Serena blinked when she heard Mr. King addressed Jordan, who had frozen on the spot. She gazed at the latter in confusion while his eyes remained trained on the alpha beside her. “P-prince?” she couldn’t help but repeat. She looked from one to the other as the men glared at each other.
Jordan was the first one to break eye contact. His gaze softened when they met Serena’s. “I will explain it to you later.” Serena pursed her lips and nodded uncertainly and Dorian hated the way she just...obeyed. He hated the way Jordan dared to look at his mate and the way his mate trusted that man.
“Why are you here?” he asked Dorian sharply.
“To meet my mate,” came the prompt and possessive reply and had Ser
Serena gulped nervously. She could definitely not tell him about her visions. It marred her judgement, clouding and painting it with doubt. Was he sincere at what he meant? Or was this all a mere pretence? Did he really want to court her? She asked, “Well...well I...I saw your red eyes once. And-and the choice should have been left to me.” She had no idea from where all this courage was oozing out, but he didn’t look mad at her indignant reply. Dorian looked away and pursed his lips. He then looked back at her and said, “I know. Trust me, many people have told me this. But...I didn’t want to be burdened.” The fact that he was insecure was left unsaid. Serena blinked, looking unimpressed. He flung his hands. “I didn’t want you to be burdened, either. I bet you imagined your life with someone, right? But have you imagin
Serena called Barbara later and recounted everything. The latter sounded quite surprised on hearing this. “He went to fae kingdom?” Barbara repeated in awe. Serena had never heard her so taken aback. “Yes,” she mumbled, her cheeks heating up when she now remembered how she had a conversation in this very room.“What do you think? What is your decision?”Serena sighed. “I...think...I should give him a chance.” Her...mate looked vulnerable while he explained his actions. Even though it was painful for her, she wanted to consider. Barbara hummed in agreement. “Alright. Keep me informed and if you need me to give him some piece of advice then I will.”Serena was slightly taken aback at the protective tone in
Coming back to speaking terms with Jordan had been a relief. After all, she hardly spoke to anyone in the palace and for some reason, no one voluntarily spoke to her either. Amie was an exception, but other than her she rarely talked to any of them. The magnanimity of the castle helped her to not associate which she was absolutely fine with. However, her days seemed dull. Amie dropped in several times and Jordan had visited her yesterday but today, it seemed to her as if she was living in a prison, a luxurious one. Serena rolled on her stomach and rested her chin on her folded hands. The book she was reading lay open on a random page at the edge of the bed. She turned her head, her right cheek pressing down on the knuckles as she stared at the door. She sat up and decided to call Barbara, but before she pressed the ca
Dorian was pissed off. “Why is there another fae with us?” Kai grumbled for the umpteenth time. He had reached the palace early and was looking forward to spending some time with Serena. The girl sounded morose the previous day and Dorian wanted to know the reason behind it. However, that scheming fae king had to ruin that plan of his by sending what he called a “chaperone”, but Dorian knew better. It was another way of spying. Vulcan did not trust him and neither did Dorian trust the former, but this was going a little beyond the subtle boundary. Serena remained unusually silent during the drive to Barbara and Liam’s house. He stole glances at her several times as the fae sat straight, wedged in between them at the backseat. Serena resolutely stared out of the window, not once looking straight or at him. “Something is bothering her,” Kai murmured in his mind. “Wish we knew,” he added
The stay was a brief one at Barbara’s and she didn’t even get much time to spend with her mate, although she wouldn’t know what to say even if they spent time alone. Tomoe didn’t give any inkling about what she did while she was outside, but Serena was sceptical. She stayed silent nonetheless because that was safe. Barbara had warned her to be wary of her. Dorian wanted to drive her back in the car, but Tomoe refused to take him with them. “That won’t be necessary,” she had said, her face blank as always. While going back, the silence felt even more depressing than before. It was one thing to know Dorian was there, but an entirely different one that she was alone. This thought struck her hard. She didn’t know why she unintentionally depended on Dorian and when had she started calling him by his first name?
Dorian immediately stood up and greeted him. Alexander King was a force to be reckoned with even when winter had started leaving its footprints in his life. Dorian respected him despite being a little resentful at what happened to his father. But he knew that his grandfather had grieved in his own way. And yet.“Why the sudden visit?” he asked. The door closed with a creak as Kyle took his leave. Alpha Alexander looked slightly worried, more greys had appeared in his hair than the last time they had met. His brow creased as he let out a heavy sigh and Dorian almost feared if he was a bearer of bad news, but nothing worse could happen other than what he was going through, had gone through.“Ian, I want you to do something for me,” he murmured, his gaze weary. Dorian settled for a curt nod. His grandfather
Dorian massaged his temples as he came out of the bedroom. After the nightmare, he couldn’t close his eyes, plagued by an irrational fear that the moment he did, the nightmares would rush back.Kyle found his alpha hunched on the breakfast bar, stirring something in the bowl absentmindedly. He silently placed a carrier bag on the countertop. “Couldn’t sleep last night?” His brows furrowed when the alpha looked up, a little startled. His eyes were red and there were smudges of sleeplessness under his eyes. Dorian grunted before his gaze swivelled to the bag.“Viviane sent some soup,” Kyle answered his unasked question.“Are you alright?” the beta queried reluctantly. Dorian huffed out a bitter chuckle. Was he a
“So the first set of alphabets usually talk about health and wealth. You might find a lot of humans out there reading runes and cleansing them and whatnot. But honestly practising divination isn’t easy and that is why we seers exist.” Sedona shook her head, her lips downturned as she stared at the white coral bowl which contained moon water. Serena’s interest piqued as she listened to her teacher intently. She didn’t tell her about yesterday’s dream or vision, nor did she speak of the book or that her room was in a state of disarray. However, her bodyguard or what Tomoe liked to call herself had done a check-up of her room before they left this morning, which was odd. “How does one see a vision or how does one read the runic symbols? I mean, it’s clearly written here, but how do you know which one would tell you what?” she
~2 years later~ Serena’s eyes brimmed with tears, not because of sadness but out of happiness. The little bundle of joy, the one she had carried for the past nine months stared back at her with guileless golden eyes. All the exhaustion, the tears and mood changes, everything was worth it. When she conceived, she had already become protective, but now as she held the little one in her arms; she felt she would do anything for her. “Isn’t she beautiful?” Dorian whispered, his voice hoarse with strained emotions as he pulled her closer to him. Serena blinked back to the present and nodded, unable to utter even a single word. Her throat closed up as the bay made soft sounds as she rocked her gently. 4 years had passed in the blink of an eye and now as Serena stared at their daughter, she couldn’t h
Serena could feel her heart constrict. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. She distantly heard someone shouting, then someone grabbing her arm because she was swaying on her feet. Her vision had become dim. Black spots danced at the edges of her eyes. Her eyes stung as she breathed through her mouth. Why would…why would he leave? Again? Was she being rejected? She couldn’t even feel his emotions strongly. They were so faint. She blinked furiously, hardly realizing that she was crying. Someone held her close to them, caressed her hair and shushed her. But her sobs suddenly seemed uncontrollable. She was trembling and then she felt a pinprick and before she knew it, her head had lolled to one side. ~~~~~~ Dorian hadn’t expected that his stepping out and going for a run to c
The next day, Alexander King came to visit his grandson in the morning. The old man paused outside the cabin and stared at Dorian through the rectangular glass on the door. He firmed his grasp around the cane and composed himself so that his grandson wouldn’t get a glimpse of his fear, of the terrible feeling of hopelessness he had experienced when Dorian didn’t wake up. He clutched the bent wooden head of the cane tightly to stop the quivering of his fingers. He pushed the door open and walked in. Dorian opened his eyes as soon as Alexander stepped in. Ronan stood up from the couch and bowed. Kyle was yet to arrive and take the former’s post. The beta was juggling between the pack and the company. “I will let you both talk,” Ronan said respectfully before leaving. Dorian sat up.
“How are you feeling?” Serena turned her head to look at Viviane. Her gaze was nothing but sympathetic. She bustled around a bit before helping her to sit up. She didn’t know how to explain what she felt. She was glad but that emotion seemed hollow. She felt a strange emptiness in her heart, a sickening satisfaction at having killed Yvonne and…“How’s Dorian?” she asked instead. Her voice came out raspy. Viviane held a cup in front of her mouth with a straw. She took slow sips before pushing the cup away.Vivane placed the cup on a nearby table and said, “He is fine. Exhausted but he is resting and…” Serena read her silence.“He knows.” It wasn’t a question. She let out a shuddering b
Serena opened her eyes to the same terrain, on the muddy grass where she often finds herself. She felt that her head was on someone’s lap. There was no pain or exhaustion as she sat up, taking in the calmness. The cliff did not look so threatening, and neither did the sea feel tumultuous. It was unnerving to some extent. “You are wondering why everything is so quiet today, aren't you?” Serena turned quickly to see her mother smiling at her, but there was a hint of ruefulness in that smile and a tinge of sadness in her gaze. “Mom..” she whispered before rushing towards her, even though she half-expected to feel her warmth but was pleasantly surprised to feel her mother’s arms envelope hers, pulling her into a hug that she often missed since she lost her.
[warning: mild gore] Dorian did not really feel the hit. His brain took a second to decipher, and Kai’s roar followed after that. One moment he was trying to break Barbara and Liam free from the binds, and the next moment he felt his entire body become immobile. He could hear Serena’s shout and Barbara’s scream but his vision was turning hazy and before he knew it he fell on the ground in a heap, like a dead weight. ~~~~~~ All the visions that she had seen played in her mind in a nightmarish loop. Was this what it meant? Was this how this would end? Serena refused to believe this. She scrambled towards his prone form, every other thought leaving her mind. “Dorian…” she gasped, his name a litany on her lips as she felt the pain that her mate might be feeling twice more than her. But…bu
Yvonne’s smirk and malicious gaze were enough to turn the simmering embers into a blazing fire. Her eyes flashed golden, but a hand wrapped around her wrist, tugging her back. She looked up to see Dorian, shaking his head subtly. “Listen to your mate, Miss Viotto. I wouldn’t want to harm someone close to my son after all,” she said tauntingly, making Serena angrier. She suddenly regretted bringing the book with her. It felt as if she had walked right into the trap. She clutched her tote bag tightly. “I don’t need his permission. The fact that he is stopping me because he knows what i am capable of,” she retorted and was thankful for the snarkiness in her tone. Yvonne’s face darkened before she began to walk towards her. Dorian immediately came in betw
Serena rushed to her father who collapsed on the floor as soon as Jordan let him go. Jordan watched the reunion with baleful eyes before his gaze settled on Dorian who was staring back at him with open hostility. The Alpha King’s gaze flickered to the former Fae King momentarily before they went back up and remained settled on Jordan. “What happened? Are you…are you hurt? Oh my gosh, what happened to your wings?” Serena bombarded the two fae men with question after question as she continued inspecting her wounded father. Vulcan felt too tired to speak, the teleportation having taken much energy away from him than he had fathomed. “I think we should move him to the guest room. I’ll call Viviane.” Dorian proposed. Jordan who had been silent until now murmured his assent. Dorian helped Jordan to pull Vulcan up and practically dragged him to the room because the older man was in no condition to walk, even with help. Serena’s heart clenched as he watched the once regal ki
She was standing in front of her father, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked at him writhing on the floor. His wings lying somewhere far, bloody and twitching. “Save…save me…save me…” But Serena remained silent. The moon shone brightly, brighter than any other day. She could hear the high tides, she could hear their impatience. The rune of Nauthiz (ᚾ) hovers and disappears. She doesn't know what to make of it. It’s the rune of need, urgency, but also conveys the acceptance of the unchangeable. Did that mean…? Her eyes closed for a moment, as she tried to gather enough courage to say the next words. But those words didn’t leave her mouth for when she opened her eyes, Vulcan was lying still, a garbled groan came out of his lips. A sob esca