Page 30 of Taming the Kraken

Alexa woke up from her nap with Mikah sitting next to her. He was leaning back against the headboard with his eyes closed, but she could tell he wasn’t asleep.

“Where is Brian?” Alexa asked as she sat up.

“Mason and Ruby arrived with Troy and Misty. Brian is probably still with Misty since Troy and Nia are visiting with her parents.” Troy found out that Nia was his mate a few months ago. Naturally, Nia moved to the East Dragon Kingdom to be with her mate. Her father Reese and his mate missed her terribly, especially since she was an only child. It was an adjustment but one that was quite common.

Alexa perked up and grinned widely. “You should have woken me. I can’t wait to see them! I’ve missed them both. Especially Misty!” She was really close to Misty, just like she was with all the princes and princesses from all the dragon kingdoms.

“You needed to rest. They’re going to be here for a good while. There was no reason to wake you up.” Mikah rolled lazily off the bed, then turned and scooped Alexa up onto her feet.

Alexa grinned and looked up at Mikah, but as she searched his worried eyes, her smile soon fell. “Mikah? What’s wrong?”

He placed his hand on top of her head as a faint smile reached his lips. “There seems to be a lot going on, Lex. I’m feeling apprehensive and I guess a bit overwhelmed.” He reached up and tapped his chest lightly. “My feral beast is raging, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to control him. There are so many people here. What if I hurt someone?”

“Mikah, you’re surrounded by strong dragons. It’s going to be okay. Besides, we’ve been over this before, right? You’re the one in control here. You’re no longer a primitive beast. You can control yourself. Even if it is difficult, you can do it.” Alexa gave him an encouraging smile. “We are a team, Mikah. If you need my help, I can cool you off.” She winked at him as she demonstrated little ice sparkles around her fingertips. She watched a weak smile form on his face, but his eyes looked defeated.

“I don’t know, Lex. I’ll try. But you know my emotions are connected to you. I don’t like having all these extra people here. Not after what just happened with Erebus.” Mikah’s lips curved down as a small sigh escaped his lips.

“Mikah, I know you have a strong sense of duty to me. But you know I want our relationship to be beyond that. That also means trusting others. You don’t have to shoulder the burden of protecting me alone. My father is also here. And soon, Ken will be here too.” A small blush crept over her cheeks as she thought about her dashing mate. The way his bicep felt under her fingertips and the sweet tingles that erupted from touching him. His heavenly scent that was so strong it smothered her in goodness. Gods, what was this new feeling she was having? She reached her hand up, brushing her fingers over her necklace.

There was a hollow feeling inside her and a sense of longing. It was worse than it had been before. This must be what it feels like when you have felt the mate pull. She wondered if Ken had been feeling it all this time and had been fighting it off. If this was the case, she couldn’t be as mad at him, because this feeling was torture. She felt like there was somewhere she needed to be but couldn’t.

The warm sensation of the gem kissed her fingers gently. It soothed her as she felt his presence within the jewel. Maybe this was another reason he gave it to her, because he knew it would help while he was away. In any case, she was grateful for this little connection she had.

“Lex?”

The sound of Mikah’s voice brought her focus back to him. She noticed a sly grin form across his face and she scrunched her nose up at him.

“You disappeared on me for a moment. Having lecherous thoughts about your mate?”

“Oh hush!” She swatted at him, but he dodged it. “I miss him. It’s weird to miss him, but it also isn’t. I feel like I should be missing him. And I have a void in here.” She reached up, touching her chest.

“You can always feast your eyes on my body if you want,” Mikah teased and flexed his muscles.

“Sorry, Mikah. But you just can’t compare. He’s my mate and a deity. I don’t think anyone can ever get me to turn my head toward them but him.”

“So, um, yeah, um, Misty is here and would be the more appropriate girl chat partner you desire.” Mikah chuckled as he nodded toward the door.

“You’re doing a great job, Mikah. I think we should schedule girl talk more often.”

“Let’s not and say we did.” Mikah snorted as he reached for the door, opening it for her.

“But Mikah, you’re the one who saw him without his shirt on. I want all the details.” She listened to his scoff and looked up to see his heavy eye roll.

They made their way down the stairs to the main floor. The sound of a commotion flooded the hallway. Loud voices and a high-pitched scream bounced off the walls. Alexa and Mikah both sprinted to the open foyer.

They arrived in the room to see a young man lying on the ground with flames dancing on his legs. There were several people beside him trying to help diminish the fire. At the other end of the room were Brian and Misty. Brian had flames dancing in his eyes as he stared at the man on the ground while Misty had her hands on Brian’s arm, holding him back.

“Mikah, control Brian,” Alexa ordered and quickly dropped a snowy ice powder over the flames, diminishing them instantly. She took a couple of steps closer to examine the man. His wounds were nothing serious, and he should heal on his own just fine. But what was shocking was how the flames had ignited on the dragon at all. Most dragons had a high resistance to fire. Some were even thought to be immune to it.

Alexa spun around and headed toward Brian. Mikah had his hands on Brian’s shoulders, holding him firmly in place. Misty was standing beside them but holding her hands peculiarly.

“Misty, are you okay? Let me see?” Alexa reached out, grasping the girl’s hands. She could see the redness from a slight burn on her skin. She sent a cooling frost over them, giving Misty instant relief. And by the time the frost melted, she was already healed. Luckily Misty was a tier-one dragon, just like her parents, and was a fast healer. Plus the royal dragons were all naturally stronger than regular dragons.

Alexa watched the flames dancing in Brian’s eyes as they stayed fixed on the man that was now being helped up off the floor. She stepped into Brian and wrapped her arms around his waist, embracing him with a frosty chill that trickled over his body, cooling his flame. She could feel him relax, and Mikah released his grip and took a small step back.

“Hey,” Alexa cooed to Brian. “Calm down. I’m here. Tell me what happened,” she commanded gently.

Brian looked down at her. His eyes flickered as they returned to his hazel color. He leaned his head down and into the crook of Alexa's neck, immediately playing his public role as her chosen mate. He breathed in her scent as his arms wrapped around her.