Page 14

Chapter

Thirteen

A ZALEA

“Nope! Every drink you drink, I drink then,” I tell him, a mischievous glint in my eye. In response, he snarls, his canines slipping out.

“And according to my calculations, it will take your entire bar for me to catch up with what you’ve drunk in the last week,” I tell him, a smirk playing on my lips.

“Azalea Ivy-Rose Landeena, give me the damn bottle!” Kyson scolds me like I’m a child, his voice laced with frustration.

“Make me!” I challenge, defiantly swallowing another mouthful of the liquid in question.

Surprisingly, it doesn’t burn this time.

Maybe I scorched my throat and tongue so badly that it killed the nerves?

Nevertheless, the more I drink of it, the easier it goes down until it’s like drinking water.

As I reach the quarter mark, as Kyson had mentioned, the room begins to sway slightly.

My belly feels queasy, and a wave of heat washes over me.

I stumble towards the window, desperate for some fresh air.

The fire in my veins makes me feel like I’m overheating.

But the movement is not in my best interest. I stumble, feeling as if my body is weighed down by lead.

“What is this stuff?” I manage to slur out, my words barely coherent.

“Sunset Rum and it is 85% alcohol. You usually mix it. You’re lucky to be standing still with how much you’ve drunk. If you weren’t Lycan, you would be on the floor,” Kyson growls at me, his frustration evident as he reaches for the bottle. But I pull it back before he can snatch it from my grasp.

“Well, on the floor I go!” I retort stubbornly, taking another swig of the potent liquid before he manages to wrestle it away from me. As I sway backward, I don’t even realize I am falling until his strong arms catch me around the waist.

“No more!” he growls, nipping at my neck in a mix of anger and concern.

“I don’t like it when you drink!” I slur, my words muddled by the alcohol coursing through my veins.

“And I don’t like you drinking!” he snaps back, his voice filled with worry.

But then, his tone softens. “Fine, I won’t drink, but you don’t either.

That was stupid,” he says, placing the bottle on the bar before scooping me up effortlessly.

My senses are hazy, and I can’t feel my face or my tongue as I try to feel it between my teeth.

“Azalea, you’ll bite your tongue off!” Kyson snaps, panic lacing his voice as he jams his fingers into my mouth to prevent me from hurting myself.

“What?” I try to speak around his finger, but it invades my mouth. My speech is slurred and incomprehensible. He growls in frustration before suddenly jerking back, sucking on his index finger, which is now bleeding. Confusion washes over me until I see my own teeth marks on his finger.

“I did that?” I manage to utter in disbelief.

“You think?” he retorts sarcastically, shaking his head before guiding me towards the bed.

He lays me down gently, but I feel so heavy, weighed down by the effects of the potent drink.

How could anyone enjoy feeling like this?

It’s so disorienting. Kyson moves away from me momentarily, and I struggle to keep my eyes open as darkness threatens to swallow me whole.

“Kyson,” I slur, attempting to roll my head, which feels like a bowling ball on my shoulders.

“I’m just going to chuck another log on the fire.”

I watch him, waiting for him to sneak back to his bar. Surprisingly, he doesn’t. Instead, he climbs back into bed beside me, and I retrieve the book we had been reading earlier. He drags my dead-weight body on top of him before opening the book.

“Don’t do that again,” he whispers, his lips brushing against my forehead. My eyelids feel impossibly heavy as I struggle to stay awake while he reads, but darkness engulfs me after just a few minutes.

The following morning, I am abruptly woken by the mindlink. Damian is trying to wake Kyson, and my head pounds mercilessly. Groggily sitting up, I find Kyson still dead to the world when a knock on the door startles me. Dragging myself from the bed, I answer the door with groggy confusion.

Trey stands on the other side, and I blink up at him, trying to make sense of the situation.

“What’s wrong?” I ask before quickly mindlinking Damian.

‘Damian, stop. I’m up. I’ll wake him, but stop yelling,’ I tell him, my thoughts filled with a mix of annoyance and exhaustion.

‘I’m not yelling. Wake him up. I’m downstairs, and we have an issue,’ Damian mindlinks back sternly. I refocus my attention on Trey.

Trey sniffs me suspiciously. “You’ve been drinking?” he asks, his voice tinged with concern.

“Stupidly, yes. Help me wake Kyson. Damian was mindlinking,” I admit, feeling a sense of guilt wash over me.

Pushing the door open wider, I let Trey inside.

He moves towards the bed and shakes Kyson awake while I quickly retrieve my robe.

But Trey’s sudden shriek catches my attention, and I glance at him in surprise as Kyson hugs him tightly, almost crushing Trey against his chest. Trey manages to push himself free from Kyson’s grip, clearly bewildered.

“Stop, Azzy,” Kyson mumbles, his voice filled with sleep and confusion.

I can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation as Kyson suddenly sniffs Trey’s hair, causing Trey to recoil.

Kyson’s eyes fly open, and Trey goes flying as panic courses through the bond as he lurches upright.

His eyes go to me, and he lets out a breath, noticing I am fine, before glaring at Trey.

“Why the fuck were you in my bed?!” Kyson snaps, rubbing his eyes.

“I was waking you up, not climbing into bloody bed with you!” Trey retorts, his frustration evident as he gets to his feet. He shakes his head, muttering under his breath about Alpha Kings being idiots. Kyson glares at Trey’s retreating figure before turning his attention back to me.

“What’s going on?”

“Damian needs you downstairs,” I inform Kyson, my own headache intensifying with each passing moment.

“He’s back?” Kyson asks, running a hand through his disheveled hair.

“You were drinking?”

Kyson shakes his head in disbelief.

“No. You did enough of that to affect my damn bond. Thanks for the headache,” Kyson says sarcastically, getting to his feet. He grabs a shirt and quickly pulls it on before walking over to me. He kisses my head tenderly before tying my robe together.

“Are you coming?”

“I’m allowed? I thought I would have to fight you to go down there,” I reply, my voice laced with a mixture of surprise and relief.

“You wouldn’t win,” he chuckles softly.

“Really?” I challenge playfully.

“Mm,” he hums, grabbing my hand gently.

“I reckon I could take you,” I tease, a smirk playing on my lips.

“I reckon you could try,” he laughs, leading me out of the room.

He kisses the back of my hand before leading me downstairs.

He yawns and shakes his head. “I was actually having a good sleep until Trey climbed into my damn bed to snuggle with me!” he growls, his annoyance evident.

“I did no such thing! And you’re a terrible hugger,” Trey retorts.

“Azalea doesn’t mind,” Kyson says, his voice filled with affection.

“Yeah, probably because you didn’t crush her in your armpit like you did to me,” Trey interjects, causing both of us to chuckle as they continue to bicker. When we hear a commotion outside.

I can see cars lined up, and the sound of Damian arguing with someone reaches my ears.

Stepping outside, I find Damian engaged in a heated argument with a woman, the car door blocking my view of her face, but for some reason, her voice is familiar.

“Bloody hell, woman! How many times do I have to tell you? I am the King’s beta! I live here! What do you think? I would bring you here if I didn’t?” Damian snaps angrily. Suddenly, the sound of a crying child fills the air.

“Great! Now you woke him,” Damian mutters, standing upright and revealing the toddler in his arms.

“Give him here! Give me my son!” the woman demands, her voice filled with desperation and anger.

“No! Do you want him? Then get out of the damn car!” Damian retorts firmly, his frustration palpable.

“Man, they have done nothing but bitch and fight the entire way back,” Liam groans, clearly exasperated by the situation.

“Fine! But if your King abuses me for trespassing, you can bet your damn ass I will whoop his!” the feisty woman warns defiantly.

“Good! Whoop his ass! He is right behind you. Let’s see what you got, short stuff!

” Damian challenges her, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

The woman turns around suddenly, her movements swift and fierce.

I gasp and rock back on my heels as recognition washes over me.

She still has the same face, though she has aged, she is more womanly than scrawny like she was at the orphanage.

“What is going on?” Kyson growls, his tone filled with both confusion and concern. Damian rubs a hand down his face wearily, looking both exhausted and defeated.

“Kyson, this is Tandi. Tandi, this is his royal highness, King Kyson, the one you want to beat,” Damian mocks, but my attention is fixated on the woman before me. Our eyes meet, and her mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water.

“Taylor?” I choke out, barely able to believe my own words.

“Ivy?” she stammers in shock.

“Taylor?” Damian says, taken aback. But my feet are already moving as I race towards her.

“Oh my gosh, it’s really you!” I shriek with joy, throwing my arms around her in a tight embrace.

“What are you doing here?” Taylor cries, clutching me just as tightly. Tears stream down both of our faces as we hold each other tightly.

“Wait! What about Abbie?” she asks, holding me at arm’s length to search my face for answers.

“She’s here. I can’t believe you’re alive!” I cry, my voice filled with a mixture of disbelief and overwhelming happiness. I cup Taylor’s face in my hands, cherishing this long-awaited reunion.

“Hang on, what is going on? Who is Taylor?” Damian interrupts, his confusion evident in his voice. I tear my gaze away from Taylor to look at Damian, a smile still plastered on my face.