Dark Prince's Dilemma

by I. T. Lucas

  He stopped and turned to her. “Why would you want to see him after all that he did to you?”

  She shrugged. “Lokan and I had a relationship. It was unconventional, and it ended abruptly without proper closure. There are some things I want to say to him, and I think he owes me an apology. Julian is curious about him too.”

  “You are still human. He can grab hold of your mind and thrall you.”

  “Not likely. First of all, I know how to shield my mind, and secondly, Julian is going to be there to keep me safe. Lokan won’t dare do anything with him around.”

  Kian regarded Ella for a long moment before cracking a smile. “You want to gloat, don't you? Show off your handsome mate.”

  “Guilty. Wouldn’t you?”

  If Lokan had done to him what he’d done to Ella, his retaliation would have been much more severe.

  “I guess you deserve your little revenge. I’ll tell Arwel it’s okay to let you in. When do you want to go?”

  “Is this afternoon okay?”

  “I don’t see why not.”

  Thinking they were done, he resumed walking, but Ella kept pace with him.

  “One more thing. Can we take Ingrid with us to visit Lokan?”

  Kian stopped again. “Ingrid? Why the hell do you want her to accompany you? Did she ask to go?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m not a fan of Lokan, but he is not an animal on display in a zoo.”

  Ella lifted her hands in the sign for peace. “That’s not it. Carol and I were talking, and we wondered what would be a good way to test whether Lokan was indeed Carol’s fated mate. We figured that bringing in an attractive single immortal lady was a good test. If he reacts to her flirting, then he is not Carol’s mate for real.”

  Interesting. Apparently Carol had doubts as well.

  “It’s not a bad idea, but Lokan is too smart to fall for that. Besides, with his dream-sharing ability, I don’t want another immortal female to get exposed to him. Ingrid might not be as good at shielding her thoughts as you are.”

  Ella’s shoulders slumped. “I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re right. It was a silly idea. I just wish there were a way to test it, if only to put Carol’s mind at ease.”

  “There might be. I’m going to ask Edna to probe him. There is a chance she can tell whether he loves Carol or not.”

  “Love?” Ella arched a brow. “They are not there yet. Carol doesn’t claim to love Lokan, and I don’t think he’s told her that he loves her either.”

  “That’s why I didn’t do it yet. Edna can sense feelings and intentions. The mating bond is neither of those. Eventually, though, if the bond is there, love will come.”

  “Right. But we know that under normal circumstances, once the bond is created, mates desire only each other. So that was why Carol and I thought to dangle Ingrid in front of his nose and see if he got aroused. If not for Julian, I might have done a little flirting myself, but I can’t do that to him. I’ve put him through enough already.”

  Kian nodded. “I’ll think of something. But Ingrid is a no-go.”

  Ella shrugged. “I thought it was worth a try. Thanks for allowing Julian and me to visit Lokan.”

  “Have fun.”

  She smirked. “Oh, I will. Have a great rest of your day, Kian.”

  “You too.”

  He watched Ella jog away and then kept on walking, thinking over their conversation. Apparently, Carol was not convinced of Lokan’s devotion to her and wanted to test it.

  Perhaps he shouldn’t wait for a love test. He could ask Edna to do a general reading of Lokan’s intentions, or at least attempt to. That way he would know if the option of using her talent was at all available to him. If Edna was successful in this first attempt, he could always ask her to do it again later.

  When Kian reached his office, he sat at his desk and fired off a text to Edna. I need to talk to you.

  He knew the judge to be an early riser but didn’t want to assume.

  She called right back. “Good morning, Kian. What can I help you with?”

  “Good morning. I was wondering whether you are free to probe Lokan today.”

  “And I was wondering when you’d get around to calling me. There is only so much Andrew can help you with. It’s about time that you brought out the big guns. Let me check my schedule.”

  As he waited for Edna to come back on the line, Kian rapped his fingers on the surface of his desk and wondered the same thing. He shouldn’t have waited with the probe. He’d made an assumption that Lokan was probably unreadable, but as the saying went, assumption was the mother of all fuckups.

  “I can be there at two-thirty this afternoon,” Edna came back. “Does it work for you?”

  “I’ll make it work. Do you want to come here first so we can carpool to the keep, or do you want to go there straight from your city office?”

  “I’m working from home today, so I’ll take you up on your carpooling offer.”

  “Very well. Meet me at the parking garage at two.”

  “See you there.”

  Kian disconnected the call and texted Ella. I need you and Julian to be out of there by two-thirty. I decided to bring Edna to do an initial probing of Lokan.

  Ella’s return text came a moment later. Excellent idea.

  21

  Ella

  Ella hadn’t expected the cloak and dagger operation that visiting Lokan proved to be. The clan’s old keep was a maze, with cleverly hidden entry points and underground tunnels. It was quite exciting, and she didn’t need to worry about getting lost because Julian knew the way.

  “It wasn’t always that hard to get in,” he said after they entered a storage unit in a nearby office building’s garage. When Julian punched in a code to its back door, it swung open into a wide tunnel. “After most of us moved out and the security was fully entrusted to humans, we had to find a walk around to get into the keep’s underground.”

  “Is it a long walk?”

  “About ten minutes.”

  “That’s not so bad. Do you know that Carol doesn’t have her phone with her when she is in Lokan’s cell?”

  “Makes sense. He can take it away from her and call for help. How did you get in touch with her?”

  “Arwel answered my text and then used the house phone to call Carol. That’s how they communicate. She had to come to his room, which is next door to Lokan’s.”

  “I know. Your mother and brother stayed in the apartment Lokan is in, and Magnus was in the one Arwel is using now.”

  She nodded. “It wasn’t that long ago, and yet it feels as if years have gone by. I guess time feels different when a lot is happening.”

  When they reached the end of the tunnel, Julian entered a code into another door, and they exited into another parking garage.

  “This is the clan’s private parking.” He led her to a bank of elevators. “And these are only used by us.”

  “Are we going down?” Ella asked when he pressed one of the buttons.

  They were marked with letters instead of numbers, but other than G for garage, she didn’t know what the others stood for.

  “Yes. The keep’s underground is many stories deep.”

  The dungeon level looked similar to the village’s unground complex. Same wide corridor with concrete floor and concrete walls, and the same metal doors with small windows on top. The difference was the additional small window on the bottom and the thickness of the doors.

  They were built with immortal prisoners in mind.

  “Right on time.” Arwel stepped out of his room and walked to the next door over. “I hope you are hungry. Carol is waiting for you with lunch.”

  “Yeah, she told us not to eat. Are you joining us?”

  He glanced at Julian. “Do you need me there?”

  Julian shook his head. “I think I can handle him.”

  “I’m going to lock you in, so it’s not like he can escape. When you are ready to leave, call me on the house phone. Just press zero.” He p
unched the code into the keypad. “I will need you to leave your phones with me. And if you have smartwatches, those too.”

  As Ella handed him her phone, Julian removed his watch. “I left my cell in the car. I only have this.” He handed it to Arwel.

  When the door opened, Carol walked out and pulled Ella into a hug. “I missed you, girl.”

  “I missed you too. You should come to the village every other day or so instead of spending all your time here.”

  Carol arched a brow. “Would you?”

  Ella glanced at Julian and smiled. “Maybe only for a short visit. I hate it when we need to separate for longer than an hour.”

  “That was what I thought. Come on, the food is getting cold.”

  “Thank you for inviting us to lunch,” Julian said.

  He looked tense, which was understandable. After hearing so much about Lokan, he was finally going to meet him face to face.

  As they stepped inside, Lokan rose from the couch and offered his hand to Ella. “It’s good to see you.”

  “You too.” She shook his hand, thinking that she really meant it. “Lokan, this is Julian, my mate.” She made the introduction. “Julian, this is the infamous Lokan.”

  Side by side, there was no comparison. Lokan was handsome, but he couldn't hold a candle to Julian. Carol might disagree with her, but for Ella, Julian was the winner hands down.

  Lokan smiled. “No wonder I had such a hard time luring her.” He offered his hand to Julian. “I heard that you are a doctor.”

  “You heard right.”

  “Congratulations to you two. You fit together perfectly. Is Ella going to pursue a nursing career, or did you convince her to go for medicine?”

  “She is still considering different options.” Julian shook his hand.

  “Whatever she decides on, I’m sure she’s going to do well.”

  Ella stifled a chuckle. Lokan was laying the charm on Julian, and her sweet mate was eating it up.

  “To the table,” Carol said. “We can continue chit-chatting over pasta primavera.”

  The conversation wasn’t nearly as awkward as Ella had feared it would be, and pretty soon Julian’s animosity toward Lokan was replaced by his usual easy-going demeanor.

  It wasn’t hard to figure out why. Julian had no reason to be jealous because Lokan had eyes only for Carol, which made Ella wonder about Carol’s suspicions.

  Lokan was treating Carol the same way the other mated immortal males treated their mates. He kept touching her whenever he could, his eyes softened when he looked at her, and he listened attentively to everything she said.

  What could have caused her insecurities?

  Was it possible that Carol was not as confident as she appeared?

  Or maybe Lokan was different with her when they were alone, and he was putting on an act to impress his guests.

  22

  Lokan

  Lokan’s neck hairs were prickling like crazy, much worse than they had in Kian or Arwel’s presence. In fact, Arwel no longer triggered the alarm, and Kian did so only slightly.

  It was strange given that Julian wasn’t a threat to him. He was tall, and looked in shape, but he wasn’t a Guardian. His chosen profession implied a compassionate nature and a soft heart.

  Perhaps it was a remnant of the rivalry they’d had going on over Ella? Or was the trigger Julian’s initial animosity?

  In an effort to put the guy at ease as fast as possible, Lokan had been laying on the charm thickly. He needed the young immortal to relax and act naturally so he could observe his interactions with Ella. Supposedly, the two were true-love mates, and this was a priceless opportunity to study the mysterious bond Carol had gone on and on about.

  He waited for an opportune moment in the conversation to steer it in that direction. “I heard that you two have moved in together. Any plans for a wedding?”

  Ella and Julian exchanged glances, and then Julian wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “There is no rush. In our clan’s tradition, for a union to be official it is enough that we pledge ourselves to each other in front of two adult witnesses. A ceremony is for the benefit of our friends and family who want to share in our happiness and celebrate with us.”

  Ella chuckled. “The goddess wants a wedding, but she understands that I’m not ready yet. I want to finish college first.” She gazed into Julian’s besotted eyes. “My mate is an educated man. I have some catching up to do.”

  Julian clasped her small hand between his two large ones. “You know that it doesn't matter to me. I know how smart you are. I don’t need you to have a college degree to appreciate you.”

  The two appeared lost in each other's eyes, oblivious to their company.

  If Arwel had been there, he would have rolled his eyes and said that he needed to take notes. To an outside observer, the sentimentality seemed saccharine sweet and looked quite silly, but Lokan could tell that the two were deeply in love.

  He cleared his throat. “Is it true that you fell in love with Ella’s picture?”

  After gazing for hours at Areana’s portrait, Lokan could believe that. He’d moved it to the bedroom where he could look at it from the bed, and the longer he gazed at Areana’s beautiful face, the more he yearned for her to be his mother.

  Tearing his eyes from his mate, Julian smiled. “I don’t know if love is the right term. It was more like an obsession. I fell in love with Ella after I met her and had the privilege of getting to know her. But someone was creating interference.” He pinned Lokan with a hard stare. “Confusing my Ella.”

  Lokan dipped his head. “My apologies. I was selfish, chasing my own agenda, but to ease your mind, I was never really interested in Ella romantically.”

  “Why not?” Unexpectedly, Julian’s eyes started glowing with aggression. “Ella is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, and she is smart and kind and lovely to talk to.”

  Aha, the boy was offended on behalf of his mate.

  “Ella is an amazing young woman, and if I were a young man like you, I would no doubt have fallen head over heels in love with her. But I’m nearly one thousand years old. Ella is too young for me.” He turned to Carol and took her hand. “At my age, I appreciate a woman with maturity and experience.” Mimicking Julian, he wrapped his arm around Carol’s shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

  That seemed to mollify the young buck. “I’m just glad that this is over. As long as Ella was gripped by your compulsion, she wasn’t sure of our bond, but as soon as you lifted it, there was no doubt in her mind that I’m her true-love mate.”

  Carol sighed. “Young love. How sweet.”

  “I was wondering about it.” Lokan took the opportunity to keep his investigation going. “How do you know that what you are feeling is that magical bond you guys believe in? I would imagine that infatuation and lust could be mistaken for true love.”

  Julian shrugged. “For me it was quite obvious. Ever since seeing Ella’s picture, I couldn’t even think of touching another female. And that was very unusual for me. Like most immortal males, I used to bed a different one nearly every night, and I have never had a problem moving on to the next one.”

  Blushing, Ella shifted in her chair. “I don’t like it when you mention other women you’ve been with.”

  “I know, love.” He leaned and kissed her cheek. “But Lokan is new to all this, and I wanted him to understand what it means to have a true-love mate.” He turned to Lokan. “From the moment Ella entered my life, I knew she was the only one for me and that I would never want another.”

  Next to him, Carol huffed out a breath. “Everyone experiences this differently, Julian.”

  For some reason, she seemed annoyed.

  Julian shook his head. “I think that this is universal for all bonded couples.”

  “How about Vivian and her Guardian mate?” Lokan kept pressing. “They are an older couple. Was their experience different than yours?”

  Ella chuckled. “
Not really. They are like a couple of teenagers, kissing and necking every moment that they think no one is watching. And don’t start me on the giggling. Do you know how awkward it is to hear your mother giggle like a schoolgirl?”

  “Since I grew up without a mother, I wouldn’t know.”

  Ella’s smile wilted. “Right, I forgot about that. I’m sorry if I touched a sore spot.”

  Her embarrassment was the perfect opportunity to peek into her mind. As Carol’s friend, Ella might know if Carol was doing something underhanded to him to mimic the effect of a mated bond.

  Lokan leaned forward and looked into her eyes. “No need to feel bad. I understand.”

  Damn, Ella’s shields were up and as strong as ever. He should have known. If she could maintain them in her sleep, an awkward moment wasn’t going to weaken them.

  Ella and Julian seemed to genuinely believe in their true-love bond. They hadn’t been putting on an act, and even though Julian was an educated man, a scientist, he seemed to be even more sure of it than Ella, who as a young girl might have been prone to flights of fancy.

  Lifting the bottle of wine, Lokan filled everyone’s glasses. “Let’s drink to our good fortune and to the wise Fates for gifting us with such perfect mates.”

  23

  Carol

  “That wasn’t so bad,” Carol said once the door closed behind Julian and Ella. “I was afraid Julian would be nasty to you, but you managed to charm him.”

  “He’s a nice, mellow guy.” Lokan got up and started clearing the table. “I think he was relieved to hear my apology. I don’t think he was comfortable with puffing out his chest and thumping it in warning.” He put the containers in the carrier.

  Carol chuckled. “It’s a stretch imagining Julian pulling the gorilla act.”

  It had been an interesting visit. On the one hand, Julian had spilled the beans on fated mates desiring only their partners, which ruined any chance of testing Lokan by bringing in a sexy lady to tempt him and watching his reaction. But on the other hand, Lokan’s many questions about the special bond between fated mates could mean that he was just as suspicious of it and what had caused it as Carol was.