Page 24 of Taming the Kraken

Ken’s lips twitched upward as he laid his shirt next to Alexa. Now she would have something that carried more of his scent. He knew if she woke up, he wouldn’t be able to leave her. But he couldn’t resist the urge to kiss her. He slowly leaned down and tenderly kissed the top of her head. She squirmed a bit and instinctively reached for the new shirt Ken left beside her, pulling it close. Damn, he wanted her to hold him instead of his shirt. Maybe he could, just for a little bit. He reached his hand toward her slowly⁠—

Look, I know you two are mates. But she’s asleep. I’ll let the kiss on the forehead slide this time. Until it’s consensual, hands off. Not that she would mind, but it seems wrong with her asleep.

Ken straightened up and turned to look at Mikah. If I wake her, I don’t think I’ll be able to leave her.

So, stay with her during the night. Mikah looked at the bed. I know she’ll be happy with that.

Ken held out a couple of crystals. These suppress my presence, which is why the water serpent doesn’t know I’m here. But you felt me. How?

I’m a guardian, so I guess that’s how. I’m designed to protect her. It’s my whole purpose. She’s my life.

Ken stared at the crystals curiously and then tucked them away. Maybe the bear could also detect Erebus.

I don’t know when I’ll be able to stop back to check on her. I have to go to some dangerous places. Some of them are not easy to get in and out of. Even if I don’t kill Erebus, I’ll come back as soon as I can. I can’t go long without seeing her. Ken looked back at Alexa longingly, his heart beating rapidly from the excitement of being near his mate. He imagined crawling in bed next to her and holding her close. It’s what he’d wanted for so long. And he couldn’t believe he was actually going to have it.

For so long, he’d been telling himself he couldn’t have her. That he was no good for her. And he still didn’t feel like he was good enough. It was one of the things he wanted to talk to her about. He loved her at a level that terrified him. He was afraid that something would happen to her because of him. But there was something else that he couldn’t deny. No one would protect her like he would. Terra was right. He was a god. He had the strength to protect her. The best way he could protect her wasn’t to stay away from her but to be by her side.

Of course, the moment he would realize he couldn’t be without Alexa, Erebus would show up. He had a different idea of how tonight was supposed to go. He had fully planned to be holding her right now. He’d come to talk to Alexa and tell her everything in his heart. Then he saw Erebus with his filthy hands on her. Damn, he wished he could have gone straight for the kill then. But he didn’t want Alexa to get caught in the crossfire.

Erebus was a devious bastard. He knew the best way to control Alexa would be to attack her family. They were scattered all over, and it would be easy for him to kill them one by one.

He balled up his hand, his knuckles turning white. Erebus had put his hands on Alexa, and now he wanted to claim her as his own. As if Ken didn’t already have a reason to kill him. Now, fuel had been added to the fire. He would never let that disgusting vermin have her.

There was a part of Ken that wanted to take Alexa and hide her. But he knew she would be worried for her family. He would do anything he could to make her happy. The bear mentioned staying with her at night. Maybe that was something he could do until Erebus was killed. They could hide their relationship for now. He had a couple of areas he needed to check out, but afterward, he would come to Alexa. And they could discuss how they wanted to move forward with their relationship.

He raised his hand up and a soft glow formed. A gold chain with a white, sparkling gem appeared. He turned toward Mikah. Make sure she gets this and wears it. Tell her if there is an emergency to break the gem and I will come to her. He watched the bear nod and hold out his hand expectantly. Ken took a couple of quiet steps over to Mikah and placed the necklace in his hand.

It’s warm.

Ken smiled and nodded his head. It has my magic inside it. As long as I’m alive, it’ll stay warm.

She’s going to be upset that she didn’t get to talk to you. Mikah looked up at Ken, who sighed, nodding his head sadly.

I know she will be. But I don’t have the willpower. I’ve been fighting it for so long. I don’t want to anymore. I lost the will to fight it. I need to enter the demon realm now, while it’s still dark. It’s my best bet to get in undetected.

Be careful. I don’t love you or anything, but that girl over there does. And I won’t forgive you if you make her sad.

Ken smiled and looked at his beautiful mate, sleeping peacefully. I’ll be back. Protect her for me until I return.

Mikah shook his head. I’m protecting her for me. She’s my life’s purpose. You can protect her for you when you come back.

Ken smiled. He liked this bear. Very few people talked freely with him. Most were afraid of him or spoke to him with reverence. But not Mikah.

Ken kept his sights on Alexa as he teleported away from her, trying to hold her features deep in his memory.

Mikah watched the deity vanish and he raised the chain up to study it, touching the warm gem. A smile spread across his lips. There was something engraved on the gold chain. It said, “You’ve always had it.” And then inside the clear, sparkling gem was the shape of a heart.

Mikah chuckled to himself and rolled over on his side. The deity had game. He lifted his gaze to look at Alexa. The Kraken who everyone feared was completely wrapped around her finger. Just like Leviathan was with Reiya. Hopefully everything would work out for them like it had for her parents. He closed his eyes and smiled. Alexa was going to go nuclear on him when she realized Ken was here and no one woke her.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Alexa woke up feeling well-rested. It was one of the best nights of sleep she’d had in a long time. She guessed it was because she’d slept with Ken’s shirt. She breathed in and furrowed her brows. The scent on the shirt wasn’t as weak as she remembered. In fact, it was stronger. She opened her eyes to see two shirts in her hands. A lighter t-shirt, the one she went to bed with, and a darker t-shirt. She had not gone to bed with this extra shirt, yet it smelled like Ken. She shot up quickly, clenching the shirt in her hands.

“He was here! Ken was here!?” Alexa gasped, looking at an annoyed Mikah.

“Now you wake up early. Any other day you’d be sleeping in.” Mikah growled and pulled his blanket up.

“Mikah! Ken was in this room. Some protector you are. He came in and you never noticed.” Alexa watched Mikah’s lips twitch upward.