Page 41 of The Exiled Dragon

“Excuseme?”Ileanedaway from him, closer to the door. Daine’s adoring look turned to mischief as he glanced at his mother.

“That’s it, right? She is in love with him, is she not? That is what the pink powder means?” His mother pressed her lips together, shaking her head.

“You will have to forgive my son.” Glinda picked up the saucers of tea, taking them to the sink. “He does not know when to keep his mouth shut.” Daine scoffed, his eyes glittering with excitement.

“He’s your mate then?”

“What is a mate?” The teacups in the sink crashed together, causing them to shatter. Glinda paused, looking at her mess before stepping away to dry her hands. Her hand went to rub her mouth as she turned to the table.

“Are you all right, mother?” Daine didn’t leave his seat; not once did he try to check for wounds. Then again, they could probably heal fast, too.

“What do you feel about your Dragon?” Her voice softened. Going to a bookshelf to pick up an old, worn book. “I know it is a lot to ask about your feelings with people you’ve just met but I think this situation calls for it.” I swayed in my seat, not sure if I should answer. What if they tried to gang up on Creed when he entered the area and use me against him, trying to kill or torture him?

A gentle hand landed on my shoulder. Daine’s mischievous smile went to a concerned one. “I promise you; I will make sure nothing happens to you. My mother is only trying to help.” I breathed out, feeling the heat of my breath on my chest.

“Butterflies, lots of butterflies in my stomach,” I whispered. “When he is away, I don’t like it. I feel safe with him like we are supposed to always be there for each other.” Glinda hummed, flipping through the pages of an ancient looking book.

“What else? What about when you touch him?” I smiled, rubbing my hands under the table. “Little tingles on the palms of my hands. He can’t feel them, though, so I think it is my excitement just being around him. I’ve never cared for someone so much before.” Before I knew it, my smile brightened considerably as I talked about my Dragon. Looking up, both of them stared at me in wonder.

“He doesn’t feel these tingles, as you say?” I shook my head. “I think his Dragon feels them because he always nuzzles closer to me when I pet his scales around his heart.” Glinda hummed, closing her book.

“Well, I think it's absolutely nice you have found such a man you care about, especially someone like Creed. Maybe he needs someone like you to calm him.” I tilted my head in confusion.

“Creed is always calm. He has shown no anger tendencies or wanting to hurt others the entire time I’ve known him,” I argued back. “I don’t know why everyone is so scared of him. Sure, his face may deter some people, the way he dresses, his tattoos, and his muscles, but he is far from a monster.”

Daine looked to his mother, who only shook her head slightly, kicking him under the table as he opened his mouth. “I think we should get you cleaned up. You will catch a cold, and then your Dragon might smoke us all out of our homes.”

“But the mate thing, is it like a beloved?”

“Where did you hear that term?” Daine asked. My nails scratched into my leather pants. I still wasn’t sure I could trust them. They were trying to keep information away from me about a mate, and they want to know more about me.

“Tell me what a mate is, and I’ll tell you.” I gave the best doe eyes I could, hoping they would listen.

“All right.” Glinda sat down, rubbing her forehead. “A mate is someone’s ‘soul’ mate, someone they are supposed to be with that the Goddess Selene has blessed them. Everyone has a perfectly matched soul, and the Goddess pairs them together. There are overwhelming feelings just by meeting someone, and they are supposed to be with each other forever.” My heart flipped in my chest. Creed had a mate out there somewhere.

“Part of finding a mate is feeling warm tingles through your body when you touch one another. With humans, it is hard for them to know who their mate is. Usually, the supernaturals they are paired with find them first and let the human know these feelings and what they mean.” My shoulder slumped. That means Creed has a mate somewhere. He hasn’t told me anything about it.

“Every supernatural has a mate, except some elders have found one person who is said to not have one. He is cursed because of the way he was born.”

“W-who is that? That is awful,” I said sadly. “One can’t help how they are born.” Glinda winced at the words covering her eyes.

“Your Dragon.” I gasped, shaking my head.

“But why!?” I banged the table. “He deserves one; he is so good and pure he would never hurt anyone!” Glinda and Daine looked at each other sadly.

“That’s a story he may need to tell you.” Glinda grabbed my hand. “But it doesn’t matter. If you feel for him and he feels for you, then I don’t see how it wouldn’t work. Besides, your body can change.” Tears brimmed my eyes.

“What do you mean?" I hiccupped, holding a sob.

“It means you have a mate somewhere. Only your supernatural mate can confirm it. As you said before, you had butterflies in your stomach, and you think you feel tingles when you touch him, but he would have to feel the same in his human form.”

I scoffed. Creed deserved a soul mate, like everyone else around here. Maybe I could be his soul mate, tell him we can be with each other or something if he wanted. I couldn’t imagine having any other feelings stronger than what I had for him. We didn’t need some random goddess telling us what to do.

“How do you know about beloveds?” Daine asked. I gripped my fingers around my thighs. I was hoping they would forget.

“I spent some time with Vampires for a while.” I gulped. Glinda pulled my arm to the table, removing the cloak I had meticulously wrapped around my arm. She gasped, seeing the small scars on my arm.

“A blood bag?” she whispered.

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