Chapter 164
Serafine POV
I don’t know what to say, other than this was reckless and proved Xander right. Having something like this is dangerous. All it takes is one person with magic who wants to manipulate it.
Creating it is hard, it takes a lot, but to manipulate it? That’s easy. Anyone with magic could do it. “Eryx,” I whisper.
“I get it, it’s a risk, and dangerous, but that is why I put a veil over it so no one could see it. You didn’t see it or sense it and you have magic.”
He’s not wrong, I didn’t see or sense it, but that’s not the point. “It needs closing,” I say.
“Please, he never lets me leave, and this is the only connection I have to April, not to mention the time it takes to travel that far.”
I get what he’s saying, but this is a risk. “Eryx, you can’t leave a portal up and open. I didn’t even know this was possible. I’ve read about them, but always assumed they weren’t real.”
Sighing, I look at him. “What happens if Amelia follows you? Sees it and then tries to figure it out? Have you considered that?”
“She’s not allowed out here,” he argues.
“Neither are you, but you’ve proven you can get out here if you want,” I say.
“April lives four days away. This was just to make it easier.”
“Does her father know?” I ask.
“No.” He looks at me and sits. “When I got there, I felt the bond. I used it to get her to come to me. I’ve not gone into the pack, Mother, despite what you all think. No one knows I’ve been there.”
That helps a bit, but not much. “Your father is worried, and he’s right to be. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this,” I say as I gesture to the portal. “It needs to be closed, Eryx.”
“No. If I close it, I can’t get through, and she can’t come here. I swear it’s safe, and it’s easier to keep it up than to rebuild it every time. The more I rebuild it and re–open it, the more risk there is.”
I’m torn. I get it, now that he’s found his mate, it isn’t easy to be away from them, and four days of travel away from each other. ning, I rub my face. “I’m not sure how to figure this out, Eryx.”
“Just give me time. When Dad accepts April and lets her visit, I will close it. I won’t use it again. We all know he won’t let her come yet.”
Standing, I pace. “You’re sure you can ensure it’s safe, unseen, unfelt, and that no one can find it, on our side or hers?” I ask.
He nods quickly. “I’m sure.”
“How did you know your mate was there to do it?” I ask.
“I didn’t. I built this to just travel to other packs and see what they were like. It was a way for me to get out of our pack without him giving me abuse and a list of places I’m not allowed to go, along with guards to keep me in place.”
That I can understand. “I realised, though, when Dad and Killian were talking. Killian mentioned I could have a mate, if I was really growing how we suspected.”
“You did a spell,” I say.
Sighing, he nods. “I didn’t expect it to happen. Like Dad, I assumed that while I grew, aged, and learnt fast, that I wouldn’t have got a mate yet but i die
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10:57 Tue, 8 Jul
Chapter 164
“Did you know that it was a rival pack before you went?” I ask.
He nods. “Yeah, I knew, but that’s why I stayed close to this. When I went through, I felt the bond and reached out. She came to me. If she wasn’t alone, I could have slipped back through and closed it.”
It’s still a risk. That was a risk. The fact he went to an enemy pack’s land and in their actual land, not outside the borders.
“She’s amazing. April is lovely, and if Dad just gave her a chance, he would realise that himself and see it. I get he doesn’t trust easily, especially those who cross him or those from their family, but April isn’t like that. She’s not the daughter raised to lead. She’s a daughter raised to be the perfect mate and Luna to whoever her father wants her to marry.”
“Which won’t be you,” I say.
His eyes widen.
“Eryx, he’s not about to agree to let her be with you, not easily. He trained her to marry someone else, and that someone else is going to expect her to agree. You have to be prepared for the fact she might reject you.”
“She wouldn’t,” he argues.
“She might. Especially if her father threatens you, or someone else, if she doesn’t follow his orders. Keep that in mind. You want to enjoy this, enjoy it. Just don’t fool yourself into believing this will be easy and straightforward. It won’t be,”
He leans against the tree. “I was hoping that our bond together would build the alliance between our packs, even if it’s tense to begin with. Bonds are about bringing packs together, not tearing them apart.”
“But not all Alphas agree. Just promise me you haven’t claimed her or mated with her.” That’s something that will cause a war.
“No, but it’s not something we can avoid forever. At some point, people need to accept that we’re mates and let us be together.”
He thinks it’s easy. That’s where his childish nature comes in, the inability to see past his own wants and needs to the danger.
