Fated To the Alpha by Jessica Hall
Chapter 268
“What if the talisman was the key to locking it, like I don’t know a timer, waiting for it to be in there with him to seal it?” I asked him.
“That is possible, but we have no idea how he sealed it. Did he tell you the spell?”
“Wait, you said you thought the Talisman sealed it, meaning it has power that could be channeled? When Dominic d*ied, where was the talisman? Could that be enough power to preserve his life f0rce?” I asked.
“Kyan was wearing it, his father put it on him… that morning,” Kaif whispers the last part.
“Then you have a power source and the tether,” I tell him.
“That b*y pk, I bet he is real smug at pulling that over me,” Kaif laughs.
“But we still have no idea what spell he used to seal it, so if he didn’t tell you, we may struggle to open it?”
“No, we don’t have the spell, but I have a link to him. Just gotta pull him forward, I guess?”
“But I need that talisman; it is out of the dagger, isn’t it?” Kaif nods.
“And I need that stone and Celeste’s grimoires,” Kaif laughs.
“Grimoires, I wouldn’t know the first place to look for those. Celeste kept them hidden even from the coven,” Kaif laughs.
“Moon Goddess realm?” Kora says, and I had a feeling she was right, only I can’t enter the moon goddess realm long enough to look for them. “But Eziah can or mum,” Kora says.
“Grimoires, I think I know where I can find them, but I need that stone. Dominic keeps saying I need the stones, so I need the one my brother had and the one Kyan tossed in with his father.”
“This is why you didn’t want Kyan to know, isn’t it? You didn’t want to disappoint him if it was all for nothing?” I nodded.
“Okay, but how does this help with the curse?” Kaif asks.
“We have to break the stones,” I tell him.
“Impossible, nothing will break those stones; they are indestructible. Believe me, we have tried for centuries to break that d**n talisman,”
“Yes, but did you have both of them?” I ask him, and he seems to think.
“Balance,” He whispers.
“Everything has a balance, but I don’t think that is all there is to the curse,”
“No, the stones are only part of it.” Kaif growls.
“Hades cursed you to find your redemption, right?”
“Yes, but Dominic told Kyan I had to forgive myself, which I don’t have any reason to hate myself in my opinion that requires forgiving myself for,” Kaif snarled.
“What if it wasn’t forgiveness or redemption, which leads to the other thing I noticed that I wanted to tell you about? I wanted to try anyway.” His claws scratch over the carpet, slicing it as his eyes flickered dangerously. I could feel he was slightly untrusting of my intentions so I explained.
“As you said, balance,” I tell him, getting to my feet. I walk over to him, and he looks up at me when I stop in front of him.
“What do you mean?” he asks, looking confused.
“One thing I noticed in all your past lives, your vessel was never marked; I marked Kyan. However, they always went crazy before you let them mark your vessel,”
“No one did mark my vessel, but she still went mad,” Kaif corrected me.
“Okay,”‘ I told him before climbing into his lap. He puts his legs down, and I straddle him.
“But did any of them mark you?” I ask him.
“Why would they mark me? They mark the human side; that’s what the Lycan’s are bound to,”
“Yes, but maybe that’s where they went wrong; the others always got Luna’s version of events, the anger, the hatred; they never got yours; I did because Dominic gave me the shadows.
I knew the history behind your actions. But what if the key to that was not you marking them or your vessel? You give them your biggest regrets when you mark them. What if they mark you? What if it gave them Luna’s?” I tell him.
“You think if they marked me, they would know why I k****d them?” he asked.
“I don’t think your curse had anything to do with your redemption; I think it had to do with your rejection; you don’t need redemption Kaif, you need acceptance,” I tell him, letting my canines elongate. Kaif cups my face with his huge hand, his thumb brushing over the sharp points of my teeth.
“You want to mark me?” Kaif asks.
“Yes, because to accept Kyan, I must accept you, and I do accept you, Kaif. I don’t hate you for what you did, and I certainly don’t believe you are the monster all your other mates thought you were. So yes, I want to mark you, but then I want you to mark me too,” I tell him.
If the first part didn’t shock him, the last part did because he pulled his face back to stare at me. His eyes go to the wound he caused the last time he marked me, my skin destroyed and scarred, yet it was his mark, and I loved it anyway, but since the rejection, one thing I had noticed is that it constantly itched, and now I think I know why.
Deciding not to give him a chance to fight me on it, Kora shoved forward at blinding speed and I gripped the back of his neck and yanked him to the side before sinking my teeth into his neck. I felt the electricity zapping through me.
A power surge was so strong it made my entire body heat up like it was being recharged, like a high-frequency buzz. My hair stood on end like static. Kaif clutched me to him, his arms wrapping around me firmly.
The darkest parts of him were bleeding into me along with his power, and when I felt the bond slam into me, it was heartbreaking. I could literally feel his soul healing, only now realizing how broken he truly was inside living with ghosts of his past, the demons that haunted him. It was like all the bad parts left and bled out of him.
And when the last remnants left everything shattered, the power surge so strong everything started exploding and I felt him move as the windows burst, shielding me with his body, car alarms blared loudly and the entire building started shaking. I gasped at the power that flooded into me and my teeth pulled from his neck.
The room was in darkness again and Kaif stared down at me before wiping my lips that were stained with his blood with his hand. He looks around and I could feel the cold draft coming from the burst windows; the cs flapping in the breeze, and alarms and sirens could be heard outside.
“Would you blame me if I said I am a little hesitant to mark you after that?” he chuckles, looking around the room before looking back at me. He licks my cheek and I offer him my neck, tugging the neck of my shirt to the side for him. I felt his tongue roll over the spot.
“Hopefully we don’t bring the place down around us,” He murmurs.
“You didn’t last time,” I tell him. “No, I just nearly k****d you, which isn’t much better,” Kaif says. Yet I knew what he meant, everything was always done in the wrong order, he claimed when he needed to be claimed himself.
“Well, let’s bring the building down,’ I laugh.
“Kyan would k**l me,” he chuckles.
“Good thing you’re indestructible then,” I tell him offering him my neck again. He hesitated for a second before sinking his teeth into my neck over Jonah’s and Kyan’s marks. The moment he did I gasped.
His teeth sliced through my flesh and went straight into bone, though I was given something else instead of nearly d***g or a power surge. Given a glimpse of who Kaif was before he was made a Lycan. Given a glimpse of his humanity before it was taken from him.
Kyan was the reincarnation of his true self, strong and dominant protector. Power oozed from him. Even then, he was a gentle giant of man before becoming a savage beast when he was just a man, and a warlock.
No power was given. Instead, he gave me something far better. He gave me himself. His entire life flashed before my eyes. Every thought, every memory, everything that made him, he gave to me and no one’s soul was as beautifully dark as his. He truly was magnificent, but one thing remained even after his humanity was long gone.
He protected those he loved, even if it meant k****g pieces of himself to do it. Tears pricked my eyes at the relief as he let go of the hurt and anguish he carried for all those years before he pulled his teeth from my neck. “Thank you,” Kaif whispered.
Before I could say anything, he shifted and Kyan was suddenly hovering above me. Kyan looks around startled and I could feel Kaif just as clearly as I could feel Kyan and Jonah.
“You broke him,” Kyan said, feeling sad for Kaif, but I shook my head and Kyan looked down at me. “No, I set him free,” I tell him. I could feel the wholeness settling through Kaif and I could tell what Kaif was feeling felt foreign to Kyan.
Kyan’s eyes go to my neck where Kaif marked me. He brushed his fingers over the mark and it tingled. “You set him free,” he whispered.
“I will admit though, that I broke your c****o and I am pretty sure the entire main street,” I tell him. He looks around the room.
“You definitely did that,” he said, shocked. I chuckled before pressing my lips into a line. “You think this funny?” Kyan chuckled.
“Just a little,” I tell him.
“I should punish you, the cleanup will be horrendouss,” He laughed.
“You could try, but I am pretty sure I overpower you now?” I tell him.
“Is that right?” he says, leaning down.
“I can think of a few other ways to punish you,” he growled, nipping at my lips before kissing me. I wrap my legs around his waist, tugging him flush against me.
“Punish away then, Sir,” I giggle.
“Sir?”
“I ain’t calling you daddy?” I laugh.
“Ah, sir, it is then,” Kyan laughs before kissing me and forcing his tongue between my lips.