Chapter Seventeen
Jules woke up, enfolded in Elouan’s arms. The overwhelming sense of safety nearly brought tears to his eyes. He’d always been on the lookout for some unseen enemy, be they human or dragon. Moira’s constant vigilance only added to the problem, her worry spilling over onto Jules.
With Elouan, he could forget the hidden threats and simply relax. Breathe. Just be. His body might not be big enough to contain all the happiness rushing through him. He and Elouan had found each other, despite seemingly endless obstacles. Somehow, against all odds, he’d found an alpha dragon mate.
A mate who wouldn’t be leaving. Never. They’d mated, their lives forever entwined. Whether they settled into this little bungalow or returned to Adrakus, they’d be together.
Jules’s dragon purred, and if he concentrated, he could make out the barely audible answering purr from Elouan’s dragon.
He looked up into dark eyes. He’d thought those eyes brown, but they were nearly an indigo blue. What had possessed Jules to bite Elouan? Mated. A mate.
“When did you realize I was the dragon you’d seen?” Elouan asked, his voice sounding curious and not accusatory.
“I…I didn’t, really. My dragon did. I’m sorry I bit you without asking first.” Would Elouan hate him now? One purring dragon said no.
“If it wasn’t what my dragon and I both wanted, we wouldn’t have let you.” Elouan reassured Jules with a kiss. “My dragon actually wonders what took us so long. He’s questioned my intelligence on more than one occasion since I met you.”
They lay together silently for a while. “Would you let me tell Moira and Radomir first before I introduce you? I want to break the news gently. Or as gently as I can.” Would they be happy, or angry?
Though Jules’s dragon didn’t like the idea of being separated even for a moment, the human part of him persevered.
“Yes. I don’t want to get started on the wrong foot with them, though I believe they’d have had choice words for me back in the mountains.” Elouan snorted. “Rockies, my ass.”
Jules chuckled. “Sorry. You caught me off guard. I didn’t know what to say. I’m so used to lying, deflecting, anything to keep other dragons from knowing about us.”
“Well, I know exactly what to say.” Elouan turned them and gazed down at Jules. “I love you, Jules Carter. Or should I call you Prince Jules Craigh?”
Jules wrinkled his nose. “All my life I’ve only been plain old Jules Carter. It’ll be strange getting used to a new name.”
“How about Thorne?”
“Your name?”
“Our name, if you want. Yes, I went by the name Prince Elouan Thorne of High Reaches. Never have I felt such pride in claiming my birthright, though I suppose I’m not a prince now.”
“Neither am I.” Elouan Thorne. Jules’s mate. And a prince. Surely Moira and Radomir would approve, wouldn’t they? Even if Donovan hadn't handpicked Elouan. “I love you, too, Elouan Thorne. Or Elouan Aaron. Whichever you prefer.”
Shadows lengthened across the floor. Elouan rose, pulling Jules to his feet. “Enough talk for now. I need to get you home, where you can speak to your guardians.”
They took turns in the bath before climbing into the truck, then held hands on the way to Jules’s house. Elouan kissed him soundly. “Let me know when I can come meet them. I can’t wait to give my thanks to the two who’ve watched over you all these years.”
“I’ll tell them as soon as I get in the door,” Jules assured him.
Elouan waited until Jules climbed the steps to his house and waved before driving away into the night.
What about Moira and Radomir? Jules owed them so much. They’d devoted years of their lives to keeping him safe, and now he’d gone behind their backs.
But it was his life. Whatever destiny they’d hoped for likely wasn’t happening.
Was he to spend his entire life isolating himself for someone else’s plans?
Even if they spoke the truth, was isolation any way to learn how to be an alpha’s mate?
Wouldn't they expect him to interact with his mate's court?
Chills ran down his spine. What if the mate his brother intended for him planned to keep Jules isolated, too? Bringing him out like the good silver for guests and then putting him back on the shelf?
No, he might be an omega, but in the absence of his brother, Jules’s word should count for something. He didn’t want someday—he wanted now, and he wanted Elouan.
He absently rubbed the bite on his neck.
He’d march right into the house, sit down with Moira and Radomir, and tell them.
They might not like what he said, but he’d decided.
They were never to call him Prince Jules again.
He’d be Jules, make friends at school, graduate, and work in his chosen field with everything he ever wanted here; he didn’t need an alpha dragon.
He already had one.
No porch light chased back the darkness, and no lights shone in the windows. How strange. Moira usually waited for Jules with a light on. Had she somehow figured out what he’d done today, showing her ire in a passive-aggressive manner? Not her style. She’d always been direct.
Jules stood on the porch, eyeing the partially opened door. Also strange. Moira kept the door locked, and the housekeeper didn’t work on Saturdays. Fight or flight instincts shortened his breath while sending Jules’s heartbeat racing.
He took a deep, cleansing breath and pushed the door open. "Moira? Radomir?" He stumbled in the entryway, barely catching himself against the wall. A few seconds of patting let him find the light switch. He flicked on the lights, then stared down….
Into Radomir's sightless eyes.
He bit back a scream. Oh, Goddess, no! This couldn’t be happening.
No, no, no. Jules collapsed onto his knees.
“Radomir! Please talk to me, please! I’ll never go out again.
I’ll listen to everything you and Moira say!
Just please, please, please be okay!” No pulse flickered under the shaking fingers he placed against Radomir’s neck. His skin felt cold and clammy.
Jules sucked in a breath. Dead. Radomir, the only father he’d ever known. Only then did he notice blood spreading out around the body. Blood he’d inadvertently kneeled in.
"Moira?" he yelled, rising and backing away from the apparition on the floor. A gurgling noise came from the kitchen. Jules ran.
Moira lay in another pool of blood on the kitchen floor, surrounded by the remnants of a lasagna, pots, and pans.
The kitchen table lay on its side, surrounded by shards of broken wood from what must’ve been the chairs.
She'd been preparing dinner and obviously fought. A knife protruded from her chest.
“Moira!” Jules fell on all fours beside her.
She blinked up at him, raising a bloody hand.
Jules clutched the hand to his cheek. "Moira?
Wait right here. I'll call an ambulance.
" Though Jules knew she'd never see a human doctor who might uncover her secrets. If only they’d associated with other dragons.
He placed one hand over the wound, willing it to heal.
Removing the knife might do more damage. Who could he call? Who could help?
Elouan. He’d call Elouan.
"No, child. Listen, there’s… no time. I’m using every bit of my power to hold on as long as I can, but the spells will fail with my last breath.” She winced, face scrunching in pain. “Magic will no longer hide you. Some want to hurt you. I don't know how they found us, but they did. You must go."
"But go where?"
"Though you deny it, I scented an alpha dragon on you the night I lowered the spell. Do you trust him?"
"Trust who? Elouan?"
Moira attempted a smile. "That's his name?”
“Yes, ma’am. He wanted to meet you. M…my family.” Jules’s heart raced. He couldn’t stay here talking; he had to get help!
She grasped Jules’s wrist. “Elouan Thorne, Crown Prince of High Reaches?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve found an honorable alpha dragon all on your own, even though the spell hid you from each other.
You'll now see him for who he is, and he’ll see you.
Go to him. It’s in his nature to protect.
Get back to our world. Seek out your brother.
” Moira let out a wet-sounding cough. "You know where to find the hoard. "
“Moira, please! I need to find help!” He tried to pull away, but Moira held on with surprising strength.
She pulled Jules closer, whispering into his ear with a voice gone weaker, words emerging choppy, "I love you as my own child and wish I could've seen long ago that you needed to be happy.” Her eyes widened when her gaze fell on his neck. “You’re mated?”
“Yes.”
How Moira could smile so wide in her condition baffled Jules, though tears shimmered in her eyes.
“If you've found a mate who makes you happy, that's all that matters, and an alpha prince, at that. Radomir and I didn’t fail after all…” Her eyes slid shut.
“Rad?” she murmured, voice barely audible.
“Is that you?” Her head fell to the side.
"Wait! No!" Jules put fingers to her neck, finding no pulse. He stood on shaky legs. What to do? What to do?
His cellphone rang. His fingers trembled when he answered. "Elouan?"
"Yes. Look, did something just happen?"
Jules nearly dropped the phone between the trembling in his hands and the blood. "What do you mean?"
"I…felt you…in distress."
Elouan felt him? “Some…someone killed Moira and Ra…Radomir. She said they're coming for me right before she died." Jules fought back a sob. His eyes burned with unshed tears. “I was too late to help.” He couldn't fall apart now, not when they'd fought so hard to keep him alive.
"Where are you?"
"Home."
"Leave. Leave now. Meet me at the coffee shop. Take the safe route, okay, though keep out of sight." Elouan sounded frantic now.
"Okay." Jules disconnected the call and glanced around the only home he’d ever known. With the only people he’d truly known. They’d done more than isolate him. They’d given their lives for him.
His eyes burned. He choked back a sob. Elouan. He must meet Elouan. Elouan would know what to do.