by Rinelle Grey
Verrian was silent for a long moment. “I see your point,” he said eventually. “It is not usually the dragon way, but it has merit. Ultrima needs to be defeated to keep my clan safe. If I have to use a few tricks to do that, then so be it. Ultrima has some sort of advantage over us. I don’t know what, but no matter how strong he is, my magic should have had some effect on him. If he is using tricks, then it only makes sense that we do the same.”
“Exactly.”
Verrian was silent again. Lisa hoped he was realising that he had a lot to offer in helping defeat his enemies.
When he spoke though, it was clear his thoughts were going in an entirely different direction.
“So what does ‘All’s fair in love’ mean?”
“I… ahh…”
How was she supposed to answer that one?
“Does it mean that it’s okay to hope you’ll have no choice but to mate with someone who you’re not sure wants to be mate bonded to you?”
Lisa’s heart skipped a beat. What did he mean by that? Was he talking about her, or him?
“Um…” Funny, she would have thought that thought speech, or whatever it was dragons did, wouldn’t have as many awkward pauses. Apparently it did. She took a deep breath. “I think it’s supposed to mean the same thing, that when you love someone, you use any means possible to overcome any obstacles in your path. I don’t think it applies to mate bonding, since humans know nothing about that.”
Skirting the topic. But she had no idea how to answer him.
It might be easier if she knew what he meant.
Had he wanted to mate with her as much as she’d wanted to mate with him?
“That makes sense.” Verrian’s voice gave no clue as to what he was thinking. “Humans don’t mate in the same way as dragons. Once dragons are mated, there are no obstacles, it’s done.”
“There can be obstacles before that,” Lisa argued. “Karla and Taurian had to deal with the clan’s resistance to him mating a human. But they overcame that.”
“My clan cannot object to our mating. It’s already done.”
Somehow, Lisa suspected that wouldn’t stop their objections, but she wasn’t going to say that. They had enough to worry about right now, without considering his clan’s problems. Hopefully the issues, which would affect the whole clan, would draw the attention away from them.
“Do you regret it?” she asked, half afraid of the answer.
“Do you?” Verrian shot back.
Both of them were silent. Neither game to be the first to admit it. Or maybe Verrian didn’t feel it. That was the problem. How could she know?
Did Verrian blame her for the mating? Was that what he’d meant earlier, when he’d asked about mating with someone who didn’t want to be mate bonded to you. If she admitted that she’d wanted this, that she’d ignored other viable solutions because she wanted it so much, then would he blame her?
Somehow, she couldn’t bear to hear him say that.
“It doesn’t matter at this point,” Lisa said finally. “It’s done, and there’s no going back. We’re both resourceful, intelligent people. We can make this work.”
They could, couldn’t they? One way or another.
Somehow, she didn’t want to consider the other.
Chapter 11
Verrian was glad that their drive through the dark, quiet roads was uneventful. Lisa had given him a lot to think about when she’d said that winning the battle against Ultrima was far more important than how they won it.
The answer he was looking for was in there, he just wasn’t sure where.
And he was having far too much trouble trying to convince himself to search for it.
He couldn’t help thinking more about the other conversation he’d had with Lisa. About their mate bonding.
No matter how much he went over what she’d said, he couldn’t figure out if she regretted it or not.
He should have asked more before they mated. He should have pushed for answers until he was sure that she really wanted to be mated to him.
He’d used the fact that they were in a rush to excuse doing exactly what he wanted to—claim her as his mate.
But what if that wasn’t what she’d wanted?
She’d said it was done now, implying that there was no point in discussing whether it was what she’d wanted or not.
He could kind of see her point. Even if she hadn’t wanted it, they couldn’t undo it now.
They could only move forwards. She’d said they could make this work, but Verrian wanted so much more than that.
He wanted to shout his love for her from the cliff tops. To make sure all his clan knew that he’d chosen her because he thought she was wonderful and amazing.
But he couldn’t do that if she didn’t feel the same way.
Lisa said that it didn’t matter how the battle was won, so long as you won. But relationships weren’t like that. Not if you weren’t sure the other person loved you as you loved them.
Trying to force someone to love you was where Ultrima had gone wrong. Love didn’t work that way. It had to be given freely or it was worth nothing.
He hadn’t forced Lisa into anything. Not directly. Not like Ultrima had.
External forces had pushed them together. Forces beyond their control, true, but he could have taken another path.
Another path that would have destroyed any hope at a relationship with Lisa.
No matter how many times he went over the situation, he’d had no choice.
But he did have a choice over what he did now. He needed to step back, to give Lisa some space. He needed to wait until she came to him, until she admitted that she cared about him.
He wanted her to choose him freely, even if she was already his.
Could she even realise that now, with the mate bond clouding her thoughts? Of course she would want to be with him now they were mated. Maybe even believe that was love.
Did he have any hope of them ever having a true relationship?
Should he just accept what they had? Awesome sex and getting along was more than most people had, wasn’t it?
Verrian bit back a sigh. He wasn’t the sort to settle for what most people had. He wanted the whole thing.
He wanted Lisa to choose him out of all the possible options. He wanted to be sure she wanted to be with him, not just that she couldn’t bear to see him hurt. He wanted to know that she was completely his—heart, body, and mind.
He didn’t want to settle for anything less.
That didn’t mean he had to walk away. He could take what they had, and keep working on it. He could spend the rest of his life doing everything he can to make her feel that way about him.
“We’re nearly there.”
Lisa’s words interrupted his thoughts, and brought him back to the present. He should have realised before she told him. The moon had risen, illuminating the area with its silver light. Even though the rough road through the bush had changed with the passage of time, the cliff face though, towering above them like a wave of stone, was unmistakable.
Home.
His lair.
His clan.
He’d been waiting for this moment since Lisa had first woken him days ago, or was it weeks?
And yes, his heart still swelled with happiness at being home, but not as much as he’d expected it to.
The reality was, Lisa’s home had felt like home to him too.
Because she’d been there.
Verrian gave himself a shake. When had he turned into a mushy wind dragon?
He might not be a fire or lightning dragon, but he was a prince. No matter how besotted he was with his new mate, his clan was at war. He needed to focus on that right now.
With that in mind, he climbed out of the car and glanced around.
There was only one way up to the lair. A way that made him rather nervous with all the attention they’d been getting recently.
But they’d seen no one for a long time.
And t
hey had no choice.
Verrian swiftly began to undress.
“Oh,” Olivia gasped softly, and quickly turned away.
Raven did too.
Lisa though, didn’t move. Well, it wasn’t like she hadn’t seen him naked plenty of times.
He handed her the clothes. “I’ll need these once we get up top.”
She grinned. “Yeah, probably.”
He could hear her heart thumping. It sounded the same as his own.
Adrenaline flooded through him. He was going to fly up to his lair. With his mate on his back. While danger lurked who knew where.
This was what life was about.
Taking a step back, Verrian let his body change and shift. The mild discomfort of his skin stretching and his bones transforming was almost a welcome feeling. This was who he really was. In his dragon form, he was powerful and strong.
In theory, anyway.
Lisa’s eyes widened as his dragon form emerged. Olivia took a peek as well. And Raven outright stared.
Any of the doubts he’d had after so long stuck in human form faded away. This was who he was. This was what he was meant to be.
He bent one knee. “You will be the first, my mate.” His voice may have had a slight crooning note. It was hard to tell in his own head.
Lisa blushed, but she didn’t hesitate. She shoved his clothes under one arm, turned to Olivia and Raven for a second and said, “Verrian will be back for you,” then she stepped up onto his knee and threw her leg over his back.
It wasn’t the first time he’d flown with her on his back, but this time was different.
This time, she was his mate.
Verrian rose gently, hoping she could hold on, half afraid she’d fall off.
But her knees were firm against his sides, and her hands on his scales were sure. Her voice, when she said, “Let’s go,” wasn’t afraid.
Verrian could take off into the air, and soar up to his home without the slightest concern.
Chapter 12
It wasn’t the first time Lisa had been to the dragon lair. It wasn’t even the first time she’d flown up here on a dragon. But somehow, it felt different.
This time she wasn’t just visiting an exciting dragon lair.
She was returning home with her mate.
When she’d left here to go wake Verrian, it had never occurred to her that she’d be returning as his mate. If anyone had told her that, she would have laughed in their face.
If anyone had told her she’d be happy about it, she would have fallen off her dragon.
Verrian touched down on the edge of the cave opening and immediately they were surrounded by humans and human form dragons.
Karla and Taurian were in the lead. “You made it,” Karla exclaimed.
Lisa slid off Verrian’s back and, to her surprise, into Karla’s hug.
“I’m glad you’re both safe,” Karla said.
Lisa hugged her back awkwardly.
Verrian transformed back into his human form and Lisa handed him his clothes. She glanced around the room, ready to glare at anyone who was staring, but of course, they all were. But not because he was naked. As if dragons cared about that.
They were staring because none of them had ever met Verrian.
She took a deep breath. She couldn’t be angry at them for being excited to see their prince.
Even if he was hers.
“Welcome home, brother,” Taurian said warmly, clapping Verrian on the back.
“It’s good to be home,” Verrian replied.
Somehow, his voice seemed different when he was talking to his brother. Deeper, more confident.
Lisa felt a pang of sadness. When there had been just the two of them, he’d been all hers. Now she had to share him. He had a place here. A place she knew next to nothing about.
A place where she didn’t belong.
She took a deep breath. Belong or not, she was here, and they had things to do. “Verrian needs to go back down and pick up Olivia and Raven. They’re waiting at the car,” she reminded him.
“Of course,” Verrian said immediately, turning back towards the lair entrance.
“I’ll send someone.” Taurian nodded to two dragons, who immediately moved to the lair entrance.
Leaving Lisa with no excuse to back away from the clan’s welcome.
Most of them were staring at her. A few looks were starting to seem a little suspicious, maybe even a little judgemental.
Lisa felt one shoulder hunch involuntarily. She’d seen those looks before. The ‘you don’t belong here’ looks. She’d gotten to the point where she could block out the hurt and convince herself that she even didn’t feel it.
So why couldn’t she now?
“What’s going on here?” Ostrian demanded, striding through the crowd. He glared at Taurian, then at Verrian. “Not another prince mated to a human?”
That seemed to unleash the crowd. Murmurs grew louder. A few excited dragons called out.
“They’re mated?”
“To a human?”
“Silence,” Verrian said firmly, holding up his hand.
To Lisa’s surprise, all the murmurs died away immediately.
Verrian turned and took her hand, drawing her forward, despite her reluctance.
“All of you know Lisa,” he began. “You chose her to wake me from the Mesmer, and you chose well. She has done everything she could to protect me and help me while I was separated from my family.”
Lisa could appreciate him wanting to introduce her and to explain her to his clan, but she winced at what was coming. He’d explain, in a minute, that he’d had no choice but to mate with her, that he would have died if she weren’t there.
Oh, sure, he’d probably mention what a sacrifice she’d made, and how wonderful it was of her, but that wouldn’t change the reality. That he hadn’t chosen her.
That she wasn’t really his mate. Not in the true sense of the word.
“Lisa has shown incredible courage and intelligence in the last few days,” Verrian continued. “I am in awe of her amazing skill and bravery, and I’m proud to call her my mate. I hope you will all welcome her into your hearts as I have welcomed her into mine.”
There was stunned silence for a moment.
No one was more surprised than Lisa.
Verrian was in awe of her? He’d welcomed her into his heart?
This was the first she’d heard of it.
Her heart was beating a little faster at the thought. Was he just saying that?
Did she dare hope that he might really care about her? He hadn’t said he loved her. But then, in front of his whole clan wasn’t really the place, was it?
She hesitated, half afraid of finding out the truth, but she couldn’t help herself. “Did you mean that?” she asked him privately, via dragon speech.
“You will always have a place in my heart, Lisa. You’ve done so much for me. How could you not? I want my clan to understand that.”
His reply was ambiguous. Perhaps he did care for her, but it was most certainly not a declaration of love. Lisa tried to ignore her heart sinking.
It was easy to be distracted as Karla gave her a hug and said, “I guess this means we’re sisters now.”
Taurian smiled, and hugged her too. “Welcome to the family, sister.”
Both of them congratulated Verrian as well.
This should have been a magical moment. Lisa had never felt like she fitted in with her family, she’d always felt like an outsider. Her own family had never welcomed her like this.
Trouble was, she couldn’t help wondering if it was just all an act. Especially Verrian’s part. She tried not to grit her teeth, to appreciate what he was doing. It was kind of him to put on an act to protect her.
But she couldn’t help wishing it was real.
“This is exactly why we shouldn’t be letting humans wake the princes and princesses,” Ostrian demanded again. Lisa had almost forgotten that he was the one that started this. Apparen
tly, he wasn’t going to let it go. “It’s bad enough that dragons are mating with humans, but now we have humans as our princesses? Where will this madness end?”
Ostrian’s voice twanged Lisa’s already stretched nerves. She should have known he’d have issues. He’d nearly kept Karla and Taurian apart.
Then it hit her.
She’d known Verrian was a prince. It was one of the things that had gotten her blood racing when she’d been invited to wake him. But somehow, along the line, she’d forgotten. He’d just been Verrian. She’d been far more taken with the man than with his prince status.
It hadn’t even occurred to her that mating with him might make her a princess.
Until now.
Somehow, it felt wrong. She wasn’t princess material. Didn’t princesses have to think about the needs and wants of the whole clan? Lisa wasn’t used to thinking about anyone but herself. And she wasn’t sure she could learn.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to.
Somewhere in the last few days, Verrian had been added to her list of people she cared about and wanted to help more than she wanted things for herself. But a whole clan? She wasn’t sure she could handle worrying about the needs of all these people she barely knew. She had enough problems of her own right now, with figuring out what Verrian thought of her, without adding more troubles into the mix.
A flapping of wings indicated that Olivia and Raven had arrived just in time to hear the whole conversation.
“And just what do you mean by that?” Taurian’s question to Ostrian was frosty.
“Are you implying that you don’t think Lisa is a good enough princess for our clan?” Verrian’s question followed right on the heels of Taurian’s.
If the two of them had been staring at Lisa in that way, she would have quailed. Side by side, they were quite imposing.
Ostrian though, didn’t even blink. “Are you telling me you fell in love with this girl? In a few days? Did you confuse the Mesmer bond for love? Or did she trick you into mating her, like my granddaughter and that… that cowboy?”
That got Lisa riled up. “Chase is a wonderful man. I’m not surprised Wayrian fell in love with him.”