The Phantom Queen [GirlXGirl]

Chapter 6: Under The Night Caress

VALKYRIE

Vida tended to Sage's friend immediately once we had arrived at the clinic in our territory. I examined the wallet he had in his pocket and according to his identification card, his name is Ethan Haynes, seventeen years of age. It seemed that he was close to Sage based also on the photo I got from one of the pockets. My mate was sitting on his lap while his arms were around her waist as they were smiling at the camera.

It made me confused. I'd thought she was with that Cayde and now she looked so cozy with this guy I just saved from his death earlier. Why would he keep something like this in his wallet anyway? It was too sweet for my liking. Clenching my jaw, I torn the photo into two and tossed one of the half pieces in the trash bin, then kept the other with me.

"Here, put some pants on, will you?" Ulva chuckled, lending me her jogger pants she probably took from their villa nearby. "And by the way, it's nice to you again."

I just disregarded her, placing the wallet on the table, and sat on the couch tiredly. Due to the healing capabilities of our kind, the cuts on my shoulder were already gone so Ulva didn't need to treat me like a child.

"Why? You don't want to get into my pants?" she said, brushing her hand on my arm in an intimate manner.

Swatting her hand away, I scrutinized her from head to toe and didn't expect that she would come back and I would see her again. It had been one year since we had ended our little secret relationship and I gotta admit that she had become an elegant woman. Ulva was my first and despite being seven years younger than her, we had a decent relationship until she left the pack for an old man with money.

"Do you think he'll live?" I asked her instead, hoping that Vida would be done soon because I felt suffocated here.

Ulva hummed and sat next to me. She then unexpectedly snaked her arms around my waist. "Why so concern about a mere human?"

I looked sharply at her brown eyes. "My mate will get worried," I said, shoving her away from me.

She let out a bitter laugh. "I see. You've found your mate so you don't want me anymore."

I scoffed. "Why are you here? What happened to your sugar daddy?"

"Vida asked me to help her here for a while," she answered, crossing her legs to show off her skin under her skimpy dress. "I owed the old woman a lot but I'd be gone once this war hype drops again."

I just remained silent because I didn't want to converse with her furthermore. All she cared about was herself anyway and I just couldn't believe that I'd been fooled by this vixen. Well, I was too young and naive anyway——or curios rather.

When the door to the patient room opened, I was more than glad that I could get away from here sooner. Vida gestured for me to come in so I rushed immediately inside the room, seeing Ethan was still unconscious on the bed. I didn't regret that I had saved him though.

"He's lucky enough that the wounds are free of venom. But he'll be unconscious for days due to the bite's effect and it entirely depends on his will to live," our pack doctor informed me, her voice soft yet anxious.

"Thank you, Vida."

"Where do you want him to stay?" she asked.

"I want him to be tended every day in one of the empty villas in our square barracks. And Enzo will arrive later to bring the body of the hybrid we'd killed in pure luck. Maybe we can find something that could help to bring them down."

Vida tapped my shoulder comfortingly. "You should go home and I'll take the rest here. I told one of our deltas to inform your family of your whereabouts right now and they are probably waiting for you in the manor."

"Right. Thanks again, Vida. I'll be off now," I said to her with a small smile before heading out of the room to see Ulva still sitting on the couch.

"Going ahead already, Vallie?" the cougar woman asked while smirking at me. "I'll let you off the hook for now but maybe tomorrow, we could——"

"I'm not interested," I cut her off, slamming the door close, and went out of the clinic. I inhaled the scent of the night first to calm my unrest body before scurrying off. When I reached the entrance of the barracks, I saw Enzo placing the sack smeared of blood on the stretcher with the help of our fellow warrior, Wan. Evidently, it was the hybrid's body and I hoped that bringing it to our territory wouldn't give us trouble too.

Once Enzo saw me, he instantly approached me with an anxious expression on his face. "Val, I apologize. I wasn't able to get the body of the other human. The authorities were already there when I arrived. I was right to hide our car somewhere far before I chased you into the woods."

I frowned at his statement. "It's not your fault, Enzo. You've done enough. I'll just discuss this with my father as soon as he comes back."

"I should also report this incident to Oscar. So excuse us, Val," he said, referring to the head of the Deltas and Esther's father.

"Yes, please. Thank you, Enzo. I'll give your shirt back tomorrow," I said then I ran off towards the way to the Olcan Manor.

I'd thought that we could retrieve the dead body of the human but luck seemed not that generous to us. The authorities might think it was a work of a serial killer who collects blood in their free time but there was also a possibility that they could discover something out of ordinary from the victim's body. If ever they did find something, the Elders wouldn't give us the time to even rest. They would want us to cover our existence as much as possible, or else my father's position would be at risk. Being an Alpha didn't mean that you had all the power to control the pack. Elders were there to complicate things as they also held importance to our kind. In the first place, most of them were Alphas who'd resigned due to their age. I mean, werewolves could live for five hundred years at most.

Once I reached our home, I haven't even opened the front door yet when my mother spoke to me through the mind link. 'We're all here. Come fast, honey.'

Rolling my eyes, I straightaway headed to the living room and I nearly stumbled backward when Vance suddenly held me in both of my arms.

"Is it true that you killed a hybrid? How was it? Did you even break a sweat?" Vance asked in a persistent curiosity.

Groaning out loud, I pushed him away and then turned to my Mom annoyed. "Can you give me at least a few minutes to wash my body clean and to dress properly?"

Esther giggled next to her. "I prepared a bath for you upstairs in your room."

I smiled at her in appreciation. "Thanks. I'll be back as soon as Dad comes home. Then I explain all of it."

"Alright, Val. Come as soon as he's here." My mother nodded, letting me go.

Once I hit the warm water, my tensed body relaxed a bit as the fragrance of the scented candle danced through my nostril. Sighing to myself, I then leaned over and reached for a torn photo in my hand. A smile etched on my lips at the very sight of my mate——my Sage. I was missing her since we'd parted this afternoon and I deeply regretted declining her invitation. I should have been there hanging out with her through the night, creeping on her beautiful smile and appreciating her bubbly personality. But in the same time, I was glad that I didn't come or that Ethan would be dead by now and Sage would be devastated. At least we could send him back to his normal life once he heals completely.

Ugh! What could be their relationship? Was Sage really with this guy or with that Cayde? Was Sage cheating on both of them? Damn, Val! Don't get to a conclusion!

Despite what was going on around, my priority right now was my mate, of course. I had to establish this connection so that I could fulfill my duty to the pack but all in all, I was eager to be with her and to kiss her lips senseless, and to call her mine once I claim her. Along with that, I had to protect her no matter what. But before all of that, I had to confirm where her heart truly was.

When I sensed my father was already at home after almost half an hour, I immediately got out of the tub and dressed in my tracksuit pants, white shirt, and my bomber jacket over. There was a chance that we might go out again. I glanced at the clock on my wall, seeing it was almost nine already before I headed down to see my family having a conversation at the table. Mom's cooking was always the best and I was pretty famished already after that fight.

"Val, come eat our dinner as we discuss what happened recently," Mom said and I didn't even think twice as I sat on the chair and served myself with her chicken casserole.

"So what now, Val? We are waiting about this hybrid," Vance pressed me to explain already while I chewed the food in my mouth.

"Let your sister eat first," Dad told him, resting his forearms on the table. "I'd already discussed the situation with Oscar and Enzo. The hybrid they had encountered was hungry for blood so it didn't have any rational thinking. A logical one wouldn't go victimized a human out in the open. They were examining its body as of now and Vida confirmed to me that it had a vampire nature as well as it had a body structure of a werewolf."

Hearing that statement, I placed my fork down and a deep frown appeared between my brows. "You mean, it could shift into a werewolf just like us."

Dad nodded. "We'll never know its capabilities yet but that's possible too. Vida needs more time to examine it and I hope we find something else. And I'd already told Oscar to search for its identity and get rid of the trail you made at the scene with the assistance of Enzo so that the authorities won't find them. You're lucky that it's feeble, Val. Next time, don't go rushing alone. Is that understood?"

"I think Val wouldn't go chasing it alone without any valid reason, right?" Esther concluded, causing me to smile. My best friend really knew me so well and I was very happy that she was mated to my twin brother. Not only she was so sweet, but also smart in nature.

"Is that right, Val?" my mother questioned, urging me to explain myself.

I nodded as an answer. "Yes, I had to chase it because it took Sage's friend."

"Sage? Your mate?" Vance confirmed before turning to the Luna of the pack. "You see, Mom, this is what I'm trying to tell you a while ago. Sage found her mate at last——a human mate."

"And she's pretty and a bombshell at the same time," Esther gushed in excitement. "And Val here is already head over heels with her. She was fluttering all over the place and couldn't even express her words properly when she talked to her this afternoon. And I saw them holding hands already while walking out of the building."

I looked at Esther and Vance, taken aback and I could feel my cheeks rose warmly at the memories of Sage's hand holding mine. Of course, they were eavesdropping from a distance. "That's——That's because she just——she just suddenly grabbed my hand and I was——I was——" I sighed dejectedly at myself but I had to admit it. "And it feels good holding her."

My family all smiled tenderly at me but I just couldn't meet their eyes in embarrassment. They clearly knew what I was talking about because I was the only one who hadn't claim my mate here. They had more experience and I was still a pup when it came to this stuff.

"I didn't expect it would be a girl though," Mom said, with no disapproval on her tone. "Why don't you invite her this weekend to have dinner with us?"

My jaw slacked at her suggestion. "No, Mom. We just met today and I don't even know if she's in a relationship with this guy I just saved a while ago."

"Easy peasy! Just kill him off," Vance jested, grinning at me which I just responded with a dull glare.

Dad cleared his throat to get our attention. "Speaking of that guy, once he wakes up, he'll surely remember everything and we're going to be in a predicament if he finds himself here in our territory. Why don't we just kill him off as your brother had suggested?"

"Dad! Are you kidding me?! We don't kill innocent people!"

My father laughed out loud, clearly toying at me. "If that's going to be the only way to make it easier for you to get this girl of yours, why not? Anyway, we have to move on. After we eat, we'll go to the woods and make sure that they'd erase your tracks. The authorities needed to examine the crime scene first before they investigate into the woods. It's too dark for them to see so Enzo has enough time to cover our existence."

"I'll come with you," Vance said as we all went back to our plate.

..........

After running a mile, we arrived at the woods and met with Enzo and the rest of the warriors. They had done a good job covering the tracks while the authorities were still searching for clues in the darkness of the unknown. Way after the boulder of rock, we hid into the shadows and I watched as they retrieved the dead body from the ground, concealing it with a white cloth.

"These humans don't know what they're dealing with. I feel bad about their ignorance to this world," Vance suddenly commented.

"Ignorance is bliss," I whispered to myself but froze on the spot as I detected my mate's presence coming. "She's here."

"Who?" Esther questioned, giving me a weirded-out look.

Peeking through the light and darkness using my heightened sight, I saw an RV driving slow through the crime scene and my core instantly rose out of my chest when I got the sight of my mate, looking out of the window of the vehicle. "Sage, she's here."

"Yeah, I can see that. She might be coming home from a trip or something," Vance said, placing his hand on the top of my head and turned my head to him. "Why don't you stalk her and see where she lives? Then you can stay with her all night long."

I pushed him away and frowned at his ridiculous idea. "I'm not going to stalk her."

Vance shook his head as he put his arms around Esther and they both stared at me firmly. "I know how it feels, Val. To be separated from your mate even just for a second. I had to experience that with my beloved Esther when her father took it upon himself to keep her away from me so that he could test my determination for his daughter. It's like a thousand pricks of cactus in your heart that you can't get rid of——only she can."

"He's right," my sister-in-law agreed with him. "It was hard to fall asleep when I wasn't with him during those periods. But now that we bonded after the Nexum, we can feel each other more clearly even in a far distance. It's pretty convenient actually."

"So go now. Don't worry about Dad, I'll tell him and he'll agree with me anyway. Go!" Vance urged me intensely, shoving me away rather hard.

I just shook my head at them and ran after the RV, careful that no one would see me at the same time. Unfortunately for me, they dropped a few people around the town before they finally pulled over the garage of a colonial-style house with the car tagging along behind them. I hid behind the bushes and watched my mate going out of the car and sprinted towards the front door.

By the looks of it, she seemed down and upset about something which I kinda knew what was it about. Apparently, an officer tagged along with them and used Sage's car to keep them safe. My mate's little camp party was ruined because of that terrible incident. As I'd heard from their conversation, Sage's father was supervising the patrol team and it made sense why she was so distraught.

When the middle-aged woman walked into the house, a light on the second floor turned on, telling me that it was Sage's room. It was not that hard when I jumped on her balcony and hid behind the curtain. And when I peered inside, my jaw almost dropped on the floor when I saw the reflection of my mate taking her clothes off one by one.

I wanted to look away but my eyes couldn't betray this moment as they ran through her skin, her curves and her delicious shoulder, and her coffee hair flowing down like a river at the edge of the world. My body almost spitted fire as it longed to cut the distance between us and hold her inside my arms. Blinking at the sight of my mate half-naked in her room, my senses waned at the surrounding so I almost jumped down from the balcony when her bedroom door opened and her mother entered in.

I turned away and listened to their conversation as I was concerned about her more than ever. Gosh, I shouldn't be here in the first place but here I was, hiding like a creeper.

"Sage, I know you're upset but I'm sorry about ruining your night. You didn't even get to blow your cake," her mother told her softly.

"Ma, you shouldn't say sorry about that. I'm not expecting anything anyway. Actually, I'm more concerned about my friend, Ethan. I know that was his car and I am so worried about him right now."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes. That's clearly his car," Sage answered, her voice sounded frail and anxious. "We should call Mom and ask her what happened."

"No, we can't interrupt her from her job but I'm sure she'll bring news tomorrow. And you need to rest now, Sage. You have school."

"I don't even know if I can sleep tonight. Ethan is one of my closest friends and you know that. He helped me get through my grief all summer and now, he might be there alone in the woods, freezing to death and I can't do anything about it."

I heard her mother let out a sigh. "Rest, Sage. I'll let your Mom knows and I'm sure she'll tell you first thing in the morning about Ethan. For now, please get some sleep or if you won't be able to, just take a sleeping pill they prescribed for you, okay?"

"I'm sorry, Ma. I'll try to sleep. Thanks for the gift, by the way. Goodnight and I love you."

"Goodnight, my love. I love you, too."

Once I heard the door closed, I glanced cautiously inside, seeing Sage went out of the bathroom with a glass of water in her hand. She took a pill in her mouth and drank the liquid straightaway before turning off the light. Then she rustled under the blanket, tucking herself in and I knew that her mind was still exploding with endless thoughts.

However, after a few minutes, the pill did its magic as Sage eventually succumbed to sleep. I slipped down on the floor and wondered if I should stay here for the rest of the night or just go back home. Looking up, the night sky was spotless of clouds and I could clearly see the stars and the moon while I kept her glorious presence lingered with me. This was the feeling I'd been craving since we separated this afternoon. It spoke volumes in my whole existence and being near to her felt like I had finally found my oasis after a long journey through the dunes of my desire.

Glancing back over my shoulder, I watched Sage on her bed along with the moonlight. And it was then I decided to get closer, just a glimpse of her sleeping face——closer. Luckily for me, the glass door to her balcony wasn't locked so I slipped into her room, making sure that my steps wouldn't make a noise and wake her up. Then I kneeled beside her bed, reaching my arm out to caress her cheek delicately.

"You are already a part of me," I murmured inaudibly, my eyes on her luscious lips. "I know you feel it too."

To my surprise, her eyes suddenly fluttered open and they locked on mine. I was rooted on my spot but Sage didn't look so shocked but instead, she leaned her face to my hand, and kept it there as she held it tight with hers.

"Hey, it's you again, my blur, " she whispered, her eyelids were half-closed as she gazed blearily at me. "But here you are, you have a face now."

I was speechless, knowing that she might be thinking I was just a dream. And I was afraid to move because she might realize that I was actually here, creeping on her like a dumbass.

"Is your name Valkyrie too?" Sage asked, her voice low. "You feel real to me more than before. Yet––Yet you are still my mystery. Now that you've exposed yourself, can you also speak to me?"

I inhaled sharply, gazing at her half-lidded eyes. If she was thinking that this was all a dream, I might as well take advantage of it. "My name is Valkyrie, your other half."

Sage hummed, caressing the back of my hand with her thumb. "Valkyrie, you have a pretty name just like the girl I just met today. Val, she's all I think about. Her blue eyes——her eyes are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Are you the same person?"

I blushed a bit at that. "What if that's a yes."

My mate shut her eyes close, then guiding my hand to her lips and kissed it affectionately. The touch of her lips set a spark within me but I tried to keep it inside me. I gave my best to quenched this desire in me—— for my Sage, only for her.

"Then will you please stay? I want to know more about my mystery."

My mouth opened to speak but I stopped myself when I heard her soft breathing, proving that she went back to sleep. She was so cute thinking I was just a dream. Carefully, I removed my hand from hers and stroked her hair gently. If she wanted me to stay then I would gladly fulfill her wish and not let her go.

Goodness, my Sage. Here I was going through everything to tame you, but it was mine that was conquered. It was my heart that was captured by your kiss and touch.

Yeah, she surely did.

.........