Page 101 of Destined By Dragonblood
“No hugs until you put that away,” she said, moving toward me with a smirk, her finger pointing at my bulge.
“Yeah. Sorry.” Heat actually flooded my face—shame over my body’s desires for the first time in my goddamn life.
“Don’t be ashamed, Grandpapa,” Primrose said, reaching up to touch my cheek, and I didn’t argue the name she’d gifted me. As a beta, papa fit better than father, even if I wasn’t too thrilled with my title—or station. “You’re blessed to have found your mates. I only hope I’m able to do the same someday.”
“You’re always welcome home, Primrose.”
“Thanks, but I’ll definitely wait until you three get your relationship figured out—and can keep sexual actions in the bedroom where they belong.”
Tiggy lopped around us as I clasped Primrose’s upper body tight with my free arm, breathing in and memorizing the scent of rosemary from the soaps and shampoos she made. “A desire to bond with one’s mates oftentimes overrides one’s sense of propriety.”
She stepped back, her eyes gleaming. “I can’t wait to find that out for myself.”
I swallowed my groan along with a mouthful of cooled coffee as she flounced away. Best she went out on her own, for if I shadowed my granddaughter, I would incinerate the first male to touch her. She disappeared down the hallway, and I returned my attention to the beautiful creature sitting at my feet.
“You were her faithful companion, but now you’ll be mine. I hope that’s okay with you.”
Tiggy huffed a quiet bark and flopped again, showing me his belly.
“At least you see me as alpha,” I muttered, squatting to give the good boy what he wanted. I ran my fingers through his thick fur, thinking about Primrose and the future she planned to seek out.
No one would truly be worthy of her. A direct descendant of the royal line, more dragonblood than human, she ought to be mated to a prince. She deserved someone like Elijah.
My brow furrowed as I remembered his mates, the female doubtless already bonded to him. Had she not been destined for him, I never would have found Ashley and Vanni. For a brief moment, a flash of a heartbeat, I considered sending Primrose to my ex-lover, thinking perhaps if a better option stood before Elijah, a true Blood Born, he might set aside the married couple.
My inner beast huffed an amused snort.
I closed my eyes.
There was no breaking a dragonblood bonding. Once mated, the energy among the three would not be torn apart—even by death.
Mostly human mates wouldn’t live half the years my Primrose would, no matter the sustenance her alpha might provide their beta and vice versa. I had already lived more than three-quarters of my life, and still I wondered if I wouldn’t be alone when death finally arrived to take me to the stars.
At least Dahlia and Joseph hadn’t been by themselves when their end came.
Strangely, my heart no longer ached over the loss of them.
My mates’ energy lingered overhead, reminding me why. I could sense them moving around…fucking without me.
Inner dragon whimpering his need, I hissed as my dick pressed against my jeans’ zipper. But jealousy and hurt flooded through my human half, swarming the tensing of my stomach. Same as back in New York, I wanted to flee. Put distance between what I longed for yet feared.
I knew the truth of what I was—had recognized it decades ago—but acceptance did not come easily.
I pushed to my feet and strode toward the hallway that led into the cavern’s bowels, Tiggy on my heels. I slipped into the darkness, my dragon sight making it easy to find my way deeper, giving me slight relief from my mates’ energy and the reminder I couldn’t escape my fate even if I wanted to. Tiggy stayed close, his nails clicking on stone behind me.
A few caves branched off, leading to areas I had yet to revisit since returning home, but I kept to the main dragon-created hallway that led to my favorite place in the caverns. A room that Primrose claimed she’d spent more time in than anywhere else. It was also where she’d gained some of her knowledge of the world outside the mountain and that of her Blood Born ancestors.
The library opened before me, the scent of ancient manuscripts and newer paper soothing the tumbling emotions in my heart, returning me to my childhood. I used to hide in these lower bowels to escape responsibilities and Father’s harshness. Oftentimes, Papa and I would curl up on a couch, and I would fall asleep to his low voice reading from whatever text had caught his fancy.
I lifted my head and peered around the circular room and its ancient arches and rock-carved shelves lined with books. Manuscripts in the ancient language I’d learned as a young dragon. Books of a more modern era I had personally brought back to the cavern while living alone. Hundreds of years, thousands of books…it was no wonder Primrose knew the things she did.
Most of the ancient writings had been translated into the human language by Papa, and although his grasp on all spoken languages outshone what any mere human could, he’d chosen English due to the continent our family had settled.
It had been the work that had kept him occupied after his female, my mother, had passed. He’d succumbed to old age a mere week before Father, and I had never been so alone in my life.
Glory in what you’ve found.
Teeth clenched against my dragon’s murmur, I moved into the massive cave, lighting a few lanterns to ease the strain on my dragon sight. While travelling through darkness didn’t tire my eyes, attempting to read fine print without real light would give me a headache.
