"I know we were both just broken stars,
But you took my heart and pieced it back together,
With dreams, and hopes, and quiet whispers."
_____________________
Damien's POV:
Alexandria was gone?
I had just been training with her an hour ago...
My eyes drifted over the small clearing as we approached, the Queen's scent thickening just as Gabriel's hit my nose.
I had caught up with the Alpha and the others the minute I'd heard. The whole pack was in chaos once the news spread. It was just like the night we lost Alaric and Aria. No one knew what to do, or what would happen.
Normally, I'd be ordered into another search party, but I was her private guard, though she really didn't need one.
If there was someone she couldn't defeat, then I doubt anyone besides the Alpha would be of any use.
Still, my heart beat with regret. I shouldn't have let her dismiss me. I shouldn't have walked away.
I should've stayed at her side.
Alexandria was our Luna. Our Queen. If she died it would ache so terribly I didn't even want to imagine it. We had lost a Luna once, and that had been awful enough.
The King would be devastated. The pack would be devastated. I would be devastated.
My fists clenched at the thought. She didn't deserve to be taken so soon. No one did.
Beside me, Beta Jayden let out a frustrated growl. Levon prowled further ahead, Sebastian and Julian at his heels with a dozen other wolves in tow.
I inhaled a few more times and turned my gaze to the lake they all now stood in front of.
It was where her scent stopped.
My very soul filled with dread. There was such a quiet stillness running through the area, as though no one had even been here. Yet, the lake water rippled ever so slightly beneath the moon and they all eyed it warily.
Sebastian's face went deathly pale, his eyes brimming with horror as he glanced up at the Alpha. "They couldn't have... "
King Livius approached the water, his eyes searching for something, anything. But it was dark. Too dark.
Without a second thought, the Alpha was stripping off his suit and pulling the cuffs back to his forearms. His face was lined with dread, and my breath caught in my throat.
Did he think she was down there?
Julian and Sebastian watched the water with uncertainty, while the remainder of the warriors looked horrified at the mere thought.
But before the Alpha could dive, Levon turned to him, his eyes slightly widened. "It's warm."
He had stuck a curious hand into the lake and felt for something, and that was what he'd come up with.
But that was simply the answer King Livius needed. We were in the dead of winter. The water should've been frigid, the cold nearly freezing it. She was down there.
Alexandria...
The Alpha met the General's gaze before pushing past him and preparing to go down there regardless of what his uncle had said. This was her worst fear. Her nightmare. She never learned how to swim. Never learned anything to do with water.
His Majesty snarled when Levon clamped a hand down on his shoulder and pulled him back again, the General's eyes burning with urgency. "I wouldn't recommend that."
Why was he stopping him? If there was even a chance that Alexandria was down there, that she was drowning while we sat up here and argued...
Her scent stopped right at the edge. It only made sense. And this lake was cavernous. She could be anywhere.
How evil did Gabriel have to be? To leave her to die like this?
"Let me go, Uncle," the King growled at Levon, but the man's grip only tightened. "She's down there."
King Livius looked as though he would tear General Levon's arm off if he had to. And I too inched towards the water, my own body yearning to dive in and find her, even while a part of me prayed she wasn't there.
I prayed we were wrong. That they'd whisked her away rather than making an attempt on her life.
The answer to my hopes came a moment later when the water began steaming, white puffs of smoke rising from the once frozen lake.
King Livius stiffened, his body going rigid as Levon's hand loosened around him.
"What the fuck?" Sebastian breathed, all eyes glued to the nearly boiling water.
The General eyed the water carefully, and silently gripped the Alpha's shoulder again. "We need to move. You dive down there and you're dead, son."
There was only one Fae we knew who could burn hotter than the sun, and walk away unscathed. The rest of us, however, were not nearly as lucky. Diving down there now would be fuckin suicide.
But the King looked more than willing to risk it for his mate. He'd risk anything for her.
Levon, however, didn't seem too keen on letting his nephew die tonight, judging by the way he practically dragged the Alpha a few feet backwards. But that was all he could manage.
He was the only one amongst us who knew the true strength of a Fae. It would probably be in our best interest to listen to him.
If Alexandria was down there burning away at a whole goddess-damned lake, then I didn't want to be caught in the aftermath.
But it was too late.
The General barely managed to shout out a warning before the still boiling water erupted skywards. I raised an arm to cover my face, and distantly heard a few wolves stumble backwards.
It was hot, unbelievably hot. But when it landed on my skin, it didn't burn. Or perhaps it did. I didn't know. I couldn't focus on my body. Instead, all my attention was stuck on the area before us, on the arch and dip of the water at the hands of the Fae Princess drowning within.
My eyes didn't move from the center of the lake as they followed the flow of the reservoir. The way the water seemed to part and swirl around a single being.
I couldn't help the gasp of shock that escaped me, and judging by the satisfied sighs that played out from the wolves a few meters away, they couldn't either.
Even the Alpha looked as though he could die from relief.
She was fine. She was alright. The Luna, the Queen. She came out of this attack unmarred, Gabriel's actions doing nothing to her spirit.
But she was... different.
Once the initial high of catching sight of her died down, I began to truly see her.
Alexandria turned her head to glance at us, as though sensing our gazes, and when her eyes met those of the trained wolves that had come with us, their knees trembled. They immediately broke away from her gaze and bowed their heads without hesitation.
She looked like a Goddess.
Her eyes were the color of melted honey, a shade of gold I had never seen before. Her ears arched and sharpened towards the ends. Her hair was a pale silver, as though the moon itself had been melted atop it. But what stood out above all else were the white, feathered wings at her back.
They fluttered with the passing breeze, the feathers spreading behind her before curling downwards.
I had never witnessed a fae shift before, but this...
Even the new change in her power was obvious. She had the presence, the aura of an Alpha.
I could only watch in silent awe, my hands limp at my sides as I took her in. But she was so close now. She moved with the grace of a Queen, her movements fluid while she stepped onto the ground before the lake, the parted water closing the moment she reached the soil.
Before I could even think to move, King Livius was standing before her, his hands cupping her cheek as he searched her face.
She flinched at the contact, her eyes seemingly dazed, but when she met his gaze it seemed to register in her mind that this was her mate. And when it did click, she all but melted into him. Her glorious wings folded into themselves almost to reflect her relief.
The entire clearing was utterly silent, as though no one could truly believe what they were seeing. And I honestly had to agree.
Goddess, I really want to be a fuckin fae in my next life.
Alexandria closed her golden eyes, her head resting against Livius' chest as she wrapped an arm around his torso and inhaled his scent. She said nothing, did nothing more than that. And her mate's arms immediately wrapped around her as well.
She seemed exhausted. Tired. Even with the new brightness in her eyes, there was a strange emptiness there too. The psychological trauma that she must've endured could not be healed the same way her body did. Everyone knew that.
But before any of us could approach, her knees were giving out, and King Livius was forced to hold her against him as she crumbled, those magnificent wings seeming to disappear the way a wolf's fur sinks into their skin after a shift.
Levon came over, his eyes sliding over her unconscious form. "Shifting fever," he explained, glancing up at the Alpha King. "It's a Fae's way of adjusting to the new changes of their body. Similar to the initial pain of a wolf's shift, but it does not happen in a single instant."
The Alpha nodded in understanding, his hands slipping beneath her knees as he lifted her small body into his arms. I noticed how unusually pale she was, that usual golden tan fading into a frozen white. It was proof of what she'd survived, even if she had shifted.
"Fan out," the King ordered, gazing over the remaining pack members. "Fortify our northern borders. Do not let anyone in or out. I don't want that bastard getting away."
The warriors saluted. Julian and Sebastian casting one more concerned glance at their Luna before heading northward, Levon joining them a moment after.
"Go with them, Damien." The Alpha said, taking note of the way I lingered behind. "I'll take her home."
I nodded, although a part of me wanted to stay by her side more so than anything, I couldn't defy a direct order.
She was fine now.
King Livius will take her back. She'll get some rest. And she'll wake up in a few hours just fine.
She was fine.
***********************
Alexandria didn't wake up in a few hours.
She didn't wake up in a day.
And she didn't wake up the day after either.
Nearly a week. She was sick and unconscious for nearly a week now.
Even as the search for Gabriel continued, King Livius sat at her side whenever he could. And when he was dragged elsewhere, I watched over her sleeping body.
The Royal Doctor had checked in with her, but he was mostly accustomed to working with werewolves. None of us could have foreseen a Fae's shift, and its aftermath. It was so much worse than we'd thought.
The Alpha had even called in several other doctors, but none of them could offer anything besides regular medication.
She had a horrible fever. So bad that Maria and several maids had to remain at her side when no one else could be, all to ensure that it didn't get worse.
But it did.
Her skin had turned a flushed crimson, and her body was unbelievably hot. She could barely breathe even while being completely unconscious. Every breath she released was a gasp escaping her mouth, and every inhale seemed like a struggle.
It was scary. So scary to see her like that. Alexandria was always so strong as she sauntered down hallways, and smirked at everyone passing by. But here she was, all pained and bed-ridden.
Sebastian, Julian, and Elias also spent time at her bedside, Sebastian looking the most horrified out of all of them. They all looked pale, hollow, devastated. There was so much fear that came with seeing someone you love struggling to tackle the complexities of their own body.
Little Bella had even curled up on a chair and refused to move, even for the Alpha. She had cried in fear at the mere thought of losing Alexandria. She'd been friends with Alaric and Aria. Their deaths had torn her apart. If Alexandria was taken away, it'd completely break her.
At some point, she'd fallen asleep in her seat, and her father had come to take her to bed. Surprisingly enough, General Levon was unbelievably calm during this ordeal. When I asked why, his response was simple:
"Alexandria's a fighter, Damien. A shifting fever is nothing to her."
Which made me think perhaps we were all fussing. But under the circumstances, we had a right. Gabriel had tried to kill her. We couldn't rest until she awoke and cursed us all out for worrying so much. But until then, we'd stress.
My gaze slid over to her sleeping body in silence.
Four days. It's been four days since she'd shifted. Since we'd all witnessed that lakewater part for her the way a crowd would for a Goddess. She had looked so magnificent in that moment. So perfect. So powerful.
And yet here she was. Thankfully, her fever had broken last night, and her situation wasn't nearly as dire. But she still shook with strange tremors, and her skin burned like hot coal. Even so, she somehow seemed so peaceful. So calm. Her once frantic breathing reduced to mellow puffs of air.
Maria frowned as she dipped a cloth into a bowl of cool water, and brought it back to Alexandria's forehead. Strangely enough, the Queen's brow twitched as though she could feel it, but there was no other movement besides her slightly ragged breathing.
Her mate had begrudgingly left after General Levon had called him in for a bit of business. For the first time ever, there was fear, uncertainty, and helplessness in the Alpha's eyes. It was almost unbelievable to see.
For as long as I can remember, the King has been nothing less than the epitome of power and confidence.
It was odd and frightening seeing him so restless. But it only made sense. His mate was nearly-
My own thoughts were cut off, my body snapping to attention as I instantly reached for the hidden dagger in my boot at the sound of rushed footsteps at the door. Alexandria's training was really coming in handy.
Bringing a finger to my lips, I gave Maria a warning look before silently leaning beside the door.
A moment later, it was thrown open, revealing a woman in her early thirties. My instinct told me to bring the knife to her neck, and dispose of the threat to my Queen, but... she looked familiar.
"Where is she? Where's my daughter?!" The woman asked frantically, her gaze flitting across the room and finally landing on me.
Mrs. Valentina? What the fuck was she doing in France?
Before I could say a word, she was rushing to her adoptive daughter's side, her eyes filled with worry. Alexandria was her princess, and the final responsibility left to her by the Fae Queen Titania. I couldn't stop her from being in here.
But how did she even get in?
Tears fogged the woman's vision as she gently took Alexandria's hand in her own, while glancing over her moon-kissed hair, and the rise and fall of her breaths. "How long?" she asked calmly, her hand moving to the Luna's forehead.
"Four days," Maria answered quietly.
Mrs. Valentina's face melted into a soft smile, and she took in the Fae she'd raised. "I knew she'd shift someday."
Judging by her lack of rage at the moment, she probably didn't know how her shift came about. And I'm not too keen on explaining that.
But I did have a question for the woman. "Why isn't her hair changing back?"
Alexandria's ears had melted back into those of a human, and her wings had disappeared since that day in the woods, but her hair had remained a pale, exquisite silver that shone like a newborn star.
Her foster mother sat at the edge of her bed and gazed down at her adoringly. "She's of royal blood. Her hair and eyes will never be as they were before."
My brows dipped. "Is there a reason why?"
She glanced at me briefly, her eyes warm. "It's meant to distinguish them from the others. The silver hair and golden eyes are universal when we shift, but once a normal fae shifts back, they return to their initial appearance, while anyone of royal descent would not. So during formal events in which shifting is unnecessary, you can always tell."
I nodded in understanding, and moved to lean against the door once again. There was no threat.
"How long until she wakes up?" Maria asked worriedly, her hands fiddling with the wet material.
"Shifting fevers are common amongst Fae. They usually last about two or three days. Because our magic comes at an early age and grows with us, it doesn't take long for our bodies to adjust. But Alexandria is... different.
"In a way, her magic has just been building up inside her all these years. Unleashing it so suddenly will take more of a toll on her body than I might've expected. It's the consequence of a late shift." She was calm. So calm. While we stressed and cried thinking she was fuckin dying, it really was just a fever.
A part of me sighed in utter relief. She'd be okay.
She'd be just fine.
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Any unique names you guys wish were used more often in novels? 🥰
(Feel free to drop your own if you feel as though it's under acknowledged.) 🖤
I'm in the character building phase for a new series and I want to involve all you beautiful souls as much as I can!