Leanne watched as Zinc and Cobalt exited the front doors, swords in hand as they walked down the front stairs to greet the large crowd of odd-looking, pale men.

“I don’t get what’s happening.”

“The dilutes. Not enough metal in their blood,” the queen replied. “They go through periods of insanity where they crave the blood of the dragons and come to the palace to find the purest source.”

“Is there no way to help them?”

The queen raised an elegantly arched eyebrow. Leanne could see a lot of Zinc in her. “Should we? There are good dilutes, but these are not them. These are the ones who have decided that what they want means other people should die for them.”

“Ah.” Leanne watched as Zinc entered the crowd, pushing them back with his sword even as they swirled around him. She saw dilutes knocked back and then watched them flood back in. Cobalt was taking on a group of his own, fending them off with his sword.

The dilutes were starting to withdraw, and she could hear screams of rage as some of them peeled away from the others and went running out of the courtyard. A good number still remained, and they were using some kind of pointed weapons to try and attack Zinc and Cobalt.

“Wonderful fighters, aren’t they?” The queen crossed her legs gingerly. Her hair was done in an elegant bun, as it had been before. “My husband was much the same in his time. Still would be if anyone would let him.”

Leanne looked down at the king, who was pacing in front of the door with a pained expression. His long beard was silvery gray, and his crown was tall and craggy.

He looked as though he desperately wanted to be part of the action.

“He can’t fight?”

“He shouldn’t,” the queen said. “It would be too risky for the kingdom.”

“I’m not sure I understand how everything works,” Leanne said.

“You have time.” The queen’s tone was calm, as if she were utterly assured that everything would turn out perfectly. Leanne wasn’t so sure.

Looking down at Zinc, she was, as always, impressed with him. She’d seen his vulnerable side, his fighter, his lover. Now she was seeing the side that defended his kingdom and family.

All sides were equally worthy of love. But love hadn’t had anything to do with the act of mating him. Well, a general love of all mankind, but not the right kind of love for what they were now going through.

Though, she supposed she could find that kind of love in time…

“What are you thinking?”

Leanne startled, then smoothed her pants as she collected her thoughts. “I just… So how did you end up with the king?”

“How were we mated?” The queen put a hand to her lips as she cocked her head. “Well, it works a little differently here. We are set up in arranged matches most of the time, almost from birth. But it is still our choice in the end.”

Her eyes softened as she looked down at her husband who was still pacing in front of the door. “But I guess I knew from the moment I saw him, and he did as well. He said that it was instant, that his dragon was sure.” She shrugged. “I have heard similar things from others as well. Cobalt says, on Earth, the dragons refer to it as fated mates and the dragons all knew instantly when they saw their human partners.”

“I see,” Leanne said tightly.

“I’m sure it was the same for Zinc as well.”

Leanne’s stomach felt as if it were trying to create a world record for self-tying knots. From what the queen was saying, it seemed like Leanne had robbed Zinc of more than she thought.

Clearly, it hadn’t been instant on his part. That wasn’t why they had mated at all.

So was there some woman out there waiting who would have been meant for Zinc all along?

And why did the very thought of it make Leanne feel like the ground was crumbling into a million bits of dust?

“Are you okay, dear? I hope I didn’t say anything to disturb you. I know you and Zinc have been through a lot.”

“No, it’s fine,” she said, waving a hand as she saw that Zinc and Cobalt had cleared out the courtyard and were headed back to the castle, swords in hand.

“Ah, they’re back. I’m sure Zinc will want to see you. He was scolding his father today for taking too much of his time.”

“Oh.”

The queen stood. “Come on. Let’s go join them for some lunch and all get to know each other better. I want to hear more about your time on Earth.”

Leanne sighed as she followed Zinc’s mother, wondering how the queen would react if she knew the real circumstances between her and her son.

* * *

As they ate in the royal dining room, Zinc couldn’t help but think that in some ways, things were simpler when it had just been him and Leanne in the dungeon.

Sure, he’d been out of it at times, but he’d also been able to spend lots of time with her. That had meant everything.

It hadn’t been hard to fight back the dilutes, but it hadn’t felt like it did before either. Like it was just part of his life, his world.

Something about this whole thing just wasn’t feeling right.

Perhaps he just needed more time with Leanne.

Even now, he was a bit irritated that he had to share his time with her with everyone else at the table. Ever since this morning, all he’d been able to think of was making love to her and how much he wanted to do it for the rest of his life.

She was his, technically, but he needed her to be his wholly. And he had no idea how to make that the case.

“Zinc, are you okay over there? We were just listening to Cobalt talk about video games.” His mother stared at him pointedly.

“Oh, yes. I’m fine.”

I just can’t stop thinking about my mate’s sexy body and wishing I could whisk her away somewhere we could just be alone.

Soon, he told his dragon.

“So, Leanne,” the king said. “Tell us what it was about Zinc that made you choose him. Aside from his handsome looks and strong family line, of course.” His father had the audacity to actually wink.

Zinc inwardly groaned, imagining the uproar if they heard the real answer.

Well, Zinc was about to die or be raped, and I couldn’t let that happen. Plus, he said we could undo it afterward.

He sent Leanne a pleading look, hoping she wouldn’t blow their cover.

“I… I guess there was something gentle about him,” she said, poking at her salad with her fork, a small smile on her face. “I could sense he had a really good heart.”

His mother and father looked at each other with a smile, and even Cobalt looked pleased by that.

Leanne met Zinc’s eyes, and he hoped that what she’d just said was true. That she’d seen something good about him, aside from the fact that he was sick.

“Look,” he said, standing up from the table. “This has been… stimulating. But this is my newly mated period with Leanne, and I promised to take her outside of the castle.”

“Do be careful, dear,” the queen said. “There is a lot of unrest.”

“Take Cobalt with you,” the king said.

Zinc shook his head, walking over to Leanne and pulling her in against his side possessively. “No, I’m afraid I want to do this on my own. Besides, I’m capable of protecting my mate.”

Leanne was quiet and just gave the others an apologetic smile as Zinc took her by the hand and pulled her from the room, walking down the hall with her until they were out of sight of the dining room.

He quickly pinned her against a wall, a hand on either side of her head.

“What was that about?” Leanne asked, eyes sparkling lightly from the exertion. “You dragons have a habit of just pulling me along.”

“We can be pushy,” he said.

“I know. That was rude.” She shook her head. “We don’t want to offend your family.”

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “We don’t? So does that mean you don’t want this to be temporary?”

She looked to the side, beautiful brown eyes shaded by long, curled lashes. He reached down with one hand, tilting her chin up.

“Leanne… did you mean what you said in there?”

She looked up at him innocently. “What do you mean?”

He took a deep breath, not releasing her. Loving the feel of their bodies close together once again. “That you think I’m a good person. That you mated me for some other reason than just because I was ill.”

She looked to the side. “I don’t know for sure.” Then she squared her shoulders and looked back at him. “Actually, it was lots of reasons. Yes, I could tell there was something good about you. Something that had to be saved. And yes, I liked you pretty much from the moment I met you. You’re a really good person, Zinc. And I… I tend to not be able to help myself when it comes to rescuing.”

“I like that about you,” he said, pushing her hair off her face. “But maybe leave the rescuing to me from now on.”

“Okay,” she said. “While we’re together.”

“Leanne, why can’t it be forever? Why can’t we just make a go of this? Am I so below what you would choose on your planet?”

“No,” she said emphatically, shaking her head and making her curls bounce. “You’re wonderful. But you belong here, and I want to be home.”

“We can go to Earth,” Zinc said. “I knew when I found an Earth mate that I might be staying on Earth with her.”

“But what about things like today? Don’t they need you?”

“They wouldn’t have had me if I died,” Zinc said. “My father and mother knew when they sent me to Earth, it might mean I didn’t grow old on Drakkaris. You saved my life, Leanne. My duty is to you.”

She turned away, and there was a sadness in her eyes he couldn’t place. He tried to turn her chin back, but she jerked away, and he dropped his hand.

“What’s wrong, Princess?”

“Don’t call me that,” she muttered. She faced him with eyes that were glittering with tears. “Look, I like you, Zinc. But I don’t think I was supposed to be with you. I don’t think I was supposed to be here. I think I rushed into something and got us stuck, and the last thing I want is a life where we’re both uncomfortable.”

She tried to escape, but he trapped her again with both hands against the wall.

“If you truly want to leave me, I’ll let you,” he said. “But you have to know it’s not because you’re not wanted. I want you, Leanne.” He cupped her face, stroking her cheek, and she shuddered slightly. “In every moment together, isn’t it easy to see?”

She put a hand over his and sank into it. “Sort of. And then sometimes it all feels wrong.” She raised her eyes to his. “I talked to your mom today. She told me about fated mates. I took that from you.”

“Oh.” What did his mom know about fated mates? It was something the dragons of Drakkaris mostly experienced when mating with humans. Something he hadn’t experienced only because he was out of his mind with poison, not because Leanne wasn’t perfect for him.

“And yeah. I think we should probably… just reverse it.”

He looked down at her tenderly. There was so much he needed to tell her. About the mating being permanent. About the way he felt about her. About his feelings about their future. And he just couldn’t do it with her here, up against a wall, waiting for someone to come upon them.

He pushed off the wall and grabbed her hand again. “Come on. I’m going to show you something.”

“What?”

“My dragon.”