The Alpha Queen And Her Chosen Mate

Kelly

How stupid could I be!! I should never have agreed to stay for lunch with Jonas because now here I am, running through the airport, trying to get to my flight before the doors close.

“You are quite brainless,” Keres agreed.

“Shut it!” I barked back. I was in no mood for her commentary today.

I literally just made it to the doors as they were about to start shutting them. I got on my flight, sandwiched between two big, burley men who took up both armrests. They seemed irritated that I was there. Hell, so was I. But I said I would go to the wedding with Derek and this was, of course, the only seat left on the plane. No matter. I put my earbuds in and closed my eyes and before I knew it, we were landing.

Derek had one of his warriors pick me up since he and Jeff and the Gamma and Delta would be at the rehearsal dinner. I was invited, but declined. I wasn’t part of the wedding, nor did I care to get off my flight, rush to get ready, and then force a fake smile for half the night towards people who I didn’t know.

Instead, I arrived at the palace, unpacked, had a nice dinner with Dereks chef Harper, and went back to my room to start making plans. Plans for a dangerous mission, that is. Emmett didn’t disappoint in finding the locations of where the rare ingredients would be found. Unfortunately, they were quite far from each other.

First, there were the tears of a moonflower, which was said to be native to the a****n rainforest in Brazil. Next, the healing crystal, which would be in the Dark Star Cave in Uzbekistan. And lastly, the Lunaris herb, which would only bloom under a full moon in the Epping Forest in England. Yeah, that didn’t sound daunting at all.

I regrettably stayed up late trying to think about how I could possibly make this happen. I would need to discuss it with Derek, right? I mean I couldn’t just run off after our honeymoon to go on a hunt for these rare items, right? Obviously, my father was not a fan, but I could wait another month and a half until I was back from my honeymoon and discuss it with Derek. s**t. I was going to be made Dereks queen in a month. It felt so soon, too soon. I was getting to know him better, but there was still so much I didn’t know about him. Maybe I should just stay here, with him, from now on. It would give me a fighting chance to get to know him, but it would also take time away from my sick mother. But I was going to save her, so a month apart wouldn’t hurt, right?

But I hated the idea that I would have to wait a month and a half before even leaving. Every day that passed was one day sooner to my mother’s possible death. There was no telling how long this mission would take us, or how long before we could figure out how to brew the damn thing. But what other choice did I have but to wait? If I left now, it would be in secret and Derek would probably think the union was off. That would only land me in more trouble, not only with my father but with another king and the council. I guess waiting was my only option.

– – – – – – – –

The next day, Derek and I got up early and had breakfast together before getting dressed and heading over to the church where Jeff and Jessica were getting married. It was a lovely ceremony. I was surprised to find out that the bride was a mermaid. I had only met one or two before. They were incredibly rare.

I could hardly take my eyes off of Derek though, goddess that man looked good in a suit. I wish he would let loose a little, give me a taste of what was to come.

“You look so handsome” I said to Derek after the ceremony.

“Thanks. You look nice too.” He said, looking ever distracted.

I was about to ask him if everything was okay when the photographer started yelling. “Can I have the bridal party please meet in the front for pictures!?”

“Thats my queue, I’ll see you later.” Derek said.

“See you later!” I waved. “Dont forget to smile!”

Now, what was I going to do for the next few hours? The reception wasn’t going to start for quite some time. Ugh I hated that about weddings. I guess I would hitch a ride with someone over to the hotel where the reception would be held and belly up to the bar for a bit.

“Hey you!” I yelled.

“Me?” He asked, looking confused.

“You’re dating the maid of honor, right?”

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“I’m Kelly, I’m marrying the best man. Would you mind giving me a ride over to the hotel?”

“Sure, I was just about to head that way myself. I’m Carter, by the way,” he said, holding out his hand.

“Nice to meet you Carter. First round is on me.” I smiled, shaking his hand.

– – – – – –

Goddess, next time I’ll walk. Carter was singlehandedly the most boring human I had ever met. What Valerie saw in him, I’ll never know. He literally spent over an hour talking about golf to someone who couldn’t care less about the sport. I even excused myself twice to the bathroom and when I came back, he picked up right where we had left off.

Finally, I was saved when we started seeing other guests arriving at the hotel and I suggested we find our seats, and thankfully, we were on other sides of the room from each other. I was already a bit tipsy when the bridal party arrived, and I wasn’t even sorry. It was the only thing probably keeping me and Keres from killing that annoying human.

“The bride and groom will now ask their bridal party to join them on the dance floor!” The DJ announced.

I watched as the bridal party each had a slow dance with each other. Derek and Valerie were matched together, which was almost comical given their height differences. Valerie looked quite upset as she spoke with Derek. I wonder why? Maybe because she had to go back to Carter after that. Ha!

“At this time, the dance floor is open!” The DJ said over the microphone after the first dances were completed.

I finished my drink and headed towards the dancefloor, taking full advantage of the opportunity to get close to Derek, quite literally.

“Are you okay? You seem a bit distracted tonight,” I asked as we poorly swayed together. I’m definitely going to have to get us some dance lessons.

“Fine.” He said unconvincingly.

“Really? You’re not freaking out about our ceremony, are you?” I carefully asked, since he had yet to look me in the eyes today.

“Not at all. I think the photos just took it out of me.”

“You were gone a long time.” I laughed. “I promise I wont ask for more than half an hour of photos from you.”

“Thanks.” He snorted.

“What’s with your assistant, Valerie?”

“What about her?” He frowned.

“I don’t know…she just seems so sad. And I swear I thought I saw a marking on her neck, but I couldn’t get a good enough look to be sure.”

“Well, the truth is, she was marked without knowing it. I’m not sure by who, but she has no idea about our kind still. I think the bond is taking a great toll on her,” Derek whispered.

“Oh goddess! How awful! How could someone do that without telling her first?! She is a human, that must have been terrifying for her…poor thing.”

“Yes…very tragic. But please don’t mention anything to her about it. Or anyone else either. She confided in me privately and I would hate to break her trust.”

“Understood.” I nodded, looking over his shoulder. “At least she has that human. Maybe he will help ease the pain.”

“Ha!” Keres snorted, making me fight back the laugh that was threatening to burst out of me.

“Perhaps,” he sighed. “I’m going to go grab a drink. What would you like?”

“Margarita please.” I smiled. I hadn’t had one of those in forever.

“You got it.”

I’m not sure what happened most of the night. I remember dancing with Derek and then having a shameful number of drinks. I thought I might vomit at one point, so I went outside to get some air. When I came back, the night was almost over, and Derek’s assistant, Valerie, was being practically dragged out by Carter and was holding a paper bag. I guess I’m not the only one who drank too much.

“Ready to go?” Derek sighed.

“Lead the way.”