Beyond Beta's Rejection

(Harper’s POV)

I woke up wrapped in Elias’ arms. I felt relaxed and attempted to go back to sleep, as it was still dark out, but there was a niggling thought in the back of my mind that kept me awake. Drake told me that Colton had requested to see me. What was strange was that this was the first time he had made the request. Like he could feel that I was here on Council grounds. Drake told me they were only entertaining his request because he had been an exemplary prisoner since he had arrived six months ago. He had even been willing to help in the research the Council was doing on the demon bloods. Drake said that having a willing demon b***d to answer their questions was a rarity, so Colton was afforded a few perks others were not.

I untangled myself from Elias’ arms as quietly as possible. I knew he didn’t want me to comply with the visitor request. The Alpha in him was obviously protective and I could understand that. If he had an abusive ex mate, I probably would have kicked off big style if he then wanted to see them. I had said at the time that I would think about it, but knew now that I needed to know what Colton wanted. Even if it made me the biggest hypocrite ever.

I quickly dressed and was thankful when I saw the damp flannels on the floor. Elias had taken the time to make me comfortable after I had fallen asleep on him last night. The fight at the vamp clan had really taken it out on me and it was pretty normal for me to sleep after the fights. I would have to check with Drake about that. It wasn’t helpful if one fight could exhaust me, and I knew it had to have something to do with the angel blade.

I glanced back at my sleeping mate before heading out of the bedroom into the main apartment. Despite the dark, I could see the outline of one of the guys on the sofa, so I attempted to tiptoe past him to the main door, so I didn’t disturb them.

“You really think you could sneak past me?” I heard a grumble from the sofa and smiled as Marcus sat up and g*****d. “Where are we going at such an ungoddessly hour?”

“We aren’t going anywhere,” I whispered. “Go back to sleep.”

“No can do, darling,” he said, standing up and looking around the room. “Can you see my boots?”

“Marcus, I don’t need you to come with me,” I hissed, knowing it was useless. Marcus decided as his Gamma that it was his duty to be my shadow, ever since I had found out I was mated to Elias. It didn’t matter that I could clearly look after myself. The guy would just say that it was his duty and I could stop fighting it.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“Suck it up, buttercup. I’m coming,” he said, pulling on his now found boots and pulling his long hair into a low ponytail. I sighed and rolled my eyes, but waited for him.

We headed out of the apartment and across the square. The apartment was still on Council grounds but in one of the far edges. It was mainly warriors with families and professors and such.

“So, where are we going?” Marcus asked.

“To the cells,” I said, and he growled.

“Seriously?” He said, “Elias is gonna kill me for letting you go see that prick.” I raised an eyebrow in his direction.

“Letting me?” I asked, and he laughed.

“Yeah, okay,” he said. “Just make sure he knows that before he kicks the s**t out of me.” I smiled at his joke but knew there was a serious underlying tone there as well. Elias had a darker side, probably a lot fuelled by his demon b***d. As an Alpha, he ran things with a tight ship and didn’t accept failure. I had seen more than once when he wasn’t happy about the results of something. If he didn’t like me going to see Colton, in his eyes it would be Marcus, as his Gamma, who should have stopped me.

“You can turn back, you know,” I said. “Pretend you didn’t know.” Marcus scoffed at me.

“I can handle him,” he said, and I raised an eyebrow again, and he laughed nervously, “Well, okay, you can use your sexy influence over him to go easy on me if he flips.” He laughed again.

“I’m not sure even I can do something if the demon comes out,” I said, and Marcus scoffed again.

“Darling, you are the only one that monster listens to,” he said. “It even falls on deaf ears when Elias speaks. But you say something, and that demon does what you say.” I shook my head. I didn’t want to think of the complexity of it all right now. We definitely had more questions than answers when it came to the demon bloods.

We reached the entrance to the detainment centre, and I smiled at the guard on duty.

“Good morning,” I said cheerfully, and he glanced at Marcus before looking down at me. He was a big fella, easily seven feet, and from the sickly scent coming from him, I could tell he was a fae.

“Miss Kirby?” He asked, the element of surprise clear in his voice. I admitted I was surprised that he knew who I was, too.

“Yeah, that’s me,” I said suspiciously.

“We were told you might come about,” he said, and I relaxed a little. “I just gotta get the say from Valcoin before I let you in, though. Can you just hold here for me?” I nodded and smiled. He smiled back and his eyes switched to what looked like snake eyes, complete with a bright green glow. He turned to the station and picked up the phone and dialled a number.

“Whoa,” Marcus whispered, “Did you see his eyes? I’ve never seen a faerie like that before?” I grinned at his wonder as he stared at the poor guard, who was trying to ignore the fact he was being talked about. I smiled an apology at the guard.

“The dracinites are an amazing warrior species,” I said. “Their skin is also made of scales so strong that blades and even guns are useless to them. And they don’t just see in the dark. They see everything as clearly as they do in the day.” Marcus’ eyes widened, and he stared at the guard in excitement. The guard puffed out his chest at my description and recognition of his skills. Marcus had loved spending time with Aaron over the last six months. Previous to that, he had only really had dealings with werewolves and apparently in his time as a warrior at the Council, years ago, they had been less concerned with teaching lore than they had with warrior training. Aaron was in his element, being about to fill in the gaps for him and Elias, and I guess Alex and Katie, too. The guard put the phone down and turned back to us with a grin.

“Valcoin has cleared you,” he said. “Stokes is in the last cell at the end.” I smiled and nodded. He reached and pressed a button that opened the outer door to the cells. I smiled again and headed through the door with Marcus on my heels.

Once we were inside and the door clanked shut, a second door opened and we headed through it and it clunked shut behind us. There was a long, dark hallway, and I turned to Marcus and smiled.

“I don’t suppose I could ask you to stay here, could I?” I asked, and Marcus rolled his eyes.

“What do you think, darling?” I sighed, but then forced a smile onto my face. I knew it was a long shot, but I would have much preferred to do this part alone. We headed down the three steps that took us to the main hallways and made our way down it. Most of the cells were in the dark. The windows were blacked out to give the prisoners some privacy, but the odd one was lit up and had occupants, all going about what they did. I knew from my time at the Council that these cells were for the long timers. The ones who were here for at least a couple of years. Their cells were more than just a room. They had a small shower room as well and enough space to move around in. It was rare that any of them ever left their little room. Every time I passed a cell that was lit up, the inhabitant would stare out at me. Part of me wondered how many of these prisoners I had been responsible for putting here. I was sure I recognised at least one or two.

I finally made it to the last cell, and it was lit up. I glanced at Marcus, who stood to one side as I looked into the window. I could see a figure sitting with his back to me. I clicked the intercom system, which meant we could hear each other, and watched as he took a deep breath.

“Ah,” he exhaled, “Strawberries.”