His hackles rose as he looked right into Elder Noah’s eyes. The man was considered as one of the shrewdest alpha and now he knew why. His jaw clenched as he levelled his gaze to Elder Noah’s. “That concerns me… how?” He deliberately inquired. He knew what they were playing at. They knew how his mother was his sore spot, that he longed to face her head-on, to somehow wrench back the years of misery she had bestowed upon him. But he didn’t want to play as the puppet king.
“You think my mother being the Fae Queen or whatever she is will make me want to take up your offer?” He prods when elder Noah remains silent. The older man’s gaze remains calculative. In Dorian’s mind, Kai roars and rampages, which makes the human’s eyes flash red. He relishes the way he observes a bead of sweat dribble down and disappears in Noah’s white checkered-collar shirt.
Ehhhhh?
Serena stared hollowly at him when Dorian entered. She didn’t know what he would think, but certainly, it would be negative. So all she could do was hang her head in shame and guilt, cry and plead her innocence and hope he wouldn’t run away or worse throw her away like her foster parents did. Dorian was unsure how to approach the situation. His eyes darted towards the dissipating fae. Serena’s body heaved and shook as she stared at him helplessly, as if expecting him to resolve this issue. Forcing himself to act, he moved forward. His mate sat there crying and looking at the remains of the fae and it was then that Dorian’s gaze fell on the book. “Did…they come for the book?” he murmured, crouching in front of her. Serena raised her head, her tear-stained face making his heart clench. “Yes,” she mumbled before lowering her gaze again.
Serena’s eyes shot open. Her mouth parted open in surprise and astonishment. “What?” The word came out breathy. Dorian averted his gaze. “If you want that is…” Serena clutched on the shirt tighter. Her eyes didn’t meet his for a few moments. Dorian could hear her heart thudding. The sound was so loud he almost thought that she was scared. “I…” She looked at him and then nodded. Dorian would have loved to know what she was thinking, but he restrained himself. He cupped her face instead and said, “Sweetheart, only if you want.” He hoped his voice sounded reassuring because his suggestion was majorly for Serena, he was willing to wait for her even if it took years. Serena mused as she looked into his eyes. She knew he could hear her racing heart, but her heart
Serena was panting as Dorian’s fingers stilled. He immediately pulled away, as if burned. He looked away and draped a blanket on her naked body. Shame and guilt coursed through her veins as she hitched the blanket up to her neck. “I’ll…” He lingered on the bed, giving her a concerned side glance while Serena did not even dare to look at him. She felt so guilty, so mad at herself for ruining everything. Hot tears of guilt and shame prickled her eyes. “Sweetheart, don’t cry,” he murmured, raising his hand to wipe away her tears, but his hand hovered as he suddenly became unsure of whether she would accept his touch. Serena had seen this in her peripheral vision and felt even worse. She nodded vigorously not trusting her voice. Then she felt a ge
Serena found that Dorian had already left when she woke up the next morning. He had been sweet enough and polite enough to leave a note that he was going to the office, that he had to leave early and would be back soon, but she knew that it was to provide her with a leeway, to not let herself get embarrassed. She felt she was back in that apartment, she had rented so many back as she showered, the hot water cascaded down her skin but this time she didn’t feel any stinging from her scars. She raised her left hand and checked the mark which was almost invisible now. The silence in the penthouse seemed more jarring than usual. Even the sound of coffee being poured in the mug seemed loud. She saw her hand tremble. She gripped the handle of the coffee kettle tightly as she poured coffee into the mug. Some liquid spilt on t
Kai howled in his mind. He stared at the piece of paper where his mate had hurriedly scribbled: [Dear Dorian, I need to make some things right and I promise that I won’t let you bear the burden alone. Yours, Serena] He crumpled the paper, out of anger — on her, on himself. His concern for his mate was consuming him inside out. In the haze of anger, he broke the nearest thing he got his hand on which was a vase on the coffee table. Why did she not understand that she was not a burden, that he would protect her even if it cost him his life? ‘Kyle?’
The Augur staggered back, falling on his behind. His cane fell on the floor with a clatter. The room was illuminated by the golden aura of this untamed golden-eyed Seer, the last one of her bloodline, the fiercest and the bravest one. Sedona had staggered back as well. However, while the Augur’s face was etched with fear and horror, hers was etched with awe and pride. “You killed my mother. You plan to do the same to me, don’t you?” Serena’s voice had changed. From the dulcet, calm tone, it had become fierce and sharp. “No…no, I di-din’t,” the Augur had never stuttered in his life. He had never seen a Seer becoming this unrestrained. What was this? What was this power? Serena smirked. The curve of her lips looked unnatural on the otherw
‘That bitch!’ The Augur cursed in his mind, ignoring how his granddaughter stood stock still, ignoring Sedona’s ashened face and absolutely not paying heed to how Dorian reluctantly took his mate’s hand, unable to provide any consolation for the news he had just dropped. Meanwhile, the Augur’s mind was racing. Yvonne was gaining power. If she had been able to announce Vulcan’s execution without anyone in the kingdom protesting then she must have gained the subjects’ trust or at least instilled fear in their hearts to have been able to pass such a decision without any hitch. He glanced at the other three in the room and taking the opportunity of their distractedness; he slinked away until he could teleport without any of them stopping him. The moment he was back, he called for Dave, his right-hand man. “Call a meeting
Dorian wasn’t really sure if that was a good idea, but he didn’t want to deny his mate because he was afraid that she might just do something reckless out of her sense of burden and her attempt at saving him. His heart warmed at the thought of his mate trying to face others for his sake. Someone who would do this for him and not see him just as a feral wolf which his mother had turned him into. He suppressed a smile. “We can go tomorrow. Let me make the arrangements. We have to make a surprise visit.” Sedona, however, sounded tense and grim. “I don’t care what the Augur thinks.” Dorian’s eyes flitted to Serena’s determined expression. It was not what he was used to. However, from today’s incident he had learnt one thing - His mate wouldn’t let him shoulder everything alone. While the thought warmed his heart, made his
~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