Page 72 of Knot My Wonderland

"The First Queen saw further into the future than anyone realized," Varik confirmed, settling into a chair that materialized to accommodate him. "She knew Wonderland would fracture after her ascension. The Sanctuary, the hidden paths, the pattern itself—they were all meant to preserve what she couldn't protect through direct rule."

Chi drifted closer to the window, his form reflecting in the glass like a half-remembered dream. "You think she planned for Alice specifically?”

Varik gave a hum, “It isn’t outside the realm of possibilities.” His gaze flickered to the other two.

“I am going to leave Alice in your care while I go to the Tweedles.” He gave a dark look to Chi,“Behave.”

Chi flashed a grin that was all teeth. "I always behave. It's just that my definition of 'behaving' tends to be more flexible than most."

I rolled my eyes at their exchange. "I'll be fine, Varik. Go find the Tweedles."

Varik gave Chi one last look before I was left alone with Chi again, and then I could feel the shift in the atmosphere before I found myself pinned to the wall, teal eyes looking down on me.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Alice

Chi's face was inches from mine, his breath warm against my skin. The silver patterns beneath my flesh responded instantly, pulsing in rhythm with my racing heart.

"Chi," I whispered, uncertainty and something else—something deeper—coloring my voice.

Chi’s eyes went to the pulsing necklace around my neck, and I could see his eyes narrow and lips pull back into a low growl, “You are getting along with the little prince it seems.”

My breath caught at the possessive edge in Chi's voice, the way his solid form pressed against me with an intensity I'd never felt from him before. The Heart Stone pulsed against my chest, still warm from my connection to Heart, and I could see how it affected Chi—the way his jaw tightened, his pupils dilating as primal instincts warred with rational thought.

"The connection isn't what you think," I said softly, though my voice wavered as his teal eyes bored into mine. "It's tactical—"

"Is it?" Chi's hand came up to trace the chain at my throat, his touch feather-light yet somehow burning. "Because I can smell him on you, Alice. The bond you've formed—it goes deeper than strategy."

I swallowed hard, acutely aware of every point where Chi's energy touched mine. "You're jealous."

"Jealous?" Chi's laugh was dark, almost feral. "I'm territorial. There's a difference." His free hand came up to brace against the wall beside my head, effectively caging me in place. "I've spent centuries existing as fragments, Alice. Scattered pieces of consciousness drifting between realities. And then you arrived, and for the first time in longer than I care to remember, I became whole."

The silver patterns beneath my skin flared brighter, responding to his proximity and the raw emotion in his voice. Through the ward consciousness, I could feel his energy—wild, desperate, and completely focused on me.

"Chi—" I started, but was cut off.

"Do you know what it's like?" he continued, his voice dropping to a whisper that somehow felt more intense than shouting. "To finally find something that makes you real, only to watch another claim pieces of it?" His fingers traced along my collarbone, following the path of silver light beneath my skin. "The Heart Stone connects you to him in ways that should be mine."

I felt my breath hitch as his touch sent sparks of silver light racing along my nerves. "It's not a competition, Chi. What I feel for you and what the connection with Heart represents—they're different things entirely."

"Are they?" His thumb brushed across the Heart Stone, and I gasped at the conflicting sensations—the crystal's warm pulse mixing with Chi's electric touch. "Because from where I'mstanding, it looks like you're collecting bonds with every Alpha you meet."

The word 'Alpha' hung in the air between us, loaded with implications I was only beginning to understand. I remembered the Caterpillar's words about pack formations, about the five connections that would anchor me.

"The Caterpillar said there would be five," I whispered, watching Chi's expression shift from possessive anger to something more complex. "You knew this would happen." Chi's hand stilled, a low hiss coming from him as his ears laid back in anger.

"You think I'm choosing him over you?" I asked, trying to calm the situation.

"Aren't you?" Chi's eyes searched mine, teal depths swirling with emotions too complex to name. I reached up, my fingers finding the curve of his jaw. The moment our skin connected, the silver patterns beneath mine blazed with recognition, and Chi's form solidified even further—more real, more present.

"You're wrong," I said quietly, watching his eyes widen as my touch anchored him more completely to this reality. "The connection with Heart... it's like having another frequency on a radio. But you, Chi—you're the signal I tune everything else to."

Chi's breath caught at my words, his rigid posture softening slightly. The possessive tension in his shoulders eased, though his hands remained braced against the wall on either side of me.

"A signal," he repeated, his voice wondering. "Not just another connection, but the foundation."

"Yes," I breathed, my thumb tracing along his cheekbone where silver light bloomed beneath his skin in response to my touch. "You ground me, Chi. Without you, all these other connections would just be chaos."

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