I'm Dying Mate (Iona Blackfield) novel Chapter 20

(20) Despedida and The Elders

IONA

The talk actually worked. I didn’t know what they agreed on but when my mates came back late at night. I’m relieved to see their irritated faces because at least there was no blood. No one was harmed.

“How was it?” I say while setting the table and they plop down on their usual seats. They gave me their usual responses of Damiano rolling his eyes and Drake looking like he wanted to gag.

“Before we argue about that, isn’t it my job to cook for this family?” Drake grumbles. He makes a pointed look at my hands with the bruises. I held on to the knife too much giving my palms bruises and my fingers red and raw.

There is a low growl that emanated in Damiano’s growl once he noticed it too. I smile sheepishly feeling like a kid caught red handed stealing cookies. Damiano takes my hands and caresses my palm. His touch careful and gentle, it was almost heartbreaking the way he

studied it.

“I’m fine, it’ll fade” I whisper, taking my hand away with a blush. He looks at me with eyes that

Joks doesn’t believe me.

“don’t you miss it?” he asks, soft and low as if seducing me to bend to his will through his determined gaze.

“Miss what?” I try to ignore him while I set the plates down. I feel hands on my waist and I was being forced to sit back down. “What?”

“Being healthy” Damiano traps me on my seat. “Sit there, no more moving”

I was about to argue but I just noticed that Drake wasn’t sitting anymore, and he has taken the other plates with our food from the kitchen. He gives me a look like I was a naughty child and I needed to be looked at.

I sigh, “I’m fine and I was never healthy”

“There must have been a time who you weren’t diagnosed” Drake says while sitting back down as well as Damiano.

I scoff. I know I needed to change the subject before I tell them about my Dad beating me and my mom. “Let me remind you, you two are going to sleep outside”.

The talk actually worked. I didn’t know what they agreed on but when my mates came back late at night. I’m relieved to see their irritated faces because at least there was no blood. No one was harmed.

“How was it?” I say while setting the table and they plop down on their usual seats. They gave me their usual responses of Damiano rolling his eyes and Drake looking like he wanted to gag.

“Before we argue about that, isn’t it my job to cook for this family?” Drake grumbles. He makes a pointed look at my hands with the bruises. I held on to the knife too much giving my palms bruises and my fingers red and raw.

There is a low growl that emanated in Damiano’s growl once he noticed it too. I smile sheepishly feeling like a kid caught red handed stealing cookies. Damiano takes my hands and caresses my palm. His touch careful and gentle, it was almost heartbreaking the way he studied it.

“I’m fine, it’ll fade” I whisper, taking my hand away with a blush. He looks at me with eyes that doesn’t believe me.

“don’t you miss it?” he asks, soft and low as if seducing me to bend to his will through his determined gaze.

“Miss what?” I try to ignore him while I set the plates down. I feel hands on my waist and I was being forced to sit back down. “What?”

“Being healthy” Damiano traps me on my seat. “Sit there, no more moving”

I was about to argue but I just noticed that Drake wasn’t sitting anymore, and he has taken the other plates with our food from the kitchen. He gives me a look like I was a naughty child and I needed to be looked at.

I sigh, “I’m fine and I was never healthy”

“There must have been a time where you weren’t diagnosed” Drake says while sitting back down as well as Damiano.

1 scoff. I know I needed to charge the subject before I tell them about my Dad beating me and my mom. “Let me remind you two are going to sleep outside”

Damiano crosses his arms “What makes you think we’ll do that?”

I glare at him with a menacing intensity “Want to piss me off and make me leave?”

That makes him uncross his arms and backs down with a frustrated sigh. “Fine, we’ll sleep outside”

Drake chuckles with a shake of his head. He doesn’t argue which is a relief while we ate what I cooked. It wasn’t long during dinner that I brought the talk up again. “What did you agree on?”

“An alliance and there’s a party tomorrow for Mirage’s discharge.” Drake answers, he has a habit of holding my hand while we eat. So, we were both just using one hand to eat and the

other to hold hands.

I feel Damiano’s hand on my thigh, rubbing up and down. I tried to pry it off to lessen my mortification, but he just growls or squeezes tighter. I gave up and accepted that I would have a permanent blush while eating dinner.

“There’s a party for Mirage?” I say, my mood lightens. “And what does this alliance entail?”

“I think you have read too much books about us” Damiano comments with a small smile

“Like you’re not glad that I know your packs affairs” I playfully hit his hand on my thigh. He gives me a wide grin as an answer.

“merged warrior training, giving help when its needed and open financial statements.” Drake answers while taking a forkful of food.

“Open financial statements?” I ask, “What for?”

“Just the usual, they want to know how we’re successfully running the financial aspect of the pack. How we pay for the college tuitions, housing, electricity and how we earn our income.”

“you pay for your pack members college tuition?” I say, my eyes widening.

“I knew it, we’re going to talk about your imminent college education.” Damiano throws his napkin on the table with a grumble and glares at me.

“Of course,” I say “I can’t live a life with you two when I don’t have a degree”

“Nothing far. How about community college or a state U?” Drake offers me with a playful smile

I glare at him “I didn’t bust my ass just, so I disregard my ivy league passes”

“This is the only time, I am ever going to ask the moon goddess for a stupid mate” Damiano says to the ceiling. I hit his hand on my thigh again while playfully glaring at him. he gives me a lopsided smile.

“We’ll talk about it later but for now, the party” Drake takes my attention by kissing the back of my hand. I blush but he gives me a look of warning. “There are males there. Who would try and fail and it’s obvious your vampire beau isn’t coming which is the only reason why we’re allowing you to go but with us of course.”

I sigh “Don’t overreact. I am not leaving you two.”

He hums in reply while we finally ate dinner in silence. Damiano cleans the plate while I went back to our room with the door locked. I could practically hear their resistance to the idea of sleeping. I just smiled while burying myself in the big bed and it’s covers.

I slept without the two, and I realized in the middle of the night that it was the worst mistake of my life. I woke up in about three am from a nightmare about Dad beating us again. I sit up, sweat clinging to me and my hair was a mess. I panted and wipe the tears away my arm.

“You didn’t tell us about your Father” I jolt to see Drake leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. He looks sad and hurt then I suddenly felt guilty, so I look away

“Weren’t you supposed to be sleeping outside?” I say, my breathing finally calming down, but my fingers were trembling. I clench my hand in to fists and hid them behind me.

“Sleep? When our mate’s whimpering is all we could hear inside this blasted house” Damiano stands from sitting on the corner of the room. He kicks the chaise lounge and it flies over to the mantle with a crash. Ruining the hanging TV.

I flinch at the action while looking at them again. “I can’t… I don’t know what else to say”

My body is still trembling from the dream. It was the one where I was just walking in the dark halls of my old house. I hear Mom crying through the thin walls and before I know it, I was hit. I land on the wooden floor with a burning feeling on my cheek. Dad is shouting so much that it was just a haze to me. he lifts his hand again and felt the burn until I woke up.

“lona” Drake coos beside me. his arms around my waist and I couldn’t help but flinch out of reflex. I slowly meet his gaze to look at his reaction and only see the hurt in them. “It’s me, I’m not going to hurt you”

“I do-don’t know” I stutter, frustrated at myself for having the stupid dream. “I just…need time this always happens whe-whenever I sleep wi-without someone here.”

“Then why didn’t you tell us?” Damiano lays on my other side. His arms circling around my waist

“I thought… I thought I’m okay” I let out a shaky breath. My hands went to their dark hairs, it seems almost therapeutic to do so. My chest loosens, and I felt the exhaustion tug on my body.

“Sleep” Damiano whispers, he says something else, but I was either too tired to understand or it was in another language. Just like any other nights that I was in their arms, I fell asleep without any troubles.

And God, did I love it

When morning came, I knew two things and that is one the bedroom door was broken and two I have to buy two gifts for Mirage. Two because of her discharge and the other for her moving. The two only allowed me to go when I threatened them that I’ll sleep somewhere else and since last night they didn’t want that to ever happen.

We drove to the mall where I exactly met Damiano. I was standing at the entrance when I realized I didn’t have any money. I turn around when an arm came out of nowhere and almost chokes me.

Damiano chuckles “Where are you going?”

I bite his arm which only made him groan and he looks at me with eyes filled with lust. “that’s not where I want you to mark me, Baby”

I blush but he drags me in nonetheless. “I don’t have any money”

“Ah, you forget” Drake whispers to my ear with his lips pressed tightly on the shell of it “What we own is yours”

My spine shivers. “what?”

He smiles and playfully licks up my ear and my legs gave out from under me. Drake catches me in time while Damiano looks worried for a second that I was out of his chokehold.

“Let’s go”

We head to the bookstore and I bought Mirage five books and thought that was enough. We then ate in the food court while Damiano looks incredibly bored and Drake is asking for a bite of every food I have.

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