“How does it feel to be back to 100% again, brother?” Liam said in a teasing tone.
Theodore popped his finger joints, and then said, a wicked smile on his face, “Marvelous. I am glad I didn’t allow the old man to stop you from becoming a doctor, Serena.” His sister giggled at that. And then, in a grimmer tone, he went on, “I need to have a talk with mother.”
Emily, who was sitting on his lap, stiffened slightly. “It’s not necessary, lover.”
“Don’t we all?” Liam said on a sigh as he hugged Tatiana sideways.
“The talk might end in a bloody manner, depending on what she has to say,” Theodore announced flatly. “I won’t hold back this time.”
“Lover, she is still your mother,” Emily said softly.
“Well, she doesn’t act as such, dorogaya,” he retorted bitterly. “Am I supposed to sit back and wait for her to strike again?” Emily shook her head negatively, and was about to add something when he went on, “Besides, you were right in your assumption that she might have a hand in the whole Thomas fiasco. Getting a drug potent enough to knock out a dragon is no easy feat and definitely no wild guess.”
“Oh yeah,” Liam agreed readily. “Let’s not be foolish enough to believe in coincidences.”
“Will you need our support, Theo?” Serena asked matter-of-factly, not in the least bit fazed by the idea of finishing off their mother, or at the very least not showing if she cared.
“Don’t be mistaken. I always need your support. We are family,” he said softly. “But let me take care of this alone. I don’t want to burden you with such a thing.”
“What do you mean?” She asked.
“I mean to say that I don’t want you to be in on it,” he said on a sigh. “As Emily so kindly reminded us, she is still our mother.”
“The three of us are family,” Serena shook her head, seemingly not accepting what he was saying. “Together, we are stronger.”
“Exactly,” Liam approved of his sister’s statement. “And as a family, it is mandatory that we stick together.”
“So, you’ll tag along?” Theodore began to surrender.
“How about we do this by the book?” Tatiana suggested almost timidly. “Instead of a cold blooded assassination, we could make her admit her wrongdoings, and thus have her go through a proper trial. What do you say?”
“Mother is a hard nut to crack,” Theodore shook his head negatively.
“Hard but not impossible,” the once werewolf princess shrugged.
“But if we approach her that way, it’ll be hard to sneak up on her afterward,” Liam said pensively. “She’ll be wary of us.”
“What if you pretend you have not recovered your memories, Theo?” Emily then suggested. “It could make her slip.”
“That’s actually quite brilliant, dorogaya,” he commented.
“Indeed, it is,” Liam agreed.
“That’ll be a tough act to pull up,” Serena observed, looking at her with worried eyes.
“A few days won’t hurt,” Emily said with a smile.
“You have to get your stories straight,” Liam advised wisely.
“We’ll only lie about the seismotherapy and say it didn’t work,” Theodore supplied, not missing a beat.
“And seemingly go to the palace, seeking answers and help from mother,” Serena added.
“That could work,” Tatiana nodded, a wicked smile stretching her lips. “Maybe we should head back first, lay down the groundwork?”
“That’d be lovely,” Theodore told her, mirroring her smile.
He could sense discomfort and unease coming from his mate. She wasn’t thrilled about having to go back to the palace, and for good reason too… but what needed to be done had to be done.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
“Don’t fret it, dorogaya,” Theodore tried to reassure his mate as she laid in his arms after a good round of tender lovemaking. “It will all be okay. I was tricked once. But I won’t be made a fool another time.”
“You protected me and our child,” she told him softly. “And then believed your instincts and chose me. I’d say you weren’t fooled completely.”
“Maybe so, but the fact remains that I foolishly trusted her, and thus gave her the opportunity to inject me with that damned potion.”
“You’re allowed to make mistakes,” she told him softly. “It’s okay. No one is perfect.”
“Tatiana seemed rather eager to take down mother, and yet not thrilled with the idea of my doing the deed and sweeping the matter under the rug,” he said pensively. “Mother must have upset our werewolf princess.”
Emily nodded, “Imagine being forced to mark me.” He raised an eyebrow at that, and she went on, “No matter how much the bond urges you to, you managed to hold back, and then because of a meddlesome queen who doesn’t know when to stop, you had to mark me.”
“I’d be the happiest dragon on earth, and possibly the angriest too,” he conceded. “But if I may have a say in this, no aphrodisiac is potent enough to make totally unwilling partners mark one another.”
“I never said they were totally opposed to the idea,” Emily shook her head negatively. “But the fact remains that the choice was taken out of their hands.”
“Yeah, I understand your point of view, dorogaya, and Tatiana’s ire,” he said after a beat. “Anyway, having one more ally in that palace can’t hurt. I am glad she is on our side.”
“Me too,” Emily said softly as drowsiness started to take over her. “She is a lovely person. Despite being ridiculed and named the scorned princess because of you, she is willing to lend a hand.”
“Yeah, I’ll admit that she isn’t too vengeful,” Theodore agreed. Then, in a much softer tone, he urged his mate to sleep. “Get some rest. Tomorrow promises to be one hell of a day.”
Theodore couldn’t help but stay awake. It felt as if his nerve endings were on fire, the sparks having come back with force. And he was much too enamored with his mate to want to put distance between their bodies.
He briefly wondered what would have happened to him, to them, to their child, had he not followed his instincts instead of reason a few days ago… and he shuddered at the scenarios that played in his head – Emily leaving him, disappearing, and possibly getting killed on the first occasion since she would no longer be under his protection.
He thanked his lucky stars, his good judgment, and quick thinking to no end that night. The very thought of losing his mate because of a slip-up was much too painful to bear.
When morning came, and she woke up, he peppered her face with butterfly kisses. Her giggle was like melody to his ears.
He lived for her smile and giggles. And he’d rather die a thousand times than have her disappear on him.
Alone, he might have not stood much chance against his mother, save for ending her in the most despicable ways possible… but thanks to his siblings, he’d get to preserve his reputation intact – or almost.
Admittedly, he didn’t mind being called a ruthless killer, if it meant he’d eliminate a great threat to his sweet and lovely mate. And if trickery didn’t work against his mother, and he didn’t manage to lead her to her trial and doom, there was still plan B – an underhanded assassination.