Page 88 of Fated for his Flame

Chloe

One month later.

“Congratulations again, Mr. Governor,” Silas said as we all landed outside the family house.

Caleb blushed, while beside him, Shi beamed proudly. “I still can’t believe you sprung that on me!”

Beside me, Silas shook his head. “It was sprung on me as well! I didn’t expect Dad to step down like that and in the middle of a Council meeting, nonetheless!”

I noted the way he called their father “Dad.” It was the first time I’d heard him say that. Something had changed in the old man. I was too new to properly understand, though I wondered if it was the way in which Silas finally stood up to him and called him out instead of just avoiding the brewing confrontation.

He still didn’t like me. In fact, he often left the room when I was there. But he no longer called his son a traitor. And instead of insulting me, he just didn’t talk to me. It might not be a complete reversal, but that would take time.

The fact I had actually been a spy hadn’t helped either. But a cautionary truce had been established, and I did my best to respect it. Now that the elder dragon had officially handed control of the house over to Silas, it would hopefully improve. I knew Silas had a number of things he longed to implement immediately, including removing some of his more anti-human-prejudiced relatives who were in positions of power.

I didn’t worry. It would take time. For now, however, I had a core group who treated me like a real person.

“Things are truly changing,” Caleb said as Shi clung to his side, much as I did to Silas. “Finally.”

“Yes,” Silas agreed, glancing down at me. “Finally.”

I smiled up at him, extremely happy and proud he was able to make his mark. If there was anything I knew about Silas, besides how much I loved him, it was how good a man he was. The house was in the right arms to carry it forward. And with Caleb now installed as governor of the Occupied Territories, things were looking up indeed.

“So, what do we do now?” I asked, looking around.

“Now, we fly to the mainland,” Caleb said. “And decide where to establish our seat of power. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. A lot. We’re going to be very busy over the next while.”

“Yes, you are,” Silas agreed. “As are we. Though, not to the same extent.”

“What about right this moment, though?” I asked. “Do we celebrate?”

Caleb started nodding, and opened his mouth to agree, but before he could, Shi got up on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear. The new governor’s mouth slammed shut.

“We, uh, we’ve got some things to attend to,” he said, covering a cough. “We’ll talk later before we head out. Okay?”

Shi was already tugging him into the house.

“What was that all about?”

I stared at Silas. “Are you really that dumb?”

He looked at me. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, you big, lovable loser. Shi is very proud of her mate. She wants to show him that.”

“Yeah, I—Ohhh,” Silas said, shaking his head as he stared after his siblings.

“Yes.” I waited for him to turn back around, my arms crossed under my chest, purposefully pushing my breasts up.

Silas noticed immediately, his eyes locked on.

“Just so you know,” I said. “He’s not the only one with a proud mate. A mate who would like to show just how proud she is.”

That time, Silas got the hint immediately. He grabbed my hand and hauled me after him toward his bedroom.

We were barely through the door before he was pawing at me, sliding the forest green glani over my head and tossing it on the floor, his hands running up and down my body, the thick, meaty grip swallowing my waist as he lifted me up, so I could wrap my legs around him.

“There’s still one thing left to do,” he growled, lowering me onto the bed and climbing on top of me as I slid into the middle of it.

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