*****Trigger warning, mention of sexual violence and violent actions*****

Alexander was a mishmash of emotions and instincts. He had heard tales of destined mates growing up, but they were so rare now that they had almost fallen into myth. When Val had walked off the elevator and into his life, drenching him with the smell of a spring morning in a field of wildflowers, it had taken all his willpower not to take her then and there.

He had never been trained in how to react when a lycan found its mate since it had largely become a matter of choice and formality. He certainly had not known how to handle a mate outside his species. Many lycan had paired with other species over the ages, but to be destined for one was even more mythical.

He had been desperate to get away from her the first day while he struggled to maintain his control. Aeron, his right-hand man, had been the logical choice to seek out for assistance. The elf lord had been walking this world for three millennia now and had been invaluable in creating their new home.

Aeron had taken him to his elders in the Hall of Chronicles where they scoured through scrolls while seeking advice and knowledge. One elder had remembered a destined mating between a lycan and a human from around the time Aeron had been born. They had been the union that had created the beginning of werewolves.

It had taken the lycan a full decade to convince the human peasant woman to willingly come into the union. It had been documented that while she felt the pull of the bond over that time, she had fought against it, believing him to be too high ranking. For her, it had been a matter of not wishing to sacrifice her honor and to be kept in the shadows as a mistress.

The lycan had nearly delved into madness as he watched other men of her class court her, but he had never given up. He would carry buckets of water for her, pick flowers to bring her while out hunting, and request her to read to him at night.

It had not been until the night a rival pack of lycans had raided that he lost control. He had felt her in danger, the bond having grown strong enough for him that he felt everything other than her thoughts. But he had heard them that night, her calling out to him of her love and how she wished she had given herself to him, regretting not being strong enough.

His fury at feeling other lycans touching his mate sent him into bloodlust and he eradicated the entire pack as he came for her. He had ripped the man rutting her in the woods to shreds, bathing her in the blood of her attacker. He had curled around her body to comfort her as he felt her slipping away.

Then the goddess Helene, sculpted from the light of the moon encased in the dirt of the Earth appeared. She came up to the lycan and thanked him for his steadfastness and loyalty to the call of his mate, and for waiting for her to respond of her own accord. As a reward, she healed the woman and told him that the bond, once accepted willingly by both sides, would strengthen a weaker species so that they may live their years together.

Other tales of lycans destined to human mates were taken by force but the results were foreboding. The lives of the humans did not extend, and they did not become enhanced with healing abilities like their mates. The lycans all descended into psychosis either from the loss of their partners or the lack of reciprocation. Even the ones that had their human mates eventually return their feelings did not receive the blessing Helene had bestowed upon the mate bond.

That meant that Alexander needed to make sure Val came to him willingly with an open heart before he marked her if he wanted to keep her hearty and his sanity. Something that needed to remain intact for his pups and his people. It was not an easy thing to try and woo a human in this day and age, when their existence was hidden from the human world.

He had been mildly curious about the string of demons selected to nanny his pups, but Tatia had only held a faint tinge. All the nannies after her had been reeking of the rotten meat scent and he had chalked it up to happenstance, knowing they could not detect lycans. Then his mate walked in and cleansed their penthouse of the scent and patched up the remnants of his heart left in tatters by an unfaithful wife.

He had been in his room, strategizing his next move with her when he felt Val giving herself freely to another. It had not been the giving of her body that had caused his loss of control, that was a mild annoyance, it had been feeling her opening her heart to another that had done him in. He had felt her beginning to accept him, her heart beginning to open itself like a flower unfurling under the morning sun. He had felt the moment that man had plucked her for himself.

It had torn Alexander apart in a way he could never have imagined if he tried, in a way he would never have wished upon his worst enemy. He had lost control as he lashed out at anything near him, tearing through the penthouse with his fury. Five of his best warriors and Aeron had not been able to subdue him as he warred within himself to regain control. It had been his Lily that had stopped him long enough to drug him.

She had calmly walked up to him while sucking her thumb and clutching her wolf stuffed animal. She had popped out her thumb and balled up a little fist as she looked at him. "No Daddy, bad wolf," she had said calmly but firmly. He had looked at her and thanked Helene for giving Val to them to mold his beautiful baby girl.

Alexander had begged his people to tie him down until he could regain control on his own terms. The rational part of his mind knew that it was a step back but he could still gain Val's heart given enough time. Once he had been sedated and bound in the throne room, he had requested them to call his foster brother for assistance. While he was confident in Aeron to hold their kingdom together, he had wanted Marcalus there to back him up.

He had trusted the lycan his father had kept as a ward instead of executing when he assumed the throne. It had been Marcalus who helped Alexander concoct the plan for their shared vision of a new kingdom, one to leave behind the old grudges and distrusts. He had trusted his brother to hold together the old ways in the old world while they built up their experimental society in the new one. They had rejoiced together as the pieces had come together and their dream slowly turned into reality.

They had been working to piece together a staged plan to bring the old world into the fold. He had thought they had been of one mind until he had shown up as requested. He had known immediately that something was wrong as the halls around him instantly swelled with the rotten stench of demons mingled with the fresh linen scent of angels. He had been helpless as he watched the brother of his heart walk in with slumped shoulders.

"I have no choice," Marcalus had pleaded for understanding. "You would have done the same if it was one of your pups."

Alexander had found his heart depleted of emotion on realizing he was betrayed again. He had closed his eyes in shame as he felt another wave from Val as she found her joy again with her man. He could not blame her; she did not know the pain she was inflicting upon him, but Marcalus did.

"They have Emily too," Marcalus had informed him.

Alexander's ears had drooped at hearing this, his lips had curled at the words. It felt like another strike from his brother to hear such nonsense. He did not know where Emily was but imagined her off on a yacht somewhere with the man she had written him about. She had been there one day and gone the next. He had searched high and low for her until he received a message delivered by a courier along with divorce papers.

"Alexander, you have to understand," Marcalus had pleaded. "I'm trying to figure out how to keep Lily and AJ safe, but they have my son. I saw him in the cell with Emily. I watched her transform into a demon myself. They have been warping her mind, turning her into a mindless machine to unleash upon us all."

Alexander's mind was a wreck as he lay there, helplessly bound by his own orders while soldiers marched in and grabbed his children. He could feel his people trying to fight as they were taken by surprise. So many snuffed out of life at the same time, it felt like clawed talons were reaching into his mind and ripping them out in clumps, leaving him raw and devoid.

Then he had smelled the flowers, their light fragrance drifting through the scent of death around him. He had strained against his bounds, cursing himself a fool as Marcalus rushed out to determine the source of the commotion. His mate, his little mate had found her way down here and he was unable to lift himself off this floor to come to her aid.

Energy began to suffuse his anesthetized muscles as he felt her determination, her drive. She was not aware of him, but he could feel her coming, not for him but for his pups. He felt her power explode as she embraced a different part of herself. A part he had been unaware existed until he felt the heat lift in her, the miasma fueling her. He realized with dismay that his human nanny, his mate, was no human at all.

It was a problem for his people, realizing that demons had found a way to disguise themselves from his kind. A larger problem to realize his children were half demon and his mate was one as well. Lycans were supposed to be neutral, a check to balance the scales between the realms of Heaven and Hell on Earth yet this tipped them into a dangerously biased direction.

He could not fathom Helene's purpose for such a match but knew the goddess always had a reason for such things. Alexander strained against his bonds more firmly as he felt the crippling bite his brother inflicted on his mate. He collapsed in misery after his struggle only tightened the bonds that held him. Joy and pain whirled within him as he felt his brother's pain as he was smashed into a column by his mate.

He marveled at her beauty as she barreled into the room, her true form a wonder to behold. He ached for her even as he smelled the other male on her. The scent was wrong, not the human scent he had expected. By the full moon, he did not understand what was happening, how he had missed so much.

His wife was a demon, his children were demons, and his mate was a demon. His heart brother had forsaken him instead of coming to him for aid. And his mate had given herself to an angel, no, not an angel. He knew that type of scent, similar to an angel but slightly off. His mate had given herself to a fae, a light one by his guess. A fae that would have to feed off her emotions to sustain himself.

Then she saw him, his little inferno of a mate recognized him, and his heart sang. His muscles thrummed with new energy as he felt her taking him in and accepting him. His mind began to yell at his muscles to cooperate as she released him and turned to Marcalus. He screamed at himself to move as he fought his paralyzed muscles and Val pleaded with him.

He had seen her pain when she realized she was failing and had to choose between holding off long enough for him to help or guarantee his pup's safety. His demon pups, his pups that he had been neglecting much as his parents had done to him until Val showed him how to be more. His demon pups that he could trust to the care of his demon mate.

Yes, she was his perfect mate, he acknowledged as she tucked his offspring within the shelter of her ruby wings. He could trust her with his pups even if he could never claim her as his own. But he would one day, or he would die trying, he vowed as he found the strength to leap at Marcalus.

Blood lust took over as he felt the burning pain shear through Val's neck as she vanished with his pups. His jaws had clamped into the flesh of Marcalus' neck and Alexander reveled in the taste of the blood as he flung him across the room like a rag doll. Alexander danced to the pain filled screams of the soldiers as he tore through them.

He leaped at Marcalus again when a Fallen appeared before him, lifting a hand to hold him suspended. His pupils dilated as the terror he had felt as a pup bubbled to the surface at the sight of her. He remembered Galina well when she had claimed the lives of his parents at their refusal to bend to her will. The first hand knowledge of her existence had been his driving force in hiding his people from the watchful eyes of the realms of Heaven and Hell.

Alexander had sealed off the portals to those realms so they could only be used from the Earth side before he relocated them. He had trusted Marcalus with the knowledge as they moved them together. It was the only solution they could find to the requirement to keep them close to the throne without giving away their new position. The betrayal was only more kindling thrown onto the bonfire of rage swirling through Alexander as he found himself more useless than a day old pup.

He internally clawed against Galina's hold as he felt his mate slipping away from him. He would tear Galina to shreds for causing all this suffering around him. She was giving him purpose unlike any he had ever known before as she lithely slunk over to the spot Val had disappeared from. Curiosity crossed her features as she bent down to the puddle of blood left behind by his mate and touched it.

"So much power," Galina purred.

Her malicious smile enveloped Alexander as he broke free of her hold, spurred by his need to protect his mate from her clutches. Her brows rose in alarm as she jumped back and flung a hand at him. He leaped at her, but his jaws clamped down on empty air as he found himself suddenly in the tunnels.

He blinked in confusion as his human hands felt the ground underneath them. He dug his fingers into the compacted dirt as he felt the filthy fae come to his mate and her sinking into him. Alexander stood and flung the useless clumps into the walls as he bellowed his frustration. He found the walls and began stumbling in the dark as he followed the beacon of his people.

The walls felt like they were closing in on him in the dark as he blindly tried to find his way through the maze. While he knew these tunnels well, having mapped them out with the dwarves, he did not know which tunnel Galina had dumped him in. The only hint of his location was the members of his pack he could still feel in the distance.

He tripped in the darkness, taking a hard knee when he felt Val opening to him. It was bittersweet knowing that her fae was there as well. His little demon, the species known for being fickle and polyamorous. He did not know if he would have the strength to share her if that was her demand, especially with one that would have to fight his nature to feed from her.

He struggled to his feet again and continued to fumble his way along the wall. The wolfbane was almost completely gone from his system so it irked him as he tried to call his wolf forward only to be blocked by whatever Galina had done to him. He stubbed his toe on a rock in the ground and bellowed as he tore it free from the dirt and began ramming it into the wall.

He shuddered in the dark as he panted from his futile outburst. His childish tantrum had served him no purpose, it had not even alleviated any of his frustrations. Calm determination shrouded itself around him as he once again turned and felt his way down the tunnel.

Alexander knew he was mirroring the determined feeling his mate was projecting onto him and he wondered if he was any better than a fae feeding from her emotion. Light became noticeable ahead and he rushed ahead blindly, not heeding the voice that urged him to proceed with caution. Victory was filling his mouth as he recognized the room from the abandoned shaft he was coming up to.

Too late, Alexander realized what the voice was warning him of as he burst into the room and was greeted by a lancing pain across his gut. Stupid, he chastised himself, he could not afford such a rookie mistake. He fell to his knees again as he grabbed his abdomen and felt a paw shredding his back. He blindly swung out only to be knocked over by a blow to his temple.

Useless, he told himself. He was utterly useless to the mate Helene had gifted to him, useless to his people, useless to his pups, and useless in general. He was wallowing in his failed misery when Galina's vile laughter caused his body to shudder. He watched her with his eyes as she strode to him and pursed her lips with mock sympathy.

"Hold on, we're coming," Val spoke in his mind.

I would wait for you for a thousand moons if you asked, he thought back to her. Her voice in his mind had been ambrosia, a sweet burn that would destroy him. He tried to warn her, but she could not hear his thoughts.

"How does it feel, knowing you have failed so majestically?" Galina crooned. "And to know that first I took your parents, then your wife, then your brother, and now I will get your pups and mate too? All you care about will crumble at my feet."

"She won't let you have them Galina," Alexander coughed out with certainty.

"I think you underestimate my abilities still little lycan," Galina trilled as she crouched and stroked his face. "I think I will leave you to linger in your death to lure in this little sister of mine. Once she meets me, she will feel my call stronger than any mere mate bond."

Alexander found her touch repulsive, and bile rose up at the scent of her gangrenous spirit. He wanted to rip out her entrails and shove them down her throat until she asphyxiated on them. Her death would not be satisfaction enough, he desired to grind her out of existence.

"It is a shame, I would have been good to you if your father had simply done as I asked," Galina mused as she leaned to whisper in his ear. "Did you really think you would be able to hide from me forever my sweetness? It would take far more than changing your name to hide from me. Don't forget that I tasted you once, your first if I'm not mistaken. Do you still want her knowing she is just like me?"

"She is nothing like you," Alexander affirmed. "You may share biology, but her spirit is not twisted and tainted like yours."

"Bah!" Galina scoffed as she slammed a hand into his chest. He felt the venom of her anger seep into his chest as she fought her demon trying to surface. She barked out her commands as Alexander began to slip into the darkness engulfing him, his last image being Galina stepping off the edge and into the shaft as angels and demons dove after her.

Love them for me, he thought to Val as he felt his lungs stop working.

Alexander drifted closer to nothingness as he felt her come for him, his mate he could not warn away. There was a soft light he was drifting toward, as he felt his tie to Val sever. The light solidified and he found himself on a hill under the light of a full moon.

He was looking at the back of a cloaked figure that gracefully turned to him. There was a faintly rippling luminesce coming from the hands that lifted to remove the hood. Alexander dropped to his knees in front of her as Helene revealed herself to him. Helene only came to collect those that she deemed especially worthy to walk the sky bridge to the ever after, not failures like him.

"You have not failed young king," Helene sang to him.

"But I have, I have failed them all," Alexander moaned.

"No," Helene assured. "It is not your time yet, I have work for you to finish yet."

Helene placed a finger under his chin and lifted his face to gaze upon her. She smiled at him benevolently and he felt her love wash over and cleanse him.

"My children often have to fall in order to see how high they can truly climb," Helene coaxed. "I wish for all my children to be reunited one day, I need you and Valrul to lead my charge."

Helene leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, the contact branding him to his soul as she released him and stepped back. He watched in confused awe as she returned her hood in place and a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky and struck him in the chest. He gasped as he felt himself lassoed and yanked back to his body.

He clawed for consciousness, trying to find his way back for his mate but she was gone, yanked out. Alexander became lost in his mind as he desperately hunted for her, thrashing around his psyche, and knocking down barriers he had placed for his own protection. He had all but given up hope when he finally found the thread, frayed to the point that he was afraid it would break if he breathed too hard.

He cradled the thread as he opened his eyes and turned to her. She was close enough to touch yet a whole universe away. "Val," he croaked. "Val, come back love."

He struggled to lift his head and looked in horror at her blackened limb. A surprised gasp drew his attention to the foot of his bed to a demon with violet eyes. She turned and rushed out of his room, and he dismissed her from his thoughts as he focused on his mate. He lifted himself up to sit and grunted at a tugging on his chest.

He looked down at the stickers and cords on his chest and began tearing them off. He did not have time to be an invalid. He had a mate to save, and a mission given by the goddess Helene to fulfill. He needed answers, and he needed them now.