Page 300 of Hunters and Prey

It made his chest ache to see her like this. Roman knew she was strong, but she’d lost so much over the decades. He wished he could do something for her. But…this war…well, Roman would do his best to keep their remaining family alive.

Zoya turned and smiled at him, eyes soft and warm. “I heard you found your mate. I wanted to congratulate you. How’s the courting going?”

Roman sighed and flopped into the nearest chair, glad this was a family meeting and not business. “Honestly it could be better, but it could also be worse.”

His mother walked around her desk and took the chair next to his so she could study him better. Zoya rested her chin on her hand and Roman realized he’d seen Chiara do the same thing. “Tell me about her,” Zoya said.

It wasn’t exactly a command, but it wasn’t optional either.

Roman shrugged. “She’s a physician. Brilliant too from what I’ve seen. I think she might actually find the cure to the disease.” That was something he hadn’t really let himself consider, but his mother always made it easy to open up. “But she isn’t sure she wants the bond.”

“Of course not,” Zoya told him, patting his hand. “She is from Draga where they do not have mates. There is always a courting period with the Unchanged. This will be no different. Even our own can select who they like as long as they agree to at least three mates.”

Roman considered that. Mate pairings had been few and far between the last few cycles. It had gotten to the point that some of their own doctors had wondered if the disease was starting to affect their compatibility as well.

“What was it like for you?” he asked, realizing he’d never thought to ask such a thing before.

Zoya sighed and inspected her nails. His mother always looked lovely, but since the skirmish she’d taken to wearing pants. It suited her more than the gowns he thought.

“I’m sorry if this is a difficult question,” Roman murmured, remembering again how much she’d lost.

“It was bound to happen,” she said with a shrug. “As our people begin to mingle with the Kalans and Corinthians once more, there will no doubt be more matings. When I came of age it was different.”

To be a princess during such a tumultuous time had no doubt been difficult.

“The males were presented to me. Once I scented which ones were my mates, we consummated the bond and that was it. I believe the bond makes love easier. But I certainly didn’t love them the moment I set eyes on them. I’m not even sure I would have chosen to accept the bond if it hadn’t been required. I was more keen on my freedom. But this…this was another way to gain that freedom.”

Roman considered the words carefully. He couldn’t imagine not having a choice. “Do you think that will change?” he asked.

She shook her head and smiled sadly at him. “Not right now. Not for Princess Kalene. And maybe not for another generation or two. It’s not because the Council has no feelings on the matter, after all Princess Serilda runs it and she hates the requirement to accept mates. But there are so few of us…there isn’t even a female to inherit Anarr.”

The pain in those words…Roman took his mother’s hand and squeezed. “Perhaps there will be. We still have time. And there are four of us left.”

Zoya smiled at him. “After I lost your father I didn’t think I could carry on, but Eduard got me through it. And then he helped me when Leo’s father died as the Neprijat took control. But the chances of more females had been so slim. I really thought it would happen, but after your sister was stillborn I could no longer conceive. I hope…I hope that starts to change soon. I wouldn’t want any granddaughters to be subjected to the same decisions I was.”

Roman nodded. “The situation isn’t easy, and I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on Chiara. No doubt she’s aware of it, but I’m not sure she even wants children. And that choice should be hers.”

His mother stood and grabbed her shreve again. “No, the choice will be hers no matter what the Council tries to say. I will stand for her and any other who may end up mated to one of my sons.” Zoya gave him a look and Roman saw the warrior his mother truly was – the one he’d seen for the first time during that skirmish.

There was no doubt his mother would do exactly that.

“I’m proud of you,” Zoya said. “I must have done something right for you to realize that on your own despite the ways of our society. A female should be able to choose what is done with the body she has to live in. In my personal opinion males who want children so badly should find a way to carry them and do it themselves.”

Roman chuckled at that thought. “Maybe one day they’ll find a way.”

“I’m supposed to meet with your mate tomorrow and have tests done right after Eduard.” His mother eyed him. “What’s she like?”

He shrugged. “Like Adelina, and yet not. She doesn’t have that royal dominance and doesn’t wear her claws and canines as the queen does. But I suspect she’s more dominant than she seems at first. It’s difficult to tell when we don’t scent the way they do. To me she smells of sharp mint and tea tree along with the mate bond. That is not a scent Draga recognizes on their dominance spectrum.”

The sun was starting to set and Roman wondered how his mate was faring without sleep. He should check on her.

“I’ll have to ask then,” his mother murmured, watching the birds flit among her flowers in the orange and pink evening. “I’ve heard she is a little off, or that’s what Leo tells me.”

Roman lurched to his feet and glared at his mother. “Chiara is not ‘off.’ She is simply different.”

She arched an eyebrow in question at him and Roman refused to back down. He flared his wings wide and crossed his arms over his chest.

His mother smiled at that. “Protective of her already. That’s a good sign. Different will certainly be a nice addition if she chooses to stay here.”

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