The Kings' Broken Mate

Campfires, Saltwater, and Honeysuckle

Remington's POV-

As I was making my way down the back halls where the bathroom was, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I didn't bother to look at the person, but even without my wolf, the strong scent of a male wolf filled my nostrils.

"Don't touch me and leave me be." Before I could react, I was pushed up against the wall and caged between his arms with his chest pressed against mine.

"Oh that's no way to be. I just wanted to get to know you sweetheart." I turned my face up towards him, letting my annoyance bleed into my glare.

"Well, I don't want to get to know you. Get. Off. Me." His weight against me sent waves of panic through my body. Anger was easier to show than fear, so I latched onto that.

I tried to ground myself but without realizing it, my skin became engulfed in black bolts of electricity, burning him from the contact, spreading over his skin like venom. I pushed my hands against his chest as a burst of air shoved him from the hall into the middle of the club. Everyone stopped and watched the scene unfold, but I couldn't be bothered by them. All I could see was the image of Him beating me again and my rage grew.

The atmosphere in the club grew thick as a mist gathered on the floor. A thick black cloud crackling with electricity began to brew against the ceiling, mimicking the storm on my skin. The scent of fear hung heavy in the air, almost strangling the oxygen. I touched the floor and a circle of black flames circled the wolf who was now trying to get up. I heard a few of my pack members trying to call me, but the darkness had taken hold now.

"I don't know who f*****g taught you that it is attractive to approach a woman like that. Cornering a woman in a dark hallway is never appropriate!" I spoke loud enough that everyone would hear the kind of man he was, even over the noise of the storm. "Women are not objects to be used as your personal f**k toy. I am not your personal f**k toy. I told you to leave me be!" My voice was laced with the echo of the darkness as my rage grew stronger. It was beginning to overwhelm me, but the thought of all the innocents here kept the darkness from consuming me completely.

"SUBMIT!" He wasn't a ranked wolf and bared his neck rather quickly as my aura flowed over him. I thought it was pathetic how quickly he submitted since my aura was weakened by the wolfsbane, until I looked around us. I had forced every other supernatural in the club into submission as well. All except the phoenix. I hated forcing my power on people and felt the panic rising. The chaos was flooding my body now, the darkness trying to destroy the last thread of control I had. I tried to pull back my aura and dropped the flames near him, but no one dared to move.

"Whatever pack this dog belongs to needs to get your boy and teach him some f*****g manners. He is the only one I intended to force into submission and I apologize to everyone else. You need not bow to me.." My breathing was ragged now and I knew what was coming if I didn't get some air. I turned on my heels and ran through the back door, leaving stunned supernaturals in my wake.

I dug around in my bag, finding another vile of wolfbane. I took a little shot before lighting a cigarette. I tried to calm my nerves but nothing I did helped. I could feel myself getting light headed so I slid down the wall, sitting against it for support. I finished my cigarette rather quickly before lighting another one. My body couldn't regenerate energy and my wolf couldn't heal me as the consequences of depleting my energy completely set in.

Everything started spinning and I dropped to the concrete. The cold stone caressed my heated face as the realization came that I'd finally hit the point of no return. My vision went black as my body started convulsing. I barely registered the delightful smell of campfires and saltwater invading my nose.

My final thought as my body began to shut down echoed around in the darkness. At least I get to die smelling something pleasant instead of dumpsters.

Renatus' POV-

I looked around our newest club, noticing that someone was in the Black Bay Moon VIP booth. Raclaus suggested we put it in, since it's the closet and strongest pack in the area, and the Luna is a gifted wolf. I honestly could give two shits less about studying and appeasing some wolf egos, but Raclaus was adamant about it. He felt it could strengthen pack relations with the other residents of the Kingdom since they nearly secluded themselves. I shrugged off my sudden interest in the booth and pulled Raclaus closer to me so we could talk.

We heard a commotion in the hall, but before we could investigate, a werewolf was thrown onto the ground in the middle of the club. I jumped up as a girl came out of the hall, black electric bolts crackling off her skin. The immediate pull I felt towards her was the exact same as when I had found Raclaus nearly 300 years ago. The scent of honeysuckle wafted towards us in thick waves, and I knew my mate felt and smelled it too when he stood beside me.

She was pissed, but I could also sense her fear, as the darkness grew within her. When she released her aura, I felt a wave of nausea rolling over me. It wasn't so strong that I couldn't fight submitting, but it was the first time in centuries I've even had the urge to. Raclaus couldn't fight the urge to submit for long, which told me just how much power she held. Being who we are, neither one of us had the urge to submit to anyone, but we did to her. Who the hell was this girl?

Confusion morphed into amazement when she apologized to everyone but the wolf that had cornered her. Her regret and fear were pungent in the air. The guilt was plain on her face. I relished the submission of others, but yet she seemed afraid of it. When she bolted, I grabbed Raclaus and led him back to our booth. He was sweating from trying to fight her aura.

"How is any of this possible, Renatus? It was unusual enough for a vampire to be mated to a phoenix, but to have another fated mate would be impossible. What should we do?" Raclaus was still shaking from her power. In an effort to calm him, I ran my hands slowly over his arms.

"We will take her home. You felt it, I felt it. I don't think she did because she was hyper focused. It doesn't matter how, just that she is." To be honest, I didn't know how this would work, but I learned a hard lesson about tempting fate, and I wasn't about to do it again.

I got up with Raclaus trailing after me. I was definitely the more dominant of the two of us, but I was also a lot older. We reached the door, but when I opened it, I froze. She was lying on the ground convulsing. Her hair was tangled around her shoulders as her skin paled, covered in a thin sheet of sweat. Raclaus sniffed the air, mumbling various curses under his breath as he made his way to her.

"Between the wolfsbane and alcohol in her system, her blood is toxic to her body." His voice was rushed and his volume low, almost as if he was mumbling to himself.

"I can heal her, but unless we can get all that out of her system, it will not make a difference." I said as I moved to cradle her in my arms. He took her wrist, piercing the delicate skin with his fangs. I waited for a minute while watching him, trying to let him get most of it out of her system, before turning back to her.

Phoenix tears had healing abilities, but it was hard for a phoenix to cry. However, I had no trouble as I looked down at her. It did not matter that we did not know her yet, it only mattered that she was ours. Fear that we would loose her before we ever really had her and the sadness she had done this to herself filled me. A few tears streamed down my cheek and fell to hers, immediately soaking into her skin.

"Holy sins, she was a walking keg." Raclaus took a ragged breath trying to steady himself on his feet. "I don't know how she was functioning. I'm pretty immune to any significant effects of alcohol, but I'm even struggling to stand. She must be in a pretty dark place.." His last words were barely a whisper.