Shutting the office door behind her, Leah turned around and came face to face with her younger brother, Gabriel, leaning against the opposite wall. Tall, with broad shoulders and muscles on top of his muscles, Gabriel could be very intimidating when he chose to be, even more so than her father. But Leah knew that Gabriel was always there for her, and that even if she was in the wrong he would still have her back. They were very close. Leah considered Gabriel to be her best friend.
She started walking down the long hall, away from her father's office, towards the stairs leading to the second floor of the house where her bedroom was located. Gabriel fell into step next to her, patiently waiting for Leah to begin talking.
Leah sighed. "So, I guess you heard all of that. Huh?"
Gabriel chuckled softly. "You mean the part where our father is basically pimping you out to our enemy, or the part where you and he almost came to blows?"
Leah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, all of that."
Gabriel wrapped his arm around Leah's shoulders and gave her a quick side hug. "You two have been butting heads since before I can remember. That's not going to change any time soon."
Leah shook her head. "Yeah, I know. But he can be so pigheaded sometimes. He won't even listen to what I want. I get that it's for the good of our clan, but why does it have to be me?"
Gabriel stopped walking and gently pulled Leah to a stop next to him. "Hey, it will all work out. I promise. Besides, you haven't even met the guy yet. He could actually be a good guy once you get to know him."
Leah raised one eyebrow at her brother. "He could also be a complete jerk who drinks and beats women. You never know."
Gabriel sighed. "That's true, but how will you know until you've at least spoken to him first. Give the guy a chance is all I'm saying."
Leah smirked. "You know, you could always mate with a Blackwell in my place."
Gabriel glanced away, but not before Leah saw the sad look in his grey eyes. "I had a mate once, you know that. When I lost Jenny, I thought I would end up following her soon after." He looked back at Leah and continued vehemently, "You have no idea what it took for me to finally get over her death and start living again. I can't go through that again. I won't!"
Leah blinked away the tears that sprang to her eyes. "Yeah, I remember. You weren't yourself for a long time." She took a deep breath, then released it. She smiled at Gabriel, though it did not reach her eyes. "Don't mind me. I'm being selfish. This is what is best for our clan. I will just do what I have to do. Like you said, it will all work out."
Gabriel gave Leah a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. You know I would do anything for you, but-"
"I know." Leah gave Gabriel a genuine smile this time. "Don't worry, you are still my favorite brother."
Gabriel chuckled. "And you will always be my favorite sister."
Leah punched Gabriel in the arm as hard as she could, not surprised when he just laughed harder. "Punk!" She grinned and rolled her eyes. "That joke is getting very old."
Gabriel mussed Leah's hair. "Awe, don't worry, sis. Our father's not that old. There is still the possibility of him having another daughter someday, and then you won't be my only sister anymore."
Leah glared at her brother. "Yeah, fat chance of that happening." She glanced beck towards their father's office. "I think dad feels pretty much the same way you do about re-mating." She looked back at Gabriel and sighed. "Listen, I'm going to take off for a while. I need some fresh air, okay?"
Gabriel stared back at Leah for a moment, as if searching for something, then finally nodded his head. "Yeah, okay. I guess I will catch you later. Don't forget about the clan meeting. I know you enjoy irritating our father, but try not to push your luck."
Leah laughed playfully. "What fun is that?!" She reached over and patted Gabriel on the chest. "Thanks for the talk, G-Man. I'll see you later."
Leah turned and walked away. She needed to decompress after the meeting she just had, and she knew the best place to do that.
Climbing the stairs, she made her way to her suite of rooms. She went outside onto her balcony and climbed the scaffold to get to the roof of her family's home where a launch pad sat ready for use. Although "home" was kind of an understatement. It was more like a mansion, with several suites of rooms needed to house Leah, her father, and all four of her brothers, plus their future mates and children. That's not even including the guest suites and the staff wing. The place was huge, but Leah often felt stifled. She wanted her own place, something just big enough for her, her future mate and any children they may have. She'd prefer not to have her father and brothers breathing down her neck all the time. While she loved her family, sometimes she just needed some space. Leah stood in the center of the launch pad and closed her eyes. She reached inside herself where she knew her dragon waited, ready to be unleashed. As the first prickle of awareness began, she relaxed and let the chang
Leah looked up at the sound of the deep, masculine voice, and into a pair of the deepest blue eyes she had ever seen. The man was huge, reminding her of a lumberjack. And, when he smiled, a dimple appeared in his right cheek, eyes sparkling with mischief. Leah was tall for a woman at 5'11", but she could tell she would probably only come up to the man's broad chest. He had to be well over 6 ½’, maybe closer to 7’. She knew right away by his scent that he wasn’t a dragon. Dragons had a distinct scent, like firewood mixed with something that uniquely identifies each individual. This man did not have the scent of firewood at all. He smelled like apple pie with an underlying scent that Leah recognized as wolf. She returned the man's smile, a slight blush darkening her cheeks. "Sorry. They're just really good." The man chuckled. "Is that seat taken?" he asked, pointing to the chair next to the one Leah was occupying. Leah shook her head. "Not at all." "I'm Ray Winston." He eased his
Leah looked up in shock when she heard Ray start to growl. His blue eyes were glowing, and his fangs were sticking out beneath the snarl of his top lip. She didn't know why he was so angry. She could only assume it was on her behalf. It was kind of sweet. No one besides her father and brothers had ever stuck up for her. Being an alpha and a princess meant that she was usually the one sticking up for others. Leah reached over and placed her hand against of Ray's cheek. He turned his face into her hand, and placed a kiss against her palm. The gesture sent a tingling sensation up Leah's arm, and straight to her clit. She didn't know what it was about this man, but something inside her was telling her that he was special, and she fully agreed. Ray nuzzled her hand a little longer, then turned to stare into her eyes, shaking his head vehemently. "You are not mating with anyone except me!" Leah tried to pull her hand back, but Ray wouldn't let go. She sighed, and gave up trying to take
Ray watched as Leah flew away from him, silently willing her to turn around and come back. She didn't. It wasn't fair. He had found his mate, only for her to be taken away from him. He would fight anyone for her, but he couldn't fight her. There was nothing he could do if she wasn't willing to meet him halfway. He understood loyalty, but this was ridiculous. She was his, dammit! "Is everything okay, Alpha?" Ray turned around to see his sister and pack healer, Francesca, standing a few feet away from him, a look of concern etched across her face. His two cousins and pack betas, Dallas and Jagger, stood beside her, looking equally as concerned. Ray rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. They must have heard him standing here shouting like a crazy person. Alphas didn't do shit like that! Especially not in front of his inner circle, even if they were related. "Yeah. Everything is fine," he reassured them. None of them looked convinced, but they wouldn't push it because he was
Dallas and Jagger pulled up just as Ray and Francesca were walking up the porch steps, and they all went inside. The guys all went straight to the living room while Francesca went to the kitchen to grab a beer for everyone. Drinks in hand, they all got comfortable, Ray in his favorite large blue lounge chair situated next to the fireplace, and the others grabbing a spot on the blue extra-large three-seater sofa sitting across from the fireplace in front of the window. Ray cleared his throat and smiled sheepishly. “So, you may have already guessed, but the female dragon you all saw me making a fool over is my mate, Leah.” Dallas burst out laughing, then held his hand out to Jagger. “I told you so. Pay up, Asshole!” Jagger glared at Dallas, reached into his wallet, pulled out a twenty-dollar bill, and handed it to his younger brother. “You got lucky, ShitFace!” Dallas snatched the money from Jagger, then smacked him in the back of the head, which earned him a punch to the arm. Th
Ray snapped his fingers, nodded his head, and pointed his finger at Francesca. “You may be onto something.” Francesca placed her hands on her hips. “Naturally.” Dallas chuckled. “Okay, Ms. Know-it-all. What other options are there for her? I mean, if the dragon leaders couldn’t come up with a better solution, how can we?” Ray and Jagger nodded their heads in agreement. Francesca sighed in exasperation. “Because we are on the outside. This situation doesn’t directly affect us, so we can look at the situation with unbiased eyes.” She went and retook her seat on the couch next to Dallas, pushing Jagger over to give herself some room. “Okay, let’s start throwing out some ideas.” She looked at the guys. When no one volunteered any suggestions, she continued. “Okay, then I will go first. From what I have overheard about Leah, she has some younger brothers. Perhaps one of them could take her place.” Ray scratched the back of his head and frowned. “It’s a good idea, but I would figure
They sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking about what they could do for Leah. Francesca noticed that Ray had turned his right hand over and was absently running his thumb over the back of the three-headed dragon tattoo that had been inked on his wrist since he was sixteen. Francesca looked at Ray contemplatively. “What would you do if you were Leah?” She asked Ray quietly. Ray’s head snapped in Francesca’s direction. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, then he quietly asked, “What do you mean?” Francesca shook her head at him. “Come on, Ray. You’re always asking me what I would do in certain situations and telling me that I’m the only one who can understand what you are going through. I am asking you now: What would you do if you were Leah in this situation?” Ray bit his lower lip and chewed on it for a second. “I would do whatever it took to end the war peacefully. And if that meant marrying someone I wasn’t in love with, then so be it.” He looked away from Francesca,
King Marcus paced the library floor, and berated Leah. "I specifically told you that I wanted you here for the meeting! That doesn't mean show up at the end! Do you have any idea...?” Leah sat in her favorite armchair and tuned her father out. He could go on and on when he gets pissed like this, and Leah really didn't want to hear it. It's not like she didn't already know what the meeting had been about, so she didn't really understand why he was so upset. He had already told her everything she needed to know that morning. What more could there have been? Leah took the time to look around the library. This was one of her favorite rooms in the whole house, besides her bedroom. The room was massive, having used to be two very large rooms that was combined into one by knocking out the dividing wall. She redecorated this room herself five years ago for her twenty-fifth birthday. It had been sort of a gift from her father since she had been wanting to redecorate the room since before she