Chapter 98

Sasha narrowed her eyes on the man. “Odanya was your mate? Like my father’s chosen mate, Odanya?”
“Yes.”
“Are you aware that, because of you, my father was forced to rape her? You set a ball in motion that nobody could have stopped.”
His shoulders slumped. “I didn’t know that. They always looked so happy.”
“I saw it. My mother spelled him and he raped Odanya. My mother turned into a bitch, because of you. She was happy. She was… in love.”
“I know she was. I wanted my mate to hurt, like she hurt me. I wanted your father to leave her, so I could come in and be the knight in shining armor, but that didn’t happen. Your father loved her too much to just walk away for his fated mate.”
“Did she know you were her mate?”
“No. Not even when we spoke.”
“How is that possible?”
“I masked my scent and never let her touch me.”
Sasha glared at him, falling silent. The door to the dungeon opened and Lukas entered with Lily who looked calmer. He draped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her closer.
“Sasha, why did you have to do that to Casey?”
Slonsky sank to his knees. “What did you do to her?,” he whimpered.
Sasha rolled her eyes. “I aura’d her and now she is resting.”
He looked up at Lily. “Is she okay?”
Lily nodded. “She’s asleep on the couch. I checked before I came down here.”
He let out a relieved sigh. Sasha leaned back against Aiden, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Luka, we are waiting for Lani. We are taking a trip when she gets here.”
“Where are we going?”
She met Slonsky’s eyes. “Into your brain, where you can’t lie to us.”
“What does that mean?,” Lily asked, clinging to Lukas’s arm. “Does that mean that you're going to be asleep for days again? I don’t like that. It’s scary.”
He pulled her around the front of him to hug her tightly, putting his cheek on the top of her head. “It does, but I promise you, we will be okay. I will let you stay right next to me the entire time if you want.”
She wiped her nose on her shirt. “Do you promise?”
He nodded. “Aiden will make sure of it and so will Gregory when he gets here.”
She hugged his waist. “Okay.”
Everyone sat silently while they were waiting for Kalani to show up. Aiden kept his hands on Sasha’s shoulders while Lukas sat Lily on his lap when he got comfortable on the floor. She leaned against him as he rubbed her back.
‘I don’t know how anybody will ever be able to doubt how he feels about his queen,’ Aiden whispered in her mind.
‘He’s hurting. I can feel it just as clearly as he had felt my attacks with Kalani,’ she responded.
‘She’s so young,’ he murmured.
‘And your point is what? He’s not going to force her into anything.’
‘No. I wasn’t alluding to that. I am just amazed, because she reacts to him the way she does. It’s just as obvious she feels the bond as it is that he’s already in love with her.’
Sasha laughed softly. ‘I was in love with you from day one, too. Just didn’t want you to know.’
He chuckled before pecking her lips. ‘I hate to tell you. You were not a good liar.’
‘I knew I should have killed you,’ she teased, before pausing to look thoughtful. ‘But then I would have missed out on a delicious milkshake.’ She shrugged. ‘Oh, well, what’s done is done.’ She looked at him smugly. ‘Even though, there is still time.’
He laughed again and Kalani frowned at him as she sauntered in followed by Gregory who flanked her like a high priced ninja waiting for someone to even breathe her air. Sasha rolled her eyes.
“Simmer down, stewpot. Why does your mate always look like he’s going to murder even the smallest bacteria cell over you?”
Gregory bared his teeth at her. “Because I would without hesitation.”
Lily sighed and everyone looked at her. She blushed.
“Sorry, I just.. Never mind,” Lily mumbled.
Lukas tilted her chin up. “What is it, Lily?”
“Everybody is so sweet. I want that one day, but I know it will never happen. Nobody will love me that much,” she whispered as she looked away.
His body tensed under her and he let her face go. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, so that her head lay on his chest.
“You are already loved like that, Lily. One day, he will be able to show you.”
She gave a sad smile. “I guess that will be the day that I die.”
Lukas looked up helplessly at them and nobody was able to say or do anything. Nobody had any clue on how to respond. He nuzzled into her neck and she closed her eyes. Sasha let them have a moment to themselves, before nodding her head at Slonsky.
“Lani, I need you to do your thing. We need to know exactly what happened.”
She sighed, but walked into the cell with Gregory hovering close. She put her hands on his head and seconds later, Sasha felt Aiden lift her up as she fell forward. Kalani pulled both Sasha and Lukas with her as she entered his mind.
*They watched as a young Slonsky moved through a crowd, trying to get away from them. Sasha looked around, wondering what was going on. At the end of the street, a group of people walked slowly, discussing something as they pointed at stuff. Sasha moved closer to the group and in the middle stood her father with his arm around Odanya. Her arm was around his waist and she was cuddled into his side.*
*As the group drew closer to where Slonsky was still struggling to move away, he froze. He slowly turned around, his eyes searching the area. The man in front of the couple moved and Slonsky’s face brightened, before it fell when he saw Odanya. Sasha watched as Odanya stopped and scented the area as she scanned it. Her father looked at her.*
*“What’s wrong?”*
*“He’s here,” she murmured.*
*“Who is?,” he asked, tensing as he started studying every man he saw.*
*“My fated mate.”*
*Her father tensed even more, before lowering his arm from around her shoulders. He turned all the way towards her to look into her eyes.*
*“Do you want to go find him?”*
*She closed her eyes and inhaled again. Sasha watched the pleasure move across her face, before she opened her eyes back up.*
*“No. I have a mate and you are the only one I want and love.”*
*He held out his hand to her and she took it without hesitation. Sasha could feel the relief in her father when she said that. She draped his arm back over her shoulders as they moved behind the men leading them around. She kept glancing around and every time her father looked at her, he kissed her on her forehead. Slonsky hid behind the crowd, following their progress slowly. There was no denying that he was drawn to her or that he wanted the mate bond. When they got to the end of the crowd, he was forced to fall back. The trio followed him back to a house, where a woman waited for him.*
*“What happened, Donnie?,” she asked.*
*He smiled at her. “Mom, you’ll never guess what happened.”*
*“What happened?”*
*“I found my mate,” he told her excitedly.
*She raised an eyebrow. “Well, son, where is she?”*
*He dropped into a chair in front of her. “She’s not here. There is a small problem.”*
*“What is it? You know I hate it when you take forever to tell me stuff. Just spit it out already. You’re just like your father.”*
*“She’s the dragon’s queen of queens.”*
*His mother dropped her knitting. “She’s who?”*
*“Odanya Lincoln. The King of Kings’ chosen mate,” he repeated bitterly.*
*She shook her head. “No, son. You need to reject her. He will kill you.”*
*He frowned at her. “She is my mate. Maybe she will leave him if I can just talk to her.”*
*“No! Listen to me, he will not let her go. He would kill both of you, before he let that happen. Be smart, Donald. Reject her.”*
*He rolled his eyes. “Fine. I will go find her and reject her then.”*
*She got up to hug him. “Thank you. Now, hurry, before the pull is too strong to resist.”*
*He got to his feet and walked out while she followed behind him to the door. “Remember, son, just find her, reject her and come home. We will find you a nice, pretty little witch to be with.”*
*He stuck his hands in his pockets and went to find her. He heard her speaking outside of a restaurant and hid behind a tree to eavesdrop.*
*“Catey, I don’t know what to do. What if my fated mate comes for me? Sterling would be so angry.”*
*“Do you want to be with your fated mate?”*
*“No. Yes. No. I don’t know. I feel the mate bond, but I also feel the mate bond to Sterling.”*
*“Would he let you go if you chose to be with your fated mate?”*
*“I think so.”*
*“So, why don’t you find him? Go see how it is in person? You might not even like him.”*
*Slonsky smiled and went to step out from behind the tree, but her next words stopped him in his tracks.*
*“Because I love Sterling. If I saw my fated mate,” she took a deep breath. “I would reject him.”*