She stood with her hands wrapped around her middle as she stared blankly at the garden below. Her back was straight even as the weight of the world seemed to be on her shoulders. Andre knew only that the dragon royal pair had told her of a way to break their bonds with their true mates. He knew Cari enough to know she wouldn't be eager to cause others pain, even those who'd hurt her.

"Your bath is ready astéri mou." he told her as he came to stand behind her.

"Thank you." She said as she turned to face him with a smile on her face. The smile was forced and wan, tiredness lining her eyes and her shoulders too stiff. As if she was struggling against the weight of the world.

With care, he took off her clothes, then his own before carrying her into the two-person jetted tub. He held her to him as the warm soothing water did its job, grateful when she relaxed against him. Taking up the sponge, he squirted some body wash onto it then ran it down her arm.

It was a slow sensual move that was meant to be that and soothing. She sighed, relaxing more against him, her heart speeding up a bit. He brought the sponge back up, then swiped it across her shoulders then down the other arm. He was rewarded with her breath coming in short.

It felt like a lifetime since the last time he'd made love to her, the last time she had been naked in his arms. All he wanted was to make slow passionate love to her, to have her clinging to him and hear her calling up his name like a prayer.

"What did the royal pair want from you?" He asked to distract them both.

Her legs shifted a restless shift that told him of how much she desired him. A smile broadened his lips, one he knew was rather smug. He kept on running the sponge over her delectable body as she told him about what the dragon pair had told her. Even when his anger was raised at the pain his mate had further endured, he kept his strokes on her body light.

He'd heard a bit of their plan to sever the bonds the four of them had and now hearing it all gave him pause. "What would you like to do about the bonds?" He questioned, knowing his mate was too kind-hearted to ever willfully cause anyone pain. Even her duplicitous sister.

"They said the consequences will not hit her until she's had her baby," Cari said in a small voice. "I don't even understand how she could be pregnant so young."

"It's the nature of our magic to limit the length some unworthy alphas get to lead a pack."

"Oh." Her voice was even smaller.

"I'm sorry astéri mou." He apologized, placing a kiss on her shoulder.

"You didn't do anything wrong."

"I'm sorry you have to make a decision on whether or not to hurt your sister." He explained.

"She felt nothing in hurting me. It should be an easy decision."

"The fact that it's not, makes you an amazing woman." He capped that with a light swipe over her left breast.

She took in a gasping breath, her hand going to clutch his thigh. "I doubt Claire will ever agree to let you go. If we don't break the bonds, then we get to feel some pain every time she and Xander make love." Her voice came out hoarse as she soldiered on.

"Yes."

"I don't want to know them that well, or have them know us that well either." She stated with conviction. "I want to make love to you and know its just the two of us, no one else."

"You did say they'll feel the same amount of pain they put us through for the same amount of years." He reminded her.

"Only after the birth of her child, then we'll have ten years of knowing we have no privacy."

"We won't have any privacy if the situation continues." He reminded her.

She shifted her head so that she could look back at him. "So you want to break the bonds."

"Yes."

"Even the one we have will be broken." He heard the reluctance in her voice.

"Then we get to reforge it." He gave her a knowing smile at that, which caused a deep blush to stain her cheeks. "I'm sure we'll be in the dragon city long enough to seal our mating. Remember if this is true, we can only break the bonds before our mating is finalized. After that, the four of us will be stuck until your sister wakes up to reason. Somehow I doubt she's the kind to do that anytime soon, if at all."

The pain that flashed through her eyes was heartbreaking, but Andre needed her to see reason."

"I know." She admitted as she turned away from him. "And since it's my grandmother who's going to be doing the severing, I have no doubt it's all true."

"Yeah, between you and me, your grandmother is the scariest being I've ever met. Let's not invite her to our home all that much."

His mate giggled at that. "I vote for not inviting her at all. She'd be playing puppet master with our kids."

He smiled as his heart became full at that. The idea of them having a child, of her round with his pup inside her. "Child." He corrected her.

"What?" She asked as she looked back up at him.

"We'll only have one child." He explained. "The royal family always has a single heir, that way there's no chance of a succession war breaking out."

She frowned at that. "So we'll be required to only have one child?" She pouted.

"No," he emphasized. "We won't be able to have more than one child unless the first one dies. It's part of the magic that lives in our blood, it won't even allow us to adopt a child."

"Oh." She seemed deflated.

"It's not just our kind, it's all the royal lines. Except for the humans of course."

"It makes sense I guess." She agreed.

He leaned down and gave her a quick hard kiss. She quickly melted, her response eager as she submitted to his mastery. Andre had, in the past, gotten tired of his bedmates quite easily. His mate though was something else. Where the others had seemed to get a bit jaded after a while, his mate still seemed innocent, untouched despite all he knew he'd done to her.

"Andre..." she moaned in complaint once he'd stopped.

"After we've broken the bonds." He promised then proceeded to pinch her nipple. "Just warming your body up astéri mou." He stated, enjoying her ready response to him.

***

His wolf was close to the surface, its eyes looking out into the world even though they kept their human form. Power thrummed in his veins, burning a need to be unleashed. He held himself stiff, holding on to the edge of control.

It didn't help that he didn't want to be in control. As necessary as he'd deemed it, what was happening was an abomination. Having an audience further aggravated him. Keeping his eyes on his mate's every movement was all that kept him barely controlled.

She was poetry in motion. Every tilt of her head was graceful. She didn't have any wasted motions and even when she was still, it was beauty. There was a caring nature to her that Andre felt could never be tainted. He'd make damn sure it never would be.

Her long hair flowed down her back, the way she knew he liked. The front cut to frame her face and enhance that untainted look she had. His heart hurt as he looked at her, knowing she was his. That he'd been so lucky to hold her like no other.

She wore a tight pink t-shirt, a plain one that seemed to mould onto her like a second skin. Black skinny jeans and a pair of white sneakers finished her look, again the jeans moulded to her as if they had been painted on. He'd wanted to demand that she take them off and wear something else.

But Andre had promised himself he'd not restrain his mate's freedom even when it was all he wanted to do. She was like a fragile bird that could only be at its best if nurtured. So his jaw clenched as he saw the admiring glances dragon males sent her way. What eased him though was seeing her oblivious to them, seeing that she only had eyes for him.

They were in an ancient hall, one that had powerful magic sunk into its very stones. Hieroglyphs that were more ancient than those in Egypt graced the aged pillars of the stage. A stage that was sunk into the middle of the hall. They were now too faint to even guess at. A series of seats reminiscent of bleachers rose away from the stage and Andre sensed that there was magic in the place that would allow every person in attendance to see the stage clearly.

He hated that so many dragons were here to witness what would be a vulnerable moment for him and his mate. If it weren't for the fact that he could sense the new bond between the dragon prince Eric and Dani, Andre was sure neither his wolf nor he would've tolerated his presence.

'Calm yourself, young prince.' Cari's grandmother said through the mental link every member of the werewolf nation had with their royals unless the royal didn't allow it.

He nearly huffed out loud. 'You're about to sever my bond with Cari while we're surrounded by our enemies and the man you helped steal my mate.' He stated in a hard mental tone.

She gave a mental sigh. 'It was necessary.'

'So you said.' Andre observed. 'I still haven't figured out why.'

'I'm now existing in all-time Andre. Before I only caught a glimpse of what would be but now I catch glimpses of every moment in time. Which means I see it all. If you could see all of time, wouldn't you do everything you can to see your family happy?'

He thought that over and realised she was right. He even knew that sometimes knowing what would be was too dangerous, that in trying to make it happen people were more likely to mess up. As the goddess of fate though, Cari's grandmother's will was more than enough to shift things in this world. Which made her a great ally to have. He still wouldn't want to be around her much though.

Andre turned his head to face her and met her brown gaze so like his mate. Even the sense of banked power in them was familiar. She wore a white dress of ancient design. It suited the aura of dignified power she held while giving her a timeless quality. Her dark tight curls were piled on top of her head into a regal twist before they fell down her back.

She reeked of suppressed power.

'Promise me you'll never hurt her.' He asked of her, knowing that he could never command anything of her, no one could.

'I've dedicated millions of years to her happiness.' She stated. 'Nothing, not even torture would ever have me betray her.'

'Then we're okay.' He stated. The woman gave him a pleased smile though Andre was sure she wouldn't have cared all that much what he thought of her.

"Andreas, Carissa, please come closer." She invited

They drew closer, their friends shifting stances to guard their backs. He stood straighter, his legs braced in case anything went awry and he'd have to save his mate. His piercing eyes settled on the supposed goddess of fate.

She rose from the ground, hovering so that she could place her hand over Andre's much taller form at the same time with her other hand over Cari's head. Golden light seemed to radiate from her brown skin, her white dress just shy of blinding. The look on her face was formidable, holding ancient wisdom and secrets Andre knew he didn't want to know.

When she started to speak, it was as if she spoke from the mists of the beginning. The language she used was so powerful and seemed to echo from that long gone time. Even though he was positive the language had been lost for more aeons that could be remembered, it seemed like the meaning of it was just a tease away. He sensed the same confusion in his mate.

He took her hand in his and she held on like he was her lifeline. 'I hate that we won't be able to talk like this anymore.' She mindsent.

'But rekindling our bond will be even more fun.' He replied looking down at her with a suggestive look in his eyes.

Her eyes were shy as they looked up at him, a blush staining her cheeks. "Pay attention please." Cari's grandmother admonished.

They both turned back to the still floating woman. Once more, the pure language she spoke in teased them with its familiarity. It didn't have anything in common with any of the languages he was aware of, its tones and intonations seeming to be lighter than any. It pulled them in, mesmerized.

Maybe this was what it felt to be under his mate's power, he mused. A desire to surrender even as a small part of him tried to warn him, to fight. The fate kept on going and soon enough Andre was completely under the power of the words.

Then power did swamp him, his own. He'd fought against it all his life, afraid of what it could do, of its foreign aspect. The power was just there, immutable. And for the first time, he wasn't afraid of it. Surrounded by it, he realised it was more than he should have, more than he could control. Yet he sensed it was within his ability.

The power was vast, scarily so, like a world's worth and more than even that. It had no containment, existing beyond such measures. Curious, he called to it. The eager rush that swamped him was all-encompassing. It seared his right wrist as he'd held that hand out. A design he vaguely knew. Soon he lost all awareness of himself. He was power, something old. Something that, as much as Serenity, could bring down the gates of Azmodea.

He was Power, an entity all its own. Older than anything. Power had been waiting for Andre to be born so that it could fill him. Now that was done. Then Andre felt the snap of his bond with Cari breaking. Two others echoed it but they were insignificant.

It was like his soul was being cut in two, like it was being snuffed out. He fought to hold on, but even all his power couldn't resist what already was. He lashed out, aiming to destroy what had taken his heart. He wouldn't be contained anymore, he wouldn't lose again.

Gathering himself up, he braced to unleash his newly awakened power. To make the world pay for what they'd taken from him. Then he felt a soft hand on his arm. A hand that caused shivering pleasure to fever from the point of touch. A familiar touch. Calm washed over him even before he met the once more blue gaze of his mate.

He growled, then a frown froze his face for a moment before he recalled he was a werewolf and had a wolf within him. His arms then snaked around his mate and drew her to him. She didn't resist his rather forceful grasp, which pleased him. He bent to take her lips with his, devouring them with demanding force from the first touch.

Her hands went around him. One clutching at his shoulder as the other held at his waist. Her body softened as she gave in to his mastery, a moan escaping her. It was like he'd never tasted her before, her touch even more searing. It calmed him even as it awakened the ancient need inside him. Only the reality of their audience had him break the kiss.

He stared down at her as she looked at him with trusting eyes full of concern. "Are you good?" She asked in a voice that was so low only he could hear it, even with the magic that amplified the sound on the stage.

"You're here." He replied knowing that that was the only thing keeping him together.

He might have wanted the bonds broken but having his mate once more separated from him was taking a toll on his sanity. A man could only take so much of his mate being torn from his grasp. Now the only thing that made sense was taking her to their suite and claiming her all over again. This time they wouldn't come out until she was finally fully his.

"Your eyes are now silver." She informed him. "The same eerie one like mine."

His eyes searched her still blue ones, looking deep into their power fuelled depths. They were beautiful, like everything about her. "There's nothing eerie about your eyes." He stated.

He loved how easily she blushed. "Thank you." Her lashes veiled her eyes for a moment before she looked back up at him. "I can feel how restless you are. Would it help if we marked each other now? I felt the magic strip the marks away."

He frowned down at her. "In front of all these people? It's a private thing."

"There was a time when royals claimed each other in a place of power with an audience. Though intimate, this won't be as intimate as they had to be. Besides, no one will be left in doubt that I'm yours."

He liked the last part, so did his wolf. He smiled down at her. With a toss of her head, she swept her hair to the side, exposing her neck. Her hand drew the neck of her top down to her shoulder as she offered herself to him.

Andre couldn't help the growl of pleasure that escaped him. Lowering his head, he licked the pulsing point of her jugular. She shivered, her hand on his waist tightening. He placed a small kiss there then had to remind himself they had an audience. Opening his mouth, he sank his teeth into her soft skin.

As they did, he felt the rush of power he had the first time he did this, but more. It was a cool rush, soothing with a hint of playful wildness to it. It went to his head as pleasure invaded his bloodstream with that power driving it.

He lifted his head, tilted back as he gasped for air like a man who'd just been underwater. His mate shifted her hands to his shoulders and used them to brace herself as she stood on her toes. His hand on her waist supported her as she scraped her teeth against his vein.

Every muscle in his body tensed, then relaxed as he felt her canines sink into his flesh. The inferno of power that he'd just unlocked burst once more through him, through them both. He felt it pouring into his mate, heard her moan of pleasure.

This time it felt like they were being entwined together, reforged. As if by breaking their initial bond, the magic of it was even more greedy to tie them together. Her teeth released his flesh and it was like that small act broke the small control he'd held over his power.

It exploded out, even with his eyes closed he could see its white heat lashing out, only now it was mixed in with her blue. Then he felt it implode back into them. As his power settled back, it was changed in some way he couldn't even begin to guess at.

At his right wrist, he felt even more points of burning pain. This time he pulled away from Cari and looked down at it. His mate was also looking down at her own wrist. At his pulse point was a rune he'd never seen before, yet he knew it stood for power. It was the only one that wasn't burning and he knew it was the first one that'd been burned into his skin.

He turned his wrist and saw five other runes in the same blue and silver burning themselves onto it. He'd never seen these ones before too, but unlike the first, he couldn't recognise what they resembled. He looked to his mate and saw that she had the same five runes he had but the sixth, at her pulse point, was different.

Serenity.

"Just how close were you two to manipulating all the elements?" Her grandmother asked.

Andre met his mate's eyes and realised the same knowledge resided in hers. While werewolf could borrow elemental attributes, no one had been able to manipulate them. Until Andre. Cari's grandmother knew that though, she'd seen him call up fire. So why was she asking?

"Brace yourselves, the goddess of love is coming." The beta stated with a pleased smile as if everything was going according to plan. It probably was.