“I will watch over my mate,” Theodore declared as his beloved Emily succumbed to darkness. “You are free to go,” he said, addressing no one in particular.
“Are you throwing us out?” His mother asked in a tone that said a lot about her outrage.
“Believe it or not, mother, not everything revolves around you,” he said in a tired tone. “I want my mate to rest. Is that so much to ask?”
“That mouth of yours will undeniably start a war one day!” She huffed and then turned on her heels to leave, together with the king.
The healer bowed slightly and then took his leave as well, and that left Theodore with his stubborn siblings.
“I am okay,” he told them matter-of-factly.
“I will watch over you two,” Liam declared.
“Are you implying I am unable to protect my own mate?” Theodore’s eyes flashed crimson at that.
Serena tried to appease him and thus said, “You are just still weak, Theo. That had to be one hell of a poison for you to throw up blood.”
“I am fine now,” he retorted.
“Are you back to one hundred percent though?” His brother demanded to know.
He sighed, “I’d say 70% of my strength has been restored.”
“I call bull,” his brother scoffed. “You feel like you’re at half your strength at best.”
Theodore glared at him. “Are you calling me a liar, Liam?”
His brother shook his head negatively and then announced, “Since I have had the chance to spar with you since we were kids, I know your strength well. The aura you currently exude is at about half your usual one.”
Theodore rubbed his hands together, “Care to test it out, younger brother?”
“No,” he flatly refused. “We need to watch over Emily.”
Theodore realized that for once his little brother was being wiser than his usual ways.
“You care for Emily, don’t you?” He asked with a smile.
He nodded. “She is family. I might not have known her for long, but she is just like Serena to me – a sister.”
“She is easy to love,” Serena said, agreeing. “She has quite the innocent feel to her… so much, I sometimes wonder whether she’ll fit in here.”
“In time, she will,” Theodore assured her proudly, knowing his mate was a strong woman.
Both his siblings ended up staying, guarding him and his mate diligently.
“I am lucky to have you both,” he murmured before sleep claimed him.
“Watch out, Theo,” his sister said in a teasing tone, “your mask of indifference is slipping.”
He slept with a small smile on his face.
** ** ** ** ** ** **
Emily was coming to, after what felt like an eternal dreamless sleep, to the sound of Theodore arguing with someone. “You do not understand. I needed that intel.”
“What for?” Liam’s voice sounded not too far away. “Is there a war brewing and you’re keeping it to yourself or something?”
“There’s always a war brewing somewhere,” Theodore stated hotly.
“Easy, boys,” Serena tried to calm them down. “Emily is waking up.”
Indeed, no sooner had she said that, did Emily manage to say in a croak, “Water please.”
She opened her eyes slowly, finding herself in the bed chambers she shared with Theodore.
“Drink up,” her mate told her softly as he propped her up slightly with one hand, while the other hand brought a glass full of water up to her lips.
She drank the cool liquid greedily as if she had not had a drink in ages.
“How long was I out?” She asked in a timid voice as she peered around, looking into the face of her beloved, and then those of his siblings.
“14 hours,” all three of them said simultaneously.
Her eyes widened. “That’s a lot.”
“I’d say it’s normal for a human in transition who has had to give so much of her blood away,” Serena shook her head negatively.
“Are you okay, darling?” She turned to Theodore and looked at him more intently this time around, trying to find any sign of discomfort on his face.
“Thanks to you, I am fine, dorogaya,” he said softly.
“Anytime,” she smiled at him.
“Oh, hell no!” He all but growled at her. “This is the first and the last time you put yourself in danger for anyone, me included.”
“What do you mean?” She said with a pout. “Would you rather I watched you die in front of me?”
He grimaced at that, as if the mere idea of them parting so soon was horrifying to him. “There’s always a solution, dorogaya.”
“Well, we needed one that was quick and efficient,” she tried to reason with him.
“Nevertheless, you will not put yourself in danger ever again!”
She rolled her eyes at him.
And that had the knack to make him growl at her anew. Only this time around, instead of getting annoyed with him, she started to get dizzy with lust for him.
“I think it’s time we took our leave,” Liam announced, dragging behind him a grinning Serena.
“Have fun. I want a niece to spoil,” the latter said in teasing.
Emily smiled at her awkwardly while a deep blush crept under her skin.
“So, you passed out for a few hours and inadvertently forgot some very important rules, Ms Nill,” Theodore said in a low husky voice once the door closed behind his siblings.
“I’m sorry?” She asked rather than stated and could have face-palmed at that.
Why was she still like a stammering virgin each time his dominant side surfaced?
“Sorry won’t cut it, I’m afraid,” he declared.
He rested his back on the head of the bed and then let out a command, “Strip.”
She shook her head negatively, just because she was in a teasing mood, and also because she wanted him to tear down her gown the way he often did.
“Are you denying me what’s mine, little girl?” He asked, eyes ablaze with a fire that would be hard to extinguish.
She dampened her lips and then declared, “And what, pray tell, is yours?”
“All of you,” he declared, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
“I am, aren’t I?” She said as she left the bed and stood in front of him. She removed her gown deftly and remained in her undergarments.
His eyes flashed crimson.
Oh, his beast wanted to play. Well, so did she.
And so, they indulged, much like each time they had the chance, in pleasures most delicious.