CHAPTER NINE
– LILLIANA –
Knowing my family is at the gate allows me to slow down and close my eyes to focus on my surroundings. Seeing someone about to behead my mate makes me hyper aware of the risks and severity of the situation we’re in.
I wasn’t lying when I mentioned the previous battles I’ve fought on the battlefield or off it. Not once did I have a thought of dying or the risks I took involving myself or others. Panic for my brother dying and killing someone with a snap of my fingers wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as the hatred and true terror I felt when I saw someone wanting to behead Ernestino.
The awareness of the bodies on the ground is faint, and the only essence snagging my attention is coming from my left. Stumbling to a stop, I open my eyes and the first thing blocking my sight is Ernestino’s bare ass.
“Stop,” I snap, making both men turn to face me. “We can’t meet my parents.”
“Why? What’s wrong?” Leandro questions.
Pointing at my mate’s crotch, I state, “He needs pants, and–” Movement draws my attention to my left.
From my pinky to my pointy finger, I let my digits touch my palm to unlock a hidden bag. Shoving my hand inside, I pull out a sword and whisper, “We missed one.”
“Where the fuck did you pull that sword from?” Leandro asks in awe. “Did you see that, brother? Do you know how she–”
“Hush,” I grunt and jump into a run.
Pushing my feet, I add the speed I need and manage to sprint ahead. Leaping around the tree I know someone is hiding behind, I move my arm to have the sword right underneath the person’s chin.
“Who are you?” I snap.
“I was going to ask the same question,” a familiar voice states from behind the young man I’m pressing the tip of my sword against.
“Creed.” I grin. “Long time no see.”
The centaur shifter, who is also the vice president of the motorcycle club my father works with, shoots me a wink. “Missed me, sweetheart?”
Knowing Creed has a handle on our prisoner, I shove the sword back into the invisible bag and take out some rope to tie the man up.
“She’s not your sweetheart, and she doesn’t fucking miss you, whomever you might be,” Ernestino snarls.
Creed slowly turns his head and while I’m tying up the prisoner, he smirks at my mate and states, “His cock and balls outweighs his ego, you did very well for yourself, princess.”
A low growl vibrates from deep within Ernestino’s chest and I quickly step in front of him.
“None of that. Creed here is a good friend, one I grew up with and is basically another brother I didn’t need. And I do miss him a tiny bit.” Ernestino’s body grows tight and I quickly add, “Because we used to train together. Centaurs fight each other from time to time and don’t hold back. It’s great training.”
Ernestino huffs. Leandro appears and shoves gray sweatpants in his brother’s direction.
“You found a live one,” Leandro quips.
Pulling on his pants Ernestino orders, “Take him down to the dungeon and lock him up. I’m going to the gate.”
“You got it boss,” Leandro rumbles and grabs the rope I tied the prisoner up with.
“Oh, and don’t tell anyone we have him. I’ll be the one to question him later, on my own, understood?”
“Want me to stand guard?” Creed offers.
Ernestino’s gaze meets mine and a burst of warmth spreads my chest due to feeling respected the way he’s valuing my opinion. I give him a slight nod.
“Yes, please,” Ernestino grunts. “If anyone has issues, tell them to come find me.”
“Follow me,” Leandro grumbles and the three of them walk away.
Ernestino steps closer and cups the side of my face. “I don’t like other men interacting with you.”
The corner of my mouth twitches. “Interacting with me? Well, I’m sorry to break the news to you, dragon man, but many men will talk to me and I will acknowledge them in return. Other than a conversation or whatever social activities is required, I have no need to get friendly or interact with whomever. You’re my fated mate, Ernestino, there simply isn’t anyone else out there suitable for me because we align on all levels.”
His chest rises and falls, eyes staring deep into mine. “I didn’t like hearing someone call you sweetheart and interact in a familiar way.”
I roll my eyes. “Careful now, I might think you put me in the women’s building for those first two weeks to keep me away from other males.”
He releases a frustrated breath. “You’re never going to let it go, are you? I know I fucked up.”
Chuckling, I grab his hand and tug him in the direction of the gate. “I like teasing you.”
A low growl rumbles through his chest and it makes me smile.
We fall silent until Ernestino asks, “How did you pull that sword out of nothing?”
“I didn’t pull it out of nothing,” I mutter, and realize I should open up instead of keeping stuff to myself.
In the distance I can see the gate, along with a bunch of people who I consider family. Such a difference from what Ernestino and I have…a strong bond which is the foundation of creating our own family.
Letting my gaze find his, I admit, “My whole life I’ve been obsessed with training to fight in all different ways. I enjoy knives in any shape and size and when you don’t need much sleep.” I shrug. “I started devouring books about angels and their abilities. My mother is one with the angelic touch, which means she was literally pulled into this world by an angel and that touch made the angel’s abilities seep into hers. Some abilities are magical, hence me diving into magic books after I read all the books I could find about angels. I picked up a thing or two and created an air pocket.”
“An air pocket,” Ernestino echoes.
I nod. “It’s a bag I made invisible, weightless, freaking huge to hold anything I put in there, and can always reach for when I need it.”
“Like a canyon of a purse you carry out of sight,” he mutters. “But let me get this straight…you have it filled with weapons? No personal stuff?”
“Do you need tampons or something?” I huff, annoyed about his question. “Why don’t I hold it open so you can go check? Let me know if you find some clean panties while I grab one of the many knives in there I use to kill annoying persons with who have too many annoying questions.”
He leans forward, our noses almost touch when he murmurs, “Darlin’, threatening me with bodily harm is fruitless when I know you won’t ever hurt me.”
My breathing picks up due to his close proximity, and I want to rebel against the obvious effect my mate has on me. “I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you.”
His lips brush against mine. “I might not be sure about my own blood having my back, but the woman standing before me I will trust blindly.”
Swoon. I lean in to press my mouth firmer against his and surrender in the moment to kiss this man and relish in the tingling feeling flowing through my veins. The sobering thought of his words on a loop inside my mind forces me to pull back.
“Nario,” I whisper and watch as sadness flashes over his face.
He gives me a slight nod when I hear my father say, “There you are. How are things at the mine?”
We pull away from one another and Ernestino jumps right back into the issues at hand. “We haven’t checked inside yet and I haven’t received word from Ivano.” He steps closer and holds out his hand. “Thanks for your help.”
My mother steps around the men and gives me a quick hug. “Thanks for the action, it’s been awhile since my last fight and it was just what I needed.”
I chuckle and whisper, “Don’t let Dad hear you.”
She rolls her eyes. “There was no real danger, and he knows it, otherwise I wouldn’t have been here. You know how crazy men can be, even if we can stand our own.”
I give her a smile while the reminder of the danger Ernestino was in flashes through my mind. “The fear of losing your mate isn’t worth taking any risk for.”
My mother’s smile is bright. “Living once for an eternity isn’t life granting, we all have to live to the fullest while keeping your eyes open at all times.”
“That’s for fuckin’ sure,” Lucian rumbles as he walks past us.
“Hey,” I quip. “Zipporah’s at home?” I ask, knowing the answer will be yes since his mate is pregnant.
Though, being pregnant won’t stop her from stepping onto a battlefield. The last time she joined a fight almost killed her. Lucian witnessing her head being sliced off and barely attached is something he never wants to experience again. Add the fact Zipporah is a unicorn and extremely rare, it’s only logical for her not to be here.
Immortality is only a word when mortality is realistic. Dammit. I never thought about death until now. I swallow hard. Maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones messing with me. Yeah, that must be it.
“Safe and sound,” Lucian rumbles and lifts his chin at Ernestino. “Nice piece of land you have here, sorry to see stupid fucks trying to take it.”
Ernestino holds out his hand. “Thanks for the help.”
“Creed is overseeing the protection of the one we captured,” I explain, to let Lucian know where his vice president went.
“Boss,” Ivano rumbles and talks to Ernestino while we wait.
A few minutes pass when Ernestino wanders over to where we are waiting. “Ivano is going to restore the gate with a few of my men. Let’s head for the main building.”
“How many of your men are left who can fight?” my father questions.
Ernestino sighs. “Not as many as I would like. We have a few who always stand guard at the building where the unmated women live together. The mated couples have their own cottage on our land. There are close to forty men able to fight, not counting the elders who we respect too much to ask. This attack caught us by surprise and there were only half of our men on duty.”
“They must have known you were an easy target,” my father muses.
“My thoughts exactly,” Ernestino grunts.
Leandro is waiting in front of the main building and leans in close to Ernestino to whisper something. I can easily pick up the words, “I can’t find him.”
I stroll past them and lead my family into the building to give the two brothers some privacy.
“What’s going on?” my father instantly asks as soon as the door falls shut behind us.
Shit. I know I’m the one who asked for his help, and I’m very thankful for the way he came here with Lucian’s motorcycle club as extra backup, but these details are not mine to share.
“You know I can’t, Dad,” I regretfully tell him.
Surprise hits me when he shoots me a grin instead of the frown and push for information I expect from him.
I cross my arms in front of my chest. “Why do you have a weird grin on your face?”
He balls his fingers into a fist and brushes his knuckles against my cheek. “I’m proud of you, kiddo.”
A frown slides across my face when Ernestino and Leandro step into the room.
My father leans in and whispers, “I knew you were worthy of greatness when you finally found the one. Having you in my corner from the day you were born has been a privilege and I knew there would come a day when I’d found said corner empty. Though, it makes me proud as fuck to experience it today. Especially when you reached out for help, and still respect your mate’s clan.”
“Our clan,” Ernestino rumbles from beside me and brushes his lips against the top of my head.
I lean back against him and let my gaze meet his. The tension I felt earlier slips away and my body fills with tingles of awareness. One look allows me to feel as if we’re ready to conquer anything life throws at us. My mother’s swoony sigh makes me break the connection.
My mother waves her hand. “Don’t mind me, I’m just standing here loving the sight of my daughter looking perfect and content. I’m not crying. Seriously, your father poked me in the eye when you were lovingly staring at one another.”
“Did not,” my dad grunts.
She smacks his chest. “Shut up or I won’t make you any Pizelle for the upcoming weeks.”
My father releases a frustrated sigh. “I poked her.” His voice goes low and it’s only meant for my mother, but I pick it up anyway. “I will definitely poke you once we’re home, and it won’t be in your eye, it’ll be your ass and my cock instead of my damn finger.”
“Ew, Dad. Not cool,” I snap.
He’s about to say something but my mother smacks his chest again and gives him a glare.
“What?” he grumbles. “She’s pregnant and knows you don’t get that way from a mere hug.”
Ernestino chuckles and he gives an affectionate squeeze with his hand, located on my hip.
“Okay,” I grumble. “Can we focus? There’s a prisoner who needs questioning, and there’s still a threat hanging over our heads.”
A dragon shifter rushes over to Ernestino with a phone in hand. A few hushed words are thrown back and forth before he disappears.
“I need to take this,” Ernestino grunts and the hand on my hip disappears.
To my surprise I feel his fingers wrap around my wrist as he starts to tug me along with him. Through a narrow passage we reach his office, giving us the privacy Ernesto clearly needs, and trusting me to be with him.
His eyes are on me when he hits the screen of the phone. “Talk.”
“A bit agitated are we, Ernestino?” a voice states with glee dripping from its tone.
The muscles in my mate’s jaw jump and his words come out dead cold when he asks, “What do you want, Tony?”
“We already talked about this and your brother agreed to our terms. Maybe you forgot due to a little glitch in our plan, so we need to adjust. Tonight was a little taste of what can happen on a daily basis. Get your mate out of the picture and my daughter on your arm so we can unite clans and the war between us will be over once and for all.”
I don’t have to be near a person to detect lies in their voice. Tony spoke the truth with the exception of the last sentence. He doesn’t want his daughter on Ernestino’s arm, and he sure as hell doesn’t want to unite clans. He does, however, want to end the war once and for all. Knowing someone is lying doesn’t give you the truth or the meaning behind the lie.
My mind is a whirlwind of options and there’s so many things not lining up.
“What’s your answer, Ernestino? Are you willing to risk more valuable lives of your clan? Can you make the decision which is your only option to end this? Or should I talk to your brother who seems more decisive and knows what’s best for all of us?” Tony is clearly taunting Ernestino, but the reminder of him mentioning Nario twice shifts things in a weird position for me.
I tap the screen to mute the call, making sure it’s just Ernestino who can hear me when I ask, “Who was Sienna Mattia’s mate?”
Confusion spreads across Ernestino’s face. “I don’t know, no one does. Why do you ask?”
My eyes go wide. “You guys never investigated? Your father was killed by someone who was mated and allowed him to become vulnerable in that position, but you never wondered who she was mated to?”
“We assumed it was foul play from the start. The arranged marriage was tied to the foster system which added members of Tony’s clan to merge with ours. They were allowed to join the challenge to become the new clan leader,” Ernestino explains. “We never really focused on the mate because we were instantly at war with Marshgloom when she killed my father.”
“That’s insane,” I huff. “What if it was Nario who was her mate, eh? Wouldn’t it explain his aggressive behavior?”
Ernestino stumbles back as if I gave him a punch to the gut. Okay, maybe I verbally did, but come on, it explains so freaking much. On the other hand, it would mean they’ve been living with a traitor amongst them for decades.
“No,” Ernestino murmurs with wide eyes.
The two letter word doesn’t hold much strength and I might go as far as hearing confirmation in it because his head is bobbing. Things are clicking inside his head and lining up the way it all made sense to me as well. Nario wanted to become clan leader. He despised his father for accepting an arranged marriage instead of stepping down, robbing him of the chance to follow in his footsteps.
One thing doesn’t make sense, though. Why in the hell wouldn’t Nario come right out and say Sienna Mattia was his mate? The arranged marriage could have been shifted to the son and would have still connected the two clans.
What the fuck went wrong all those decades ago, and left everyone without options?