Page 17 of The Dragon of her Dreams

“Thanks, Mom,” Vanya said, reaching for her incredibly sexy, tight dress.

“Mom?” I repeated. “Lucy’s your... mom?”

How the hell did I miss that?

Lucy laughed softly. “Did you think your fated mate would be a commoner?”

“Well... yes,” I said. “Because I’m a...”

Lucy and Cass exchanged glances.

Vanya turned away to slip her dress back on, demonstrating a little modesty in front of the queens.

I forced myself not to stare as her robe dropped to the ground.

“Vanya is one of my triplets,” Lucy said, grabbing my attention. “And her younger brother, Iain, is married to Veronica.”

I pressed my lips together, holding in any cracks about things getting a bit incestuous. Fate obviously wanted our bloodlines joined. “Okay.” I didn’t know what to say or think. My mate was a princess? A princess of an incredibly wealthy kingdom?

I began to shake my head. “No... Wait. Hang on.” And then as the haze of our meeting cleared, I recalled what Vanya had said when I’d growled. Stavrok was her father.

Holy shit.

Vanya was never going to agree to come back with me to live in a one-bedroom shack in the poorest part of the Winter Kingdom. Her bathroom would be larger than my whole plot of land.

“You’re not a commoner, Jaegar,” Vanya said, and it was the first time I’d heard her real voice. She was strong and commanding. She stared at me with a piercing gaze. “You’re the eldest son of the King of the North, Jaegar. And you’re my mate.”

I looked from her to Lucy, to Cass, then back to Vanya once more. “Your father really is—”

“King Stavrok,” she said with a nod and another lift of her proud chin.

I ran a hand through my hair, my arm shaking as I gave voice to my earlier thought. “Holy shit.”

This time Lucy laughed, loudly. “You’ve got that right. Now... Jaegar, get dressed and come and rejoin the party. Then we can all work out where you’re going to sleep tonight.”

I frowned at the queen. “But I’ve already been assigned a bedroom.”

Lucy and Cass exchanged a long, knowing look before Cass turned to me. “You have... and you’re totally fine with sleeping alone tonight?”

My gut churned at the idea, and my gaze slid across to my mate, the heat of desire rising within me once more.

“Exactly,” Cass said with an understanding little chuckle. “We were fated mates of dragon kings back in the day too. We know we won’t be able to keep you two apart long.”

Vanya growled a little. “Mother! We just met. You don’t think—”

“Oh, I know, darling daughter,” Queen Lucy said with a wide grin. “I remember what it was like all too well. But anyway, I think we need to give Jaegar a moment and then return to the party.”

Lucy and Cass walked toward the door.

Vanya meandered behind them extremely slowly. She was playing with her hair and adjusting her dress, even though she looked absolutely perfect.

“I won’t be long,” I said, forcing a smile to my frozen features. How cruel could Fate be to me? My mate couldn’t be the Crown Princess of Bravadok. That made no sense. And what it meant for my future was as scary as it was baffling. I’d grown up poor, while the princess had grown up entitled and rich.

I wasn’t interested in living anywhere other than my mother’s small, humble cottage, whereas I was almost certain that Vanya would want to live here and remain in her father’s castle. Or at the very least, she’d likely expect to live in the Kingdom of Winter’s refurbished castle.

We don’t suit, not at all.

My head pounded, and I dressed slowly, giving myself time to think of a solution, or at least, my next few steps forward. And when no path made itself clear, I paced in front of the fireplace, unable to do what needed to be done.

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