Filed To Story: Fated is Overrated Novel Free by Brenda Minnaard
I almost moan when I feel the tingles on my arm. They are intoxicating already when you aren’t marked yet, but they are irresistible now. When she embraced me earlier, I felt absolutely ecstatic. And not to mention, horny as hell. Ever since I woke up and the mate bond kicked in, I had been having the hardest time ever to try and reign in my desires. But after having moved another few steps, I harshly get snapped out of it again when I feel a shooting pain in my chest. I know Lola can feel I am in pain as well, but she keeps her arms around me steadily, not uttering a word. I try to bend over to pick up the clothes mom had brought, but Zane rushes forward to hand them to me. “I’m not completely incapacitated you know” I grumble under my breath, but I’m sure they caught it, as I hear some light chuckling. We slowly make our way to the bathroom, where I am left alone to change this hospital gown into some actual clothes. I’m unsure of how long I was out, but it feels good to have actual clothes on again. It’s only sweatpants and a sweater, but it feels heavenly. I breathe a big sigh of relief, before stepping back out of the bathroom.
Lola and Zane are hugging, unaware that I have exited the bathroom yet, so I leave them be for a bit. We haven’t been able to discuss what happened after I lost consciousness yet, but I’m sure everything that had happened took an emotional toll on them. They look beyond exhausted. Mother and father did too, but Lola and Zane by far look the worst. And besides, I think my brother needs some alone time with our mate. It must be excruciating for him that I am carrying her mark and he isn’t. And honestly, I really feel bad for him too. He deserved this mark more than I did, and yet here we are. After a while they pull apart slightly, resting their foreheads against one another. The sight of it tugs at my heart. I love them both with all my heart. After some time they notice my presence, and break apart completely. “Ready to go?” Zane asks, and I nod in response. He grabs both Lola’s hand and my own, and before we know it, we are in front of the dragon castle. Drake and Damon rush out at lightning speed, pouncing on Lola so fast she almost staggers back. Zane and I step back a little to give them some space. To my surprise, Drake, the big bad dragon King, is balling his eyes out. Not that I am one to judge, I have shed loads of tears for Lola myself as well throughout the last 2+ years. But, I guess it is just odd to see such a strong man weeping like a baby. After having sobbed for goddess knows how long, Drake finally finds a slimmer of his voice, as he croaks out with a cracking voice “we were so f*cking worried honey. We couldn’t reach you, and we couldn’t find you anywhere near the bodies”. His voice is so thick with emotion, even my own eyes start to water.
Damon is sobbing as well, holding onto his sister for dear life. Hearing a sniffling sound to my left, I see Zane is also wiping away a stray tear. Damon is yet to say anything at all, when Zane answers “I’m so sorry, sir, that would be my fault. I found her unconscious, and I was in such a rush to get her to the hospital that I forgot to notify you”. Drake looks at Zane with a scolding look, but doesn’t get a chance to voice his thoughts as Lola quickly intervenes. “It’s not your fault Zane. Your brother was dying, you may have thought I was too, nobody can blame you for not thinking straight” she glances at Zane with a smile, before returning her gaze to Drake with a raised eyebrow. Drake’s scold quickly vanishes, and he looks at me questioningly now. “Dying? He seems fine to…” he stops talking mid-sentence, his wide eyes now glued to my neck. I feel a slimmer of heat creeping up from the base of my neck to my cheeks. It will take me some time to get used to people knowing I am officially her mate now.
Looking over at Lola she seems to be having the same issue, as her cheeks have turned crimson red upon her father’s unabashed gaping at my neck. “Oh… I see” he says, before his eyes glaze over and I know he is mind linking someone. And by the glazed look on Lola’s face, I know he is mind linking her. Probably to ask if she is sure of her decision. I might have found it offensive, if I weren’t so worried about that myself as well. Damon is also staring at me now, his eyes as wide as saucers. I am hit with a tidal wave of insecurity by both their reactions. These 2 are closer to her than anyone, and they obviously were not expecting her to mark me. Did she only mark me out of pity, out of not wanting me to die? Does she not actually want to be with me? Drake clears his throat and speaks up “let’s get inside, kids. We have a lot to talk about”. I have never been fearful of Drake, but I am now. I used to think he was a gentle giant, but perhaps the giant has a different side to him for those who might defile his little girl. Drake and Damon wrap their arms around Lola’s shoulder and head towards the entry to the castle. I gulp, before following them together with Zane. I’m not sure if I have ever felt so uneasy in my life. What if they still don’t approve of us? What will happen to us then?
Lola POV
I can feel the storm of insecurity, doubt and anxiety brewing within Zeke through our bond. I wish I could feel what Zane is feeling right now too, although I am unsure he is in a better state than Zeke is right now. I know my dad didn’t mean to make Zeke feel bad, he is just testing the waters and making sure they know not to mess with his daughter. Although I kind of thought it was funny at first, Liberty reminds me that Zeke has only just recovered and that I should put him at ease a bit. As I have marked him, I can now mind link him too. ‘I can feel your worries, Zeke. Please don’t feel bad, OK? My dad just wants to ensure you don’t hurt his only daughter anymore, that’s all’. I can feel his anxiety subsiding slightly at my words, but the insecurity and doubt are still lingering. ‘I’m trying’ he answers back timidly, and I feel bad for him. He just fought off death, and now he is being scrutinized by his father and brother in law. ‘Dad, Damon, go easy on him, OK? He is still in pain, and I can tell he is really anxious right now’. My dad answers ‘OK honey. I didn’t mean to make him feel bad, I was just surprised that’s all. I would have expected Zane to be marked before Zeke would’. ‘I know dad, but the situation called for it’. I can feel him hesitating, before asking me ‘you didn’t do this out of pity, right? Because you should nev…’. I don’t let him finish his sentence. ‘Of course not, dad! Nobody forces me to do anything, I am the Queen!’ I joke, before continuing ‘if anything, the situation sped up my decision, but I would have done it eventually anyway. I won’t admit it aloud to them yet, but I do care for them, dad. More than I initially would have liked. They just need to stop acting stupid long enough for me to start loving them’.
My dad almost chokes on his own air upon hearing me say that, and I can’t suppress a chuckle. ‘OK honey. As long as they don’t hurt my little girl’ he grumbles back, and I smile up at him in return. “If they hurt you again, Dymo will burn their little dogs to the ground” Damon says aloud, loud enough for Zeke and Zane behind us to hear. I jab my elbow into his ribs, and give him a hard glare. “Just kidding…” he shrugs casually, although we all know he isn’t. I love him endlessly though, my (over)protective little brother. I glance behind me to see Zeke and Zane following close behind, both with worrisome expressions on their faces, though they try to mask it as soon as they catch my gaze. “How about we all get something to eat?” my dad speaks up. And, almost as if it were answering my dad, my stomach rumbles loudly in response. I grin sheepishly, before answering “I guess that is a yes”. We head towards the dining area, where around 200 dragons from the castle are currently having lunch as well. Although I can almost smell the fear dripping off some of them, many of them seem to be glad to see me. Which is a welcome change, as fear used to be the dominant feeling towards me. To my shock, many of them even start clapping, and pretty soon all of the dragons are chiming in. Some of them are even kneeling, to which I wave for them to get up. Perhaps I should get used to this, but I really don’t want to, it makes me feel awkward. ‘Why are they kneeling and clapping?’ I ask dad, to which he replies ‘you defeated an entire army alone, Lola. You protected the Kingdom with your own life, you protected them’. I snort ‘I am the reason they were in danger in the first place’. ‘I don’t believe that, honey. Lucian would have tried to commit a coup sooner or later regardless, and we have always been at odds with the vampire King. You can’t arrange a war within an hour. They had planned this a long time ago already’.
I am not convinced, but I decide not to comment further. I smile at everyone and gesture for everyone to continue their lunch. We grab our lunch from the buffet and head back to our table. Everyone wants to hear what happened after they left, so I start elaborating what went down. If Zeke hadn’t been in the hospital, I would probably have had fun doing what I did (yes, I am a sadistic little prick apparently). I had put all my training to good use, you could say. I saved Lucian, the little b*tch, for last. When I was done with him, he was unrecognizable, the flesh burned from his body. And I can honestly say I didn’t feel an inkling of remorse, not even Justice did. I am not sure what happened after I took him out though. I must have passed out from exhaustion, I guess. After my story, Zane begins to relay what happened with Zeke at the hospital. And after his story, my dad and brother only add how they were feeling like sitting ducks back inside the castle, waiting for my return. “Well, didn’t we all have quite the eventful day, huh” I state laughingly. Everyone breathes out a big sigh of relief almost simultaneously, before Zeke responds “you could say that again..”. My dad eyes him and my mark on his neck, but he doesn’t say anything. I am not sure Zeke noticed my dad’s wandering eyes yet, so I quickly jump in to change the topic.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.