King of the South

Chapter Two

Over the next few days, Alithius was reminded of the meaning of the old saying, “when it rains, it pours.”

Switching between his beast and soft skin, he had walked, hunted, slept, shouted and ran, panting for what he didn’t know and sweating till he didn’t know where the beads of salty perspiration began and his skin ended, all because he was desperately hungry for something that defied all his logic. The sun and moon loyally repeated their cycles until they had completed a week, and for the first time, tried and tired, Alithius stopped.

A week.

It had been a week.

And that feeling had only grown.

Filled with so much confusion, anger and an irritating sadness, he roughly ran his hands through his hair, pulling at the roots, and quickly exchanged the bellow that was about to slip past his raw throat with a sigh. What the f**k was he doing?

What was he even looking for?!

Peace had deserted him decades ago, so why did he still chase the blasted thing?

Anjaelo had gone almost completely quiet on him a few days ago, his only vocalization being growling out his pleasure and displeasure at certain times. Not that he could blame him, anyway. They felt the same way.

Trying to tame the hungry wildness that lashed at his heart, Alithius forced a calming breath into his nostrils and down his lungs, no matter how badly it burned him. He had to get a grip. Jaffar had sent out a distress call a few days ago. No matter how royal he was, he was no Alithius. Things were becoming too hard for him to handle back at the palace.

Hard.

Letting out a small and deep humorless laugh, he embraced the claws of despair as they took yet another swipe at him. Eyes finding the bushes and trees that blocked the river that signaled the end of the South and the start of the North, he planted his hands on his waist and just stood, allowing the smell of the fresh water try to calm his ire. As if calling for backup, the gentle hands of the breeze threaded through his hair and impishly shook it out, successfully coaxing him into his first genuine smile in a week. As his mind traveled to how he had walked a quarter of the earth in under a week with a few hours to spare, pride and disdain bubbled up within him in equal measures. He felt pathetic.

‘Sire.’

The apprehension and plea he heard in Jaffar’s tone made his lips curl with frustration. The equally irate and exhausted Anjaelo growled. Expelling a slow breath, Alithius bowed his head and let his eyes fall closed. Enough. He had a kingdom to run. One that needed him as quickly as yesterday. With that in mind, he rose his head and was going to send Jaffar a response when his ears caught something. He halted.

Splashing?

His lids flew open for his gaze to sear the bushes ahead. Ears inclined, he waited patiently, barely breathing…

And was rewarded with the same sound.

‘Sire?’

He sent back a growl so loud, it bordered on ear shattering, and was about to curse Jaffar for the heavens knew what, when he heard the sound again. Louder this time. Pulling in a resolute breath, he sent out,

‘I will be there soon,’ and blocked off his mind.

Curiosity led him to the riverbank and made him scrutinize it. Nothing seemed amiss. The water flowed, thrashing against and cruising over rocks as usual. So, what was that sound?

‘Somebody lingers,’ Anjaelo whispered, pushing to the front of Alithius’ mind.

Alithius’ eyes flew up, caught bushes on the opposite side of the river and narrowed. As he looked on, the tail ends of a… strange smell wafted up and into his nostrils. Unconscious to the tilting of his head, he frowned in wonder. The smell was too dissipated by the river for him to have a solid hold on it, but whatever it was…

It disturbed him.

Could that have been the problem all along? He unconsciously stood up straighter. Had the creator alerted him to something going on at his borders?

‘It’s not poison… the smell,’ Anjaelo mused.

‘Neither is it lilacs and roses,’ Alithius growled back. Slowly, he crouched down and took inventory. His sharp gaze caught the outline of fresh footprints a few feet away from him, stayed, then snapped back up to scan the opposite side of the river as his hand lowered to dig into the dirt. His dirt-coated fingers were traveling up to his nose when his keen eyes spotted sudden ringlets appearing on the surface of the water, not too far from where he was crouched, and halted sharply. Everything in him hardened and coiled, ready to attack as his eyes narrowed in on that spot.

Like the predators they were, Alithius and Anjaelo waited. Who had dared attempt to cross the border without his foreknowledge and permission? Why hadn’t Azikial told him?

Unless…

‘Traitor,’ Anjaelo gnarled menacingly.

A certain rush broke and spread through him, almost causing him to shiver. Sadistic excitement provoked goosebumps to sprout on his skin. Patiently staying still when the ringlets appeared on the surface of the water again, he caught movement.

A small, dark smile tugged at his lips.

Anjaelo snarled lowly, ready to attack.

Slowly, as if aware of his presence, a black nest emerged first and continued growing until he spotted a pair of eyes. Eyes that were sharp and green with a subtle, golden mist to them.

Alithius’ frown deepened. His eyes narrowed further as the creature continued its ascent, only to come to a halt as soon as its nose peeked and, unlike any other time in history, he couldn’t tell at first glance whether it was human or a supernatural.

Dislike turned to hate.

It had the eyes of neither in particular, but both. What was it? And what was that feeling? It came like a sharp jab to his chest, he visibly, barely jolted, and it sent his heart racing.

It wasn’t painful, but it was too sudden and uncomfortable.

‘What is that… that thing?!’ Anjaelo snarled, absolutely put off by the it.

Alithius watched it keenly, waiting for any sudden movements. Foolish as it was, he was more curious than he was ready to pounce. He watched and watched it do the same. His brows unconsciously quivered. Whatever it was, it was intelligent. But of course, it was. With the way the regions were, intelligence was needed to encroach. His jaw tightened as he grew ready to pounce again. Ringlets appeared again and his eyes snapped to it, waiting for the worst. Anticipating it.

Hands came up.

He blinked.

They waved.

Alithius recoiled, then frowned, finding the eyes of the creature again.

Anjaelo tilted his head to the side.

Both man and beast were lost. Again, it looked human. And supernatural.

They watched its eyes dart away quickly and return before it moved. With keen eyes, they watched it make strange, awkward gestures, before rolling its eyes and-- glaring at him?!

What the hell?!

He was going to growl at it when it began to rise and let him see…

Her.

His breaths halted. His pulse went into overdrive.

It was Her.

For the first time in one hundred years, Alithius and Anjaelo were stunned speechless and thoughtless.

If anybody had told Nilailah Gaia Ray that she was going to run into a native of the South at the border river, she would have laughed in their faces. Because that wasn’t how the southerners operated. She would know, she had started indulging her need to bask in the serenity of the river a little over a year ago, and she discovered that however the Southern creatures operated, watching their borders wasn’t it.

Not like they needed to, anyway.

That was why if that same person had gone ahead to add that that native would be the most godlike creature she had ever seen, she would have called that person crazy. Because no matter how in God’s image they were created, nobody was that spectacular.

Until him…

Maybe he was a demigod?

With genuine awe and her own darn curiosity and discombobulation holding her captive, she had just crouched there with her eyes and nose out, staring. When the small voice in her head suddenly reminded her of another thing the Southerners didn’t do was—humans—she narrowed her eyes and scanned him closely. All he wore was a pair of black, dress pants. She found no weapon on or around him, although, he didn’t look like he needed one. His rigidly, carefully sculpted and semi-lean body was enough of a weapon.

Not to mention the inner wildness she just knew was there.

At a complete and utter loss for what to do, she decided to test his intelligence by waving.

He frowned.

Figuring that the Southerners’ inability to speak English also meant that they didn’t understand human-like signs, she sighed. Maybe he understood sign language? Supernaturals could be deaf and dumb too.

Right?

She gestured for him to turn around, but when all he did was keep staring at her like she was crazy, she grimaced, rolled her eyes and glared. The guy either didn’t understand, or he just didn’t care. Either way, how was she going to get out in front of this male? He was a—what the hell was she doing? She was a hunter and a tracker. She didn’t care about her appearance, and cared even less for anyone’s take on her. He was just a man, no different than any other. With that thought in mind and a certain level of curiosity as to what his reaction would be to her, someone from the North, Nilailah slowly stood up and watched his eyes widen somewhat. Just as the tail ends of her lips began to curl in the beginnings of an audacious smirk, the wind blew in her direction.

And all the blood drained from her face.

She was only a quarter supernatural—almost completely human, in fact! But, apparently… It didn’t stop her from having one of him and being able to identify him. Her hands subtly fisted.

The godlike creature from the South… was her mate.

What were the odds that her, a woman who went into her line of work because she liked it despite her femininity, enjoyed defying the norm and hated being tied down, had a mate?

From the South.

A place where humans were not welcome.

If that same ill-lucked hooligan had stupidly predicted it, she would have punched that i***t right in the face because that was just too much crazy.

But guess what?

She had front row tickets to the show, crazy town.

Ha!