Page 44 of The White Dragon's Dilemma

“Yes, for Iolaire.Our Dragons are… living together,” Valerius said.“They are--”

“Fated Mates,” Ellen whispered.

“ChosenMates,” Valerius growled.When she looked up at him, he smiled weakly and stated, “Iolaire and Raziel chose one another.If they werefatedthere would be no choice, you see.”

“Choice matters to you?”Ellen studied his face.

“More than anything.” Valerius sighed.“Being a Dragon Shifter means both many choices andnone.But in love… we are not bound by fate.We are bound by our hearts.”

Tears appeared in Ellen's eyes.“Then… then that isgood.”

“Ellen!”Grant hissed.“You know that Caden and Valerius are--”

“In love?”Her lips twitched.“Bound by theirchoicesinstead of locked in by fate?Is there anything wrong with that?”

Grant crossed his arms over his chest and there was a mulish set to his mouth.“They’ve just met.”

“So did we when we got married!”she laughed.“Or don’t you remember?”

A smile curled Grant’s lips as he clearlydidremember and it was a very fond memory.“We’re different from Caden.It was a different time, too.”

“Hardly! Love at first sight is eternal!”Ellen laughed again.“Caden is a perfect mixture of the two of us.So, of course, when he finds someone, he finds them fully.”

Grant grimaced as if he couldn’t quite argue with that.

“So you two married soon after meeting?”Valerius asked, surprised because of how conservative the Bryces seemed.

“Two months, but we knew in two minutes that we were meant for one another,” Ellen said with a fond smile at Grant.

“That’s so romantic!”Chione brought her hands together under her chin.Her eyes seemed to have doubled in size and shimmered with awe.“So you justknew?”

Ellen nodded.“It was just like in the movies.We saw each other across the quad at school.He was going to get his JD and I was there for my Masters.I remember how the sunlight hit his hair and there was this small smile on his lips that justbloomedwhen he realized I was looking at him.”

Valerius turned towards Grant who was smiling like that at his wife now.

“I had been staring at her for what seemed like forever before she noticed me,” Grant stated. “And then time stopped when our gazes met.”

“We were not apart a moment after that.Well, except for class.We would have flunked out if not for getting married,” she said.“That way we knew we were each other’s forever.”

“And did your parents object?”Valerius tried to hide any lip twitch.

“My goodness, of course!”Ellen laughed once more.“They thought it was too fast.They thought we were foolish.And that we should wait.After all, if it wasrealbetween us, then surely it would last a few years of dating and engagement.”

“But you disagreed?”Valerius was watching Grant carefully out of the corner of his eye.

“We saw no reason to wait for the same reasons they saw the opposite,” Grant admitted with a shrug as a look of affection crossed his face.

“And you’re still so happy together.”Chione clapped her hands.

Grant put an arm around his wife’s shoulders and they pressed their foreheads together.“Yes, yes, we are.”

Valerius felt a wave of relief go through him.People like the Bryces--who believed in love at first sight--clearly would not have a problem with chosen mates.No, not at all.

“But we know how rare it is that a situation like ours works out.”Grant and Ellen were still holding onto one another, but Grant was looking at Valerius with narrowed eyes.

Valerius held up his hands.“I am not asking for Caden’s hand in marriage--”

“Why not?”Ellen asked. “You love our son.Your Dragons are living together.What’s holding you back?”

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