Flickering Shadows

Chapter 4

Aziel

Alexander stares at me, dumbfounded, his lips moving up and down but making no sounds. I honestly feel the same way.

Coming here with the expectations of a bright, annoyingly obnoxious rainbow of chaos as a mate made finding the girl behind me feel like waking up and realizing the amazing dream you just had wasn't a dream at all.

I came here knowing that if I found a mate, I would reject her on the spot, but then her eyes looked into mine. I saw the pain that swirled in her gaze as she kneeled in front of a poll, and I couldn't do anything but declare that she was mine. One look at her shaking frame in the sand and I knew that I would protect this girl with my life.

She's not an anomaly, and for some, that might be a con. A lot of people in this kingdom consider the anomalies to be superior and higher up in the ranks, but I think the opposite. Having hair the colour of oranges and eyes to match only makes them stand out in a crowd that needs more attention than they do. It makes them distracting and hard to hold eye contact.

My mate is normal, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

"She's- you can't- I mean-" Alexander sputters, his face turning a deep shade of red. "She's a maid! She can't possibly be mated to you!"

I can physically feel the way his words hit the girl behind me, every letter making her shrink a little more into herself.

"Why is everyone so concerned with what she can't do?" I ask, my voice void of anything friendly or warm. "Is she not capable of speaking for herself?"

Alexander sighs as he shakes his head.

"I'm sorry, Aziel, but I won't let you leave here with some worthless servant," he says in disgust. "Have you looked around the room? There's plenty-"

His words drop off with a choke as my hand locks around his throat, my face right in front of his as I say, "You may be a king, but I won't hesitate to rip your vocal cords out if you so much as look at her again. That girl you call worthless will be coming home with me, and I will smirk at your awed face as you witness her being crowned my queen."

I release him with a shove, the crowd that had gathered backing up with gasps of horror.

I lock eyes with Levi from across the room, his hand holding a glass of champagne as he lazily watches all of this unfold.

I make the signal we created to get me out of countless board meetings, and without a word he sets his glass down and heads for the door.

If we don't leave soon, this will end in a bloodbath, my wolf growls. I can already smell the tolls of danger.

"Thank you for the party, Alexander," I say coolly. "It was grand to finally meet you, although I hope the pleasure evades us in the future."

I turn around, but the Sun king obviously has different ideas of how this ends.

"You cannot have her!" He shouts right before I dodge his attempt at tackling me.

He stumbles before righting his feet and getting in a fighting stance, his eyes full of unrestrained fury.

"You can't take what I'm not willing to give you! This is my kingdom, and I will not be disrespected in my own home!" He shouts.

He really went from zero to a hundred within a second, my wolf says. "Would you like me to handle this one?

No. I got it.

Pain flares up my cheek, and I swipe my thumb across my lip to find blood staining the tip.