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“If you want to go, go. Just make sure you eat, please. We will meet you in the dining room at lunch. I have things to organize,” Silas says. I run from the room, not giving him the chance to change his mind. Chasing after Abigail, I find her in the kitchen.

“Hey,” I say when I catch up to her.

“So, what’s the verdict, have you got magic or not?” she asks curiously.

“No magic.”

I glance around, wondering if I can tell her about the Fae, when someone walks in. I decide against it. It’s Marian. She stares at us both suspiciously, and Abigail mouths to me, to come find her later. I nod, deciding to go upstairs to their room, eager to read that journal. I don’t care much for the whole “mates” business. However, I am curious to find out what caused his hatred for my kind.

Arriving upstairs, I open the door slowly, popping my head in to see if they are here. When I see they aren’t, I quickly go to the armchair to retrieve the journal and go to my room. Once on my bed, I open the leather-bound book.

I first notice that he has beautiful handwriting, making me jealous. My handwriting is like a child’s. Silas’s handwriting looks more like artwork with his skilled calligraphy. Putting my head down, I read the first page. I feel like I’m snooping; I know he said I can read it, still reading his thoughts on paper also feels very intrusive. In a way it almost makes him appear normal instead of the monster I know he is.

Silas Journal:

I found her today. I knew instantly from the moment I laid my eyes on her. She felt the pull too, looking up the moment I stepped into the room. What were the chances of finding her? I wasn’t even meant to be attending the meeting. Sent in as my father’s replacement, I was furious. I wanted to spend the day with my mates; he doesn’t approve of Matitus, and I know that’s why he sent me, trying to keep us apart. I won’t have it; he is mine just like I am his.

Seeing her, though, I knew we would be complete. Her shock upon feeling the bond I wasn’t expecting. She looked up at me with those big doe eyes, her features turning to shock before she looked away. I didn’t understand at first, thought maybe she was worried because of what I am. Who I am. I learnt that wasn’t the reason when her father walked in with another man. His eyes lighting up like mine did when he lays eyes on her. He made his way to her and she looked nervously at me, worried. I didn’t understand her worry. I was no threat to her. No, I loved her already, and I just met her; hadn’t even spoken a word to her. Only stared into those beautiful amethyst eyes.

She made my heart beat faster, every cell in my body calling out for her. Then I registered why she was afraid. I clenched my fists tightly as the man leaned down and kissed her lips softly. Jealousy consumed me instantly. I wanted to rip the Fae bastard to pieces, laying his filthy lips on my mate. The man sat next to her, and she glanced at me nervously again before looking away. My eyes traveled down her bare neck and down her arm to her left hand. My heart felt like they crushed it in a vice the moment I saw the wedding band on her finger.

My mate was married, why would the fates mate me with someone who was married? I thought there must have been a mistake. I couldn’t even pay attention to the meeting; I don’t recall a single thing that was said. When the meeting finished, I followed her around; she knew I was watching her as she casually strolled to the back of the Fae kingdom—her kingdom. Stopping by the forest edge, she stood with her back to me.

“I know you’re there, so let’s get this over with,” she told me, and I didn’t understand what she meant at first until I walked over to her. Then I saw it, pure determination in her eyes, and I knew what she wanted to do. I begged and pleaded with her, and she told me she was happily married, but just to keep her I will share, we could share her. I just didn’t want to lose her.

Our meeting was cut short though when a little girl came running from the castle, calling for her mummy. My mate embraced her, picking her up. She didn’t want a mate; she had a family already. I couldn’t bear to watch and left. I heard her call out to me, I shifted and didn’t look back. My soul felt like it shattered into a million pieces.

Father was furious when I returned home with no information. Matitus knew the moment I walked in the door; he felt my pain, shared it, and so did Dragus. Dragus thinks we can convince her the mate bond will sort itself out. He is right, she won’t be able to resist the mate pull, won’t be able to stop the Dragon heat. The more time I spend with her, the stronger the pull. Once the Dragon heat starts, she will beg us to mark her, she would be ours. She just doesn’t know it yet.

Everyone knows once the Dragon heat starts there is no stopping the bond from forming. Even if she could resist, she would soon be forced to choose us. No one has survived past the third Dragon heat and she would know this, and I know that is why she tried to reject me. Little does she know to reject one, she will have to reject all three.

I shake my head at what I just read, anger coursing through me. Dragus said he was forcing me to sleep up in their room to forge the mate bond, that I wouldn’t be able to resist the pull. I understand their logic for it. They need their mate to have offspring. I get it. Not once did they mention that once the third Dragon heat hits, I would die. They know I don’t want this and they’re forcing me to choose—life or death. Well, jokes on them. If dying is what it takes to be free of them, then I am fine with that.

Out of the three of them I trust Dragus the most, and I feel a little betrayed that he didn’t warn me that the Dragon heat is lethal. No wonder it felt like burning alive. Exactly how hot do I have to become to die, because if that was the first heat and I lived, does that mean the second and third will be worse? I’m not sure I can handle the pain.

Last time I passed out. Will it be like that next time? Will it become worse? The door opens and Matitus enters. He glances at the journal in my hand. Anger bubbles violently in my veins. I have never felt anger like this, but for them to claim they want me, they had a funny way of showing it.

“Come, Elora, you were supposed to meet us for lunch,” Matitus said, stepping into my small room. He looks huge standing in here as he crosses his arms over his chest and stares down at me on the bed.

I fold my arms defiantly, and he raises an eyebrow, grabbing my wrist, pulling me off the bed. I shake off his grip.

“That’s why he wanted me in the room, isn’t it,” I spat at him.

Matitus’s lips turn up into a smirk like he thinks my anger is amusing. He tries to grab me again, and I step back. He growls low, stepping forward.

“Take it up with Silas, we need to go before you anger him,” Matitus says, lunging forward and grabbing me around the waist. I kick and struggle; I may as well be a small child in his impossibly tight grip as he drags me down the corridor.

“Put me down, Matitus,” I spit, kicking my heel into his leg. He ignores me, and I decide to hit him where it hurts. Bringing my hand up, I curl it into a fist before hitting him between the legs. He grunts and stops, his grip on my waist becoming so tight I can barely breathe as I gasp for air.

Matitus groans in pain and a whimper leaves my lips, my legs losing feeling from his grip. He loosens his grip slightly, and I take a breath.

“I let you go, will you walk?” he asks, to which I nod. He releases me, my feet touching the ground, and I place my hands on my knees, catching my breath. Matitus tugs on my arm. I shake him off, storming down the corridor in search of Silas.

I find Silas reading something in the dining room. He peers up when I walk in, looking at Matitus in confusion at the anger on my face. He stands, moving toward me, concern shadows on his face with the way his eyes soften. I don’t care. I slap him and the force I use as his head whips to the side shocks me. My hand burns from the sting of flesh on flesh. After, I see Dragus jump up and hear Matitus gasp behind me. I didn’t let my eyes stray from Silas’s face.

He rubs his face where my hand connects, in shock. I see his eyes glint dangerously in my direction. His jaw clenches tight. He looks like he’s about to say something. I don’t give him a chance.

“You knew putting me in that room with you, I would go into your stupid Dragon heat. That’s why you did it!”