Elvira

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The whole room went silent as the echo of my laugh bounced off the wall. Mira looked at me like I had gone senile, and I couldn’t quite make out the expression on Adelio’s face.

I was still in the middle of my laughter when I felt myself being hoisted up into the air. Adelio tossed me over his shoulder, and I squealed.

“Enough.” He bellowed. “I’ve let you talk to her for long enough.

“Christ, how is it that everyone has been able to draw out sweet giggles from your lovely lips? Everyone but me. It’s unbelievably frustrating.” Adelio said as he walked over to the bed and tossed me on top of it. I yelped at the impact.

“Adelio wait, I have to speak to Mira,” I said while trying to get up.

He noticed what I was doing, and moved so he was standing right in front of me.

“You will speak to her from here,” he said, ruffling his hair. He still looked angry, but something else suspiciously similar to pouting was also written on his face. I couldn’t be sure though.

“Fine” I muttered, knowing I wasn’t going to get anywhere with him.

A small smirk of victory played on his lips as he turned around to continue his glaring contest with Mira.

I craned my head to the right, in an attempt to see past Adelio’s huge, insufferably, erotic body. However, he adjusted his body so that he was covering my view. I frowned and moved my head to the left, but Adelio’s body moved to the left with me. My frown deepened as I moved to the right again and his body followed. Somehow he’s able to mirror my movement without having to look at me.

I was starting to get frustrated as I tried for the left again, but he followed once more.

That’s it, my patience has reached the brim. I picked up a pillow from the bed and threw it at his head.

“Adelio!” I yelled.

His body tensed and I swear I could see his muscles pulsate. He turned around and met my glare with a fervid gaze.

“Yes love, you’ve got my attention,” he said.

The heat from his eyes seemed to envelop my body, covering it up in flames. It was like they were scorching my clothes and undressing me, yet enshrouding me with passion and tenderness.

Gulping, I clenched my fist to contain myself.

“I want to speak to my friend”

“You can speak to her from here” he replied.

“And see her.” I clarified

His jaw ticked. I could see his eyes flicker a little gold, then settle back on red.

“Fine, talk to her” he grumbled and moved aside a little.

The moment I saw Mira, the smile was back on my face, and I gleed. She was now collapsed to the floor from exhaustion, her body still trembling.

“Mira! Are you okay? I’m so happy to see you”

“I should be asking you if you were okay. He didn’t hurt you did he?” she asked, worry marking her pretty face.

I shook my head. “No, he didn’t hurt me. He saved me from danger.”

Her worried face was now turning into one of confusion “But the story...I heard that the dragon emperor kidnaped you”

“On the contrary, I was kidnapped by King Aden himself,” I said

Adelio snarled at the mention of King Aden’s name, and I take it he wasn’t a big fan.

“What?!” Mira was stunned. “But that doesn’t make sense, why did he suddenly kidnap you? What was the use of doing that?”

“Well, he said...” I met Adelio’s attentive stare and paused. I had been trying to avoid explaining what happened back there. If I were to tell Mira everything, then I’d have to do it in a space where we were alone.

I glanced back at Mira who was also staring at me in anticipation.

“Anyways how did you escape the palace? And how did you find us?” I stealthily changed the subject - or so I thought, but I noticed Adelio raising an amused eyebrow at me. He definitely caught my bullshit. But to my relief, he didn’t call it out and just kept his silence.

“Okay, so you know how I said I was an expert in escaping? Well, I wasn’t bluffing.

I was still serving in the conclave when all of a sudden we heard bizarre roars and growls. We were momentarily dismissed, they said the dragons were causing trouble.” She sheepishly glanced at Adelio after she uttered the last part.

They must have heard Adelio’s roars when he came to save me. It was hard to believe that was just yesterday. Everything felt so distant.

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Mira continued, “We didn’t question the King’s decisions and just headed back to the servant’s quarters. When we got there you were missing. I asked the servants about your whereabouts but no one knew”

Well duh, that’s because I snuck out when they were too busy gossiping.

“Knowing you, and how you always had a knack for opposing instructions, I figured you probably went to steal food or went to be nosy”

Bullseye. She knew me well.

A chuckle; deep enough to birth butterflies in my stomach resonated from Adelio. This time, it was my turn to raise an eyebrow at him. What was he laughing at?

“She’s not wrong. You do have a knack for being defiant.” He said as he bent down to rub my jaw. “But that’s part of your charm”

I shot him a daggered look. However, my glares were nothing to the great emperor, as he just casually sat beside me, then lifted me, and placed me between his thighs.

I didn’t even bother protesting, as I enjoyed his touch. On the contrary, I subtly shifted my body backward, so I could be pressed up against the delicious warmth of his back. He rested his jaw on top of my head and threaded his hands tightly across my stomach.

It didn’t escape my notice that Mira was giving us a quirky look. This whole situation must be throwing her off, and I don’t blame her.

She stared for a while but eventually continued,

“I waited for a while, and you still didn’t return. At first, I wasn’t worried, because you’d sometimes come back incredibly late. But then I started to panic when I remembered you got into trouble the night before with King Aden.”

At the mention of his name, Adelio snarled again. Yea, he’s definitely not a fan.

“So I thought I’d go look for you. I left the room and roamed around but I still couldn’t find you. It was then I smelled a faint scent of your blood. It was coming off of Sir Andrew, and that’s when I grew extremely concerned.”

An image of Andrew and his companion hitting me flashed through my head, and I winced.

“Shh, be calm. I’m here” Adelio said rubbing his palm up and down my thighs, and I relaxed into his shoulders. He moved some hair away from my face, kissed my temple, and then my chin.

I was increasingly getting accustomed to him. The feel of having someone to lean back to, admittedly felt great.

I exhaled the breath I was holding and said “Yea, I was heading back to the quarters when they suddenly came to get me. They said the king needed me and took me to an unknown corner of the palace. When I realized what was going on, it was too late. They attacked me and carried me off.”

I noted the palm Adelio had on my thighs tightened, but it didn’t hurt in any way. Veins were pultruding from his arms up, and I heard his teeth grind.

Those veins were my new point of interest. The way they pulsated and oozed manliness was so intriguing, making me want to trace them to wherever they may lead to. And so I did. Although my adventure didn’t go far, because the moment I touched his palm, he instantly threaded his fingers through mine. He buried his nose in my hair and inhaled.

“Oh my gosh Elvira, I’m sorry you went through that,” Mira said, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine Mira. It’s all good now.”

She gave me a little smile and continued.

“I couldn’t go up to Sir Andrew and ask about you, it didn’t feel like the right choice. So instead, I did my own snooping around.

“I found a room that had chains, blood, and pieces of your servant’s apron laying around. Then I just followed your scent and traced you here.”

“Then why would you come in here dressed in that dark cloak and have a knife on you?” I question.

She gave a sheepish grin. “About that...When I tracked you here, I sensed and smelled the emperor all over this building.” Then her grin turned to one of discomfort. “The pure rage enveloping this entire area is quite terrifying.”

Milo had also mentioned Adelio was angry earlier too. But the whole time I’ve been with him, I’ve only noticed his anger once - which was when Mira snuck in. Have my senses become numb, or have I just become dense?

I never got to ponder my question, as Mira’s continuation drew my attention back.

“My mindset was that he kidnapped you, so I went back into town to buy this smell-masking cloak and a knife.” She said, glancing at the said items. “That way, the emperor won’t easily sense my presence as I come in to help you sneak out”

“Wrong choice, you would have been burnt instantly,” Adelio smirked. “Also, hate to break it to you, but that cloak isn’t doing much to mask your smell. I could practically smell you from downstairs”

He was just downstairs?

“You were just downstairs?” I voiced out my thoughts.

“Yes, darling. I figured I could make you something to eat since you were getting famished again”

That’s odd. How did he know I was beginning to get hungry?

“Oh, I thought you were gone” I muttered.

“No love, I didn’t leave you.”

Crap, I didn’t mean for him to hear that part.

He laughed and tilted my head to the side so I was staring at him. “Listen, if you ever need me and I’m not there, Just yell my name out loud. I’ll always come for you.”

He said it with so much resolution and confidence, with not a single doubt lingering around.

My cheeks felt hot at his words, and my heart fumbled. What was I to say to that? I wasn’t used to all these sweet words of reassurance. It was all so new to me. So I just silently nodded.

Then a thought popped into my head.

“But wait Mira, how did you get up here?” I asked her.

She just brought up her claws and showed me. “Fox things.”

Right...that explained a lot.

I took in the quirky look Mira was still giving me and Adelio. This should probably be a good time to explain it all to her.

“So Mira...” I started hesitantly, uncertain about how she’ll take the news I’m about to drop on her.

“The reason why Adelio took me with him is that...according to him, I’m actually his...his mate”

It felt all too weird to call myself his mate, like some part of me still doesn’t believe it.

To say Mira was stupefied would be an understatement.

She stared at me and Adelio in shock, still obviously trying to process what she just heard.

Her saucer-wide eyes then grew wider in realization as if she had just apprehended something.

"No wonder,” she murmured. “No wonder your aura and scent have changed”

My aura and scent?

“I know finding a mate after centuries and decades of waiting is exciting, but can you tone it down a little bit?” A voice abruptly came from the doorway, distracting my thoughts.

Milo trudged into the room, his raven hair scattered about, eyes droopy and shoulder slumped forward. He was wearing a barely, buttoned-up shirt that left nothing to the imagination.

“I’ve been up all night and morning running errands for you your majesty, surely a little moment of peace wouldn’t be too much to ask of you love birds” he yawned. His droopy eyes lazily roamed the room, as he rubbed his neck.

I paused my lips and resisted the urge to yell ‘We aren’t lovers’; the consequences of my first mistake were still fresh in my mind.

But honestly, I crave his body more with every passing minute, I miss him even when he’s just a couple of feet away from me and I get sad when I don’t see him. The world of dating is foreign to me, but from what I’ve seen from couples around me, I think me and Adelio are close to that category.

“Lovers quarrel so soon?” Milo asked, staring at the knives and pillows on the floor. His step paused when he noticed Mira and his gaze shifted slightly. “Well, this is a new development. Who’s the beauty”

Mira’s body tensed, as she put her guard up against the new person.

“Relax beauty, I’m harmless,” Milo said, putting his hands up. However, the glare he received from Mira in response said she wasn’t buying his words.

“See Milo? I told you. You incite the Achilles heels in women.” Adelio chuckled.

Goddess, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of his laugh.

“I didn’t even do anything” Milo defended

“Yet,” Adelio added.

They were about to begin another banter when my stomach let out a loud growl.

Oops.