Saving Verakko: The Clecanian Series Book 3 Victoria Aveline (best book club books .TXT) 📖

began illuminating near the ceiling, like silver bubbles. The room was large and dominated by a collection of cream-colored pillows and cushioned couches as wide and deep as king-sized beds. Clacking from her right suddenly sounded, making her jump, and she watched in awe as a stairway comprised of glass and glimmering metal dropped from the ceiling. Her eyes followed the stairs to a second story high above.

The home was beautiful and well appointed. The furnishings immaculate. Silver finishes glinted everywhere, and odd pieces of sculpted art were scattered about.

Lily frowned; this house was beautiful, but it didn’t feel like Verakko. It was too…perfect. Staged, like a gallery display of the ideal futuristic living room. “I thought you lived in Tremanta. You have a house here too?”

Verakko stared at the floor for a moment, licking a fang, and then leveled a miserable look on her.

“Oh,” she choked out as realization hit. “This is for her, isn’t it?”

He shrugged. “I purchased the home weeks ago after signing the contract. I had to make sure it was ready in time for…”

“Your wedding,” she finished numbly as his voice trailed off. She shook her head. “I really don’t think I should stay here. I want to go to the other housing.”

He released a deep breath through his nose and stared at her. “I understand you’re angry with me, but you aren’t ready to be on your own yet, I need to help acclimate you to our city.”

“Oh, you mean acclimate me by picking and choosing the information you deem is important and lying about the rest?” Lily reproached with her hands on her hips and her brows raised.

“The city doesn’t know about humans yet. You wouldn’t even be able to converse with anyone if you needed help because no one has your language uploaded on their translators.” He pulled her down the hall and into what she could only assume was a kitchen of some sort, then strode around the room, pulling various odd foods and tools from different compartments.

“And what about your fiancée?” she shot at him. “How do you think she’ll feel when she finds another woman in her house? I know you may not be connected romantically, but she’s obviously put a lot of work into decorating this place, only to have me come and use it all first.”

Gripping a deep purple bottle, he paused and said, “I told you. In my mind, she’s no longer my betrothed.” He took a long swig of the beverage, then pushed it into her hands.

Lily tilted her head at him, indignation at his matter-of-fact tone scratching against her nerves. “Your contract is still intact, yes? That means you’re still engaged. It doesn’t matter what’s in your mind. It matters what’s in everyone’s minds.”

Verakko plucked the bottle from her hands and took another swig before replacing it; his hard stare bore into her. “Whether or not I marry her is entirely up to you.”

“Up to me?” she repeated, confusion setting in again. She laughed, raising her bottle in the air sarcastically. “Well, why didn’t you say so?”

“I’m set to be married in a couple weeks. There are only one of two ways to break my contract.” Unlatching a large pocket on his thigh, Verakko produced two bottles, both visibly old and dusty. “One, I announce that my eyes have changed, meaning I’ve recognized someone who could potentially be my mate.” He poured liquid from the smaller of the two bottles onto his hands, uncaring of the drips that fell to the floor, and wrung his hands together. “Two, I announce that my mating marks have appeared, proving you’re my mate beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

Verakko lifted his hands. She stared at the bright-blue designs curling across his wrists and hands that hadn’t been there a moment ago. Her breath caught in her throat. How could marks like that have appeared out of nowhere? Was there some kind of magic on this planet? When he said mate, was he being serious? Not just a fancy phrase for a wife, but a real-life honest-to-goodness soulmate. And she was his?

“I signed a contract before I ever met you,” he spoke quietly, the melodic tone of his voice gone. “There are consequences to breaking it. If I did, I’d never be able to marry anyone else in any city, and I’d be sent away. Recognizing a mate hasn’t happened in centuries. Not until Jade showed up earlier this year. You don’t understand how special it is. How rare these are,” he said, lifting his hands again.

Lily swallowed and tried to ignore the pangs of longing shooting through her.

“I felt that you could be mine when I first laid eyes on you. But I didn’t recognize you right away. I kept putting off telling you about Ziritha because I wanted to recognize you so badly, and I worried you’d treat me differently if you knew. It was selfish, but…I didn’t know what else to do. I thought maybe if I explained my situation, that perhaps we could be together after our marriages were through. But now that I’ve recognized you, you won’t be forced to be with anyone else.”

“I’ll only be forced to be with you.” Lily recalled what he’d said about mates and how it was for life. Cold fear made her stomach flip. She began pacing, a weak attempt to control her chaotic emotions. “You’re telling me this is my choice, but what kind of choice is it? Be with a stranger and watch you get married to someone else, or be with you forever? How am I supposed to make that kind of decision in two weeks?” She froze and faced him, fury and longing and fear all clamoring for acknowledgment. “You want me to make a lifelong commitment after you’ve done nothing but lie to me? How do you expect me to do that,