Page 103 of Taming the Kraken

“You there!” a man shouted. “So you have been leaking information!”

Ryker clicked his tongue and sneered at the man who approached him. Both men shifted and took to the skies, the two dragons ferociously attacking the other, each going for the kill. The dragon shredded Ryker with many deep lacerations. Ryker finally managed to sink his teeth into the other dragon’s neck, landing a fatal blow. Before that dragon fell, though, it whipped its tail into Ryker, sending him spiraling to the ground. Ryker was badly wounded and had lost a lot of blood. Right before impact, he’d shifted to his human self, and everything went dark.

Ryker leaned against the bed to steady himself, his chest heaving from the vision. His hands trembled as he dug his fingers into the comforter. Beads of a cold sweat broke out across his body as he tried to steady himself.

“Damn it … who was I?”

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

Alexa hugged her family and friends goodbye. She didn’t know how long they would be apart … a few days at least. She was ready for some quiet time. Raine appeared at the last second, and she was able to say goodbye to her as well, then she snuck away fairly quickly. Alexa noticed her change of clothes and realized she had other things on her mind and had been interrupted.

“You know … it’s killing me to let you go.” Levi frowned as he watched his daughter by Ken’s side. There was rarely a day that he wasn’t near her. This was a big adjustment. Handing her over to Ken was not something he was mentally prepared for.

“I know.” Alexa walked up to her father and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll be fine, Daddy. I’m not a little kid anymore.” She smirked at that.

“Yeah, but … you’re still my little girl. You’ll always be my little girl.” He hugged her tight. “I’ll miss you.” Levi’s voice cracked as he spoke.

“Daddy, I’ll only be gone a few days,” she answered as she gave him a crooked smile.

Levi sighed and looked up at Ken. “Don’t—” He pursed his lips together and shook his head. What was he going to say? Don’t let anything happen to her? He knew Ken would protect her with his life. “Be safe.”

“We will.” Alexa turned on her heels and went to Ken’s side.

Ken nodded his head at Levi, a faint smile on his lips. “I’ll bring her back in a few days so you can see for yourself that she’s just fine.”

“Lex! You stay by Ken’s side. No wandering around.” Reiya raised her brows at her daughter. She knew what to warn her daughter about, because it was something she would have done herself. She listened to her daughter’s giggle and watched her nod her head.

“So can you teleport all of us?” Jasper asked, quirking a brow. From the corner of his eye, he could see his mate. Terra stood near his side, looking more comfortable than she did before. It wasn’t an instant physical connection like he’d expected, but there was an emotional one growing, and he felt strangely content just being by her side. It was like all the other stuff was secondary. He was more concerned about her and her needs.

“Unlike the water—” Ken cleared his throat and shrugged innocently at Levi. “Unlike Levi, this is something I can manage with a small group. I mean, I could move a whole mountain if I wanted to.” He chuckled and winked cheekily at Levi, then wrapped his arm around Alexa and pulled her into his chest. He looked at the other people he was taking with them. Mikah had moved to Alexa’s side, Jasper and Terra standing just behind him.

Ken lifted his gaze back to Levi and Reiya. He nodded his head at them before he flashed the group away.

One moment Alexa was staring at her parents, and then the next she was looking at stone walls, pale gray and smooth, and lined with lights. In an instant, the lights all lit up, their soft glow illuminating the room. Now she could see better and not use her night vision.

They were in a large circular room with a series of openings around the area. Alexa craned her neck, following the staircase to her side up to the second floor, its banister circling the entire room. She was also able to make out a few openings but nothing more above them.

Ken watched Alexa as her eyes wandered over his home. Well, their home now. He wanted her to feel like this was her place too.

“The rooms are all located on the second floor.” Ken motioned toward the banister. “I’ll show everyone to their rooms. All rooms have an attached bathroom for convenience.” They walked up the stairs and Ken led them down the first opening they came to. It was a long corridor with doors on both sides.

“What about a mini-fridge?” Mikah chuckled cheekily, and Ken turned to him with a smile.

“Funny you should mention that.” Ken’s grin widened as he opened the first door on the right. “This is your room, Mikah.”

Mikah quirked a brow as he walked in, his eyes wandering over the large room. In the center was a king size bed with a canopy overhead. There was an oak dresser and a balcony on one side of the room, and on the other side, there were two more doors. Between those doors was a mini fridge.

“That door is the closet and the other one is the bathroom. And of course, you know what that is. It needs to be stocked. The pantries and refrigerator downstairs should be fairly full.” Ken watched Mikah nod in approval.

“I guess this will do. Who stocks this place?” Mikah asked suddenly, looking at Ken suspiciously.

“I have servants here that maintain the place. They contract out to the druids who deliver the food here. Don’t worry. They’ve all undergone thorough investigations.” Ken watched as Mikah scowled slightly but nodded his head.

“Druids?” Jasper asked.

Terra scoffed and turned to look at him. “You haven’t heard of druids?”

“I mean, I have, but don’t they stay secret? I don’t understand why they deliver the food. I thought they liked to stay out of sight.” Jasper listened as Terra sighed.