Read Online Torn: A Dragon Shifter BBW Menage Serial (Seeking Her Mates Book 1) by Carina Wilder - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Carina Wilder
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considering her mother, it’s no great surprise to find a daughter so lovely.”
Gwynne smiled, looking over the table at Lily as though in an attempt to read her expression.
“Thank you,” Lily replied dutifully, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Such forward compliments always felt disingenuous, and particularly on a first meeting. What was this guy’s angle, anyhow?
“Maybe you’ve just met a future mate,” whispered Rohan, who was leaning in, having pretended to have dropped his napkin on the ground. “He seems a little old for you, my little twin. But what a charmer.”
“He is that,” said Lily. “But he does seem awfully…experienced.” He was an attractive man, but had a mature look about him, like that of a leader. Her fathers had the same air about them; confidence, knowledge wrapped up in a handsome couple of packages.
“Lord Ramsey,” she said, “How long have you been in this part of Cornwall?”
“Only since this morning,” replied the man. “I’ve been meeting with your fathers on business all day. But I must say that I was greatly looking forward to this evening…and you.”
Again with the forwardness. Lily found herself reaching for Rohan’s arm as though for protection. Surely this man wasn’t intended for her.
Rauth, seated at the guest’s right, spoke up now. “You may as well hear it now: There will be a tournament, Lilliana. For your…hand. In a few days. Lord Ramsey’s son Graeme is one among many who plan to compete,” he said.
Lily’s first instinct was to stand up and scream. But she remained still, jaw locked to prevent the howl that she feared might emerge if she allowed her mouth to open.
A tournament? Who had decided this? Since when was this a plan? But Rohan’s hand went to her forearm and gripped it, telling her preemptively to calm herself. This isn’t a time to freak out, he was telling her. Settle down.
“Compete?” she asked, doing her best to keep her voice calm. “Compete how ?”
“As I said, in a tournament. It won’t be your typical jousting and fencing sort of thing. These are shifters we’re talking about, after all.”
“Oh, excellent,” said Rohan, his tone jovial. “So there’s going to be some blood. It’s been too long since anyone’s killed each other around here.”
“Quiet, you,” growled Gwynne, who was seated some distance away. In spite of the reprimand of her son she couldn’t help but smile. “The goal isn’t to watch them kill each other. It’s much like the competition that your fathers engaged in many years ago, to determine the wolf pack’s alpha.”
“Funny how well that worked out,” muttered Rohan under his breath.
“Two men will be selected as appropriate and worthy mates for Lilliana,” Lachlan interjected. So , Lily thought, all three of my parents had this all planned out. Well, good for them.
“I don’t suppose that I have any say in this,” she said quietly, avoiding eye contact with the dignified stranger across the table. She knew full well that her words might be offensive to him—after all, his son was her potential mate—but in that moment she didn’t care much.
“Lilliana,” said Rauth, his tone harsh. “You forget yourself. You’ve known all your life what your duties are. Don’t let a few months away in the modern era wash all of your upbringing away. If you must know, there is unrest among shifters building in the north and it would be in our best interest to have you find your mates sooner rather than later, to carry on the line. We’re talking about power, control of land and our legacy.”
Rauth was being what Lily had termed “Mister Grumpy Trousers” when she was young; when he got into his dictatorial moods, normally she knew to smile sweetly and charm him. And she never failed.
But she knew that he was right: her time in 2015 had changed her. She’d seen the possibilities which lay beyond Dundurn’s walls, and the notion of returning to the
Gwynne smiled, looking over the table at Lily as though in an attempt to read her expression.
“Thank you,” Lily replied dutifully, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Such forward compliments always felt disingenuous, and particularly on a first meeting. What was this guy’s angle, anyhow?
“Maybe you’ve just met a future mate,” whispered Rohan, who was leaning in, having pretended to have dropped his napkin on the ground. “He seems a little old for you, my little twin. But what a charmer.”
“He is that,” said Lily. “But he does seem awfully…experienced.” He was an attractive man, but had a mature look about him, like that of a leader. Her fathers had the same air about them; confidence, knowledge wrapped up in a handsome couple of packages.
“Lord Ramsey,” she said, “How long have you been in this part of Cornwall?”
“Only since this morning,” replied the man. “I’ve been meeting with your fathers on business all day. But I must say that I was greatly looking forward to this evening…and you.”
Again with the forwardness. Lily found herself reaching for Rohan’s arm as though for protection. Surely this man wasn’t intended for her.
Rauth, seated at the guest’s right, spoke up now. “You may as well hear it now: There will be a tournament, Lilliana. For your…hand. In a few days. Lord Ramsey’s son Graeme is one among many who plan to compete,” he said.
Lily’s first instinct was to stand up and scream. But she remained still, jaw locked to prevent the howl that she feared might emerge if she allowed her mouth to open.
A tournament? Who had decided this? Since when was this a plan? But Rohan’s hand went to her forearm and gripped it, telling her preemptively to calm herself. This isn’t a time to freak out, he was telling her. Settle down.
“Compete?” she asked, doing her best to keep her voice calm. “Compete how ?”
“As I said, in a tournament. It won’t be your typical jousting and fencing sort of thing. These are shifters we’re talking about, after all.”
“Oh, excellent,” said Rohan, his tone jovial. “So there’s going to be some blood. It’s been too long since anyone’s killed each other around here.”
“Quiet, you,” growled Gwynne, who was seated some distance away. In spite of the reprimand of her son she couldn’t help but smile. “The goal isn’t to watch them kill each other. It’s much like the competition that your fathers engaged in many years ago, to determine the wolf pack’s alpha.”
“Funny how well that worked out,” muttered Rohan under his breath.
“Two men will be selected as appropriate and worthy mates for Lilliana,” Lachlan interjected. So , Lily thought, all three of my parents had this all planned out. Well, good for them.
“I don’t suppose that I have any say in this,” she said quietly, avoiding eye contact with the dignified stranger across the table. She knew full well that her words might be offensive to him—after all, his son was her potential mate—but in that moment she didn’t care much.
“Lilliana,” said Rauth, his tone harsh. “You forget yourself. You’ve known all your life what your duties are. Don’t let a few months away in the modern era wash all of your upbringing away. If you must know, there is unrest among shifters building in the north and it would be in our best interest to have you find your mates sooner rather than later, to carry on the line. We’re talking about power, control of land and our legacy.”
Rauth was being what Lily had termed “Mister Grumpy Trousers” when she was young; when he got into his dictatorial moods, normally she knew to smile sweetly and charm him. And she never failed.
But she knew that he was right: her time in 2015 had changed her. She’d seen the possibilities which lay beyond Dundurn’s walls, and the notion of returning to the
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