Claimed by the Dragons (Alma Venus Shifter Brides 3)

“Eric is difficult, but he can be a great Alpha. He just needs some time.”

Astrid smirked. “Sure, I get that. But that’s not what we’re talking about, is it? We’re talking about how he doesn’t deserve your loyalty and your sacrifice. And, you know what? No one does. No one should be so special and important that you’d sacrifice your happiness, and the happiness of the woman you love, for them.”

Viggo sighed and turned to leave.

“You got it all wrong. Why do I even bother talking to you?”

“Because I’m the only one to whom you can tell these things. And because I’m the only one who will always be completely honest with you. You’ve loved her since the day of the interview, and it’s quite obvious that she feels the same. You two should be together. In my opinion, that’s the only rule or tradition humans and shifters should abide by: love.”

Viggo stopped with his hand on the door knob. He squeezed it a little too hard and the metal bent slightly. He would have to order it changed later.

“That’s not how the world works,” he said. “What happened today won’t happen again. It was a mistake.”

With that, he turned the knob, opened the door, and left the room. Astrid stared at the closed door for a long while, her eyes and soul filled with sadness.

CHAPTER SIX

Tension and Guilt

It was a good thing the palace was big and the gardens were more of a labyrinth than anything. It made it easier for Delyse to avoid Viggo, although she was pretty sure he was avoiding her. With his heightened senses, it was easier for him, too. And she had guessed right. Viggo did avoid her for the next two days. The second he felt her scent close, he found an excuse to put as much distance between them as possible. Astrid thought they were hilarious, Finn was confuse

d for a while, then just shrugged it off, but the maids and servants turned their odd behavior into the juiciest gossip. They would never dare tell Eric about their suspicions, but as long as the Fyrstur was not around, they could get away with giggling and whispering in their corners. If Viggo, Astrid, or Finn ever heard them, they would never know. The dragon-shifters were too proud to acknowledge gossip, much less address it.

Eric returned the third day, and the first thing he did was to run to his and Delyse’s room and make love to her. It was as hard and intense as ever, but she had had enough time to rest, so when he squeezed her in his arms and lifted her up, she was just as eager as he was. She moaned, screamed, and scratched his back, all in a wild attempt to convince him, or maybe herself, that she wanted him and only him, that she was his and she’d never desire another man. As they lay in the aftermath, Eric’s arm around her shoulders, Delyse’s chest rising and falling rapidly as she was struggling to regain her breath, Eric cleared his throat to get her attention.

“Everything went fine in London, if you were wondering.”

She sat up on her side, supporting her weight on her right elbow. She cocked an eyebrow as she studied his face.

“I was wondering, yes.”

He nodded. Why was it so hard for him to talk to her, to involve her in his affairs, in his life?

“So… you met my father.” He nodded again, and she sighed. Pulling words out of his mouth was like pulling teeth. “What do you think about him?”

“He’s a man who knows what he wants,” he smiled. “But not in a selfish way. He’s very passionate about his research, but he’s not looking for fame or money. He genuinely cares about the peace between humans and shifters and wants to use his antidotes to bring the species together, level the differences as much as possible so it would be easier for everyone to communicate and function as a society.”

“You like him.”

“Yes, I do. A lot.” He turned to her, and something in his stomach did a flip when he saw she was smiling at him. “I like you, too.”

“Aww…” She pecked his lips. But she couldn’t bring herself to return the sentiment. The words hung on the tip of her tongue, but refused to make the jump and fill the space between them. “You have to meet my brother, then,” she changed the subject. “You’ll like him even more than you like me or my dad. James has always been the pride and joy of the Haringtons.”

“I don’t know about that…” In his mind, no one could ever be better than his Lily.

“Anyway, tell me everything. You met Max Blackmane and Blake Sylfur, right? What’s Blake like?” She had to take advantage of Eric’s new, completely unprecedented disposition and squeeze as much information from him as possible.

“She’s an interesting young woman. Smart, confident, assertive.”

“Can you imagine my friend, Amelia, was actually married to her? Blake played her insane game so well that she actually tricked her entire clan into believing she was a man.”

“Yeah, Viggo filled me in on that story. She didn’t have a choice, apparently. If she and her late father hadn’t done that, the Sylfur brothers would have taken over the clan and things would have been very different right now. Such a large and resourceful fox clan in the wrong hands… I don’t even want to think about it.”

“I miss Amelia…” Delyse sighed. “And Avelyn, and Claudia.”

Eric wrapped both his arms around her naked body. “Then you will like the news I was actually trying to give you.”

“What news?”