Ch. 7 King Alex

After breakfast, I went to my office and was staring at a document on my laptop when my phone rang. I pick it up without looking at the caller ID and place it on speaker, "Speak."

"Dad, something's wrong. We're on our way back, but she fainted." I tense, hearing the worry in his voice. He's been very protective of Naomi since we came back, even sat with her the first week of her being unconscious. "We'll be there in about 5 minutes."

I tell him I will meet him at the door with the doctor, and quickly call him to meet us in the front. When he pulls up, he rushes to grab her from the backseat. We carry her up to her room, and the doctor takes a look at her while we wait in the hall. "What happened?"

AJ paces back and forth. "I don't know. We were walking around the shopping center, and she told me she needed a break, so we stopped at the cafe. When I came back from getting our drinks, Bre was there, and then I saw her put her head in her hands, and next thing I knew, she was fainting." I give a low growl at the mention of one of his flings that I've always told him not to have. "Dad, I know how you feel about her, but I didn't invite her there."

Before I could say anything, the doctor stepped out. "She seems fine other than what AJ described. Without her being awake to tell me if something is bothering her, there's nothing else I can do."

I nod my head and turn to AJ, "It's not your fault, but we will discuss that girl showing up. The guard told me about what happened before you came back to the table. I will sit with her and will let you know when she wakes up, let your mother know what happened." He nods his head and turns to walk away. I step into the room, move the armchair near the bed, and take a seat. She has a slight scowl and whimpers. The whimpers continue through the evening but turn to sobs. I stand looking over her, and she's holding her head. I place my hand on her back, trying to soothe her."

"It hurts." She mumbles in between sobs. I move some of the hair from her face and can feel that she's running warmer than usual. She looks up at me, and her eyes are glowing purple. I take in a sharp breath, not expecting her to be showing any signs of her powers developing, but I give her a small, reassuring smile.

"I know, it's ok. Just try and take some deep breaths." She starts to breathe heavily, her sobs becoming louder. I pick her up and walk out of the bedroom and across the palace to the elders' workspace. Usually, at least one elder is awake in case of emergencies. As we step in, the pain must have become worse as she begins to writhe in my arms. "Her powers are developing." That's all I say, and the female elder is guiding us over to the pond-like area of the room. I place her down into the water, and she begins to float. She begins to chant and pour a few things into the water. This goes on for an hour or so before she visibly relaxes and her eyes open, returning to their normal golden color, then fluttering closed.

"It will be best for her to stay in for a little bit longer and for you to start training her to handle these episodes as they will become more frequent. Most younglings learn to handle these episodes in school, and, unfortunately for her, she will have to learn as they come. With all due respect, she is a lot like you. Especially, for her episode to be this bad and come on this soon, before her 16th birthday." As much as I hate to admit it, the elder is right, and I feel bad that Naomi is at a disadvantage compared to AJ, who had time to learn how to handle these episodes. When we were finally sure she wouldn't have another episode, I had Reina change her clothes and lay her in bed.

It was early morning by now, and I was sitting in the armchair holding my mate, when Naomi began to stir. We stopped talking and turned to her as her eyes fluttered open. "Hey, how are you feeling?" My mate got up and started to rub her back as she spoke softly.

"Better, I've never had a migraine that bad before." We both frown at her, realizing what this meant.

"How long have you had these 'migraines'?" I asked her, making sure to emphasize the word migraine. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Probably shortly before my 15th birthday. They don't usually last long once I take my medicine, though." I give her a curious look at the mention of the medicine. "The one in my bag is for my migraines. Didn't you give it to me last night?" I realize she must not have any memory of waking up, and I shake my head.

I make a mental note to check her bag for the medicine, but already suspect that I will find a power suppressor. Reina helps her sit up, and we both sit on opposite edges of the bed. "Those aren't migraines you're having. What you're experiencing is actually quite normal for you. Do you seem to notice that it happens when you get too emotional or have been dealing with a lot of stress?" She nods her head slowly. "For most Daemonium beings, this begins to happen shortly after their 16th birthday, but not for you or AJ. It starts after your 15th because of our family's strength; you would have learned how to handle these episodes as you got older. Unfortunately, you will have to learn as they happen, and they will become more frequent until you can control your powers. You will learn the best way to regulate your emotions, powers, and pain." My mate tells me through our link that I probably shouldn't have told her they would get worse, but she's already at a disadvantage with this.

She stared at us blankly, then her breathing started to pick up. I couldn't tell if she was just overwhelmed or was going to have an episode. She begins to stutter, "H-how am I s-supposed to learn to control it, if you learn it g-growing up." A few stray tears roll down her cheeks, and Reina hugs her, soothing her.

"We will help you through it. Teach you everything we can during and in between episodes. I had wanted to give you time to adjust before I started any of your studies, but we have to get this under control, or it can be dangerous if we don't." She nodded her head and leaned into her mother's embrace. I gave her a soft smile and squeezed her hand.

She eventually falls back asleep, and I find her bag, grabbing the pill pack. I step outside and ask one of the guards to run it down to the elders. Before I step back into the room, AJ walks up. "How is she?"

"She's resting but hasn't had another episode. Would you like to sit with her?" He nods his head, and I open the door, letting him in. "It's her powers. She said she's been having these episodes since shortly before her 15th birthday. I believe they were giving her a power suppressor." He frowns and pulls another chair up.

After a few minutes of silence, AJ speaks. "Dad, I swear I ended things after she attempted to hurt Mom. I don't want to be with someone who is overly jealous like that. She asked what I was up to and told her I was heading to the cafe. I did not explicitly invite her there." I nod but don't look at him.

"I believe you, but you say that you wouldn't be with someone who is overly jealous." I pause, raising an eyebrow. "Your mate will be so, will you reject her?" AJ gasps and shakes his head.

"No, never. That's not what I meant. I just mean the people I date."