Lara
Well, I guess I can’t pretend I’m not bonded to three men now. One of them is more like a beast, but the point remains that I now have a different mark on me that broadcasts to everyone what we are to each other. And then I suppose I can’t pretend like Rio and I aren’t soulmates, either, since the ceremony is happening tonight.
There’s been a lot of changes over the last forty-eight hours, and I’m overwhelmed. But I’m also excited and happy to be back with my bonded, so…
I sigh. Heavily. Almost aggressively.
I’ve been stewing in my room since breakfast. Of course I’m not alone, even though I try to pretend like I am. Secretly I’m glad that I have one of my bonded in the room with me, but I’ll never tell him that. Max, my loving Capricorn, can get a big head, and I really don’t need to inflate his ego more than it already is. I need to be a good soulmate and keep him grounded and sane, despite the fact that I’m not either of those things.
I have no clue where the others are, and I don’t want to think about it. They’re getting things set up for the ceremony, and again, I don’t want to think about it. I’ll think about other things, like how I’m a fugitive of Earth and now my bonded are too. We’re wanted by the very organization we worked for, and that stings a little. It also means I know their methods pretty well. And since I’m now mated to a shifter, I’m a… a… what’s the word I’m looking for? Heretic? No, that’s not it. Maybe pariah? That’s closer, but it’s still not what I’m aiming for. It’s going to drive me nuts if I can’t figure it out.
“Hey, Max?”
My bonded is lounging on the bed while I stare resolutely into the roaring fireplace. “Hmm?”
“What’s the word for being mated to a shifter and all the Zodiacs hating me for it?”
“Outcast?” I’m already shaking my head, so he tries again. “Pariah?”
“I already thought of that one,” I say, a frown on my face as my head starts to hurt from the damn word that’s on the tip of my tongue.
“A leper?”
I jump up with a grin and shout, “Yes! Oh my celestials, it was driving me mad.”
He winks at me from where he’s lying upside-down with his head hanging off our bed. “I live to serve.”
Snorting, I reclaim my seat and snark, “And now you serve a leper, so joke’s on you.”
“A hot leper.”
The sheer amount of sexual tension in those three words should be illegal.
But see, being a leper is much easier to think about rather than a bonding ceremony I’m in no way prepared for. I like Rio. I liked teasing him in prison, and I think that was the start to our great friendship, but I need a pretty dress and I need a week to get all the details together for a bonding ceremony. I need to impress him, and I can’t do that with the shitty pants and tee I’m wearing.
What about the flowers? Fuck! I need flowers for the ceremony so it looks like a beautiful oasis while we romantically say our vows and pledge our loyalty to each other. I don’t even know if Drakolia has flowers, and that’s a travesty.
I’m fucking doomed. This ceremony is going to be a mess, and I hate it already.
“Why is mating me cause for your… change in status?”
I startle and gasp dramatically, whirling in time to see Sigurd step through my doorway looking hot as fuck. Casually, I swipe the back of my hand across my mouth, aiming to pick up the drool all incognito, but judging by the dragon’s grin, he saw me.
Damn it.
“Zodiacs consider other Zodiacs who mate with creatures other than humans or other Zodiacs impure,” Max drawls.
Sigurd snarls. “That’s fucking—”
“Barbaric?” Max interjects with a yawn. “Insane? Speciesist?”
“All of the above,” the dragon confirms.
“Yes, well, no one ever said Zodiacs are perfect,” Max says, “despite their aim to be. There’s so much pressure on Earth, it’s stressful. It’s much more peaceful here.”
I snort. “Until we’re eaten by dragons.”
Said dragon grins wickedly. “I think you’ll very much enjoy being eaten by me, my queen.”
I narrow my eyes. “I’m not really a queen, though, so can you not?”
The damned dragon just laughs. At me.
Ugh. Men.
“I’m king, and as my mate, that makes you queen.”
I’m too busy mocking the bastard in my head to absorb what he said right away, but when it hits, I gape. My mouth opens and closes a few times, to the amusement of both insufferable assholes.
Eventually I snap it closed and announce, “I need a nap.”
Max kindly rolls off the bed when I stand from my chair and doesn’t say a word as I pull the blankets back and slide in with my back to them both. Maybe if I’m silent, they’ll think I fell asleep. Maybe I can wait for them to leave, then find the nearest dragon town and lord over them like a tyrant, because that seems like fun. It’d be sort of fun to pretend I’m a dragon like them and make them fear me.
Oh! Maybe I can host trials or something, and they can all battle to prove their worth as my loyal retainers. It’s like those books I like to read. Oh my lordy, it’d be amazing, and I can go to bed every night surrounded by a harem of dragons who bow to my every whim and pleasure me until I pass out.
“You already have a harem,” an unamused voice says from somewhere behind me.
I tut under my breath, but of course that doesn’t go unnoticed with Kelvin around.
Stupid mind reader.
“What, is it time for the ceremony already? It’s not even dark yet,” I mumble from under the blankets I didn’t realize I’d pulled over my head.
“You fell asleep,” is all Kelvin says.
I sit upright so fast I get dizzy. Sure enough, it’s night already. Damn, I really did nap for several hours. I’m just so stressed with not having my harem of dragons.
“That’s not why you’re stressed.”
I huff and pointedly glare at my Scorpio mate. “Can you just let me live in Fantasyland for like, an hour?”
He blinks at me, though it’s more like he’s just blinking while he so happens to be looking at me. Men are so confusing, and yet they claim us women are. I shake my head in disbelief, and then I notice he’s got a garment bag in his hands that he’s obviously holding out to me, so I do the sensible thing and climb out of this soft bed to take it.
“Get dressed, and then I’ll escort you to the ceremony,” he says. Before I can reply, he’s out the door and closing it behind him.
The second he’s gone, my nerves are fluttering around my stomach in full force and I feel like puking.
This is happening. This is really happening. It’s going to be an awful ceremony because I couldn’t make it happen on Earth where it should be taking place, and because I couldn’t decorate the place the way it deserves to be decorated. With my ceremony to Max and Kelvin, there was so much time to prepare and plan, and it was perfect. I want this one to be perfect too.
With a heavy sigh, I unzip the garment bag and pull out the dress. Once it’s laid out on the bed, I stare at it for several long seconds as my brain struggles to comprehend what I’m looking at.
It’s gorgeous and utterly perfect.
The first thing I notice is the constellations and glittering stars sewn into the dark fabric, making it a perfect complement to the nighttime ceremony during which we’ll tie our souls together under the stars. What’s more, the colors remind me of a galaxy, and it makes me want to squeal with sheer happiness.
Two thin, dark blue straps bleed into a heart-shaped corset bodice that delicately flows into a purple so deep, it has hints of maroon. Near where my knees would be, the purple becomes blue again, only this isn’t quite as dark as the bodice, and the hints of gray offer a new color range that works so well with the rest of the gown. The dress itself is flowy tulle, and the sleeve is maybe half a foot in length and delicately hanging down in an arch off the shoulder, adding to the fluidity and almost whimsical feel of the gown.
I really wasn’t expecting something so exquisite, and to think my bonded’s managed to secure a dress this amazing on such short notice. It goes to show how perfect they are, and attentive. My nerves are completely gone, and in their place is excitement for what I’m about to do at last. Maybe, just maybe, the ceremony will be just as beautiful as it deserves.
With a wide smile, I race to get dressed, and the moment the gown is on, I sigh in utter bliss. It fits like a glove and hugs me just right. I twirl this way and that, mesmerized by how the fabric spins and dances.
“You look stunning.”
Kelvin’s voice startles me so badly I spin and stumble right into his arms. He holds me tight, and when I glance up, I nearly swoon again just from the sheer amount of heat in his gorgeous blue eyes.
“I wish we could linger, but time is of the essence. It’s already going to be dangerous enough just being on Earth again.”
I freeze, sure I heard my bonded wrong. “Earth?”
He nods. “Yes. You didn’t think we would cut corners for your bonding ceremony, did you?”
Swallowing thickly, I croak, “It’s too dangerous.”
Kelvin leans in for a kiss that has my stomach somersaulting while I struggle not to cry with how sweet he is. “You have me and Max to watch over you, and don’t forget your dragon. No one will mess with us tonight, and if they’re stupid enough to try something, we’ll be ready.”
“But—”
He silences me with another kiss. “No buts. Now…” He pauses for dramatic effect. “…are you ready to bind your soul to another?”
“Yes,” I breathe.
I’ve never been more ready.