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ROYCE. “What happened? The King will have my head! That thing was in my territory! I should have been alerted!” Prescott mutters, visibly panicking as a group of doctors rush to Skyla’s side the moment I place her down. Charlotte’s coat covering her. One of the guards who had accompanied me from the entrance of the hospital now passes me some sweatpants and I pull them on quickly, looking down at her. The beautiful goddess is in pain. I can see it on her face and the way her body is trembling ever so slightly. The venom of the snake shuts down the body, and depending on how much venom the person is exposed to, their death can be fast or can take up to a few days. Those who we know have been poisoned are healed before the venom can kill them. Skyla had been inside of him. Even if it was for a few seconds, she has still been exposed to an extreme level of venom and I had felt her body beginning to shut down. “She’s so cold…” I’ve frozen her somewhat, to slow the spread of the pois
ROYCE. “Give me a minute, I need to check if my sister is alright.” I say, knowing I sound cold, but I need a moment, turning I leave the room. Prescott is pacing the hall, but I can tell he’s mind linking. He’s frowning, and I can sense his worry. He sighs and runs his fingers through his beard. “Has my sister arrived yet?” I ask him when he finally turns to me. “She’s on her way. The two bodies have been collected and the king ordered them to be brought here…” He hesitates. There’s something different in his behaviour. He’s different from the panicked Alpha I had seen when I came in. He looks almost uneasy. “What is it?” I ask, frowning. “There’s… there was no sign of this apparent monster, Alpha Arden.” He says quietly. I frown as I look up at him sharply. “What do you mean there was no sign of the body? I killed it. It was there.” “Ah yes… you did say that… but there is nothing in the woods.” He huffs, shaking his head. “However, my men have brought Skyla Rossi’s car and c
ROYCE. But this time, there’s curiosity in them. “Well now, isn’t this shit fucking interesting.” Alejandro remarks. “Skyla, Sky baby.” Kiara whispers, caressing her hair. “Royce…” Stop saying my name, Love… It’s already hard not to go to her and harder to stop my heart from racing wildly. “She’s calling you.” Kiara says quietly. “Come.” Alejandro scoffs and I don’t know what to do. I’m sure Kiara is just concerned and wants to see her daughter wake up but I’m so fucking close to breaking down. I walk to the bed, trying to calm my thundering heart as I look at the goddess on the bed. She’s going to be ok… Another moan leaves her lips and Delsanra moves back, allowing me to step closer. “Skyla… Can you hear me?” I ask quietly. Her heart rate quickens and reaching over, I tenderly brush her hair back. Wake up, Love. It’s taking my all not to break down right here and just pull her into my lap and tell her, fuck the world and let's do whatever we want. The fact her parents
SKYLA. The moment he cups the back of my neck, his fingers threading into my hair, my heart leaps. His grip is firm but not rough. There’s enough strength to show me he’s in charge, yet not so rough that I can’t relish and enjoy the feel of his touch on me. And then his lips are on mine, making every thought leave my head, replaced by intense passion and pleasure. I feel giddy and light-headed as intense tingles rush through me, sending a jolt straight to my pussy. I can’t help but whimper against his lips. Lord… I get it… Fuck, I get why I can’t get over him since that moment in the club. This man has magic in his every touch. He kisses me slowly yet deeply, every brush of our lips igniting a volcano of heat and desire within me. It’s even hotter knowing he’s trying to control himself. He doesn’t kiss me to satisfy himself; he kisses me in a way that makes my toes curl from the pleasure. I moan against his lips helplessly, feeling like I’m in heaven. God, he’s such a good kis
ROYCE. I don’t miss the frown on Alejandro’s face when he hugged Skyla or the way his frown deepened when his eyes flick to me. He can probably smell me all over her… I can’t blame him for being protective, but he doesn’t need to fear me hurting her… I know I need to talk to him, I’m ready to resign from my spot at the academy, but at the same time do I want her in that school where Aleric will still play his games? I plan to tell her about him. I have to. She looks beautiful, there’s not a speck of make-up on her face, and it makes her features glow radiantly. She has long thick lashes that surround those vivid green eyes. Her nose is slender and her plump pouting lips that are often in smirk are a gorgeous soft pink… I glance at the door as Skyla greets her uncle, Marcel Rossi. He’s a few years older than Alejandro and I heard recently he has found his second chance mate. Rumour has it she’s far younger than him. He has his hair up in a man bun, wearing tan pants, and a white s
ROYCE. I walk over to her, taking her hand and raising it to my lips, keeping my eyes locked with hers, I place a soft kiss on her knuckles. I'm satisfied when her heart skips a beat, her pout fading as she looks into my eyes, not expecting me to do that. “Goodbye.” I say softly before I step back and turn away. “Bye…” She replies. Did I just leave her speechless? I don’t think she realised that I’m not scared of her father. I respect him, but it’s not the same thing. “I’ll see you out.” Alejandro grumbles. Well, one thing is probably clear. He didn’t seem to mind before, but he probably hates me now. “Play nice, Dad.” Skyla warns. Alejandro turns back to look at her from the door and both stare at one another and I know they’re mind-linking. I step out and see Charlotte far ahead, walking down the hall sipping on her hot chocolate. I know she likes the freedom without two guards glued to her constantly. Even if it’s just down a hospital hallway. At home, if we were ever i
SKYLA. It's much later, and I am irritated to find I have to stay at the hospital, but after arguing with Mama and Dad for a few minutes I was too exhausted to continue and had simply laid down again, giving them a glare and ignoring them. I had spoken to Azura, Kataleya and Song on video call earlier, which had been nice. Uncle and Winona had left after an hour, too. It’s been a few hours since I shut my eyes as I pretend to sleep with Malevolent in my arms as I cuddle her. But, I’m unable to sleep, despite how weak and exhausted I feel. Mama is sitting in the chair beside the bed, whilst Dad is out trying to hunt for clues. “So want to tell me about him?” Mama asks. She knows I am awake. I open my eyes, looking across to her in the room that is only lit by the light coming through the glass above the door. “There’s nothing to say.” I reply softly. I mean, I slept with his brother. I also thought I liked his brother, who I’ve been flirting with all through the summer holidays
ROYCE. The alarm goes off. Hitting snooze, I place my arm over my eyes. For once, I didn’t want to get out of bed. It had been a long night… A dull ache from overthinking has formed at the front of my head, but I still had no answers. We had gotten back late. I was able to get Charlotte to her room without anyone stopping us and told her to shower, so no one’s scent remained on us. I couldn’t risk Dad finding out who we had run into. After showering, I had tested Skyla’s blood before turning in. Something about the entire thing has me on edge and that had ended up taking far longer than I had thought it would. The Arden’s have a variety of unique drugs at our disposal, mainly created by Dad, and several don’t even show in the blood if tested, and the only way to bring these out was if we used specific antigens that work against the initial drug. After three hours of testing and scrutinising her blood, I was almost ready to give up and put it down to my paranoia. Then I tried for