Chapter 27

Aiden
He slammed the door behind him and eyed his best friend for a second, before hurrying around the corner. He stopped when he heard the door open to lean against the wall.
‘Stop her,’ he linked Gregory. ‘Call her her tribute name. I need to know if this is all a lie.’
“Gregory, you have to help me. I-”
“Tribute 53, the king has requested you to move bedrooms before he gets back tonight. You should do that as soon as possible.”
Mikhail surged forward with the need to protect her from Gregory. He could feel her emotions and he began fighting for control. Aiden barely was able to hold him at bay.
‘Mikhail, stop! We need to know.’
“Gregory, please, I love him. You can’t let him do this.”
Mikhail whimpered, his anguish overflowing, making Aiden want to hold her and never let her go. She had never said she loved him. Was this all a game she was playing or did she really love him? He hated that he wasn’t sure.
Gregory sighed. “Does Kalani know that you were lying?”
“No.”
‘Tell her.. tell her that she will never be queen. I will not have a queen I can not trust.’
“I am really sorry, but he is my king and you will never be my queen.”
There was a soft thud and her sobs rang out in the hall. He took a step in her direction and Mikhail began to push even harder to get to her. Aiden turned around and struggled to walk down the hallway. Halfway down it, Mikhail took over for a second and he was thrust into a wall. Aiden let out a growl and shoved Mikhail back in his head.
‘Stop it!’
‘SHE’S OUR MATE! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO HER?,’ Mikhail yelled. ‘Go back to her. Talk to her.’
‘No! We need to find out what is going on. I will not put this kingdom at risk, not even for her,’ Aiden spat.
‘SHE IS GOOD! THERE IS A REASON FOR ALL OF THIS! GO BACK!’
‘No! Now stop it.’
‘AIDEN!’
‘MIKHAIL, I SAID NO!’
Smoke came out of Aiden’s nose and he groaned. He hated when Mikhail let out fire inside of his body. It always left a burnt smell in his nose for hours.
‘We need to calm down before we talk to her.’
‘Don’t speak for me, human. I am calm.’ Mikhail snarled.
‘Aid, what do I do? I don’t like this. She is still crying. Can I please comfort her? This isn’t fair to her,’ Gregory linked.
‘No. Keep her in the room.’
‘Yes, Your Highness.’
‘Mikhail, I need a break. Let me figure out if she can be trusted, before I let her back in my bed.’
‘What do you think she is going to do? Kill you, you puny human?’
‘She might. We don’t know her or what she is capable of.’
‘We know she is powerful. If she had wanted to hurt us, we would be hurt already. I don’t think she is capable of hurting us. I want her. Go get her.’
‘Not yet.’
‘Sire, she’s gone,’ Gregory informed him through the link.
‘WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE IS GONE!’
‘She told me not to follow her.’
‘And you listened?’
‘She’s strong. I can’t fight her aura.’
‘Fuck, Gregory. Find her.’
He pushed his aura through the link hard, before cutting it.
‘If she doesn’t come back, I will never allow you to shift again. You will be weak without me,’ Mikhail threatened, before disappearing deep into his mind.
Aiden ran his fingers through his hair. “Well, fuck.”
He entered his office and immediately went to the window to look out. He stared out scanning the grounds that were splayed out before him. He watched Dayan with Kalani for a few minutes before cursing. He wanted that with Sasha. He wanted to take her flying. He wanted her in his arms. He wanted her next to him at all times. He strolled over to the alcohol bottles that sat on top of the fireplace in the middle of his office. He picked up a bottle of brandy and drank the entire contents, before throwing the bottle against the wall. He picked up the coffee table and threw that, too. The wood splintered and went in a million different ways. He stormed around the office ripping bookshelves away from the wall to break them, before putting his fist through the computer screen. His hand shifted into his taloned dragon's foot and he brought them down on the desk, easily slicing it in half over and over again until there was nothing left, but a pile of sawdust. He sat in the middle of the floor and let out a devastated roar. What had he done? Would she come back? Would she forgive him if she did?

Two hours later, he cleared his throat and stood up. He glanced around at the other clan leaders. He couldn’t focus on this meeting today. All his thoughts were centered around Sasha, who had still not been found. Fingers snapped in front of his face.
“Aiden, are you alright?”
“Yes. I do apologize for my distracted state today. There is something going on that I need to tend to. May we pick this up tomorrow?”
The older king eyed him with a smirk. “Something wrong in your kingdom, boy?”
Mikhail pushed forward and Aiden let him. “I found my queen and we are fighting. That is all,” he growled. “So, do not make the mistake of thinking that we are weak. I will be happy to remind you how big of an error that would be.”
Mikhail’s aura slipped out a bit and the other kings lowered their eyes.
“I do apologize for questioning you. We shall retire to our rooms for the day.”
“I will have the cooks bring food up for you and you are more than welcome to explore the castle grounds. My warriors will accompany you. For your protection, of course.”
“Of course.”
Aiden watched the other kings rush out of the room. He sat back in his chair and tapped his fingers.
‘Have you found her?,’ he asked Dayan.
‘Not yet. We are almost back now.’
‘Ok. I’ll meet you in the dining hall. The women need to eat.’
He looked around at his council. “Let’s go eat.”
They all filed out, heading to the dining hall. They entered and sat at the front table. Carla, Thomas and Tiffany were the only other people in the room. He was served 3 steaks, mashed potatoes with gravy and a glass of wine. He sat back, not wanting to eat without her enjoying a meal with him. This didn’t feel right. Where was she? His thoughts were shut off when the doors were flung open hard and bounced off the wall. Kalani came into the hall, followed by the other girls with Gregory rounding up the small party, nervously. Anger rolled off of Kalani and her aura was very apparent. He eyed her curiously. They were definitely changing, growing stronger. She stopped in front of him. She leaned forward over the table to growl at him. She grabbed the edge of the tablecloth and pulled it. A dozen plates, platters and glasses hit the ground. Food flew everywhere and glass rained down on the men and floor around the table.
“You are an ass. You have no idea the shit storm that you have just started, Your Highness,” she sneered sarcastically.
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Why are you angry, Kalani?”
She glared at him. “You are the reason she is gone! You are the stupidest man I have ever met.” She leaned back over the table. “Half of the men involved in this breeder shit this year, would not have found their mates if it weren’t for her and you chased her away.” She pointed at Raven. “Her family disowned her. They tried to drown her in the river. Sasha saved her life and got an elderly couple to take her in.” She pointed at Sherri. “She was attacked and almost sexually assaulted. Sasha came to her rescue and killed four men to keep her pure.” She jerked her finger in Melissa’s direction. “Melissa tried to take her own life, because teenage girls are cruel bitches. She got her to the hospital and was by her side for a week. A whole fucking week! I won’t even begin to tell you how many times she saved me from Tiffany or our mother. She is caring, intelligent and there is nothing she wouldn’t do for people she considered as hers. There is not a better woman in this world to be your mate or your queen.” She took a deep breath. “It is you that is not good enough for her!”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Are you done?”
She fisted her hands. “And another thing, you are a piece of shit for the way you treated her. Who gives a fuck if she is not blind? Who gives a fuck if she lied about it? You didn’t even stop to ask her about it.” She punched the table. “She was going to tell you everything tonight. She asked me to go hunting with her today. She wanted to make you a special meal and eat with you in the woods under the stars.” She hit him in the chest. “You don’t deserve any of her love and I absolutely hate that she put so much energy into loving you. Admit you fucked up and now she is gone. We don’t know where she is and that is solely on your shoulders.”
A laugh came from behind them. “I know where she is,” Carla said snottily.
Kalani spun around. “Where is she?”
“I saw her walking down the road when Thomas took me flying.”
Aiden jumped to his feet. “Which way was she going?”
“Towards Tursum, sire,” Carla said, bowing, immediately seemingly contrite.
He took off sprinting towards the door.
“WHERE ARE YOU GOING? WE ARE NOT FINISHED HERE,” Kalani screamed after him.
“To get my mate!”