Lilly:
Being mated to a dragon, and a King at that felt... strange. For me, tying the knot always meant getting a ring on my finger, wearing a white dress, and saying your vows to your partner. Now, instead of a ring, I had a permanent mark where my shoulder met my neck.
I will talk to Phoenix about it. I always dreamt about my engagement and wedding, so having a ring bought by him would mean a lot to me.
Today we would celebrate with just us, Brax, and Cassian will be coming with Edith along with his three other siblings, more of Phoenix's cousins, and some other uncles and aunts. I was excited to get to know more of Phoenix's extended family.
I decided to wear a short white dress that reached my knees, we would be having a BBQ and Phoenix surprised me when he told me he would be the one taking care of it.
The maids hung fairy lights outside and it looked magical. I also ordered a small pool filled with plastic balls for the kids and some other games and toys to keep them entertained.
I turn around when someone knocks at the door, wondering who that might be because Phoenix would just come in as well as Brax through the little door we made for him.
Leaning on the wardrobe door I see a gorgeous dragon king devouring me with his eyes.
"Stop that! Or we will be late," I scold him squirming under his gaze. "Remember, you are in charge of the meat."
Phoenix rolled his eyes.
"I guess my boner will be for later." he jokes and I swear I almost choke with my own saliva. "Unless you are up for a quicky?" he raises a brow at me.
"No! Come on!" I grab his hand and hurry the both of us out of the room to meet everyone in the garden.
Phoenix:
I guess the day I mated and got my kingdom a queen finally arrived. It felts strange, not going to lie, but damn it felt good. I have someone by my side who supports me, who loves me, and would do anything for me and my... our son. I wouldn't trade this moment for anything in the world.
Lilly was mine now, and I will cherish her forever.
When we walked out into the garden, my whole body came rigid when I spotted Cassian and Edith, remembering my niece's words...
Lilly looks at me noticing my change of demeanor but I force myself to move. I didn't want to spoil the evening for her.
I grit my teeth when Edith comes running to her for a hug, and it feels strange to see Lilly reciprocate the hug with eagerness. My beast roared in my mind when Cassian approached us and greeted Lilly with a kiss on the cheek.
I knew I was being paranoid because Lilly greeted him the way she greeted the rest of the guests. Showing how much she cares for the others and how she appreciates their presence. Fuck. She was so kind and thoughtful that I felt like a dick feeling jealous.
Drinks started going around, and I made sure to greet everyone before going to the grill and turning it on. I put some sausages, and small meat among other stuff as appetizers, once they were ready, I put them on plates with the help of my Uncle Jake to put them on the main table so everyone could eat.
I sit next to Lilly once I put the meat and chicken in the grill, to enjoy the moment to catch up with my relatives.
Cassian then starts to laugh when I put my arm around Lilly's shoulder and I glare at him.
"What's so funny?" I asked, swallowing a growl.
Cassian then stares at us smugly.
"You are a smart man, Phoenix, but sometimes, you can be so stubborn and clueless!"
My other cousins giggle at his words as if they were laughing at a joke they didn't include me in.
"Cassian," I warned.
"What? It took me like two weeks for you to finally accept your feelings toward Lilly and mark her!"
I frown at that.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about that it took me to send your niece to push your buttons for you to finally claim Lilly as your mate," Cassian huffs, rolling his eyes.
I stare at him, trying to process his words. Then I remember Edith coming into my office, talking about how Cassian wanted to mate with her and for Lilly to be her mother.
"Uh... What's going on..." Lilly asked, confused.
"So that was all on purpose?" I asked incredulously.
"Yep!" Cassian cheered.
"What are you talking about?!" Lilly demanded to know.
I groaned, thinking about those torturous weeks with Cassian constantly around Lilly.
"I'm talking about Phoenix being stubborn ignoring his feelings for you. So I had to step in and pretend I was courting you to make him jealous and accept his feelings but after two weeks, I lost all patience and sent Edith to push his buttons," Cassian explained, smiling devilishly.
Lilly gaped at him. She looks at me and then turns to look at Cassian with disbelief.
"Wait... You were courting me? Or more like pretending... So you taking me out to show me around was all fake?"
I could sense the hurt in her voice and I glared at Cassian for hurting her feelings. My beast wasn't pleased.
Cassian realized his mistake and started to panic.
"What? No! I really wanted to spend time with you because I could tell you were meant to stay and be with Phoenix! But tried to be flirty and cheesy to get a reaction out of him. But all that wasn't fake! I just wanted my cousin to realize what he was missing out on..."
He stumbles with his words, nervous about Lilly's reaction.
Lilly pursed her lips, and I could feel her uncertainty and confusion. She didn't know how to feel about it.
Then, finally, she turns to me, with a raised brow.
"So it really took a kid for you to take your head out of your ass?"
I snort at her choice of words.
"Well... I really didn't like my niece insinuating that Cassian wanted you to be his mate, and got scared of losing you and I..."
"Was it a rash decision, then?" She cut me off, and her fear and hurt filtered through our mate bond.
"No! Well, maybe, but I had wanted to do it for a while now but was too scared to make a move... You as a human and being my mate would have left you in a vulnerable position and..." I sighed, defeated. "I realized how much I wanted you, how I wouldn't survive to lose you. I did what I should have done a while ago." I admit.
I stare at her, not breaking eye contact, scared of her reaction.
She simply huffs and drops her head on my chest, closing her eyes.
"Whatever, I don't want to stress about it. It happened, is water under the bridge. I know your feelings are genuine because of the mate bond, but... yeah, you'll still need to make it up to me."
I hugged her tightly against me, relieved that she wasn't angry and rejected me.
"I will, don't worry," I say, knowing that making love to her won't suffice so I'll need to ask the baker to do many goodies for her.
I kiss her head.
The evening continues, spent among family even after the night falls. Once everyone left and Brax was put to sleep, Lilly and I finished the night dancing slowly under the moonlight, surrounded by the fairy light.
Now, I get to fall asleep every night with my mate in my arms. Can't wait to see my little family grow.
🐉🐉🐉
So... how did you like this turn of events?
I know how much you hated Lilly with Cassian lol!
I have the next ten chapters written but decided to add this here because I was wondering how to bring the setup up and decided to do it now rather than later. So hope you enjoyed the read!
I'll post another chapter tomorrow because it is a bit shorter and I rather not fill empty space with nonsense and ruin the chapter so... yeah. Double update yay!
Have a nice day, my lovers!