Dark Alpha: A Fated Mates Novel

15: TEMPORARY HIGH

~VANNIE~
The first thing that caught her attention when she came into the apothecary was a man lounging on one of the only two seats the place had. He sat there, the black-haired cocky bastard, looking like he owned the place. She looked into the soulful brown eyes that were as false as Zara's babyface.
Eyes she'd come in close to forcing back into their sockets. . .

She grinned in amusement. "Do they know that they're halfway across the Realms, looking for a sorcerer that's right here?"

The Sorcerer grinned back hesitantly, not hiding his surprise at her reception, but eager to play along. She wondered if he was here to abduct her again. But surely, that couldn't be the case? She'd made quite an impact at their first meeting, after all.

"No, they don't," he replied. "What can I say? I'm a man of many talents."

"Including teleportation? Are you some sort of alien wizard?"

His grin widened. "Only the best kind."

They shared a look, and she settled into the space, eyeing the room. She'd seen her fair share of medical spaces, but this was something else. It was still bearing traces of the previous owner, and very large.

Of course, it was. This was the Inlands. They never did anything in half measures.

She took quick inventory of the herbs and ingredients that were already on ground. She needed a quick headache medicine and a sleeping draught. She started to cleanse jars for the mixtures.

She worked for almost an hour, ignoring the Sorcerer, not ready to be the one to break first, but easily monitoring his movements. She'd have called on Maeve or even the Alpha, but she didn't have the pack link. So she'd just have to play this by ear. The Sorcerer obviously had a reason to risk beheading to return to the Inlands.

"You're not going to ask why I'm here?" He finally asked, jumping from the position he'd been stubbornly holding. He walked up to her, getting into her space.

"I already know you came for round two." She flexed her wrists. "Thank goodness I have so much energy to burn. This time, trust me, you're not getting away so easy."
He paled at her savage smile, complete with deliberately pulled back teeth and gums.

"What? No. I'm not here for any of that." He scrambled to hide his discomfiture. "I–"

"No? You've finally realized you're too young to be a match for me?" She goaded.
And then she continued with the jars after sending him a bitter smile. She could feel his growing confusion and frustration, not understanding her reactions to everything. Good. Let him be confused.

"I'm two times your age, Your Majesty."

"Really? How about removing that conceal and letting me see what's really underneath?"

He cleared his throat, then powers on, ignoring her last statement. "I know what you want. I'm here to give it to you."

She could sense his false bravado. It delighted her. "I'm at the King's court, having more than three hundred wolves at my beck and call for just my personal needs. I have everything I could possibly want."

"You thirst for a home more than any I've ever come across. A sense of belonging. You've been ripped from everything you've ever known, and now, you need to be grounded. Your longing pierces my soul." Discerning eyes, even though they were just conceal, looked into hers, and she recognized that maybe, just maybe he'd been playing, waiting for the right moment to strike. "I can help you with that."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she muttered with a short laugh, turning back to continue her work, but he spun her back. She stiffened.

He threw his hands off her immediately, feeling the sharp sting of the heat that surrounded her. Her body was ignited with ache for a fight. "Touch me again and die."

He threw himself into a low bow. Which was stupid, in her opinion. She could have his throat crushed in her fists before he got up. "Forgive me. I'm but your servant, Your Majesty."

"Leave, Sorcerer."

He looked distraught for a split second. "I mean you no harm, Your Majesty. I only want to help you. You're caged in here!"

The last shout was what finally drew her attention. And immediately he knew he had it, he struck. "You have too much ancient magïck to be stuck here with a cursed King," he spoke low and urgently. "The world needs your powers. You could be doing good for the rest of us. You have the Flora."

She smiled. "I see where this is going. You want to use me against the King. You think I'll work with you to bring down my mate?"
Saying the words 'my mate' still sounded weird on her tongue, but she ignored it for the moment.

"Yes," he replied.

At least, the Sorcerer was honest. And bold. She had to admire that.

She decided to play along. "How do you expect that to happen? I don't stay in his presence for more than an hour at a stretch. I don't see him often enough to plot his. . .dethronement? Abdication? Wait, what exactly do you want to do the King?"

"Demise," he said coldly. "We want the King dead."

'We,' he said. So the Sorcerer really was an emissary.

Her first response to such an absurd statement would be to laugh, but Vannie caged it in. "You want to kill the King. Oh, no. You want me to help you kill him. Let's see."

She pretended to consider. "For me to get close enough to him, he has to trust me. And for that to happen, I have to be the perfect little mate at first. But hey! Alpha Sin knows I'm still scarred from his treatment of me. He won't believe if I suddenly change my attitude towards him. Most of all, I won't be able to stomach acting love-struck for him." She sighed. "This is doomed before it has even started."

"There's a way to make it happen."

She turned around, and in one swift move, she had the Sorcerer's throat in her grasp. Smiling savagely at the man's panicked look, she stepped closer. "I'm only going to say this once, okay? I'm not killing the King. You have such balls requesting that from me. Now leave before I give you something to regret. And to be sure, I'm telling the King about this immediately I see him."

She released the gasping man, but he wasted no time on his recovery. He spat, "You don't want to kill him now? Despite everything he put you through? Even after he killed your family and put you in the dungeons for what you had no hand in? Well how about this? Your brother, Enoch is alive. And the King knew about it all this time."