Page 115 of Mama Si's Paradise

Grey stood up, took his chair and pushed it closer to Romin, his eyes never leaving mine. My God, he looked bothmadandtorturedat the same time. I could have sworn his eyes were begging me somehow, and fuck, he scared me.

This guy had killed his own father. He looked like a sophisticated version of a mountain man, with mad eyes, a true savage on the inside, and it scared me shitless.

I swallowed hard and walked ahead anyway, once more unable to break eye contact. Romin stood up again, but I hardly saw him, so consumed by Grey.

Monster.Such a beautiful fucking monster, and the closer to him I went, the more beautiful he became.

Until he stepped back to let me through, and I was face-to-face with Romin.

“My, my,” he whispered, looking at me from head to toe. I realized I wasn’t breathing as heavily anymore. I realized my heart wasn’t beating so fast, either. But it was impossible not to flinch when Romin put his hands on my shoulders. “She’s exquisite, isn’t she, brothers?”

They all murmuredyesand nodded their heads.

“I almost want to keep you to myself for good,” Romin said with a fake laugh that hurt my ears, when…

“She was supposed to bemine.”

Everyone fell silent for a moment, and I turned to look at Grey, who was standing not three feet behind me. There was a hunger reflecting in his eyes right now that made me wish I was anywhere else in the world but here.

“Now, now, Grey,” Romin said, but he was smiling.

“His hatchling bit her when it was Storm who picked herfirst,” Grey said, his voice thick andfullof something I couldn’t quite place, vibrating throughout me, turning the blood in my veins to stone. He sounded just as dark as the image of him.

I risked a quick glance at Valentine, but his expression was unreadable as he looked at me, and Shadow on his shoulder didn’t move a single inch, either.

“But Storm didn’tbite her—the hatchling did. Don’t be bitter, brother,” Tristian said from the other side of the table.

Grey threw him a look. Just one look—and Tristian leaned back in his chair, trying to act casual. But fuck, he wasterrifiedof his brother. I could have sworn he turned two shades paler.

And if a man like Tristian was afraid of Grey, my instincts—and Valentine—were absolutely right about him.

Except Grey wasn’t done, and his eyes were on me when he said, “She was supposed to be mine. Valentine shouldn’t have been part of the selection with a fuckinghatchling,Romin, and you know it.” Slowly, his furious eyes turned to his brother.

I was barely breathing.

“The rules are simple. You have a dragon, you participate in the selection regardless of age,” Romin said. “And we all know Valentine will not get his bride the first years, but his hatchling is just as able to select pure blood as any of our dragons.”

“He stoleher from Storm,” Grey insisted, and I imagined Storm was the name of his dragon.

As much as I hated to admit it, that dragonhadcome to me first. I remembered the moment when I was still in the water, and the huge dragon came for me, then the small one sneakily got below his talons and bit me.

Fuck, I was shaking so badly…

“Nobody can steal what was never yours, Grey,” Valentine finally said,his voice calm.

“Except she is,” Grey insisted, and he was so certain of it I almost believed him myself.

Tristian forced a laugh. “Who knew you were a sore loser.”

“Nobody,” Grey said. “Because I don’t lose.”

Nobody dared say a single word for one of the longest moments of my life.

“Sit down,” Romin said after a little while, and his voice was so strong, so full of power, even I felt it as if it pressed against my shoulders and pushed me down. “Enough of this nonsense. We have a new bride among us. Let’s not scare her even more—do you not hear that heart?” Romin shook his head as if he were disappointed, but I could have sworn his eyes glistened with amusement. “Come. Sit, Autumn. Join us for a little drink.”

My knees gave under the weight of his magic, and I sat in Grey’s chair while he took another and sat between me and Emil.

Emil, the same guy who’d come out of those trees with blood all over him and extended fangs and murder in his eyes.

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