Page 48 of Omission

I’ve never encountered other species before, and in the last few weeks, I’ve surrounded myself with the top of each food chain from these three kingdoms.

“Welcome home, your Majesty’s.” The words come out in a low hiss, exaggerating each ending syllable. I saw glimpses of him during the confrontation with my father, standing at the end of the stairs—he guarded my back until we boarded the plane—and now here. “How was your flight?”

While his tone is friendly, I get the impression the question is about me. My mental state.

“She’s fine, old friend. Anaya’s a strong one.”

“Of that, we have no doubt. May I?” Theodore and Gabriella give him and nod, and he walks over slowly. The gait of a predator, yet the closer he gets, I can’t help but smile. In his eyes, I see a friend. In his aura, I read loyalty. “I’m Tero, Miss Anaya. Welcome to our home, although I have a feeling you won’t be here for long.”

“Why is that?” I ask, raising a brow in surprise. How sure he is of this.

“Because your mate has called me twenty times, young one. He cannot stay away.”

XXX

“Tero was wrong.”

It’s been three days since I arrived here and I’ve yet to receive a call or text, something his sister has been teaching me to do. We’ve grown close, the three of us, and while Isabella isn’t here in person—she’s still feeling the ‘after’ effects of her heat—we video chat and catch up every day.

This is what having siblings is supposed to be like.

We talk, and they help me deal with the separation that slowly eating at me more and more every day. I miss him. I want Leonardo, but I’ve kept my word and I’m waiting for him to fulfill his promise and come for me.

I’ve told his sister this and they’re wonderful about keeping me occupied. Gabriella is obsessed with helping me learn to dress for my age and as a queen, while Isabella gives the advice a mother would.

“Did the new box of clothes come in yet?” Isa asks, in way of a greeting. She’s dressed in her signature white, this time an overall and a fitted, plain top combo—her hair up high in a ponytail. I didn’t accept the call, but with her, it doesn’t matter. My phone just answers. “I sent you a few things from one of the boutiques here, the she-wolf who owns it designs the prettiest dresses.”

“Just did, Isa,” I laugh, shifting to find some sort of sharp object to use. I’m on the floor below the king and queen, a suite meant for family or important guests, and it has everything.

There hasn’t been a single item I searched for and couldn’t find.

“Last drawer on the right and surprise!”

“That’s cheating.” But she’s right, and after finding a pair of scissors I cut across the tape. Yet that’s as far as I get, her face on the screen is frozen at an awkward picture. She looks afraid.

A second later all the lights go out in the room and the call drops while a hand is placed over my eyes. My initial reaction is to bite or scream, my fang dropping a little lower than usual, but then his scent hits me. Leonardo.

“I should be mad at you.” Breathless. Excited. Whole.

Those three words describe me to a T, but they fall flat once I’m whirled around and our eyes meet again. It’s like the first time all over again, the second our eyes met and my world righted itself. All I see and feel is him—my mate.

“Hello, little mate.”

“Hello, my king.” My arms find their place around his neck, tugging him close until not a breath separates us. And he reciprocates, wrapping me in his strong arms while meeting me halfway for a too-short, yet sweet kiss. Leonardo nuzzles me, his lips skimming across my cheeks then chin then back to my lips before doting each eye.

I’m home.

“I’ve missed you.”

“As I you.”

“Ready to get out of here for a bit?”

“Really?” Won’t deny I’m excited to spend time with him in any way I can. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

XXX

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