Page 137 of The Dragon's Gambit
Reiya turned her head and looked into Lee’s eyes, still seeing amusement there. He wasn’t afraid at all about her struggling with her animal. Of course, as a deity, he was exponentially stronger than her. She smiled sheepishly. “Power struggle.”
“I can see that.” Lee chuckled and pulled Reiya into him. He couldn’t stay angry at her for long, not when everything she did was so darn adorable. Man, he loved her so much. “Next time, call for me. If you’re ever in a battle, call for me immediately. Don’t wait until after it starts, or after you or someone else getshurt. You are not bothering me, EVER. I know you’re always afraid of bothering me. Don’t be. Not you. You are the one person who could never bother me.”
Reiya smiled. “Well, if I’m being completely honest, I blanked.” She gave the two men an embarrassed smile. “It was my first fight ever. I just reacted. I didn’t even think about calling you. I forgot you were my summon. I honestly haven’t even thought of you as my summon recently. It wasn’t even in the back of my mind.”
“Aww, you think of him as your mate and lover now, and his identity as your summon has been forgotten,” Xander teased, provoking a red stain on Reiya’s cheeks.
Lee smiled and tugged her into him. “I prefer that you think of me that way, too. In fact, you don’t even have to think about the summon part, just that you were gifted with water. But as your mate, you can communicate with me. So, call for your mate.”
“Yeah, but usually a mate’s mindlink won’t reach you if you’re that far. It’s only by my summon link that I can.” Reiya scrunched her nose up playfully.
“Call it your communication perk, then.” Xander grinned as he added his two cents. “Oh, speaking of perk … we’re having a special dinner tonight, since you’re all better. It’s time for Levi here to publicly claim you as his mate.” His grin widened as he stared at Reiya. Lee didn’t have to go through this, but he wanted to claim Reiya publicly. Not that he needed it, but the four kingdoms were going to bless his union. It was a sign of respect and reverence, a declaration from all the dragons, showing complete support of their deity’s mate.
Reiya looked up at Lee, who was smiling at her. He was planning to mark her publicly, like what she was supposed to do with Xander as a decoy. Now it really was her turn. “So, is this another acceptance kiss thing?” Reiya gave him a crooked smile. Meanwhile, he was beaming back down at her.
“Finally! I’ve watched this done time and time again. Now it’s finally my turn.”
Reiya could see he was excited thinking about claiming her publicly. There would be no way anyone could refute what they would see with their own eyes. Lee publicly claiming her will solidify his relationship with her in the dragons’ minds. Not that it was really needed. Lee had already publicly announced her as his mate. He had made it known that if any harm came to her from one of them, they would pay for it with their lives.
Still, this was an exciting moment for Lee. For the first time, he would be publicly marking his mate. A moment he thought would never come.
Reiya looked herself over. “I think, if I’m going to be in front of everyone, I’m going to need a shower first.” She noticed she still had some dried blood on her and her clothes, and she wanted to make sure she looked her best since the focus would be on her.
“Yeah, I think that would be best.” Xander grinned as he looked at her. “It would be nice for Levi’s mate to look like she hadn’t just murdered someone.”
“Yeah … I murdered someone or they murdered me, whatever the case may be.” Reiya cleared her throat as she saw the unamused faces. “Anyway, I’ll be off.” Reiya scooted away, off the bed, and made her way to the bathroom.
She turned on the steamy shower and hopped in, letting the hot droplets cascade over her body as the steam filled the air. So, she was going to be the object of the dragon’s mating ritual.Well then … let’s give them a show.Reiya smirked as she leaned her head into the water. She wasn’t a dragon. She was a werewolf. Her father was an alpha and her mother was the daughter of an alpha. That made Reiya and Hunter true alphas. Yes, she was a true alpha, and she also had a mate to claim.
Chapter 85 Living Gem
Reiya had taken her time getting dressed and fixing herself up perfectly. When she got out of the shower, both men were gone. She was sure they had matters to attend to for tonight. It was almost like what a human wedding would be. They wouldbe binding themselves publicly for all eternity. She was a bit nervous, but she was also excited. She wasn’t anxious about being his, just the public spectacle of it all.
She put on a shimmering ebony dress that ran to the floor. On either side were high slits up to her upper thighs. She also wore her hair up, since this made the most sense, given what was going to happen. She looked herself over in the mirror. For once, she looked like one of the girls that was dressed to impress. She hoped her looks would be good enough to meet the dragon’s expectations for Lee’s mate.
She shrugged her shoulders slightly and sighed. “Well, this is as good as I get.” She then pushed the door open to the common room. Brody and Chelsie were sitting on the couch, both of them also dressed nicely for the evening. She looked at her brother and noticed a small glint in his eyes. He was up to something. Whatever … she wouldn’t press him over it. She would find out soon enough, she was sure.
“Oh, Reiya. You look beautiful. If only your mother could see you!” Chelsie gushed as she grabbed Reiya’s hands.
“It’s probably a good thing. I wouldn’t really want my parents to witness what’s about to happen.” Reiya scrunched her nose up and Chelsie giggled, nodding her head.
“I think your daddy would go on a killer rampage.” Chelsie laughed as Brody walked up beside her.
“Dad will be fine with him being your mate, but he would not want to see his daughter marked. As far as he’s concerned, if you ever get pregnant, it will be because you climbed on top of yourself and got pregnant.” Brody chuckled and Reiya rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, but he would be high fiving any of his boys for impregnating their mate. Such a double standard.” Reiya smiled and sighed. Her daddy had always been more protective of her. That was just how he was.
“Are you nervous?” Chelsie asked with wide eyes.
“Well … I mean, I am already marked. So it’s really just a formality. Like already being married but then having a ceremony. I guess I’m a bit nervous for the dragons’ approval, if that makes sense.” Reiya bit her bottom lip.
“You have nothing to worry about there.” Lila’s voice rang out as she entered the upstairs rooms. Ruby had also followed her up. “The dragons accept you as Leviathan’s mate.”
“Not to mention they are too terrified of Leviathan not to accept who he tells them to. Seriously, though, we just came from the gathering crowds. They all seem excited for their deity to have taken a mate. Everyone has gathered early, wanting to get good seats for tonight.” Ruby smiled and walked closer to Reiya.
“Most of the dragons are very interested in what your children will be for the dragon kingdom.” Lila said with a small giggle. “They like the idea of Leviathan spreading his seed with the fairy princess.”
“Oh wow, they want me pregnant already?” Reiya nervously chuckled and shifted to the side slightly.
