The Rejected Werewolf Princess

RYKER'S POV

I stayed silent next to Camilla wondering if I should tell her about the fact that we had the dagger or not. It was seated in the drawer by our bedside. It was not the smartest place to keep it but it was also the one place I knew nobody would check. Our room was practically out of bounds to people. I debated it the entire time we were with the girls and through dinner.

I didn’t realize I was so lost in my thoughts until after we laid the girls down for bed, Camilla stopped me in the hallway. “Is everything okay?” she asked and I nodded. “You've been lost in your head throughout today. I know we just found out about Reina and that could be it but-"

“That's not it,” I cut her off and her brows furrowed in confusion. “Come with me, I need to show you something.” She said nothing as she followed quietly behind me but I could feel her bustling curiosity. She had a million questions, that much was clear but she managed to keep her mouth shut until we got to our room. I could feel her staring at me the entire time and I hoped I wasn’t making the wrong choice when I pulled open the drawer and pulled out the dagger. Her eyes widened to the point of saucers and she stared up at me like she had just seen a ghost.

“Where did you get this?” her voice was carefully soft and guarded. “Isn't this-"

“Yes,” I cut her off. “I've had it since when you went missing. It washed up shore and I kept it. I didn’t know I would need it later”

“Why didn’t you just give it to Reina so she would leave us alone?” she asked and I stilled. “This is what she wants, isn't it? If we give it to her then she doesn’t have to attack. We can end this in seconds.”

I snatched the dagger back and placed it in the drawer. “We can’t do that.”

She had her hands crossed over her chest and her brows raised. She definitely didn’t agree with me on my choice regarding the dagger and I thought of the best way to explain it to her. I had also thought about just giving it to Rein. but I couldn't.

“What is the guarantee that she will leave us alone?” I asked her. “We don't know Reina and from what we do know o her, she cannot be trusted. I don’t believe for one minute that she will leave us alone. Besides, why does she want the dagger of all things? There has to be something about it that she doesn’t want us to find out.”

“It didn't work the last time.”

“She said something about learning to use things. It does work, we just didn't use it right. I am sure there is someon or something out there that can teach us how to use this and kill her. She doesn’t want us to find out which is why she wants this.”

Camilla pursed her lips. “You're right, I know you are, but am I wrong for just wanting this to be over quickly? Maybe if we give it to her then she will not attack us. She might keep to her word.”

I gave her a blank look. “Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”

She sighed and took a seat at the edge of the bed, her face buried into her hands. I sat next to her without making a sound and wrapped my arms around her shoulder. It proved to be the right move because she leaned into me and let out an exasperated sigh. This was tiring and it would be until we found a way to get rid of Reina- that much I knew.

I said nothing as I just sat there and allowed her lean against me. I wasn't sure how long we stayed there but I didn’t move until she did first. Once she pulled away slightly, I pulled her to her feet with me and started undoing the laces at the back of her dress. She didn’t stop me but she turned over her shoulder to look at me.

“What are you doing?” she asked but I stayed silent. “Ryker, what is this?”

“l am getting you into bed,” I said simply as I undid the last lace and her dress pooled to her feet.

I helped her out of the rest of her clothes until she was standing naked in front of me. It tried to keep my eyes fixed on her face but it was hard. She was soft in all the right places and she was mine, standing in front of me and doing nothing to hide from me. I couldnt stop myself from cupping her head and kissing her lips. It was meant to be a soft peck and nothing more but our bodies had a mind of their own. Our lips moved in perfect sync and as my hands trailed down to her lower back to pull her flush against me, I heard her moan.

I pulled back with a harsh breath. “That was not what I meant when I said I wanted to get you in bed.”

She smiled coyly and shrugged. “As long as it works, I don't really mind.”

She kissed me again and this time, I didn’t fight her as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I figured there was nothing wrong with spending one night with my mate. If there was one person that was guaranteed to make me forget about everything- it was Camilla.

As usual, I woke up before her. The sky was still dark by the time I woke up and Camilla was fast asleep and curled uj by my side. She looked peaceful and the stress of the last few days was absent from her face. I didn’t want to wake her but I knew if I moved, she would, so I stayed there for what felt like another hour. I kissed the top of her head once the sun started to rise and slowly got out of bed. It was a miracle that I managed to get out without waking her. Once I was freshened up, I made my way out of the palace and towards the training grounds where I spent my mornings. Juan was already there doing some running and I didn’t hesitate to join him. For the first few minutes, there was complete silence between us. We just enjoyed each other's company as we ran around the palace. It was a daily routine at this point.

“What is the next course of action?” Juan asked after a beat of silence. “What are you going to do about Reina?”

“I don't know,” I admitted. I hated that answer but it was the only one I had. “We have about six days before she attacks and I plan to use that time to find out whatever I can about her. She is going to come back and when she does, we better be ready.”

“How do you plan to do that? The only witch I know is-"

“I don't want to use any more witches,” I cut him off. “I don’t fancy seeing people die just to help us out. I might have an idea though. Camilla’s father built a vacation house over the land where the witch coven used to be. There is someone there- Briggs- he knows everything about them. He might have some information for us. I will send out spies to give him a message. He will be brought here”

Juan nodded slowly. “Okay, what do you need me to do?”

“I need you to stay with your mate,” he opened his mouth to protest but is topped him. “Christine is going to try to get involved. You know that and so do I. It is your job to keep her safe and out of it.”

“How many times has Camilla gone into trouble while pregnant,” he shot back and I fell silent. “Exactly, she won't agree to being caged. I can try my best but she will only hate me for it. The best that I can do is to make sure that sh doesn’t get hurt. If you think you can make her sit this one out then please, be my guest. I would love for her to be within the confines of the palace but this is Christine that we are talking about.”

Unfortunately, I knew he was right. Christine and Camilla were two peas in a pod. They were stubborn to a fault and there was absolutely nothing save for full body paralysis that would make them sit this battle out. They were going t: do everything humanly possible to make sure that they were involved and they helped to get rid of Reina.

“Fine, just keep an eye on her,” I said finally. “There isn't much we can do until we hear back from Briggs but I could use some help with the guards. Everyone needs to be prepared for the possibility of an attack from Reina. There isn" much they can do against magic but they can try.”

He nodded. “Of course, I have a question though,” he began. “Does she still have the full extent of her powers?” “What do you mean?”

“Well, according to Christine, Camilla lost some of her powers. Would it be wrong to assume that she might have too They both were hurt, they both fell off the cliff and they both had to survive. Don’t you think she could have lost something as well?”

“It would make the most logical sense,” I admitted. “But I don’t know, she could control a dead body and make it speak. She did it for weeks and she managed to make an entire town forget that someone they knew and loved had died.”

“How powerful was she before that?” he asked. “She could take the life out of anything with a snap pf her fingers- that is what you told me. Compared to that, I don’t think this is a lot.”

“Even if she did lose her powers. We would be fools to underestimate her. She is still powerful and we need to be careful.”