Page 103 of Heir

But, of course they did. And something told me, they always would.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Drak

I knew she wasn’t in the house when the Mate’s Ache woke me up. My heart felt like it was being ripped in two. Similar to how it felt when she went off to the woods with the bear earlier that day. She just kept leaving me.

So I followed her, knowing exactly what her reaction would be when she discovered me. And she didn’t disappoint.

I intended to just stay upstairs in the lounge, expecting the Mate’s Ache to be bearable with her downstairs. But the mage’s capsule was wearing off and my need to be near her grew more intense than I could stand.

I was careful when I entered the speakeasy and skirted behind people so she wouldn’t notice me. She’d never forgive me if my presence affected her game.

I noticed the wolf shifter across from her almost immediately.

He was giving off vibes I didn’t like, but I didn’t want to say anything and give my presence away. We were also surrounded by humans, and the last thing we needed was the mere mortals finding out a wolf shifter, demon, and vampire were in their midst.

So I stayed quiet and stood behind Omaera toward the back, keeping an eye on her and the shifter.

Pride roared through me when she won. But, of course she would. She was spectacular in every way. Tough as nails and incredibly clever. I was also impressed by how she treated the staff working the speakeasy. She knew everyone by name, was polite, and tipped very well. Unlike the majority of the other players and patrons who treated the staff like the help and barked orders at them. A lot didn’t use their manners or tip either.

I planned to stay quiet for as long as I could.

I could feel the effects of the capsule wearing off and my need to devour and consume Omaera was making my decision to remain unnoticed more and more difficult. It wasn’t until the wolf shifter threatened her that I knew I needed to step in.

Her reaction to me being there was less than welcomed. And I expected that.

But it allowed me to be closer to her. It allowed me to smell her. Feeding the hungry growl of my more primitive side.

I wasn’t happy she left the safety of the apartment, but the little demon was quickly demonstrating her fierce independence and resistance to mating any of us. I wished she could see how mating us would help her with her powers and help the Realm. It was the smart and logical thing to do.

But I’d never force her.

None of us would.

The Mating Bond also wouldn’t take if done without consent. Not that I would ever force myself on anyone, let alone my Fated Mate.

Which was why I felt nothing but shame as we walked toward the bus stop.

I was unable to hold back my urges, and I took her in that closet. I took the Queen of the Realm in a bloody broom closet, for god’s sake. I was a stronger man than that. I should have pushed through the desire. I should have risked the Mate’s Ache and left before she noticed me.

Maxar had the pills because he said he didn’t trust me to not toss them. But I should have demanded that he put at least one in my pocket in the event we were separated and I was alone with Omaera.

I knew she consented, but I still felt awful.

She hated me.

She said as much more than once.

I wasn’t an easy man to love; I knew that. But the pain of my mate hating me was a fresh and debilitating kind of agony I wasn’t prepared for. Nobody talked about a mate resisting the Bond or the kind of hell it would create. So either this was a new phenomenon, and I was the first vampire whose mate rejected him, or it was so painful nobody spoke of it because they had repressed those haunting memories.

I remained quiet as we waited at the bus stop, caught up in a deep bout of reflection and self-flagellation. How could I do that?

How could I take her like that?

I wanted the first time I was with my mate to be special for her. To be special for both of us. To be something she consented to—and not because she was under my fucked up vampirical hypnosis because of my own feral blood lust. I wanted her to consent because she wanted me. Because she wanted me forever as much as I wanted her forever.

If I could stay away from her, I would.

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