Claimed by the Dragons (Alma Venus Shifter Brides 3)

e looked exhausted. Her body was soft and pliable in his arms. He caressed her cheek as he pulled out, his cock still as hard as rock. He was ready to go again, and his glistening cock throbbed with an overwhelming need he had to learn how to control. She smiled at him, her eyes heavy with sleep, and all he could think of was how he would have loved to see and feel those plump lips wrapped around his shaft. He took a deep breath and rolled off of her. Just as he stood up and pulled his jeans back over his hips, carefully tucking his raging erection in, Delyse reached out and touched his elbow.

“Aren’t you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

Eric furrowed his brows. He didn’t even look at her.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

Delyse huffed.

“I don’t believe you. You barge into the room, fuck me without a word, and now you’re about to leave without a word. You know you can tell me anything…”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

He straightened his clothes and headed to the door.

“Eric…” She tried to hide how much he annoyed her, how much it pissed her off when he ignored her like that.

“Get some rest, Lily.”

Without even gracing her with a glance, he opened the door and stepped out. At least, this time, he closed it slowly behind him.

CHAPTER FIVE

The Bride’s Betrayal

In the next two days, Eric behaved exactly the same, and Delyse was getting tired of it. She couldn’t have a normal conversation with him, he never asked her if she’d like to attend the meetings he had with Viggo, Astrid, and Finn, and he never spent more than one or two hours with her. And in those hours, they had sex. It was usually hard, fast, no questions asked. Questions such as: “Is this okay?”, “Do you feel like it?”, “What do you like?”, or “What do you want to do?” She didn’t feel like she was his bride, and she certainly didn’t feel like she was part of the clan. Sore, angry, and frustrated, she spent most of her time in her room, in bed. The sex was good, she couldn’t complain about that, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t have appreciated a break, or wouldn’t have liked to be on top for once. But every time she tried to engage him in a normal, perfectly harmless conversation, Eric bailed on her. He turned his back, got out of bed, threw his clothes on, and stormed out of the room. Like he was afraid to see her as more than a woman he enjoyed fucking… Like he was afraid to let her in.

The third day, Eric came to wake her up early in the morning, a thing which he had never done before. At first, Delyse was excited at the small change in their daily routine, thinking it was a good sign. Then, Eric told her he had only come to say goodbye because he was leaving for London.

Astrid was the one who told her later that he had actually scheduled a meeting with Arthur Harington, Blake Sylfur, and Max Blackmane to discuss the possibility of bringing her father’s research back into the attention of the Council. Delyse listened to her patiently, but the truth was that she was boiling with anger. This whole thing concerned her just as much as it concerned Eric and Clan Drekinn. She didn’t like being left out.

With Eric gone for two days, Delyse finally decided to get out of the room and the palace. It was freezing cold although it was a pleasant, sunny day. She put on as many clothes as it was comfortable, then wrapped herself in a long, heavy fur coat, and went for a walk through the gardens. The fresh air invigorated her, and the beautiful landscape distracted her from her dark thoughts, just as she had hoped it would. “I should really get out of the palace more often,” she thought. But with Eric claiming her body every time he set eyes on her, she was usually too wiped to even imagine how her muscles would feel if she walked a distance longer than the distance between her bed and the bathroom.

Delyse stopped in front of a bench, but instead of sitting down, she took her hands out of her pockets and stretched her arms sideways, then above her head. Her shoulders popped, and she sighed in satisfaction.

“Oh, this feels so nice,” she whispered to herself. She took a deep breath and let the cold air fill her lungs. It stung a bit, but not in a bad way.

After a few minutes, she resumed walking, thinking of taking the long way back to the palace. The air around her had changed, though. She tried to shrug off the odd feeling, but when she realized it was, indeed, warmer than a couple of minutes before, she stopped and studied her surroundings.

“Astrid?” she called out. Who else could it be? The only ones who could turn freezing air warm and then hot in an instant were the dragon-shifters.

“No, it’s me,” Viggo’s voice came from behind an old oak.

Delyse turned to him and smiled. “What are you doing there?”

“Oh, I just…” He stammered a bit, then cleared his throat. “I was just taking a walk, you know… Clearing my head.” He hoped she wouldn’t figure out he had been sort of stalking her.

Delyse cocked an eyebrow, but didn’t question him further.

“Then, come walk beside me,” she invited him.

Viggo hesitated for a moment, then closed the distance between them and fell in step with her. They walked in silence for a while, then Delyse made a comment about the weather and the pretty garden, and before they knew it, they were talking about her first few days with the clan and Eric, and about her father’s proposal. Delyse couldn’t believe Eric had kept all those things from her. Viggo was more than willing to help her catch up with what was happening, and she appreciated him for that. She loved the fact that he actually saw her as the Alpha bride she was, and not as a convenience for Eric or Clan Drekinn. As much as she wanted, she couldn’t mask her anger any longer, and the Annarr immediately realized what was going through her mind. And heart.

“Eric has always been difficult,” he said. He knew his personality wasn’t an excuse, but it was his duty to make sure Delyse didn’t come to hate her husband. Not this soon, at least. “He’s a great Alpha, though. His cold and calculated demeanor is what has held this clan together for so many hundreds of years. Even in hibernation, his name alone made us, his dragons, do our best to keep the clan alive.”

“I understand,” she said. “But does he have to be like this all the time?” She stopped and turned towards him. “He never talks to me, Viggo. He doesn’t even look at me if we’re not having sex!”

A pang of pain made its way right through Viggo’s ribs and planted itself in his heart. He kept a straight face.