The Rebellious Mate

13 (i) The Deathly Secret

Calek's amusement evaporated. He leaned forward. Uncharacteristically solemn, he warned, "But you did not appraise her of what it entails to mate a dragon. You'll do terrible things for her, and to her. So what's the plan? You hope and pray she'll forgive you, anyway."

Drach's fingers trembled, and the pen flew off and skirted over the floor. He tossed a file in front of Calek. "Asena is compatible. I had her DNA analyzed and she's in prime health—"

"Drach, I asked if she knows—"

"Before I could, she—"

Calek picked up the file to fan Drach's smoking skin and snorted. "That explains her qualms. She's sensible to refuse your invitation. You wouldn't have allowed her to leave! How badly was she hurt?"

"I might've bruised her wrist and blistered her fingertips," he mumbled.

On the back foot, he owned up to his mistakes to his younger brother, who was usually at the receiving end of the reprimands.

Calek scratched his scalp while thinking. "So, we overestimated your charms, and she is more than a pretty face, or a hungry waif. Someone better feed her. Has it occurred to you this might be a ploy—"

"There was no artifice in her scent." Asena's feelings, conveyed by her fluctuating hormones, spoke louder than her words.

Calek patted Drach's clenched fist. "Are you sure? Why not bed her and get it out of your system?"

"I am irrevocably committed to her." He'd never been so sure. Even on the journey to reclaim all that their father had frittered, he had entertained doubts. But none plagued him regarding Asena.

"Why?" Calek asked.

It was such a simple question. He'd spent two days and nights mulling over it but hadn't arrived at a rational answer. But the only explanation, a self-serving justification, couldn't be faulted on honesty.

"She sees me and sees through me. On a few occasions, she interrogated me and was unerringly direct. I didn't put much stock in destined mates until she ignited something dormant. The irony is that she is unsuitable due to her association with Eros. The fates can play their dastardly games, but I will have her. She's mine."

"Why couldn't you choose from amongst our kind? Our females know their place," Calek grumbled.

Male dragons demanded obedience, but his Asena was a rebel. Her defiance didn't offend Attor, but her harsh assessment of them pained him. "She held my gaze. When she lowered her eyelids, it was a strategic withdrawal, not a surrender. If I were to bet, she'd made up her mind before she met me. I swayed her resolve but she held firm."

'She's fearless,' his beast huffed. Attor, used to commanding attention, found her equanimity disconcerting.

"I tell you, she has a spine of steel," he said.

"Yet you drove her away! If she's all that, respect her decision," Calek advised. "Especially when you haven't informed her of the gory details of how she'll be able to bear your touch."

If it were any other issue, he would have heeded those words of wisdom.

"I cannot," Drach admitted. "She remained unimpressed and tight-lipped until she had the drink. That's when she revealed how her father still mourned for her mother. He cherished his daughter, but is gone; she's a vulnerable orphan, alone in foreign lands. I am looking out for her."

Her eyes, bright with tears, and the longing when she talked of him proved she missed him.

"So you bug and drug her. I am so proud of you." Calek didn't attempt to camouflage his sarcasm. "And we are not orphans."