Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Bokkan
Leda needed to know what she had done when she told the magistrate that we were testing our compatibility as mates. The pointed looks Masu gave me all morning made that clear enough.
Only I was lost on how to tell her.
When she invited me into the bathing pool last night, I was surprised. Then she let me touch her and pleasured me in return… it was more than I hoped for.
I was finally gaining her trust.
Telling her that she had all but promised to mate with me in front of the magistrate was sure to ruin that trust. Daemons considered the testing compatibility stage of courting as a formality to a mating that had already been agreed upon.
Thinking about it raised my ire at my second-in-command all over again. I understood why he’d asked her to do it, but I disapproved. He put her and me in an untenable position.
Leda had no idea she had committed to me. Her words increased my possessiveness, stirring my mating instincts even more. The way she yielded to me only made my yearning for her worse.
She gave in when a daemon female would fight. She melted for me when a daemoness would expect me to work harder.
Her submission fueled the fire of my obsession.
After three bowls of winterberry porridge, I was focused. It helped that Leda sat across the kitchen table from me and sipped a cup of szite. Seeing her relaxed and smiling as she chatted with Masu also calmed me. My female was happy and safe. It soothed my mating instincts a bit more.
Fighting my urge to possess her was beginning to wear me down. The whispers in my mind, insisting I hunt her, bite her, and brand her, grew louder with each passing day. I needed to get away from her, but I was unsure if I could force myself to leave.
My female solved my problem.
When I finished my final bowl of porridge, she rose from her chair. “I’m going to read for a while.” I started to rise as well, but she held out a hand, palm toward me. “Alone. I’ve been attached to your hip for days now. I need a little space to breathe.”
Those words pierced my chest like a needle—thin, sharp, and left behind a deep burn. Even though it hurt, I understood her desire for solitude.
“I want to sit in the sun,” she said, distracting me from my thoughts. “Will your men be a problem?”
“Not if you stay close to the house.”
Masu interrupted our conversation. “There is a nice, sunny spot by the kitchen door in my herb garden. I will get you a blanket or a chair, and you can sit there. I will also be close enough to help or call for the master if I need to.”
Leda smiled at Masu. “A blanket sounds great. I want to read, but I might decide to take a nap in the sun.”
My housekeeper left the kitchen in search of the blanket, leaving us alone.
I stepped closer to Leda. “If you need me, just call for me.” I glanced at the dagger strapped to her thigh. “If one of my men touches you, feel free to stab him.”
“You’re telling me to cut one of your men for touching me?”
“If you feel threatened, yes.”
She smirked up at me. “I would have done it with or without permission.”
“I know, but I wanted to make my position clear.”
At her nod, I leaned down and pressed my lips to her forehead. I could not walk away from her without touching her one more time.
“I need to meet with Guldan and handle other business. I will see you for the midday meal.”
Her eyes were troubled when they met mine, but she nodded.
“Rest and find some peace this morning.” I released her chin and left the kitchen, fighting the urge to turn around and go right back to her side.
I grit my teeth and walked toward the barracks, half-hoping my commander gave me an excuse to punch him. I needed some way to release this frustration.
Guldan was already working with three of the newest recruits to the training program. I chose not to join in, instead going for a run around the edges of the estate, pushing my body as fast and hard as I could manage.
When I returned to the training area, Guldan stood next to the fence that surrounded the fighting ring, his arms crossed on top of one of the posts.
“We need a private conversation,” I said.
He called out to Talus, gesturing for the male to take over leading the sparring session. The soldier gave me a wide berth as he walked up to Guldan. I crossed my arms over my chest, not taking my eyes off him, still fighting the desire to decapitate him.
Since the moment I had saw Leda fighting him, I wanted his blood. His insistence that she owed him for the dagger had only made it worse.
I tuned out their short conversation, but the claws on my left hand dug into my bicep.
A moment later, Guldan finished speaking with him. Without waiting for him, I turned and walked back toward the house and around the front even though it was further from the training area. As much as I wanted to check on Leda, she asked for time alone, and I intended to give it to her.
My second-in-command followed me in silence. He knew me well enough to understand that this conversation would take place in the privacy of my office. No one else needed to hear what I had to say.
Once we were inside with the door shut, he walked to the center of the room and stood straight and tall with his hands behind his back. Waiting.
Now that we were alone, I was uncertain where to begin.
Finally, I spoke. “Do you realize what you have done by bringing Leda into the magistrate’s office to claim me as a potential mate?”
His eyes remained steady and calm on mine. “Yes.”
“You knowingly misled her so she would do what you wanted?” I asked.
Guldan nodded.
My fists clenched as anger rose within me. “You have put me in a delicate position.”
He cocked his head, studying me. “You are no longer in the holding cells, and it is unlikely you will face charges for attacking Karaj since he laid hands on a female you are pursuing. How are you in a delicate position?”
I stalked toward him, my hands still fisted at my sides. “Because I actually do want her to stay as my mate. Now that I have lied to her by not explaining what you convinced her to do, she will lose what little trust she has in me.”
“She cares for you. She will forgive you.”
I scoffed at his reply and found myself walking back toward my desk in order to pace in front of it. “I fear human females are not like daemons, Commander. They do not have the same instincts and urges as our females. She will be able to shut me out and cast me aside where a daemoness would not.”
His only reply was, “It will work out.”
Another scoff escaped me. “Have experience with matings do you?”
He shook his head. “Of course not. But I am also not an idiot. Even as she pulls away from you, she appreciates your touch. Your attention. She watches you and follows your lead, even though she does not trust you completely yet. Somehow, in a few short days, you’ve convinced the human that you are a decent, honorable male.
That belief is already set in her mind. One small omission on your part will not destroy that belief. ”
“I hope you are correct,” I sighed. “Because if she refuses to forgive me, I am uncertain I will be able to stop myself from blaming you. As unfair as that is.”
My commander shot me a knowing look. “That is to be expected, General.”
“You are dismissed,” I said, waving a hand at him.
The conversation was going nowhere, and I needed quiet to think.
He was almost to the door when I stopped him. “Guldan.”
The daemon paused, facing me.
“Do not do anything like that again. Leda is not to be manipulated or used for your own ends. Even if it is to help me or save my life. Her safety and happiness come first. Always.”
A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “You will be an excellent mate for her, General.”
“Go back to the men,” I snapped. “Before I remember how angry I am at you and decide to make an example out of you in the sparring ring.”
Though he schooled his expression carefully, I saw the glimmer of amusement in Guldan’s eyes. It tempted me to follow through on my threat immediately.
“Yes, General.”
As the door shut behind him, I wondered if the day could get any worse.
Unfortunately, it did.