"Excellent. You will be rewarded for this service. You have saved the future king of our land."
The Fae's eyes widened. He had been around the dragons long enough to know what that meant, to know the importance of what he'd just done.
Romilly's mother held her hand out to the Fae, urging him to stand. "Come with us. You will be rewarded later. For now, Ithink you need rest as well. I will shift and carry us back while Romilly holds his mate. I do not think they wish to be parted."
Romilly grunted in acknowledgement. There was no chance in hell he was going to leave his mate's side. Every meeting he had, every moment of time where he would need to be away, was going to get handed off. One of his siblings could take care of it. They all knew the laws and rules just as well as him. They weren't the type of family to have one Alpha be in charge while the rest skated by. No, everyone learned everything, because it was important to them that no one ever be the sole focus. The work was distributed evenly, and should anything —Fate forbid— happen to one of them, another could step in their place easily.
Romilly and his mother made quick work of getting shifted and into the air. Romilly's dragon held his mate as loosely as possible, not wanting to jostle him even though the Fae said he was healed. It was too risky still. Humans were too fragile. His mother had the Fae on her back. The young man held on for dear life, his eyes closed tight. Romilly would have laughed any other time. His mind was focused instead on how that Fae was going to be a very rich, very protected man.
When they landed back at the castle, Romilly didn't even stop to gather his clothing. He simply strode through the castle doors with his mate in his arms. He made his way to his bedroom, navigating through the long halls and passing by his siblings, who stared at him slack-jawed. It wasn't the nudity that shocked them. It was how possessive he was being. And also because it was a human in their home. His father simply smiled, then held his arms out for Romilly's mother when she came forward.
"Dion, take this Fae to a guest room. Make sure he is comfortable and has everything he needs for tonight. Tomorrow we will be celebrating him, for he has given us a great gift." A helper rushed over to do as his mother instructed.
The Fae bowed his head, which Romilly caught sight of as he glanced back quickly, but he forged ahead until he was at his door. Once inside, he locked it behind him and eased his mate down on the bed. With the man safe and in Romilly's space, he finally had the chance to breathe easy.
Well, as easy as he could with how much was still unknown. Would the human wake up? Would he be okay? Would he be accepting of Romilly's position and his shifter abilities? The questions were endless, and all Romilly had was time.
He went to grab one of the sturdy chairs in the corner, brought it to the side of the bed, and sat in it watching his mate. He didn't want to sleep in the bed with him lest he scare him when he awoke, but he also needed to be close should anything happen.
As he watched the human's chest rise and fall slowly, Romilly basked in the truth. He'd found his fated mate, his forever person. It was everything he had dreamed of, and yet more terrifying than all he'd ever faced.
CHAPTER 3
Archer
Archer awoke slowly, in a gradual collection of moments.
First it was the warmth he felt that confused him. The blanket he'd brought wasn’t thick enough to fight against the elements, and the hard ground was nowhere to be found. His body instead felt like it was on top of a cloud. Next he realized he was sore all over, like he'd been put through the paces at the gym or something.
Considering he'd only worked out hard twice in his life and hated it both times, he couldn't see how it would have happened again. Then he remembered. He remembered the wolf and the way his teeth bit into Archer's skin. Remembered the way he screamed and cried, thinking he was going to die in those woods.
Had he passed?
Was this some sort of afterlife experience?
He peeled his eyes open. The ceiling was intricately designed with gold flecks and swirls of different textures. It didn't look all that heavenly. The giant chandelier especially.
He moved his arms only to come up short when he realized one of them was heavily bandaged. Next he wiggled his toes andcould feel they also had something protecting them. He wasn't naked. Thank goodness. Though his clothes were somewhat ripped apart from everything that had happened.
He looked around the space as best he could without moving too much. He didn't know where he was or what had happened. It didn't make sense. How had he gone from laying on the ground of the forest, having been attacked by a wolf and bleeding out, to being in a comfortable warm bed in a room that looked more expensive than anything he'd ever been able to afford?
As his eyes took in the lavish furniture, the details, and the paintings on the wall, he realized he needed to find someone to get answers to his questions. Surely there was a person nearby who could tell him —
His thoughts cut off as he saw the figure in the chair beside the bed. How had he missed such an imposing presence? The man's gaze was already upon him, watching every move Archer made.
"Hello, little one," he said.
His voice curled around Archer, adding to the relaxed way he felt. He should have been panicking, freaking out that some strange large man had brought him to this place, had wrapped his wounds, had somehow saved his life. Where his voice broke, he cleared his throat and attempted again. "Where am I?"
The man rose from the chair and moved over toward the bed. "May I?" he asked, pointing to the edge of the bed where there was more than enough space for him to sit without touching Archer. Not wanting to risk his voice again, Archer dipped his head. His arms and legs were still under the blanket, making him look like he'd been tucked in, like he was something precious.
The man eased down. "My name is Romilly Saint. I came upon you in the woods. You were injured, likely from one of theferal wolves that keep to the area. We had warned people to stay away, but I think you might not have been made aware."
Archer winced as he recalled what the young girl had said.
Romilly tilted his head like he wanted to know what made Archer make that face, yet he continued ahead. "When I found you, I had someone come help me bring you back here, where we took care of bandaging you and putting you to bed."
"Thank you," Archer said, "for saving me, for doing what most people would not."
