Dawn of Fire

Chapter 7

Clover

Clover thought long and hard about that day for the past week. How could she miss the signs? Did she not remember anything her parents tried to teach her? Granted most of her childhood was spent learning the ins and outs of being a so-called princess and being the apple of her father's eye but did her parents really not teach her about mates?

She knew mates were cherished, loved, and protected. Mates were a gift from the gods. Mates were two halves of the same whole. But if that was true, how did the stranger just let her walk away? How did she not think to ask him for his name in return? Did he not feel it either? If he did, did he not want her? It was almost never unheard of for a fated mate to be rejected, but it does happen.

Clover wanted to know him. She wanted to know who he was, where he was from, does he have a beast form or no, she recalled he didn't have wings.

She spent days walking the town without Talon or Aisling noticing she had strayed and had not yet spotted him. Could he have been a traveler from Rapidia? Or perhaps the Desert lands of Nyvema. The Riverlands were not far from here, she thought, so maybe he was from Astrinia.

Thunder cracked in the sky drawing clovers attention upward. She wanted to fly, to soar, but it was too dangerous to be flying in a storm. That and to be spotted and recognised. Though there was the witches curse placed to prevent that clover was unique enough. Anything could happen. She missed stretching her wings whenever she wanted instead of waiting for the cover of night and seclusion.

There was a storm rolling in and she took a deep breath. She loved it when it rained. The sounds of the water hitting the rooftops and the booming cracks from the thunder calmed her soul. The air was cool and goosebumps covered her skin. She should head home. She wasn't far but if it was going to be a bad storm she didn't want Talon or Aisling to worry.

She picked up the rock and skipped it along the riverbank. She counted, one, two, three four skips across the water before a branch breaking made her ears twitch. She reached for the dagger she kept strapped to her hip and turned surveying her surroundings. She didn't feel a threat, she didn't feel malice in the air. The leaves behind her rustled and her mouth gaped open as a tall figure stepped through.

“Hello, Clover.”

His deep rumbling voice sent shivers down my spine.

‘My mate. My mate was here!’ she thought.

He lowered the hood of his cloak and Clover's mouth gaped at his beauty. Head sharp cheekbones and eyes that were as golden as the sun, the same golden that was woven in the skin of her wings.

His pointed ears flicked, catching every sound. He smiled and it stunned her at how beautiful he is. His fangs peeked out and it gave a hint at the type of predator he was. Strong. He took small steps towards her so as to not spook her.

When the male got closer Clover identified more things about him. He had hair as black as the night sky it was long and grazed his shoulders. He had a braid hidden within the silky looking strands and tan skin that was almost as golden as his eyes. He had a scar that ran from his eyebrow down his neck and under the cloak, he was wearing. Clover wondered how far down the wound had gone but preened at how strong he was. He must be a survivor to live through a wound like that. A wound that was meant to be fatal. Clover's mate was strong indeed.

Clover bowed her head to this male that emanated pure dominance. Much like a wolf pack, Fae had a hierarchy as well. The more dominant you were, the stronger and more respected you were. That's not to say a more submissive fae was disregarded but they tended to be more revered. Some would even say treated like fragile dolls. Males tended to lose control of their territorial dominance around a submissive female, especially one who needed protection.

Clover took in his scent when he stood in front of her and smiled at the smokey wood smell that filled her senses. She liked it. She liked it a lot.

He was wearing dark boots that went to his knees and black trousers that matched his hair. His white shirt cut low on his chest and she could see the hint of chest hair against his breast. His cloak covered his arms but she just knew that they would be strong. She wondered if he would wrap her in those strong arms of his and never let her go.

Clover's head was still bowed until he tilted her face up with his fingers pinching her chin.

“Don't bow to me mate. You are my equal.” he whispered. His voice is gravelly and sent shivers over her skin.

Mate. He called her mate. Does that mean he wanted her? Does that mean he wanted to keep her?

Clovers looked him in the eyes trying to gauge what he wanted and why he was here. How did he find her? She asked her question aloud and he smiled.

“I don't know. I had gone back to the blacksmith's tent hoping you were there but you weren't. I guess I just wandered around until I found myself here. I picked up your scent and could feel you. I could feel the bond pulling me closer to you.”

Clover nodded her head and smiled. He felt the bond. Now that she knew what the bond was she knew without a doubt she was feeling it too.

“Forgive me, but I don't know your name.” Clover said and she saw the male's eyes widen a fraction before he clenched his jaw a bit. Did he not want her to know his name? Why not? She did not sense any danger coming from him nor could she sense any ill intent. It made no sense to her why he was hesitant for her to truly know him.

“My name is Cassius.”

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Cassius

He gave her his name. He cursed himself for it because he wanted to keep the ruse up for as long as he could. But the thought of lying to her, his mate, brought on a pain he had never felt before. Perhaps he could think of a plan to keep her. A plan to make her not want to leave until he figured out how to get around the council.

To get around the Fae nobles he knew would cause him a great deal of trouble should he marry a peasant.

Cassius didn't care if Clover wasn't from wealth or a noble family. Cassius just wanted his mate but he knew if he didn't secure his lineage with a strong and noble line it would put Clover in Danger and the thought of her being in danger frightened him. But he knew no female would want to come second to another. He couldn't see Clover willingly hiding in the shadows and only loving him in secret while Serena would mate him and bear his children.

But he had no plan right now and was already betrothed to Serena.

Serena didn't know Cassius had found his mate and Sirius knocked him upside the head for not bringing it up. He was under the impression that Serena and Ettark could help Cassius with his predicament but Cassius didn't want to chance it and he didn't want to hurt Serena again. Not after she had already lost her soul bonded mate.

Regardless he was thinking nonstop of a way around his country's laws and the Fae who would stand against him if he took Clover as his mate. He wouldn't lie to her though.

He would tell her who he is, he would tell her about everything. About his arranged mating with Serena, about his yearning for her even though this was only the second time meeting. He would tell her how he wanted his mate with every fiber of his being but if she couldn't agree to essentially be his mistress until he came up with a plan then he didn't know what to do. Would he reject her? No. Never, but he would force her to reject him should she not be able to come to terms with the way things had to be. It was a crappy situation and Cassius hated it.

Clover's eyes widened as she took in his features and his name and surely the nickname he had acquired was running through her mind. The Scarred King. He wondered if news of his Betrothal to Serena had made its way through the country yet.

“You're…You're King Cassius.” she whispered and attempted to bow again.

He didn't like her bowing; he didn't want her to lower herself for anyone unless she was on her knees for him and him alone in the throes of pleasure. He growled low and she must have remembered his command to not bow for him.

She looked up at him with her green eyes that were as bright as the leaves on the trees surrounding them and the river. Her cloak covered her body but he knew she was petite. He wondered what the skin under her clothes looked like. She wore a dress today instead of the pants she wore when they first met. The soft blue brought out the brightness in her skin. God, he wanted to run his tongue across her skin and sink his fangs into her neck.

Her long blonde hair fell over her shoulders in waves ending just below her chest. And her pink lips were full and pouty. Her cupid's bow made him want to kiss her and her slender face made him want to nuzzle into her. She had a light dusting of freckles on the bridge of her nose and she had an innocence about her. She blushed at him and he loved how dark her cheeks turned.

“You are beautiful, Mate.” he whispered truthfully looking at her. “Come sit by the river with me. We need to talk.”