Page 38

ALARIC

E lias and I go through some business while Dahlia naps. I was worried that perhaps I’d been a little too…zealous in these first few days, but despite her mortal body’s need for rest, my mate is damn near insatiable. I have an errant thought, imagining the possibilities if she were a vampire, her strength and stamina closer to my own, and shudder before I scowl, pushing the thought firmly away. That is an impossibility and I refuse to entertain it, even for the briefest of moments inside my own mind.

“And all of the funeral rites have been performed?”

“Yes, it’s all been taken care of. The wounded have all healed, and replacements for those lost are on their way to the camp now. I put Bracken in charge in my absence.”

“Good. And scouting reports?”

“No movement from the Revenant stronghold. Looks like Kilgren is sulking with his tail between his legs after the defeat. Once he stopped all his raging of course—reports say he killed fifty of his own men in an incoherent rampage after he saw you appear back on the field. He must have really thought this was to be it, he was going to finally break through and claim a victory against you.”

“He would have,” I say seriously, absently rubbing the heel of my hand over the spot where the arrow had pierced me, “if not for Dahlia. Everything could have turned out so differently. It could have meant the end of…everything.”

“I know,” he says somberly, sipping his blood. “I know, Alaric. I think about it far more than I’d like to admit. Don’t ever fucking do that to me again, by the way.”

I smile at him and incline my head. “I shall do my best.”

“Speaking of our fair Dahlia…” He waggles his eyebrows and I roll my eyes. “Come now, you can’t deny how different you are since finally claiming your mate, brother. It’s…astonishing, really.”

I exhale roughly and run my fingers through my hair, remembering Dahlia’s fingers pulling at the strands earlier as I feasted on her on the edge of the tub in our bathing chamber. My lips curl at the memory.

“It’s…I can’t explain it, Elias. It’s like I am finally whole after having a piece of me missing my entire life. Not just any piece, the most important one.”

“I’m happy for you.” He takes another sip, swirling crimson around his goblet. “And what does Sebastian think of all of this?”

My lips press into a hard line. I open my mouth to speak but whirl as the doors to my study fly open and I see Sebastian himself striding into the room as if we’d summoned him by simply speaking his name. My stomach clenches: I hadn’t expected him to arrive so soon after receiving my correspondence. I honestly don’t know what he’ll think about any of this. The laws of matehood are some of our most revered, but Dahlia being human throws quite a kink into things. I have a good idea of what he’ll want me to do, but I will refuse and I don’t want there to be a fight. It’s a fight I will have if need be, but I don’t want it.

“Sebastian thinks that this is fucking insane,” my brother says in answer to Elias’ question, shrugging out of his coat. Alora, the head of my staff, is at his heels, taking his coat and looking at me apologetically.

Elias and I both rise to our feet, inclining our heads to my brother. Sebastian claps Elias on the shoulder first in greeting before turning to me.

“Heard you almost left us forever, brother.” His voice is tight with emotion.

“It was closer than I’d like to admit, yes.” He nods and I can see the tension at the corners of his mouth, uncomfortable with the thought.

“Well, let’s not do that again, shall we?” He pulls me into a bear hug, nearly cracking several ribs, and I squeeze him back fiercely. He pulls back after a few moments and studies me before adding, “Especially now that you have a mate to look after.”

Elias clears his throat and sets his glass down on the table before gesturing towards Alora.

“You know, I had a question about the, uh, soap in my room, if I might ask for your assistance, dearest Alora.” He flashes her a winning smile, the one that can get any female—and most males—to do exactly what he wants. She flushes slightly and nods, understanding that he’s trying to get both of them out of the way as efficiently as possible.

“O-of course, sir.”

Elias gives me a look that clearly says good luck , inclines his head to Sebastian, and bolts out of the room with Alora, leaving Sebastian and me alone.

“Well, offer me a damned drink, Alaric. Gods almighty, I get a letter saying that you almost died—from silver poisoning of all things, from the tip of an arrow that penetrated your impenetrable armor—but that you survived because of your mate—who also happens to be your fucking human Consort —and then I rode like the devil straight here. So, a drink, if you please, little brother. A blasted strong one.”

My lips quirk and I’m relieved that he isn’t entirely irate with me. Not that I have any control over who my mate might be, of course, but he still has every right to be angry. Or at least perturbed. It’s a…precarious situation. I pour him a blood whisky and hand it to him as he sinks heavily into the chair before the fire. He takes a deep drink and I wait, easing into the chair opposite him.

“Ok, out with it. How did this happen?”

I snort. “What the devil do you mean how did this happen? Fate is a fickle wench apparently, that’s how.”

He barks out a laugh. “You knew at the Choosing?” I nod. “Why didn’t you say anything then, Alaric?”

I rub the back of my neck. “I…well, I was hoping I was wrong, honestly.”

“And after you realized that you weren’t?”

“I decided to forsake the bond. I refused to acknowledge it for months.” His brows hike up so high they’re hidden beneath his light hair.

“That’s…impossible, is it not?”

“It was…difficult, yes,” I admit. “But having her in the camp at least allowed me to protect her.” Mostly , I think darkly, remembering the attack on the road. Fury simmers deep in my chest. I will pay Kilgren back for that one day, if it’s the last thing I ever do on this earth. “So, it was worth the torture. For a time. But then things began to shift and…fuck, Bastian, it isn’t only the mating bond—I’m in love with her.”

He blinks, watching me for long moments in that analytical way he has.

“And she saved your life? From the silver?”

“Yes. I nearly drained her fucking dry, honestly, but she was ready to give her life for mine.”

“Then I owe her my thanks,” he says somberly.

“I owe her my life, in so many different ways.”

“So you’ve claimed her then?” I swallow hard but square my shoulders.

“Yes, I have.” Thirty-seven times, give or take…

“And you, ah, haven’t…hurt her?”

“No,” I assure him, “She is well. Sleeping now.” He lets his head fall back against the chair and exhales, long and slow.

“This is…quite the situation, indeed. There has never been a human mate at all that I’m aware of, let alone a prince’s mate. You know we don’t partake in those particular desires with humans.” I give him a pointed look and he rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean. Officially we do not. What happens behind closed doors is another matter and is something for each prince to deal with, but publicly, as the head of the Clan, I say that we do not fuck our Consorts or any other human.” I grind my teeth. “But,” he adds, “a mate trumps almost everything else in our world, you know this. So…we will adapt.” I look at him incredulously. “What? How else do we survive for millennia? We must change as the world does, Alaric.”

I let out a breath, feeling the tension inside me ease, but then the inevitable question arises.

“Will you try the turning, then?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Alaric—”

“No, Bastian. I will not risk her life—again.” He clenches his jaw and I can see the anger simmering in his golden eyes.

“So you will sentence yourself to certain death then?”

I grind my teeth. I’ve gone over this a thousand times in my mind. There are only two options: leave Dahlia human and spend as much time with her as possible before she dies—hopefully of natural causes many years from now—and follow her after; or attempt the turning and take the chance of her dying in the process now.

“There is a good chance she will survive, Alaric. You could have eternity with her.”

“And if she doesn’t?” I snap. “If we attempt and she dies tomorrow?? I cannot do it Bastian, I need…gods, I need more time with her.”

“You could have forever with her if the turning works,” he points out.

“ If . Are you ready to lose me so soon, brother? Because make no mistake, I will not live without her. Not for a single fucking moment. Where she goes from this day forward, I will follow—even if that is to the grave.”

Sebastian exhales roughly and downs his drink.

“There is no easy answer here, is there?”

“No,” I sigh. “No, there isn’t. Of course I want to spend eternity with her by my side, but the thought of losing her in an attempt to have that chance terrifies me in ways I cannot explain, Bastian.”

He sighs and shakes his head a little ruefully. “Leave it to you to find yourself in this mess. You always did have to be different, didn’t you, little brother?”

“All will be well, Bastian. Whether I have a year with her or fifty, it will be the best time of my very long life, of that I am sure.” He watches me through narrowed eyes.

“You’ve become quite a romantic sap now that you’ve found your mate, Alaric.”

“Fuck off,” I say, smiling.

“Now that you lot are finished with official business, can I please hug my stupidly reckless brother?” I blink in surprise as Fiona storms into the room. I glance at Bastian and he gives me a look that says as if I can control the little devil .

I leap to my feet and wrap her in a hug, squeezing her tightly. She hugs me back fiercely and when she pulls away, pink-tinged tears stand in her eyes. She wipes them away and swats me in the chest.

“Don’t fucking do that again, damn you!”

“Why does everyone act as if I wanted to get shot with a poisoned arrow? As if I thought it sounded like a jolly old time?” She ignores my question and looks around the room, arms crossed.

“And where is your mate then?” I run my hand through my hair and exhale in irritation.

“Does everyone know then?”

Fi pats my cheek indulgently, as if I’m a child. “Only the important ones, dear brother. Not to worry. But where is she? I only got to see her from afar at the Choosing.”

“She’s resting,” I grate, wondering what Dahlia is going to make of having my most headstrong sister here. Fi waggles her light brows at me.

“I’ll bet she is, you dog.”

“FI,” I warn, exasperated already.

“Alright, alright. I promise to be on my best behavior, sir.” She gives me a mock salute and I can’t help but huff out a laugh.

We talk about this and that for a while, catching up on Clan business and Fiona supplying plenty of gossip from Astoria’s Keep. I tell them both all about Dahlia and our…courtship I suppose you could call it.

“Well, I love her already,” Fi says, grinning over a glass of blood-laced wine. I inhale sharply when I sense Dahlia begin to wake and Bastian laughs, knowing exactly what’s going on, though Fi looks a bit confused.

“Go, brother. Get your mate, we will see you later.”

“You’re staying?”

“For a few days, yes. I need to meet your Dahlia properly—and shield her from this she-demon,” he says, tilting his head towards Fiona. She makes an indignant huffing sound and throws a pillow at him. His eyes sparkle with a mischief that makes my stomach drop. I point an accusatory finger at him.

“No stories about me as a child, Bastian. I mean it.”

“I would never,” he says, full of feigned innocence.

“I certainly would though,” Fi adds with a grin, and the two of them look at each other, falling into a fit of laughter. The three of us have always been closer than any of our other siblings and I can’t explain how nice it is to have them both here, to have my whole family here within my home. I feel content in a way I never thought possible.

But now, I need to go wake my mate properly.