46
NIRVANA
“I will call Zarah to come. Maybe she found some answers.”
“That’s a good idea. I need a drink.” Luka was still shocked.
“Me too.”
“Get yourself a drink,” Knight told them before he turned to me. “We’ll take a raincheck for the burrito.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I can eat right now. In fact, I feel like I wanna throw up.”
“Hey. We’re still here. I know you’re probably better off without me after what you’ve been through, but I will give my life to protect you. So, don’t try to be a hero on my account. If you wanna go back to New York and live a normal life, I will understand.”
“Wow.” I pursed my lips, faking my offended look. “Is that what you think I would do? Leave you when things get tough. Well, take this, Alpha. You’re wrong if you think someone who saves your life makes you less of an alpha. It means we’re here for you, believe in you, and march hand in hand behind you. I may not be a werewolf, but I would die for you, too, just like how you would die for one of us. And I think you’re awesome and badass.” I patted his arm. “And you’re welcome.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zander and the twins grin, and McKaye didn’t try to hide his amusement.
“I have to call Zarah.” He took his phone out of his jacket and dialed Zarah’s number.
“What’s the emergency?” She picked up on the first ring.
“Did you find anything?”
“If you can come to Italy, that would be nice. Alexander wants to see her face to face.”
When Knight looked at me, I nodded in agreement.
“Will you make a portal for us?”
“Of course.”
When the call ended, he breathed deeply. “Don’t leave this house. We’ll be back as soon as possible. Alexander, the Alpha King’s father, might be able to help us.”
“We’ll be here when you both come back. Take care.” McKaye sighed. “If you need us, just let us know.”
“We’ll be fine. I trust Zarah and Sebastien. Maybe Shadow will be there, too.”
“You’re leaving now?” Kailin came back with a glass of wine.
“Whoa.” West’s eyes widened, amazed as the portal appeared before us.
“We should go. See you later.”Content is property of NôvelDrama.Org.
Knight took my hand as we walked into the portal. It felt weird knowing we were in California inside the house one second and on the massive lawn the next. Based on the structure of the castle before us, we were clearly already in Italy.
“Wow. This is massive.”
“It’s impressive. The last time I was here was Shadow’s party.”
“I still find it hard to believe that one moment we went through the portal, and now we are here.”
“Alpha Knight and Miss Thorne, the high king is waiting for your arrival at his study,” said the man with a thick Italian accent. “Will you please follow me?”
“Maybe we should have changed to something formal.” I looked at my jeans, shirt, and leather jacket.
“It slipped my mind. I’m sorry.” He squeezed my hand as we followed the man.
“Your attire is quite enough, ma’am.”
“Right,” I said under my breath.
We entered the entrance, and I forgot he was a lycan royalty and extremely rich. He was living in a castle, for God’s sake, and the interior was luxurious, from furniture to curtains and chandeliers, and it smelled expensive and luxurious.
The man stopped in the hallway and pushed the double dark wood door. “Your Majesty, Alpha Knight, and his mate, Miss Thorne, have arrived.” He gestured for us to walk inside.
“Ahh. Alpha Knight.” The man in his forties with long black hair tied behind his head rose from his royalty chair. He was only wearing a crisp white shirt and pants. “Good to see you again.”
“Your Majesty.” We met him in the middle as they shook hands.
And then the Lycan king turned to me. “Nirvana, I heard a lot about you.”
I extended my hand. “All good things, I hope, Your Majesty.”
He held my hand without breaking eye contact for a few seconds before he let it go. “Fascinating. You managed to keep it under control without driving you insane.”
“What are you talking about, sir?” Knight asked.
“Uh. This is awkward. She accepted the wolf spirit, and I’m astonished at how she pulled it off. Anyway.” He signaled his hand. “Let’s have a seat. Zarah and my father will be here shortly.
“We have to talk, Nirvana,” Knight said to our link.
“I thought you knew.”
“I have a suspicion.”
“I apologized for breaking it to you, Knight. Nirvana, you should not keep something as huge as this from your mate, but why haven’t you both mated yet? I don’t mean to pry.”
“But you are prying, my love.” Zarah and an old man with white hair joined us. That must be Alexander.
We rose from our seats.
“This is Alexander. My father,” said Sebastien.
“Pleasure to meet you, sir.”
“Welcome back, Alpha Knight.” They did short pleasantries before he came to me. “You’ve been through a lot, young one. You remind me a lot of my granddaughter.”
“I’ll live, sir. Thank you for having us on such short notice.”
“You’re very American,” he said, smiling. “Take a seat.”
“What did you see, son?” he asked Sebastien.
“Aside from them kissing-”
My jaw dropped as I stared at him in shock. My cheeks instantly heated.
“Stop teasing them, Sebastien,” Zarah said. She was also amused.
“I should have warned you. He can see through your mind.”
“Whoa. For real?”
“Yeah. Knight knows that.”
“I don’t. It shocked me, too. Shadow and Califf didn’t tell me.”
“She had dreams, and she has gained newfound abilities,” Zarah informed them on my account.
“Yes. I heal fast. I think I also have extra strength and enhanced hearing. Just like werewolves.”
“But you don’t have a wolf.”
“Yes, Sir Alexander.”
“This is fascinating. I didn’t believe it at first, but when she walked into the house, I felt she had something in her. It’s a strong force like I’d never seen before. And I’ve lived long enough to meet and feel different forces, good or bad.”
“This thing inside me, is it good or bad? Can I somehow get rid of it?”
“It’s not a thing, Nirvana,” Sebastien chided me, making Zarah smile. “It’s a source of ultimate power, an energy that makes us survive.”
“Easy on her. She just found out about our world weeks ago, and she died. Give the kid a break.” Zarah just called me a kid.
Sitting before these people who lived long enough to witness the world change was also fascinating.
“Very well. In your case, supernaturally, to be able to live again, your great-great-grandfather must have ensured your soul to the spirit world. You couldn’t just come back without paying the price.”
“I knew it,” Knight said, regrettably.
“Is it a bad thing, Knight?”
“No, Alpha King. I’m grateful she’s given a second chance.”
“To answer your question, young woman. You can’t take it away from you once you’ve accepted.”
“So you mean to say, if I didn’t accept it, I-” I swallowed hard.
“You will die. Yes. Were you asked for a quest?”
“What quest?” Knight and I shared a look.
“Oh, my God. So, how do I know the limits? What about its strengths and weaknesses? Is there something that can hurt it?”
“You keep saying it. Wolf spirit is already a part of you. The only way to separate you and the spirit is by killing you, and I’m not sure it’s possible because you are protected,” Alexander explained, and it was hurting my head.
“Yes, you can be hurt and die when you’re just you and not waking up the spirit, but as I said, you are protected,” Sebastien added. “How do you control the spirit?”
“I don’t know. Earlier tonight, we were going home when the bikers stopped us and wanted to hurt me and Knight. So, I had no choice but to be reckless. I accepted Asina to protect us. I felt the energy surge through me. I knocked those thugs and destroyed a pickup truck. Once I was done, it looked like it had just gone. I just took a deep breath.”
“I didn’t see anything.” Knight sounded disappointed. “It happened so fast. I saw her fall on her knees and get up, and then it seemed the time had slowed down.”
“Can you show us?”