Dark Prince by Michelle M. Pillow Read Free Book Online Page A

show of modesty after having witnessed her little performance last night, but he felt too drained at the moment.
    Looking down, Yusef saw his crystal still glowed. She shouldn’t be able to feel such pain this morning, unless it was like she said and she was immune to the drink. Come to think of it, it might be her headache he was starting to detect inside his brain. It would make sense if he could feel inside her.
    This damned thing might be broken, he mused, again eyeing the crystal.
    But when he looked at the red-haired vixen keeping her back to him, he saw her tremble. He felt their connection as strongly as the first moment he’d seen her. She was his life mate. She was his perfect match.
    Damn perfection anyway, Yusef thought.
    "You are not frightened?" Yusef asked, noticing how she said nothing about his dragon form.
    "Of what?" she returned absently. She had been flicking absently at the dragon on her chest and stopped to inquire, "Of you?"
    Sure she was scared of him. She was scared of what he’d made her feel the previous night in his arms. She was scared that even the wound she’d given herself wouldn’t be enough of a reminder for her to fight him--to not fall for his handsome face and fierce dragon eyes.
    "Of me, yes," he said quietly. He came up behind her, placing a tentative hand on her shoulder. There were many stories of brides going insane with the realization and leaving their mates to hundreds of years of lonely torment.
    Olena flinched but did not back away. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw his eyes were serious. He drew his over her back, resting on the opposite shoulder as she turned to look fully at him.
    "You mean because you’re a shifter?" she asked, with a light, unconcerned shrug.
    "Yes, because of that." Yusef was awed by her easy acceptance.
    Olena wanted to laugh but didn’t. Lufa, a member of her crew, was a walking amphibian and left a slime trail whenever he was near her. MoPa was a hairy yeti from the Bogylands. Hedge had prickles on his head instead of hair. In a pinch, he made for a damned fine needle. No, she wasn’t scared of a little shifting.
    "No," she said truthfully. The ache in her heart replaced the ache in her arm. She really did miss her crew. They were the only family she’d ever really known. Olena pulled away from him when he would have pulled her into his arms. Turning to study him, she said truthfully "I have no fear of different creatures. So what if you are a shifter?"
    "But, the other brides…" Yusef tensed. Her sadness washed over him and he wondered about it. She was so lonely. For a moment, he forgot about her drugging him.
    "I won’t say anything. Besides, I don’t want to be the one to catch them when they faint," Olena said, forcing up the smiling mask. "Let their husbands deal with them."
    "But they are your friends."
    Friends? Olena thought in surprise. She’d never had a female friend before. No, a friend was someone who had your back. Those girls on the ship would turn their backs as soon as they found out what she was.
    "No," she said, with a calmness that made him pause. She closed herself off to him, not letting him feel anything within her. "I just traveled with them. I didn’t have any friends on that ship."
    Sighing, Yusef pulled on his boots and held out his elbow for her to take. "Shall we?"
    "Sure, why not?" she mumbled, not really thinking about where they were going or what they were going to do. None of it mattered anyway and her mind was elsewhere.
    It was not the enthusiastic response a husband expected, but then again, this woman was not the bride Yusef expected.
    "By the way," he said as he led her out of the tent. "Do I have your promise that you will never drug me again?"
    "Sure, why not?" Olena repeated. But, this time, she flashed him a bright, impish smile. Her eyes shone with disobedience. "So long as you don’t deserve it."
    * * * *
    Olena stood before the council leaders, bowing her head regally to the King and Queen