Page 9

NINE

By the time Tremotino invited Leo up onto the stage, he was ready to leave. The room full of simpering women, all wanting to get their hands on him, made him want to shudder, shift and run from the room. Preferably to go hunt prey. Which he absolutely could not do until he got home.

Then, just as he'd opened his mouth to deliver the speech he'd prepared, the most stunning woman he'd ever seen told the room he was gay.

Leaving him speechless. Because...did she know something he didn't? Was that the reason he hadn't found his fated mate? Leo had never been attracted to a man before, but he'd never fallen head over heels in love with a woman, either. Thrusting his cock into somewhere hot, willing and wet for some much needed release was one thing, but sex had never been more than just satisfying a passing urge.

Now, the only urge he felt was to find her, to ask why she'd said such a thing. He'd heard whispers that there were rare witches who could foresee fated mates, and bring the partners together, and he'd also heard rumours that there was one such witch at Mirror Academy, which would explain their success rate for matching mates, but...was this woman the witch?

If she was and she could tell him exactly who his mate was and where he might find them...he'd give her anything she wanted. Well, anything except his first born, as his mate might not agree to that. Besides, that only happened in fairytales, and his life was definitely not one of those.

If life was anything like a fairytale, he'd have met his fated mate the moment he entered the castle, and he'd already be halfway to happily-ever-after by now.

Logic told him he should cut his losses and leave, but his gut told him to stay. As always, he went with his gut.

Leo sighed. He'd grab a drink, go outside to get some air, and then return refreshed with his mind firmly focussed on his mission. If he couldn't find a wife among these vapid women, he still needed to speak to Tremotino. He'd start by asking about the new village Tremotino himself had planned, the one that was holding up the council in the first place. Tremotino's project wouldn't be anywhere near as exciting as Hea Sanctuary, but it was mundane projects like these that paid the bills whilst he was waiting for the blue sky stuff to pay off. Plus, learning about the pitfalls of someone else's project would help Leo himself to avoid those mistakes in the future.

That was his father talking, of course. He'd often said that the best mistakes were the ones other people made, that you didn't need to pay for. What would his father do in his place, with Uncle Jeremy slavering like a rabid dog for control of the company?

His father would have told him to do what was right, and to listen to his gut.

His gut said to go out to the garden, so outside Leo went. With a pink, fluffy cocktail in one hand that he hadn't been able to refuse, and a glass of water in the other.

Behind him, he heard the music begin again, the bass vibrating through the flagstones beneath his feet. He reached the edge of the terrace, intending to put his drinks down on the low wall as he surveyed the rolling lawns.

But what he saw on that lawn wiped all coherent thought from his head, for all he could focus on was the vision before him.