Crux by Kate Rudolph

Author:Kate Rudolph
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kate Rudolph

13

Crux knew he was the highest level of bastard to leave Courtney sitting barely beyond the force field while he dealt with his own damned emotions. But it was impossible. He was a dragon prince. He would one day be king.

He couldn't have a human mate.

His people, his father, had certain expectations. And they would not appreciate if their queen wasn't even from the correct planet. There was no way his father would assent to the match. It didn't matter that fate decreed it. It didn't matter that Courtney had called upon Crux's flame and used it for herself, something that was spoken about in legends because it was that rare.

They would see that she was human and fail to look beyond that, just as he had.

The psychic matchmaker had insisted that he would meet his mate on this journey. In fact, she had told him that the first woman he met would be his future, if he could hold onto her.

And he had disregarded that. Because, he had told himself, clearly when she said woman she meant dragon woman. But it was becoming increasingly clear that there were no dragon females on this planet. There were human women, slavers, and monsters.

And his mate.

Crux scanned the small cave quickly, determining it was safe for the night. There was a little pool of water in this one, too, which he scanned. Clean. And warm to the touch. There must have been a hot spring somewhere.

Courtney would like that.

How could he keep her when this was all done?

How could he walk away?

Crux sat at the edge of the pool and stared into the water as if it would offer him answers. All his saw was his own dim reflection, and he scowled at himself. He was to be king one day, and the decision should have been simple.

He had to do what was best for his people.

But what was that? A loveless marriage to some proper dragon lady? Or one blessed by the hand of fate to the most courageous woman he'd ever met?

Fated pairings did not come along often. His own father had never found his mate. But Crux had been holding out for thirty years on the hope that he would find his own. And here she was.

Could he really throw her away simply because she wasn't a dragon?

He heard footsteps, but he wasn't ready to talk. From the look Courtney gave him, she wasn't ready to say anything either. He'd acted like such a bastard she must be eager to get away from him.

"Is the water safe?" she asked, hand hovering over the pool.

"Clean and warm," he confirmed.

"Do you have something I can use as a towel? I need to try and clean monster goo off my clothes." She spoke matter of factly, and Crux had the sinking feeling that whatever emotions had been brewing between them before, he'd smashed them to bits.

He reached into his pack and pulled out a spare undershirt. "Will this do?"

She took it with a nod of thanks and waited.

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