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Silver. The color of any shifter’s eye when they found a potential mate. It had happened without his knowledge.

Rowan Dahl was more dangerous than he had believed, and he did not think of her as a demure kitten.

Shit.

“You didn’t know.” Aqua’s voice was soft. “How could you not have known?”

Alessandro growled, “I don’t know. Isn’t it supposed to hit you like a freight truck when you get the mating feeling?”

A bright blush lit Aqua’s cheeks. He wanted to roll his eyes. Here she was confronting him about the event and she was embarrassed to hear him talk about it.

“The Houses won’t accept an elf to lead us.”

“I know that, Aqua.”

“Then you must not see her again. We can’t take the chance if your beast is insistent on it. He will mark her and the Houses will try to get rid of her and then there will be a cold war between you and the Thunder and there will be chaos.”

He scoffed, “Is that a vision or your imagination running wild?”

“I’m a seer, but one doesn’t require my particular gift to see where the path you’re on leads.”

“I will not allow it to go any further than it has.” He growled.

Aqua narrowed her eyes. “So you won’t see her again?”

Surprised by the vehemence, Alessandro responded. “I can’t make that promise. Somehow the woman seems to have gotten entangled in the shifter attacks and I will use every source I have to make sure I get to the real culprit behind Elaine.”

Aqua’s lip trembled and her eyes watered. “Is this an excuse to see her? I don’t mean to be so assertive, but Terra isn’t here a-and Blaise would just kill her to get rid of the problem-” She flinched when he growled at her and she spoke her next words softly, “How can you not see that this is a problem, my king?”

Alessandro did. And that was what was pissing him off.

How could his dragon have been so incredibly wrong in finally choosing a mate?

He sighed and forced himself to calm down. “Allow me to think of alternatives.”

“Perhaps I could help.” Aqua looked desperate.

As gently as he could, Alessandro said, “I’ll take care of it.”

Aqua looked concerned, but she gave in and took it as her cue to leave. She bowed and whispered, “I’m sorry, Alessandro.”

And he believed her. He really did.

XOXOXOXO

The bastard really had left!

After promising to help her. After showing her his beast.

Her real annoyance had nothing to do with that, though. Her annoyance was that he’d kissed her, stirring up the succubus she’d been working hard to suppress all evening and then leaving her high and dry.

Without instruction Rowan wasn’t sure what the next step was, so she gently placed the pot into the plant room, watched the cabin shuffle it around before settling it near the sky light full of subtle streaks of moonlight.

When she got back to her room, she checked her phone to see if the Dragon King had messaged her with an explanation for his abrupt departure, but besides a few texts from her sisters and a couple of friends, there were no messages.

Was he letting her stew? Next time she saw him, she would emphasize she definitely wasn’t afraid of him, just surprised.

Bastard.