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TWENTY-SEVEN
LEXI
Lexi was beyond thankful that Xander supported her decision to fight the healer. He wasn’t over the moon about it, but even having him there, silently and not objecting, was enough to make her ten times more confident than she would have been in the past.
Lexi had to learn to fight with her human body due to her lack of shifting ability. But that, in turn, had made her work harder than the other shifters around her, who often relied solely on their strength in wolf form. The Autumhart sister’s parents had all the girls train with a martial arts teacher from a young age in order to defend themselves literally and metaphorically.
It hadn’t been something that she needed to apply very often, but Lexi was glad she had it in her arsenal and that she had been sparring again with Harper. After all, if she had been hit with an arrow by a woman who was jealous of her potential royal position, how would she have been able to prove her wrong without it? Along with all the other members of the staff, pack, and kingdom who thought less of her because of her lacking one essential twirl of DNA.
The deal had been sealed in her mind when she had awoken after the healing spell. She felt empowered and strong beyond her wildest dreams, and she knew that a big part of that had to do with her growing affection for Xander.
So when she had said it to Xander and their enforcers, she had meant it with every ounce of her soul. Xander remained quiet, as he often did, but his adoration for her was something palpable vibrating between them.
It was an intimacy Lexi had never encountered.
“Leave us,” Xander said. “I will talk things over with our future queen and inform each of you of the details.”
They bowed, with Harper’s being a bit more hesitant. Lexi made sure to give her friend a flash of a smile for reassurance. She had been there during some tumultuous times.
Harper smiled back, the worry evaporating from her face. She left the room and closed the door gently behind her.
They were alone again, and Lexi’s nerves were on fire. It was an excited and enthused kind of nervousness that she felt whenever she was around Xander, an indescribable hope of all things to come. When he sighed and turned to her, his hand curled into her own. Her heart skipped a beat.
“So I suppose there is no talking you out of this?” he said softly, smirking.
Lexi shook her head, giving him an equally snarky look back.
“You would be correct about that, My King.”
Xander let out another sigh, but it was more of a sigh of wonder than fear. He traced his fingers from her thigh, which was still adorned in her workout tights, and settled it on her waist. It was a loving gesture that could easily evolve into an erotic one.
“How will it be done?” he inquired.
Their eyes met, and Xander gazed at her, eyelids fluttering languidly as he regarded her with an affection that made her lose her focus.
“We can plan it as a mating ceremony so she isn’t prepared, and so there isn’t anyone else prepared either. It’s there I will challenge her, without weapons, but simply with our own abilities.”
Xander’s fond look faded as he glanced down at her chest, likely considering the wound that was hidden beneath a layer of bandages. Feeling bold and daring, Lexi lifted his chin to meet her eyes again. Something flashed in his hazel irises like a comet striking across a night sky.
“I’m going to be fine,” she whispered. “You have to trust me on this. If I’m going to be your queen and you my king, youhaveto trust me.”
Xander tenderly ran his fingertips along the hand that held his chin, moving down her bare forearm and resting on the crook of her elbow. He pursed his lips when her skin broke out into goosebumps, electricity blooming beneath his touch.
“We have to consider the actual mating ceremony as well, Lexi. I know we have spoken about it, but it’s essential to your position here.”
“I know,” she said softly, then held her breath. “Xander, I have concerns about that. About us, about your feelings.”
Xander raised a dramatic eyebrow. “Lexi, you’re my true mate. I’ve known that since the moment I laid eyes on you. It’s not something that can be conjured or nurtured. It’s the only reason I agreed to the contract.”
Lexi shot her gaze away from him, the mention of the contract making her gut feel like barbed wire. It was then Xander’s turn to take her face in his hands, turning her back to face him. His scent of musk and sage was strong and delicious.
“Hey, Lexi, listen to me. The contract was official. I know it didn’t sound devastatingly romantic. But I know you’re my true mate as keenly as the moon knows the stars. I hadn’t known it before meeting with your father and seeing you, but I’ve been looking for you for ages. Which is why no one else could fit.”
Lexi melted in his hands, knowing by the stirring feeling he gave her and the glow of love in his eyes that he wasn’t playing her for a fool. Her own feelings were growing like a compassionately nourished fern into something entirely cosmic and mystical.
She lowered her hands from his, which remained on her face, and she began to unbutton her shirt. Xander watched as she undressed, revealing the bandage from the wound. In a few seconds, she sat in bed before him in her black sports bra, tights, and panties. She looked at him as his fingers trailed down her cheeks, her neck, her shoulders, then the top of her breasts where the wound lay.
Xander tilted his head, looking at her with such love, such concern, and such pride. She leaned forward and whispered something magical that she had never said to anyone in her life.
