Gemma
Gemma didn’t know how long she had been asleep when she heard the knock, and she searched frantically for the easiest way to get out of the room.
Then, her mind kicked in, and she realized she was in Theo’s guest room and it was likely him at the door. The wolf shifters who hunted her didn’t knock before they came into a room. They just busted in through walls and doors or whatever happened to be between them and her.
“Gemma, are you awake? I want to talk to you about your situation and a plan I’ve come up with,” Theo said.
Gemma scrambled out of bed and opened the door, smoothing back her hair as she did so.
“Sorry. I had fallen asleep, and it took me a second to register what was going on,” she said. “You’d think I’d be used to waking up in strange places by now.”
“I understand. It must be hard living your entire life on the run,” he responded. “Come with me.”
He led her downstairs and through a couple hallways to a small room tucked in the back corner of his house. She looked around as they walked. It was an incredibly beautiful house. There were amazing works of art and tapestries gracing the walls. She could probably stop and admire them for months and not get tired of looking at them.
He sat in the chair behind his desk as though he was trying to keep a bit of distance between the two of them. He motioned to the chair across from him.
Gemma sat and waited to hear his plan.
“I have come up with a way to help you. Considering the entire situation, I’m pretty sure this is the only way I can keep my vow to your great-grandfather and protect you,” Theo said.
“What plan is that?” Gemma asked, pretty sure she wasn’t going to like the answer.
“You are going to pretend to be my mate,” he said simply and sat back in his chair, watching her face for her reaction.
She was shocked. For the first time in her life, she didn’t know what to say. Pretending to be his mate could have serious consequences if their ruse was found out. Plus, mates were sacred to the wolves. She was positive it would be just as sacred to the dragon clan.
“Are you sure it would be okay for you to do this? What would happen if someone found out the truth?” she asked.
He shrugged. “It really wouldn’t matter. I’ve been alone and lived in solitude for a very long time. I only go to events and rituals when it’s absolutely mandatory, and there isn’t anything I can do to get out of it.”
“I’m sorry,” Gemma said. “What about potential mates? Would this plan hurt that relationship?”
A look of sadness flashed onto Theo’s face, and it was gone as soon as it had appeared.
“I lost my mate a long time ago. I’ve been mourning her for the last two hundred years. So, not only is there no one else in my life, but most of the dragon shifters in my clan would be ecstatic to see I have found a new mate,” Theo said.
“Mates are sacred,” Gemma said. “What if I just hid out here the few months before my birthday. No one knows I’m here. This place has a reputation as being someplace that people need to avoid, and I doubt if anyone in my pack would even know this place exists.”
Theo said, “I thought of that. But what if they do figure out where you are. There is no way I can protect you from a large pack of wolves. I would be killed, and you would be sacrificed.”
“Maybe I should just leave and find some other place to hide. I can keep moving for a while. Since I came here, and they don’t know where I’m at for the moment, I can leave in the middle of the night. It might take them a while to find me again,” Gemma said. “I hate the idea of you sacrificing yourself to save me.”
“They would find you. Plus, it is very important to me that I fulfill my vow,” Theo said.
Gemma nodded.
“If you are my mate, then there is no way the wolf pack could come after you. Because mates are so revered to dragon shifters, if the wolves came after you, they would be attacked by the entire dragon clan. The wolf shifters surely aren’t that stupid or reckless. They would all die and still not get their sacrifice,” Theo said.
Gemma mulled his words over in her mind. She never had any romantic interests that would be endangered by their ruse. He said he didn’t. She would honor her parents’ deaths by living past her twenty-fifth year.
Then, she could be on her way and live a normal life. She wondered what that would be like. Not having to run. Being able to have friends. Being able to live in one place without having to constantly look over her shoulder.
That ideal existence was just a few months away. She could almost reach it – it dangled just beyond the reach of her fingertips. If she needed to pretend to be his mate for a while to get to this paradise, and he was willing, then it was worth any price.
“Okay. Thank you. What do we need to do?” Gemma asked.
