Falling in love with my Ex's Alpha Chapter 186: Book 2 - Chapter 19

***The Healer***

I run to my Prince so fast that I have time to hold his head before he passes out.

Oh my Goddess. What the fuck happened?

Could the reason be because he was exhausted on the journey today?

Did I push him too much?

I rest his head on my lap and run my hand through his soft hair as I heal him. He’s paler than usual as if he’s seen a ghost.

I don’t feel anything wrong with him that needs to be healed. Yet he remains unconscious.

*Open your eyes, Prince, for me!*

“What happened to him?” Dana asks me, and I remember that I’m not alone with him.

“I don’t know. I already healed him, but he didn’t wake up!” I say, trying to hide the pain in my heart.

“Don’t waste your time on him, Lexi. He’s just a human. A weak human, I could say!” Nige speaks from afar. He is still in the same place I was with him just now.

“How can you say that?” I say through my teeth, but I don’t turn to him. I keep looking at Prince. His eyes are closed, but I see his eyelid moving as if he’s in a nightmare.

“He can’t even speak! I’m sure he must have some dirty illness that even you can’t heal. The sooner you accept this, the better it will be. You need to save your strength for the trip and not waste it frivolously,” I feel his hate in every word, even though he says them with the same tone he voices in a normal conversation. I know this because I’ve seen him talk the same way about other people...

“I will heal anyone here regardless,” I say coldly.

“And that’s the problem, not everyone here deserves your power!” Nige retorts.

Goddess help me! This trip has barely started, and I’m already hating that he came along.

As I am about to respond, Letum touches my shoulder, “Let’s move him to where you’re going to sleep. I’ve already arranged the place.”

As always, Letum’s style is to act silently without anyone noticing and only show his shit when it’s ready. I give a short nod, and with his help, we both move Prince to where our blankets are.

“Are you going to sleep with him?” Nige spits out each word with such anger that I startle at his tone. “I thought you were sleeping in separate beds!”

I don’t even waste my time answering him. I keep setting Prince up and wrapping him up. He still appears to be in pain, but it doesn’t seem to be anything physical in his body.

“Lexi,” Nige says, approaching me, he crouches next to me. Letum goes to his blankets next to Dana’s. “You’re going to sleep with me like we always did, right?”

“What? You smoked wolfsbane?" I turn to him in disbelief and anger at him proposing this audacity. “No! We’re not together anymore, Nige. I’m never going to sleep with you again! Put that in your head!”

He looks at Prince with disdain and disgust and then looks at me. “Alexa, you’re going to regret this!” he gets up as furious as his words and goes to where his blankets are.

I sit next to Prince, holding his hand under the blanket. “The first watch is mine. Dana, you take the second.”

Dana just murmurs, and the cave falls silent until I start to hear everyone’s light snores.

I stay alert, paying attention to every sound at night. But I can’t get Nige’s last words out of my head. I can’t shake the feeling that something about them seemed more like a threat than a statement.

🐺 🐺 🐺

The next day greets us with a radiant sun shining down upon us as we resume our trek through the wintry landscape.

After my fight with Nige yesterday, he woke up today and didn’t talk to me anymore. Today, he is the one ignoring me. In the past, when this happened, I would run to him to resolve it and get back together. Now, I simply found peace in him further away from me.

Despite the sun’s cheery disposition, the air retains its chilly bite, reminding us that winter’s grip still lingers.

With backpacks firmly strapped on, we trudge forward, our footsteps echoing against the frost-covered ground. The sun’s rays filter through the barren branches overhead, casting long shadows that dance with each step we take. A sunnier day, indeed, but the cold remains a steadfast companion on our journey.

Prince woke up as if nothing had happened, and he didn’t remember being sick the day before. I didn’t ask him anything because it wouldn’t make any difference — he never answered me, anyway.

I braided his hair, and the bastard looks even more charming with his hair like that now.

Whenever Nige looks at us holding hands, he looks at me disgustingly and walks faster.

My eyes squint against the blinding glare of the sun, searching the landscape for any signs of life or thaw amidst the frozen tundra. Though snow is beginning to slush in places, it remains as stubbornly icy as ever.

The trail winds through groves of skeletal trees, their bare branches reaching desperately for warmth that seems perpetually out of reach. The air is thick with the scent of impending spring, a heady mix of thawing snow and dormant vegetation.

We repeated the same as the previous day — we discreetly walked without stopping, took shelter, ate, and rested.

The next day, the landscape was very different. I know that there are almost no rogues around here, and the nearest pack border is very far away.

“We’re going to train today to rest, and in the afternoon, we’ll continue our trip,” I tell them when they already have their backpacks ready. I can’t afford to avoid training another day.

“Training *to rest*?” Dana whimpers, dropping her shoulders.

“That’s a great idea!” Letum says with a smile, placing his backpack on the cave floor. I have the impression that he only liked the idea because Dana didn’t like it.

“All of us? Even *Prince*?" Nige says with a raised eyebrow, mocking the way I call Prince.

“He can run with me. I really need to run,” Letum shrugs like he doesn’t care. As if what he was suggesting didn’t warm my heart.

“Do you need to *run*? What’s wrong with you? Is the trip we’re taking being easy for you?” Dana reproaches him with her eyes and takes off her coat.

Letum shrugs, and I take off his coat too. Prince sees everyone doing it and does the same, “I’ll run with you then, like old times,” Nige says, and my eyes catch the flexing muscle of Letum’s jaw.

Nige running with Prince? This is not going to work. But at least in front of the cave where we are, there is a vast empty field. It will be easy to see them running even from afar while I spar with Dana.

Letum looks at me, waiting for my confirmation. I give a curt nod, and we all leave the cave.

“Don’t go too far. Even though no rogues are around here, don’t let your guard down,” I say, and Letum looks at Prince and points his head towards the empty field, then starts going in the direction he pointed.

Prince turns his head slightly to the side and then looks at me. I give a small smile, and then I nod, and he follows Letum.

I hear Nige’s teeth grinding. He doesn’t say anything; he follows Letum, too.

Now, a little far from where we are, I see Letum talking to the two of them, and then I see Prince take off his shirt, gracing me with his sculpt muscles. The sun illuminates him as if he were not the son of the Moon Goddess but of the Sun itself.

“Are we going to spar, or are you going to stand there with your mouth open, drooling?” Dana pushes me by the shoulder, and I look away from him with a smile on my face and look at her, rolling my eyes.

🐺 🐺 🐺

After almost an hour of sparring with Dana, Letum, Prince, and Nige continue running. Their entire trail can be seen from where we are.

I pay so much attention to them that Dana has already punched me in the face a couple of times because of it.

I lean forward and hold my knee, breathing heavily, Dana does the same.

When we spar, we consider each other’s enemies. “How can Prince run fast enough to keep up with Letum and Nige?” she asks, genuinely confused.

“It’s easy for him. He has three legs!” I say, eye fucking him running. The V line of his abdomen seems to call me with each step he takes.

Dana laughs loudly, and so do I, “I saw it in the central cave. I totally agree!” she says with a smirk, and I shoot a glare at her and stand up straight.

She raises her hand in surrender, “Okay, okay, easy,” she laughs at my reaction, “that’s not all I saw.”

When I look at her angrily again, she continues, “I don’t know how to tell you, but... I kind of saw Prince stealing an old brooch from Luna that was in the office the other day.”

My demeanor changes to confusion, “Why would he do that? You must be mistaken!”

Her eyes become serious, “I know what I saw!”

I remember seeing that old brooch there... “So what? That old brooch isn’t worth anything. My mother doesn’t even wear it anymore.”

“It starts like this. First, it’s something worthless...” *then it’s something valuable.* She doesn’t need to continue because I know what she means.

“He has no reason to steal that old thing. You’re worrying for nothing,” I say harshly to her.

“If you say so,” Dana says as we continue our spar.

My eyes steal one last glance at where they’re running. I’m pretty sure Nige didn’t come here because he’s trying to win the race first.

I don’t tell Dana that I saw Prince doing the same thing with Letum’s broken bracelet. But I make a mental note to ask Letum about her later...

The thing is that I don’t know Prince, and it seems like he doesn’t know himself either.

It’s a mystery who he is. And for that reason alone, I should distrust him just as I do everyone else. But when it comes to him, I’m just as pathetically blind as Tyra.

🐺 🐺 🐺

In the following days, the further we walked, the more it seemed that spring had arrived faster in the next regions as the trees were no longer covered in snow.

The sky above was a delightful shade of gloomy gray, promising rain that would turn the pristine snow into a soggy, slushy mess.

Brave little shoots of greenery dared to poke their heads through the frost. The branches’ trees swayed with a theatrical flair, heralding the imminent arrival of a more colorful, less monochrome scene.

Two days ago, we arrived at the cave to the west, where I introduced Prince to Letum and Dana. And then we went to the place that will be our new pack. I showed the territory to Nige, Dana, and Letum.

The three of them seemed as happy with the new place as I was, each suggesting in their own vision what we could do there, what each one imagined and dreamed of being our future home. Nige, who was ignoring me, was overjoyed with the territory.

We had to return to the cave to the west because it was the only one that fit all of us. Furthermore, shortly after we arrived at the cave, a rain and lightning storm started.

I was on my first watch when Dana woke up screaming.

I leave where I am and go straight to her, and Letum does the same. Even though he avoids showing it, he is visibly worried about her.

She puts her hand where her heart is, “I can’t do it! I can’t do it anymore, Lexi!” she cries desperately.

The truth she has attempted to conceal over the past few days is now impossible to hide. She can’t stay away from her fated mate anymore. The nightmares got worse; she could no longer eat or sleep properly. Also, she developed an itch on her arms that, even though I tried to heal it, didn’t stop — the itch was a psychological reaction to being away from her mate.

“I know,” I say as I pat her hair. Sweat drips down her forehead as she breathes heavily.

Letum looks at me expectantly. For me, Dana would have already come back, but she’s too stubborn for that. She wants to see the new pack built with her own hands, and I can’t deny her that.

“Dana, you must come back,” I say firmly. She looks at me with tears in her eyes. I see Letum’s little finger lightly touch her hand resting on her blanket.

“Nige and Letum, you’re going back with Dana,” I turn to Nige, who isn’t far away from me.

“What? I’m not going,” Nige says petulantly, crossing his arms. Letum just nods, he would agree to go with her just because he wouldn’t leave Dana alone with Nige, Letum distrusts him...

“I won’t leave you here alone with him, especially after seeing you two on this trip. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself, Lexi? I expected more from you,” he says each word angrily.

My hands curl into fists as I stand up, and I curse, “You will go! That’s my final word,” I say with my Alpha aura. “Go and see if you can bring more people to help. Now that we know how we will do everything, it will be easier to explain to my parents.”

“Why do I need to go with them? It’s completely unreasonable,” Nige snaps. “Why, Lexi? Because you don’t want to be my chosen mate?” he has the nerve to look hurt.

“Yes, of course! I don’t want to be your chosen mate. I already told you! For fuck’s sake!” I yell at him.

Nige looks at Prince sitting next to Dana, as worried about her as I am. I glance at Prince, and he looks at me with his adorable, confused look; his dark blue doe gaze calms me down.

“Why are you so obsessed with him? He’s a human, Alexa! Is it because he seems rich?” He points at Prince with his hand and waves it, “I’m sure that if he could talk and were truly wealthy like he looks like, he wouldn’t even care about you! Not like *I* care!” Nige gets closer to me, “I know your darker side, Alexa! You’re as perverse as me! Don’t try to deny it—” he tries to hold my hand.

I cut him off. I don’t have it in me to pretend to buy any of his bullshit anymore. The day has dawned and it’s perfect for them to go, “Prepare your things and go immediately.”

I take a step back away from him. What he said hurt me, but I don’t give him the satisfaction of showing it.

“You know what? I know two people who are eager to help. One to stay by my side and one to stay by *his* side,” he points with his chin at Prince. “Lucy and Rose would love coming here.”

I scoff to mask my anger.

Then, I remain silent as they get ready to go.

🐺 🐺 🐺

***The Deceiver***

As I walk with my heavy backpack on my back, I start to make my plan. It wasn’t easy the last time I eliminated someone close to her, but it will definitely be this time.

He’s just a human, I’m doing her a favor.

My eyes go in the direction where I know some rogues are eager to enslave humans. He’s a good runner, I can give him that. I’m sure his legs will be the first thing to be broken.

My smirk widens, “What’s that face for, Nigel?” stupid Dana asks, interrupting my plans.

I raise an eyebrow, I see Letum tightening his grip on the straps of his backpack.

“I’m just excited about our plans.” And mine. *Oh, I have even grander designs in store.*

They both shrug and continue walking, utterly unaware of the latter.