DRAVEN
A dramatic sigh echoed behind me.
“Oh, come on!” The voice whined near the bookshelves.
“I have spent weeks improving my lightness skill. Weeks, Draven. Do you know how difficult it is sneaking around a palace filled with paranoid creatures?”
I heard his footsteps as he walked further into the study.
“I didn’t make any sound! How do you always do that? You truly wound my confidence.”
Ignoring my silence, he strolled across the room with a carefree stride that belonged anywhere but a war fortress.
He threw himself into one of the chairs across my desk and placed his boots on it.
Jasper was totally immune to the terrifying reputation that kept the rest of the world at bay.
“Hey, anyone!” He called out, snapping his fingers at the entrance.
The doors opened immediately after and one of the warriors guarding the doors stepped inside.
He bowed deeply to both of us.
“Commander. Councillor.”
I finally pulled my gaze away from the window.
The cold radiating from my skin had frosted the glass.
Walking over to my chair, I sat down.
“Get someone to bring me something to chew on,” Jasper ordered, waving a dismissive hand.
“Smoked meat, dried fruit…whatever you’ve got. I’m starving.”
The warrior bowed and disappeared to fetch the food.
He leaned back in the chair, a teasing grin spreading across his face as he placed his arms behind his head.
“So…congratulations are in order, I suppose. How does it feel, latest groom of the realm? Is married life everything you dreamed of?”
“I heard you didn’t even show up to the altar,” He continued, his eyes dancing with amusement.
“Sent your sword instead? Brutal, Draven. Even for you. The gossip in the capital is going to be magnificent.”
“You know why I didn’t go,” I said flatly.
He scoffed, waving his hand.
“Oh, please. Since when do you care about who dies around you? Especially a human girl who was forced on you.”
A servant entered with food before quickly leaving again.
Jasper grabbed the bread and tore a piece off.
“The King used the Royal Crest,” I informed him.
He paused, then laughed loudly.
“Oh that old dragon is clever.”
My eyes darkened at the mention of the king.
“If she dies by my hand, it will be classified as high treason. The throne would have the legal right to punish the entire army.”
He kept laughing anyway.
“Damn. He is cunning, I’ll give him that! He knew perfectly well you would eventually kill the poor human princess, so he forced obedience on you first to make sure you actually get married and stay married.”
I didn’t laugh.
I just grunted, leaning my elbow on the armrest.
“That was brilliant.” He said, nodding as he tore another piece of bread.
I haven’t been able to think straight since she walked out of this room.
Her scent was still trapped in the room, mocking me.
Karl was pacing frantically behind the walls of my mind, scratching to get out and roaring a demand I had never heard from him in my entire life.
Jasper’s laughter died down.
He tilted his head, then lowered his boots from my desk.
“What’s on your mind?” He asked.
“Your eyes flashed red just now. You only do that when Karl is trying to take the reins.”
I stared at my childhood friend for a minute, trying to calm my beast.
I clenched my jaw hard, then finally said the words I still couldn’t fully believe myself.
“She is my mate.”
He chuckled, shaking his head.
“Well, yeah, obviously. That’s how marriage works. She’s your wife now, she signed the treaty. Of course she’s your mate.”
I stared deep into his eyes, letting the gravity of my words sink in.
“She is my mate, Jasper.”
His smile slowly melted off his face.
The confusion in his eyes lasted for some seconds, then his pupils dilated in shock.
He staggered back from the seat, tripping over as he stood up so fast.
“No,” He whispered, his voice trembling as he stared at me like I had just grown a second head.
“No way. You mean… The mate?”
I slowly stood up from my seat, towering over the table.
The frost in me surged again, crackling the surface of the wood and freezing the ink on the table.
“Yes.”
“As in… a fated mate? The True Moon bond?”
“Yes,” I breathed, my white eyes locking on his.
“The fated mate.”
Jasper looked genuinely stunned for the first time in years.
“A human?” he whispered.
I said nothing because that part still confused me.
He ran a hand through his white hair roughly before staring at me again.
“That cannot happen. The dragon bloodline requires power to match power.”
“I know.”
“True mates are rare among royals. No other prince has one.” He muttered.
My jaw tightened harder.
“I know that too.”
Jasper swallowed hard, trying to recover his composure, though his chest was still heaving from the shock of the revelation.
He rubbed a hand over his face, pacing before looking back at me.
“Does she know?” He asked.
“No.”
“Does she fear you?”
I looked away, remembering her reaction before answering honestly.
“No.”
“What are you going to do?” He asked, his voice entirely stripped of its usual humor.
“What else?” I replied coldly, leaning against my desk.
“She will stay in her wing, away from me, just as I had originally planned before she arrived.”
He shook his head, taking a step closer to me.
“Draven, you know that cannot be a permanent solution. This isn’t a political marriage anymore. It’s a fated bond. Karl isn’t going to let you sit across the castle and ignore her. He is going to demand you claim her, mark her, and complete the mate bond. It’s biological programming. It will drive you insane.”
The gravity of the situation slammed into my head.
“And what happens if I don’t?” I demanded.
“What if I give Karl exactly what he wants and I kill the girl?”
He let out a breath as he realized the nightmare we were looking at.
If I touched her, the sheer power of my aura could destroy her fragile human body.
“Okay, but what if she goes on heat?” Jasper asked, his voice dropping to a tense whisper.
“If the mate bond triggers her cycle early, her body will crave you just as much as Karl craves her. What will you do then?”