ArcKnight (The ArcKnight Chronicles #1)

Chapter Twenty-nine

Rafaela

Turning the ring on my finger, I had the urge to pull it off and fling it out the window. I'd locked myself up in my new quarters to avoid the ridiculous parade of women bidding for the position of Gil's possible second mate. Hordes of young women from all over the country had been invited to jostle their goods in front of him in hopes of getting the position. Pathetic.

It was all a huge waste of time, except Gil didn't know that just yet.

Regardless, his betrayal stung like a fresh cut down the middle of my soul.

"Alec?" I called out.

"Yes, m'lady?"

"You don't have to call me that anymore. Call me Ella. I like that better." I smiled as he emerged from the living room. He was always respectful and insisted on sleeping on the couch when we spent the nights talking until the early hours of dawn when we couldn't fight sleep any longer. I admired his restraint, but he wouldn't need it much longer.

That night I planned to sever my bond with my mate and Alpha. If done properly, I would be able to oust Gil and take the ArcKnight throne. I had a right to it as much as he did since he'd betrayed me so. I was betting he hadn't realized I would take it so badly. He expected me to stay placated and allow him to sire an heir with another woman, who would take my place at his side as queen and leave me as a secondary wife to the Alpha of our pack, discarded like yesterday's garbage.

Not this queen. I was more than prepared to offer a challenge for the throne. No one had challenged an Alpha in over a century. It was time to spice things up again.

"Very well, my love," Alec said, pulling me into his arms. The warmth of his body spread over mine, sending sparks all across my skin. He smelled amazing; an enticing woodsy cologne lingered on him and threw my senses into overdrive. I'd never let myself get too close to him before, he was that tempting. Primal, even.

"Do you think we'll win?" I asked. My trepidations made me hesitate. Somehow things were never certain in my life. I'd never felt the comfort of a secure path from the time I was a child and had been brought to the palace. My memory failed me for the years before that. I was far too young to remember, but moving here had been life changing for my entire family, and I wasn't about to lose it all because a man wanted to have everything without me. He wasn't the only one in need, and I was more than happy to show him so.

"I'm your champion. Tomorrow is a day of history in the making. It's been done before, but never like this. Gil is an excellent fighter, but the centuries of taking the throne by inheritance has left us with weaker leaders. I've kept my mouth shut about it for too long and watched the disintegration of the kingdom accelerate in his hands. I'm honored to accept the challenge of changing things for the better. For us and for the kingdom."

My lips upturned into a smile. The confidence he exuded was enough to swat my doubts away. Gil had never been so sure of himself like Alec. Though I loved Gil, and probably always would in some form or another, his betrayal was unforgivable.

"Thank you, Alec. I can't think of anyone who is more suited for this than you are."

He bent down, kissing my lips, softly at first then harder and more urgently. We hungered for each other, and it was more than we could stand to break apart, breathing hard and full of insatiable longing. I never wanted to let go, and it was obvious he didn't either. If we got through the next few days alive, life would be sweet indeed.

"Alec?"

"Yes?"

"Are you scared?"

I rubbed my face on his chest, breathing in his heavenly scent and listening to his breathing while his heart beat in my ears. Something about him calmed me. Even when I was younger, he'd always been a strong, steady presence. At my father's side, he'd led the MarkTier army as he did now, even though he was younger than many of the soldiers he commanded. It made no difference to me that he'd been the highest-ranking officer through my teenage years. I'd always had a thing for him, especially since he always had my back and had stirred my inner emotions more than once.