Page 109 of The Dragon's Gambit
“Why don’t you just ask Leviathan?” Weston asked jokingly.
Reiya looked up at Xander and shrugged. “Maybe we should. He’s probably going insane right now thinking you’re aboutto touch his mark.” Reiya scrunched her nose up and Xander chuckled.
“Wait, you really can summon him instantly? That’s real?” Weston raised his brows in shock. He thought she was just teasing about that part.
Reiya took a few steps back and away from the others. She very rarely called for Lee, never wanting to interrupt him. She closed her eyes and spoke into the quiet of her mind.Lee…Instantly, before she could even finish, he was there.
He showed up at her side and looked up in minor shock at the audience in front of him. He then turned back to Reiya. She was biting her bottom lip and looking adorable as hell. She had called him. Something had to be wrong, because she never called for him. He didn’t care who was there ... his mate had called him. He wrapped his arms around her and lowered his head into his mark. To his relief, it was still untainted. It still smelled like him. He was going crazy. He had been pacing back and forth, unable to settle down. His beast wanted to let loose on the world and rampage in anger.
“Are you okay?” he asked quietly as he glanced toward their audience.
“Mm-hmm … did I bother you? Were you busy?” Reiya asked, hoping she didn’t interrupt anything important.
Lee chuckled quietly. “I was just thinking of all the ways I planned to torture and kill Xander. Nothing major.”
“Wow, you’re vindictive.” Xander grinned and Lee flashed his attention to the back of the room. He took in the sight of Xander holding a freshly branded girl in his arms.
“So, the baby boy finally found his mate.” Lee smiled, understanding the situation. “This is a very good thing. I was afraid I was going to have to kill the only brother I ever had,” Lee joked again, though the others in the room were a bit tense, not understanding he was being funny.
“It’s a good thing, because I was afraid that, after getting a taste of me, she would never go back to you,” Xander teased back, the friendly banter picking up between the two of them.
“Alright boys, enough.” Reiya tilted her head back into Lee. “We had to let a few more people in on our little secret. Hope that’s okay.”
Lee looked at her and smiled. “Baby, I told you. Whatever you decide to do is alright with me. Say the word and I’ll go along with whatever you decide.”
“Except if I say I want to go and visit the merrows,” Reiya teased quietly, and he let out a low growl, letting her know that was out of the question.
She reached her hand up and flicked him in the forehead. “Don’t growl at me, or I’ll really give you something to growl about.” Reiya grinned up at him.
His eyes flickered at her in amusement before he let out a small chuckle. She was the only person who could ever get away with treating him like that. Instead of getting angry, like he would with anyone else, he enjoyed it. He loved how comfortable she was with him. And she should be. She was his mate, his world, and his life.
“It looks like the fairy princess has quite the way with men.” Ruby smiled and leaned back into Mason. She felt the connection between the two and could finally relax. Her angel was not being mistreated. How could she not see it before? It was so incredibly obvious right now.
Lee smiled at Reiya and kissed her forehead. She met his gaze and shrugged. “So, how should we proceed? I was thinking about just saying that I wasn’t ready to tell anyone who my mate is for now. But we weren’t sure how Xander should proceed.”
Lee straightened up and looked at Xander. “In this situation, less is more.”
“I was thinking. I hope this isn’t out of line, and if Lila doesn’t mind, couldn’t Xander say he marked her, but then his true mate showed up and he decided to take her instead?” Dex said thoughtfully, trying to add to the possible solutions.
“No,” Lee answered immediately. “That doesn’t look good on Xander. A future leader cannot afford to appear wishy-washy. It’s best to go with the plan that he only said it to keep her protected. This would be understandable and actually make him appear like a kind king.” Lee had raised Xander. He wouldn’t allow his name to be tarnished, especially over protecting his mate.
“I guess that makes sense,” Dex said and nodded his head. “I mean, I could always claim her as my mate, but like Reiya mentioned, that probably wouldn’t work anymore. There would be too much suspicion.”
Lee smiled and looked at Dex directly. “I appreciate it, but it wouldn’t work for another reason. I was barely able to tolerate Xander acting as her mate, and I watched him grow up. He’s like a brother to me. I wouldn’t be able to tolerate it with anyone else.”
Dex nodded his head. “I understand that. Reiya is your mate. I have nothing but respect for her, and I understand her position. She is my superior. I want you to know that I accept her as your mate. I accept her as being above me.”
“That’s right. She’s above all of us now.” Weston tapped his chin with his finger as he thought about it.
“That’s where the backlash would come in ... when word gets out that she is his mate. We can handle the other dragons, though. As long as we all respect her position, the majority will follow suit. Then we will just have to get rid of a few bad weeds,” Mason said in a low threat. There would be dragons they would need to eliminate.
Lee nodded. He already knew that, in order to keep peace, there would be dragons that would need to be taken care of. It would mean culling some of their own if they wouldn’t accept it. She was his mate no matter what, and her position was absolute. She was someone who could command the dragons if she ever chose to.
“You two look right together. It feels … it just feels like it makes sense. You guys can feel it too, right? It’s like a missing piece was suddenly put together.” Ruby was fascinated with how acceptable it felt. Seeing their deity with Reiya almost felt like a piece of destiny that was always meant to be. She understood their draw to Reiya now. She was their deity’s mate. Even without knowing that, their instincts were directing them to protect her.
“Well, let’s hope the deities feel the same way,” Xander said with a thin smile. That was the barrier they were still waiting to bust down.
“Lila, I know you aren’t the type to be upset by something like this, but … how do you feel about everything? You’re getting dragged into this, too.” Dex looked back at his sister. He wanted to make sure she was okay and understood everything.
