Prowling for His Mate Page 7

  When Malina came back, she looked down at the uneaten food. “Is everything okay?”

  “It’s delicious.” She smiled. “Are you a lion, too?”

  Malina looked at her, wide-eyed. “That happened quickly. Yes, we all are. Well, most.”

  “Most?”

  “I’ll go get the dessert and let your mate answer that one.”

  “My mate?”

  “Boyfriend, for lack of a better term,” he said. “Did you see the flag flying above the garrison?”

  She followed his gaze to the green flag with the silhouette of Michelangelo’s David. “Yes. It’s on the main villa, and I’ve seen it a few other places as well, like in the village. Is it your family crest?”

  “No. The crest has a lion on it.” He smiled when she rolled her eyes in a duh of course manner. “When someone is on the island who doesn’t know about us or who we are, that flag is flown. When the island is safe for my kind to shift at will, the flag flown is yellow with a male lion’s profile. I tell you this because even though you know about us, the green flag remains.”

  “So there are people on the island who do not know.”

  “Correct.”

  “So me asking random people on the island if they are a lion is a bad idea.”

  “Yes.”

  “Sabine and her daughter know about you but aren’t lions, are they?”

  He had to give her credit. She caught on fast. “No, they are part of another zodiac.”

  “Cancer. Who this month are being sought by the foniás?”

  “How much did you read?”

  “Not enough,” she admitted. “It was choppy bits and pieces that didn’t make any sense to me at all.”

  “None of it should have made sense.”

  Naya came running from the direction of the Villa. “Leonidas is on his way over with Kalista. Thought you should know.” Though she moved out of sight, he thought she remained somewhere to watch the tableau play out.

  Paighton looked alarmed. “Are you in trouble?”

  “I doubt it. I wasn’t the one who hired a human.”

  “No. I was.” Kalista came up the pathway, Leonidas a step behind her.

  Jaison got to his feet as his prime approached. Paighton started to do the same, but Leo indicated she remain in her seat. He took Jaison out of earshot of the table. “So, she knows.”

  “She is far more able than the original librarian in her ancient languages.”

  He waved off the concern. “That is neither here nor there and might be a good thing. I’ll explain later, but how much does she know?”

  “Bare minimum.”

  “For her safety, keep it that way. Don’t lie, but with what we know is coming, we need to be careful for her sake as well as Kalista’s.” He walked back to the table and addressed Paighton. “You have a great number of questions I’m sure.”

  “I do,” she admitted.

  “I believe the most important one is can we shift into lions.” Leonidas’ voice was calm and reassuring. “Kalista and I agree you should see that we can, but perhaps in steps.”

  “Steps?”

  “A shift out of sight, deal with the lion without the shift.”

  “Why are you letting me see?”

  “Hard to become part of the family if it’s one full of secrets.” Leo straightened to his full, commanding height.. “The question is, who would you like to see shift?”

  “I recommend Leo,” Kalista put in.

  “You would.” Jaison said.

  “No, listen. It might be easier if you were there to hold her hand.” She eyed him and he could imagine she was yelling at him to let her do this her way.

  Paighton looked between the two men and moved in next to Jaison, intertwining her fingers with his. Brave and strong, but she had doubts. “Leo, will you?”

  The prime was already removing his shirt. He walked around the tree and a moment later came back in his lion form. Paighton hid behind Jaison with a squeak. Leonidas paused, but Kalista came forward to pet her mate. I never get over how magnificent he is.”

  “His ego doesn’t need you inflating it.” Jaison joked, turning to his mate. “There is nothing to be nervous about.”

  “Says you,” she mumbled into his shoulder. “I know I said I wanted to know.”

  “If you want to forget you saw this, Leonidas can make it happen.” Jaison hated seeing her fight with what her brain was telling her couldn’t happen.

  “He can?”

  “He can, but you’ll just have to go through all this again.” Kalista reached for Paighton and tugged her forward. She placed the other woman’s hands on Leo’s mane then turned to Jaison and jerked her head toward the tree Leo shifted behind. He followed suit and emerged as his lion.

  “Jaison?” she asked but didn’t hesitate to approach him.

  Leonidas and Kalista backed away until it was only he and Paighton on the patio. He held his breath, waiting for her to touch him. When she did, he felt the connection form stronger than before, and she hissed. He shifted before her, and she threw herself into his arms pressing herself against his naked body.

  “Please,” she begged. Fingers gripped his shoulders, tightened as she rubbed herself against him.

  “Shhh. I’ve you,” he whispered in her ear. Lifting her into his arms, he rushed them into the garrison and into the room he had planned to use the evening before. The thought of being under the same roof as her and unable to be with her had been too much. But in the end, Leonidas had come to him in need of assistance, Jaison being one of the few who could still read the old text. So the need for the room had been moot.

  He kicked open the door and carried her to the small bed in the corner. She clung to him, screaming that it burned. Guilt racked him. He wanted the connection, but this was too much. She wasn’t in her right mind for him to make love to her. He would never forgive himself if she regretted it later. She needed to accept his advances when she was clear-minded, not in the fire of the mating.

  He changed tacks and carried her into the en suite, hissing as her lips made contact with his skin.

  Turning on the water, he stepped in with her in his arms, still fully dressed in her gown.

  The icy water hit his heated skin, and she screamed in pain. Standing in the onslaught, he tried to soothe her. Eventually her shaking turned to shivers, and when her teeth chattered, he pulled her out of the shower. Then he stripped her wet clothing and dried her before wrapping her shivering body in a blanket. Did he tuck her into this bed? In the end, he decided being close to Kalista, a woman who could understand and help her through it, made the most sense.

  Every time he tried to move away from her, she whimpered. Every step with her in his arms was torture, but he made the excruciated walk to the villa. Entering the Marble Room, he placed her in the center of the large bed. He hated this room. Even with new decorations since Kalista’s attack a year ago, it still angered him and agitated him that his mate was in this room.

  Kalista, walking to her room, gasped as she passed the open door. She hadn’t entered the room since the attack. “Is she okay?”

  “Not sure.”

  “Did you mate?”

  “No.”

  “Good. The pain worsens if you do. And you have a while until you can bond.” She didn’t cross the threshold. “Let me get you some sweats.”

  He nodded. Even though Paighton slept, he didn’t want to leave her. A few minutes later, Kalista returned with a pair of sweats and a book. She held it out and as much as he wanted her to fight her demons and come into the room, she wasn’t ready. He grabbed the garments. Thanking her, he pulled the pants up and took the chair next to the bed. Paighton slept, to all appearances comfortably. Even so, he watched her, learning every line in her face. Knowing Kali was but a shout away gave some comfort and deep within he believed if Paighton needed her, she would fight her demons to help.

  Hours passed in a minute
and when Leonidas came into the room, Jaison was shocked at how long he had sat there. The clock read past three in the morning.

  “How is she?”

  “Calm.”

  “I wish I could say this is the worst.”

  Jaison leaned back in the chair. “I was there. Trust me, I know what’s coming.”

  “We can send her to the Athens home. Distance will help until you’re able to bond.”

  It had been in his mind to ask. He would broach it with her when she woke. “Did you read the scroll?”

  Leonidas paced the room, looking in the closet and en suite. Jaison knew he was replaying the events of the last year. Premeditated attacks directed at his human mate. Finally, he stopped and leaned against the wall. “I have. There are two more scrolls I need found, but I’ll put someone on it.”

  “What did it say?”

  “It said they can challenge you.”

  “Fuck.” He leaned forward, letting his head drop. “Have you told Kalista yet?”

  “Not yet. I want to have all the information in first.”

  He glanced at his prime. “You think the information you need is in those scrolls.”

  “Perhaps. Damen, Gio, and Taki should be back on Greek soil in the morning, they’ve news they didn’t wish to share over the phone. “

  “What scrolls do you need?”

  “One of guardianships and the other according to the elders is one of rites of protection. Once we’ve a plan of attack in place and I have the scrolls, I can let Kalista know what is going on. Until then, I do not wish to concern her with something I don’t have answers for yet.” He glanced toward the open door. “She has enough on her mind.”

  How he wished he could give his alpha a clue or reassure him in some way, but he was forbidden. “Have you asked her?”

  “Repeatedly. She gives me the ‘it’s-nothing-for-me-to-worry-about’ speech.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Which makes me worry all by itself. You know where we are if you need us. I’m sure Kali will sit with her if you need a break.”

  “She won’t enter the room.”

  “Still?”

  He tried to answer but found he was unable to move or speak. Holy hell, this was the first time this had happened, the total inability to speak to his prime. He had always been careful about what he said. Yet for a minute he was talking to his friend about his wife and her fears.

  “Your inability to say anything is all the answer I need. Can I have the kitchen send you up anything?”

  The restraints around him released. “Yes, some water would be welcome.”

  Leonidas patted him on the shoulder before leaving.

  Lack of sleep and the events of the day took their toll. With her small hand in his, he let sleep claim him until the loud gasp of his mate woke him to see her backed against the headboard with the covers up to her chin.

  “What did we do?” she asked.

  “Your innocence is still intact,” he assured her, knowing his actions the night before had been the right ones. He wiped a hand down his face and rubbed at a sore spot on his shoulder. “How much do you remember?”

  She blushed deep crimson and closed her eyes. “I don’t know what is real and what I dreamt. I remember the lion part, then an all-consuming…”

  “Heat.”

  “Yes. I needed you like nothing else.”

  “I know.”

  “And we didn’t.”

  “I was concerned you would have regrets this morning.”

  “You were right. I have regrets and we didn’t do anything.” She laid her cheek on her knee. “I feel I should apologize for leading you on.”

  “You owe me none. And you didn’t lead me on. You’re going through what my people refer to as the mating fire. It’ll grow and worsen until, and if, we bond.”

  “If?”

  “The bonding is all in your hands.” The door opened, and he intercepted the breakfast tray. He brought it over to the bed, placing it within her reach. “Eat, take a shower, and I’ll meet you in the library.”

  “You’re leaving.” Panic edged her voice.

  “I’m trying to give you some privacy.”

  “The scholar in me says to run far away, but your proximity calms me even while it scares me. I feel things I’ve never before. I want to be with you intimately as much as I want to run.” She took the toast and nibbled the corner. “I sound nuts, don’t I?”

  “Not so much as you might think. You seem to be handling the shifting thing.”

  “Not really. I’m dealing with my unforeseen harlot tendencies first.”

  He reached out to take a berry. “You have to have sex to be a harlot.”

  “Yes, well not for lack of me trying.”

  “I’ll remember that. Perhaps we’ll have a contract drawn up of things you want me to do and not do while you are in heat.”

  “A fantasy to-do list?”

  “Do you have fantasies?”

  “I didn’t until I met you.”

  He couldn’t help it. He crawled up the bed and kissed her hard. Kissed her like he had dreamed of kissing his mate for a hundred years. Her response was everything he could have hoped. Sensing the heat building in her, he pulled away and handed her a bottle of water. “Drink. It will bring the heat down.”

  She gulped and wiped the excess water off her mouth with the back of her hand. “Perhaps some space might be good.”

  “Meet me in the library. We’ve two more scrolls to find.” He padded to the door. “Perhaps we might find the secret room.”

  “You know just what a woman wants to hear.”

  My woman, he thought moving down the hall.

  Chapter Five

  Two weeks later, they hadn’t found any secret room and only one of the two scrolls. Both Jaison and Leonidas were starting to show signs of frustration. Leonidas barked off the heads of anyone who dared glance at him funny. Jaison hated that his inability to find a scroll lost for decades put their queen in jeopardy. It had to be here, but they couldn’t find the rights to protection.

  His relationship with Paighton proved equally frustrating in a different way. They managed to hold the heat at bay by keeping their distance from each other when they could. They limited touching to when they were in the pool and discovered the large walk-in freezer was an ideal place to, as she put it, make out until they couldn’t feel their toes.

  Frostbite or a mate in burning pain—the options at the moment sucked. And although she had asked him to make love to her several times, he knew waiting until they were closer to Leo’s reign was best for her. The other option, to send her to Athens, he wouldn’t even consider. He would rather walk around in a constant state of aroused pain than have her far away where he could neither see nor touch her. If and only if she showed the signs Kalista had, then he would consider this last option. But for the moment, they had it under control—enough.

  He stared at the library, though still a mess, a more organized one. He had combed every inch. Pulled shelves from walls. Even managed to check the ceiling for hidden doors. Nothing. Not a single thing. Naya had come up empty on the garrison library and Mabyn informed them she had never seen a scroll of any kind in the village library.

  “Tell me it’s not true.” The doors opened, and a distraught Kalista stormed into the center of the room staring up at him.

  Oh shit. “What isn’t true?”

  She stood in front of him, hands on hips, shaking. “Don’t you dare play dumb with me.”

  “I’m not. I genuinely don’t know what you are referring to.” He rubbed his face. “At this moment, there are so many to choose from.”

  “Gaahhh.” She groaned, putting her hands up in frustration. “You are as infuriating as Leonidas.”

  “I sincerely doubt that.” Something glistened on the very top shelf of the bookshelf on the second landing. When he moved, it seemed to disappear, but standing right in the center of the room wi
th the morning light hitting from all three windows, he could see it. And he spotted one on the other end of the shelves as well. “Holy hell. It’s not a secret room. It’s a secret shelf.”

  “Don’t you dare change the subject.”

  “I don’t know the subject, so I can’t change it.” He gripped her shoulders and placed her where he stood. “Do you see that glittering in the light?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Help me for a second and then you can berate me all you want.”

  She pouted but didn’t move. Not knowing how much time they had, he raced up the spiral staircase and climbed the rolling ladder.

  “To the left.” She pointed.

  “Thank you.” Frustration irked him as he couldn’t see anything up here.

  “Now six inches to the right. Stop there.”

  His hand came into contact with a metal ring. He pulled it until he heard a click. Rolling the ladder to the other end far faster than was safe, he repeated the exercise with Kali guiding him. With the second click, a compartment so well camouflaged it had to be bespelled opened revealing two shelves of scrolls and tombs. “Kali, come up here so I can hand this down.”

  “Fine,” she grumbled but didn’t argue.

  They worked fast. He grabbed the last of the books as the sun moved higher in the sky, no longer streaming through the windows, then the shelf clamped shut with a loud bang. He returned down the stairs, taking the large bundle of scrolls with him, leaving the tomes on the second landing.

  “Did you get them all?” Kali asked.

  “I think so. Who knows if we could get it opened again or even find it.”

  “What are these?”

  “Hopefully one of them is the Rite of Protections.”

  “Which is?”

  “One of the scrolls we are looking for.” He tried to hide his smile at her frustration.

  “Gee, thanks.” She looked at them, but he knew she couldn’t read the text. The fourth he opened proved to be the one. “So, tell me why am I being pushed off on Damen?”

  Oh, so that’s what this was about. Leonidas had waited as long as possible to tell her, but there seemed no way out of it. Though he loathed to admit it, the current plan made the most sense. “It’s for the best.”