Page 18 of Dark Prince's Captive

My mother, no longer able to contain herself, lets out a terrified cry.

“I’m done waiting,” I say.

With that, I leave my traitorous parent and hurry back to my quarters.I stop outside the sealed entrance, using my enhanced vision to look through the wall.By now, Elsie should be awake.Some may call it spying, but I’m curious about what she’s been up to in my absence.

My small, exquisite mate is standing in front of the sealed archway with the bed sheet twisted around her body.My own body reacts in an instant, heating at the sight of her, knowing there’s nothing beneath that sheet but soft, silky skin.

The feeling is powerful.It’s like nothing I’ve experienced.It’s sweet and thick like melted honey—pure, unadulterated lust.Under the hem of my tunic, my cock stirs in my pants.It takes great effort to ignore it and even more to will it down.

I watch for a few seconds while she feels with nimble fingers along the crevices of the stone wall, no doubt searching for an exit.

When I let the wall dissolve, revealing the entrance, she stumbles backward, staring at me with wide eyes.Her short hair stands in all directions on her head, the messy style making her look peculiarly adorable.

She glances at the opening, no doubt speculating if she’d get past me if she made a run for it.Before she can act on such a futile idea, I step inside and seal the wall.

“Where the hell am I?”she demands.“What did you do to?—”

She bites off the words mid-sentence, her eyes growing even rounder.“Wait.”She backtracks, clutching the sheet between her breasts.“I speak your language.”

“Yes,” I say, giving her a patient smile.“You do indeed, my sweet.”

Her pretty lips part.“But how?”

It’s difficult to keep my distance.Everything inside me screams for me to take her in my arms and claim her.I can do it right now, here in my bed.But I feel her fear, so I hold back, tamping down the fierce need that fires through my veins and boils my blood.

Instead, I offer her an explanation.“My brother, Kian, has the power of reading and manipulating minds.One of the advantages of that manipulation is that he can grant someone the ability to understand and speak a language.”

“Wait, what?”She holds up a hand.“Back up there for a second.Did you just saypower?”She stares at me as if I were a dragon.“Whatareyou?”

“My name is Aruan.I’m an Alit,” I say, daring another step closer.“The same as you, Laliss.”

“Laliss?The same as me?”She utters a laugh.“You’re hallucinating.”Clasping her forehead, she starts pacing.“MaybeI’mhallucinating.”

“You’re not hallucinating.Vitai, my youngest brother, healed you fully, including all the head injuries you sustained.”

She looks down at her body as if realizing my words for the first time.Her tongue peeks out from the corner of her mouth.I watch with mesmerized fascination as she drags the pink tip over her teeth.

By dragon, if she keeps that up, I’m going to lose control.I want nothing more than to taste those lips and get drunk on her flavor.

A pretty flush turns her cheeks pink, and I know she feels the all-consuming heat and magnetic pull too.

“Yes,” I say as she continues to draw her tongue over her small, white teeth.“He fixed your teeth too.”

“Those fucking lizards,” she mumbles, more to herself than to me.

“Phaelix,” I say, crossing my hands behind my back to prevent myself from touching her.

“What?”

“They’re called the Phaelix.They’re another intelligent species on Zerra.”

“It’s true, then.”She buries the fingers of one hand in her hair.“I’m really on a different planet.”

The complexity of the situation dawns on me.There’s much she doesn’t understand and has to learn.If she’s been on Earth all this time, the existence of our world must be a shock to her.

For all the wonders they have on Earth, the humans there are weak and powerless, and utterly unaware of Zerra.

Then again, there’s much for me to learn as well.I know next to nothing about my mate.I have no idea what she likes or favors.It’s going to take time to get to know each other, something I’m already looking forward to greatly—once I’ve secured our bond.

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