Mates

"Mate." He growls.

Mate?

Out of all my knowledge I know nothing of 'mates'.

Yet, Kaine has called me that.

"Mate? Kaine what is a mate?" I ask him.

Before he can answer, Connan, who I had not even noticed was there spoke up.

"What! That's impossible! It is unheard of for a dragon and a fae to be mates!" He yells.

I am a mate? Kaine is a mate?

What is a mate!?

"I'm sorry, but can someone clue me in on what a 'mate' is?" I say.

"A mate is your soulmate. An unbreakable bond between two people. What one feels, so does the other. You share a part of each other's souls. If one would to perish, the other would be driven to insanity and take their own life." Connan says as he takes a step towards me.

Kaine lets out a growl and he grabs me by the waist bringing me closer to him.

Kaine is my mate? My soulmate?

"My apologies Kaine. I do not know what it is like to find your mate. It seems you are possessive at the moment so I will take my leave. Have a good day princess." Connan says as he leaves.

"Kaine." I call to him.

He does not listen and he looks around the room.

"Kaine." I fall to him again.

He still does not listen.

Was it the bond? I do not understand and it is frustrating me.

"Kaine!" I yell.

His head snaps to mine but he does not let go of me.

"Please explain to me what a mate bond is. Connan's explanation did nothing to help my confusion. I have so many questions!" I say.

He nods his head and takes my hand finally letting go of my waist.

He leads me to my bed and sits down. I sit beside him.

"A mate bond is the strongest bond there is. Like Connan said, your mate is your soulmate. Your other half. Should one die, the other would go insane and kill themselves. There are no stories of anyone surviving the loss of a mate. There are three steps to mating. The first is to find them. For some it takes years, some decades and some centuries. The second step is marking. Your mate will bite you on your neck as you will to them. This gives you the ability to speak through your minds. Feel their pain, joy, worry. It connects you. To fully complete the mating process, you must mate." Kaine tells me in a soft voice.

I'm grateful for his gentleness in his tone. My ears are still sensitive.

So many questions flow through my head.

"What is the final step? You said you must mate. What does that mean?" I ask.

"It means you have to have sex." He says bluntly.

Oh.

Sex. I have never had sex. The men of the village never abused me in that type of way. It was always physical. Punching, kicking, cutting and any other way they could find to make me bleed.

"Why is it that we only just know now that we are mates? We have know each other for nearly two weeks. Why now?" I ask.

He rubs his chin in deep thought.

"I believe it's because you have not been in your true form. Because you have not been fae." He says.

I nod my head.

So much information in the past few days, I feel like my head is going to explode.

"You look beautiful. I mean you always have but now you have the beauty of a fae. You have the elegance, a gentle but fierce aura to you." He rushes out.

I laugh. He seems nervous.

"Thank you." I whisper.

We sat in silence. Neither of us have anything to say.

"Kaine. If I am to be queen, what will this make you?" I ask.

Was he to be my king? Is he to rule by my side for as long as we live?

"I don't know. I am but a lord. My loyalties belong with my people." He says.

I understand. He was a dragon and I am a fae. Speaking of,

"How is it possible for us to be mates? Connan said it has never been heard of." I ask him.

I wonder if he grows tired of my endless questions.

"Again, I don't know. Mate bonds only happen with people of your own kind. Dragon with dragon, fae with fae. I have no idea with the gods have put us together." Kaine says.

I let the information process in my head.

Kaine and I are mates. Bound together forever by the gods. They must have their reasons. If only we knew them.

"I am fae now. What is our next plan?" I ask.

"Your questions have no end do they?" He asks with a smile.

I smile back.

"I am new to all of this. You cannot tell me you expected any less." I reply.

"No. I did not." He says laughing.

I laugh with him.

"An answer for your one hundredth question, we will need to plan you ceremony. The one where you will officially be declared the queen. We will discuss it with the council tomorrow."

I listen to him speak. He speaks with determination and authority in his voice.

He knows how to lead.

How will I ever lead the fae? How am I to rule all of Therondia!

As if he could hear my thoughts he places his hands on my arms.

"Do not worry. We will work through this. You are not alone." He says.

"Thank you." I reply.

He gives me another smile. A smile showing that he could not be any happier.

Tingles flow through my arms where he put his hands.

"Are these tingles because of the mate bond?" I ask.

He nods his head.

"Yes. It is one of the ways to know who your mate is." He says.

"One of?" I add.

"As you know, dragons have there human form, their natural form and their full form. When dragons are in their human or natural form, their dragons rest in their minds. So, when I am in my natural form, which is the form I take for the majority of the time, I can hear my dragons thoughts. I feel what he feels and he feels what I feel. I know when he wants to be let free, when he wants to fly. Just as he told me that you were my mate." He tells me.

"Are there any other ways?" I ask him.

"Yes. Another one is the feeling of something snapping in place. That one is more common for those who do not have another voice in their heads. Like you." He explains.

I nod my head.

When he called me mate, when he grabbed me by my waist, touched my arm, it did feel like something snapped in place. Like I was finally complete. As if I was a puzzle who found its missing piece.

I glance at the clock and see that it's 3:00. We have been talking for an hour and a half.

Even at such an early time, my body is exhausted.

The shift has drained me.

Even though I feel reborn, like nothing can break me and no one can hurt me anymore, I am incredibly tired.

I let out a massive yawn.

Kaine laughs, a fully fledged laugh.

I feel a blush creep up into my cheeks. Betraying me.

"Get some rest. You have been through quite a lot today. Goodnight princess." He says standing up.

Just as he is about to leave the room, I ask one last question.

"Kaine.. do you think we could visit my gramps? I worry for him. I fear that my reputation in the village affected how they treat him as well. I need to know if he is okay."

He looks at me with pity. He thinks about it deeply.

"After the council tomorrow, we will head out to Devlan." He says.

A smile breaks out onto my face. I get to see my gramps tomorrow!

I run to him and pull him into a tight hug.

He was not expecting it so he stumbles back grabbing onto the door frame just in time to stop us from falling.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I rush out.

He returns the hug and chuckles.

"Of course beautiful. Now, please. Get some rest." He says leaving no room for denial.

I nod my head quickly and return to bed.

Tonight I am eager to sleep, excited for tomorrow.

He gives me one last smile before returning to his chambers.

I wrap myself in my blankets and close my eyes.

Because my body and mind are drained, sleep came quickly.

Flashback

I walk home from the woods.

I caught us two squirrels! I cannot wait to surprise gramps!

My excitement was quickly diminished when I felt myself get grabbed forcefully.

Judging by the size of the arms it has to be a man.

I trash around hoping to break free from his grip but he only tightens his hold on me.

Taking in my surroundings, I see he's taking me to the village.

No! They are going to hurt me again!

I felt myself get dragged to one of the homes.

This one I did not recognize.

The unknown man carries me to the living room and drops me onto the wooden floor.

My body hits the floor hard. Hard enough there will surely be a bruise.

I look up at my kidnappera face and see a man I do not know.

I believe he is one of William's personal soldiers but I do not know his name.

He smirk wickedly at me. Excited that it was finally his turn to abuse me.

He send a kick to my stomach, knocking the air out of me.

I curl up into a ball as instinct, protecting my stomach.

He send another kick to my face. Blood drips out of my mouth.

Damn it. He made my lip bleed.

He send a kick to my chest and I hear a gruesome crack.

I am certain he just broke one of my ribs.

The pain, it's just too much.

I'm diving in and out of consciousness. I want the darkness to consume me. It hurts so much.

He laughs at my weakness and send one more kick to my face knocking me straight out.

Flashback over

I awake with a jolt.

I look around the room and see I am not in that mans house. I am in Malvolion.

In and out.

I listen to my thoughts and take deep breaths. In, and out.

I sit up and head to my bathroom.

I run a bath and sit myself in it.

The warm water relaxing my muscles, helping me calm myself.

I submerge my head under the water. I sit there underneath the surface and just think.

It was just a dream. I am safe.

No matter how many times I told myself, I could not bring my mind to believe it.

I climb out of the bath and drain it.

I wrap myself in a towel and head to my closet.

I grab a pair of baby blue silk sleeping shorts and a matching tank top. Slipping those on then returning to the bathroom.

My long hair had returned when I shifted. Making it seem like it was never cut.

Not bothering to cut it again, I grab one of the hair ties and put it into a braid.

I walk out of my bedroom unconsciously and leave my chambers.

I only noticed where I was walking to when I arrived at the door.

Kaine's chambers.

I walked to Kaine's chambers? Why?

Following my gut, I knock on his door.

I waited a minute and just as I was about to walk away the door opened.

"Cora? Why are you knocking so late? It's two in the morning." Kaine asks.

Two in the morning? I had slept for eleven hours?

I open my mouth to speak but I had not planned this far.

Opening and closing my mouth like a fish out of water, Kaine spoke sparing me the embarrassment.

"Please, come inside."

I walk into his chambers. I have not been here yet.

His chambers similar to mine, yet everything white that I own such as the counters in the kitchen and the couches were black.

Like his dragon.

He guides me to the couch and sits down. Sitting down beside him, I stay quiet.

I did not know what to say.

"Cora, you can talk to me. Why have you come here so late?" He asks his voice raspy.

I must have woken him.

Guilt works it way through my body realizing that I interrupted his sleep.

"I apologize, I did not mean to wake you. I should go."  I say standing up from the couch.

Before I could take a step his hand grabs my wrist.

"No please, stay. Tell me what's bothering you." Kaine says.

I look at him and sit back down.

"It was nothing really, just a nightmare. I get them often so it's really no big deal." I say.

His face shows concern as he hears about my night terrors.

"Is it of the villagers?" He asks.

I nod my head. The thoughts come rushing back.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

Before I open them, I feel myself get wrapped into a hug.

The first feeling I get is shock. My body stiffens but quickly adjusts. I return the hug.

He makes me feel safe. Maybe that is why I came here?

"Stay." He whispers.

"What?" I say.

He pulls back to look at me in the eyes.

"Sleep here tonight."

He wants me to sleep here? In his bed? Or will I be sleeping on the couch? Does he want to begin the mating process? Will we be sleeping in his bed together? Or will I be in his bed while he is on the couch?

"Cora. Do not overthink it. If it makes you uncomfortable to sleep in my bed with me, I can take the couch. But I promise you, I have no other intentions than sleeping tonight." He reassures me.

Oh.

"Um, okay. I will sleep here tonight then." I say giving him a small smile.

Returning the smile, he stands up and offers me a hand.

I take his hand and he leads me to his bedroom never letting it go.

He slips underneath the covers and I copy his actions.

I lay straight facing the ceiling.

"Relax. I won't let anyone harm you ever again." He says turning me over and grabbing my waist.

My back was touching his chest. His arm is around my waist.

This was all so new to me but it feels like I belong here. His body heat keeping me warm.

I feel safe.

With that new sense of security, I fall into a sleep. One without any nightmares.