Page 5

“Sure you did. Anyway, back to why you’re here.” Glaring at me he raises an eyebrow and waits for an explanation.

“Told ya, just felt like it. Was getting bored partying with horny water nymphs and meres in Greece and thought I’d spend a little quiet time in the middle of the forest in Montana, with no night clubs and where half the town is related.”

“Very funny. You’re fucking hilarious.”

“Thank you. Next time you should come with me to Greece. Nude beaches everywhere.” I sweep my hand wide emphasizing my point.

Endo sits on a stool on the opposite side of the white marble island and smirks.

“Maybe I will. I could use some time away from the family.”

“Mom been pressuring you lately?” I ask.

Our mother can be quite demanding sometimes, and as the youngest he sometimes gets the short end of the stick. Especially when I’ve practically amputated myself from family affairs. I still get sucked in, case in point my current presence in Snowberry. But I’m older, pushing ninety, and have had plenty of time to manipulate and strategize my freedom.

Compiling my own money, separate from the family accounts I have access to, allows me to slip away when our mother tries to nail me down. I still use the family money for a good number of things. I’m not built for day jobs. So, I continue to assuage my parents by attending events here and there, showing up and doing my duty just enough to keep in their good graces and under their radar.

Poor Endo is barely twenty-five. He hasn’t managed to put strategies into place yet to escape our parents’ control. At least he has his own place so he doesn’t have to live under the same roof as them. If he were within reaching distance, he may not have any freedoms.

We’ll eventually get him there. With my help he’ll be as free as me by thirty.

“Yeah. She’s been on a mission lately.” He narrows his eyes at me, his tone turning curious. “Have you spoken to anyone in the family recently? Heard about what she’s been up to?”

“No.” I shake my head but am feeling nervous now at the seriousness in his tone. Standing up straight I stare down my younger brother who is now giving me a look that saysyou are not gonna like this.

“I hate to ask, but what did she do now?”

Taking in a deep breath Endo releases it in a long exhale. Not a good sign.

“She’s on a mission to get you and Keiko mated. She’s been sneaking away and plotting. I’m pretty sure she’s made her picks but hasn’t told anyone who they are yet.”

The heat that is always present in my veins, thanks to my fire magic, chills to an icy frost. She’s nagged me about finding a mate for years and has been relentless about it at times, but she’s never gone so far as to pick out a mate for me. If she’s to the point where she’s gone in search, and found, a female she believes will be my perfect mate, I am well and truly fucked.

Mom arranged my older brother Ren’s mating to a well-bred female with a pristine pure-blooded heritage. My older sister Airi managed to pick her own mate but received mother’s approval first. Now it seems me and my younger sister, Keiko’s time has run out.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

“How much time do I have?”

“I think she plans on revealing her at the equinox.”

“Shiiiiit.”

My elbows smack down hard on the marble countertop, and I drop my face into my hands.

“If I leave now do you think I’ll be able to outrun this?”

“Probably not,” Endo says with obvious defeat. Which means even if I leave, she’ll probably still announce my future mating ceremony with whichever female nymph she has deemed worthy.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“Because you never talk to anyone. Plus, it’s all hearsay. Gossip from eavesdropping and conjecture. We don’t know anything for sure, other than she’s been sneaking away and has been heavily hinting at wanting you mated.” Endo reaches over and snags a french fry from my plate and chews, waiting for me to break down.

“Why does she care so much about me being mated? She already has two mated children and they’re happily fulfilling her weird obsession with bloodlines by having the exact number of children she tells them to. Why does she need me?”

Removing my face from my hands, I step away from the island and begin to pace the massive kitchen, appetite gone. I run my hand through my long hair and stroke one of my curving horns absentmindedly, trying to devise a way out of this.

Isthere a way out of this? Once mom makes up her mind, there’s usually no getting out of it. There’s a good possibility that if I were to publicly snub her mate choice for me, I’d no doubt be disowned and lose all access to the family’s money. And as much as I hate the family “business” I do appreciate the family money. I can only sneak by for so long.