Brady’s brow furrowed; then he remembered his mate was relatively new to the paranormal world. “What do you know about Fated Mates?”
“Not much…only what Valerian told me and that was mainly about sea dragons. He wanted me to be aware of them in case Reif found his Fated Mate. According to him, I’d know when it happened because Reif would smell like…oh, no! It can’t be!”
At a loss for what was upsetting his mate, Brady asked, “Leelan, what is it?”
Tears glistened in the corners of Lucius’ eyes at the thought his mate would stop smelling of apples…the scent of his home…and safety. “I don’t want you to lose your scent.”
“Why would I do that?” asked Brady, perplexed.
“Cause that’s what happened when Reif found his mate. His scent changed…well not changed so much…but kind of mingled with the sea serpent’s. Valerian told me that’s how I’d know, and if it happened, I was to report it to him immediately. But you smell like apples to me and I love it! Is there any way to make sure you keep it?”
Cursing Valerian in his mind, Brady smoothed out the frown on Lucius’ forehead with his finger. “Shh, don’t fret…I will never smell of anything other than apples to you as you will always smell of roses to me…I promise.”
“But how come it wasn’t that way with the sea dragon when he met his Fated Mate?”
“It was…only you didn’t realize it because you weren’t his Fated Mate,” Brady explained. “When someone finds his Fated Mate, their scents co-mingle as a signal to other paranormals that the person is taken. But to the Fated Mates, their scents remain pure, because it was part of what attracted them to each other in the first place. Go ahead, sniff me, then tell me what you smell.”
Dubiously, Lucius took a small sniff, finding it hard to accept his mate’s explanation.Apples!Shocked, he stared at Brady.He’s right!Then, inhaling more deeply, his nose filled with the smell of tree-ripened apples, begging to be picked. Excited, he said, “Smell me…do I still smell like roses?”
Grinning, Brady made a show of inhaling, enjoying the look of wonderment reflected in his mate’s eyes. “Can’t smell any apples…only roses.”
“Oh wow! Thatisamazing!”
“The scents the Fates give to each mate are supposed to bring happy memories to them…so I’m guessing you associate apples with happy times.”
“I do…all summer long my siblings and I would climb the apple trees on our land, checking the ripeness of the fruit. It was always a contest to see who’d find the first ripe apple ready to be picked. Even after I moved to the city, I still went back on the weekends to do it. It was so much fun…especially when I won,” Lucius said, his eyes twinkling with happiness.
“I can’t wait to hear more, but first, it’s time for another bag of blood.” Standing up, Brady picked up a new one, then switched it out with the empty one. After checking to make sure it was flowing smoothly into Lucius’ arm, he sat back down and asked, “How are you feeling?”
Missing the touch of his mate, Lucius raised his arm and sought out Brady’s hand. Linking their fingers together, a happy, little mewl of pleasure escaped him. It had been so long since someone touched him in any way other than with cruelty that he’d forgotten how it felt. Looking down at their hands, he examined them, loving how they looked intertwined. He was one with his mate, he was at peace with his mate—he just knew it. And he couldn’t wait until they could hug because that’s what he missed most from his human life. His family were huggers, big huggers; no reason was needed to hug in his family.
My family.Sadness claimed him. Lucius missed them so much, especially since he was now free of Valerian. Home was where he’d been heading after Valerian died and could no longer threaten his family. But, he never made it because the death spell held him in thrall to his despised master. Tears filled his eyes, but not wanting his mate to see them, Lucius lowered his eyelids, keeping the pain of his thoughts hidden.
But pain had lanced Brady’s heart as his mate’s sorrow filled his soul. Searching Lucius’ face for what had caused his mate’s mood to shift so rapidly, Brady met with defeat; he could see nothing except a few tears. Leaning down, he kissed them away before asking, “Leelan,what’s wrong? Please…tell me.”
Shaking his head slightly, Lucius couldn’t give voice to his thoughts. It was a lesson he learned early in his new life as a vampire. He was told—ordered, actually—to forget about his former life including his family, but it was impossible. The memories of them remained too vividly in his mind. And on the many nights when he was alone, his grief at their loss was so profound, Lucius prayed for death, for he saw no viable way out of his plight.
It was on the worst of those nights, when his sobs filled the small room and his pillow became soaked with tears, that Valerian would suddenly appear, ready to punish him for disobeying an order. He finally learned to keep those memories locked away, only to be cherished when he was sure his master wouldn’t discipline him. But now, even though Valerian could no longer hurt him, he still couldn’t talk about his family.
Unwilling to cause his mate any further distress, Brady changed the topic. “Do you want to know why I love your scent?”
Grateful his mate wasn’t going to push him, Lucius opened his eyes, giving a small smile of thanks before answering “Yes.”
“My grandmother grew roses…and I mean a lot of them. So many that their house was always filled with their delicious scents and I began to associate them with her.”
“She meant a lot to you.”
“Indeed, she did. When I lost my magic, she insisted I live with her and my grandfather for a year.”
“What did your parents say?”
“My mother didn’t want me to go but she finally realized it was for the best.”
“Why?”
“Because my father was dying and my mother was busy taking care of him. I was still weak and unable to walk and needed help with even the simplest tasks. And, for a while, she did try to take care of us both, but in the end, my grandmother convinced her she’d not be helping either of us if she ended up getting ill.”
“Were you happy there?”
