My Exotic Mate

Facing The Hard Truth

Mesai

Since Roman discovered what his men did to me, he placed me in a room close to his. He made sure that I had everything I needed, but the one thing he couldn’t get were my sisters. My powers are still blocked, but I really can’t blame him. He knows I don’t want to be here. On the bright side, I was able to take a proper bath and it felt amazing. I let my body sink deep into a tub filled with bubbles and leaned my head back with my eyes closed.

“Mesai!” I jumped as if I heard my name being called. I looked around, but it was completely silent. Maybe I’m exhausted. I closed my eyes again and let my mind relax.

“Mesai!” The voice was familiar. It sounded like my sister. She called out again and not knowing if she could hear me, I answered.

“Miren?”

“Oh thank God, it worked. Mesai, Mari and I have been looking for you. Where are you? Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m in the kingdom, Zounia.”

“Zounia?” She inquired.

“Yeah.”

“Mesai, we’re coming to get you,” Mari reassured me. “But we need to know who took you.” I wanted to tell her everything, but I still don’t know what’s true and what’s not.

“The King of Zounia. Apparently, my soul is tied to his. We’re mates.”

Mari gasped. “You were kidnapped by a king. Wait until I get my hands on him. Wait,” she paused. “Why didn’t you use your powers when you woke up?”

“They’re blocked. He’s smart, Mari. It was like he knew exactly what and when I was going to do something.” In a way it was attractive, but I wasn’t going to say that out loud. My sisters would think that I’m suffering some type of Stockholm Syndrome.

A male voice interfered. “Is his name Roman Beischel?

“Yes,” I hesitated. “Who is that?”

“My name is Kai, Alpha of the Black Shadow Pack and Marise’s fiancé.” Now I'm gasping. She’s engaged to a wolf! Not just any wolf, an Alpha.

“It’s a lot to explain,” she mumbled. “But we are going to do everything we can to find you.”

“I know. I had a rough few days, but ironically Roman has been nice to me. I miss you both so much and I’m sorry.” I’m so happy to even hear them. I’m not sure how they were able to link our minds, but I hope they’re able to do it until they come and get me.

“You don’t have to apologize, this wasn’t your fault,” Miren reassured me. “But if your powers are blocked, how are we able to communicate with you?”

“I don’t know, but I’m glad I am. But I wish I could see you guys.”

Another man spoke, “That’s the thing, you can. We’re in your mind. Just keep your eyes closed and open your mind to let us in.” I did what he said and a few moments later, I saw my sisters for the first time since everything had happened.

They smiled at me and excitement flooded through me. “I can’t believe this.” It was an out of body experience. I reached in and touched them and it felt real. We all immediately hugged and when I noticed two men standing behind them, I stepped back.

“Mesai, this is Kai, Alpha of the Black Shadow Pack and this is his Beta, Malik. Malik is also his brother.” She smiled and leaned to whisper in my ear. “And Miren is crushing on him.”

I stifled my laugh. “It’s nice to meet you both. I wish it was under better circumstances.”

“Me too,” Kai responded. It was hard to read him, but he had the stance of an Alpha. The rugged, but sexy look, and the authoritative energy. Yeah, he’s definitely the male version of Mari. Malik, on the other hand, had gentler eyes, but they were bright and alert. You can tell that he’s really protective and that's why he’s perfect for Miren. She is the most nurturing with a gentle and kind soul, but will do whatever it takes to protect the ones she loves.

“We have another brother, named Rafe, but he’s running the pack until we go back. We want to get you out of here safely, but you can’t tell Roman about the mind-link communication.” Oh trust me, I wasn’t planning to.

“Okay, but when the time comes, please don’t hurt him. It was his men who betrayed him and he wants them to pay.” I’m not sure what made me ask for mercy on him, but I just have this strong feeling that he’s more than just a king and I want to find out.

“Okay, but please be careful.” Miren gave me a bittersweet smile. I pulled her in for a hug. “I will. Love you twin.”

“I love you too.” I went over and hugged Mari, “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” she responded. She held me tight, afraid to let me go. I knew it was hard, but we are only illusions of each other.

Mesai! Wake up. Please wake up!” I heard Roman’s voice echoed. Marise and Miren nodded and smiled as I began to disappear.

"Mesai? Come on Rosie, please wake up.” He was begging. When I opened my eyes, his worried eyes were the first I saw. I was panting as if I was struggling to catch my breath. He held me in his lap, pushing my wet hair out of my face.

“Oh thank God,” he breathed. I frowned, confused about his concern.

“What happened?” I wondered. I was covered in a white oversized robe.

Roman had worry lines across his forehead. “You fell asleep in the tub. When I noticed that you weren’t in your room after an hour passed, I began to worry. I had to break down the bathroom door and when I found you, you were under the water.”

I didn’t understand how that happened. I felt fine. I was talking with my sisters. I didn’t feel like I was drowning.

“Well as you can see, I’m fine.”

I sat up off of his lap. It felt too comfortable laying there like it was the most natural thing to do. I needed to remind myself that I’m here against my will. I will not fall for the man that ordered me to be captured.

“Rosie,” he started to speak.

“Roman, I’m fine.” I groaned. “I just want to go to sleep. I guess I was more tired than I thought. Considering everything that I’ve been through, could you blame me for being underwater?”

Roman stood on his feet so that I could lay comfortably in the bed. “You could have drowned.”

“I’m sure that’s better than being here against my will.” Roman remained quiet. “You claimed that

you didn’t know I was beaten by your men, but you are still just as guilty. You ordered them to take me. Because of what? Some fated belief that we’re meant to be. If that was the case, why did you even go this route?” If it’s true that we’re meant to be then, our paths would have crossed regardless. He didn’t have to kidnap me.

“I know you don’t understand this right now, but if I really wanted to hurt you, I would’ve done it already, my lady.” He had a point. My powers were blocked and even if I left, I have no clue of where I am. “Look I know this is a lot for you and I’m sorry I took you away from your sisters, but the pull between us was so strong. I’ve dreamed of you. I studied everything about you and I know that sounds creepy, but I promise my intentions are pure.” He was really pouring his heart to me and a part of me felt bad. His apology meant something, just a little.

“I need some time to think about this. You can’t just spill all of this on me and expect me to oblige. So I will let you know when I have an answer.” As a king, I thought Roman would’ve been cocky and authoritative, but he’s actually been nice to me. But that doesn’t mean that I could just trust him so easily.

*****

Marise

My eyes popped open as we came back to ourselves. I was beyond speechless on what just happened. It felt real. Seeing Mesai again felt real, but coming back to reality made me more motivated to figure out how to get her out of there. Miren was quiet and I knew what she was thinking. The emotional reunion with her twin was almost like a dream. A dream that neither one of us wanted to wake up from. We were safe and happy at that moment. But when we opened our eyes again, we expected to see her. There’s a slight disappointment and I pulled Miren in for a hug. We laid in grass like that for a minute.

“We will find her. I promise, I will do anything to find her, anything.”

Miren let out a breath, “I know. I will too. But can I be honest?”

I shook my head, “Of course.”

“I didn’t feel any pain from her. She didn’t seem afraid of this Roman person.” Maybe. But she could’ve been putting on a brave face.

I looked up at Kai, “You know him, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do. He’s the King of Zounia. His parents ran that kingdom for a long time until they were assassinated by an enemy of another kingdom. There was this big war between both Kingdoms and although Zounia lost a lot of people, they won the war.”

“Okay, so he’s a king that wanted my sister, why?” I asked.

“He must have taken her because she’s his mate,” Malik answered.

“His mate? Let me guess, he’s a werewolf as well.”

Malik shook his head, “No, actually he’s a dragon. The King of all Dragons. He was crowned after Zounia won the war.” Mesai is the mate of a Dragon? How was that possible? None of this was making sense. Did the sources intentionally lead us down this path? Was Mesai’s k********g supposed to happen? My head was filled with all of these unanswered questions. I stare out in space struggling to put the pieces together.

Kai sat down next to me and grabbed my hand. The unexpected gesture sent tingles throughout my body.

“I can see that you are really worried about your sister, but Roman is one of the good ones. Our pack never had any issues with him.”

My heart was racing again and I could feel this indescribable energy that we shared. It could be because of the fact I’m going to become his Luna. This couldn’t be the same person. Kai is usually playful, cocky, and sometimes closed off, but this Kai, this gentle, caring, more vulnerable version of him was the reason I was having all of these mixed sensations.

“We will get your sister back, I promise you that. At least you know she’s safe.”

I finally looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you, Kai. I know we’ve started off on the wrong foot, but I really do appreciate you. But you don’t have to do this.”

“Marise, have you ever thought that maybe I want to help you?” I did, believe me, but he almost lost his brother because of me and I can’t put them at risk again.

“Kai, no. This is my problem and I can’t allow you to put you and your family at risk on my behalf.”

“You want to know what I think?” he asked. “I think you are afraid. You put on this mask to show everyone around you how strong you are, but you’re afraid. You’re afraid to face the hard truth of the situation.”

I began to protest, “I’m not-“

“Mari, you are and when you are able to face that, then everything else would fall into place.” Yes I was afraid, deep down inside. I just want to make my sisters proud of me while keeping the promise I made to my parents. Everything was wrong right now. Apollo was back and God knows where he’s at and what he’s up to. Mesai was in Zounia because she’s mated to a dragon king. So yes he’s right, but I hated that he was.

I shook my head, “I shouldn’t have come here. I shouldn’t have left. I should’ve stayed and fought with my family. I should’ve-“

Without any warnings, Kai’s lips were on mine. He caught me off guard and I was taken by surprise. It was so rough, but full of passion.I could taste the mixed combination of our warm breaths and I could feel the thud of our matching heart beat. His fingers were in my hair, holding my head as he guided me with his mouth. There was that warm sensation again, surging lower and lower until it began to moisten my core. I couldn’t believe that I was making out with Kai and it felt right.