Bonded by Fates; The Origin

11. King Atlantes

Liam POV:

.

I can’t believe it. This can’t be happening, it’s a nightmare.

We just completed the bond and she disappeared.

Suddenly, Kathlyn and Prospero came rushing into my office.

“I heard screams, noises and breaking, what’s happening?” Prospero asked.

I sat on my chair, placed my elbow on my table and I ran my hands through my hair.

“Prospero, please, take Anastasia to the dungeon. I don't want to deal with her right now, we can talk after you're done”, I demanded.

“What? That’s not fair, I didn’t do anything, King Liam, I know you want me, I am a dragon like you, you don’t need any other woman, I can give you what you need just like the other times” Anastasia said and I was not in the mood to hear more of her bullshits again.

Prospero did as I ordered. He came back afterwards.

I was seated on my chair and my elbows were still resting on my desk as my hands were holding my head like I was trying to calm myself down, but it seemed impossible without Alice here.

“Now tell us what the heck happened here” Kathlyn asked.

“Well, I was with Alice. We completed the bond and we fell asleep. Suddenly I heard Anastasia mind-linking me. I was going to cut off the connection, but when she said that she saw who had invaded our mansion and robbed our runes, she said she was afraid of telling someone before and asked me to come to my office. I put my clothes on and got here. As soon as I entered my office, she f*****g kissed me but I pushed her away at the same time. I think that’s when Alice woke up and felt the sting in her heart. I asked Anastasia not to do it again or else I’d send her to the dungeon. She has to respect her future queen and the fact that I am mated now and I asked her about the robbery. She confessed she had made it up and was babbling around when she came closer and sat on my lap. I was going to push her away again but Alice came rushing into the room and I didn’t even tell you the worst part…”

“Goddess, is there worse?” Kathlyn asked, cutting me with her frowning face.

“Yes, Anastasia said to Alice that she’d better knock on the door next time and she was leaving like a slut she is, but Alice just lifted her hands and pushed Anastasia back at the office like some thrash. I tried to grab her to calm her down and she directed her hand at me and I backed away and couldn’t move as Alice lifted her other hand and Anastasia was floating on the ceiling and it seemed like she was being suffocated, but then Alice threw her beside me and flashed away to I-don’t-f*****g-know where” I finished and looked at their startled faces.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, it seems like her witch power was unblocked after all, even though I never saw any witch do something similar as that, usually they only cast a spell, summon, make potions and stuff like that, especially to a King and not any King, but the King of Dragons” Prospero said more like to himself, his finger placed on his chin.

“But that’s not important right now, we have to find her and explain everything, Goddess Liam, I always told you to not get involved with anyone that lives in the mansion, especially someone like Anastasia.” Kathlyn said and she was right, I only got to notice how futile it all was after Alice came into my life, nothing else mattered now because I’ve never felt this way about anybody else, it was all about love, meaning, possess and desire with Alice.

She gave me a meaning in life, she’s everything to me and she didn’t even have to try hard for it.

I have to go after her and get her back, she'll have to listen to me.

It’s not like she has a choice now, she might have cut our connection, but I was still very determined to find her, even if I had to shift to Alec and fly all over the Realms trying to reach for her, I wouldn’t ever let her go.

My mind was spinning around.

“I’ll go to the pack house by morning. She needs to cool down. Maybe she flashed there”, I told Prospero and Kathlyn.

They nodded.

“We also can trigger some tracking rune. Maybe we can find where she flashed to if she’s not in the pack house, but Liam, let me ask you; Are you ready for it? If we start to look for her all over the Realms, you know it would be impossible to cover us like before, everyone would end up knowing that Dragons are still alive” Prospero asked, and he had a point.

“You’re right, my friend, but you’re mated, you know that there’s no life without our mate”, I told him back and he looked down for a few seconds and then, he stiffed but looked back at me, until he finally nodded. He knew I was right.

When everything is settled, I would deliciously punish my mate for being away from me.

My frowning face disappeared, remembering the pleasurable events of a few hours ago, the way she made me feel, her soft and silk skin against mine, her face and her eyes lost in pleasure, the lust in her gaze, her sweet taste, to be inside her was heaven and I wish I could live in heaven forever.

She’s feisty, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her again.

I finally chuckled when the last moments also came into my mind. How pissed and enraged she was with Anastasia.

She’s strong and her power limits are yet unknown.

We have to train and test her limits to help her get to know about herself and her power limits.

Prospero and Kathlyn looked at me and they started to laugh as well.

“You found yourself some trouble, King Liam”, Kathlyn broke the silence.

I nodded but I couldn’t have been happier with my mate.

.

Alice POV:

.

After those enraged moments, I felt like I was going to faint, I was weak and dizzy until I felt like my body weighed a ton and when I was about to slam into the ground, I felt a big hand grabbing me and I doze off.

I woke up startled and I was dressed up in real clothes and no longer a bedsheet.

I was in a very beautiful room, some décor was floating and it all seemed magical.

“Hope?” I asked in my mind. I could see she was in pain and she was mad at me.

She didn’t answer. I was hurt too, but I couldn’t spend the day crying in bed.

I made my way out of the room and started to walk along a long hall until I heard the tallest and biggest door opening and I saw him.

“King Atlantes, I’m sorry for bothering you, I just couldn’t…I couldn’t…” I tried to say something but I started to sob thinking about last night and couldn’t form any words.

King Atlantes was fair and elegant, just like all the other Kings, I guess.

He was tall like Liam, about 6'7, he had medium-length dark hair that always looked elegantly neat, silver eyes, his eyes could almost sparkle and natural tan skin, he was dressed in a formal way, in a black suit, dark tie, white and a long coat, placed on his shoulders but usually he’d dress up with a Wizard robe without hat above his suits fitting perfectly in his body showing his muscles.

He came closer and tapped my head like I was a little kid, he surely wasn’t used to dealing with people himself.

“Your Realm is the first place that came into my mind when I was about to flash. I’ve never been here but I tried to use the image of the castle from the book of the realms” I let him know.

“Did you flash using a mere image from a book? This is unheard of” he placed his fingers gracefully on his chin, looking at me. “It seems that you unblocked your powers, come to my office and you can tell me what happened, it was like you fought a war last night. You used too much power all of a sudden”, the King of Wizards told me.

I followed him and told him everything that had happened. He looked startled.

“I never thought Liam could do such a thing. Maybe you should talk to him and listen to what he has to say before deciding about anything you will regret later”.

He was right, but I can’t think about it now. I was so sad and enraged, still I couldn’t stop thinking about Liam and the wonderful moment we had. Why am I so stupid? This bond is tricky!

“I’m not prepared to talk to him, actually, I want to join you in the search for the Sixforce group. That’s why I came here.”

“All right, Alice, your power limits are unknown. Maybe we can train for a few days if that’s all right with you”, King Atlantes told me, and I was happy again.

“I’d like that. Can I ask you something? About my mom, not me or even my dad knows where she came from. Could you use a memory spell, tracking spell or whatever helps so we can find out about her? It’s important” I asked him, it was worth the try.

“Deal”

“And also, can you, please, don’t tell anyone I’m here?” I asked again.

He chuckled for the first time and I did the same and looked down, blushing.

“Not in my mind, it’s too dangerous, nobody should know you’re here and you can stay here for as long as you wish. You’re my guest” the king said. Wow, I guess he wasn’t that bad after all.

“But I really am not prepared to face anyone, not even my dad, please” I pleaded to him. If my dad knew, he would surely tell Liam and he thought for a second.

“Well, he should know about you, in my opinion, but it’s not up to me. Deal”

We spent the next days training, meditating and getting to know each other. He told me the story about his realm.

Even though I've read the book, listening to it from the King himself was a totally different emotion. Those days were really productive and we trained a lot. The king didn’t take it easy on me and I was glad.

After a week, I was already controlling my powers.

“Try to do to me what you did to that woman back at the dragon's mansion” he asked.

I closed my eyes and experienced all those feelings again, how enraged I was, the image of that woman on Liam’s lap, and when I opened my eyes, I lifted my hand to the King and he slid back a few inches on the training field. He was startled.

“That was really good. I’ve never seen such a power” he said, smiling at me.

His eyes had some admiration even though he didn’t move as I thought he would, he just slid a few inches back, he was indeed very strong.

But the bond withdrawal symptoms were driving me insane.

I missed Liam terribly, he was all I could think about these last couple of days.

I love him and I hated myself for it.

Why did I act so recklessly? We completed the bond so soon. Why did I let it happen?

Hope growled at my statement, she was still mad at me and barely talked to me.

Hope wanted Liam and Alec just as much I did.

“I want our mate back. I miss him. You should have listened to him. By the way, we’re carrying…”

Hope was talking to me but all of a sudden, I felt dizzy and my head was spinning around.

Last thing I knew, I fainted.

My eyes opened wide and I was in a Hospital.

King Atlantes came to me when he noticed I was awake.

He seemed concerned, much more than I thought.

“Alice, are you OK?” he asked me.

“I think so. What happened?”

“You were feeling bad and you were just about to fall to the ground again, we had some witches and fae healers to examine you and I’m afraid I have two news for you, one good and the other bad, which one you’d rather hear first?” He asked me and I chuckled.

“Really, King Atlantes? How old are we?” I giggled and he also chuckled.

“Well, one of the news is that I used a memory spell on you and saw your mother and I’m afraid I have to tell you that I know her. I hope you don’t mind I did it when you were unconscious.”

How did he do that? I thought a memory spell was only to recover memories and not to share them, but I didn't say anything.

He was always straight to the point and I really appreciated that in him.

.

King Atlantes POV:

.

I really enjoyed her presence here. She was strong and I like strong people.

I’ve never had many friends and I felt a connection right from the moment she came here.

Now that I cast a memory spell and used the vision projector, I know why. Her mother was kind of relative of mine.

Her mother's name is Patsy.

Actually, my passed-away cousin was her aunty's mate, which meant that Alice and I were also kind of related.

It was real nice news to me, not too nice because Patsy became one of the leaders of Sixforce.

We had a lot to talk about Patsy, first because Alice was her daughter.

I have no idea how this happened but I'll investigate. I can't stand the kind of situation when there's something I am not aware of.

But first things first, she won’t go anywhere…

“The other news is you’re pregnant.”

Her jaw dropped open, her eyes opened wide, she was speechless, surprised and I don’t know what else I could say to describe it.

“Are you sure? It's been a week only” she asked me.

“100% sure, the fae healer got you checked” I assured her.

She stood up with a jolt and put her hands on her belly, now’s the time.

“I brought you these”. I reached her a small box with a bow.

She unpacked it and there was a pair of little shoes and some baby overalls.

“Goddess, it’s so cute, thank you so much King Atlantes.” She hugged me as she was thanking me.

I patted her back slightly, I was clearly blushing. I never get it why people have to be so touchy.

“Just Atlantes”. I told her. Now I must convince her to talk to Liam. He’s the father, he should know about it.

“There’s too much to take in. Could you call Liam to come tonight? I guess it’s about time for us to talk. I could flash to the mansion, but I don’t want to take any risk of seeing that woman again.” Can she read mind as well or was it instinct?

“I think this is a good idea. I will let him know” he replied.

“Thank you and about my mother. You knew her, that’s good. Can we talk about it some other time?” She asked me.

“As you wish, now I must leave. I’ll call Liam and I still have to take care of some things in the realm. I promise you as soon as I’m free again, I’ll take you to Silvercity for a tour.”

“Thank you so much for everything” she replied and I nodded and left.

I knew that as soon as I contacted Liam, he’d come right away.

No one can spend many days away from their mate. A king is much worse. He might be in extreme pain.

I haven’t found my mate yet. In fact, I’m prolonging it as much as I can. Not even the other kings had a mate and I was always very picky about the women I took to bed.

I avoided talking to any of them and I didn’t do it often at all, very rarely, actually.

I could spend years without taking a woman.

The business matters around my realm keep me in constant focus. That's my priority.

I avoided taking a woman as much as I could. I always wanted to save myself for my mate, but after so many centuries, this got harder until I finally gave in.

I do not desperately miss a mate, I can’t deal with women.

I wouldn’t even know how to start talking to my mate if I ever find her, but I hope not, like I said, I'm prolonging it as much as I can.

I was always drowned by work, training and ruling my realm and it all needs to have my full attention ever since I'm more perfectionist than King Werloth.

.

Liam POV:

.

I was desperate.

It had been a week and we couldn’t find her. Not even her dad knew where she was and he couldn’t sleep.

He did understand the situation though. His dad was different from what he was before. Maybe his extreme manners were the effect of the Wolfcraig indeed.

She couldn’t possibly flash to any other realm. You can only flash to a place after you’ve been there and she barely left the pack house but the tracking rune led to nowhere, which meant that she flashed to an unknown place.

How can it be?

I miss her, her mind-link connection was still closed.

Royals can mind-link each other and, for the first time, I let it open this week hoping that someone would reach me and share any information about Alice.

Until I received it, it was Atlantes.

“Hi Liam, I just want to let you know that Alice is in the castle. She needed some time and asked me not to tell anyone, so I didn’t. She wants to meet you and talk to you at night, be my guest. I'll send you the location, see you then”, Atlantes was always straight to the point and I was grateful for that.

I frowned. How come she’s in the Wizard Realm?

Well, I wondered myself how the track spell led to nowhere if she was there.

Atlantes was smart enough to cast a strong and unheard of spell on his Realm, he was powerful and he surely could do something like that.

I teleported to his office as soon as he said those words. I mind-linked him to let him know where I was and after a few seconds, I saw him coming through the door.

“Where is she?” I asked him desperately. Alec was anxious to meet her too.

He was in pain for a week and couldn’t focus and I wasn’t functioning like I was supposed to be.

“She’s in one of the guests' rooms, number 3” he told me, and I made my way to her at the same time.

I needed to see her right away. When I was in the hall, her scent had already entered my nostrils.

I tried to open the door and it was closed. I unlocked it without touching the door and slammed it open and our eyes met.

I could see her eyes were red, she was probably crying and she was wearing only a white t-shirt and panties like she just had a bath. She wasn’t expecting me or anyone else at all.

“Alice”. I came closer to her and she took a step back.

“Listen to me”, I tried again.

She was about to lift her hand and I just used my high speed. I was on her back now, my hand possessively grabbing her waist and her arms to prevent her from pushing me away and the other on her mouth to keep it shut.

She squirmed trying to get rid of me, but I was a thousand times stronger than her. I placed my mouth in her ears from behind so she could listen intently to my every word.

“Stop it and listen to me already. Look, I love you. I would never look at another woman, let alone what you thought I did. Anastasia mind-linked me saying that she had information about a robbery on the mansion. It happened a few weeks ago and she asked me to meet her. I made my way to my office. She f*****g kissed me but I pushed her away at that same time. I tried to take some information from her but she just made it all up. I asked her to leave. I sat on my chair and when I wasn’t expecting it at all, she sat on my lap. That’s when you opened the door, nothing happened and nothing ever will. I've sent her to the dungeon. If you open your side of the bond, you’ll know I’m saying the truth. Now, lose the f*****g attitude because I miss you and I need you right now and I won’t ever leave without you, you’re mine and I will not tolerate you flashing away from me anymore, little wolf, you won’t ever get rid of me”. I told her in a possessive way, I couldn't help it and then I softened my arms and my hands on her, but suddenly, I could feel the wetness in my hand that was over on her mouth.

She was crying. Damn, did I hurt her? Did I scare her?