Guardian Of The Betas Heir

21 - If I agree

Elenor

My heart races at Michael’s suggestion. The implications of such an act are immense, and I know it will change everything between us. Marking someone, especially someone who isn’t your mate, is not something to take lightly.

I don’t think Michael has really thought this through. I cannot say I’m not grateful for the offer of help. But this could change the course of his life.

What is he getting out of this?

“Michael, as grateful as I am, you cannot say something like that. Temporary or not, so much could go wrong.”

He scoffs. “I’m not going to fall for you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s not what I’m worried about! I’m not going to fall for you either, you fool. But you do have a mate out there, Michael. What would she think if you marked me? Because there’s a real chance the temporary mark you want to give me could last months until everything is sorted.”

Michael stares at me for a moment before speaking. “I don’t have a mate, Elenor.”

I lean my head back against the sofa and sigh.

Why is he saying such a thing?

Everyone has a mate out there somewhere. So, my father used to say. However, it could take centuries for some to find the one meant for them. But that doesn’t mean they will never find the other half of them.

Sure, all of this could be over before Michael ever lays eyes on his mate. Dragons especially can go thousands of years without finding their mate, and some people never meet their destined mates.

But I have a feeling this man’s mate is closer than he thinks. Yes, I believed he was a bastard for leaving his daughter the way he did, but he’s trying to be better. Just sitting with me and offering something that should be saved for his mate shows he’s not all bad. But it doesn’t feel right.

“Everyone has a mate, Michael. It might take some time before you find her, but she’s out there.”

“She’s not out there, Elenor, because she’s dead.”

I lift my head, my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

What the hell?

“What?” I whisper. “Why would you say something like that?”

“Because it’s true.” He shrugs and then sighs. “Look, I’m going to tell you something no one else knows. When I say no one, I mean no one, Elenor. Swear to me that you won’t tell another soul.”

I turn on my hip, a serious look on my face. “Of course, I won’t say anything. Whatever you tell me will stay between us.”

Michael swallows hard and nods. “I met my mate just before Sylva’s mother died.”

This isn’t going to be good; I can tell already. I can also feel Michael’s pain as if it were my own.

“Her name was Vanessa. I met her while carrying out my duties as the future King’s Beta. I was in a small town two hundred miles from here, and I literally bumped into her.” He chuckles to himself. “She called me an asshole before her eyes widened. Clearly realizing I was her mate, she was shocked.”

Michael scrubs his hands over his face.

“My Lycan and Dragon recognized her immediately, but she didn’t want to know. She told me that she didn’t want a mate, least of all a filthy hybrid. She wouldn’t care if I was the King himself; I was not what she wanted. She rejected me before I could so much as protest.”

“And you accepted?”

He nods. “I wasn’t about to beg a woman who didn’t want me to take a chance on me. She was prejudiced, and I instantly took a dislike to her. So, I accepted the rejection and walked away. My Lycan was furious, and my Dragon didn’t seem to care. We all know what happens to Dragons if they lose their mate.”

I nod. Dragons can end up in an eternal sleep if their mate rejects them. As Michael is alive and kicking, that clearly didn’t happen to him.

How did he manage to survive that?

Perhaps his dislike for her attitude helped me stay grounded.

“Before I got a hundred feet away from Vanessa, she screamed this blood-curdling scream. Against my better judgment, I turned around and looked. I wish I hadn’t because Vanessa’s Lycan had taken over and attacked the people around her. Why? I couldn’t tell you because I had never seen anything like it.

“I was so shocked I couldn’t move. Then, my guards took her out, and that was the end of that. Two days later, I lost Audrey and her mate, and I couldn’t cope. It was all too much, and I took it out of Sylva. The Goddess knows I wish I could take it back. I wish I could have been the father Sylva needed from the moment she was born, but I wasn’t, and I can’t take it back as much as I want to.”

I close my eyes momentarily. I get it now. What Michael did had nothing to do with Sylva, not really. He hadn’t grieved his mate before he lost his best friends. He couldn’t cope with so much loss in such a short amount of time, and keeping Sylva wouldn’t have been what was best for her then.

As awful as Michael was after Sylva’s birth, and he was, I wonder if anyone saw past it. I wonder if anyone realized how much he was hurting.

I’m not excusing his actions after the fact. What he did was despicable, and it will take a while before everyone forgives him. But he’s trying, and I cannot keep persecuting him because of it. Everyone deserves a second chance, even a man like Michael Knight.

“I have not been a good father, Elenor. I will never make excuses for what happened, but I want to move on from it if you’ll let me.”

“Of course I will, Michael. I can see how hard you’re trying to be a good dad to Sylva. She smiles so much when she’s with you, and that is all I have ever wanted for Sylva.”

Michael smiles. “Thank you. I’m trying... You were a mother to Sylva when no one else could be. Losing you would destroy my little girl. Yes, children move on from things, but I don’t know that Sylva would ever get over something like that.

“I’m not suggesting you allow me to mark you for any other reason than I want to help you and keep my daughter from losing you. It wouldn’t be a Lycan mark because Lycans are incredibly possessive. If I marked you that way, Dante would want to claim you as his own.”

“So, a Dragon mark?”

Michael nods. “Kassius, my Dragon, isn’t as hot-headed as Dante. My Dragon wishes to help you as much as I do.”

“I know I’m part Dragon, but I don’t know anything about a Dragon mark. I know that makes me sound stupid, but my mother never told me anything. While I was in Dragon Country, I didn’t get to see many people, and the subject of marking never came up.”

Michael smiles kindly. “Well, a temporary mark is much like an actual mark in the sense it will fool everyone into thinking we’re mates.”

“And you mark by branding, right?”

He nods. “By burning the neck slightly.”

My eyes widen. That bit I knew, but I had never thought about it before. My mate didn’t smell like a Dragon, so I didn’t even think about it then.

“It’s a symbol of protection," Michael explains, his gaze never leaving me. “It’s like putting a ‘Do Not Touch’ sign on you for any other supernatural being. Marcus won’t be able to get to you if you’re marked, especially by someone like me.”

A Prince of Lycans and Dragons. If I wore Michael’s Dragon mark, Marcus would be too afraid to touch me. It would mean he would be going up against Leviathan, and Marcus isn’t brave enough for that.

I don’t feel anything for Michael, and I know he has no feelings for me. He’s suggesting this only to help me, and I’m tempted to say yes. Having Michael’s mark on my neck would bring me a sense of safety and peace.

“Say I agree to this. What would happen if my brothers find my true mate and bring him here?”

“Well, that would be up to you. If you want the rejection, then take it. But if you decide that you want to be with him, I will remove my mark so he can give you his.”

I don’t want to accept my mate. I’m tired of saying it!

“Look,” Michael takes my hand again. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. But for now, this is what we have to do to keep you safe. It won’t change anything between us, Elenor. It’s just a precaution.”

My mind is racing with the potential consequences. It’s a heavy burden to ask Michael to bear, but I can’t ignore the logic behind his proposal. With a deep breath, I nod.

“Alright,” I say, my voice steady. “Let’s do it.”