Page 40 of Dimitri

“Ja. Caspian felt as if the cabin was much more home to him than the house beside his brother. I did not mind where we lived. I just wanted him to be happy.”

“Chin is happy that the two of you seemed to have moved into the cabin.”

I grinned. They might be my grandparents, but they were like so much more. “It is where we will be raising our family. At least for the next several years.” I had no doubt we would be here for decades to come. I knew that Caspian had been upset about his father deciding to sell his law firm, at least at first. But he’d also mentioned how they had all been in Madrid for too long, and more than once, someone had commented on their appearances.

“And the enforcers? You will be staying on?”

I raised an eyebrow at the question. There had been a lot of going back and forth in the beginning. Dedushka, althoughI knew he loved me a great deal, had conveniently lost my application for some time. I knew he had only been looking out for me and that he didn’t have any true issues with me or my character, but he had fought a bit about me joining the enforcers. We had moved past that now though, something I was grateful for.

“I will, yes. At least for the time being. Caspian has no issues with me continuing with the council. His brother is an enforcer, and we learned that the other brother was considering joining as well.”

Dedushka furrowed his brow. “I have heard that Benedict will be joining Edison’s committee, but I did not know of Sebastian’s other brother joining in any capacity.”

“It is what his omega father shared with us. Perhaps he has since changed his mind. I cannot be certain. I have not met Lorenzo as of yet nor Benedict. I had the pleasure of meeting Arturo though. I very much like him.”

It took but a few seconds for Dedushka to start chuckling. “Then I am certain Chin and I will as well. Might I ask how you met one parent and not the other?”

“I was with Caspian when he went to Madrid to get some of his things. Arturo had been at the condo to help pack it up.” I thought back to that meeting, and although it hadn’t been a terrible one, it still upset my dragon that our mate had been so upset about the news that had been shared. “Arturo shared everything going on with Caspian’s family. We did not stay long, though, because Caspian had become upset.” My dragon had started to become on edge the longer we were there, and I had finally put my foot down and made sure my mate rested when we arrived back at the cabin.

“I will not pretend to know what all is going on in the Ainsworth family. I have not heard any news from Sebastian, but I haven’t asked. How is your mate doing now?”

“Good. He will be seeing Dr. King for his pregnancy sickness. He has little energy, so I hope the meeting with the doctor helps him to feel better,” I said. “I wanted to ask if you thought that perhaps Caspian is ill because he is carrying a dragon baby? I have been around a few of my brothers’ mates when pregnant, and sometimes they were ill and others not.”

Dedushka shook his head. “One never knows what a pregnancy may bring. I hope he feels better soon though. I do know that if Dr. King is going to be taking care of your mate, he will improve. I have seen, firsthand, cases where the carrier has become incredibly sick and weak. With constant care, they have pulled through quite well.” Dedushka tilted his head. “Caspian is not that ill, is he?”

I shook my head. “Just a bit. He is tired, no appetite, throws up at times when he does eat, but it’s mostly aches and pains. He hurts for no reason.” I wish I could take his pain for him. It wasn’t possible though, and I hoped that Dr. King was able to do something for him.

“You should go back to your mate,” Dedushka said. “Take care of him for the day, perhaps the next week.” I wanted to argue, but Dedushka held up a hand. “Nyet. When he is under care and is feeling better, return. You will be brought up to date about the Venice coven then and how and where we are going with that. You will get to meet the new enforcers as well.”

That caught my attention. “We have new enforcers?”

“Yes. There is a new gargoyle named Vaughn. He is quiet but seems to be fitting in well. Then there are the fae. They aren’t nearly as quiet, but I’m also told that the alphas that have joined the council aren’t as troublesome as some of the fae omegas that have come over in recent times.”

It seemed as if the council was truly finally becoming much more rounded. “That all sounds like good news.”

“Yes, quite. But enough of that now. Go home and take care of your mate. He will need you, and we are still at a standstill when it comes to locating the Gallo cousins. The Vittone family is helping, despite Ambrosius’s objection.”

It took me a moment to place the names, but when I did, I remembered the meeting that fateful day. I’d met Caspian that afternoon, and my life hasn’t been the same since. No, it had been so much better. I hadn’t realized I could be as happy or love someone—my mind froze at that thought. Did I love Caspian? It didn’t take much thinking to realize that I did. Deeply.

I abruptly stood. “Thank you, Dedushka. I’ll go home and see to Caspian’s care. I will be sure to let you or Yéye know how the appointment with Dr. King goes.” I needed to get home. I had a mate to not only care for but to tell him I loved him. I should have already said those words. It was true, Caspian hadn’t said them to me as of yet, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t feeling much the same as I was.

“Is something amiss?”

“No. I simply wish to get home to Caspian. I appreciate the talk,” I said. Dedushka was standing now, and after I gave him a quick hug, he squeezed my upper arms before letting me go.

“I will not say I understand the very sudden shift, but if you feel you need to be with your mate, then you should go. I will see you in a week if I do not hear from you beforehand.”

I nodded before I turned and left the office. I checked in on Caspian through our bond and found him still sleeping. That was good because he was most likely going to become ill once he woke. I knew he could very much take care of himself if that were the case, but that didn’t mean I did not wish to be there with him.

I knew that, logically, it didn’t take me any longer to leave the council than it had to arrive, but it felt as if it took a great deallonger to make it out of the council building. I quickly checked out with Slater and then left the building.

I knew Caspian was still asleep, thanks to our bond, but that didn’t change the fact that my dragon was pushing me to return to him. What did that mean for my position in the council? Would I have issues with simply going a fifteen-minute walk to the council building? Was it because we were so newly mated?

I made a mental note to ask Reinhold if his experience with his own mate was similar. Once I was out of the building, I took off toward Dragon Falls and the cabin I now called home and shared with Caspian. That act alone helped to calm my dragon on some level. This was all new to me, and although I could admit that I loved my mate, I hoped that the inability to be apart subsided some in the future. Not that I had an issue with being with Caspian. Nothing could be further from the truth. But even I understood we needed to ensure we both still were individuals as well as a joined unit as a mated couple.

I made it almost completely home before I felt Caspian wake. Moments later, I felt the familiar sensation he got before getting sick and did what I could to rush home to him. If my mate truly did need me, I wanted to be there for him.

Chapter 14

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