Crown Of Hearts-Chapter 82: Is that a hickey on your neck?

"The red dragon, he is my mate." Eros watched as Ezekiel’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"Are you sure?" His uncle asked and Eros nodded grimly.

"Then, I am sorry I nearly killed him." Ezekiel admitted, his head racing from all the new information.

Eros accepted the apology with a small nod.

"He seems hellbent on revenge and I couldn’t get through to him despite our connection." Eros admitted, letting his disappointment show as he slammed into a chair.

"Hey don’t give up yet. Having dramatic beginnings with mates runs through the family. I mean just look at me and Valerion. We have all experienced some strains in our relationships but here were are now, happy. If anyone can get through to him, it’s you Eros." Ezekiel encouraged and Eros smiled weakly.

"His name is Gareth." Eros whispered as he remembered what his mate looked like.

"That’s a powerful name." Ezekiel admitted as he sat next to his nephew, his hand resting on his knee in a comforting gesture.

"What if he doesn’t stop hating me and continues to threaten our family?" Eros asked, knowing it was a possibility as he remembered how hellbent his mate had been.

"I am sorry but I will have to keep him locked up in the dungeons. My outmost responsibility as king is to protect my family." Ezekiel’s demeanor was serious and Eros sighed. He had figured as much.

"I will try to get to him. It’s not like I can choose to get another mate on a whim anyway. I just can’t believe I am stuck with him after waiting for so damn long!" Eros’ voice choked with frustration and Ezekiel hugged his nephew, parting his back softly as tears silently rolled down Eros’ cheeks.

"Everything will turn out just fine. You will see." Ezekiel comforted.

"How do you manage to stay so optimistic all the time?" Eros sniffled and Ezekiel smiled.

"That my dear nephew, is my super power." He chuckled though he knew the truth.

He couldn’t afford to dwell on the negatives if he was to properly rule an entire kingdom and so, Ezekiel chose to see the best even in the worst case scenarios.

....

That night, Eros turned and tossed in his sleep, unable to get the images of Gareth’s bruised back from his mind.

His mate was locked away in a cage, cold and injured and the instinctal part of Eros that was built to care for his mate didn’t like it one bit.

With a consolation that he could go and see Gareth the next morning, Eros finally managed to get some sleep and in the morning, he headed down to the dungeons to see his mate.

He carried a small basin of water, a washcloth and a salve for injuries.

Seeing his mate meticulously restrained by numerous chains was a troubling sight and Eros kept his face passive once Gareth raised his head and looked at him, his forest green eyes cold and piercing.

Eros couldn’t let the dragon see how affected he was and with a steady hand, he opened the door and walked in.

"What are you doing here?" Gareth hissed and Eros ignored his hostility as he placed the basin down and proceeded to dip the wash cloth in the warm water.

"Making sure you don’t die from an infection." Eros answered calmly as he walked towards the dragon that was looking at him suspiciously.

It was clear that he didn’t trust him but Eros had mentally prepared himself for that as he placed the washcloth on his mate’s heavily built torso.

Gareth was a huge man.

He was taller than Eros by over ten inches and his was physic was mainly composed of thick taut muscles.

Eros tried not to notice that his mate was nearly twice his size as he trailed the washcloth lower, cleaning his lower abdomen.

Gareth tried not to flinch as his senses were clouded by his mate’s intoxicating scent and although he hated the man, his body seemed to be enjoying his care and closeness a little too much.

His treacherous eyes lowered, looking at the spot on his mate’s neck where his dragon itched to place his mark but those thoughts rapidly vanished once he saw the faint red mark on the man’s collarbone.

"Is that a hickey on your neck?" Gareth’s entire being stiffened as his eyes glared at the fading red mark.

Was his mate sleeping with someone else? Worse, was he in love with his passionate lover.

Gareth’s chest tightened uncomfortably as he waited for his mate to reply.

The idea of this man’s heart already belonging to someone else did not sit well with him.

Gareth felt an overwhelming possessiveness and jealousy turned his mouth sour as he glared at the man whose name he didn’t even know.

Eros hid a smirk, glad that the dragon wasn’t totally unaffected.

"Relax, this all happened before I met you." Eros’ voice was calm as he continued his task, moving on to clean his mate’s back.

"Are you in love with your lover?" Gareth asked and Eros scoffed. For someone who hated him, the dragon surely had a lot of questions.

"You ask too many questions?" Eros sighed, his brows furrowing with concern as he noticed how deep the wounds on Gareth’s back were. He slowly cleaned them before returning to the basin.

Eros washed the cloth, well aware of Gareth’s intense stare before he moved on to the dragon’s sturdy biceps.

"So you are indeed in love with your lover." Gareth drew to a conclusion and Eros hated the look of betrayal that lingered in his mate’s eyes when he briefly paused and looked up at him.

"Don’t jump to conclusions." Eros warned and Gareth continued to look at him with an equal measure of hatred and betrayal.

"Nooo...no..no...no. You don’t get to look at me like that. Like I am cheating on you. You don’t even want me, remember?" Eros was irritated as he glared at his mate.