The Alpha's Crown

Escape

“Having a bad day?”

Asher jumped, startled at the sound of Sabrina’s voice in his ear. The Princess caught him by the arm before he almost tumbled headlong to the ground. “Sorry!”

“Jesus, Sabrina,” he frowned, leaning down to pick up the blanket that had fallen to the floor. “Don’t you know how to knock? And shouldn’t you be out in the garden with Roman?”

Sabrina rolled her eyes, plopping down on the bed beside him. “I’d rather throw myself in a well.”

“Why?” Asher was confused. He could remember a time when the couple was never apart. But lately, Sabrina was avoiding him. They were his role models, as far as true mates were concerned.

“I don’t know how to explain the feeling,” she said with a faraway look on her face. “It’s not as it was before, probably because he’s rarely home. We have everything…love, care, great s*x—but it’s lost its touch. Moreover, his family is bugging us for a child. This is our fifteenth month since being mated.”

Sabrina’s mate, Sir Roman was the Grand Councilor’s son. He’d been tight, childhood friends with Sabrina before they turned eighteen, shifted, and found out that the Moon Goddess had fated them to be together. His job as an Army sergeant demanded that he stayed away from home most of the time, leaving Sabrina alone to deal with loneliness and the criticism from his family members which stemmed from her inability to bring forth pups early. “But you told me that he’d talked with them and they promised not to pressure you.”

She sighed, shaking her head. “This is not about them, now. I don’t feel…I can’t feel my bond with Roman anymore. I feel like it’s fractured.”

Asher’s mouth flew open. “I-Is this a joke?”

“I wish it was, Asher. But sadly, it’s reality. I don’t love Roman anymore. But he still does…I see it in his eyes when he looks at me, feel it in his lips when he kisses me…but he complains that he can’t feel my emotions anymore. He’s afraid that he might not satisfy me anymore, which is true. We’re both a mess right now.” Her eyes turned glassy, tears shining as she rested her jaw on the heel of her palm.

Asher reached out, wrapping an arm around her back. He patted her softly. “Did this start recently? When was the first time you felt your bond with him weaken?”

“I felt it gradually weakening each time he left Melissa to Selkirk. I didn’t think of it as anything, because I missed him so much and we weren’t having as much s*x as we used to which kind of strengthened our bond.” She smiled shyly and Asher colored, “I didn’t tell him anything, and tried to have regular s*x each time he was home for the weekend, hoping it might rebuild it but it only weakened the more. He got back yesterday and we’ve had s*x twice, yet I don’t feel him. I’ve consulted all the books about fated mates in the library but none seems to be giving me what I want.”

Asher had never heard anything like that either. He didn’t know who to lay the blame on because they loved each other, and did all the fundamental things that mattered in a relationship. One didn’t stop loving their mate just like that, no matter what. “Maybe you should try talking to Roman about this. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

Sabrina shook her head. “He’ll say I’ve been sleeping around with other men while he was gone.”

Asher’s face twisted in disgust. “That’s…absurd. You can’t feel an attraction to any other man but him.”

“I know but…he’s been meeting foreign men who aren’t indigenes of Jo, and they’ve been feeding him with a lot of rotten ideas. I’m not allowed to go to visit the market or go anywhere apart from the Melissa Castle without his head guard. He already suspects that I'm unfaithful. Our communication with each other isn’t the best right now so I don’t think it’ll be wise if I tell him.”

“But he used to be so understanding. What the hell changed?”

“It’s his new group of friends. They’re corrupting him with the idea that women cheat no matter what. I think he also has a mistress in Selkirk. I feel pain all over my body most nights while he’s away.”

“Oh, dear!”

She nodded. “Perhaps we weren’t truly mates after all. Perhaps the Elders misinterpreted the Moon Goddess’s message and paired us together against her original and divine will.”

“But you said it yourself that you feel his love for you. The Elder has never misinterpreted her will before. I believe this is temporal and will pass. You need to spend more time with him.”

She bit her bottom lip, glancing around the room as though she wanted to disagree. “What if, I don’t want the bond back?”

Asher’s eyes widened in confusion. “I don’t understand. Who the hell are you and what have you done to my sister? I remember how you and Theo always consoled me whenever I bitched and whined about my pathetic bond with Dominic, and now suddenly you change your mind about Roman? But he loves you, Sabrina. Goddamn his friends feeding him moot, the man loves you with all his heart.”

“And I love him. Just not…as strongly as I felt before,” her eyes were sad, which was surprising because she seldom felt down. Sabrina was a peppy girl, full of energy and laughter. “I met a human in the market last week.”

Asher slapped a hand on his mouth to stifle his gasp, his eyes widening comically. “B-but…that’s rare…and illegal.”

“He came to the island for some business,” she continued, unfazed. “He deals with precious stones, especially diamonds and we had a drink. Of course, I was disguised as a poor omega maid but the minute our eyes locked, oh Asher…the feeling was indescribable. I felt something I didn’t feel when Roman looks at me.”

“This is bad. This is very, very bad.” Asher pressed his hands to his ears. “I don’t think I want to hear the rest of it.”

“Come on, now,” she swatted his arm.

Asher hopped off the bed and began pacing the bedroom floor, brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to make sense of what Sabrina had said. There was a lot in his mind, a lot to keep him pacing for days but he decided to see the good side of things.

“What if,” his heart sped up as a thought occurred to him. He gasped, whirling to face his sister. “What if I do it? What if I leave Melissa and go somewhere far away till I stop feeling my bond with Dominic? Do you think it's gonna work out?”

Sabrina rolled her eyes, exhaling in exasperation. She shrugged. “Maybe. But I don't think it's that simple. From what I could gather, the bond only stops working when our mates leave the island. Roman still works on the island, and yet I can't feel him anymore. I don't think it's just distance.”

Asher shook his head, excitement pulsing through his veins the more he thought about it. “We'll never really know where the problem comes from unless we try. There are a few safe places off Jo. I've recently learned about a small town just a little off Cedric - on the other side of the Large Lake which is inhabited by humans.” He clapped his hands in glee. “I can go there and stay for a few months, then see how it goes.”

Sabrina shook her head in disbelief. “You're a constant figure in the palace so you can't just disappear for that long without drawing suspicions. Plus, you've never been out of Jo in your entire life. How will you survive?”

Asher snorted, dismissing her concern with a wave of his hand. “How hard can it be? I'll be fine. Everything will be fine.”

“You still haven't told me how you hope to disappear from the public eye for that long. Mother will be worried, and Father will have soldiers scouring all over Jo in no time. Dominic will be agitated.”

“I don't care about Dominic,” Asher deadpanned. “I don't even think the news about me missing is going to move him. He'll be more than glad to have me out of his way.”

“But — ”

Asher held up a hand. “Let's not talk about the consequences. You said you met a human in the market the other day. Do you think he comes around regularly”

“You know it's illegal for humans to be seen in Jo. He only came down here for business. I don't think I'll ever see him again.”

“Did he tell you where he normally comes from?”

Sabrina thought hard for a second. “Oh yes! That little town of humans close to Cedric.”

“Perfect!” Asher's eyes shone. She clapped his hands in glee. “I'm going there.”

“No you're not,” Sabrina shook her head, fixing him a pointed stare. “We have a treaty with the humans remember? We promised not to step in their territory as long as they don't step in ours.”

“And yet your human lover comes down to our market for shady dealings,” he rolled his eyes. “Since when have you cared so much about the law? I'm seventeen. I can take good care of myself.”

“I don't want you to get hurt.”

“Well, I don't believe that,” He threw his hands up in the air dramatically. “I'm already suffering, Sabrina. Plagued every minute by an insufferable prick and a stupid bond. Going to the human town might be the only way I get to be free. I know Dominic hates and want nothing to do with me, so he wouldn't object. He'd even drop us off himself!”

“But your marriage to him is of great importance to Melissa. You'll be honored and placed above everyone else in Jo. Can't you at least make it work one last time, or better still; become his king-consort instead?”

“You're not putting yourself in my shoes here, Sabby. Just think about it. What if Roman was cold and heartless from the beginning? What if he avoided you like a disease, criticized every little thing... your voice, your mentality, your dressing... would you still stay? Do you know that ever since we met at Theo's marriage ball to Esther, we haven't stayed close to one another for five whole minutes without yelling or pushing each other? Never! He looks at me like I'm the worst thing to ever happen to him. He doesn't care about my feelings, nor do we even have anything in common. This is a match made in hell!”

“Asher — ”

“That is not even half of the pain he puts me through. He completely stopped communicating with me through our mind link, leaving me empty and hurting. I've never felt so rejected my entire life.” His eyes turned glassy and he turned away, trying to keep the tears from spilling down his cheeks. Dominic didn't deserve his tears no matter what. He couldn't waste his time crying because of a scumbag.

Fuck you, Dominic. f**k you. f**k you!

“I understand how you feel, Asher, Sabrina placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort. “But are you forgetting the curse of Agravaria? Dominic will die if you succeed in breaking your bond with him. Do you hate him so much that you'd want him dead? In a year from now, you'd be eighteen and would become his mate officially. He's been waiting his whole life for that moment.”

“Why should I suffer for the sins of his father? If he knows how indispensable I am then why does he treat me like s**t? Maybe when I'm gone it'll teach him to appreciate people and things that are invaluable to him a little more.”

Sabrina smacked him hard. “Asher! It's death we're talking about here. It's not a joke!”

“I never said it was a joke,” he moved away from her, out of range in case she wanted to smack him again. “Besides, death is preferable to being Dominic's mate. I wonder what crime I committed which made the Moon Goddess pick me among the numerous baby born during that period. I didn't even ask to be born and it's not my business if he has to wait till I'm eighteen so he can stake his claim. He's too old for me anyway.”

“It's just a six years difference, you dickhead,” Sabrina argued. “If you break off your bond, he'll get sick. There's no telling how quickly he'll pass on. Have some sympathy.”

Asher was trying to feel sympathetic, but he couldn't see the use of it. “If he were here, listening to you, he'd be laughing. He doesn't need your sympathy, Sabby. And his father can always appeal to the Moon Goddess for another poor baby to be mated to him. Wasn't that what she did to me?”

“So, let's say you got rid of your bond to Dominic. What are you going to do? Do you think I'm happy with the fact that I can't feel Roman?”

“Sabrina, Roman is a great man. And he taught you what love is. You can't compare him to a monster like Dominic.”

Something passed in her eyes - guilt - and she plopped down weightless on the bed, her eyes lowered. Asher's excitement faded, and he sat beside her now. “What's wrong? You look suddenly pale.”

Sabrina took a deep breath, avoiding his eyes. “Roman... changed.”

Asher gaped at her, a little more puzzled than surprised. “I don't understand.”

“He's not the man I was mated with. He's not my Roman,” tears brimmed in the depth of her eyes. He placed a hand around her shoulder. “I still love him...but I can't deal with how he's behaving now.”

“I still don't get your point.”

“He — ” she hesitated, wringing her hands together. “ — he hits me.”

Asher's mouth flew open. “What!”

She nodded, burying her face in her hands. “I'm not supposed to tell you this, but he recently began sleeping with girls in our bed. Whenever I try to tell them off, he hits me.”

Asher was short of words. He'd never heard of a mate being physically abusive. It was rare, especially in Melissa. “When did this happen?”

“You know I told you about the human I met in the market, right?” He nodded. “I didn't know that Roman had a spy monitoring my movement that day. He told Roman that I was talking and laughing with a male stranger out in the open with everyone watching.”

“But that's completely normal.”

“Not for Roman. Ever since he got back, he's been setting up new rules for me to follow. One of them.is never to spend as close to five minutes talking with another man.”

“So he thinks that you're unfaithful? And brings girls home to spite you?”

“He was even more pissed when he realized that I don't feel him anymore while he still does. So if he hits me, it hurts him too. I'm the one left with the physical scars, while he has the emotional bruises to contend with. I don't love him.”

“I'm so sorry, Sabby,” Asher said at last after a pause. “This is the scariest s**t I've ever heard.”

“I miss Ortega,” a small smile crossed her lips. “The human. I miss him.”

“You two only chatted for like, fifteen minutes, Sabby. That's not enough time for you to fall in love with him.”

“I don't know if it's love,” Sabrina lifted her face, holding his gaze. “But he makes me happy. And I wish we could be together.”

“We can make that happen, you know.” Asher laughed, seizing the opportunity to get Sabrina's consent. “Why don't we go to the human town together? What's it called?”

“Monte. But how would we go? It'd take days before we even get to Cedric. And you know the only way there is by water.”

“Don't bother yourself. I have a plan already. I need you to be prepared to move any second, and make sure you leave the house when Roman is asleep.”