Page 7 of The Eternal Choice
“A dragon only has one fated mate in his eternal life. The connection is strong and cannot be denied. There is no chance in hell I would want to make my one and only a piece on the fucking side while she needs to shine as the queen she damn well is.” My smile becomes brighter when I add, “Lilliana Calvino will be my wife and her family will fight by my side if you defy me.”
There’s a moment of fear in his eyes before the anger consumes him as he snarls, “You will regret this.”
He takes his daughter by the elbow and storms out of the room, leaving me to deal with my brother.
CHAPTER THREE
Two weeks later
– LILLIANA –
I could freaking scream in frustration. Fucking hell. It’s been two weeks since the night at the gathering where I met my fated mate and put the bond in place. As a bonus the asshole knocked me up and then felt the need to disappear on me. I’ve seen more of his brother, Leandro, than my so-called mate.
Glaring at the closet filled with gowns, I stalk to my duffel bag and take out black combat pants, along with a black shirt. My morning routine is still in place, which consists of a half hour of exercise, a shower, and drying my hair so I can put it up in a tight bun. Now it’s time to get dressed and try to escape from my prison. Prison? Yes. It might not be one, but it sure feels like it.
This mansion is divided in different wings where women have their own space. From what I’ve heard there are only a handful of unmated women, and they all live here. Mated women live with their mate and it makes my presence here even more questionable.
Did I mention the women I ran into here look at me with disgust? Oh, yeah. Once my scent hits their nose it becomes all wrinkled and goes up in the air. Talk about feeling welcome, making new friends, and loving the chitchat and all. Like I said; there’s a need to escape my prison.
I step out of my room and almost run into Leandro.
“Don’t you have anything better to do?” I grumble and shoot him a glare.
He grins and holds out a steaming mug. “Coffee first, then we’ll talk.”
The glare is still in place when I take the mug and start sipping. We’re almost at the door when he steps in front of me.
“Where are you going?” he asks.
I shove the now empty mug back against his chest and wait until he takes it when I say, “Home. It’s clearly useless to stay here if no one appreciates my company, especially a so-called mate who I bumped against naked a few times in one night, only to be never seen again.”
Leandro winces. Yeah, I know how bad the cold hard truth sounds, even to my own ears.
“The two weeks of waiting clearly states I’m pathetic and should have gotten the hint after two damn days. Now, if you don’t mind…get the fuck out of my way.”
The asshole doesn’t budge. I’m beyond pissed and therefore use a hint of my abilities when I move at only half speed. Which is enough to become a blur for Leandro as I move past him and am out the door without any more obstruction.
I paid attention when Leandro brought me to this place two weeks ago. This comes in very handy to get myself the hell out of here. I’m almost at the gate when I hear my so-called mate’s voice. Shit. We all know it’s not always wise to be curious and stick your nose into things…but…let’s keep it to the fact I’m bored out of my damn mind and need a little snooping around.
Using a little trick I learned from Zipporah–a unicorn shifter, who is mated to Lucan, a centaur shifter and president of a motorcycle club that worked with my family for centuries–I cloak myself and instantly become invisible.
Following Ernestino’s voice, I find him talking to Nario.
“It’s you who fucked it all up, Nario, not me,” Ernestino snarls. “If you wouldn’t have interfered–”
Nario goes toe to toe with him. “And if you didn’t insist to go to that stupid gathering there would have been a truce by now, and the lives of our two clan members would have been saved instead of getting them returned in pieces. Hell, if you kept the vampire chick on the side, the way you have been keeping her stuffed away for these two weeks, we’d have victory instead of the blood that’s on your hands. What man doesn’t want a wife and a piece on the side to fuck? You could have had it all instead of ruining things for everyone.”
Anger is vibrating off Ernestino, just as my temper is rising by the knowledge I just gained.
Ernestino throws his nose into the air, glances over his shoulder in my direction, and then turns to face Nario. “This was the last time you spoke freely to me the way you just did. As a brother you have failed me, and as a clan leader I have found your loyalty ineffective. You are no longer a part of any of the tasks you previously had. Report to Ivano, he will give you a task to make yourself useful.”
“You can’t do this,” Nario snarls.
Ernestino turns and ignores Nario as his brother keeps ranting and cursing.
My mate stomps straight past me and mumbles, “I know you’re here even if I can’t see you. Follow me and we’ll have a much-needed talk.”
Much-needed talk? Fuck him. Mate or not, I don’t owe him anything. Especially not after hearing about the whole wife and a piece on the side. The piece on the side being me. Obviously since I’m the pregnant one and have been tucked away.
