Spurned Queen

Chapter 11: Drowning Rescue

Aevran

I returned home with stealth, managing to slink past my own guards and into my home. I knew they were not to be blamed; a royal vampire had much better senses than any other. I took a quick shower as soon as I was in, washing away the pleasant scent of my mate before my assistant could find me and pick it up.

Emerging from the bathroom presented to me the very man in question, his face contorted in a scowl. Apparently, he was very displeased with my disappearance, though I had been gone for a much shorter time than the last.

"Your Majesty." Jacden had that usual unimpressed glare on his features, his blonde hair slicked back impeccably, as always.

I grinned. "Yes, Jacden, what did I miss?"

He took a deep breath as if he was physically encumbered by what he was going to tell me. "I'm glad to see that your impromptu hunt has raised your mood, because I will particularly love crushing it. Your mother has just informed me that there is a meeting of all Supernatural Royals today."

"Today?!" I snapped, said mood diminishing as expected. I could sense the dark pleasure he was experiencing and it deepened my scowl.

"Yes, sire. At six this morning," he smirked.

"Did it have to be in the morning," I muttered darkly.

"And your mother has organized for you to go with a date. Her command was final, she said."

"No," I snarled.

"Are you going to go over there and argue with her?" he smirked, knowing I avoided my mother at all costs. She was always preaching to me about protocols and keeping up appearances. Twenty years ago she had decided she didn't want to wait for my mate anymore and began pressing me to go on stupid dates with girls who were only after the status and power involved with marrying me. Playing matchmaker, she had forced me to sit through a whole meal in private with nearly every high ranking, unmated female.

To think that after spending some quality time fighting with my mate, I was being forced to host a pointless convention of Royals in the name of peace.

I groaned.

"Why am I only being informed of the goings on in my castle now?" I snapped.

"Oh, it's not happening here. The Wolfsbane Luna is the host."

"Great," I sighed. "Get Imogen and tell her we're going on a trip."

***

I leaned on a table, a glass of dark, sparkling liquid balanced between two fingers. I watched the Royals around me with hooded eyes, perfectly still except for the twirling of my glass.

There were about fifty of us here. Supernatural leaders or representatives of them milled around the floor exchanging formalities and conversations, asking about each other and inflating their egos. The contrasts in the room were slightly amusing; there was the Fairy Princess, the Head Witches of the most important covens, the King of the Mer people, a couple of harpies, the Demon Prince, the Elf Queen and Crown Princess, and even a couple of shifters.

Nevertheless, I was bored. My mind drifted to more interesting things, such as the way my mate had flipped over the bed on which I sat, to vent her anger.

Glancing out the window, I judged from the color of the sky that it was already six o'clock. The Royals had stopped arriving and were just loitering around the space, waiting for our host.

She was late. The Wolfsbane Luna was late.

Talk about irony. The Wolfsbane Luna was never late.

"The food is delectable, Aevran. Get your head out from under your wing, you big brooding hen, and give it a shot."

Meet Imogen. A confident, intelligent vampire with a stunning face and a body to match. Her hazel eyes watched me mockingly.

Imogen was the closest thing I had to a sister, which is why she was always my first choice to appear at my side in formal events. Rumors flew about that there was something romantic between us, but Imogen and I often had a laugh about it, leaving everyone to assume what they liked. We were even engaged, since my mother thought it would be nice to at least appear like I had plans of producing an heir, so that the vampires could rest easy. They probably thought Imogen and I have done lots already. I scoffed inwardly.

"I'm not hungry," I shrugged.

She watched me critically. "So, I thought I saw a smile. What's on your mind that has you actually smiling at a formal event?"

"I was wondering how come the Luna is late," I answered. It wasn't a lie, after all.

"Yeah, it's strange. She usually considers ten minutes early as tardy."

I snorted at the crazy but true statement.

Suddenly, something seemed to burn me. I lurched, checking over my body for any injury as the hot sensation crawled over my limbs. I growled.

"Aevran? What's-"

She was cut off by a screech of fear from the Fairy Princess as the floor rocked beneath us. Panic spread through the gathering as the place continued to tremble.

Whatever connection I had with Alexa tugged hard on me, the heat continuing to spread. Something was wrong with my mate. Shit; the connection should not be strong enough for me to physically feel her pain. Which meant that whatever was going on with her was bad. Very bad.

"I have to go," I ground out to Imogen, speeding to the window.

"Aevran! Wait!"

I transformed into my bat as soon as I could, flapping my wings insanely fast. I didn't know where she was, but I automatically banked hard to the left and flew around the building.

I rounded the corner just in time to catch sight of a figure falling from a broken window even higher above. She fell at an impossible rate, as if the very air around her was trying to shove her down. Her signature blonde waves flapped wildly as if in a gale. I flew faster than ever before, but I still had no hope of catching her. She plummeted to the river below, its cold water splashing ominously as if reaching out to receive her.

I transformed back, landing on the banks of the river that had swallowed her wholly. It rose and churned, gloating.

Our mate bond went dangerously cold.

I hurried along the shore, frantically scanning the frothing water for any sign of my mate.

I spied her form bobbing in the water much closer to the opposite side, and used my advanced speed to get there. I dove in, swimming swiftly towards her. I grabbed her body and tugged it with mine to the other bank.

Her body was limp and heavy. It was cold- colder than mine, which was terrible for a werewolf. A weak, fleeting pulse was all I could detect with my fingers to her neck. It was so faint I couldn't hear it.

She wasn't breathing either.

I panicked, laying her on the ground on her back. I immediately began applying pressure to her chest. I almost lost my mind when there was no response.

"Come on, come on," I begged in a whisper. "Wake up, Alexa, don't just leave me here. You can't just die on me like that. I haven't gotten to fight you more that twice. Don't you dare die, Alexa."

What a handful she was. What was she even doing here? But she was my mate, I reminded myself, so I had to keep her alive.

So I continued to press on her chest, then blow into her mouth at intervals.

Finally, her body lurched, and she flung herself onto her hands. More water than I had thought possible was expelled from her lungs as she coughed and gasped violently.

When she apparently was finished, she glanced at me, her body going limp from exhaustion. I almost thought I saw her eyes flash brilliant white, but when I looked, I saw that her ice blue eyes were still in place, just like before. She was so drained that after the water was completely gone from her lungs, she couldn't even support herself. She probably couldn't even speak; but speak she did.

"A-Aevran? I thought you would abandon my corpse?"

*Picture of Imogen*