Page 45 of Interlude

“Are you sure? I don’t care if you want him to stay naked while he eats,” he says quietly, but I think Tirrian still hears him, because one corner of his lips kicks up like he’s trying not to smile.

“Clothe the damn dragon,” I growl at the ridiculous god. How dare he call me out like that?

I whirl around and head back to the chairs, grabbing our dirty cups and plates off the coffee table and taking them over to the little kitchen. I can hear the two males murmuring behind me, but I don’t bother trying to tune in. They need to sort out their own crap.

I put our dirty dishes in the sink. I consider washing them, but I’ll wait until Tirrian is done. I search for another bowl and grumble my annoyance when I can’t find one, but one suddenly appears on the counter next to the hanging pot.

“Thank you,” I call. I may be annoyed, but that’s no excuse to be rude. I ladle some stew into the bowl, giving him a generous portion, knowing how much food shifters consume. When I return to the seating area, another chair has appeared, and Tirrian is wearing a skirt much like Zeydan’s, except the embroidery and sash are the same color pink as his wings, but all the naked abdominal flesh makes me pause for a moment. Hmm, maybe I should instate a rule—no shirts!

“Here.” I hold out the bowl, but Tirrian doesn’t take it. He places his hands over mine, and when I meet his eyes, I can see a little bit of amusement but mostly worry in them.

“Are you okay?” he asks me, and I nod, giving him a smile.

“I’m fine. Zeydan has been very kind and generous, and he offered to help us get Grandma Lily,” I tell him, and he breathes out a sigh of relief before taking the proffered bowl.

“Good, everyone was worried when Xavier came to give us the heads-up. He tried to tell us you were fine, but nobody was happy with that. He tends to be less worried about you than the rest of us.”

“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t care,” I argue, a little annoyed that the rest of them didn’t trust him.

“No, it just means he is confident in her abilities,” Zeydan chimes in. “As you should all be. She is more powerful than all of you. Look at how you handled my creatures. She could have done the same if she had a dragon form of her own.” None of us miss the dig, and Tirrian winces and nods.

“Yes, I’ve been stubborn, I admit that, but I will do my best to make up for it now. It was one of the reasons I returned. I want Lila to have my form, but it would be best for me to give her a mating bite than have her mimic me. My dragon would be happier with that. It was our plan all along when we realized there were no other predators with flight capabilities—a way to ensure her complete safety on this mission. I wanted Xavier to teleport her to our ship so we could seal our bond this evening.”

My mouth drops open in shock. Did he just tell me he wants to commit to me right here and now? I must have heard wrong, and if I didn’t, then I don’t know how I feel about it. Instead of acknowledging what Tirrian just said, I change the subject.

“Did the Aaz’axians have problems because you didn’t want them to establish a base on your planet during the war?” It’s something I’ve been wondering. So far, the stories of the plants and animals have been greatly overexaggerated. I don’t miss the hurt look Tirrian gives me when I don’t respond to his declaration of wanting to mate with me, but he hurt me so often, how could he really expect me to fall on his dick with that half-assed apology? Heck, it wasn’t even an apology, and he didn’t even say it to me, he was telling Zeydan.

Zeydan looks back and forth between us, his mouth pursed in contemplation, but I guess he chooses not to get involved.

“Yes, I didn’t want them here, so I encouraged the inhabitants of this planet to make it difficult for them, but don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. Everything here is dangerous, and with my waning power, I do sometimes have trouble controlling them.”

“Did Xavier tell you who Zeydan is?” I ask the dragon who is happily consuming the bowl of food I gave him. He nods as he swallows his mouthful, a look of determination glowing in his eyes.

“Yes, he filled us in.” Tirrian frowns at Zeydan. “But I don’t think he has been completely honest with you.”

“Like you were honest with her or yourself?” Zeydan rumbles, sounding slightly put out.

“I have learned from my mistakes, and I don’t like to keep secrets from my mate.” I flinch. It’s not the first time he’s called me that, but it’s still a little jarring to hear since he was always so anti Lila from the start. “I made mistakes, and I don’t wish for anyone else to do the same. I also don’t see any disadvantage to her knowing the truth.”

They both obviously know something I don’t, and I’m starting to feel a little annoyed.

I cross my arms and glare at them. “Anyone want to share with the class?” I ask, not holding back on the sarcasm.

“You are my mate,” Zeydan says casually, and I feel like I’ve been hit over the head with a two-by-four.

“I’m sorry, come again?” I say, spluttering.

“You are my mate. I’m not sure what is so confusing for you. Don’t you feel the pull between us?” He waves a finger between us.

“Ah yes, but I thought that was my mimic power wanting to add you to the collection,” I tell him frankly, shrugging. “It’s hard to tell, to be honest.”

“Yes. I guess that could be a problem. If it’s any consolation, you can’t mimic me or any of the gods. It was one of the safeguards Lilessa made when she created mimic powers. We didn’t want anyone having more power than us.”

“I can see how that could be a problem. So mates… with both of you. I understand the mating process with the dragon, but what about the mating process with you?” I can be calm and mature about these things—at least outwardly. Inside, I’m screaming like a little girl, and I don’t know if it’s Swifties at a Taylor Swift concert excitement or cheerleader at the start of a horror movie.

I should probably be more upset than I am, but there is a part of me—that slutty, needy, horny shallow part—that is thrilled this gorgeous being is my mate. I already wanted to claim him as mine by licking him, so this makes it more permanent and gives me the option of killing any bitch who looks his way—at either of them, to be honest. I kind of like how primal I feel about claiming them, and I can assure you that I will be stamping my own claim all over them so everyone can see they are mine. Maybe I need shirts that say, “Property of Lila Adams,” for all my mates… or a tattoo. Yes, that’s even better. I will have them all tattooed with it.

“Lila?” Tirrian’s growl has me shaking my head and pushing those possessive thoughts down.

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