Chapter 56

“Are you avoiding me again?” I murmur.

Jaxson freezes, his back turned to me as he attempts to disappear within the shadows of the forest.

An entire day has passed, we separated the creatures into four factions. No one knows anything yet, and I can see it’s un-nerving many. Charming had yet to make an appearance. And Sophia is deciding on the best approach to handle revealing sensitive information.

“You should rest. It’s been a long day,” I feel tempted to turn around and stare at the large house, but I know the second I do, Jaxson will be gone.

Instead, I take a step forward. “You know, I felt you holding me. I felt your concern. Your fear. Your pain. I felt you,” I whisper, taking a step with each word. Jaxson’s hands ball into fists.

“It’s just the bond…” I move to cup his face, but he snatches my wrist and growls, “don’t!”

“Please talk to me,” I breathe, holding his unemotional pale orbs with my desperate ones. For a second, I see them softening.

“I can’t make you happy, Nieve. I can’t love you,” I admit. Those words were like a dagger to the heart. I can hear my heart break from the force of them, but I hold my ground.

“I-I don’t care,” he spins and presses me against his chest, his face buried in my neck and his hands clamped around my waist. He inhales deeply, and I can’t stop my arms from curling around his neck.

Just as he lifts his face, his cold breath fans over my ear, and he whispers, “yes, you do.”

He tries to pull away, but I hold him tightly. “Please don’t leave me too, Jaxson. I only want you!” I stress truthfully.

“You think I want to leave you!? I’m doing it for your own good. Don’t you want to be happy!” My body stiffens - this has to be the first time Jaxson has yelled at me like this. It’s raw.

He turns on his heel and stalks away. “That’s what my mother thought too, she sacrificed herself, so I’d one day kill Freya… look what happened to me. I became a shadow of my former self, and just as I’m about to find myself-... you do the same thing. You leave too!” I accuse angrily.

An air of magic and power seeps out of Jaxson, his back to me as he growls, “Nieve…”

“You told me to hold on to you?! You told me not to give up?! You told me you’d never give me up?! Were they all just lies?!” I snap, I know I shouldn’t have sunken so low, but I’m afraid if I don’t, I’ll lose him.

*“Run, Nieve. We Lycans live for the hunt…”*

“I’m here now, Jaxson. I’m standing right here. You caught me, I’ve lost! Now just-… stay. *Please!*” I plead, falling onto my knees behind him. My knees crash with the dirt, my teary eyes holding the back of his head, but he continues walking onwards.

With every step, his feet crunch over the shattered pieces of my heart.

I don’t know how long I sit like that. As the world continues, and the two suns make their appearance.

“Valerie! Are you okay?”

Sophia’s concerned voice reaches my ears. She crouches down to my height and wraps her arms around me in a warm embrace. “I-I-… I don’t want to lose him, Sophia,” I whisper, her hold only tightens.

She seems to understand what I mean, “Valerie, I love my brother, but he’s an idiot. He needs you just as much as you need him…” Sophia smiles and cups my face, “he never let you go, so don’t let him go.”

“B-but he said-…” Sophia chuckles and rises to her feet, her amused eyes peering into mine.

“I’m sorry, who are you, and what have you done with Valerie? You know the selfish she-wolf, who takes what she wants when she wants. The independent woman who finds danger at every turn? The woman who speaks her mind no matter who it hurts. The woman I’ve come to admire greatly?”

She’s right. I’m selfish, so why the hell should I care what he wants?! I want Jaxson, and I’ll have him. I don’t give a shit what he wants.

I want him – only him! He’s mine!

Sophia smirks as I rise to my feet. “Come on, we have a meeting at the great hall,” Sophia informs and disappears. I follow and disappear into a black void and appear beside the Qusayr at the throne room.

“Nice of you to finally join us,” Grayson sighs, bored of something.

“Why are we being summoned?!” Alpha Dane, the councilman, and royals look to me for an answer. I flick my gaze to Jaxson, waiting for him to address the crowd.

Still, why is Alpha Dane here? As Queen, I’m supposed to represent the wolf community. Still, I decided to keep my silence.

Jaxson lazily slumps back into the seat, resting his jaw on his fist and his right ankle on his left knee, looking onwards with no sign of answering.

I grit my teeth angrily, recalling last nights events. *I take what I want!*

With confidence oozing out of me, I stalk over his throne. I can feel his body tense as I walk closer and plop myself down on his lap to rest my arm around his neck. Jaxson doesn’t meet my gaze. He keeps his eyes ahead as his body remains unmoving - but tense.

Surprisingly, I’m not bothered by his lack of movement. Hey, at least he didn’t throw me off. That would have been a completely different story.

“It’s time we tell you all we know about our enemies. None of you seems to be taking any of it seriously, and we can’t afford a war to break out amongst us due to your arrogance,” Elias sighs, the harshness of his words contrast against the gentleness of his tone.

“I told you once before, Lone Wolf. You may hold the title Queen, but you’ll never get my respect or allegiance,” Gerald growls. Somehow this doesn’t surprise me. Still, I’ll need to do something about him, he’s been on the council for centuries, and many Alpha’s are fond of him.

I can’t kill him because that will change nothing. “I understand, councilman Gerald. From here on, I’ll try to earn your allegiance and respect,” I nod respectfully. His eyes widen, and his jaw tenses. I don’t know if he’s more angry or shocked, but I signal Elias to continue.

“As I was saying, Freya is a powerful nymph wielding two elements. She was stopped once before by someone you have all met – Lucinda Carson,” murmurs spread throughout the room, but as quickly as they started, they stop when Jaxson releases a throaty growl.

My heart stutters at the sound, and I resist the urge to purr. What the hell is wrong with me?!

“So, if an Oracle can stop her, why can’t you?” Lucifer asks Elias, drumming his fingers into the table.

“Because Lucinda called upon Hecate to seal away Freya, a call she can only use once for five minutes, and it only managed to trap her for two thousand years. History cannot continue to repeat itself. If we want to protect future threats, Freya needs to die, and I am not powerful enough to do it,” Elias answers honestly, causing most brows to raise.

“Then who the hell is?” The demon councilmen wonders, his black eyes peering into mine. I recognise him from our first council meeting, he intrigued me, and I didn’t even get a name.

“The spirit fish have announced Valerie, the Qusayr and Councilmen Dylan will work together and kill her,” Elias nods to the five of us. Creatures narrow their gazes – angry.

“This is pathetic!” The Mer-Queens voice seethes from the back. “My sea creatures and I can take care of one little faerie.”

“It’s not just one Faerie, Mirvana. She aligned with the Earth Nymph – Kyro,” Elias reveals. I keep my gaze glued onto Iliana. She seems to tense before relaxing suddenly. But there’s no denying the unease she feels.

“That’s not possible…” A voice whispers, my gaze flickers to the Nymph from the first council meeting. Damn, I should have learnt their names!

“Emree…” Iliana growls, but she disregards her words and stares at me. Her eyes shine with sadness and - regret?

“My brother-… He’s alive?”