Taming Her Beastly Mate

“What the hell was that?!” An angry voice boomed.

Alexis would recognize the sound of her father’s angry voice anywhere. She turned her head to see her father and Aken standing there. Her breath shuddered for a second since Aken did not have anything covering his face. She saw Erebus’s angry face and her father was fuming beside him.

“This has happened before?!” Levi growled out lowly as Alexis moved her back into Micah protectively.

“Everything is fine now.” Alexis listened to the snort from her father. While Aken stood there quietly. “When did you both come in here? I didn’t hear a thing.” She looked back at the closed door.

“I set up a crystal in here so I would be alerted if something was wrong. The moment your power surged, I came to check on you. And your father tagged along since we were together.” Aken had his gaze set on Micah as he was trying to study him. Alexis was right he did seem fine now.

“I asked if this had happened before.” Levi’s voice was crisp with a low growl edged into it.

Alexis took in a breath and stood there defiantly. She didn’t want to answer her father.

“It has,” Micah spoke out clearly.

Alexis turned her head upwards and glared at him. “Micah, shush.”

“Lex, we can’t hide this. Besides, I’ve suspected they both already know.” Micah looked between Aken and Levi. He wasn’t naïve enough to think that something like this would go unnoticed by the deities. More than likely they already knew about the sprite but there was something else they knew that he didn’t. Something else they were keeping secret.

“You knew?” Alexis looked up at her father. How could her father have known and never mentioned it to her? Was it because they had planned to get rid of Micah? Over her dead body!

Levi gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes on Alexis. “The question is how long have you known? How long have you been hiding this from us, Alexis?” Levi shook his head. “I told your mother that once Micah’s bloodlust started to seep out he would need to leave. How long ago?! When did this first happen?!” Levi roared.

Alexis didn’t flinch as she kept her protective stance in front of Micah. “We’ve known for years.” She watched as her father’s eyes bulged open. “But I can suppress it. He won’t go out of control because I will be there by his side helping him. Micah and I are a team.”

“Lex, you can’t suppress this forever. That sprite has been injected with demon b***d. Do you realize that the bloodlust will only get stronger? This sprite has been conditioned as one that hungers for death and destruction. It’s best for Micah to stay in Elysium for now.” Levi watched how his daughter looked at him defiantly.

“If Micah goes to Elysium, then I go with him.” Alexis wasn’t going to be parted from Micah. How was it best for Micah to be sent away? Somewhere where she wasn’t there to protect him? Nope. Wasn’t going to happen.

“You said so yourself that Micah won’t hurt Alexis.” Aken turned his head to meet with the angry blue orbs. “Micah can keep Alexis safe. Even if… even if things get out of control, he won’t turn on her, right? This is why we are looking for Kali. We are looking for a solution.”

“The problem is that everyone else could be hurt. Can you even imagine how catastrophic his blind rage could be if left unchecked?” Levi snarled and shook his head.

Alexis looked up at Micah and gave him a faint smile. She placed her hand on his arm. He was staying quiet, but this talk had to be hurting his feelings. “Don’t worry Micah. I’m never leaving you, ever.” She then snapped her head back towards her father. “I’m not going to tolerate you speaking about him like he isn’t in the room. How could you? Micah is family.”

“Alexis,” Levi said and took a step towards his daughter. Aken’s hand immediately shot out and landed on his shoulder. Levi glared at him for a moment before he sighed. “You don’t have to protect my daughter from me.” His voice was back to his usual composed tone. Aken nodded his head and reluctantly let go of him. Levi smiled at him and nodded his head. Regardless, it was nice to see him protective over Alexis.

Levi turned back to Alexis and walked up to her. He placed his hand on her head and bent down slightly. “Alexis, why didn’t you tell us?” He said in a soft gentle whisper.

Alexis sighed and bit her bottom l*p. “I was afraid of what you would do. I didn’t know you knew.” She shook her head and looked down. “I talked to a magic weaver and she said that usually, guardians handled those who had a dark sprite inside of them. They took… care of the problem. I was afraid-”

“Lex.” Levi gave her a sympathetic smile. “I would never hurt Micah unless I had to. Unless he was out of control and hurting everyone… I was suggesting removing him from you for his benefit. You are the trigger that makes him get angry. You are the one who can trigger his bloodlust. It’s for both of your own good that I suggest him going to Elysium. We all love Micah. Could you imagine Micah’s pain if he ended up hurting others? We have to protect him from this.”

Alexis gaped at her father and gnawed on her bottom l*p. So what he was saying was for Micah’s benefit. He was worrying about Micah. “I can help calm him down. Oh! And Bella can help calm him down too.”

“I understand what you are saying, Levi. But I need to be with Alexis. Her safety is more important.” Micah couldn’t be away from Alexis at a time like this. Not when Erebus had gotten to her twice already. His job was to protect Alexis and he wasn’t going to let anything get in the way – no matter what!

Aken looked around and saw the stack of paper bags on the bed. He reached out and grabbed one to put on. He suddenly realized he came in without wearing one. He didn’t want to make Alexis uncomfortable any longer than he had to. She didn’t complain but she wouldn’t. He put the bag over his head and looked out through the funny looking holes. Suddenly he heard a snort and glanced over at Micah’s red face. He watched Alexis and Levi turn their heads to look at him as well. Soon their faces turned red and were all rolling in laughter.

“He’s wearing the Squidward face.” Micah cried out as tears fell from his hard laughter.

Levi chuckled and shook his head. “Thanks for the laugh, Aken.”

Behind the mask, Aken’s face was glowing red. Luckily, it was covered by the obnoxious brown bag he was wearing that he wouldn’t take off for Alexis’ sake. He watched as Alexis moved past her father and walked up to him. She wrapped her arms around his torso and leaned her head into his chest. He felt her fingers curl into his back as she moved her nose into him. His arms wrapped around her enjoying the sweet tingles she brought him.

“I love you, Aken.” Alexis breathed in his scent and let the calmness wash over her. His dignity was taking hit after hit for her benefit. “I’m sorry you have to subject yourself to wearing a paper bag.”

Aken smiled and sifted his fingers through her hair. “I’ll do anything for you.”

“Micah, I know it is hard son, but whatever you do you can’t give in to the bloodlust. You can lose yourself forever. I suspect the dark elves had their reasons. It’s likely that they want you to become a portal for darkness. They messed up though, not realizing you were a guardian. The fairy magic fights to protect you. And Alexis is also protecting you with her light. Subconsciously, her light follows you. Rhea is the one who told me about it. She said her light also follows Cody. It is the bond you share.” Lee sighed. “We don’t think that even if you get out of control you could ever purposely hurt Alexis because of this connection. But in your rage, you could accidentally hurt her. I’m telling you this because you are a guardian. And a very powerful one. You must suppress the darkness that hungers to get out.”

Micah nodded his head. “What else do you know about me? I’m not imagining things, right? There is more than the sprite.”

“Right now, we don’t know anything. But we suspect there is more. We all have different theories at this point. We are looking for answers though. And this time, I promise, when we have an answer, we will tell you.” Levi reached out and put his hand on Micah’s shoulder. “Micah, I love you son. I have watched over you and am proud of the man you have grown up to be. You might not have let us adopt you, but we did anyways in our hearts. You are important to me. I want to protect you.”

Micah’s eyes watered in response as he stood there too choked up to respond. Instead, he pursed his lips together and nodded his head. It was true that Micah had rejected the idea of being adopted. Yet, Levi’s words touched him. While he wasn’t Levi and Rhea’s son, they were two people he cared about. He loved them too. This, however, also frightened him. What if he ended up becoming the monster and causing them disappointment? Or worse… what if he ended up hurting them. His gaze moved past Levi and met with Alexis’. She was smiling at him warmly. He felt himself respond to her as she gave him a sense of inner strength.

Micah was determined to protect Alexis and her family. If he could sense Erebus, then he could help Aken locate him. Erebus had to be taken care of so that his family would be safe. One way or another, he was going to protect them. He felt his beast stir in agreement as his energy swirled within him. Even his guardian powers were screaming to answer the call.

All guardians had a lethal power at their disposal. But it was a power that claimed their life as well as their opponents. Micah had a bloodthirsty sprite inside of him that could end up hurting others but it also gave him more power. Maybe this was the reason he was Alexis’ guardian? It was because he had the power to protect her. He had the power to take down Erebus in exchange for paying the ultimate price.

A trade he would willingly make…