Page 63 of Taming the Kraken

Mikah had been resting right outside Alexa’s door. He didn’t know why, but he’d started to feel uneasy. His princess was with the Kraken, and of course she was fine, but he needed to be close to her room. The moment he heard Ken’s voice in his mind, he catapulted into Alexa’s room, his gaze darting to her and Ken’s troubled face.

“Can you reach her? I’m going to keep trying. I will break through. But we need to get to her now. There is no time to explain.”

Mikah stormed over, his eyes feral as he grabbed Alexa’s hand.

Alexa suddenly screamed out in pain, and blood began to seep from her eyes, trickling down her face. Ken’s eyes grew dark. He knew what could cause something like this. And he would be foolish enough to do it.

Mikah and Ken projected their auras out, pushing against the mental barrier holding Alexa hostage.

“Shh … it’s over, my treasure. It’s over. I’m so sorry I had to hurt you. It’ll be okay. It’s all over now,” Erebus cooed to Alexa as he wiped the blood from her temples with his thumbs.

Alexa lay there panting, her eyes clenched. It felt like a red hot iron was shoved into her eyes as something sharp was implanted in both of them. They were stinging and burning with so much intensity that she was afraid to open them.

When she saw his hand moving toward her eyes, she squeezed them shut and tried to avoid him, but she was no match for him. He shoved something sharp through her eyelid and straight into her eye. Even though she couldn’t shift, she could still feel her body healing itself. But what vile thing did he do to her?

“What have you done to me?” Alexa whispered.

“You’re perfectly fine. Go ahead and open your eyes. The pain will subside soon.” Erebus watched as her eyes slowly fluttered open.

“What have you done to me?” Alexa repeated, glaring at Erebus with newfound contempt. She already hated him, but now it was becoming even more personal.

“It’s just a small present. You can thank me later.”

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Alexa shot up on her feet as she staggered backward. Her brows were furrowed as her chest heaved angrily.

A cruel smirk rose on Erebus’ lips. “When you look at your heart’s desire, you will instead see your nightmare.” A sinister cackle left his throat. “I wonder if you’ll be able to be near HIM now.”

The whole room shook violently as pieces of the world began shattering around them.

“What the fuck is this?” Erebus stood up and looked around nervously. A ferocious growl shook the room as the illusion began to rip open from both sides, two strong energies breaking into the area simultaneously. One he recognized, but he wasn’t sure about the other. He snorted and shrugged his shoulders. “Doesn’t matter. We’re done here, for now. I’ll see you again soon, my gem.”

Erebus walked toward her, his eyes wandering over her body as she stood there facing him angrily. He reached for her …

Alexa gasped and shot up, shaking herself free from the arms that held her, and jumped to her feet. Where was she? What were these surroundings? She felt her ice at her fingertips, and she shot out the icy energy.

“Lex, my love, it’s okay. It’s us.” She heard a voice that sounded like Ken.

“Lex, deep breaths.” That one was Mikah’s voice.

Alexa inhaled slowly, recognizing their scents as her vision came into focus. She felt a set of arms cocooning her, his scent calming her. She looked down at the ground and was trying to prepare herself for what she might see.

Alexa glanced over at Mikah and was relieved to see his blue eyes staring back at her. She slowly tilted her head up as Ken lowered his. It was Ken’s voice. It was his scent. But this was not his face. She gasped and jumped backward.

“Hey, you’re okay.” Ken began to move toward Alexa, but she shook her head and held up her hand for him to stop.

Alexa backed away a couple of steps until she reached the wall. She felt the cold stone on her back and leaned into it, sliding down to the ground. Her hands came up to cover her face, trembling slightly. She knew it was Ken, but he now looked like the cruel deity with white, pulled-back hair. Erebus was her worst nightmare.

“What happened?!” Reiya ran in, having heard the commotion as she came up the stairs since the door had been left open. She looked down at the crumpled mess of her daughter on the floor. “Alexa …” She knelt at her side and rubbed her back.

“Lee,” Reiya called out, and he instantly manifested beside her.

“Alexa? What happened?” Levi turned and glared at Ken.

“Is this blood?” Reiya asked as she looked at the red streaks on her temples.

“Lex,” Ken whispered as she clenched her hands.

“She was trapped in a dream somehow. I don’t know. It was different than when she was in the dream world with Bella.” Mikah watched as Levi looked over at him.