Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the follows and favorites. It makes me want to update faster!
Lexa woke up with the rays of the sun pouring down her window. Yesterday night she had a difficult time falling asleep because of the many questions she had. Looking at her arms, the brunette noticed the bruises and exhaled in relief, realizing that it had all been real and not a fabricated dream. Was it strange for her to be relieved? Perhaps, but mostly she was content with the knowledge that Clarke loved her and needed her. It was nice to feel special and wanted. While growing up, Lexa had not been used to being popular or socially active. She had been determined to graduate high school and start college early and hence she isolated herself. There was also the fact that the death of her parents made her become the main gossip subject of the school (most of the people usually gave her pity looks when they thought she wasn't watching). And if there was one thing Lexa hated the most was when people took pity on her. She didn't want it and she didn't need it. But that was no longer the case and she grew up and became a successful P.I, one that was hired by many and tended to deliver results. She was proud of who she grew up to be and she knew that her parents were proud of her as well. She was not afraid of facing hard situations and hence she was usually capable of remaining calm enough to rationalize things through. And right now she was thankful for having this skill. It allowed her to not completely panic and remember that she wanted to be with the blonde woman. It allowed her to realize that Clarke was very capable of protecting her just like she was capable of protecting herself. Bellamy had been lucky because she had not known about the existence of vampires, but now that she knew she would be ready.
Taking her cellphone out, she called Clarke right away in hopes of getting her to have breakfast with her. She was not expecting the blonde woman to answer right away, but surprisingly it seemed as if Clarke was waiting for her to call with the phone right in her hand.
"Lexa?" she heard Clarke's hesitant voice and it warmed her heart.
"Hey Clarke." she murmured softly.
"Are you alright? Has something happened?" the older woman's hesitation became concern immediately.
"I'm alright apart from a few bruises." she realized she said the wrong thing when the vampire growls from her end of the line.
"I will kill him." Clarke curses darkly.
"These bruises will heal." she calms the blonde woman. "And that's not the reason I'm calling you."
"Whatever you need I'll make it happen." she promises immediately. "Even if that means that you no longer wish to see me. Your safety and happiness means everything to me."
Lexa chuckles softly. "And that's why I can't leave Clarke. You mean a lot to me too. I think I care about you too."
"You think?" the blonde teases her and this calms her down.
"I care about you Clarke. But all of this, it's very confusing. I just need to understand."
"And I promise you that I will tell you everything Lexa. You're my soulmate. I will no longer have secrets from you."
"That calms me tremendously." Lexa says relieved. "Do you think..." she starts to propose but then grows embarrassed. "That we could have breakfast together?"
"You're blushing." the blonde teases her and Lexa tells her to shut up with a soft smile. "I wish I could but I have to fix some things now that Bellamy is gone."
"I understand..." Lexa says disappointed and she knows that Clarke can feel her emotions because in return she feels sadness within her.
"I want to see you. I need to see you. Please, let me set my affairs straight and meet me for lunch at 12:30."
Lexa smiles brightly. She had not expected Clarke to offer an alternative. "Where shall I meet you?"
"Remember the park where Richard and Elise had their first date? Its name is Windemere Park and it's located just at the edge of downtown. It forms part of a hotel of the same name but one can walk around it." Clarke explains to her and she can't help herself but think that the blonde woman is a romantic as well.
"I can ask for directions. Are you sure you're not doing this out of obligation?" she had to ask. She didn't feel these emotions from Clarke but nevertheless she was not used to being wanted in such a way.
"I'm not Lexa. Surely now you can feel what I feel."
"I can and it's so strange. But in a good way." she rambles.
"I'm glad to hear that." the blonde stops talking and Lexa feels vulnerability coming from her. "I'm just really happy you didn't leave."
"I couldn't. Surely you must know that." she reassures the vampire.
"I do now." Clarke starts saying and it seemed as if she was going to add something else but someone on her side started talking as well. "I must go. But I will see you later."
"See you soon." Lexa promises and hangs up.
Taking a look at the clock, she realizes that she has some time to spare. She could go have some breakfast and scout the hotel in search of her thief. The quicker she knew where she was and who she mingled with, the better and easier it would be to arrest her.
CLCLCLCL
Hanging up the phone, Clarke turns around with an angry face ready to scream at the vampire responsible of interrupting her conversation with her soulmate. But she stops herself when she sees that it's her friend Raven. They had not seen each other since she left Arkadia two months ago and she had missed the brunette vampire.
"My Queen." the brunette kneels in front of her and Clarke immediately helps her up.
"You don't need to bow before me Raven, you're like my sister." she says softly while hugging her. "I've missed you."
"So have I blondie." the hacker promises with a wicked smile. "So we're going to war?"
"Seems that way." she mutters while walking towards her room and motioning for Miller to leave them alone. "Not that I'm not glad to see you... But what are you doing here?"
"Apart from the fact that you just declared war on Azgeda and you probably need all the help you can get... I came because I heard some rumors going on around Arkadia."
Knowing what was coming, Clarke went towards her fridge and intended on preparing herself a drink. She stopped herself from getting the bottle of blood and instead went for the one of whisky.
"A drink?" she offers the brunette.
"You know I can never refuse a drink from you." Raven jokes and pours herself a cup of blood. "Is is true that you banished Bellamy from Arkadia?"
"It's true." she merely states while drinking from her cup.
"Why Clarke?! He's your second and you trust him the most. We need him right now because he WAS Azgeda."
"Bellamy will no longer be a part of our coven Raven. I have my reasons for exiling him."
"You've got to give me more than that Clarke. We've been by your side ever since Marcus died. Don't we deserve more than just a 'I did it because I'm the Queen.'?"
"You're pushing too far Raven and right now I have no patience." she warns her friend.
Raven notices the way Clarke's body tenses and that immediately lets her know that something else is going on. She uses her speed to quickly place herself in front of the blonde who reacts way slower than what she should. She raises her cup of blood.
"None for you?" she asks Clarke.
"Won't help." she mutters and she knows Raven hears her.
The brunette vampire sniffs her out once, her nostrils feeling the distinctive smell of Primus mixed with one she had never felt on the blonde woman. Focusing on her friend's eyes, she brings the cup closer to Clarke's nose and immediately notices how her eyes turn red and then return to their shade of blue, rejecting the natural instinct of drinking the blood. Clarke was whiter than normal and her hair was not as bright as it tended to be.
"You found your mate." Raven realizes once she puts all the different signs together. "And you haven't fed since you started the Bond."
"I couldn't." Clarke hisses angrily.
"Clarke!" the brunette admonishes her immediately. "You know how dangerous it is to start a bond and not complete it. How vulnerable it can leave you and your mate! How could you be so reckless?"
"She's a mundane." the blonde admits to her. "And I just met her three days ago."
"Shiiit." Raven huffs in surprise. "How ironic for YOU to have a mundane as a mate. The one person that cannot afford herself any vulnerabilities has the most vulnerable species of all as their partner."
"Raven..." Clarke warns her and she can feel her inner beast wanting to take control, wanting to make the brunette vampire respect her mate and their bond.
"You know what I mean with this." Raven explains immediately. "You just started a war with Azgeda and the last thing you need right now is for them to hunt down your mate."
"They won't!" the blonde screams and Raven feels scared of her friend for the first time in a long time. "She's mine and I'll keep her safe. From anyone." she threatens her.
"I don't mean HER..." she emphasizes on the gender. "Any harm. You can trust me."
"Right now I find myself having some trust issues because of some current events."
"Bellamy did something to anger you and it was involved with your mate." she realizes and remembers how the male vampire had asked her to find some information about a woman named Lexa Woods.
"He did more than that."
"You know how Bellamy can be overprotective of us. He thinks that we're naive and that we can't defend ourselves and hence he takes his role as lead of security very seriously. I'm sure he meant well..."
"He threatened my mate!" Clarke screams and the veins in her eyes start showing. "He held her against her will against a wall, he used his ability on her and told her of our existence and my role as the Queen. He bruised her and he was not letting her go!"
Shit, Raven thinks immediately, what an asshole.
"I'm sorry Clarke." she apologizes immediately and now she can better understand why Bellamy was banished.
In fact, thinking about it, he should be dead. Vampires were very territorial about their mates and anyone that caused them any harm tended to be killed or challenged by a vampire's inner beast.
"I wanted to kill him." Clarke chokes out and she can feel her friend's sorrow. "He made me want to kill him and I almost did."
"I'm surprised you only banished him to be honest. No one would have blamed you for defending your mate Clarke. Specially if they're your soulmate."
"She asked me not to." the blonde vampires chuckles darkly. "Because she could feel how much it would hurt me to kill him."
"She calmed you while your inner beast was in control?" Raven asks completely shocked.
"I know. I'm surprised she was capable of maintaining her calm and composure. She was consoling me while all I wanted to do was kill him. She hugged me and kissed my eyes Raven! She should have been scared of me. I was almost lost to the beast and she brought me back." Clarke says with complete awe and devotion.
"Have you talked to her about what happened?"
"She asked me for some time last night. Said she needed to process what happened." the blonde murmurs weakly and it's weird for Raven to see her usually confident friend be like this. "But she called this morning and asked me to have breakfast with her."
"Then why are you here?" Raven admonishes her.
"I just exiled my second in command and I need to fix things inside the coven." she mutters boredly. "Azgeda probably knows already about my decision to demote Bellamy and I don't want them thinking that they can use it to their advantage and ambush us."
"You fear something more." Raven says knowingly.
"I fear Bellamy will betray us."
"He would never!"
"I thought he would never hurt me and yet he almost killed my mate last night." Clarke tells her somberly. "Besides, we both know that Bellamy is capable of doing anything as long as he believes he's doing it for the right reasons."
"Even if he's wrong." Raven adds as well because they all remember what he did to Octavia.
"Have you heard from her?" Clarke has to ask.
"Last time we talked she was in Europe traveling." Raven says absently. "She never gave me an exact location and I never asked. You know she doesn't trust us because we're close to her brother."
"But she knows that we had no choice when we pardoned him." Clarke murmurs softly.
"Yeah, but it sucks that we couldn't do more for her Clarke. She deserved better than what she got."
"I know Raven." the blonde vampire whispers. "That decision still haunts me till this day."
"It's not your fault Octavia abandoned the coven Clarke." Raven tells her softly.
"I was her Queen. She and her mate deserved justice and I didn't give it to her. I was supposed to be the good guy."
"Maybe there are no good guys." the brunette whispers.
"Maybe there aren't." the blonde agrees. "Only people who want to survive."
"And Bellamy is a risk." Raven agrees because she knows her friend and what he's capable of.
"Bellamy becomes a danger to others when he feels that he's going to lose everything he has. And I just took it all away from him." Clarke says.
"What about his mate? Murphy?"
"The mundane doesn't wish to be turned. And I know he won't leave Arkadia with Bellamy. He has his family and friends here. Sadly for Bellamy, his bond with the boy is not strong enough."
"He asked him already?" Raven said surprised.
"Yes, and the boy apologized to him. Bellamy was heartbroken."
"When did he tell you this?" Raven asks because she was now understanding better his friend's motives for wanting to discredit Clarke's mate.
"The day I met Lexa." she smiles softly while mentioning her mate's name.
"And did you tell him that you suspected she was your mate?"
"I thought I could trust him." she murmurs. "Of course I told him."
"And he got jealous." Raven realizes.
"He wanted me to stop seeing her even when I told her that we were bonded." Clarke scoffs. "Imagine, the hypocrisy of him telling me that mundane mates are dangerous."
"It all makes sense now." the brunette whispers but Clarke hears her.
"What makes sense?" she asks her friend carefully.
"That night you two talked he called me." she confesses. "Asking me to find everything I could about a woman named Lexa Woods. I asked him if you gave him permission to do so and he said that he was doing it for your safety. I said I would help him because I trusted him. I'm sorry Clarke."
"Don't apologize. You were following your second's orders." Clarke murmurs, feeling tired. "Did you find anything that would make him react violently towards my mate?"
"Nothing Clarke. There's nothing shady about her that connects her to our world or the covens. I told him that and yet he still attacked your mate."
"He was jealous and he wanted to discredit my mate because his was not his soulmate." Clarke shrugs.
"Shit." Raven closes her eyes while sitting down. "This doesn't make me feel more confident about Bellamy's loyalty.
"Rest assured that this is not the last we'll see of Bellamy." the Queen says somberly. "If Murphy does as I suspect and rejects him, he'll come back for me and my mate."
CLCLCLCL
Lexa had forgotten how much she enjoyed to be on a stakeout. She liked the freedom to look around her and try to guess what the people surrounding her were doing, who they were, where they were going... It made her realize that her grievances, her pain; all of those things could be nothing in comparison to other people's suffering. It made her remember that she was lucky for simply being alive, for having people who cared about her and the stability and freedom of doing what she loved. Stakeouts were a chance for her to be reminded of the beauty of life and of the many ways one could choose to live life. One could either choose to live it fully or dully. She was always going to choose the first option.
Walking around the hotel, she was finally familiarizing herself with the many different rooms of the place. She had been embarrassed to realize that she needed to ask for directions yet again to go have breakfast and later to find the main entrance of the hotel. But it had been a good opportunity to learn of the many different spots one could use for hiding or for trying to blend in. The lobby was open to everyone and the fact that guests not only came to sleep at the hotel but also visit it because of the Somewhere in Time movie made things a little more complicated for her. It meant that more people would be at the hotel, specially this weekend when everyone seemed to know that the cast and crew were going to be here.
Deciding that it was time to take a small break and perhaps start to make her way to the park, Lexa left the Grand Hotel and quietly strolled around the island, absorbing everything surrounding her. Clarke had not been mistaken when she told her that the place held this romantic allure, probably because most of the buildings seemed to come from the 18th century. But the charm of Mackinac Island was not only the buildings- it was also the fact that there were no cars. Instead, people had to use bikes or even carriages, creating this notion of the past and of easier times. That night that Clarke used her limo to take them back to the hotel had been a rather surprising thing, perhaps it having to do with who Clarke was and the power she held over the administrators of the island. Before she would have just assumed that it was because of her last name and money, but now that she knew who the blonde really was, perhaps that also helped her cement her influence and power.
When she finally made it to the park, Lexa smiled softly and immediately thought of the movie scene where Elise and Richard went for their first date. Surprisingly, the place had not changed very much and she could clearly picture where each thing would have been. She noticed the yellow umbrellas and the white benches surrounding the place and it gave her a sense of peace she had not felt in a very long time. Taking a seat in one of the tables and closing her eyes, she merely listened to the sound of the wind and the softness of the waves that surrounded the place. Surprised by her enhanced sensibility, she also noticed a person approaching her, their steps were light and concise, their target very clear. Opening her eyes, she noticed a brunette woman staring down at her with intrigue and curiosity.
"Do you mind if I sit here with you?" the woman asked her and Lexa looked around her. All of the other tables were empty.
"Sure." she murmured but still allowed the stranger to sit down. She would not be rude and she felt that the woman meant her no harm.
"Thanks." she said and immediately took a seat. "First time here?"
"Yes." Lexa merely answered.
"Likewise." the younger brunette added.
Lexa didn't answer back and the two women spent their time together in complete silence, neither feeling the need to add something else to the conversation or interrupt the peacefulness of the moment. Lexa could feel Clarke's emotions inside of her during the whole time, the worry and the love mixed together in a bittersweet sensation that only increased her need for the blonde woman. How was it possible for there to be some people that claimed that vampires had no soul when all she could feel inside of her own soul was Clarke's emotions? It was overwhelming her own senses.
"It can be like that sometimes." the woman told her softly. "Feeling your mate's emotions can do that to you. Or so I've heard."
"What are you talking about?" Lexa asked her carefully.
"That face you just had, I've seen it on some vampires during my travels." she admits softly. "When I asked them about it they said that they could feel their soulmate's emotions and that it brought them peace to know that they just could. To them it meant that their beloved was alive and well."
"Who are you?" she whispers. She's sure Clarke was capable of feeling her hesitation and fear because she felt the blonde's response right away. I'm coming.
"I'm a friend." she calms her.
"Forgive me for doubting you; but last time I trusted a vampire apart from Cl... my mate..." she stops herself from saying Clarke's name. "I ended up trapped in a wall with my arms held tight." she touches them and notices the way the brunette woman hisses.
"Asshole." she says immediately and Lexa knows that the insult was not meant for her.
Before she can answer the younger brunette, she feels the hairs behind her neck stand up and immediately there is a warm touch on her body. Closing her eyes at the sensation, she murmurs when she hears a reassuring purring coming from her mate. Turning to face the blonde, she smiles brightly when she sees that Clarke is close to her, her blue eyes staring straight ahead with a mixture of surprise and suspicion.
"Octavia..." the blonde murmurs.
"Queen." the younger woman lowers her head in submission and this relaxes Clarke slightly.
"What are you doing here with my mate?" she asks and feels the calming touch of Lexa telling her to relax. She wanted to ignore it but it was hard not to. Closing her eyes in surrender, she decides to sit down next to her mate and allows Octavia to do the same.
"Interesting." Octavia comments after they spend their time quietly staring at each other. "You were almost in your Primus mode and yet you allowed your mate to calm and command you."
"Octavia..." she threatens softly.
She raises her hands. "Don't worry I won't tell anyone." she promises. "In fact, I'm here because I want to protect you and your mate."
"Somehow I find that hard to believe." Clarke says honestly.
"I know that." Octavia replies immediately. "But believe me, when Bellamy called me and told me what he did I just knew I had to come."
"Bellamy called you?" the blonde asked suspiciously.
"Yes, he said you banished him because he attacked your soulmate."
"He almost killed her." Clarke said somberly and her eyes turned to red yet again.
"I'm surprised he's alive to tell the tale." Octavia says bitterly. "But then again he did kill another vampire of your coven and he was pardoned for that crime as well."
"I had to Octavia." the Queen closes her eyes. "He was Azgeda and I had already decreed that all crimes done during the war were forgivable once the vampire responsible joined a coven of the Coalition."
"The crime was not because of war!" the younger vampire said upset.
"I know that but it was done during the war." Clarke says bitterly. "As the Queen I was in a delicate position and I had no choice."
"Yeah, you had no choice but you then decided to make him your second in command."
"I trusted him. He saved my life many times."
"And look where that got you." Octavia hisses while staring at her mate.
"I did the right then and I did the right thing now. You know this Octavia because that's why you're here. Unless you're not here for the reasons you mentioned and instead you plan on killing me." the blonde shrugs. "If there is one person out there that would wish for me to die, and had the right reasons and motivations for wishing so, then that would be you."
Hearing this made Lexa immediately place herself in front of Clarke, making both vampires stare at the mundane with surprise and shock. Not only was it something they had never seen, but Clarke and Octavia could notice a soft aura emanating from Lexa because of their heightened vision. It was surrounding the couple and keeping the brunette vampire separated from them. When Octavia stretched her hand and tried to touch it she yelped and looked at her hand.
"Shit." she said in complete shock when she noticed that it was burnt.
"I did that?" Lexa whispered to Clarke while trying to create some distance between them just in case she injured her mate.
Instead of letting that happen, Clarke only held her closer and proved the theory she had formed when she noticed the weird smoke surrounding them: It was of a protective nature and it would not hurt her because she was Lexa's mate.
"It seems that you did." Clarke said to her with a radiant smile. "It warms my heart to see that there is someone in this world that would put me above their own safety."
"You're a Queen." Lexa murmurs embarrassedly. "Many people do that already."
"She has a point." Octavia says while putting some ice on her hand.
"Yes, but none do it because they care about me." Clarke whispers and it surprises Octavia to see the ruler be so vulnerable. "And they do it because they know they have powers that can aid them. You're a mundane and yet you placed yourself in front of a vampire."
"She has a point too."
"I just had to." Lexa murmurs while looking down. "I care about you Clarke."
Clarke makes her look up at her and the first thing Lexa notices is the blonde's bright smile. Both women just stay there, quietly grasping what all of this meant. Perhaps they were not ready to verbally say those three binding words, but they were already showing each other they felt them with their actions and gestures.
"That's why I want to help you Clarke." Octavia interrupts them with a sad smile. "No one should suffer the pain of losing their soulmate."
"I don't know if I can trust you yet." she confesses. "I want to."
"It would be foolish of you to do so." the younger vampire tells her. "I guess I'll just have to prove myself."
"You renounced the coven."
"You're the Queen Clarke. You can gift me the brand."
"The brand?" Lexa asks confused.
"Each coven has a leader that can welcome nomad vampires into their coven." Clarke explains to her while closing her eyes in concentration.
Lexa notices that the moment the blonde opens her eyes she has some brands on her skin and her eyes are red. Whatever had happened, Clarke was in her leader mode.
"We call it the Primus." the blonde answers her unasked question. "The brands you see represent my leadership and give me extra powers that the members of my coven don't have. It allows me to rule over them."
"But who decides you can be a Primus?"
"It comes with age. The older you get, the more powerful you become. That's why covens are ruled by elders. They're supposed to be wiser and less dominated by their emotions, allowing them to act with their coven's best interests in mind."
"And you're the Primus of your coven." Lexa starts to understand. "But you're also the Queen of all the covens?"
"Exactly." Clarke beams at her for understanding their ways quickly. "The leader of the Coalition is voted by the other covens that form part of it."
"Since Clarke was the one that created the Coalition she automatically became the Queen." Octavia adds. "Were she to die, the other Primus would challenge each other for the spot and the winner would become the new Queen."
"I understand." Lexa says honestly. "And Arkadia is the biggest coven of the Coalition?"
"Yes." Clarke says while placing her hand on top of Octavia's which make the brunette vampire hiss. "That's why we can hold control over the other covens and why it usually disfavors them to be against us."
"Why is she in pain?" the mundane asks while pointing at Octavia who was on the floor.
"I just gave her my brand. She just became a member of my coven and the process hurts temporarily. The brands you see around my body determine my dominance over the vampires of my coven and Octavia has not been used to being a submissive vampire for a while."
"So you were a nomad?"
"Something like that." Octavia merely says while standing up and looking at her hand. "I will protect you and your mate with my life my Queen."
"Thank you Octavia and I hope so for both of our sakes." Clarke smiles sadly. "Now go, Raven is in town as well and I know she'll be very happy to see you."
"I have missed her." she admits softly. "And I have missed you too."
"Welcome back Octavia." Clarke smiles warmly. "Now let me have some alone time with my mate."
"Sure thing." she winks at them and turns towards Lexa. "It was nice spending time with you."
"Likewise Octavia." Lexa ends up saying and realizes that she had enjoyed her quiet time with the brunette vampire.
"Report to Miller and show him your brand. Tell him to inform you of the security measures planned for tonight's dinner."
"As you wish my Queen." Octavia says solemnly and bows one more time before leaving them alone.
The moment the two women are alone, Clarke turns around to look at Lexa and sees the longing and desperation in her eyes. Quickly getting close, she hugs her tight and inhales her scent by pushing her nose against her neck. Purring at the familiar smell, she can feel her mate whispering soothing and calming words and that is when Clarke realizes that up until now she had been in a semi fight mode: She had been coherent enough but it would have not taken much for her inner beast to come out. The soft and sweet touches of Lexa were releasing her pent-up tension and she was soon kissing the brunette's neck in a loving manner. Although both of them were craving one another, this type of touch was meant to reassure them of their bond and their togetherness. It wasn't meant to seduce or entice. And right now, the only thing that both women seemed to wish was to have the other close.
"I still have many questions." Lexa says to her and it makes Clarke chuckle.
"Of course you do." she says warmly. "But I can also hear your stomach rumbling. "So let's go get something to eat."
"And we'll talk?"
"And we'll talk." she promises.