“Y-your mom didn’t. I learned that from Dee,” Athena reminded him of her earlier confession.
“Who learned it from Mom when she found me crying over Bobby Leiland one weekend when I was home from college.”
“Seriously? You were crying over that asshole? Please, that idiot was so beneath you. He didn’t deserve you. He actually hit on me when you went to the bathroom when he came over to the dorm. Even talked about a threesome.”
Draco listened to his sister, mother, and Athena talk about a dead man walking. That was until Athena turned shocked eyes his way.
“What’s wrong?” Draco asked quietly.
“D-did you just say dead man walking?”
“She’s our true fated mate!”Shadow preened, his wolf chest puffed out.
“W-who was that? Why am I hearing voices in my head?” Athena stammered, stumbling backward.
“No, Athena. You’re not losing your mind.” Draco helped her sit down on the sofa, his hands cupping her face. “It’s the mating bond snapping into place. It means that we can mentally communicate without using our voices verbally. You can communicate with me and my wolf mentally. It usually takes a while for that to happen, but in this case, it happened immediately.”
“He’s right, sweetie. Only true fated mates are blessed by the goddess to talk mentally to each other. Alphas can do so with everyone in their pack. The stronger the Alpha, the stronger the bond is with his pack.” Katarina smiled down at her sweetly.
“Will I be able to do that with the others? I mean, I’m human, so I’m in shock I can even do that with Draco.” Athena looked over at him, worry in her voice.
Draco pulled her into his arms when Shadow nudged him closer. Knowing this part snapped into place this quickly helped ease some of his apprehension about their mating.
“No. You will only be able to do that with me. I will know your feelings, your thoughts, and your needs, just like you will know mine. Mom and Deidra, and even Dad, can work with youon how to shield yourself from me since they know how to do that. When we are together, I will work with you some as well. That way you have some privacy if you don’t want me to know something. I only ask that you be one hundred percent open and honest with me, like you want me to be with you.”
Draco hated to admit his vulnerability on that aspect. It was the biggest reason he didn’t want to mate his fated mate.
He didn’t like being vulnerable. He felt that it made him weak if he allowed himself to feel anything more than he should.
He knew his father would beat him over the head with a brick if he voiced that opinion out loud. His father would take it as Draco calling him weak.
During his father’s reign as Alpha, he could count on one hand how many times his father was challenged for his position as Alpha. His father had always been larger than life, ruling with an iron fist, yet being firm, fair, and consistent with his laws.
Now, with times changing, technology getting sneakier, he hated to admit that being an Alpha was now more dangerous than ever. One of the reasons he never wanted a fated mate in the first place.
“What does being a fated mate mean? Or should I say a mate? I don’t understand what that really means,” Athena asked, looking around the room, breaking him from his musings.
“Technically, in shifter terms, you’re hitched now that he’s claimed you. Humans have to do the whole ceremony and blah blah blah. Shifters, they just mark you, claim you and ta-da you’re hitched. When he bit you, in the location that he bit you, that was a shifters way of claiming the person they are with.”
“I don’t understand why you claimed me when you didn’t want to in the first place,” Athena called him out in front of everyone.
Draco turned her to face him, his hands on her face and looked into her eyes. He wanted her to know he meant every word.
“Yes, I didn’t want to have a fated mate. I felt that it would make me weak to have that. Not weak in a sense but makes me vulnerable to any enemies. You need to understand, as my mate, you will be a target for those who want to fight me and take my place as Alpha. And not for good.”
“Because I’m human? I’m not strong like you guys are…”
“No. Even if my fated mate had been a shifter, I would have felt the same way. Never think that it was because you are human. You’re stronger than you realize. You’ve held your own pretty damn well since all this has started.”
“He’s also in his damn head because of a mission we had several years ago before we left the military. We were chasing a shifter who was the head of a cartel. He was superstitious as hell and had a shaman working for him, guiding him in everything. While jackass here was working undercover against the cartel, he met up with that shaman. The shaman made the statement that the cartel leader should not claim his fated mate because she would make him weak to his enemies. Dumbass took that to heart,” Leo declared, telling Draco’s dark secret.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Draco wantedto claw Leo’s face off with his claws at the horror on Athena’s face. When she turned her eyes back to him, he could tell she was close to tears at the news that Leo had announced.
“I-I don’t want to make you weak. You can’t be weak if the Maplewoods are trying to come after you…” she stammered, trying to back away from him.
