Joie looked up at Traian, the light from her helmet shining on his face. He had changed her very existence for all time. "I'm not altogether certain I approve of you."
Laughter rumbled in his throat. "Fortunately, your approval is not strictly necessary. Lifemates simply are. We have no choice in the matter. We are like two magnets that cannot be torn apart."
"Great. I don't know a thing about you except I can't exactly bring you home to my mother and father. My family is very close, by the way."
He put her carefully on firm ground. Jubal and Ga-brielle rushed to her, flinging their arms around her and hugging her close. "I had not noticed," Traian said with drawling amusement. "We are not safe. We have to keep moving."
"Wait, Traian," Jubal objected. "We found something. Something really important. You said those vampires were hunting something. You have to take a look at this. I've never seen anything like it."
Traian hadn't relinquished Joie's hand, even when her siblings dragged her into their arms. She felt a little silly holding hands - she'd never really done it, not even in high school. But there was something warm and comforting, something extraordinary about being close to Traian.
"You can bring me home to your parents." He said it softly, honestly, as he followed Jubal and Gahrielle through a narrow hall. "I would never embarrass you, or frighten them. I want to meet them. Anyone important to you is important to me."
Joie tried to prevent her heart from going crazy. She was no young girl, but a fully grown woman. A man shouldn't have such an effect on her, yet he did. There was honesty in his voice. A simple sincerity that shook her. She knew nothing about him, not even what he really was, yet she knew everything. She knew what kind of man he was. The knowledge was instinctive, the one thing she was certain of.
"Where is your family?" she asked.
"I have only my people. My prince." His eyes gleamed a deep black in the soft glow of the helmet lights. "You are my family. Your brother and sister have become my family." He arched an eyebrow at her. "And we have only just met. A very strange concept for you, but completely natural to me. Lifemates are two people who meet and need to be together, two halves of the same whole. Finding a lifemate is what every Carpathian male dreams of and longs for and fights to keep our world together for, yet few of us ever gain such a treasure. I never thought to experience such an earth-shattering event."
"Are you disappointed that I'm not what you thought I'd be?"
Traian looked down at her. "You do not yet understand the concept of lifemates. I am surprised and even shocked by the idea of a human lifemate, but I could never be disappointed with you. We were made for one another. We complete one another. You are fascinating to me. You always will be."
Joie hurried to catch up with her brother and sister, not wanting Traian to see the pleased grin she couldn't quite hide. Jubal turned toward a shallow alcove in the wall, directing his light onto the ice. There was a sudden silence as all of them held their breath. The creature encased in ice was large, an enormous beast with scales covering its body, a wedge-shaped head, a serpentine neck, and a long tail ending in a sharp spike. The wings were folded in close along the body. It had sharp claws for rending and tearing. One eye was wide open and staring at them through the thick wall of ice.
Joie let her breath out slowly. "That's no dinosaur."
"It has to be," Gabrielle said. "It can't be a dragon. Don't tell me it's a dragon." She glared at Traian. "There aren't vampires. You can't change your shape, and there aren't dragons. The air is bad down here and we're all having a mass hallucination. It can't be anything else."
"Is it real, Traian?" Jubal asked. There was awe, even reverence, in his voice.
"Yes. It is real. I had no idea it was down here."
"Do you think this is what the vampires are looking for?" Joie asked.
Traian shook his head. "They have no interest in the remains of a dragon. But this is definitely a cave the wizards used. I suspected as much. It could be a gold mine of information for our people. The wizards had incredible power and knowledge. It would be terrifying to think that the vampires might get hold of any of the power the wizards wielded. Do not touch anything. We must be very careful in here. The wizards used spells and traps to guard what belonged to them."
"That's what you meant when you said the bridge could be a trap. You thought the wizards had made it," Jubal said.
Gabrielle held up her hand. "We're talking about things found in fantasy books. Legends. Myths. There has never been evidence of dragons existing. Not even when dinosaurs roamed the earth." She reached out to touch her sister. "Joie? Are you certain of this? Certain of this man? He flies through the air. He changes into a wolf. He can talk to you telepathically. He takes your blood like a vampire would." There was pleading in her voice.
Traian pulled Joie closer to him. He was well aware of Gabrielle's influence on Joie. He could easily read his lifemate's mind, just as he could pick up the thoughts of her siblings. Joie loved her brother and sister and would willingly sacrifice her own happiness for them if need be.
Joie felt the possession in Traian's touch, felt the brush of his mind in hers. She smiled up at him in reassurance. At the same time, she reached for Gabrielle's hand. "The one thing that matters is family. And more than anything, we want each other to be happy," she explained to Traian. "I know what I'm doing, Ga-brielle. You know I've always relied on my instincts. I know this is right. I don't understand any of it, but maybe I've been preparing for it all of my life. I fit with him. You're right, I don't know him yet, but I fit with him." She rubbed her face, smearing mud across it. "A one and only sort of thing. Silly, but true."
Jubal groaned. "Joie, I never thought you'd turn all mushy romantic on us."
Gabrielle exchanged a long look with Jubal and turned to Joie. "Well, I suppose your life with him will always be interesting."
"My sisters have already put gray in my hair. I won't survive Traian hanging around, howling at the moon, biting Joie's neck. And, just for the record, stay the hell away from mine, Traian. Having a woman bite my neck might be a turn-on - kinky, maybe, but I could handle it. Having a man bite my neck is out of the question. Doesn't do a thing for me," Jubal said dryly.
"Ouch. That hurts, Jubal," Traian said. "I was really looking forward to a snack later." He leaned down to brush the top of Joie's head with his chin. He had to touch her, keep reminding himself she was real. Even when they were speaking telepathically while he searched the complex of caves for whatever the vampires were frantic to find, he almost believed he had made her up.