KATOMI - RISE OF THE FAE QUEEN

CHAPTER 15 – TEXTS AND ATTACKS

WYATT’S POV

‘I want everything we have on Elizabeth Reynolds’ I linked Beau once I was back in my car, driving to the packhouse, I was still furious about this b*tch hurting my mate and Kai was all for turning around and killing her

‘Why?’ Beau asked ‘What did she do?’

‘She’s been hurting Kat’

‘Really’ Beau questioned me in disbelief ‘Are you sure, I’ve seen that girl take down her own father, some kid shouldn’t be much of a match for her’

‘She said she’s not going to beat someone up just because they hurt her’ I rolled my eyes at Katomi’s confusing behaviour

‘Are you sure she’s actually a Lycan and not a kitten’

‘I’ve never met a Lycan who thinks like her’ I said thoughtfully ‘She to… kind’ I said, not able to come up with another word ‘I’m scared someone will use that against her one day’

‘We’ll keep her safe’ Beau assured me 'Though you are right, I've never thought about it before, but she does act differently from the others, maybe it's a silver Lycan thing.

'Maybe' I nodded, I hadn't thought about that

I was nearly at the pack house now and I could see several warriors training in one of the fields, I wished I could be out there with them, blowing off steam and working out but I had so much work to get done today

‘Regardless, I’ll check into this Reynolds girl and get back to you’ Beau said ‘I’ll see you for lunch and we can go over some of the school renovations you suggested last month’

‘Cool’ I said ‘See you then’ I cut off the link and parked my car, I didn’t want to get out, Katomi’s scent still lingered in the air, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, I couldn’t help but think about our kiss this morning, holding her in my arms was the best feeling, now that I’d finally given in and touched her, I don’t know how I’d ever resisted.

At some point today I’d have to come up with a game plan, I still hadn’t talked to her about moving in with me, she hadn’t even fully committed to us being together so getting her to live with us was going to be a challenge

‘Mate said she wants to be with us’ Kai purred, I could practically see him wagging his tale

‘She’s still fighting it though’ I said sadly ‘She mightn’t want to move in’

‘Make her’

‘We can’t force her’ I told him, though I agreed ‘We have to figure out a way to convince her that we really are fine not having children’

‘But we’re not fine with it’ Kai said sadly ‘We’ve wanted pups for years now’

‘We will have children’ I said firmly ‘We’ll find a way to get this silver out but, in the meantime, we need to convince her that it’s fine and’

My phone vibrated, cutting off our conversation, I sighed and re-opened my eyes

‘We’ll discuss this later’

I grabbed my phone and got out of the car and began my day.

A few hours later, I’d managed to get through most of my paperwork, I’d tried to keep Kat off my mind but focusing was getting harder and harder as the day went on.

Just before lunch one of the werewolf Alpha’s in Florida linked me asking for help, his pack was being plagued with a rogue problem so I sent out a troop of my warriors, hopefully they’d be there by tomorrow morning and we could get this under control and back home quickly, I wanted my warriors close to home now that I’d announced my mate.

The scouts searching the territory again finally linked me, once again, they’d found no signs of a Fae anywhere and it was making me anxious, if they didn’t find anything in the woods, I’d have to bring the search into the houses, I didn’t want to invade my people’s privacy but I had to make sure no one was harbouring a Fae that hurt Kat, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone who was helping them.

I had a quick lunch with Beau courtesy of our packhouse chefs, working while we ate like most days, after he left, I was debating linking Kat when I got a text from her and suddenly my whole day improved

‘Mate is thinking about us too’ Kai was ecstatic ‘Open it!’

‘Who are you?’ I laughed ‘You’re never this happy’

‘Because you’ve been keeping me from my mate’

I rolled my eyes and opened her text

‘So, I’ve made $800 so far selling your number’ I read and laughed ‘Get ready for a lot of unwanted calls from a lot of men’

Men, I knew she was kidding but the thought of her speaking to males at all made both myself and Kai furious

‘Also…. I found the money you slipped into my jacket’ I smiled, I’d put a $100 note into her jacket before I’d returned it to her ‘I don’t know if I should be insulted that you think I need money or insulted that you think I care about your money or insulted that you think you can buy me’

Of course, she’d think that, I just wanted to make sure if she needed anything that she could get it, she would want for nothing with me, I’d take care of her

‘Either way, I’m insulted, and I WILL be returning your cash, don’t do it again’

I rolled my eyes, this wouldn’t be the last time I’d give her money, I’d already organized a second card for her so she could have access to all my accounts

I pressed reply and leant back to return her message, I could have linked her, but I’d never flirted with anyone over text before and I was excited to give it a try, hopefully she hadn’t either

Kai growled ‘MINE!’ He roared ‘Mate doesn’t talk to other boys like this!’

‘Only $800?’ I text back, ignoring Kai, but I hoped he was right ‘Not much of a saleswoman, are you?’ I teased ‘I should be the insulted one, I was sure you’d make more, maybe I’m not as popular as I thought I was, as for the money, I just wanted to make sure you had money for lunch, nothing more, I wasn’t trying to upset you or make you think I was trying to buy you, I don’t need to, you’re already mine’

I pressed send and waited, I felt like a kid again, my heart racing with excitement when I saw the dots indicating she was replying

‘Lunch? I don’t know how expensive food was back in ancient times when you were 17 but I assure you my school lunches never cost that much, sorry to bring up a sore subject, at your age you probably don’t remember how much food was when you were 17, it was after all so so so very long ago’

I laughed out loud

‘Stop implying I’m old mate, or Kai and I will come down to that school and show you just how young and fit we are’

‘It’s nice that the staff would let you out of the nursing home to come down to my school’ She replied, adding a few laughing emoji’s

‘That’s it, I’m coming down’ I sat back and laughed, I could already predict her response

‘NO!’ She texted back immediately, and I laughed again, I’d guessed correctly ‘Don’t come here, I’ve already been harassed by everyone interested in hearing about what’s happening between us, I don’t need you to visit and stir things up again’

I smiled, she was so shy ‘And what did you tell them was happening between us?

‘Oh, nothing much, I just said I was your care nurse cause you’re so old and can’t take care of yourself anymore, anyway, I have to go to class, don’t work too hard’

I frowned, I didn’t want to stop bantering with her, I could always shut the school down and she’d be forced to stay with me.

‘I won’t’ I lied, I still had a tone of work to get done today.

‘Stay safe and you better be resting!’

‘I’m sitting on my ass at a desk all day, how much more rest do I need’

‘Don’t make me think about your ass when I have boring paperwork to do, it’s too distracting’

‘WYATT!’

‘Goodbye baby, xxoo’

‘By xo’

I put my phone down and felt heavy again, was there really a time when I could go days, even weeks without speaking to her?

Finally at 2:15 I was going to head to the school to pick up my girl but Beau linked me

‘Wyatt, you need to come to the dungeons’

‘Why?’

‘Aram attacked two of the guards and managed to drain them both of their energy’ He said angrily ‘One of the new guards got to close and was attacked so Jack was forced to go in to save him, they’re both unconscious, the others managed to get Simon out, but Jack is still inside, I tried to go in to get him out but even my immunity to magic wasn’t working, he's too powerful right now and I couldn’t absorb his power quickly enough’

‘WHAT!’ I shouted and sprang from my desk and ran out of my office ‘I have protocols for a reason, no guards should be near him!’

‘Apparently, he was choking and Simon rushed in to save him’

‘They should have let the bastard die!’

‘I don’t know why you keep him alive in the first place’ Beau said angrily, we’d had this conversation before ‘You should have killed him after’

‘I don’t want to hear it!’ I snapped, interrupting Beau, it hurt to remember what Aram had taken from me ‘I want him alone and trapped, he deserves to suffer in the dark without his mate for the rest of his life and if the Fae Queen attacks in full, he is my hostage’

I rushed out of the packhouse and shifted mid-air, Kai would get us there faster and mercifully we made it to the dungeons within 18 minutes.

Once I arrived, I shifted and pulled on the clothing Kai had carried and I walked towards the front doors where four guards were posted, we greeted each other and I walked inside.

There was nothing impressive about the house, it was just as worn down as the outside, the only clean object in the room was a huge black rug big enough for 20 people and a small desk where another Lycan guard sat watching a monitor.

'Alpha' Kasey greeted me as I stood on the rug

'Kas'

Kasey pressed a button on the desk and the rug started to lower itself, it was covering a platform to a hidden room in the ground where a tunnel led into the actual dungeon within the mountain, there were no windows and only one entry/exit, no one had ever escaped my dungeons.

There were several levels to the dungeons, on the ground level were several stone cells where I kept minor criminals, but they were all empty at the moment, I walked passed them to the elevator and went down to the 10th level where Aram was kept

There were guards posted at the elevators on each level and outside each room that was occupied and there was a patrol that went through every level once an hour checking the prisoners but I only had Aram on this level, I didn’t want him to have company of any kind, not even prisoners.

‘Hey’ Beau greeted me, he was standing next to two guards ‘I’ve had Simon taken to the hospital but Jack’s still down’

I nodded and growled at the guards who shrank back, they’d failed me and they knew it, there would be consequences

I entered Aram's cell, there wasn’t much in here, a toilet in the corner and a sink so he could get water and a single bed.

All of his meals were given to him through a hole in his door and he was only given food if he was standing up against the back wall.

Aram had a very special power, if he got his hands on you, he could absorb your powers or life force, making him even more powerful.

Aram smiled at me from his bed as I approached, I was the only one who could get close to him, he couldn’t’ drain my power or life force, one of the many perks of being a King.

‘What a pleasant surprise’ Aram said cheerfully ‘A visit from the King himself, it’s been years, I’m honoured’

‘Keep talking and you’ll be honoured by burning to death’ I growled and went over to the guard who was lying unconscious on the ground.

I felt Jacks pulse, it was weak, but he was still alive, so I lifted him up and carried him outside to where Beau and the others waited

‘Get him to the hospital’

‘Yes Alpha’

‘The two of you were on duty when these idiots entered the cell?’

‘Yes Alpha’ They looked worried

‘And you didn’t try to stop them?’

‘Simon was in danger, we’

‘ENOUGH!’ I shouted ‘The four of you are suspended until I feel I can trust you again, now GO!’

I turned around and walked back into Aram’s cell.

‘What was all of this about?’ I asked ‘You haven’t tried to escape in years, I thought you’d given up on that idiotic dream, I will kill you before I ever let you free’

‘Who said I was trying to escape’ He smiled and rose his hand which began to glow thanks to him siphoning the men’s energy, great, it would be weeks, maybe months before he was weak again ‘It’s safer in here, especially with who’s coming for you’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Raemair’ Aram smirked again, how did he know that he was attacking my border, I was furious, which one of my guards had been speaking with him? ‘It’s going to be fun to watch who wins the fight’

‘I will destroy any Fae b*stard who attacks my pack’ I snapped ‘As you are well aware, unless you’ve forgotten our history and who won every fight we had’

‘Wyatt?’ Kat linked me but I had to cut the link, I couldn’t let my guard down in front of Aram, his powers didn’t work on me but he was still a very skilled fighter.

‘That’s not the fight I was referring too’

‘What the f*ck are you talking about then?

‘I hear congratulations are in order’ He changed the subject ‘To find such a mate, you must be beyond pleased'

‘Speak about my mate again and I will have your arms ripped off!’

‘Touchy’ Aram said in amusement ‘I meant nothing by it, you forget I have a mate of my own, it’s a wonderful thing, having your other half, I am counting down the days until I see her again’

‘You will never see her again’

‘Oh, but I will’ He smiled and closed his eyes and laid back comfortably with his hand behind his head ‘This time next year I will have her in my arms once more and you your majesty, your whole world will be flipped upside down, I cannot wait’

‘ENOUGH OF YOUR SH*T!’ I shouted, what the f*ck was he talking about, I’d never let him out, he will never be with his mate again ‘WHY DID YOU ATTACK MY GUARD!’

Aram smiled and rose his hand again and it began to glow once more ‘Just trying to send a message but she isn’t strong enough yet to receive it, I’ll try again in a few minutes, using my powers after all this time is very draining and there’s something blocking her from seeing me’

‘You’ve lost your dam mind!’ I snapped and headed back to the cell door

I slammed it shut and turned to Beau and two new guards, Beau must has summoned them ‘THIS DOOR STAYS CLOSED!’

‘Yes, sir’

‘And if I hear about any guard talking to him, especially about Katomi, I will kill you!’

‘Yes, your majesty’

‘He doesn’t eat for 4 days!’ I snapped and began marching back down the hall

‘So, what did he say?’ Beau asked as he jogged after me

‘Some bullsh*t about sending a message’ I waved my hand dismissively ‘He's finally lost his mind, how can absorbing someone’s life force help him send a message?’

‘I don’t know’ Beau shrugged ‘But I don’t know why they do half the cr*p they do, why don’t we head back to the packhouse and go over everything’

‘Sounds good to me but..’ I gasped and grabbed Beau’s wrist to look at his watch ‘F*ck, I can’t, I was meant to pick Kat up at 2:30’

Beau smirked and looked at his watch ‘Well you’re in trouble’

‘Shut up!’

It was just after 3pm now and I was feeling extremely guilty, I could only image how hurt she’d be feeling, wondering where I was, this wouldn’t help my chances at getting her to be mine

Kai raced back to the packhouse so I could get dressed and we jumped into my car.

I linked Steve, the guard on duty today, he said Kat was still at the school, but he’d overheard her telling her friend that she was only going to wait another few minutes before heading home.

I put my foot down on the accelerator and sped towards her school, I parked quickly and rushed over to the entrance.

I could have linked her, but I felt apologies should be done in person and I was a little afraid she’d block my attempts to communicate, her temper was worst then mine

‘Oh thank the goddess’ I sighed in relief, she was still here.

I watched her jump off the table, I thought she’d seen me, but she frowned and looked around for something, I saw her take a slow step towards the woods before pausing again, had she seen something, I scanned the woods but there was nothing

She took another step but paused again as if she was afraid to go on, I called out to her but she didn’t look at me, she should have been able to hear me, I wasn’t that far away from her

‘Kat!’ I reached out and gently grabbed her shoulder, I didn’t mean to frighten her but she screamed and spun around quickly, she was faster than I was expecting and she grabbed my wrist and twisted my arm but I got out of grip easily and spun her around, pulling her against my chest

‘It’s me’ I tried to calm her down, her heart was racing ‘Baby it’s me’

She looked up at me and sighed in relief, but it was short lived, she pulled away and turned to face me with a now angry expression

‘You jerk!’ She snapped and hit my arm ‘You nearly gave me a heart attack!’

‘I’m sorry’ I tried not to smile at her feeble attempt to hurt me, I also loved that she’d actually tried to hurt me, it meant she was starting to see me more as her mate and not her King ‘I did call out, but you didn’t hear me, what were you looking at?’

‘I heard someone calling me’

I looked towards the woods again, but I still couldn’t see anything

‘I thought it was you, I was going to go into the woods, but Remi was scared’

‘STEVE!’ I called out, looking around, a tall Lycan with a shaved head and beard came out from behind a group of trees, looking alert

‘Alpha’

‘Who is this?’ Kat asked, placing her hands and her hips in frustration, I couldn’t help but look at her curves, I’d give everything just a run my hands over her body ‘Oh that’s right’ She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms ‘I have stalkers now’

I cleared my throat and she frowned and looked down at her feet, pouting, like she used to do when she was little

‘Did you sweep the woods?’

‘Yes Alpha, everything’s clear, just a couple of kids making out, but I sent them off’

‘I wasn’t imagining it’ Kat looked up at me ‘There was someone there, he called my name, I thought I’d heard him calling me earlier today too but there was no one there when I looked’

‘HE?’ I felt my eyes darkened, how dare some boy try to call her ‘Do another sweep, report back to me when you’re done’

‘Yes Alpha’ He said ‘Luna’ He nodded towards Kat before taking off into the trees

‘I wish they wouldn’t call me Luna, I’m not even the Luna yet’

‘Yet?’ I rose and eyes brow ‘That better mean you’re accepting me’

‘Accepting you’ She growled and placed her hands back on her hips ‘You have some nerve, why would I ever accept some jerk who kept me waiting over half an hour’

She spun around and marched off, I sighed and jogged after her, I grabbed her and spun her around

‘Get off’ She growled as I pulled her into my arms, she tried to get free so I scooped her up, she gasped and quickly wound her legs around my waist so she wouldn’t fall

‘Kat stop pouting, you’re not a child anymore’

‘Hi Kat’ She said sarcastically ‘Nice to see you, how was your day, I’m sorry I was late and didn’t respond to your links or texts and left you sitting all alone like a loser, those are the things one says when one stands up their mate!’ She growled ‘Not, stop pouting’

I growled and pulled her smart mouth to mine, kissing her fiercely and leaving her breathless

I finally released her now swollen lips and looked into her beautiful blue eyes, alive with lust

‘Hello Kat’ I said gently ‘It’s more than nice to see you, how was your day, I’m sorry I was late but a prisoner in the dungeons attacked a guard’ Her eyes widened ‘So I couldn’t link with you, I had to focus on dealing with things and I didn’t have my phone on me, I’m sorry for leaving you sitting alone like a’

‘A prisoner attacked someone?’ She gasped and started patting me down ‘Did he try to hurt you too?’

‘I’m fine baby’ I grabbed her hands and gently pulled them back around my neck before kissing her ‘No prisoner is going to get the better of me, so… am I forgiven?’

‘Of course, I’m sorry’ She looked down at my lips, I watched as she hesitated but finally, she slowly leant in, it was the first time she’d initiated a kiss, I didn’t move, I let her do what she wanted, very gently she pressed her mouth to mine, moving her lips softly

I tightened my grip on her waist and moved my mouth down her slender neck, nipping and sucking until I reached her marking spot, I sucked hard on the area and she cried out and dug her fingernails into my shoulders.

‘Wyatt’ She moaned my name and slipped her fingers into my hair, I could feel her body heating up and I began to smell the sweet scent of her arousal

‘Take mate home!’ Kai roared, his voice was full of lust and longing

I kissed her once more and pulled back, so our lips were just touching ‘I want you to stay with me from now on’ I kissed her again before pulling back ‘Come home with me’ I whispered, kissing her soft lips ‘Move in with me’

Kat leant back, her eyes wide and her heart began to race ‘You can’t be serious’ She said in disbelief ‘We’ve just, I’ve only known since Friday and we’re not even officially together, I can’t live with you, what about’

Steve cleared his throat from behind me and I turned around, he was looking directly at his feet but Kat still blushed and pushed away, climbing down my body and landing softly on her feet before she gripped my arm and hid her face behind my back.

‘Mate is so cute’

‘Anyone?’

‘No Alpha’ He shook his head ‘There was a strange scent though’

‘A scent?’ I growled, so someone was watching her, calling her

‘I grabbed this’ He held up a small branch ‘The scents still lingering’

I stepped forward and took it, I took a sniff, it was a strange scent, it was most definitely a Fae scent but there was something off about it, but it didn’t matter, it was still a Fae scent, no matter how strange it was

I felt my eyes darken and I grabbed Steve by the throat, shoving him against the nearest tree, Kat screamed and stepped back

‘A FAE!’ I growled, I could feel myself losing it as Kai pushed for control ‘A FAE GOT THIS FAR INTO MY TERRITORY, THIS CLOSE TO MY MATE AND YOU SAW NOTHING!’

‘Wyatt, Kai, stop!’ Kat touched my arm, trying to calm me but I growled at her, and she stepped back in fear, tears filled her wide eyes and I hated myself for scaring her, but I was nearly too far gone to stop

‘GIVE ME ONE REASON WHY I SHOULDN’T SNAP YOUR NECK!’ I hollered, Steve looked terrified and gasped for air ‘YOU HAVE ONE JOB, KEEP HER SAFE!’

Kat looked between us, I was close to losing control, I needed her to go, I didn’t want her to see me lose control, not ever, I couldn’t risk losing her because she was frightened of me

‘KAT LEAVE!’

She stepped back with her hands over her mouth but when she heard Steve wince as my claws came out, she shook her head and lunged forward, she wound arms around me and pressed her face into my back

‘Please stop’ She pleaded ‘Don’t hurt him, please, I’m safe, he did his job, if this Fae had tried anything, I’m sure he would have helped me!’

‘TRIED ANYTHING’ I growled ‘HE CALLED YOU INTO THE WOODS’ I turned back to Steve and dug my claws into his flesh ‘HE CALLED TO HER AND YOU DIDN’T HEAR ANYTHING, YOU DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!’

‘WYATT!’ Kat cried out ‘Please, you’re scaring me’ I felt was wet spot on the back of my shirt as she cried ‘Please calm down’

Her arms hugged me tighter, her scent was working, it soothed me and I felt a foreign calmness flow through my body and Kai shrank back, was this calmness coming from Kat?

I dropped Steve on the ground and retracted my claws as I tried to steady my breathing.

Kat quickly rushed around me and pulled down Steves shirt to see the claw marks, but it only angered me again, I didn’t like her touching another man

‘Are you alright?’ She asked before I grabbed her and pulled her away from him

‘MINE!’ I growled and pressed my face into her neck ‘DON’T TOUCH HIM!’

‘Wyatt enough’ She pleaded ‘He needs help’

‘I’m alright Luna’ He gasped and held his chest and throat ‘I’ll heal, I should have protected you better, the Alpha was well within his rights to do what he did’

‘No, he wasn’t!’ She shouted and tried to pull free of my tight grip, but I didn’t have enough control yet to allow her to leave my arms ‘Wyatt, please’

‘NO! I growled and looked down at her and then back at Steve

‘Please Alpha’ He pleaded ‘Let me make it up to you, I won’t fail her again’

‘NO… YOU WONT!’ I roared and he cringed in fear ‘Because you will never guard her again!’

‘I’m sorry Alpha’ Steve remained looking down and Kat looked down at him in pity, she needed to toughen up ‘Forgive me Luna’

‘There's nothing to forgive’ She said, only angering me once more, she really didn’t get it, she could have been killed because he f*cked up ‘You didn’t do anything wrong, I’m sure once Wyatt calms down, he’ll feel the same way’

‘LIKE F*CK I WILL!’ I grabbed Kat and threw her over my shoulder

‘Wyatt!’ She squealed and pulled her skirt down ‘Put me down!’

‘GO TO THE HOPSITAL AND GET CHECKED OUT’ I ordered in my alpha tone, making Steve wince in fear again ‘THEN REPORT TO BEAU, HE WILL REASIGN YOU AND DO NOT COME NEAR KATOMI AGAIN!’