The words chilled Emily to the bone. Her beloved Theo had obviously forgotten all about her, and no longer felt the sparks or anything that could indicate she was indeed his mate…
What was she to do? She couldn’t think. Hell, it was all she could do to breathe properly.
Theo rarely repeated himself and yet he had just done so. This already looked bad for her.
Besides, after what that damned healer had told him, if Emily were to tell him she was his pregnant mate, his suspicions would only rise some more… and yet, what could justify her presence at the estate?
“Theo,” she let out in a pleading tone.
“That’ll be prince Theodore to you, woman,” he said through gritted teeth, seemingly unnerved with something.
Emily couldn’t help but inhale deeply, in an attempt to calm herself down, and then exhaled.
She looked him square in the eyes, and then said without flinching, “I am your mate, Theo. I have never addressed you so formally, not even when I used to be your personal maid, and I am not going to start now.”
“Mate, you say?” He echoed after her, raising an eyebrow. “I feel no pull though.”
“She’s clearly desperate enough to want to claim such a thing,” Shirly observed. “Don’t listen to her, Theo.”
“Keep on talking, you damned healer, and I’ll make you see stars in broad daylight,” Emily threatened, her eyes changing colors.
Emily could sense that her dear Theo was confused, and also slightly aroused by the sight of her eyes changing colors no doubt.
This could work in her favor.
Think, Emily, she told herself. Think!
“What is the last thing you recall?” She asked. “Let’s put the puzzle back together, lover.”
“Why would he listen to you?” Shirly scoffed. “You are a nobody. Know your place!”
“I’m not asking for anything as of now,” Emily went on, keeping her focus solely on her mate. “But things don’t add up, do they?”
Theodore’s face contorted into a frown at that.
“What are you implying?” He asked after a moment of pregnant silence.
“Trust me, Theo. This woman is up to no good,” there was slight worry seeping into Shirly’s words.
“What business would a woman you don’t know have at the estate? A she-dragon at that?” Emily dampened her lips. Then, just as she was about to talk some more sense into him, bile rose in her throat, and within seconds she was running towards the bathroom.
She had just about finished when Theodore’s presence grew nearer to her.
She hadn’t focused enough to hear what her mate and that damned healer could have had as an exchange.
“What’s wrong with you?” He asked, from where he was leaning against the door frame, a frown marring his face. “Dragons rarely ever get sick.”
Emily shook her head negatively. “Only I am not sick,” she said softly. “Unless you count being pregnant as sick.”
“Next you’re going to tell me that the child is mine, aren’t you?” He said in an accusing tone.
Tears doubled in her eyes.
“You won’t believe any word I say, will you?” She was on the verge of a breakdown.
“I want proof,” he told her firmly.
“Open your phone’s gallery, and you’ll find plenty of pictures of us together,” she said dismissively.
“I have checked and there are none,” he retorted. Then in a softer tone, “I want to believe you, woman. Every fiber of my being wants nothing more than to hold and comfort you, but I feel no magical otherworldly mate pull… explain this to me.”
“We have your dear healer to blame for that,” Emily muttered under her breath.
Theodore’s eyes narrowed at that.
“I don’t know what she did or how she did it, but she made you forget all about me.”
“Right!” Shrily scoffed. “And to what end would I do that?”
“Because you love him, and you found the perfect opportunity to get him when Queen Alexia sent you to the estate to check up on me,” Emily shrugged.
Merely seconds later, the strict housekeeper appeared by Theodore’s side.
“I would suggest that Ms. Nill is seen by a doctor soon, Mr. King,” Mrs. Steams said almost despite herself. “She’s either very sick or simply pregnant… but either way, throwing up constantly cannot be good for her.”
Then, looking at Emily with something akin to sympathy in her eyes, she said, “Would you care for some lemon juice, Ms. Nill?”
Emily smiled at her and nodded, “I’d love some, Mrs. Steams.”
“You seem to know the staff rather well,” Theodore said in a pensive tone.
All Emily could do was nod at that. She wasn’t sure he was addressing her to begin with. It seemed like he was trying really hard to put two and two together, despite what that damned Shirly had done to him.
“Emily Nill, was it?” He then called for her attention. “Would you mind it very much if I kissed you?”
“Why would you kiss such a despicable woman?” Shirly objected. “She obviously has bribed your staff too…”
“Enough!” He bellowed at her, his eyes turning crimson.
Emily approached him with slow measured steps, and he watched her, fascinated and almost as if seeing her for the first time.
When she cupped his face, he closed his eyes as if to cherish the moment. And when her lips met his in a sweet and soft kiss, he deepened it, wanting more it would seem.
Their passion for one another was still there.
When she broke the kiss, and opened her eyes, hopeful to see whether the kiss had changed anything, his eyes were still closed.
“I feel like a hormonal teenager, but no mate pull per se.” Her heart sank at that. And then, he opened his eyes. They were crimson red. “And yet I don’t think you’re lying.”
And with that, he turned to Shirly who had cowered back in fear.
“What have you done?” He asked in an icy tone.
She shook her head negatively, “Nothing.”
“I don’t believe you,” he popped his fingers. “Spill the beans, lest you want me to gut them out of you.”
“Theo…”
“Don’t call me Theo so casually,” he all but growled out at her. “Tell me.”
Shirly gulped down her dread and then denied again, “I did nothing wrong.”
“Wrong and right is a matter of perspectives, Shirly,” he told her off-handedly. “From what I understood, Emily used to be my maid… I can only guess mother didn’t take our relationship well. Did she send you to do the dirty job no one would take?”
“I love you, Theo,” Shirly said desperately.
“Come here,” he beckoned her over.
She shook her head negatively.
“Would you rather I come to you?” He retorted, his words dripping with menace.
She shook her head negatively a second time. And then, she closed the distance between them, tears trailing down her cheeks.
“What are you crying for?” He asked flatly.
“I hate you. I regret ever loving you.”
“Is that your confession?” He said coldly.
She sighed and nodded, “You may take it as such.”
“Don’t mind if I do then,” he quipped.
And within seconds, he had her in a choke hold.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Dragons were primitive creatures. And if Theodore’s inner beast wanted to comfort this stranger, it only meant she was no stranger.
He was used to trusting his instincts. His instincts never failed him after all. Not on the battlefield and not in the boardroom.
No sooner had he decided to trust this urge that told him to console Emily Nill, did Shirly’s true colors come to be exposed.
He was choking the woman without blinking. The woman, who had been given the task of warming his bed during the war, had once done a marvelous job at keeping him focused, and it was a pity that she saw in that month more than what there was to it.
He was about to kill her when he sensed that the housekeeper was fast approaching. He threw her away and she landed on her hands and knees.
He turned to face Emily. “Take the juice from Mrs. Steams and prevent her from coming here.”
She nodded at him without objecting.
He then took a few steps in Shirly’s direction when his phone rang. It was Liam.
“Hello brother,” he was greeted rather cheerfully. “How are you? How is Emily?”
The mere fact that his brother was asking about Emily made him believe he had done well in trusting his instincts.
“We have seen better days,” he told him matter-of-factly. “Shirly is here.”
“What Shirly? The healer Shirly?” Liam asked in a bewildered tone.
“Yep, the one and only.”
“She’s bad news, brother, you know that. Don’t let her come near your pregnant mate,” his younger brother advised him.
“I won’t,” he assured him. And with that, he hung up.
Shirly, who had just recovered from her coughing fit, then spat out almost angrily. “I should have injected her with the confusion potion, not you.”
“Why didn’t you then?” He raised an eyebrow, thinking of the numerous ways he could use to kill this traitorous healer.
“Because you gave me no opening to get to her,” she scoffed.
“Any last words?” He then asked coldly, doing her a favor of sorts, almost giving her an out to redeem herself.
“I loved you and I hate myself for loving you.”
He nodded at her, and then within seconds he had plunged his hand into her chest and was ripping her heart out.