Chapter 32

Aleena’s POV

The wind howled outside as I waited for Aiden to return. He said he would track Michael down, just in case my presence still hurt him. I was a bag of nerves. I was actually going to do this; I was going to claim the man destined for me. That and saving everyone else in such a small space of time, but who’s counting?

Dressed in my Michael hoody, I waited. Minutes felt like hours, which led to the discovery of me not being a patient person. I needed to distract myself so I didn’t go crazy, so braiding my floor-length hair seemed like a good idea until it wasn’t. I was so anxious that I couldn’t make my fingers do the work I needed them to do. I swear I looked like a child who had never braided before.

“You need to calm the heck down, don’t be so stupid,”, I told myself sternly; I had never imagined I would find love, seeing as I no longer lived with my people. But I guess the goddess has other plans for me after all.

Taking a few deep, calming breaths, I started again. I had to admit that when my black-streaked, silver hair was braided, it did look incredible. My mother taught me how to braid my hair like the warriors in our village did when I was a child, and I loved it. It wasn’t just a standard braid, it had twists and turns and adjoining braids knotted in. A little part of me hoped Michael would like it, which was a lie; I did it to impress him as I knew I looked good when I wore it like that.

Admiring my work in the mirror and feeling pleased with myself for a change, I hadn’t heard Aiden’s approach. I had warning wards along the corridor leading to the Archive so I would hear anyone coming and be ready and waiting at the portal entrance. But Aiden was there before me this time, I wouldn’t let that irritate me; it wasn’t his fault I was distracted.

“Aiden, you’re here; how did it go,” I asked, my heart hammering away, unsure how to feel.

“Not good”, he grumbled. “Laura got to him first.”

“What do you mean” I gasped, hand shooting to my mouth; I hadn’t thought about the outcome if it hadn’t gone in my favour.

“Michael believes you’re the magic wielder, trying to split him from his mate, not the other way round”, he paused “he is coming for you; he believes you are trying to hurt Laura and wants to get rid of you.”

My heart broke as I looked into the eyes of my new friend, the man I was destined to be didn’t want me; I knew I wouldn’t cope with the pain; I wasn’t strong enough.

“What do I do” a sob escaped my lips. I didn’t even try to hide my tears. Aiden didn’t hesitate; he wrapped me up in one of his massive bear hugs, where you couldn’t breathe, but you didn’t care either. His huge arms gathered me up and lifted me off my feet. He was taller than me; it was easier to pick me up to comfort me. I let my tears fall onto his shoulder for a moment.

“We got you, Aleena; we will sort this. First, we have to get him to see he’s being fooled by that bitch” he told me as he squeezed me one more time before placing me back on my feet.

“How, she has her fucking claws into him”, I moaned, not caring that I sounded like a child.

“How did you find out which spell he was under,” Aiden asked, his voice rushing to get the words out, he had an idea, and I think I knew what he was getting at.

“The book, yes, that’s it; show him the page, make him see the words in black and white right in front of his nose”, I gasped and ran back into my room, heading straight for the book. Grabbing it and turning around, I shoved it so hard into Aiden’s arms that I was sure I hurt him, but he didn’t complain.

“I’ll get Archer to show him as he bloody hates me, it’s so easy to tell, but it doesn’t change anything. I don’t need his approval, only Ayla’s,” he said, lost in thought as he rambled on, clearly caring much more than he wanted to admit.

“Fine, tell Archer to show him the spell titled How to bond an Alpha; it’s exactly what he went through. He can’t deny it once he sees it, I’m sure” excitement laced with fear filled my voice as I dared to hope this would work.

“Hang tight, I’ll be back soon, and Aleena stay safe, don’t wonder; he’s not in his right mind”, Aiden warned me, and I would make sure I heeded that warning. No matter how much I wanted to rush to my should-be mate and shake him, to get him to see the truth.

Ayla’s POV

This is worse than hell, being able to see but not speak, not react or reach out. Alune had complete control of my body and access to my memories and feelings. She could do whatever she wanted, and I couldn’t do a damned thing about it.

Right now, Alune was parading about in my body, stuffing her face with everything she could find, flirting with every man she came across and generally having a blast. I hated her with every fibre of my being. Once I get free, I will find a way to get rid of her, yes, I know I have a purpose on this plane; I’m to help a great prophecy come true, but frankly, since Alune has been here, we haven’t done anything great other than get Archer back, she had spent all her time trying to control me instead of doing any good for the world. I can’t see how the two of us can change anything, not like this.

Finally, my opening came; she had fallen asleep, giving me access to part of my mind that I only gained when she was out of it.

“Axel, Aiden, Archer, anyone of you answer me please”, I sent the frantic message to my mates.

“Ayla, baby, is that you? Are you okay” Axel came through first, and I couldn’t believe how much I had missed his voice? I wanted to be in his arms and wrapped up in his body so badly it hurt.

“It’s me”, I sobbed; I hated this.

“Ayla, we are going to fix this, I promise you”, he urged me to believe him.

“I hope so; I hate this, I can see what she’s doing, but I have no control over any of It,” I told him “You need to get her to focus on getting the antidote; I heard him say she could make one if she got to her fallen sister, please urge her to do it sooner rather than later. I don’t know how much of this I can handle.”

“I will; I’ll go and find her as soon as possible”, he told me. And I knew he would do everything he could; yet it still felt like I had been hit with the shitty end of the stick.

“Please, Axel, watch her; she uses my body for whatever she likes. She wants attention, and I don’t want her to get it; it’s still my body,” I pleaded, hoping he understood, as saying it out loud bothered me.

“Oh fuck no, she doesn’t”, he growled, “No one touches my girl’s body; if it’s not us, then it’s not happening.”

“I don’t want her touching you either”, I shouted louder than I meant to, but the idea of having her way with my men made me feel sick. Even though it was my body, it still wasn’t me.

“Babe, it’s okay; we don’t want to fuck her in any shape or form. She isn’t you, and she never will be; I don’t care if she looks like you or not, she isn’t you, and it won’t happen,” he reassured me. And it meant the world.

“Damn it, she’s waking up; I love you, Axel”, I managed to say before the link was cut off.

Laura’s POV

That was so close; thankfully, the spell held strong enough to bend the Alpha back to my will. But, of course, it may not work again if I don’t get rid of the Elf soon.

“How can I do it and keep my hands clean,” I thought hard; I knew Michael believed me right now, but there was always a chance he would see her, and the spell would unravel. I can’t let that happen; mother will kill me.

Thinking of my mother gave me an idea. Michael has told me everything he knew about Ayla’s situation; maybe if I passed that information on, it might just give us the edge. Give us something to work with. Right now, the girl is useless. The Exalted is still here, but Ayla is trapped inside her. For the prophecy to work, I’m sure they must both be accessible.

My mind was made up; I had dialled my mother’s number twice in such a short amount of time, it was unsettling.

“You better have a bloody good reason to call me again so soon, girl”, she barked down the line at me.

“I do, mother.” I say, taking a breath to prepare myself “The Alpha is still under my control, and he gave me a lot of useful information, something you may be able to turn to our advantage,”

“Go on then, spit it out”, she ordered, sounding bored already

“The girl is gravely hurt, so the Exalted bound her soul to her own; she cannot access her body right now, and the only way to heal her is to get a sample of the venom from the creature that wounded her” I paused for effect “Mother the creature that hurt her is a fallen Exalted.”

“And, how does that help us, you stupid girl” she never had a kind word for me

“Beth can harness dark magic; if we could gain access to this Fallen Exalted, we can turn the tables in our favour. They need it to heal the girl, but we could also have the power of an Exalted. We would hold the cards as they would have to do as we wanted to gain access to it, to heal the girl” I took a deep breath.

The line was quiet for quite some time, and my fear began to climb my throat. Hoping I hadn’t fucked up and caused my mother to fly off the handle. Being on the receiving end of my mother’s rage was never fun.

“For once, Laura, you may have given me something to work with; well done, don’t let it go to your head though; we have much work to do to make this happen, do you hear me” I answer, and for one she didn’t shout at me.

“Yes, mother, thank you,” I beamed at the phone while trying to control my voice.

“I want daily updates; we need every scrap of information you can get,” she said before the lines went dead.

Finally, my mother was pleased with me, I did something good, and hopefully, I will be rewarded for it. Now I have to make sure that the Elf is out of the way and the road will be clear for me to cement my claim on the Alpha and pull everything back together. I’ll have my mother thanking me before long. Everything will go my way.

“Mother, are you in here” Mason called me, my heart stuttering. I loved my boy, but he was unpredictable. The last time I saw him, he hit me, so I wasn’t sure what he would be like this time.

“In here, darling”, I call back with fake cheer.

“I need your advice,” he asked, and my heart stuttered for a second time.

“Anything, my dear; how can I help” I smiled at him, reaching for him, hoping he would accept my love today.

“Stacy is being weird”, he mumbled. “How do I make her stop.”

“What do you mean as weird, sweetheart?” I asked carefully, not wanting to push him over the edge.

“She told me no and left” he stuck out his bottom lip and sulked.

“Girls can be difficult at times, my love; you just have to give her some space” I rubbed his arm and hoped he would accept it “she adores you. Trust me; she will be back.”

“I don’t want to wait; I’ll just make her do as I say,” he growled, and I resisted the urge to step back.

“Sweetheart, you can command men to do as you wish, but women demand respect; if you want her, then you have to show her you respect her; that way, she will do anything you wish,” I told him, hoping he listened. I knew what he got up to; I knew how he treated people, especially girls. But I didn’t want him to hurt Stacy; she seemed nice.

“Fine, I’ll do it your way, but if it doesn’t work, then it’s my way or no way”, he warned and shrugged my hand off his arm as she stalked away.

Watching him walk away made me think of his father—the real one, not Michael. Mother had picked a match for me and said that to keep our bloodlines pure; I had to carry the child of the man she chose, then pass it off as Alpha Michaels. So far, Michael believed my lies, and all he ever wanted was a family. If he was ever to find out Mason is not his. Then I don’t think I would find a way back from that. I don’t believe any spell in this world would hold him for long.