An Alpha's Duty

Chapter 32

He could feel her hurt and confusion and he had to clench his mouth shut to stop the growl he wanted to unleash. He tried to remember that he couldn't change these memories but it was so painful to watch his mate go through this and know he could do nothing to stop it.

Ryan noticed how tightly the Prince was holding onto the branch he was sitting on, so tightly that some splintered off in his hand. His eyes were bright with fury. He leaned over to Lenah and lifted her up so that she was cradled in his lap but rather than easing the child she flinched away from him and cried out in pain.

Immediately the man stilled and looked at the small girl in his arms. She didn't pull away from him but hid her face once again in her hands.

Being as gentle as he could be shifted her long hair away from her neck. His furious gasp had Ryan leaning forward to see what he'd found.

Just poking out the collar of his mate's t-shirt was thin fresh scars. The Prince lifted up the back of her shirt carefully, but it still drew a strangled yelp of pain from Lenah. Long scars stretched down her back as though she's been whipped. They were puffy, and in places still oozing, they'd obviously been inflicted recently.

Ryan had thought the man was furious before but he was now beyond livid as he held his hand out to the scars. A blue light eased over Lenah's scars and her little sigh of contentment almost broke Ryan. He watched as the wounds healed and the skin knitted back together in front of his eyes.

Lenah turned to look over her shoulder at the Prince.

"Thank you." Her watery smile was one of the most upsetting sights Ryan had seen and it caused the Prince to pull her into his arms.

"Tell me Lenah, did the guards do this to you?" Ryan could tell the Prince was trying to control his anger so as not to scare her but Ryan could hear the steal in his voice as he waited for her answer.

Lenah looked at the man with a blank expression. Ryan guessed she was wondering what would happen if she told the truth. She didn't want to get into more trouble, even though Ryan knew she trusted the man who currently held her. In the end her trust for the Prince won out.

She didn't speak but just nodded her head slowly watching him carefully.

Swinging his legs over the branch Ryan watched as the Prince jumped, with Lenah in his arms, to the floor. The action drew out a small squeal of delight from Lenah who wrapped her arms more securely around the Prince's neck.

Ryan watched as a loving look came into the Prince's eyes as he looked at Lenah smiling in his arms. His mate had already managed to wiggle herself into the man's heart. Never again would Ryan think of the man as unfeeling as he carefully set his mate on her feet and bend to help her put her shoe back on.

He was as caring to Lenah as if she were his own blood and Ryan knew not all the rumours were true about him. There was no doubt the Prince was a powerful being who could inflict great damage should he wish to but Ryan knew he'd never raise a hand to Lenah.

He could only guess what the Prince saw in Lenah that had made him so protective of her but Ryan was grateful his mate had found herself an ally. If Ryan ever met the man he would thank him 10 times over, not only for looking out for his mate, but for being one of the few people to believe in her.

The Prince began to led Lenah away from the garden, holding her hand tightly.

"Where are we going J?" Lenah's voice showed her excitement as she used her special nickname for the Prince.

The Prince smiled down at her but Ryan could tell the anger was still there.

"We're going to train you." Lenah beamed up at him and began pulling him along eagerly, obviously already knowing the way.

"And then I've got some guards to kill." The Prince's words were whispered to himself, too low for Lenah in her excitement to hear, but Ryan heard them clearly enough. And he knew they were the truth. Maybe some of the rumours were true he thought to himself.

Just like a light going out, the whole scene went black. Lenah and the Prince disappeared, as did the beauty of the Fae gardens, but it was different than before. Normally the next memory would start falling into place by now but there was nothing. Only the darkness surrounded him, pushing in on him, almost choking him with its weight.

He started to panic as he felt his lungs begin to fail. He was breathing rapidly but couldn't get enough air.. His head throbbed painfully as it was starved of oxygen. It made no sense to him. He was in Lenah's memories he couldn't die here, could he?

All the feeling left his body so that he could no longer move his arms or legs, even wiggling his toes became impossible. He was imprisoned in the dark and it was closing in on him. His throat burned as he continued to gasp for air and his eyes watered from the panic that was consuming him.

He was trapped alone in the dark and he knew he was dying. At first he fought, he fought hard against the darkness consuming him, but for every inch he gained the darkness took two in return. He knew he was losing and just as Lenah's memories had been flashing before him, his own began replaying in his head. Every face of the loved ones he was going to leave behind.

What would happen to them when he never woke up? He imagined them all waiting around his body waiting for him to wake up, to bring Lenah home, but that wasn't going to happen. He knew the truth as the last few faces flashed in front of him. He was never waking up, he'd be trapped in this moment, in the dark forever. It felt like he'd been fighting for days and he was so tired.

As he accepted this fate, he thought about his mate, of the things he wanted to say to her. He'd been hurt when Lenah hadn't told him who she was but now it felt petty. Her memories had shown him her, unedited and in her truest form. He'd not seen all her memories but he believed he'd seen the ones that he needed to. His mate was brave, strong and intelligent but she was also caring and kind.

He'd watched her life, the abuse, the prejudice, the fear and still she continued to fight. She continued to protect those weaker than her even when they tossed her aside once they'd used her.

It pained him that he would never hold her again, never see his mark on her skin, never see her round with his pups all because he was too weak to save her.

As the darkness intensified and Ryan felt himself slip further away he pictured Lenah's smiling face.

"I'm sorry Lenah. I love you."

Then he felt nothing.