(Mintaka)

The moment I gain consciousness after the attack from Chittering, the bond settles in my chest like a burning bonfire.

My mind goes crazy seeing that she is not a human but a Fae. Her beauty is beyond the scope of words my limited vocabulary carries. The silverish-gold moon seems to have bled into her long silken strands.

And those eyes, I have never seen such stunning eyes. The arresting green of them is utterly captivating.

I have been mated before, so I know the feeling, but this is so raw and intense that the entire time she fights and defends us, I can’t even breathe properly.

My wolf surfaces and howls woundedly in my head. "Mate."

He is scared, scared of losing another mate. He hasn’t even healed from the previous loss and then Amaia faints.

Her heartbeat is a slow hum, her scent like freshly baked pretzels. I want to hold her in my arms and never let go.

My insides scream when Alnilam’s hair collects her, and he keeps holding her, not letting me have her.

The same words keep repeating from my mouth and I don’t even understand what I am doing or saying. The newly forming chemicals and this developing mate bond are driving me insane.

It’s akin to having a panic attack with all your senses heightened and all your attention focused only on that one person who becomes the world to you.

Alnilam finally lets me hold her. The softness of her body, the warmth and light she exudes and that rich scent captivate me and my other selves.

"She is ours. I am never touching another female," even that dark part of me declares. He earlier protected her, not even caring for himself; when in reality he is a selfish bastard.

Alnitak helps me hide her face and hair with his jacket as I carry her to the royal carriage.

He handles all the talking and arrangements along with Saiph because I can’t stop staring at my mate. She has rendered me speechless and instilled this fear inside me.

I might lose her too. She is a Fae. Faes are killed or taken by the Dread Army.

I can’t lose her. Not again. I will die defending her, protecting her. I will not let any harm come to her.

"Taka!" Alnitak gently says. I remove his jacket from her face, my fingers touching the soft skin of her face.

"She is going to be fine. Her energy is depleted, that’s all man." He places his hand on my shoulder and squeezes.

"I feel her now...all of her. The bond has settled for me." I snatch my gaze away from her face and it physically hurts.

Alnitak offers me a warm smile. "You protected her with your life, that’s exactly why you see I wasn’t wrong."

"Why couldn’t I feel her before?" My arms protectively squeeze her to my hurting chest.

"Because she is cursed and now we are too with her. We can’t speak about it to others. It needs to be broken individually," he explains and everything begins to drop like Jenga blocks in their place.

Our carriage takes us just outside Alnilam’s office. Saiph is on his bike and he inspects the area, ensuring no one is there.

With gentle care, I hide Amaia’s hair in the suit jacket. Alnitak lets me carry her to the hidden room behind Alnilam’s office.

There are a few one-seaters inside, but nothing on which I can lie her down. So I sit on the sofa while keeping her securely in my arms.

Saiph and Alnitak arrange a mattress from somewhere. I carry her over and gently lay her down. Her white dress is doused with my blood thankfully there are no other injuries on her body.

Picking up her hair from her face I gently put it on the mattress. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Wake up, Amaia," I painfully whisper to her, trying to pull her out of this unconsciousness just like she had done to me.

My hand holds hers. It’s not as soft because of how much she trains. There is a black flower tied to her wrist. It has been there for a while now. It appears meaningful to her. I need to ask her about it.

"You guys need to rest. I will keep a watch until Alnilam gets here," Saiph’s voice comes, and I just shake my head, refusing to even look away from her.

"We are good, Saiph," Alnitak tells him. Saiph leaves and the partition closes behind him.

"Does she smell like freshly baked pretzels to you as well?" I ask Alnitak while my thumb rubs the back of her hand.

"No, more like flowers and chocolates," he wistfully says. "But the smell has intensified in her Fae transformation.

"We have to protect her, Ali. We can’t let anyone take her from us. If anyone asks about those Reavers, I will take the blame."

Alnitak comes and lowers himself near me. His hand lands on my shoulder.

"We will always protect her with our lives. But let Alnilam come. We need to see what his strategy regarding this is. He will speak to Mama and father and then we will take it from there."

Slowly, I nod, but my heart remains utterly restless. The fear of something happening to her has gripped my heart like a fishhook.

Alnitak walks away, I don’t know what he is doing or what’s happening. It’s just me, my other selves and her in our bubble for minutes, hours, days?

I don’t know.

And then a foreign scent hits my nostrils and a hand reaches out to touch her. My powers that have gone dormant suddenly surface, creating these icy spikes. They fly at a blinding speed and embed inhis approaching hand.

He lets out a controlled angry growl. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I lift my raging eyes and stare at that bloodsucker.

Why is he even here?

"Stay away from my mate. I won’t let you touch her," I holler at him, my powers shoot out like an angry shield of ice and water and surround Amaia, shielding her from him.