Broken Queen Book 2
Autor
Danni D
Lecturas
332K
CapĆtulos
30
Ariel's life takes a dramatic turn when her ex-destined mate, Xavier, reappears, pleading for her help to rescue his kidnapped son from the Hunters. Despite their painful past, Ariel agrees, setting off a chain of events that will test her loyalty, courage, and heart. As she navigates old wounds and new dangers, Ariel must confront her deepest fears and decide where her true allegiance lies. Will she find the strength to save her family and herself?
31: An Unexpected Visitor
ARIEL
My ex-destined mate is in my room.
What?
The.
Hell.
The one who rejected me.
The one who broke our mating bond.
The one who exiled me.
The one who told me he never wanted to see my face again.
Yeah, that ex-destined mate.
And he just asked for my help?
Is this a dream?
Is the Moon Goddess playing some kind of joke on me?
I thought Xavier was gone from my life for good, but now heās right in front of me, sitting on my bed.
āI...I donāt know what to say.ā Itās the truth.
Iām completely at a loss for words.
āI know this must be confusing,ā Xavier replies hesitantly, standing up and approaching me. āYou donāt have to say anything... I just need you to hear me out.ā
Iām not sure that Xavier deserves my attention, but thereās something about the brokenness in his eyes that compels me to listen.
He may be an asshole of the highest caliber, but I actually want to hear what he has to say.
āGo ahead,ā I say, crossing my arms.
This should be good.
āFirst, Iām...Iām sorry for how everything happened,ā he says, looking at the ground.
āYou mean rejecting me and throwing me out of the pack?ā I ask, just in case he forgot what heās owning up to.
āYes,ā he replies, his eyes suddenly connecting with mine. He looks genuinely apologetic. āI...I was in a bad position. And seeing you after two years and finding out you were my destined mateā¦ā
His words trail off as his gaze falls to the floor again.
āI didnāt handle it well,ā he says quietly.
Thatās putting it lightly.
āWhy are you here?ā I ask suspiciously. āYou said you needed my help, not my forgiveness.ā
I canāt pretend like this isnāt an apology that I donāt deserve, but at this point, I donāt want anything from Xavier.
Iām with Alex, and Xavier is with my sister.
Goddess only knows what she thinks about him being here.
āI do need your help,ā he replies, his tone suddenly becoming dark. āItās about the Hunters.ā
My heart nearly stops.
They put me through hell. Iām hardly eager to get involved in anything related to them.
āXavier, I canāt relive what happened to me at their hands. And frankly, I canāt relive what happened between us either. Iām not sure why you came to me, butāā
āAriel, they took my sonāmy only heirā¦ā
A shiver shoots up my spine, and my wolf begins whimpering in my mind.
āOh my Goddessā¦ā
āHeās your nephewā¦and you know the Hunters better than anyone,ā Xavier says, his voice growing strained. āPlease, you have to help me get him back.ā
Iāve never even met my nephewā¦
Iām banned from ever returning to my pack.
But hearing that heās in dangerā¦
I know that I canāt just ignore this.
I immediately go into pack warrior mode.
āTell me everything that happened,ā I say firmly. āI need every detail.ā
āThey took him in the nightā¦killed several of our guards,ā he growls.
āWhy are you so sure it was the Hunters?ā I ask.
Xavier rolls up his sleeve and shows me an unhealed burn markāseared from silver.
āThey had silver hunting knives. I was lucky I didnāt get worse. But Iā¦I couldnāt stop them.ā
I canāt even imagine what Xavier must be feeling right nowā¦
And Natalia too.
I wouldnāt wish this on my worst enemyāand that basically is Xavier and Natalia.
āDid you try to track them?ā I ask. Letting my sympathy get the better of me, I sit down next to Xavier.
āYes, but we lost the trail,ā he replies. āYou have more experience with them. Maybe you could pick it up?ā
āBut that would require me toā¦ā
āTo come back to the pack,ā Xavier says, finishing my thought.
Iām stunned. Is he revoking my exile?
āI never should have banished you in the first place,ā he says, placing his hand on my shoulder. āPleaseā¦help me find my son.ā
I steel my heart as it clashes with my head.
Iām being pulled in multiple directions all at once.
And my pacing wolf isnāt helping either.
I know! I know! I shout at her internally.
I have to help Xavier, butā¦
How can I go back to a place that holds so many bad memories?
One thing is for sureā¦
I have to tell Alex.
ALEX
āAlex, all Iām saying is that you need to be thinking about your future,ā Mom says with just a hint of judgment, sipping her coffee.
Sheās been on my case for the entirety of breakfast, harping on about me settling down.
Iād think she would have learned her lesson by now.
āMom, honestly, whatās the rush? Iām happy right now. I donāt need to be jumping into a mating ceremony or anything,ā I reply in frustration.
Has she seriously forgotten how disastrous my last attempted mating ceremony was?
āThereās plenty of time to make these decisions,ā I say firmly. āAnd thatās my final word on the matter.ā
She starts chewing her fingernails nervously. It seems like sheās about to argue but ends up thinking better of it.
Instead, she looks out the window silently, a clear sadness in her eyes.
Damn, I wasnāt that harsh, was I?
I glance over at Dad as he shakily picks up his coffee mug.
Heās been strangely quiet for this whole conversation.
āWhat do you think?ā I ask, hoping that heāll side with me. My dad may have handed most of the royal duties off to me, but in my eyes, heās still the king.
His opinion means everything to me.
He takes a deep breath and speaks slowly: āIā¦I think your mother just wants whatās best for you. And so do I.ā
āSo, what? You two think Iām just wasting my time then? Is that it?ā I ask defensively.
My mother looks at me hesitantly. āDid Ariel spend the night again? I saw her hurrying out this morning.ā
There it is.
The real reason Mom is so dead set on getting me mated.
āYou donāt think sheās good enoughā¦,ā I say in a low growl. āFuckā¦I shouldāve known this was about Ariel.ā
āWatch how you speak to your mother.ā Dad tries to speak with authority, but his voice comes out weak and tired.
Whatās going on with him lately?
āAlex, dear, you have it all wrong,ā Mom says, holding up her hands. āI was going to sayā¦ā
āThat sheās not right for me? That sheās just a lowly pack warrior not worthy of a king?ā I ask, seething.
āNoā¦ What I was going to sayāāMom crosses her arms, looking a bit annoyedāāis that next time you should invite her to stay for breakfast.ā
āOhā¦,ā I say, feeling sheepish.
Iāve been feeling a little insecure lately. A new relationship isnāt always the easiest thing to navigate, and maybe Iāve projected that onto Momā¦
Maybe Iām too in my own head about this?
She reaches across the table and places her hand over mine.
āAlex, Iām glad that youāre happy, and honestlyā¦Ariel has more than proven herself worthy,ā she says, giving me a genuine smile. āIād just like to see a bit more of her. I know I havenāt always been the warmest to Ariel, but please let her know that sheās welcome to join us anytime.ā
I nod, grateful for my motherās effort.
āOlivia is a good girl,ā Dad says suddenly, turning to me. āSheāll make a fine mate.ā
āArielā¦,ā Mom says nervously, correcting him. āItās Ariel, dear.ā
āAh, yes, Ariel,ā he says in a distant tone. āOf course. Just slipped my mind.ā
I shoot a concerned glance at my mother, who avoids eye contact with me.
Itās unsettling to hear Dad refer to Ariel by my deceased mateās name, but thatās not all that concerns me.
Heās more pale than normal, and his words are slow and stilted.
Iām not sure whatās going on, butā¦
Something is off about Dad.
***
When I return to my room after breakfast, Iām surprised to find Ariel there waiting for me.
That surprise turns to outrage when she tells me about her unexpected visitor.
Now I canāt think of anything else to do but angrily pace back and forth in my chambers, ready to shift and tear something apart.
āHe has a lot of fucking nerve showing up here,ā I growl. āAfter what he did to you, I shouldāā
Ariel places a calming hand on my chest. āAlex, Iām glad he did what he did. Xavier breaking our bond allowed me to create a much stronger oneā¦with you.ā
She makes a good point.
Still, the thought of that asshole showing up in Arielās room makes my blood boil.
āThereās no way you can go with him!ā I shout. āHeās asking you to put yourself right back in the Huntersā sights!ā
āAlex, itās my family,ā Ariel argues. āI canāt just sit back and do nothing!ā
āBut Ariel, youāve made so much progress. Everything youāve endured at the hands of the Huntersā¦ā I lightly brush my thumb across her cheek. āWhat if youā¦ā
āHave a relapse?ā she asks, sounding a little hurt.
I can tell by the look in her eyes that she was thinking it too.
āIāll send all of our best trackers. Hell, Iāll go myself!ā I say, trying to dissuade her. āBut I canāt stand the thought of you out there with him.ā
āIt has to be me,ā she replies forlornly.
āWhy?ā I ask, frustrated. āJust because you were taken by the Hunters? I refuse toāā
āItās my family,ā she says. āWhether we get along or not.ā
āFuckā¦,ā I growl under my breath.
I know sheās right. Itās her duty to go.
She wraps her arms around me, and I rest my head on hers. āI donāt want you to leave,ā I say quietly.
āIt will only be for a couple days,ā she replies, nestling into my chest.
I want to tell her to forget about them, but I know it would mean the world to Ariel if she could reconnect with her mother and sister.
Sighing, I lightly stroke her hair. āI wonāt be able to convince you otherwise, will I?ā
āThe Hunters have to be stopped,ā she replies. āAnd if my healing ability can helpā¦ā
āThen you have to do everything you can,ā I say, giving her a nod. āI get it. I donāt like it, but I get it.ā
I reluctantly release Ariel from my embrace. āJust be carefulā¦ I love you too much to lose you.ā
āI love you too,ā she responds, backing away but not breaking eye contact.
As Ariel leaves my chambers, I feel a sense of despair.
She may not be my destined mate, but sheās just as special to me.
I know Ariel has to help her family if thereās still a chance.
But itās likely that a lot of pain is going to resurface.
And Iāll make sure Iām there for her when that happens.
ARIEL
The ride back to the Crescent Moon Pack is excruciatingly uncomfortable.
Xavier has barely said a single word to me, nor I to him.
I suppose thatās natural with ex-destined mates.
But maybe itās best he doesnāt speak to me. What the hell would he say to someone who he literally banished from his life anyway?
I feel a pang of sadness as we drive through the familiar streets of my pack.
I grew up here.
Some of my best memories happened in this place.
But also some of my worstā¦
I try to push the nostalgia out of my mind.
Iām here to help, not to reminisce.
Xavier pulls up to a massive lakeside house. Itās night now, and the pale moonlight glitters on the waterās surface.
āThis is the ancestral Alpha home that I grew up in. Where my father was Alpha before me,ā he says, speaking for the first time. Thereās a deep sadness in his tone. āItās where my son wouldāve been Alpha after meā¦ā
āItās where your son will be Alpha after you,ā I say, placing my hand on his shoulder encouragingly.
He smiles softly for a second, but his face falls when a shrill voice screams from outside the car.
āWhat the FUCK!ā
As I look up, I see Natalia storming toward us like a feral wolf, pissed as all hell.
Oh, greatā¦
Looks like Iām in for another hostile homecoming.
