The Three Of Us

Roman POV



We made an odd crowd standing under the blue-blooming tree. Dragana, Lady Asma, Lord Samuel, King Solomon, Art, and I. Odd crowd indeed. It was the early morning hours and we only had two days left until we had to return with the Blessed Blade, the only way to save Lady Jasmine from certain death. Dragana stood there stoically in a white gown that in the morning sun made her look etheric. Her silver, sparkling eyes stood out more than usual and I could see a gentle smile whenever she gazed at Art or myself. I had a lot of emotions raging within me, a lot that I was trying to understand after my night with her.

Flashback*****************

I had to know. I had to ask her, even though somehow, inexplicably, even though she claimed I meant nothing to her, I could feel that she was lying. I knew that her body melted into mine as I had into her, a feeling unlike any other in my life. I knew she felt it, I knew she felt some type of a deeper connection. I could see I had put her on the spot, I could see she was having an internal struggle of some kind. “Roman, thank you”, I heard her say. “Thank you for your honesty, and for sharing this with me”, her soft, melodic voice continued, and I knew there was a ”but” coming. “I am however surprised. For almost ten years you have been searching for your mate, for your fated one. For ten years, this has been your life-long dream. And now, now that Alice is here, however strange your bond is, you are professing your love to me? It is a sudden change, wouldn’t you say?”, she asked, and I knew that it must feel strange, that my words may not seem truthful to her for the exact reasons she specified.

“I was a fool. I made a mistake, that much is clear”, I replied nervously, rubbing my forehead, trying to explain the sudden change to her, and honestly to myself. Ever since she got back, ever since I kissed her again, nothing mattered. Fated mates, not even my Kingdom. Nothing but her. The fear of losing her again, the fragility of it all sent me into a spiral of despair, a spiral where something broke within me, and my only desire, my only reason for living, became clear. And my reason was her. “Dragana, I will reject Alice. If she is or not my fated mate, I do not care anymore. I will reject my fated mate if there is another. I want to be with you, and only you, no matter what. I should have followed my heart, all those years ago when I pulled you out of the lake. I should have held you to me, with me, where you always belonged and never let you go”, I said passionately, pleadingly almost. She did not reply. “If you will let me show you, I will spend the rest of my days trying. And perhaps, I should not have told you all that is in my heart. After all, I know that you and Art…” I continued, when she replied “My feelings for Art have nothing to do with this.. with this thing between you and I”.. she said.

A jealously and rage burning inside of me decided to appear at that inopportune moment. “I see the way you look at him, the way you steal your eyes from him. The way you smile, the way he held you”, I grunted in pain. “I can see that next to the noble and selfless Artemis, I do not measure up. In fact, you may say that he wins, at every turn, on every account. He is the better man. And you deserve everything he has to offer, and everything he has to give. You deserve to be happy, with or without me”, I finally gritted through my teeth, meaning every word.

She rushed over me and kissed me, kissed me and took my breath away. I held onto her, inhaling her scent, my heart about to burst, her soft lips commanding mine, our tongues dancing together, the electricity of her touch exploding all over my skin.

Dragana POV

“We have to tell him the truth, Dragana. This is not fair. He is going to risk his life, he should at least know before he goes”, Aisha was whining in my head. Vasilla unsurprisingly agreed with her. I knew that I loved him, but that I was not ready to admit. Not yet. However, I had to do something, I had to acknowledge him at least, I had to give him the opportunity. As I listened to all that he had said, a picture of a man, much different than I knew, emerged. A lonely, scared person, a person afraid of love, a person hiding behind his brute strength and dalliances, a person with a broken soul and a broken heart, a person unwilling to recognize his truth. Until now. I had not realized the depth of his feelings until he mentioned rejection of his fated mate. I could not continue to play this game with him. I could not be so cruel.

“I will tell you, in fact, I will show you what you need to know. But, you have to promise me something”, I spoke, still in his arms. He nodded expectantly “You have to promise me to marry Alice”, I said, and the moment the words left my mouth Caleb came forth growling, enraged, and ready to fight. “I TELL YOU THAT I AM IN LOVE WITH YOU AND YOU WANT ME TO MARRY HER????!!!’ he raged. He broke from my arms, growling, mid shift, getting ready to tear the place apart. I could see how much my words had hurt him, but I needed him to understand. “Roman.. come back to me please!!!” I called him and I could see it was taking all of his power not to become aggressive. “Listen to me please.. I need to show you something”, I pleaded while he was still grumbling, growling, and unhappy.

I took off my great-grandmother’s ring, and called Aisha forth, who obliged ever so enthusiastically. She wanted her mate. And I had to at least give her the chance to present herself. The moment her snow-white fur appeared, Roman was perplexed. Caleb roared almost immediately … “MATE!!!!!!”, and in turn Aisha recognized him… “MATE!!!!”. The kiss that followed shook the ground under me. I had never experienced anything like it. It was as if my very soul was on fire, as if we became one person, hungry for each other, hungry for the missing piece of us. Roman looked lost, he was touching me, looking at me as if it was the very first time he ever saw me. “How???.... I do not .. It is you.. We have seen you… You are the wolf by the spring… Dragana……… How?? Why.. How long did you know????.....” he was mumbling, crazed by my revelation.

“Aisha told me… Once I became complete”, I said, gasping for air, attacked by his lips. His hands were roaming over my body excitedly, the hardness of his bulge was pressing against me. I wanted him badly, but the most I could do for now is reveal the mate bond. Pulling back was the hardest thing I had to do.. “Roman.. please… We need to stop before this gets out of hand…” Caleb was struggling with him, wanting control, obviously urging him to mark me. “Roman.. we need to talk about this.. please…”, I said raising my voice this time, and he slumped, looking defeated. “What is there to talk about… You are my mate and I love you… Why are you demanding I marry her???? Now it is clear that my bond with her is not real, I now know what that feels like”, he asked hurt that I was resisting him. “Are you…..” “I am not rejecting you Roman… I just need…. I am a Tribrid… you are not my only mate”, I finally told him what I presumed he already knew. He nodded, overcome with emotion, pinching the bridge of his nose, slumping down in a chair. “I realize that Dragana. Is Art your mate too???” he asked. “No, he is not. At least, Aisha had not recognized him that way, and from what I understand, I can only have one wolf mate”, I clarified, and he just bobbed his head again. “He is in love with you, and you him. You can choose him - as a chosen mate”, he spoke in a whisper, locking his eyes with mine, trying to find an answer I did not have at that time.

“To what end??? To have you kill each other over petty jealousy or worse?? Neither one of you will share, and I.. I.. It is unfair of me to even ask… So, you see Roman, we might be mates, but I need to..” Before I finished, he rushed over me and pulled me to him, his strong, muscular hand resting on my waist. “Shhhhhhhh….princess.. be quiet love... Art would share you… This I know… I…. I never thought about sharing a mate…. But, I am willing to do whatever it takes Dragana.. at least I will try..” he promised, his voice shaking, as if he did not believe the words he said. I knew this was not easy for him. Standing there, inhaling his scent, having his warm breath so close to me, all I wanted to do was curl up on his chest and put my head on his heart. However, my thoughts went to Art and I found my heart hurt for him, for how cruel this would be to the only man who supported and loved me always. “When you return from Yamuna…. I guess…. We need to talk.. the three of us I mean… But I stand by my original request… You must marry Alice, and I will explain why.”, I replied and proceeded to tell him my plan.