The Alpha King and His Human Queen

The Prince's Regent

Maeve

Nathaniel is a dark presence, standing in the corner of the room. He is leaning against the wall and he is keeping his distance as if he’s unsure of himself, not able to trust himself that he won't attack any of us.

Kai is pacing around, not even noticing I’ve entered.

Then there’s Lave… My heart skips a beat at the sight of him but I ignore the way my body reacts to him. I have trained myself - and my wolf- not to react but she sometimes doesn’t listen.

Like now.

Please, stop, I tell her as she stirs but thankfully doesn’t argue and settles down.

Lave is sitting in an armchair and he nods as I step in. Me and the guys grew up together and Lave sees me like the rest of them- like his little sister. He is my mate and we’ve both agreed this is not going to work. That was a few years ago when we discovered it but nothing changed since then. At least not for him so I am trying to keep it that way.

The raven has landed on the armrest of Lave’s chair and the bird doesn’t move. Another sign things are not very bright.

“Uh…” I open my mouth to speak when Kai stops abruptly in the middle of the room.

“Great. Well, thanks for coming, Maeve. “ He says mockingly.

“I… I was with Alexandra. “ I say, searching their faces. “By the way - it was AFTER you tried to kill her. “

“I didn't do anything to her .” Kai makes a face as if using his powers on people is something he can do randomly. He basically does exactly that, though…

“So. “ I begin, “ You mind- linked me, we have to talk. What is it?”

“I can’t read her mind. “

Kai says and I freeze in my spot.

“You… what…” I run my hand through my hair. “Why…would you do that in the first place?”

“Why not? “

“Excuse me?!”

I snap and close the door behind me.

“Are you insane?” I grit my teeth. “We’ve agreed to never do this!”

“You do it all the f*****g time!”

“What I do is entirely different! “ I raise my voice.

“Real?” My brother spits back at me “Exactly how?”

“I will tell you how! You don’t READ their minds. You force them into admitting what they are thinking!”

“Same thing, “ he shrugs.

“You have to be kidding me.”

I shake my head, lowering my voice. I rarely shout but Kia can get me out of my skin in seconds. I try again, more calmly. “We’ve had this conversation before, Kai…”

“And here you use your powers too. “

“I make people more comfortable. “ I retorted. “It’s very different from your brute force influence over them. “

Kai and I are a brother and sister, but our powers could not be more different. While he can force people into confessing their deepest secrets, I can make people feel more calm. Better. I can make them feel more pleasant regardless of what the situation is.

It’s very helpful in battles and fights and when someone is injured for example.

While Kai’s powers… They are something dark and too strong. Even for him. No one from our family has such dark powers. My grandmother was a healer and my mother - too. Maybe I have inherited some part of their powers, and combined with my empathy I hope I can help others.

In our world wolves have the advantage of being the dominant species. They are physically more powerful. But thanks to specials like my family I hope I can help people too. My grandmothers and my mother’s healing powers worked mostly on humans, but sometimes on wolves too. It’s still something I am learning - who I can help and who my powers work on.

But Alexandra is the first human that feels so different. From everyone and everything. Or maybe Kai has done something he wasn’t supposed to do to her…

“Besides, “ I go on, “You haven’t learned entirely how to use your powers!”

“And you have?” Kai lifts an eyebrow and I clench my hands in fists.

“Of course I have. Unlike you, I practice every day, while you…What if you hurt her?” I ask.

“She’s fine. “

I don’t answer Kai. Instead, I search Nathaniel and Lave’s faces for support but I don’t get any.

“You can’t be on his side in this. “ I gasped even though I knew their opinion on this perfectly.

“That’s using your powers too. “ Kai says when Nathaniel says

“Enough. “

It’s completely devoid of emotions and the words cut the air like a knife. That’s never a good sign. He pushes away from the wall and props himself on the wooden table next to the window.

I can tell Nathaniel is mad but I am not sure whether it’s only because Kai cannot influence Alexandra.

I feel like there’s something else. But I keep my mouth shut. We all do.

The bird flaps its wings and jumps on the floor, walking away from Lave but he also doesn’t approach the prince. Even a crazy raven like Opal doesn't go near Nate when he’s like that.

“What about you?” The prince speaks eventually and I discover he is talking to me. I know what he is asking about without him saying the words.

“I can't influence her too, “ I admit, “I tried to make the atmosphere calmer but… it worked only for a short while. “

Nathaniel’s eyes change colour so quickly you can almost miss it. Only you can’t ignore the impossible colour that’s spread all over his irises, making them crimson.

His bright red eyes are like the eternal, burning flames of Infernia and I unconsciously take a step away from him.

Opal flaps its wings and walks towards the window. The bird belonged to Nathaniel’s brother in fact and I can tell they both still haven’t gotten used to each other. The raven knows when to stay away from Nathaniel and now is one of those moments where no one should approach the prince.

“And why is that?” Nathaniel asks. “Why are you both failing?”

“Well..” Kai begins, “It… in our family, we all have different powers, and... “

“But they work on all humans. At least they have so far. “ Lave offers.

“Yes. “

“Then why don’t they work now?” Lave looks between me and my brother, genuinely puzzled. “This has never happened before, right?”

I shake my head.

“Why?”

“I…” Kai speaks, “I honestly don’t know. “

Nathaniel grabs the nearest glass, placed neatly to his right and throws it towards nowhere in particular.

Kai ducks the hit and the glass smashes into the wall behind him. The crystals fly everywhere and Opal sets his eyes on the shiny particles. He loves shiny things. But he can't go to them and pick one because that would attract Nathaniel's attention and no one wants that.

Nathaniel gets up from his seat on the table and walks towards the door without turning.

“Nate…” Kai begins more calmly, “Where are you going?”

“I don't want to see her ever again. “ the prince says flatly instead of answering.

“But… “

“I am going to be the king, right?” Nathaniel says, bitterly and my heart sinks. “That means I can do whatever I want to. That also means I can just kill her if I have to, no?”

Then he slams the door shut so hard the heavy wood of the door almost snaps.

“What are we going to do now?”

I ask but neither my brother nor my mate has an answer for me.

“Right, “ Lave says, carefully, after Nathaniel's been gone for a while. “Let’s start with - why is she here?”

Kai snorts and rubs his forehead. Lave looks confused when my brother explains impatiently.

“She is a gift to Nate. “

“Yes, I was at the gala. But in exchange for what? “

“Peace in their lands. And it was a deal Sirius made with Alexandra’s father on behalf of the prince. And all of this happened overnight, just before Nathaniel was to be officially crowned. The big ceremony is in the following days, by the way, and he cannot break a contract that was done when Siruis was acting as his regent.“

“Oh, no…” I whisper, “Nathaniel didn’t know about this, did he?

Their faces tell me the answer I dread.

“Oh, no… I repeat, realizing the entire horror of the situation and why Nathaniel hates Alexandra so much.