“Not yet.” Alec ground his teeth. He peered through the glass door into the atrium as Rosa kneaded her fingers down Lucy’s calf. “It has only been one day.”
“A dragon female would have shown your mark immediately.”
Alec crossed his arms and let dragon fire flicker in his eyes. “She is my mate.”
“You can’t have a human for a mate.” Leo pointed at the atrium but kept his voice low. “All the families who have sworn their loyalty to you will back out. It’s bloody bullshit.” Leo was an Aussie, and when he was upset his words always were very bloody.
“I can and I do, and I think it’s pretty damn miraculous. I’ll take my mate wherever I can find her—and so would you.” Alec spoke the truth, and they both knew it. Leo’s dragon form may not be at stake yet, but it most assuredly would be in a few years.
Leo grimaced at the reminder. “This could ruin everything we have worked to build. A human as your mate will bring your throne into question again. This must be why Ambrogino is back.”
“How would he know? I’ve only just discovered her myself.”
“He has his ways.”
“Are you suggesting I turn away from her, deny her?” Alec asked. “Leo, I can’t wait much longer, my form is fading.” It was an uncomfortable admission, even to his best and most trusted friend.
Leo didn’t look surprised. “I don’t know what I’m bloody suggesting.” He shook his head. “Her life will be in jeopardy.”
“I know. I will keep the fact that she is my mate a secret until the ceremony.”
“She’ll still need protection.” Leo said. “You’ll not be able to babysit her every moment.”
“Agreed.” Alec let the babysitting jab go. “Who do you recommend?”
“I don’t think Jane will do it.” Leo glanced at him sideways. “She had hoped the Fates would favor her for you.”
Alec regretted he’d caused Jane pain, but female dragons did not face the dire situation the males did. They would only weaken over time if they did not find a mate, not lose their dragon forms altogether. “It was not of my choosing, but I don’t regret it, either.”
“Yet.”
“It is done.” This time, Alec let his displeasure show on his face. “Who do you suggest to guard Lucy?”
“Lilly Belle would be a good choice. She is an ice dragon of Tyren’s fold.” Alec and Leo watched Lilly Belle through the glass door. She stood at ease but clearly alert. “She could take on two, maybe three dragons, and still win.”
Alec nodded. “I’ll talk to her. Is there anything else?”
“Security is holding a woman, a waitress from the Crazy Stallion bingo club downtown. She wants to talk to you, says she knows something about the missing keycard.” Leo’s quick recitation told Alec that this was the real reason for his visit.
“What did she say?”
“That the Maceonelli family is working through their Vegas enforcer for a big score in jewels from the exhibit. That it’ll be an inside job. That the jewel appraiser is in on it.”
“Damn.” Alec fisted his hands. Leave it to Lucy’s idiot brother to not only drag her through the mud, but expose her as well. “I take it that this woman is not the discreet type?”
Leo laughed. “Hardly.”
“What does she want?”
“Ten thousand dollars.”
“Give it to her.” Alec watched Rosa work her hands down to the curve of Lucy’s waist, and his dragon leaped under his skin. It was getting difficult to think past his consuming need for Lucy. “Put the woman in one of the suites until after the ceremony. Go ahead and comp everything, tell her she is our guest, but have someone gain her confidence so we can learn what she knows.”
“Okay, but what do you intend to do with Dr. De Luca after the ceremony?” Leo drummed his fingers against his pant leg.
“I don’t know.”
“She may not have a child—”
Alec exhaled in a rush, frustration beating a ratta-tat at his forehead. “I don’t know,” he repeated forcefully. “My dragon form will be rejuvenated whether she conceives or not.”
“You’re just going to send her back out with the humans?” Leo couldn’t hide the shock from his voice. “You are the bloody black dragon for God’s sake. You should at least care about continuing your family line.”
Alec put his hand on the glass door, ready to put physical space between him and his friend to end the conversation. “Tell no one about Lucy.”
“Wait.” Leo reached a hand to Alec’s shoulder and stopped him. “I’m happy for you, old friend. I’m sorry the situation does not let us rejoice as we should.”
“Later, we’ll celebrate. Now, we try to keep the peace.”
Alec strode into the atrium and motioned for Lilly Belle to follow him away from Rosa and Lucy.
“Jer’ol?” Lilly Belle asked. She was so tall that her eyes were on the same level as his.
“Lil, do you have hopes of finding a mate during the ceremony?” It was a private question, one he would not usually ask of any dragon.
Lilly Belle tensed but met his direct stare. “Why do you ask?”
“I don’t wish to interfere with your family line, but I want to assign you to guard Lucy.”
“The human?” Lilly Belle’s eyes widened, and she glanced over his shoulder at the snoozing Lucy. “She’s in danger?”
“Yes.” Alec hoped he would not need to give her more of an explanation.
“You ask a great deal of me.” Lilly Belle regarded him with a frown.
“Yes.”
Lilly Belle’s muscled shoulders curved inward, and she squeezed her biceps with her opposite fingers. “Why?”
Alec blew out an exhale. “She’s important to me.”
“A human?” Lilly Belle shook her head and looked disappointed. “I swore my allegiance to you with Tyren, and you know I’ll do this because you have asked it, but you are going to have to tell me what’s really going on.”
“She’s my mate.” The words dropped from Alec’s mouth like weighted balloons bursting on the tiles.
Lilly Belle’s mouth gaped open, and her eyebrows shot to her white-blonde bangs. “Your mate? That’s impossible.”
“And yet it is so.” Alec smiled, a furl of pleasure spreading through his chest. Despite the many troubling details, he had found his destined mate. He would not let her go or allow her to be hurt.
Lilly Belle closed her mouth and stared hard at him. After a moment, she seemed to come to a decision. “You’re in luck, Jer’ol.” Lilly Belle’s voice was definitive and unwavering. “I have no wish for a mate from this ceremony.”
Relief flooded Alec, even as he noted Lil’s unusual approach to the ceremony. Even though the female dragons were less desperate to find their mates to maintain their dragon forms, they usually wanted children.
“Thank you.” Alec put both hands on her shoulders, just as he had done when he had first asked for her allegiance. “I’ll see you rewarded for your service.” He squeezed her tense shoulders and released her.
“I would like to carry the old weapons to guard the woman,” Lilly Belle said.
“Whatever you wish. Just talk to Jane or Leo.” Alec smiled at the thought of Lil brandishing a broadsword through the casino. “Try not to scare the humans.”
“They hardly notice their surroundings anyway.” Lil shook her head in disgust.
“And thank the Great One for that.” Alec watched Rosa work on Lucy’s back. “Is there anything else you require?”
“No, Jer’ol.” Lil gave a short bow.
Alec walked up to Lucy’s massage table. “A moment, Rosa.” He placed a gentle hand on Lucy’s bare back. “Lucy.”
Lucy did not move, but gave a feminine snore.
“Lucy,” he said again.
Lucy raised her head and pushed her tangled auburn hair out of her face. “Alec?”