Page 4 of The Queen

The sound of footsteps startled me from my thoughts, and I spun around to face whoever approached.

Chapter Three

Axion

Titus huffed. “Is she always so flighty? Alexi, perhaps you should go after her so she doesn’t hurt herself.”

“Flighty?” Lex replied. “Really, father? You were bullying her. How did you think she was going to react? We warned you it was a bad idea to push her on this so soon.”

“For the sake of our people, it had to be done. The sooner she fulfills her role, the sooner things can be set to rights.”

Lex grit his teeth and dragged in a long suffering breath. “Saphyra is not an object. She is a woman with feelings and opinions.”

“A young woman with very little experience making decisions. She needs to be told what to do, for the good of Verden.” Titus’s voice was rising.

This was going to turn into a full scale war between the two. Titus was right about one thing: someone should go after her. Valyx’s eyes were narrowed and pinned on our Regent. He wouldn’t do anything stupid. Probably. But he was in no state of mind to comfort our mate.

Grey looked frazzled and confused, his eyes darting between the verbal combatants, trying to make heads or tails of the situation. I’d witnessed enough of the legendary arguments between father and son not to be fazed by it. I also understood both sides of the argument. The shift in power needed to be completed as quickly and seamlessly as possible. Our people had been through a lot over the years, doing their best to survive on a planet that was less hospitable by the day. They didn’t need the upheaval of leadership to put more strain on their already stressful lives.

I spoke into the hostile, emotionally charged air. “I’m going to find her. You should work out your shit while I’m gone.”

Lex and Titus continued arguing, their voices rising over my announcement. Valyx’s murderous gaze was still locked on the Regent. I was a little worried for him. I didn’t think Valyx appreciated his mate being spoken about that way.

Grey was the only one that reacted. He sputtered, at a loss for words. There was nothing he could do, but he’d been the voice of reason for us in the past. Maybe he could keep them from killing each other while I was gone. I tipped my non-existent hat at him and took off through the door.

My mate was easy to track. Her sticky, honey-sweet scent wafted through the halls, beckoning me to her. Unmated as she was, her perfume was a lure to any unbonded alpha. There was an edge to it that would lessen once she was fully mated.

Titus went about this the wrong way, but it didn’t mean his words weren’t true. She needed to complete a bond to dampen her scent. We kept her confined to the top level of the city to reduce the risk. But we couldn’t keep her caged forever. She’d have to decide.

When I came out of the administration wing into the Pit, I saw her clutching the railing overlooking the deep shaft that had once been a mine, now retrofitted and reinforced into the center of our underground capital.

I scuffed my foot along the ground, not wanting to startle her, and she spun. Her pretty golden eyes were wide, wild, and red-rimmed, as if she’d been holding back tears.

“C’mere, princess.” I opened my arms to her.

She didn’t like being called that when we’d first met, but when she smiled weakly and shuffled over to me, I thought she might be warming to it. I wrapped her up in a hug and breathed her in. After days of drowning in paperwork, desperate to go to her, she was finally right where she belonged.

“That’s my good girl.” I purred. She instantly softened, all the strain in her rigid body flowed away. I loved the way she responded, so I kept purring and stroking my hands down her back.

She squirmed until she could look up at me. “I don’t have to choose, right? We can still all do this together?”

“Honestly, we aren’t sure. The only Star-blessed mates we knew were your parents. Titus found an old record. A legend where an omega tried to bond multiple mates. The bonds shattered, and the omega died. He’s concerned about your safety, and for Verden. We all are.” I hated having to tell her that, but she should know.

Lex had been looking for anything to support safely bonding multiple mates, but there wasn’t much to go on. The royal library was pillaged and burned during the fall of the old capital. All our records, and any information on Star-blessed bonds, would have been stored there. After witnessing what was happening on the Hive, I wondered if our omegas weren’t the only thing they were after that day.

She snuggled against my chest. “What do you think I should do?”

She wanted my opinion, but in the end, I knew she’d decide for herself.

“Titus isn’t always considerate with his words, but you do need to be crowned. That’ll be easy. There’ll be a ceremony and a feast, then a big party. It’ll be fun. Eventually, you’ll need to officially bond a mate. That doesn’t have to happen now, but you should start thinking about it.”

“But if I can’t pick all of you, then who would I choose?” She fiddled with the hem of my shirt and slipped her fingers under the fabric.

Her delicate fingertips tracing across my lower stomach were very distracting, but I swallowed down the thoughts of bending her over the Pit railing and knotting her until she was sated. “Lex is the smart choice. He’s been training to do this job his whole life, and he loves you.”

She pressed her lips to my chest, and her seeking fingers slipped under the waist of my pants. “Do you really think so?”

My breath hitched as her soft touch brushed against my lengthening cock. “Of course I do.” I walked her backward until her retreat was stopped by the cold metal wall.

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