Page 6 of The Silent Mountain
I look at him, surprised. “So, you want my opinion?”
“Yes, I would like to have an independent opinion,” he says. “If they spend time with you, I can see how they would do their job. I can see them in spontaneous situations. I can test their loyalty because you are my mate, and I want my mate to be treated with the utmost respect.” He pauses. “Is this weird? Am I obsessing too much over this?”
“Not at all,” I say. “Your kind was almost wiped out of existence. You have to be cautious and maybe even a little bit paranoid. But not too much.”
He smiles. “If I get too paranoid, feel free to tell me.”
“And cross the Dragon King?” I tease.
“Something tells me the Dragon King won’t mind,” he teases right back.
The way he looks at me makes my cheeks flush slightly. But he probably is just playing around or being nice. When we met for the first time and realized we were mates, I was still mourning my first love, who fell in battle, and he was still regaining his kingdom and trying to heal from the years of trauma. We both talked and instantly realized we weren’t ready yet to follow the mate bond blindly.
Taking things slowly was the plan.
But we probably should have set a plan beforehand, because we just keep circling each other without progressing. “If your schedule allows it,”—I take a deep breath—“we could maybe go out on one of the next couple of days.”
“I would love that!” A smirk curls his lips. “How about I take you up to the mountains. I have a favorite spot there with a glacial lake. That is, if you don't mind the cold.”
“Are you kidding me?” I snort. “I am a princess of the Kingdom of Eternal Ice, and a wolf. Snow and cold are my second nature.”
“Then we have a date,” he says, smiling at me, and for the first time since I met him, I can feel the hint of a butterfly in my stomach.
My attention soon shifts to two people entering the castle and approaching us. It’s a young woman with short, dark brown hair and a blond man, maybe a bit older than she is. “These were the two I was talking about,” Favian informs me.
“King Favian,” the two guards greet and bow to him. I’ve noticed that dragons, in general, are much more formal than we wolves are. My brother, who has taken over the werewolf throne, is very close friends with his higher-ranked members. And although everyone respects him highly, he is also very approachable. His subjects might be wary when he is angry, but they aren’t scared to ask him for help or talk about their issues with him.
Favian is different, but maybe that’s partly due to the fact that so many of the dragons were wiped off this world.
The playful look Favian had before when he talked to me is gone. He looks much more serious now that the two guards have arrived. “I called you here today to officially meet my mate. You have already seen her. She is the daughter of the former king, Gillean, and King Endellion’s sister, Princess Alana.”
They both eye me curiously and then bow in front of me too.
“From today on, I want you to accompany Princess Alana. She is a warrior herself, so respect her and her opinion.”
I’m stunned. I can’t believe he really introduced me as a warrior to them.
“It’s a great honor, my king,” the woman says, barely able to contain her joy.
The man nods, his eyes glinting with pride and joy. “We will not disappoint you.”
Favian turns to me now. “Alana, let me introduce these two warriors to you. They are promising members of my guards.” He gestures to the female warrior. “Barbara. During the years when I was locked away, she fought in the underground and assembled a lot of shifters around her who still wanted to fight. And Ludwig, he made sure that as many civilians as possible could disappear and safely hide and live somewhere else.”
Now I know why he plans on making them higher-ranked members. From Elio, and Favian himself, I know that dragon shifters are rather proud of their bloodlines. Usually, only royal dragons or those with a special lineage are considered worthy of a rank, but obviously, Favian’s perception of things shifted when he went through years of torment and imprisonment. He told me himself that he doesn’t care about the bloodline anymore; he doesn’t care if someone is of royal blood or not. Instead, he wants loyal and capable members in his ranks.
Favian excuses himself. He gazes at me when he leaves, signaling that he is going away on purpose so that I can get to know these two a bit. “Well,” I say, once we are alone. “I am happy to get to know you.”
“I’m so honored to be allowed to guard you,” Barbara beams. “Princess Alana-“
“Alana,” I tell her. “I don’t care much about formalities.”
“Alana, we know what you and your family did to help us dragons,” she says. To my surprise, she seems to be quite bubbly.
Ludwing pulls her away slightly. “I apologize,” he mutters, sounding flustered. “We don’t want to overstep.”
“You aren’t overstepping,” I say. “I’m glad that we get along well!” I eye them curiously. “Forgive my curiosity, but are you two mates?”
Ludwig turns red like an overripe tomato while Barbara squeals and laughs. “No, just friends,” she tells me.
