Page 82 of Dragon Untamed

"We talked literally yesterday. Give him time. Twelve to fifteen hours is not enough to overcome the fact that he has to share his mate."

Kaida sighed. "I guess so. I hoped this would be easy since Ihave so much going on."

Arlo put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close. "This is nowhere near the level of the other things happening right now. He will come around. Give him time to get used to this. He went from living in a castle, knowing he had you to himself if you chose to forgive him. Now, he lives with four other guys on an island he knows nothing about and has to share his mate with all four of those guys, assuming Blaze gets his head out of his ass. It’s a lot to take in, if you ask me."

Kaida leaned into him and sighed again. "How are you so level-headed all the time?"

Arlo kissed her forehead. "Because my personality is dominated by Terrain magic. If I can't be grounded, then I'm working with the wrong element."

Arlo let her go and looked through the house. He said no one else was home yet and asked if she wanted to eat something. That sounded like a plan because they came home to shower instead of going downtown. She walked upstairs, and Enzo was standing outside of his room. Kaida paused momentarily to see if he wanted to talk about it.

"I assume you completed the bond with him, too?"

Kaida nodded. "It felt like the right time. It wasn't planned."

Enzo looked down at the floor. "You have forgiven me, right? We will get there, too, someday?"

Kaida took another step toward him. This time, he didn't move. She continued to walk down the hallway until she was in front of him. "Of course. I don't understand why you would think we wouldn't get there."

Enzo sighed heavily, threading his fingers through his hair. "I don't know. I thought things would go back to how it was before you came here. Don't ask me why. I kind of thought that the bond would be fixed, and then things would kind of just...go away, and we could start right back where we were."

"That's a lot to ask of me after you broke my heart, Enzo."

"I know. Trust me, I do. Yesterday, when you kissed me, it really felt like it could have just snapped back to before that party. Then seeing you with him...I can smell your arousal. I can see that mark on your neck. It just didn't feel like it did yesterday anymore. That hurt more than I thought it would."

Kaida put her hands on his chest and pressed her forehead on his chin. She felt his arms go around her, and she relaxed against him.

"I won't apologize for completing a bond with a mate. That is how it is supposed to work. I hope that you can understand that and not think less of me."

Enzo tightened his hug. "I don't think less of you. That is how it's supposed to go."

"Okay, then I hope you can accept things will be this way. I can't change the fact that I have multiple mates. Having their bonds uncompleted makes me itchy inside, if that makes sense."

Enzo chuckled. "Yeah. That's how I felt before that party. I wanted that itch scratched so damn bad but couldn't."

"So, you aren't mad anymore?"

Enzo didn't respond. Kaida lifted her head so she could look at him. Enzo was looking at the wall; his jaw would clench and then relax.

"I wouldn't say I was mad. More like hurt that I don't have that closeness with you anymore. It was incredible to feel that way when I did. Seeing you be like that for someone else isn't exactly easy."

"I know. I wish I could make it easier. But I feel like we need to get to know each other again before we can return to how things used to be."

Enzo nodded and sighed. "I hate that you're right, but you are. I'm sorry for making you feel like that. It isn't your fault. I knowthat things are different now, and you can't help how you feel. I at least get to be a part of it."

Kaida leaned her head back on his chest. This time, she pressed her ear against him, and the sound of his heartbeat brought a sense of calm over her.

"I promise that we will get some time together. Things are just crazy right now."

"Fair enough."

"I need a shower. I think Arlo is downstairs cooking some food if you want to join us. It might be good for you to get to know him."

Enzo hugged her tighter, and she heard him breathe in her scent. "Yeah, you're right. I should. I'll go downstairs. You should take your shower."

Enzo let her go but kept a hand on the small of her back as they walked down the hall together. Enzo dropped his hand and continued down the stairs when she got to Beckett's door. He didn't look back, which Kaida thought could be good or bad. Without feeling Beckett and Arlo's flame inside her soul, she would have let that get the better of her.

As the hot water hit her skin, Kaida leaned on the wall while the water cascaded down onto her. Kaida thought about how much happened yesterday. First, Blaze was still causing problems, yet sat aside as Enzo was being told of her bonds. She hated that she had a bond with him, but it remained tightly closed as it did from the moment her dragon emerged. Blaze stayed put and listened but didn't say a word. It didn't even feel like he had any emotions as things unfolded. After she left, Kaida wasn't sure what Blaze did. He didn't follow the rest of the guys to Adrien's house.

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