Alpha Island: My Unbearable Mate

Chapter 4 Couple

“I’m going to call my brother. I’ll be right back.” Elijah said and walked away, pulling his phone out.

Kayden reached out and grabbed Kiara by her hand and pulled her to the side. “We need to contact Dylan.”

“I want to check to make sure Ava really doesn’t recognize me.”

“Easy, Kiara, don’t spook them.” Kayden said and watched as Kiara tilted her head up to him, raising her brows.

“Kay, I’m not stupid. I just want to talk.” Kiara felt his grip lessen and he nodded his head.

Kiara stepped inside the coffee shop and walked up to the counter. Kayden stepped inside but waited by the door. The two women were busy getting things ready. Ava stepped up to the register and smiled brightly.

“How can I help you?”

“Uhm… two french vanilla iced cappuccinos.” Kiara stared into Ava’s oblivious eyes. As the dragon princess Sky began making the drinks. “This is my first year here. Any advice for a new student?” She decided she would start by making casual conversation.

“Oh, you’ll love it here. This is my senior year. My best friend Skylar and I took a year off to travel. It was a great experience but now we are back to finish our studies. If you ever need anything, just let me know.” Ava had a sweet expression on her face. She didn’t recognize Kiara at all.

“My name is Kiara.”

“I’m Ava.” She then nodded her head next to her as Skylar brought the drinks over. “And this is my best friend Sky.”

“You’ll love it here.” Sky said as she handed Kiara two straws.

She watched as her brother quietly slipped out of the cafe. He had seen enough and would be trying to reach out to Dylan. She turned and smiled back at Sky as a million things raced through her mind.

Kiara felt a hand land on the small of her back as Elijah leaned forward to grab the drinks. “Thank you, ladies.” He said with a wink.

“Did you and your boyfriend come to school together?” Sky asked as Kiara choked on her spit.

“Can’t keep us apart,” Eli instantly said.

“We know each other but—” Kiara started to say as Eli chuckled.

“She is shy about it, but she is the only woman for me.”

“That is so sweet. I hope I find a guy who adores me like that.” Ava said and Kiara almost couldn’t breathe. She didn’t know she was mated. She glanced at her neck and her lips parted in shock. The mark wasn’t there. Her cousin’s mark should have been there, but she didn’t see it. What could take away a royal mate mark?

Kiara felt Elijah’s hand caress her lower back as his head leaned down, tracing his nose over her cheek. “Beautiful, let’s take a seat.”

“Thank you! Come again!” Sky said cheerfully as Elijah led Kiara to the far end of the room. She sat down almost numb, and Elijah sat across from her. He placed her drink in front of her, watching her quietly.

“My brother and his fiancé are coming. Hey… it’s going to be okay.” Elijah tried to reassure Kiara.

“My cousin… she won’t know him. He has been through so much. And his mark… what could have taken it away.” Kiara felt liquid begin to trickle down her face. It was all too painful. What happened to them? And what was the meaning behind all of this? Why were they placed back here without their memories?

Elijah reached out and brushed his thumbs over her cheeks. “It’s going to be okay. The right people are on their way. They have the power to make a difference. I’m sure they will figure it out. It will be okay.”

“I hope so…”

“Hey, we found them. That’s the main thing. Everything else is fixable. Shawna and Loki are brilliant. The fairy princess and warlock prince alone can figure it out. Have faith. Everything will be fine.”

Kiara nodded her head, pulling away from Elijah’s touch. She grabbed her drink and began to sip on it.

“Mmm vanilla my favorite taste and smell…” Elijah’s eyes trailed over Kiara watching a light pink stain reach her cheeks.

“Good for you. I’m not vanilla though.”

Elijah chuckled, “There is nothing vanilla about you in bed at least… your scent though…”. A small smirk rested on his lips as he kept his eyes on the beauty in front of him. Kiara turned her head looking out the window. Customers were now lining up and the coffee shop was getting busy. She sighed as she glanced around. She couldn’t just sit in here all day.

“It’s too busy to just sit in here. I’m going to wait outside where I can keep an eye on the place until someone shows up.” Kiara stood up and Elijah instantly followed suit.

“I’ll wait with you. My brother will be here shortly.” Elijah watched her nod her head as they tossed their empty cups in the trash.

Kiara stepped outside and walked a few steps out of the shop. Her eyes widened as she looked in front of her at the familiar person walking towards the coffee shop. Her mouth parted in shock as she looked at Jhett and the small blonde woman at his side. Deep breaths Kiara. Her fingers tightened into a ball as she swallowed down the bitter pain that rose in her chest. As they got closer Jhett’s eyes fell on her.

“Kiara…” Jhett said quietly as he walked up to her. The blonde woman clung to his side and smiled at Kiara.

“I’d like an explanation,” Kiara said tersely. This ass.hole knew she was going to school here. And Jhett had already finished his schooling in the Lycan kingdom. Most lycan’s did all their schooling there. Kiara and Kayden were the exceptions since they wanted to experience Alpha Island University.

“Courtney is enrolled here for classes so I took a leave of absence so I could also attend with her.” Jhett’s eyes traveled behind Kiara at the man who was standing too close to his ex-girlfriend.

“We have a situation here, Jhett. Dylan is being contacted and I am expecting his arrival shortly. Since you are on military leave, there is no need to inform you of anything. Just stay out of our way and keep things to yourself.” Kiara said coldly.

“The prince! He is coming here? Can you introduce me?” Courtney asked, looking up at Jhett.

“He wouldn’t dare. Unless he wants torn apart and dismembered.” Kiara glared at Jhett with a warning. “Dylan hasn’t been crowned yet… so…” She stopped there and Jhett nodded his head in understanding. Dylan was still under the illusion spell so he wouldn’t be recognized as the crown prince. Those who knew him could see him clearly and it didn’t work on mates. Ava always knew what the real Dylan looked like. But for a normal commoner, they had no idea. And Courtney… she wasn’t a lycan, she was a werewolf.

“Sorry my love. I can’t introduce you yet. But soon.” Jhett smiled down at his mate.

“Listen, Ava is here.” Kiara said, knowing Jhett would recognize her as soon as he saw her. “This isn’t your business, and you should act like a normal civilian from here on out. Understood?” He nodded his head and his eyes met with hers.

“Hey about… what happened…” Jhett began to say, and Kiara scoffed, folding her arms over her chest.

“You might have taken a leave of absence, soldier, but I am still General Brandt. And your words mean nothing to me.” Kiara’s words lashed at him, and Jhett took in a shaky breath.

“Yeah… I am sure you are busy. We can talk later…”

“No, let’s not.” Kiara said as Courtney gasped.

“You can hardly blame Jhett for what happened—” Courtney started as Kiara glared at her. Jhett pulled her back protectively. He was protecting his mate from Kiara. Elijah placed his hand on Kiara’s shoulder and nodded his head to the side.

“Let’s go sit on that bench over there.” Elijah glanced up and narrowed his eyes at Jhett. “I don’t like those possessive eyes. You have a woman by your side right now… don’t be looking at mine.”

“Wait what?!” Jhett said as Eli chuckled.

“I didn’t stutter. I said mine.” Elijah said as Kiara turned to look at him.

“Now wait, Eli mmph—” Kiara couldn’t finish as Elijah claimed her lips openly as his own. He pulled her body close and bit at her lower lip demanding she respond to him. Damn, why did she have to want him this much? His touch was so sensual, and his primitive desire captured her. She naturally reacted to his demands without even meaning to. In either case, this worked. It showed she wasn’t mortally wounded by what Jhett did to her. She didn’t want him to know how much pain he had caused her. Eli finally broke apart the kiss, leaving her lips swollen as she panted against him. He turned his gaze back to Jhett, almost daring him to do something about it.

“Well, it’s nice to see you’ve found someone already,” Courtney said with a venomous tone.

“It was an upgrade for me… no offense.” Kiara decided to just go with it. She could hate herself later for this charade she was doing. She noticed the dark, angry eyes flashing from Jhett. He had his mate. He shouldn’t be getting angry now.

“Oh, so we will be seeing you two in the couples dorms?” Courtney stepped forward confidently in Jhett’s side. As if Jhett could protect her from Kiara. He might be a male, but he didn’t have her royal bloodline. This Courtney was a piece of work. The audacity of her speaking to a royal lycan with such disrespect.

“I put in the request for it. We just have to wait to see if it has been accepted.” Elijah said, not missing a beat. Kiara swallowed hard as she held her composure.

“Of course those rooms fill up fast so—” Kiara started to say, but Courtney interrupted.

“My mom’s friend deals with the room arrangements. I’ll make a call so you two can get couples accommodations.” Courtney grabbed her phone out and quickly dialed a number.

“That’s not—” Kiara started to say as the phone picked up.

“Hi momma! Can you see if my friends can get a room for couples? Yes, sure I’ll send it right over. Love you!” Courtney hung up with a triumphant grin. Kiara inwardly swore this bit.ch knew what she was doing. She was putting Kiara and Elijah to the test. “Just text me your information and I’ll forward it along.”

“Here, give me your phone, I’ll type it in for you.” Elijah said nonchalantly. “You are a lifesaver. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what to do if we couldn’t get a room together. Honestly, I don’t think I can go a night without getting a release from her. Her loins are heaven on earth.”

Oh gods… oh gods… no no no no. Holy hell what am I getting myself into? I should just say it was all a joke. But da.mn my wounded pride… sh.it. How was I going to live in a room with Eli for the school year? Fu.ck. Okay, I have to say something… Kiara mentally thought to herself.

“So you two are that serious…” Jhett said in an almost pained voice. His voice annoyed the hell out of Kiara. She shot a fiery gaze at him as Elijah’s arm snaked around her waist.

“When you find the right one you don’t let go, right my love?” Elijah grinned down at Kiara, who forced a smile. She was praying they wouldn’t have any rooms available.

“My mom’s friend said they just had a new couple’s building open and there are plenty of rooms available. You two are in luck. Everything is all set. He sent the information to the registration and your things will be moved into them.” Courtney looked up at Jhett and smiled.

It made sense now. Courtney wanted Kiara to be living with Elijah because she was insecure about her relationship. Sh.it, now because of her insecurities she was stuck rooming with Elijah. And if that wasn’t enough… now they thought she was in a relationship with Elijah. Them thinking that wasn’t the problem, but this set her up to act like she was in a fake relationship with him. That isn’t what she wanted. She wanted freedom. She wanted time to discover herself. In a matter of moments, her university life suddenly looked bleak.

“Kiara, are you alright?” Jhett asked. He had been by her side constantly for the past year. Of course, he could tell when she was uncomfortable.

“I’ll feel better once back up arrives.” Kiara deflected the situation to the pressing issue and Jhett nodded his head. “Anyways, I’m sure you have things to do, and we have business.” She tapped Elijah’s hand on her waist.

“Thanks again for the room,” Elijah said as he ushered Kiara away.

“You’re welcome!”

Kiara heard Courtney call out. She walked with almost numb legs to the bench and plopped on it. Elijah sat next to her, and she buried her head in her hands.

“Are you okay?” Elijah asked in a soft voice. “I don’t know exactly what happened but… I think I picked up enough pieces. That’s why you aren’t ready for a relationship. Do you want to talk about it?”

Kiara turned her head in her hands and looked at him. “No, I don’t want to talk about it.” She sighed and shook her head. “How did we become roommates?!”

“Plus, lovers.” Elijah grinned widely and her eyes widened, mortified. He was happy about it. The damn bear was excited.

“No. No. No. No. We need boundaries. I can’t believe this. I just worked out having time apart from my brother and I am stuck in the bear’s den.” Kiara whined, burying her head in her hands again.

“Kiara… you don’t need to have space from me. I’m never leaving you… ever. I’m ready to make you mine now to prove that to you.” Elijah watched her eyes widen as she looked at him again.

“You want to mark me?” Kiara said in a whisper.

“Kiara, maybe I am not explaining myself thoroughly here. I thought I made it clear, but you don’t seem to understand.”

“Stop.” Kiara shook her head. She couldn’t hear this right now. “Out of the question. We need to work out boundaries and rules.”

“Let’s start with a safe word just in case I get too rough—”

“Is this all a joke to you?!” Kiara snapped and his lips curled up.

“No. That is what I am telling you. I am serious. I’m not upset about this arrangement. It is perfect. You are mine. You just need to realize that.”

“Are all bears this dense?! I said I don’t want a relationship.”

“Well, Jhett and Courtney think we are in a relationship. What should we do about that?”

Her lips parted for a second to speak but then she shut them again. She wanted to say we fake break up but she didn’t want Jhett to feel sorry for her. She watched as a smirk spread across his face as he shrugged.

“I plan to date you for real Kiara. So, I don’t mind fake dating you until you are ready to admit your feelings.”

Wow, was there not a limit to his ego? She watched as he turned his head and stood up. “My brother is here.” He said, nodding his head in front of him. Kiara looked up to see Shawna, the fairy princess, and Brock, her werebear fiancé heading their way.

“Elijah, where are they?” Brock asked anxiously.

“They are inside the café. But listen… they don’t know us.” Elijah said as Kiara stood up. A moment later, two other people came from around the cafe corner. It was Loki the warlock prince and next to him was the woman Kiara noticed next to Kayden earlier. The woman had purple strands through her hair. Thunder rumbled in the sky, making Kiara glance up at the darkening clouds. The weather was fitting the mood perfectly. She watched as Kayden made his way over to them as well.

“It’s worse than just that. The mark on Ava is gone. If her mark is gone, Sky’s is probably gone as well. We need to think about what could cause a royal mark to vanish…” Kiara said as all eyes fell on her.

“Sh.it. That isn’t good.” Loki said, pursing his lips together. The woman with purple strands in her hair looked up at Loki but didn’t say anything.

“We will take it from here until Darren and Dylan arrive.” Shawna said in her authoritative concise voice. “Let’s go… Loki… reel your emotions in.” She said and the warlock clicked his tongue at her.

“Don’t worry about me.” Loki said as he looked ahead anxiously.

The four of them quickly went to the café, eager to see Ava and Sky. Kiara felt Elijah’s hand land on her shoulder, and she glanced up at him as they slowly followed. She watched her brother Kayden and the woman with lilac strands in her hair slip inside the coffee shop with the royals, pushing each other as they did it. It was a weird reaction from Kay, he was normally very business-like. However, given the circumstances, he must be on edge. Hopefully, Kay had gotten a hold of Dylan.

“They have the best eyes on them now, Kiara. Let’s wait and see what they find out. Let’s stand outside here and wait. We don’t want to overcrowd them.” Elijah led Kiara to a bench right outside of the Jelly Bean. The wait seemed torturous but finally, crestfallen faces walked out of the coffee shop. Elijah and Kiara stood up and walked over to them anxiously waiting for their diagnosis.

“It’s a curse… it’s bad.” Loki lifted his gaze over everyone. “It isn’t something I can break. It is sensitive because it is an exploding curse.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” Brock asked.

“It means the curse is made to cause an explosion. It will be powerful enough to kill anyone around them.” Loki’s brows were furrowed as he was in deep thought.

“Damn… we shouldn’t have notified the princes…” Shawna whispered, looking up at Brock.

“It’s too late now. There is no way we can keep them away. I’ll call Dylan and brief him.” Brock rubbed his forehead.

“There is no way to reach Darren and warn him,” the girl with lilac strands said with furrowed brows. “But I am pretty sure he is already half way here.”

“There has to be a way to remove the curse.” Kayden said firmly as he listened to both of them.

“Yeah, there is always a way. I need to think about this more.” Loki pursed his lips together, and then his eyes landed on the woman next to him. “Rory, a word.” She nodded and they both walked away while Kayden let out a low growl, watching them.

Brock looked over at his brother and nodded his head. “Go and get yourself situated Eli. You have classes tomorrow. There isn’t anything else you can do right now.”

Elijah nodded his head and escorted the reluctant Kiara away.

I’ll call you when I get information. Kayden mind linked to her hastily.

She looked up at Eli, glancing back over her shoulder once.

“But Dylan, I want to see him and—”

“He will be consumed with his mate right now. You can talk with him later. There isn’t anything we can do until we have more information.”

Kiara sighed and nodded her head. There wasn’t anything she could do here. Hopefully, when Dylan arrived Ava would snap out of it. The mate pull was a mysterious powerful force. If anyone could reach the princesses, it would be their mates.