Page 4 of The Eternal Choice
This is something I can’t ignore and reluctantly get out of bed. Stalking naked to the door, I open it and snap at Nario, “I’ll be right there,” and close it to get dressed. When I turn to face the bed, I see Lilliana is up and already pulling up her pants.
“What the hell are you doing?” I grunt and she narrows her eyes.
Grabbing her bra she says, “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m going with you.”
Now I’m the one narrowing my eyes. Deep down I know she’s right. I want her to come with me, on the other hand, urgent clan matters could mean anything. I don’t want to put her at risk, and I would rather have her travel at a later point in time. Especially since I still have to debrief my clan about my mating before appearing in public with her by my side.
“No,” I grunt and quickly get dressed. “Leandro, my younger brother, will stay with you and take you to our land once I’ve assessed the issues at hand. This way you will have the time to pack your things. Besides, you need to take it easy now that you’re with child and not speak of it until we’ve passed the crucial first few months.”
The buttons on my shirt are ruined so I simply grab my jacket and throw it on.
“Take it easy?” she says in a quiet and plain tone. “Please tell me you didn’t just say that shit. We just fucked for a few rounds, it’s not as if I’m instantly not capable of anything.” Her tone changes and she snarls, “What’s next? Throw me in the kitchen and lock me up until I’ve popped out the kid? Then knock me up again and use me as an incubator for the unforeseeable future? Is that all I’m good for?”
I shouldn’t mention the fact of her uniqueness of being the first mate who falls pregnant in decades. There’s an undeniable need to protect her and keep her safe no matter what. It’s why we need to keep the pregnancy to ourselves and not share it with anyone.
I stalk to the door and as I open it, I tell her, “It is tradition dragon women stay together for–”
“It’s best you’d stop talking,” Lilliana snarls, cutting me off, and is twirling a tiny blade in her hand. “For one, I’m not a fucking dragon woman, and secondly–”
Lilliana is cut off by Nario, my older brother, who says, “We have to leave. Now.”
“See to her safety,” I tell my younger brother and turn my attention to Lilliana. “I don’t have to tell you I’m a clan leader and the safety and well-being of all members come first.”
“Of course,” she grits. “I just thought–”
Nario rudely cuts her off with a voice filled with a mocking and condescending tone. “Dragon women aren’t even allowed to attend to clan business, let alone a Nosferatu. You have a lot to learn.”
My dragon snarls inside my head and I feel the same fierce need to stand up for my mate.
Before anyone can interfere, I have my brother by the neck and shove him through a wall. Stomping through the hole it made I lean over his body and both my dragon and I growl in sync, “You have a lot to learn as well, brother. Disrespect my mate again and there will be a hole in you instead of in the wall I just threw you through.”
“I didn’t disrespect her,” he fires back and gets to his feet while I glare at the fucker.
“Call her anything else than her given name or my mate and see what happens.” I don’t give Nario another look but turn to Lilliana to tell her, “I have to go now. Leandro will take you home, and I’ll see you once I’ve handled the situation.”
I catch the smirk she’s giving Nario just before it slides off her face.
“Whatever,” she says indifferently and turns to pick up a few knives that are scattered all over the floor.
I remember them falling as we got naked. The woman sure carries a lot of weapons.She is ours. She carries our scent. We will get to know her better soon enough, my dragon states and adds,we will handle clan business and after we can fuck her again.I wholeheartedly agree.
Pinning Leandro with a stern look, he instantly gets my drift and holds his hands up in surrender. “She’s your mate, hands off, protect her, bring her home. I get it, bro, no need to bite my head off.”
“Time is ticking away,” Nario presses.
I flip the annoying fucker off and stalk out of the room. Nario has been a pain in the ass for decades. Before I becameclan leader the three of us were a solid front and worked side-by-side as trained soldiers.
Nario has always wanted to be clan leader. Our father was training him to follow in his footsteps. Things didn’t work out when our father, and clan leader, was killed. Nario failed to complete all of the assignments and quests in the challenge for clan leader. I was the last one standing and the chosen one to rule until I die.
Since that day, Nario has resented me and made it his mission to annoy me. He’s balancing a thin line of obeying my orders while being a pain in the ass brother on all other levels. Leandro has told me many times over the years that I should give him another job instead of keeping him close.
Maybe he’s right, and I should banish him from my side. Though, he’s still my brother, and we made a pact when we were young. All three of us joined the challenge to become clan leader after our father’s death because he didn’t get a chance to retire and appoint Nario as his replacement.
We agreed once we entered the challenge that we’d have each other’s back in case one of us was able to succeed. I clearly succeeded and Leandro honored the pact while Nario resents me and wants to take my place.
Once we’re on our way I turn to face Nario and with anger I can’t keep from my voice I snarl, “What are the urgent clan matters? Fill me in on all the details.”
Nario doesn’t even look at me when he says, “Tony Mattia is ready to agree to our terms and is waiting at the gates.”
