidity, imbuing her tiny babe with more of its essence for three whole days. Half a day should have been enough to give her child life again.

Why did things turn out this way? I deserve happiness, don’t I? Why couldn’t he just leave me alone? But Mab knew the truth, she knew it was their bond. She’d tried countless times to sever it to no avail. She also knew that sometimes, being kept alive was worse than death. And surely, since he couldn’t outright kill her, that was to be her sentence.

ASHER

There had never been any doubt that Saber could hurt him. Not before, with his emotions intact, certainly not now without them. He was bleeding; even in his dragon-form he had not been able to block many of her strikes. And those that got through? Boy, did they slice deep.

Objectively, Asher had also struck true many, many times. Saber was also bleeding just as much as he was. Both of them were infusing magic into their blows. At the moment, as they faced as former mates, he was unable to look her in the eye for some reason.

He’d come to that conclusion very quickly after her wolf-form had tackled him from the skies. The nerve! She’d plainly jumped on his back and torn into his neck, making him duck his head instinctively. Then, she’d rolled off of him, barely giving him time to notice through the pain that Saber had, in fact, broken through his impenetrable armor.

Asher could feel his dragon waning, his power diminishing steadily enough not to retain this form for much longer. He let go of his beast at the same moment Saber did. Glancing around him, he saw they had taken out at least three miles of vegetation in any direction.

His insides churned at the sight. Fae were born with an inherent protectiveness of nature. The Fae had a constant symbiotic relationship with the earth and its elements.

Their Gods had ensured that with Fae reproduction rates, so they wouldn’t consume the earth. Fae had power over the elements to ensure the balance between them since those could shape the earth. In the four Courts, the seasons were subject to the essence of their rulers.

Asher held up his hand to call a halt to their fight. Saber slanted her head in an enquiring way. She seemed puzzled, but he knew she’d listen - if he could make her see what they’ve done. Blue flames still crackled here and there on whatever piece of timber still wasn’t ash. Ice coated so much of the destruction in an immortal pose.

“We can’t continue this,” he nodded around him, spitting blue blood to the ground. “We’ve already gone too far Saber.”

Only then did she seem to notice their surroundings. She nodded once with wide eyes and fell flat on her butt, still taking in the devastation.

“I can’t believe we did this… so much…” her voice trailed off, not being able to finish the sentence.

“It is amazing,” Her former mate looked her way with regret.

“How can you say that?” Saber demanded with disbelief.

"Just stating the truth of the force of our combined power.” He finally looked at her.

“My Gods Saber,” it was as if his last breath left him and he felt the need to drink the unshed tears pooling in her eyes to keep living. “Saber,” he whispered.

She felt the bond screaming inside her, piercing her heart as their eyes met. Gasping, her hand came to her mouth to cover it. Before it could land though, Asher was kneeling in front of her, grasping it. His hands started roaming over her cheeks, her hair, her ears, before he took her by the shoulders.

“Please forgive me,” he whispered as his eyes tried to pierce hers. “I’m begging you, please, please, please-”

Saber’s lips against his mouth cut him off. She crushed him to her chest, sobbing and seemingly trying to climb into the hollow of his throat. He tried to wipe the red blood from her face but only ended up smearing it everywhere. It mixed with his and both of them looked like they were covered in purple paint.

He may have laughed if it wasn’t their blood, their very essence outside their bodies. Knowing they did this to each other brought no comfort, it was worse than their surroundings. So much worse.

He could finally feel their bond again. His own tears threatened to spill before she said, “I love you,” and with that removed that final barrier.