by A. S. Oren
"That Mathis guy came back today. I have a feeling it has to do something with him." Mirren twirls some spaghetti on his fork.
Amr edges toward me. "Dante came back today? I had no idea. Shouldn't you be happy?"
Lightning strikes even closer to the house. "I'll be in my room."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Day Fourteen
I lie in bed. Last night, I transformed away from the house so I didn't have to speak to anyone and then came back through a Void this morning. With the curtains drawn, it might as well be night still.
My emotions have gone back and forth a lot in the last eighteen hours. I'm angry, I'm sad, I'm numb. Do I have the right to be mad at him? He's afraid of his father. He's not the only guy I sleep with, but there's always been an unspoken trust, no one outside of our circle. Then again, why didn't he come to me? Tell me what was happening? Maybe we could’ve figured something out. His father wants a child. Maybe they could do one of those artificial insemination things? Then they would have the kid and wouldn't have to get married, right?
I roll over and scream into my pillow. Would I be okay with him having a child with another woman? Especially his second cousin?
A knock interrupts my tumbling train of thought. "Lon, I have some breakfast for you." Paden opens the door. It clicks shut behind him.
I roll onto my side. "I'm not hungry."
He holds a plate in front of my face. "It's one of your favourites. French toast with raspberry puree and chocolate sauce.
The sweet scents drift into my nose and straight down to my stomach. I would be stupid to turn it down. I sit up and take the plate from him. He sets a standing tray over my lap. A caramel frap with whipped cream from Starbucks rests in the corner. He sits down on the edge of my bed. "I made sure to get coconut milk for you."
"Why the special treatment? It's not my birthday. In fact, it's yours and Maverick's birthdays next week."
He shrugs. "I know. I wanted to do something nice for you though. Yesterday was a shit storm."
I take a bite of French toast and set down my fork. I swallow the food. "I don't know how to feel or react. That's why I've been hiding."
He nods and takes my hand. "I know. The others and I weren't too happy with him either, and we don’t blame you for wanting to hide. We will handle this however you see fit. I had to stop Bullock from going off on him, and Maverick nearly decked him, and you know how close they are."
I frown. Dante and Maverick are two peas in a pod. Get them in the same room together and they will be the ones acting like high off their asses theatre kids. I take a sip of the frap. Sun god, he sure does know what will make me feel like a human again. "I don't know. I don't know anything right now. I don't want you fighting. I wish I had someone I could talk to who’s had a large Fold. I never imagined it would get so complex when we agreed to go forward with this as young teenagers."
He nods. "I don't think any of us understood the complexities of a relationship like this. I can't imagine ever cheating on you. I don't see anyone but you. I always thought it was the Fold's pull that made me loyal but apparently not."
I sigh. "I know Minos isn't a virgin. I’ve dropped in on him when he was having sex with a girl. I doubt Mirren is, and I don't know about Jericho. I don't care about that though. They are women that have come before the bond between them and me can be sealed. If it ever will be. I can't fault them for that. But after the bond, I don't know. You’re all mine, and I'm yours, right?" I shake my head and bury my face in my hands. "I'm being selfish, right? I don't own you. I have no right to say who you can sleep with, when I have a Fold of seven guys."
Paden takes my hands away from my face. "I don't think you're being selfish thinking that way. We were chosen for you, and you were chosen for us. I don't see how it could be any other way."
"You say that now, but I'm the only girl you've ever had sex with. I won't be surprised if you want to have other partners. You'll hit your fifties and want sports cars and other women." I stare at the wine-red comforter.
With a gentle nudge, Paden pushes the side of my face with the tips of his fingers. "No, Gold. You don't understand. I've looked at other women, I've watched porn. The women there never turn me on, not like you do. I can't speak for the others. But, you're the only girl I'll ever want."
Tears gather on the edges of my eyes. "My heart hurts. I'm so confused on what's right."
Paden moves the tray to the floor and crawls up on the bed to rest his back against the headboard. He gathers me in his arms. "You'll figure this out. Take the day off from training and figure out what you feel is right. I'll follow your lead with this."
I sob into his shoulder.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Day Fifteen
I hold the short, flame sword in my grasp as Mirren comes at me with his own. It took a few days, but we’ve gotten to where I can summon and fight.
Blocking his strike, I turn my body, spinning to the right to hit him at his open side. I never meet his flesh; we aren’t supposed to hurt each other.
His sword goes for my legs.
“Strike!” we call at the same time.
We step back from one another.
“I’m impressed, Princess, you’re picking up this type of fighting better than I thought you would.”
I nod. His words fall on deaf ears. My mind’s still on Dante and what I’m going to do. I haven’t spoken to him. I’ve been spending my day training, eating away from the house, and studying Royal law in the Cabin library.
I raise my sword, ready to go another round. The sparring will give me the distraction I need from life right now. I rush him. He dodges and spins to strike my back. I turn before he can get me; our swords clash together in a blaze of fire. We both pull back and then crash our swords together again. He tries to force my hold down, but I dig my heels into the ground, absorbing most of his power. I push back. He doesn’t give; it helps that he’s a head taller than me.
I retreat and do a back flip, missing another strike. He follows. I move back more—my ass hits a tree. Shit! I thought I looked back and didn’t see anything in my way before. Darting to the side, I use it as a shield.
He grips the sword tighter. “Good move, Princess.”
I come from the other side, going for a strike at his stomach. He flips backward. I chase him; maybe I can corner him near an abandoned shack not too far from here. Sweat rolls down the side of my face.
He goes straight for the old shack, entering it. I follow. He swipes at my abdomen as I enter, hiding on the side of the door. I jump to the other side of the doorway and extend my sword out as far as it will go, aiming for his neck. With it in place, I step forward to stand in front of him so that, if this were a real battle, I could press the flames into his neck and cut off his head. “Strike.” Our noses are mere inches apart by this point.
Mirren raises the hand holding his sword and disarms it; the flames vanish into the air. “Not bad, Princess. But never forget people don’t fight fair in battles. Never get too close to your opponent.” Heat surrounds my lower back. I peer over my shoulder at the flame dagger he has pointed at my spine. He nudges it forward, forcing me to step in closer to his body. I disarm my sword, so I don’t hurt him by mistake.
My breasts push against his lower ribs. How do I get out of this? If this were real, he has me pinned, and I’d be dead. I raise my hand and place it on his chest— the white undershirt hot and wet with sweat. I smirk. Standing on my toes, I place my lips on his neck. He tenses. I doubt he saw this coming. His pulse quickens under my lips. With a swipe of my tongue, the saltiness of his sweat coats my taste buds. Moving up to his jaw, his scruff scratches my face, but I oddly like it. My fingers grip at the ribbed cotton of his shirt.
The heat of the dagger on my back disappears, and I summon my own to place at his jugular. I stop kissing his neck. “Strike.”
He grins. “I like that you play dirty. It’s smart.” In one fluid move, he spins the two of us. My back hit
s the wall. His hands lean into the wood on both side of my body.
I stare up at him. His silver eyes glint in the sunlight streaming through the holes and cracks within the wall. He pushes the sweat laden hair out of my face before his eyes travel to my lips, and he leans down to kiss me. I tense only for a second before returning it. Sparks fly throughout my body. I hold his face with both my hands and stand on my toes. More, I want more from him. I turn us again, slamming him against the wall. The old wood creaks under the assault. Our kiss never breaks as I lean into him; his hands go underneath my black spandex shorts covered ass and hoists me up. My legs go around his waist. His semi presses at my core.
Sweat rolls down my back. I swear we’re generating enough heat together to power a small power plant. I break the kiss long enough to unzip my black sports bra and let it fall off my shoulders. Fuck it. I want him. He wants me. I don’t know why I’ve been so stubborn. At least now we’re both trying to be better people.
His silver eyes darken to grey as he stares at my breasts. “You’ve changed a lot over the years, Princess. You’re beautiful.”
My cheeks flush with heat. We’ve come a long way since that day in the courtyard at Spearwood when he broke Edgar’s locket. I pull back from him. He still holds me up in his arms as the memory barrels forward to the front of my mind.
He frowns. “What? What did I say wrong?”
“For some reason, all I can think about is that day in the courtyard and how you broke Edgar’s parents’ wedding gift.”
His frown deepens. “I’m sorry about that. Back then I was angry. Angier than I am now. I lashed out at anything and anyone who would take it. I’ve regretted my actions on that day for a long time. I’ll get the items that were inside recased. I promise.”
I place my hands on his shoulders. “You would do that?”
He readjusts my weight in his arms. My body rubs against his erection. “I don’t want to fight with you anymore. I’m learning that it does no good to be on the defensive all the time. Slowly, Rian’s getting me to see that. And if I act like a dick, you’ll get defensive as well. It’s just our personalities.”
“Remind me to thank Rian later.” I kiss him again and deepen it with a swipe of my tongue. We play for dominance, but he soon gives into me. I didn’t see that coming. I expected him to fight me longer.
I break the kiss. “Suck on my tits.” Something inside me urges me to take control.
He groans in response. His lips make a line of fervour down my neck to my chest and breasts. My head tips back as the heat of his mouth encompasses my nipple, and his wet tongue swipes at the hard peak.
“Fuck yes!” I groan. My fingers go into his hair, nails run along his scalp, and I tug lightly on a small handful. He moans again.
“Woah, sorry!”
My eyes snap open at the addition of a voice I haven’t heard in weeks.
Mirren puts me on the ground and steps in front of me to cover my body from view. I reach down to pick up my bra and put it on.
Mercutio stands at the doorway of the shack. He leers at me as he tries to peer around Mirren. I get my bra on and step out to speak with him.
“Mercutio, what are you doing so far out here? You’re nearly an hour away from the camp.”
He rubs at the back of his neck. “Oh really? I have been walking for a while now. Practicing some earth magic. It’s my day off. I was going to use this shack to take a Void back there. I sure have missed you since you haven’t been around. I heard you were training in the other elements up here.”
Giving a half-hearted smile, “Yup. I’ve been doing a lot of that. Well, you should get back to the camp. It’s nearly lunch time.”
He nods and gestures his hand out to me. “I should come over tomorrow. See your house, hang out with the guys. It will be like old times.”
I edge my hand into Mirren’s. Reality comes crashing back down on me. “Tomorrow isn’t good. I’ll be away from the house all day.” In truth, I’ll need to speak with the others about what needs to happen with the Dante situation.
He nods. “I get that. Day after tomorrow then, and you can’t say no!” A grin spreads across his face as his laughs.
I give a swivel of my head. “Sure. Day after tomorrow sounds awesome! Why don’t you see if Edgar and Zaria want to come, too? Well make it a family barbeque.”
He claps his hands together. I hold on to Mirren’s hand tighter. “You always have the best ideas, Ava. I’ll see you two the day after tomorrow. Go back to having fun.” Mercutio winks his brown eye with the dilated pupil and makes a Void on the wall. He steps through it and disappears.
I let out a sigh.
Mirren faces me. “If he bothers you so much, why didn’t you tell him to fuck off?”
I let go of his hand to rub at my eyes. “It doesn’t work. I’ve told him to go away so many times, but his brain just won’t hear it.”
He growls. “Let me talk to him. He’ll get the message.”
I shake my head. “No. Don’t, please. He’s harmless and doesn’t have a lot of friends. I think he has survivor’s guilt or something. It’ll go away once he gets out in the world and finds a girl who likes him. I just have to be careful not to touch him.”
Mirren frowns. “Why?”
I shrug. “He drains my energy to the point I don’t think I could stand without aid.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “Then why the fuck are you allowing him to be around you?”
I cross my arms over my stomach. “He’s harmless. I promise.”
The passion from before now lies dormant. “Do you want to go out for lunch? I don’t want to eat at home.”
He smiles. “I’d like that.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Day Sixteen
Another transformation away from the house. Once I come back, I collapse in my bed. Sleep hasn't been kind to me the last couple nights. My mind keeps racing, thinking about every path I can take to deal with this. But without the gift of foresight, I can't know for sure how it will all play out. All I can hope for is that this is the right decision and that the books on Royal law are updated to modern day.
Now, I have to face the music and tell them how things will be from here on out. I enter the kitchen from the stairs. Everyone either stands around or sits at the table. At least they're all here. The conversation and eating breakfast stops as I come to rest a hand on the table. Dante sits at the end, away from the others. He stares into my eyes, his own bloodshot. He stands. "Avalon, I'm so sorry."
I hold up my hand. "I've thought long and hard about how to handle this. Paden has let me know I have complete control over what will be done from here on out."
I take a seat next to Rian and Bullock. I rub at my eyes. "I’ll be honest, I thought about severing the bond, but the only documentation I could find about it was in runes, and they stated it killed the partner. Though I'm hurt by what has happened, I don't want you dead. Then I thought about kicking you out. Not severing the bond but just banishing you from my life. But that felt extreme. Then, I began to question if what is happening here is fair. I have varying degrees of relationships with those of you in my Fold. I don't know if it's right for me to ask you to be loyal to me after the bond is formed, when I sleep with more than just one of you. I have no way of knowing what's appropriate with a Fold, what the dynamics need to be. All I have is Amr as reference, and he's learning just like me. I don't want to restrict any of you when it comes to people you may love or want to be with. All I ask is that you talk to me first. Let me know what's happening and what you're feeling.”
Dante takes his seat. “You don’t understand. I don’t love her. I didn’t even want to sleep with her. I was drunk, I could’ve sworn it was you in that state. When I came to the next morning, I realised my mistake. I think my father put something in the wine that night because neither of us wanted to sleep together. She’s in love with some girl in New York. Hell, I shouldn’t even be using female pronouns. He, Derek, never
wanted to be a girl. Not even when he was raised as if he were one.”
A twinge of relief floods my heart; he doesn’t have feelings for the person he slept with, but that doesn’t change the fact that he still did. It will take me a while to get over this.
I clasp my hands together and rest my chin on them. “That doesn’t change the fact that we still have a problem. Are you willing to go against your father?”
Dante turns his gaze to his lap.
“That’s what I thought. I’m not going to ask you to go against your family for me. Whether it had been you or Minos, I have a feeling this would’ve happened to us either way. So, that only leaves one other option. According to modern Royal law, you two are only required to have a child together in order to pass on the pure dragon blood. No marriage has to happen. Life as we know it will change. I don’t expect you to just conceive a child with this person and then have that be it. Of course, they will be a part of this family. We have a big enough house that they can stay here, and Derek can have his girlfriend here if he so chooses. I don’t want a child growing up confused or with an absent parent.” I force back the tears that want to fall. This has to be done in order for it all to work out okay for everyone.