Page 52 of The Dragon of her Dreams

Cass laughed. “They’re from literal different worlds, all right, but I’d say Sarah and Katerina have had it harder. They moved to our realm to live in the North. They’ve had to put up with a lot more than anyone. The adjustment period can be difficult without support. Without someone to talk to about your fears and feelings.”

I nodded slowly, mulling her words over. “Maybe I need to speak to them.”

Cass smiled. “You can, anytime, of course. But what they’ll tell you is that they just... adapted. They got warm clothes, pushed out babies, and simply loved their men.”

“And how are their houses?” I asked as nerves jangled through me.

Cass’ sparkling laughter made me smile. “They’re lovely, actually. Dymitri and Lucian stayed here, in the castle, for years while they bonded with Damon and built themselves new homes in town. Remember, they grew up in the woods.”

I shuddered. “I can’t imagine how they survived that, but at least they had each other.”

She sighed. “Neither can I, honestly. They’re the toughest of us all.”

I set my now empty teacup down and pulled my legs up so I could rest my head on my knees. “I can’t see a way through all this, Aunt Cass. I mean... you should have seen his face when I told him I thought he’d make a good king. You’d think I told him he’d hurt children or something. He was mortified and filled with rage. I’ve never seen him like that.” I couldn’t even come up with a comparison that would make him look so angry.

Cass sighed and stood up. “It’s a lot to deal with at once. Within a single week, Jaegar went from being anonymous and alone in this world, to being a prince and a fated mate to foreign royalty. That would be too much for almost anyone. Maybe just try and be extra patient with him, hmm? Baby steps. Just take it a day at a time.”

I lifted my head and nodded with a sigh of my own. There was an undeniable wisdom in her words. There was no point catastrophizing. “Okay, Aunt Cass.”

During the night, I’d planned to fly home after lunch today, but maybe that wasn’t the best choice. My mate flying away from me last night had cut me deeply. If I did the same thing to Jaegar, leaving him when he needed me the most, what sort of fated mate did that make me? What did it say of our bond if I flew back to the comforts of what I’d always known, unwilling to adapt like the other strong women that called the North their home...

AFTER LUNCH I RETIREDto my bedroom and just cried. The smell of Jaegar’s body still lingered in the sheets, and I missed him so much, it physically hurt. When a knock sounded at the door, I called out, “Just a minute!” taking the time to blow my nose and wash my face with cool water.

I probably look like hell.

My eyes were still red and my cheeks were puffy, but I opened the door anyway, assuming it was most likely one of my cousins coming to check up on me. “Jaegar,” I whispered, staring up at him as if he’d disappear like mist in the morning. “Are you really here?” He’d washed his long hair, and it glistened with good health. Even with the pain in my chest upon seeing him, I wanted to reach out and tangle my fingers in his dark locks. “What are you doing here?”

His smile was sheepish and reserved. “Can I come in?” he asked.

I stepped back and waved him in, shutting the door behind him. I wasn’t dressed nicely, and surely, I looked like an utter mess. But what did it matter if he was coming to tell me that we needed to break up?

Is that even a thing with fated mates? Can we break up?

He walked over to the fireplace, probably to warm up. He’d been outside all day most likely, knowing him.

I made my way over to the bed and sat down on the same mattress we’d made love on only a day ago. Part of me wished I could sit somewhere else, but my heart clung to the small and desperate hope that he’d come back to me. That he’d deny his stubborn nature and decide we were worth fighting for—that I was worth being a little uncomfortable for.

He was silent for too long.

My poor, fried nerves fizzled, and tears pricked at my eyes again. “Well? Please say something.”

He walked over to where I sat, then kneeled on one knee.

My jaw dropped, and I stared up at him. “What are you doing?” I breathed.

He took my hand in his and stared back at me with those amazing blue eyes of his. “Please forgive me for the other night, Vanya. My anger was not toward you, but you copped it, and for that I’m sorry.”

I nodded, gulping at the emotions lodged in my throat. “It’s okay. I understand.” And I had. I knew that all of this had been a lot for him to digest, but that hadn’t stopped me from being quite a teary mess after. “Do you realize that I don’t know you?” I asked. If I were honest, that’s what had hurt the most. I could handle his anger and anxiety. I hadn’t liked it, of course, but his words about not knowing my fated mate had been what had cut me to my core.

He shook his head slowly. “No, you aren’t the problem here, Vanya. I am, and know that. I’m not good enough for you or this family. I’m common trash.”

Horror struck my heart, and I fell onto my knees before him, taking his beloved face in my hands. “No, you’re not, and you never have been.” I wanted to wring his mother’s neck at this point, but didn’t dare voice anything disparaging against her memory. Jaegar should never have grown up believing anything other than what I was about to say next.

“Jaegar, you are my mate. You are loved. You are worthy. And you can be whoever you want to be. And if that is someone who stays relatively anonymous and lives in the village, then so be it.”

His head, which had been bowed, came up to stare at me. “Do you mean that? You’d come here? Live with me?”

My lips quirked up at the edges. “I would.” There was no other choice. I couldn’t live without him. I knew it in my bones. I’d known for some time, despite my own discomfort and shock upon coming to the North more than a little unprepared. “But I’m sorry, weneeda new house. Somewhere with no ghosts and no memories, and maybe even a few creature comforts.”

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