CHAPTER TWO
– ERNESTINO –
She’s ours, my dragon preens. Satisfaction roars through my veins along with a sense of power I’ve never experienced before today. I’ve been around for centuries and when you’ve been walking this planet for that long? It’s safe to say I gave up on finding my fated mate.
The reason my two brothers and I attended tonight’s gathering was to mingle and see if there were other dragon clan leaders who were looking for an alliance. Not for me, but for one of my brothers. Like I mentioned, I’ve been alive for centuries without a fated mate. Which also explains why dragons are rare and children are scarce.
There hasn’t been a mating resulting in pregnancy in decades. Fertility issues are not just happening in our clan but with all dragons. Which is why we need a change, otherwise we’ll face extinction.
Knocking on the door snags my attention and I pull my mate closer while a growl rumbles through my chest. Send them away. I remain silent and ignore the knocking since I share my dragon’s inner thoughts and brush a kiss against the top of Lilliana’s head.
The knocking becomes persistent as is the continuous ringing of my phone. Lilliana stirs and I growl again in frustration. She should be resting. Her scent changed after the third load of cum I gave her. One might say you can’t experience the moment of fertilization, and it takes time, but our bodies and connection work differently.
She carries my scent and not just because I filled her with my cum. I could smell my eternal mate was ready to conceive right here, right now, and it’s what essentially caused the claiming frenzy to kick in. I stare down at my mate and watch as she slowly awakens.
Damn what a woman. Her stunning beauty aside, it’s the sharp tongue and dominance she radiates which captivates me completely.
Lilliana jolts upright when one of my brothers bellows from the hallway, “Tino, we need to leave. Now. Urgent clan matters.”
This is something I can’t ignore and reluctantly get out of bed. Stalking naked to the door, I open it and snap at Nario, “I’ll be right there,” and close it to get dressed. When I turn to face the bed, I see Lilliana is up and already pulling up her pants.
“What the hell are you doing?” I grunt and she narrows her eyes.
Grabbing her bra she says, “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m going with you.”
Now I’m the one narrowing my eyes. Deep down I know she’s right. I want her to come with me, on the other hand, urgent clan matters could mean anything. I don’t want to put her at risk, and I would rather have her travel at a later point in time. Especially since I still have to debrief my clan about my mating before appearing in public with her by my side.
“No,” I grunt and quickly get dressed. “Leandro, my younger brother, will stay with you and take you to our land once I’ve assessed the issues at hand. This way you will have the time to pack your things. Besides, you need to take it easy now that you’re with child and not speak of it until we’ve passed the crucial first few months.”
The buttons on my shirt are ruined so I simply grab my jacket and throw it on.
“Take it easy?” she says in a quiet and plain tone. “Please tell me you didn’t just say that shit. We just fucked for a few rounds, it’s not as if I’m instantly not capable of anything.” Her tone changes and she snarls, “What’s next? Throw me in the kitchen and lock me up until I’ve popped out the kid? Then knock me up again and use me as an incubator for the unforeseeable future? Is that all I’m good for?”
I shouldn’t mention the fact of her uniqueness of being the first mate who falls pregnant in decades. There’s an undeniable need to protect her and keep her safe no matter what. It’s why we need to keep the pregnancy to ourselves and not share it with anyone.
I stalk to the door and as I open it, I tell her, “It is tradition dragon women stay together for–”
“It’s best you’d stop talking,” Lilliana snarls, cutting me off, and is twirling a tiny blade in her hand. “For one, I’m not a fucking dragon woman, and secondly–”
Lilliana is cut off by Nario, my older brother, who says, “We have to leave. Now.”
“See to her safety,” I tell my younger brother and turn my attention to Lilliana. “I don’t have to tell you I’m a clan leader and the safety and well-being of all members come first.”
“Of course,” she grits. “I just thought–”
Nario rudely cuts her off with a voice filled with a mocking and condescending tone. “Dragon women aren’t even allowed to attend to clan business, let alone a Nosferatu. You have a lot to learn.”
My dragon snarls inside my head and I feel the same fierce need to stand up for my mate.
Before anyone can interfere, I have my brother by the neck and shove him through a wall. Stomping through the hole it made I lean over his body and both my dragon and I growl in sync, “You have a lot to learn as well, brother. Disrespect my mate again and there will be a hole in you instead of in the wall I just threw you through.”
“I didn’t disrespect her,” he fires back and gets to his feet while I glare at the fucker.
“Call her anything else than her given name or my mate and see what happens.” I don’t give Nario another look but turn to Lilliana to tell her, “I have to go now. Leandro will take you home, and I’ll see you once I’ve handled the situation.”
I catch the smirk she’s giving Nario just before it slides off her face.
“Whatever,” she says indifferently and turns to pick up a few knives that are scattered all over the floor.
I remember them falling as we got naked. The woman sure carries a lot of weapons. She is ours. She carries our scent. We will get to know her better soon enough , my dragon states and adds, we will handle clan business and after we can fuck her again. I wholeheartedly agree.
Pinning Leandro with a stern look, he instantly gets my drift and holds his hands up in surrender. “She’s your mate, hands off, protect her, bring her home. I get it, bro, no need to bite my head off.”
“Time is ticking away,” Nario presses.
I flip the annoying fucker off and stalk out of the room. Nario has been a pain in the ass for decades. Before I became clan leader the three of us were a solid front and worked side-by-side as trained soldiers.
Nario has always wanted to be clan leader. Our father was training him to follow in his footsteps. Things didn’t work out when our father, and clan leader, was killed. Nario failed to complete all of the assignments and quests in the challenge for clan leader. I was the last one standing and the chosen one to rule until I die.
Since that day, Nario has resented me and made it his mission to annoy me. He’s balancing a thin line of obeying my orders while being a pain in the ass brother on all other levels. Leandro has told me many times over the years that I should give him another job instead of keeping him close.
Maybe he’s right, and I should banish him from my side. Though, he’s still my brother, and we made a pact when we were young. All three of us joined the challenge to become clan leader after our father’s death because he didn’t get a chance to retire and appoint Nario as his replacement.
We agreed once we entered the challenge that we’d have each other’s back in case one of us was able to succeed. I clearly succeeded and Leandro honored the pact while Nario resents me and wants to take my place.
Once we’re on our way I turn to face Nario and with anger I can’t keep from my voice I snarl, “What are the urgent clan matters? Fill me in on all the details.”
Nario doesn’t even look at me when he says, “Tony Mattia is ready to agree to our terms and is waiting at the gates.”
Fuck. Yes, he was right to pull me out of the room to handle this. Tony Mattia is the leader of clan Marshgloom. Their land is near ours and we’ve been at war for as long as I’ve been clan leader. Why? They killed my predecessor.
“Why the fuck is he waiting at the gates when he’s ready to agree to our terms?” I wonder.
Nario shrugs. “Hell if I know, it’s why I thought it was best to get your ass back home.”
I ignore him the rest of the ride and mentally go over the demands we made when Tony reached out a few months ago to negotiate a truce based on a trade our clans had for centuries. Until a member of their clan killed our leader.
My anger spikes to new levels. Between meeting Tony and therefore needing to be separated from my mate is throwing things into overdrive. Not to mention, one of the negotiations was about fostering an arranged marriage for the sake of bloodlines. With this we hope for fertility.
For a few heartbeats my thoughts stray to my fated mate. Unexpected, and such a damn surprise when I scented her fertility. Lilliana being pregnant is a sign things are finally, after many decades, moving in the right direction.
I focus back on the matters at hand. With Nario mentioning Tony will agree to all our demands, I will have to pick three clan members who will go live with the Marshgloom clan. In return we will foster three of their members. I will also have to pick a clan member who will marry one of theirs.
These clan matters were previously discussed with every member, and we’ve taken a vote. The male population is almost ninety percent, and most of the clans have the same issue. Female dragons are rare and while offspring with a fated mate used to be a guarantee, it’s not with an arranged marriage.
Though, the past teaches us that fostering dragons sometimes provides opportunities to find a mate. Arranged marriages force dragons to show dedication, and loyalty to their clan, and our breed. The past has shown it’s fruitful for some arranged marriages, even if it most times stays with one child after decades of trying. This was before the fertility issues.
Due to the incident with Marshgloom, and the fact it was decades concerning the last trade before that, it’s been…fuck, the last time a child was born in our clan was my baby sister, and that was twenty years before our father was killed.
A surge of pride goes through me at the thought of what happened today. The unthinkable happened. Not only did I find my fated mate, I also managed to impregnate her within a few hours. Frenzies often takes days, weeks sometimes. Our chance meeting sure felt like it was meant to be with her fertility timing.
“We’re here,” Nario states, dragging me out of the surge of pleasure I just felt at the reminder of Lilliana.
I glare out the window at Tony’s car. “Drive straight to the conference room.”
Nario gives the order to the driver and a handful of minutes later we’re walking into the conference room. I didn’t wait for Tony to get out. I still despise the fucker and even if trust has to start somewhere, it doesn’t have to be today.
Besides, the contracts aren’t signed yet. A verbal agreement to some of our discussed terms or not, nothing is definite until every detail is discussed and contracts are drawn up and signed.
“Ernestino, good to see you again,” Tony states as he prowls into the room.
I give a grunt and rumble, “Tony.”
It’s the best I can do, besides I don’t need to be polite to this fucker. We just have to stick to the rules, and we’ll have a truce along with hope for a shot at new blood for both our clans.
Tony steps forward and places a pile of papers on the table beside me. “I took the liberty to draw up the official papers so we can put the truce in place today.”
I have no clue why the fucker is grinning ear-to-fucking-ear.
Dismissing the papers he had drawn up, I ask, “Why would you do that if we haven’t agreed on the arranged marriage, and those who will be chosen to foster on each side?”
Tony waves with his hand as if I’m fucking nitpicking. This is about my people. His people. Why the hell is he acting this way?
My anger is overclouding my brain, otherwise I wouldn’t have missed Nario’s smug smile when Tony states, “Your second in command agreed on the phone.”
A throat is cleared and the attention in the room goes to a dragon woman. White hair, white dress, pale skin, light gray eyes that quickly flicker to the ground in a submissive appearance. Her whole stance, though? Doesn’t scream submissive. The way her shoulders are set and how she peeks through her lashes to assess the room makes unease flow through my veins.
Tony’s smile is one filled with satisfaction when he states, “Ernestino, I’d like you to meet my daughter, Naryssa Mattia, your wife-to-be.”
“The fuck she is,” I snarl.
Naryssa’s head shoots up and glares at me for a heartbeat before she throws an angry look at her father and hisses, “What’s going on? Why is he angry and denying me?”
Tony holds a hand out in Naryssa’s direction. “Everything is fine, tesoro .”
My treasure? Dragon women are scarce, but she’s giving me a bad vibe.
“Everything is not fine,” I grit. “I didn’t agree to this.”
“Ernestino, a word,” Nario grits.
I look my brother’s way. “No. You’ve done enough interfering where you had no right to meddle in anything.”
He steps closer and hisses under his breath, “You’re the one who wanted this alliance. You said you’d be willing to do anything to make a truce between clans happen to end the bloodshed and hope for new life to grow our clan.”
Yes, because Tony is a sick fuck who slaughtered four of our clan members and trapped another two inside one of our mines. He is still holding the entrance to our mine, and the two men hostage as leverage.
“That was before,” I growl, and barely stop myself from voicing my mate’s name because she is none of their business. “Again, brother, you have no right to seal any deals or alter rules, or anything.”
The hatred he feels for me is clear in his eyes for a fragment of a second until it vanishes, leaving me to wonder if it was a figment of my imagination.
“You’re right, of course.” He gives a tight nod and steps back to lean against the wall.
“What’s the problem? You are the only candidate fitting for my daughter. This marriage would seal a solid alliance between our clans,” Tony says, his voice hard and completely lacking the satisfaction it held earlier.
I cross my arms in front of my chest. “There is no problem since I never offered myself as a candidate.”
“Nonsense,” Tony grits. “You are without a mate and have been clan leader for decades. You are the only one fitting to show others–”
I’ve heard enough of this bullshit. “As of today, I have a mate. Like I said, I was never a candidate and now never will be one.”
“No,” Naryssa snarls. “This can’t be.”
She gives her father a deadly glare and stomps my way. “There will be no deal unless we marry.”
I snort and dismiss her tantrum by directing my gaze at her father. “Pick someone else and we can still discuss our options for a truce.”
Naryssa shoves a finger against my shoulder. “No discussions, no new deals. I don’t care if you found a mate. Keep her on the side for all I care and if wonder strikes and she does give you a young, we will raise it as our own. This way we will rule and have an alliance of two strong clans. Business can continue as normal. I don’t have to remind you we have the upper hand here, do I?”
Gritting my teeth, I step around the bitch and face her father. “I have only one offer if you insist on an arranged marriage involving your daughter.”
The fucker greedily nods. “My brother will wed her. Nario. Leandro is an option as well if he chooses to be. But it certainly won’t be me.”
“No,” Naryssa snarls.
I keep my gaze pinned on Tony. “Is she clan leader or are you? This is the only option you have left.”
His mouth is set in a straight line. “Are you willing to sacrifice two others of your clan?”
“I am willing to sacrifice anything to save my clan,” I grit and point at his daughter. “Unlike you who lets himself lead by a power-hungry woman who has been around for a handful of decades.”
The woman stomps her heel on the ground. “Daddy,” she says in a tone of demand, frustration, and anger.
I give Tony a look as if to indicate his bitch of a daughter just made my point very clear.
“You will regret not complying to the deal that was already made,” Tony growls.
I raise one of my eyebrows. “No deal was made. Terms were agreed upon except for the names involved in the arranged marriage and foster part. You know damn well those deals are made by clan leaders only.”
His face turns thunderous. “This is not over yet. We stick to the terms and this means you will wed my daughter or you will receive the heads of your clan members.”
“You will do no such thing unless you’d want to experience the end of your clan,” I vow.
Tony snickers and gives me a condescending look. “We’ve been at war long enough for both of us to know sacrifices fall on each side and yet we’re both still standing. We can end this now if you wed my daughter because you can’t end us without sacrificing your own clan.”
I keep my calm and give the fucker a smile as I tell him, “You never did ask as to who my mate is, Tony. Or did you simply assume she was a dragon woman?”
He spits on the ground. “I don’t care who the cunt is. Like my daughter said, keep her on the side but Naryssa earns the title of becoming your wife.”
“A dragon only has one fated mate in his eternal life. The connection is strong and cannot be denied. There is no chance in hell I would want to make my one and only a piece on the fucking side while she needs to shine as the queen she damn well is.” My smile becomes brighter when I add, “Lilliana Calvino will be my wife and her family will fight by my side if you defy me.”
There’s a moment of fear in his eyes before the anger consumes him as he snarls, “You will regret this.”
He takes his daughter by the elbow and storms out of the room, leaving me to deal with my brother.