Rise of The Phoenix Alpha

Balance

Bellamy

I woke up and scented him right away. NO! I was hoping he wouldn’t come near me again and honestly hand me over to the hunters before discovering that I was his mate. He sits inside the cell smiling. “Hello little mate! Today must be your birthday. And what a present we both got. Our fated mate bond.”

I stare at him wanting to snarl. “I will never accept you. Where is my grandmother?”

He shakes his head. “She’s waiting for the coruscent to collect her. You however will be leaving to my bunker playroom so I can keep them away from you.”

I stare at him confused. “I thought you were handing me over to the hunters.”

He chuckles coldly. “Do you really think I’m going to hand my powerful hybrid mate over to hunters? No I want to keep you. I can’t imagine giving you up to them. I told them you escaped after I scented you out as my mate last night. Tell me, sweet little mate, were you dreaming about me? You were sniffing hard and mumbling unintelligibly in your sleep when I came down here.”

I eye him stonily. “No I was not.”

“A shame then. Shall I go kill him? Whoever was taking up my space in your dreams.”

“What makes you think I was dreaming about a male?” I had not been. I was dreaming about my mother.

He raises one eyebrow. “From your steady heartbeat, you aren’t lying.”

I stare at him in silence. “Let’s feed you breakfast and then I need to move you before they show up. I never know if they’ll be early or on time.”

I am appalled. “How many fairies have you handed over to them?”

He looks up as he thinks. “Three I believe. You two would make five.”

A young girl appears with a tray. I stare at it figuring it’s drugged and refuse to eat it. He leans over and scoops up a forkful of eggs before eating it. “It’s not poisoned or drugged. I need you conscious for now.”

“That’s reassuring.” I decide to eat knowing if I get the chance to escape I will need the energy.

It isn’t drugged as I finish and he stares at me. “Would you like another plate?”

“Yes I would.” I see him linking and am surprised he is doing this.

In only minutes another tray appears with twice as much food. I eat all of it not sure if I’ll get another safe meal for a while. “It’s refreshing to watch you eat. Females tend to be dainty when they eat with me. I much prefer a woman who needs the energy because she works up an appetite.” He unhooks the chain from the wall but leaves my hands bound in the handcuffs attached looser with that fairy binding wire. “We will drive little mate. It’s at the very edge of the pack. I prefer some solitude when I play.” I shiver with disgust and he laughs. “You might enjoy it once I show you the ropes.”

I ignore him. He leads me into the forest and to a strange iron gate standing by itself. Beneath it is an elaborate trap door with a stairwell. He leads me down it and I gaze around at a big open room. “This is the entryway. The playroom is to the right. But your room will be here on the left. It’s a special cell and you won’t be able to escape.” He locks me in as he gets a link.

“And they are here early. We made it out just in the nick of time. I’ll come see you again tonight.” I watch him leave not sorry to see him go.

I sit and try to link Mimi. Nothing. It’s like a wall I have to pound against with no give to it.

I lay down and stare at the ceiling. I am sure my father and uncle are looking for me. Axton too. I promised to call him as soon as I made it back to the pack. I close my eyes picturing his face. I definitely hope I see him again. But he cannot come here or he will die. I saw it and I can’t bear that. “Please be safe.” I mutter.

I wake to a noise and forget where I am for a minute. How long did I sleep? Maybe that food was drugged. I don’t feel groggy or fuzzy though. I hear the noise again and turn my head seeing something move in the shadows. “Ah you are awake. The hybrid. I suppose Tylen thought he could hide you from me. The question is why he hid you.”

He steps out of the shadows and I see the huge scar that covers half his face. Like he was burned with acid. He isn’t a wolf and I wonder what species he is. His hair is a dark brown cut extremely short.

“What are you?” I don’t need to ask who.

His lips lift in a half grin. “You didn’t ask who I am. I am a hybrid like you. Half witch, half wolf. But my wolf is dormant. He never surfaced. I do have some wolf senses but I cannot shift. Tell me, Bellamy, was your mother Alette?” I stare at him shocked he knows my name. “Ah yes, I know your name. I did my research after he called me. We thought your mother didn’t have any offspring. How wrong we were.”

“You killed her.” I whisper out and he shakes his head.

“Not me. I wasn’t there for that. I did the initial search and surveillance. But I was pulled away at the last minute. Do you know why she was killed?” He sits in a chair opposite the door.

“Because she was mated to a wolf.”

He nods slowly. “You are half right. That is forbidden in the fairy laws. She was seen with your father by another fairy while away from her pack. She was also killed to stop a change in the balance of the world. You were never supposed to exist. There was a telling that a fairy hybrid would be born and her coming would change futures. So to find out there was a fairy mated to a wolf was a way for that telling to exist.”

“And what if the change in futures is a good thing? What if it swings the balance the way it is supposed to be?”

“The fairy leaders did not believe that. After what happened to their last gift that changed the balance and almost caused a war between the werewolf world and the fairy kingdom.”

“I thought it was only her mate and the Alpha who murdered her that he wanted dead.”

He shakes his head grimly. “He wanted to destroy every wolf on the planet. It was only her son who stopped him. He was young but he said there should be no more death from one person’s covetousness.”

“She had a child? Then that means he was a hybrid.”

“No, he wasn’t. He was only a fairy. He did not inherit a wolf from his father. You are the first hybrid in a very long time.” He leans back staring at me.

“What are you planning to do with me?”

“First, I want to know why Tylen lied to us about you escaping. Then I will tell you exactly what is going to happen to you.”

“He’s my mate. My birthday is today.”

His eyes widen and he chuckles. “What a present….You have my sympathy and condolences for how this birthday is going.”

“You promised to tell me what my fate is.” I point out as he sits back his shoulders shaking with amusement.

“You’ll get that answer when we leave in about five minutes.” He looks down at his watch. He says nothing for probably the full five minutes I realize. Then the door to the cell opens and he stands. “Time to go Bellamy.” He pulls on the chain holding my hands together and leads me up the stairs outside. “Don’t talk. We need to be silent.”

I think about screaming but I think I’d rather die than stay here. Mimi is in danger but this guy should be taking her too. He pulls me over the border and helps me into the back of a van. “Your grandmother will be coming separately behind us. They’ve already paid Tylen for her.”

“Where are you going to kill us?”

He throws his head back laughing. “You aren’t going to die. You’re going to see the Fairy King. He wants to meet the hybrid foretold of in legends.”

I stare at him shocked. “We changed years ago from hunters who kill to retrieval experts. Any fairy turned in is safely brought to King Weston. He pays us more to save you from the world.”

“What do you mean foretold in legends?” I am more confused than ever right now.

His eyes gleam. “The King needs to give you the full story. I don’t know it. The only rumor I’ve heard repeatedly is a war of fire is in the future of the fairy kingdom. And a hybrid is the key to stopping it. Perhaps the Phoenix Alpha.”

“That’s not my bloodline.”

“You mistake my meaning. You aren’t the Phoenix Alpha. The legend said his rage would ignite the war.”