Taming Her Beastly Mate

Micah felt the instant relief to see Alexis standing there in front of him. But all he could see was her pain from the moment their eyes met. His connection to her was intense and all encompassing but without the romantic mate feelings. He needed to be with her, to be by her side. He knew her feelings – his emotions were tied to hers. But for the first time as Xi, Alexis was hollow and absent and there was an emptiness inside of him.

He was no longer closed off from Alexis. And her pain was now his pain. His silly princess. How could she give him such a wounded expression? His body moved on its own towards her. He watched Aken remove his protective grip on her, but Alexis remained frozen in place.

Micah reached up and grabbed his chest wincing slightly. Inwardly he smiled when he saw her move towards him. She ran up to him and he swung his arms around her. He laughed as he caught her by surprise listening to her shocked gasp. He leaned his head down on top of hers as he continued to chuckle. “As if I am still hurt. Silly princess.”

Alexis gripped onto his shirt and leaned into Micah’s chest. “Micah.” She breathed out quietly. “I’m—”

“Don’t you dare, Alexis. Don’t apologize to me.” Micah kissed the top of her head and listened to the snort from Aken to which he smirked at. Mates…

“Let me see Lex. Did you get the glass out?” Micah stepped back and grabbed onto Alexis’ chin. He bent his head down to examine her eye.

“Yes, the glass is gone— but.” Alexis started and paused. The glass was gone but she had demon energy now. She watched as Micah studied her thoughtfully. He smiled at her and roughed her hair up slightly.

We both have some darkness in us now. Micah winked at her as a possessive arm snaked around Alexis’ waist. Micah kept his gaze on Alexis’ blue eyes as the family began chattering and closing in. Lex… does this upset you? Because you’ve never had a problem with me and my darkness. This isn’t any different.

Alexis’ mouth parted in shock. Micah was right. His darkness was never a concern. He was a guardian. Was it the dark in her that was really bothering her? She averted her gaze from him and looked down at the ground.

“You said the glass is gone?”

Alexis glanced up to see Harley hastily making his way towards her. He was the son of an original demon and her cousin Destiny’s mate.

“May I?” Harley asked glancing from Aken, Micah, and finally Alexis. “I’d like to see.”

Aken glanced down at Alexis and tightened his grip on her waist. These were mostly strangers to him. And trust wasn’t something he gave away freely, especially with his mate.

“It’s okay Aken. Harley is family and I trust him.” Alexis nodded her head to Aken who fixated his gaze on Harley. You could see he was prepared to attack the instant he felt it was necessary.

Harley nodded at Aken respectfully. “I understand your feelings. Don’t worry. I just want to help. I have experience with nembrant glass.” He bent his head down to gaze into Alexis’ eyes. His brows knitted together and he reached his hand out to grab onto hers. He stared into her eyes like he was opening a hole with his gaze. “The glass has been absorbed and the powers along with it.” His lips pursed tight together forming a tight line.

“Harley, what is it?” Destiny’s sweet voice rang out from the side. She was sitting right beside Lucy with their beautiful baby bumps.

“Alexis is okay.” Harley turned his head to look over at his mate. He knew she was worried, and he wanted to reassure her.

“What is that look for?” Levi asked moving in finally. He reached out and plucked Alexis from her mate and into his arms. He squeezed her tightly as he held his baby girl. He had been worried about her and missed her. It was relieving to have her close and see she was alright. Rhea was instantly there, and she wrapped her arms around her daughter as well.

“My baby.” Rhea whispered as she played with her daughter’s hair.

Harley took a few steps back as the creases on his forehead increased. Aken was now studying him and so were a lot of the family members.

“Lex, forget about what happened before. I don’t want you thinking about it. Okay?” Rhea leaned her head into her daughters. “I’m so glad you found your light.”

“I did… but I also retained the dark,” Alexis whispered out quietly.

“About that dark—” Harley finally spoke making everyone snap their head in his direction. “Do you think you can summon a ball of it? Just the dark. It may take some focus, but you should be able to do it.”

Alexis licked her lips nervously and glanced back at Aken. The moment he saw her anxiousness he pulled her back away from her parents and locked her in his arms.

“I think she has been through enough for now. She doesn’t need to perform circus tricks for your amusement.” Aken growled lowly as he held her protectively.

“It is important. I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.” Harley sighed.

“Harley is right. It shouldn’t be too hard Alexis. Give it a try.” A little boy with dark hair and eyes said.

“Now now. This is an adult conversation.” A man with blonde hair and brown eyes grinned as he patted the boy on the head. The little boy was not really a little boy at all. He was actually a half-demon whose soul was saved and placed into a child’s body. But the man liked to tease him anyways. He was also the future guardian of one of Lucy’s unborn children.

“Oh, then why are you here? You were getting your butt powdered only yesterday, Jasper.” The little boy snorted in irritation.

“Uh oh. Aba is cranky. You see what happens when you miss nap time?” Jasper grinned as Aba rolled his eyes at him. Jasper was the vampire prince’s cousin and also a very close friend of the family. He was here with the Vampire Royals – Princess Lucy and Prince Derek.

“It was your turn to put him down for a nap. I don’t want to hear it.” A man commented as he ran his hands through his green hair. This was Justice. He was Lucy’s guardian and her cousin. His sister was Destiny, and their parents were Jason and Jin.

Aken kept his gaze on Harley. He could feel exactly what he was by his aura. It was hard to hide the energy of a demon let alone one from an original demon. He ignored the others and focused on him. “What are you looking for?”

“Aken,” Levi said in a terse voice. “I know you don’t know these people. But we all trust them. I trust Harley. He wouldn’t ask without reason.”

“I-I-I can try.” Alexis shivered out. After being that deep in darkness the last thing she wanted to do was conjure it willingly.

“I’m right here Lex. I’m not letting go of you.” Aken wrapped his arms around her waist determined to support her however he could. Or teleport her away from her many family members. Which was rapidly crossing his mind.

Micah stepped in front of Alexis and nodded his head to her. “I’m also right here.”

Alexis held her hand out and at first made a white ball of snow. She stared at the ball and focused on the dark swirls inside of her. The snow slowly turned black as tiny sparks rippled off of it.

“Interesting…” Harley walked up and grabbed the ball out of her hands. He recognized the source of this energy. He glanced up to see Aba staring at it wide eyed. It was a source that was easily recognizable to those who have felt it before.

“That’s not good,” Aba whispered out quietly as he backed up to Lucy in a protective stance. The energy source made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up in alert. He didn’t have all of his memories and was even missing the memories of one lifetime. But this was a power he knew in his soul. And nothing good could come from it.

“What isn’t good?” Alexis asked nervously.

“It’s nothing to do with you. You are fine. And you have a nice power boost now. It will take you time but once you learn to utilize it you will be even stronger.” Harley watched as she tilted her head to the side.

“Can I still teleport like before?” Alexis asked and Harley shrugged.

“As of now… no. But later down the road? Maybe.” Harley watched the impatient green eyes staring at him from behind Alexis. He was wanting an answer now. “That demonic power didn’t just come from any source. That power was infused with the demon king’s essence.”

“Are you sure?!” Levi said in mild alarm.

“Yes,” Aba answered confidently.

“I’m very sure. I know this energy very well. It was given by none other than the demon king. For him to get involved means he has an interest here somewhere.” Harley looked over at Destiny and his unborn child. They were his world. His everything. If he had to, he would disappear with them. The demon king’s involvement could only be bad news for everyone.

“That reminds me. I met someone. An old woman. She had grey hair and white eyes. I couldn’t recognize her power, but it was different. She looked like… I don’t know. Her skin was dull and gray. But I met her while I was still Xi. She knew about the nembrant glass. It seemed like she was working for Erebus. But I just remembered. While my head was hurting, I heard her talking to Erebus and she is trying to free her granddaughter’s soul.” Alexis’ gaze moved to her Uncle Wyatt and Aunt Freya.

“She said her name is Meryl.”