Their Hidden Princess (Zora and Maximus) novel Chapter 263

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Chapter 263

Max’s POV

Max hadn’t made it far from his initial starting point before he had to stop and try to grab hold of the mating bond again. Closing his eyes, with his hand over his heart, he meditated, trying to manifest the bond in his mind’s eye as a rope, a tether, guiding his heart to Zora.

With progress this painfully slow, he was having trouble not allowing his frustration to take root and ruin everything.

Zora was depending on him. As her first mate, he should be the one to feel the bond the strongest. If anyone could find her this way, it was him.

He wouldn’t give up. To find Zora, he would never give up.

There. He felt it, and knew he should keep heading north.

With confidence, he opened his eyes and continued in that direction.

Thorne trudged along behind him. “This is going slower than Valentin said it would.”

“You are welcome to help,” Max said gruffly. “Or leave. Find your own way.”

“No,” Thorne said. “My bond to Zora is the weakest. I’d never find her on my own.”

“Then we go at my pace. This can’t be rushed or I could lose the trail.”

“You seem to barely have it to start with.”

Max took a few steps forward in anger, but the harder he held onto the tether, the more it diminished, until once more, he stopped being able to feel Zora at all.

He stopped so suddenly, Throne very nearly ran into the back of him.

“What is it?” Thorne asked.

“I lost her.”

“Again?”

Max started growling. Unable to control his sudden influx of rage, fueled in part by Thorne’s unhelpful comments but also by Max’s own incompetence, he swiveled on his heels and grabbed Thorne by the front of the shirt.

“If you could stay quiet for more than five minutes, maybe I could find her!”

Thorne shoved Max away. “Don’t blame me for what you can’t do!”

“This can’t be rushed,” Max growled. “If you want to be impulsive, why don’t you go and follow Kairos instead?”

Thorne exhaled sharply. “Kairos is just blowing off steam. He’ll never actually find Zora that way. Even if the vampires had Zora, they wouldn’t tell him. If he’s even asking.”

“Surely he would think to interrogate them…?”

“As mad as he is? I know the guy better than most. We’ve been something like friends for a long time. He’s smart but he doesn’t think things through when he’s this pissed off. With him, the wolf is probably in charge right now.”

“So he’s lost…”

“Until we can find Zora, I wouldn’t count on any help from Kairos,” Thorne said. “I don’t know what Valentin is up to. Maybe he’d fair better. But it really does feel like it’s just up to us, ya know? And, sorry, I guess. That does make me impatient, because there is pressure.”

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Thorne lowered his arms flat to his sides. His head dropped, as his jaw clenched. “I can’t lose her, Maximus.”

“And you think I can?” Max argued, his blood still boiling.

Thorne looked up in surprise.

“She is the world to me now. Without her… I can’t…” Max curled his hands into tight–fists. Gods, he was so ready to throw a punch, but hitting Thorne wouldn’t solve anything. Neither would hitting vampires, despite whatever Kairos was thinking.

The only way to fix this sinking feeling and this rage, for all of them, was to find Zora.

“I’m sorry,” Thorne said suddenly, speaking more calmly than before. “I’ll be quiet.”

With Thorne’s calm, Max exhaled, allowing his own rage to leave him. “Okay.”

“Try again,” Thorne said.

“Okay.”

Max closed his eyes again, and placed his hand to his chest. He stretched out his senses, trying to locate the bond. When he felt onto it, he tugged it with his mind, holding as tightly as he could.

Zora.

Through the bond, he could feel her heart beating. She was alive. Strong. If she was a prisoner, she didn’t seem to be hurt. At least nothing major.

His stomach flipped at the thought, but he pushed it away to focus.

I’m coming for you, he whispered through the bond. I will find you. Just keep holding on.

“This way,” Max said, opening his eyes.

This time, as they started forward, following the bond, Thorne stayed silent, following Max.

Kairos‘ POV

Kairos moved with the wild rage of a crazed wolf.

Leaving the others behind, he relied on his Alpha wolf senses to search out a vampire camp. Their hideout had been in a good location. He had to travel for miles before he found a proper encampment. When he did, he entered with teeth and claws, giving no warning.

The vampires tried to fight back, but he was a man possessed by fury. He couldn’t feel their attacks. He didn’t care if he was hurt. His focus was solely to tear their heads off, to see all vampires gruesomely destroyed, unable to hurt anyone else. Vampires were the monsters people feared, but Kairos was determined to become a monster to the vampires. Let them whisper his name in terror. Let them tremble as he howled.

One by one, Kairos tore through the vampires, ignoring any and all damage to himself, until all but one were dead. This one, wounded and cowering in the dirt, surrounded by the blood and bodies of his brethren, looked pitiful and broken. One of his legs was cracked in the wrong direction.

Coated in blood and sinew, Kairos stood before him, shifting from wolf form to man.

The trembling vampire inched back, scrambling through the dirt on his elbows and heels, never taking his eyes off of Kairos.

Kairos growled, “Where do you think you are going?”

Surging forward, Kairos closed the distance in a flash and grabbed the vampire by the throat, keeping him still.

Chapter 283

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Kairos lifted the vampire up, his feet dangling, and brought his face dangerously close. The vampire showed his sharp canine teeth, some pathetic form of intimidation.

If Kairos hadn’t been so crazed with anger, he would have laughed.

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