Page 5 of Unexpected Mate

There is no need to worry, sweet cheeks. Everything is as it should be.

Her words were meant to reassure me, but her tone sounded exhausted.

Deal with that idiot who thinks he is about to sneak-attack you and let me nap in peace! What does a goddess have to do to get some sleep around here?

She moved back into the dark corners in my mind, and I reluctantly turned my attention to Damien. He had been teleporting from spot to spot, trying to confuse me, but this was child’s play for me now. I knew that Levi was also slowly stalking me from behind. He was quiet, but his movements had set off the magical trip-wires I had erected around myself. This was another nifty trick my dragon power had given me: undetectable magic. If I used only the faintest amount of magic, I could keep the energy level low enough that it was invisible to those around me. My mates were unaware of this recent development, and I was enjoying their constant efforts to catch me off guard.

As Damien teleported a few feet in front of me and lunged, I felt Levi leap for my back. In one smooth motion, I leapt forward and ducked, causing Levi’s wolf to go sailing over my shoulder. Just as he passed over me, I released control and allowed my wings to burst free. Throwing out my right wing, I knocked Levi and threw him off balance, sending him tumbling into the dirt. At the same time, I used my left wing tosmack the back of Damien’s head. He also fell face-first into the dirt. I sprang forward, landed on his back, and grabbed him in a choke hold. Laughing like a maniac, I ground my knuckles into the top of his head and messed up his hair.

Not wanting to be left out, Levi bounded toward me, his tail wagging so hard that the dirt billowed around us. He barked twice, then pushed his muzzle into my face, licking me with abandon.

“Ack! That’s so gross!” I rubbed at my face, trying to remove his doggy drool. He chuffed (his version of a wolf laugh) and continued to lick my hands and whatever bits of my skin he could find between my fingers.

I sunk my fingers into the thick, soft fur around his neck and flipped onto his back. Levi yipped while playfully attempting to buck me off.

“I hate to break up this weird, yet strangely adorable scene, but Leo has finished collecting the necessary information from Draven’s hard drive,” said Mithraheal, appearing before us. “It’s time to sit down and finalize our plan of attack.”

Mithraheal’s words sent ice shooting through me, and my stomach dropped. I wanted this to be over, but another part of me hated the thought of my men going into battle with me. I knew I wouldn’t be able to bear losing a mate and wished there was a way I could take Draven down alone. The intel we gathered had made it clear I would need help.

My skills had grown, and I was no longer the girl he had met only a few short months ago, but I couldn’t take on an experienced wizard and his closest followers at the same time.

I sighed and slowly got to my feet. “Let’s get this over with,” I said. “I’m ready to put this evil behind us so we can focus on building our lives together.”

I strode toward the large outdoor deck where I could see the wizards spreading out papers and tablets. As we drew near, I spotted Leo. He was sitting to one side of the sprawling table. Gregor and his team didn’t acknowledge his presence as they talked and joked among themselves. He might as well have been invisible. Annoyance stirred my dragon fire, and it bubbled up in my chest like lava.

Leo’s gaze locked with mine as he slid his glasses back up his nose, a habit I found completely endearing. His smile was shy, but it caused the heat inside me to burn hotter. Only this time, the flames were from desire, not anger. He dropped his eyes back to the tablet he held in his hands.

I blinked away the tears that burned in my eyes. We had sneaked small touches and discreet smiles, but a personal conversation was near impossible with Elani lurking near him constantly. I craved my mate. The strain of controlling my dragon’s instincts was exhausting. There had to be a way to be with Leo alone; I needed to explain the mate pull. I had to maintain control long enough to give him time to decide if he wished to be a dragon’s mate.

I sat down in the chair opposite Leo, biting back a growl as Elani casually laid her hand on his shoulder and idly stroked it as she listened to Gregor begin the briefing. The cool metal armrest creaked as it bent beneath my punishing grip. Something bumped my leg, distracting me from my growing ire as I watched another female touching my mate with familiarity.Leo’s leg bumped me again and then pressed tight against my calf.

With this simple touch, my anger melted away, and peace washed through me. I wiggled my butt in a weird happy dance. He had felt the mate pull and wanted to comfort me. Hope rose up, telling me that he would want me as his mate. I moved forward and trapped his lower leg between both of mine. His quick intake of breath made me smile. My new mate was ridiculously sweet.

Luke’s overly loud throat clearing pulled my focus back to the discussion going on around me, and away from flirting with Leo.

I leaned forward. It was time to plan the last details of our attack. Draven was going down, and then I could spend hours working up a sweat with my mates—in bed, not on the fighting mats. Sneaking one last look at Leo’s face, I saw that his eyes smoldered with promises of things to come. Things I didn’t want to wait any longer for.

Just go ahead and jump his bones. Claim him as ours. It’s clear he desires us.

Beasty’s encouragement had me sliding to the edge of my seat, and I nearly launched myself into Leo’s lap. But it wasn’t time; I wanted to do this correctly. And right now, that meant I needed to give my full attention to planning the showdown with Draven.

Soon,I promised my inner horn-dog.

Ismiled as I watched Tia lean over the table, her cute little forehead scrunched up and the tip of her tongue caught between her teeth. She was completely focused as she studied the maps of Draven’s base.

“So, there’s only one entrance to his inner office?” she asked. “He’s going to have tightened security near that corridor, not to mention the cameras tracking anything that dares move.”

“Yes, although I’ll hack the cameras,” Leo replied. “Anyone monitoring those cameras will believe they’re watching a live feed, but they’ll actually be watching a video loop of the guards.” I barely held back a laugh at the ridiculous lovesick look on Leo’s face as he spoke to Tia. They were acting like they were in middle school, and I wouldn’t have been shocked to see Tia pass him a note with the little boxes where he could mark if he liked her or not. I rolled my eyes at the thought and my wolf let out a snort.

Why does our mate delay? She knows he is intended to be in our circle - best to mark him and begin building the bond.

Wolves could be so primal, their animal sides strong. Human logic rarely made sense to a wolf, although in this case, I had to agree with him. Leo was clearly smitten, and Tia was fighting her dragon nature as the urge to bond with him grew increasingly harder for her to resist. She had already spoken to Luke, Mithraheal, and I about Leo joining our circle, and we had made it very clear that we were all in favor.

We had each spent time talking with Leo, as well as observing him from a distance. He was quiet and spent most of his time focused on his computer. The other wizards rarely noticed him unless they needed help with their own computers or had another target for him to hack. Yet he didn’t seem to notice their dismissive and indifferent attitudes toward him. He worked hard and absorbed himself in his mission.

It was fascinating that a male with no magic had been selected by fate to be a dragon mate. I didn’t care if he was human or a super, I just wondered at fate’s logic. It was believed that fate only chose the strongest of the supernaturals to be dragon mates. Dragons were rare and had been hunted to near extinction. Mates were needed to guard the female during her pregnancies and to help guard the offspring. I didn’t believe that fate made mistakes; Leo was meant to bond with Tia and that was all that mattered.

The morning after Tia bonded with my brother and myself, she had come out of that bedroom stronger. She had sashayed into the room of waiting wizards with the grace of a queen. I had known she was strong, but her confidence had washed over us as her magic probed the room and I had fallen in love all over again. She grew stronger with each day that passed. We feared for her safety in the upcoming confrontation with Draven, but it was clear she was focused and ready.

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