Page 130 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
Alezya was scared of his reaction when everything came to light, but she prayed, every single time that man’s unbelievably kind eyes set on her, that he’d forgive her. That, no matter how mad or upset he was, he would be the man he had been with her, and he wouldn’t harm her baby.
A part of her was also counting on Lorey. Day after day, Alezya had begun to befriend that woman, and she could tell Lorey would never harm a child.
While Lorey didn’t have authority over Kassein, it was clear he listened to her and respected her to some degree. A male warrior and leader listening to a woman’s advice would have been unheard of back in her clan, but by now, Alezya knew the Dragon Clan was nothing like the others, and what seemed impossible in the mountains could be a reality here.
And for once, she was allowing herself to believe in such miracles.
Another day passed, and another, and then another.
Every day, Alezya indulged herself in Kassein’s touches, learned more of their language from Lorey, and exercised her orders over Kein.
She was taking the herbs, and much to her relief, her bleeding hadn’t come when it should have, proving her plan was well underway.
For some unknown reason, Kassein still stubbornly refused to have intercourse with her. He would touch her, caress her, and give her more pleasure than she believed possible, but he never let her reciprocate.While Alezya loved being so loved, she was also getting... frustrated.
From the way his body very obviously reacted to her every time, it wasn’t a physical issue, so why? Did he not want her? Was he bound not to sleep with a woman he wasn’t married to? The man was stubborn, and every time she tried to question him, he kept dodging her question yet insisting that he liked her. Well, she liked him too, and she wanted to show it to him if he’d let her... and she was running out of time.
As brokenhearted as she was at the mere thought of leaving Kassein again, she was also getting more desperate to have at least one night with him. She wanted that. She wanted to make love to that man, just once, so she would go back with that memory buried in her heart and no regrets left behind.
Alezya was now perfectly healed and healthier than ever, thanks to being able to eat her fill every day, something she hadn’t experienced in months.
She could now wander around the camp on her own, so long as Kein accompanied her. The orange dragon had hardly left her side for the past few days and only went away when she was with Kassein. It was as if the man and the dragon had some agreement to take turns guarding her.
Whenever she was alone, Alezya actually enjoyed being able to walk around, near the forest, so she could think her plan over again and eye the mountains. She often touched her necklace as she did so; she had put her only belonging back on her neck the day before, and even though Kassein had frowned at it, inspecting the little pendant with his fingers, he hadn’t asked about it.
In fact, he didn’t ask her much anymore. He would frown when she looked at the mountains, caress her hair when she cried, and comfort her when her sleep got restless, but he didn’t pry. Either he didn’t want to know or didn’t care. Or perhaps he believed she’d left it all behind for good and didn’t want to reopen that wound... Not that it mattered anymore. Alezya was trying to make her peace with the fact that chances were slim that she’d see Kassein again once she left, this time for the last time.
It was hard. The happiness she was enjoying with him would never be complete, and it would soon be nothing but a sweet dream she would have to leave behind. She loved the man. She had come to that realization and accepted her feelings just as soon as she did, and she was content with that. But she would never be able to love him more than she loved her child, and that was the only truth. Lumie came first.
She had already been lucky to enjoy what should have been exile among the Dragon Clan. She had loved, healed, and even been allowed to hope, but she was a realist. Alezya forbade herself from entertaining any hope she would survive another meeting with her father. She was going to be captured, and as soon as they realized what she had done, in days or perhaps weeks, her clan would most likely kill her. That was an outcome she could accept, only if she could be certain Lumie would survive her and be safe.
All she needed was for her plan to work, for her sacrifice to make it possible for her daughter to escape. She had failed Lumie once, and her baby had survived by some miracle, but she had learned her lesson: they wouldn’t both be able to make it.
“Will you miss me, Kein?” she asked the dragon, patting its warm head.
The orange dragon let out a gentle, faint growl that made her smile sadly.
She had learned to truly enjoy the dragon’s company, and by now, she even thought she was pretty good at understanding its mood.
Kein understood her well too. Not just the many, many orders and words she had practiced on the dragon for her plan when the others weren’t around, but even her moods. When she felt unsafe around men in the camp, Kein would growl and walk closer to her. When she was feeling at peace but sad, it would lie next to her until her mood passed.
Sometimes, Alezya even wondered if dragons understood her tongue. When she was alone with Kein, she would openly chat with it in her language, and most of the time, she felt like the dragon behind those large silver eyes listened and understood. Still, she was careful never to give it commands in her own tongue. She kept all her orders in Kassein’s language, so her clan wouldn’t understand any order she gave the dragon. Slowly but surely, she was preparing for the day she would go back and put her plan to use.
She would even sometimes ride Kein when she was alone, not making the dragon take flight but just enjoying the ride on its back and going around the camp like it was a horse, not an oversized man-eating beast...
That afternoon though, she was just enjoying a quiet walk with her protector by her side, all too aware that this was her last full day with Kassein.
It had come too soon, she thought with an ache in her heart.
Every day had felt pretty much the same in the camp, and for a while, she had allowed herself to forget about how close to her deadline she was getting, but the signs were there.
Two more clans had attacked Kassein’s within the last three days, ahead of the council gathering, always with the same outcome.
The clans were getting desperate for any kind of information to bring to the gathering. She had spotted more and more spies in the mountains, keeping an eye on them and, for some, keeping an eye on her. She knew what they saw, that she slept every night with the enemy, and that she had hours left before she had to go back.
At times she wondered if her father’s spies were confused by how well she was treated in the camp, allowed to wander around guarded by a dragon, cared for by a warrior, and fed like she was one of them. She had no doubt they would have plenty of questions for her when she returned, so Alezya had been preparing for that too.
“...Alezya.”
