Spurned Queen

Chapter 35: Insomnia

Lexi

A sandstorm is no joke.

I thought it was. Just call me a dumbass.

I was in the line that surrounded our army. It was made of only Alphas and Lunas, but I wedged my way in thinking, why not? Now I almost wish I hadn't.

Sand. It was driven into my eyes, ears, and paws at a hundred miles an hour. Lattis whined at the damage done to our beautiful coat while I bitched about the blunting of our claws. I complained that my ears were on fire while she complained that she couldn't see. And don't even get me started on the heat. As if being wedged between two wolves was not enough, the whistling sand grains created friction that burned worse than sandpaper. I could barely breathe; the air seemed thicker than syrup and opening my mouth would subject my tongue to unholy abuse. And no, it didn't last a few hours like a normal storm: it was sunrise when we finally broke apart, sulking, dehydrated, and with patience as threadbare as our coats.

Warm water was immediately provided for us. We drank gingerly, careful not to hurt our sore snouts.

I had just completed the tedious task. My good spirits returned promptly and I was shaking sand from my ears when someone growled my name behind me.

"Lexi, I would kill you right now if nobody else was looking. What kind of dumbass puts herself in danger when she doesn't have to?!"

And from the looks of it, Tyler wasn't kidding. His wolf, Zio, was trembling with anger as he snarled at me.

"Holy shit!" I squeaked in horror. "Do I look like that too? You know, like a balding dolphin?!"

"No. But you'll look that way after I'm done with you."

"Not now, Ty. My paws are bleeding and my claws need to see a therapist. As for your hide, please get help— it's worse than I can describe. I mean, you're old but not that old. Cindy will dump you like hot soup."

I yelped when he rammed his head into my shoulder. It was unexpected so it knocked me down, and I pawed at his face with blunt claws. I might as well have been The Slouch for all the damage I did. I glared up at him. He bared his teeth in a wolfie grin and trotted away.

I promised myself to get back at him later.

"Wow Lexi, you look like shit."

I gave Dylan a dead look. What a lovely way to put it. I'm sure my mate would have something even nicer to say. I snatched the clothing she had in her hands and sauntered off, making sure I kicked some sand into her shoes while I was at it.

***

Tyler is smart. He avoided me all day and then set me on guard duty, pretending not to know I had spent the past twenty-four hours being pelted by hot particles. So here I was in the middle of the night, filing my claws and watching the endless dunes while he cuddled with Cindy. I stood still at the top of a sand hill.

But I didn't mind so much. The night was ablaze with stars, so beautiful that I wished I had paid more attention when we learned the constellations in school. My eyes were glued more to them than to the sands which I should be scanning. The desert night was cool, clear, and pin-drop silent. I watched the little points of light and let myself get lost among them. I thought of all sorts of things.

I thought about Aevran. I knew he was in one of the tents in the camp behind me. Was he asleep? Did vampires even sleep at night? No, screw that, did they sleep at all?

Did he ever think of me? Did he ever wonder if I was alright? It was unlikely. I could picture him right here in front of me, his hair as perfect as usual, his cold, attractive green orbs, and his luscious, cruel mouth. I could see his black, tailored clothes on the lean body. I could see his sneer, his frown, his smirk, his genuine smile. I could see his confusion, shock, anger, amusement, exasperation, even lust. I could see his eyes dilate as he looked at my lips; I could see them narrow in cold malice. Then I could hear his voice.