Page 12 of Not a Tribute

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Liam

Several life-changing things have happened in the past few minutes. First, the female I used to frequent before she quit—apparently, she still works, just not where I spend my time—showed up in my damn kitchen. With a fucking baby! I honestly have no idea how the hell she got in but there will be hell to pay once I find out.

Second, Seline decided to make decisions that had nothing to do with her. Don’t get me wrong, knowing that she is willing to raise my bastard has strange feelings blooming in my chest, which I will dissect at a later stage, but this is definitely something we should have discussed before she spoke to Angela.

And now, I am staring at the first female dragon shifter in a thousand years. She isn’t fully shifted just yet, but all the signs are there. Her scales shimmer beneath her skin as her dragon fights her for dominance.

“Oh my God! You’re a dragon!” Angela exclaims, drawing our attention to her.

“No,” Seline says with a shake of her head. “I’m a normal female just like you.”

“You’re not, Seline,” I say. “Your dragon is there, just beneath the surface. She was trying to get through, just a minute ago.”

Seline stares at me in disbelief before turning to the other woman. Angela nods. My mate extends her hands in front of her looking to see if there is any difference, but her dragon has already receded with her fading anger. She shakes her head, dismissing us both before getting back to the business at hand.

“You want Liam to take the boy, I am his female,” she states. “I will take the child.”

Angela turns her confused gaze my way and I do the only thing I can think of. I shrug. “If that is what she wants.”

I saw her, her dragon, and their reaction the moment she thought the child would be taken away. And I honestly don’t want to risk her shifting in here and hurting herself or someone else.

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Seline asks her. “We will need to get a lawyer and the Alpha Council involved to make it official. If you do this, there is no going back.”

A single tear slips down Angela’s cheek and I feel a moment of fleeting sympathy for the female. I would never be able to claim her. So many of the females from the pleasure houses get bred and have no other options. If I was alone, I would send her on her way. But Seline has made the decision for all of us.

“I need to do what is best for my son, not what is best for my heart,” she says. “I can barely fend for myself. But knowing you want him, that your dragon already claims him, is enough for me.”

“You’ll have to stay here,” I cut in, drawing the women’s attention. “I can’t have you running around the Capital telling everyone Seline is a dragon.”

“Liam, don’t be a prick,” Seline cuts in.

“I’m not. I am being practical,” I reply. “What do you think will happen to you if someone finds out? You have no control over your dragon, you can’t defend yourself, and we haven’t…” I allow my words to trail off.

I don’t mention the fact that we haven’t completed our mating yet. It was a bone of contention earlier and I don’t want to upset her right now. Knowing we will be able to finalize our mating and set the bond in place is enough for me and my dragon. Right now, I need her to understand the gravity of the situation.

“They’ll take me.” Her words are soft and filled withtrepidation, cutting into my wayward thoughts.

I nod, confirming her fears. I wish I could say I will protect her, that nothing will take her from me. But I honestly don’t know if I can. Seline is unique, and greedy men always want something no one else has.

If her father knew any of this, he would lose his mind. Knowing that he had the first female dragon in a thousand years under his roof all this time and basically threw her away will no doubt send him into a tailspin of rage, making him an ever more dangerous man.

“Angela can stay in the guest room until we have everything under control,” I say. “We will pay you for the time spent here.”

Angela stares at us with wide, unblinking eyes. “You two are nuts! How can you expect your whore and the woman you claimed to live under the same roof?”

“You’re not my whore.”

“But she was,” Seline cuts in, taking Angela’s free hand in hers. “I understand why you feel uncomfortable but that is in the past. Now we need to plan for the future. For your son’s future.”

Chapter Seven

Seline

I hold the sleeping child to my chest as I sit on the couch. Ares. She chose that name hoping it would be something great someday, and it will. It has been two hours since we got home and the moment his mother handed him to me, I knew I would give my life for him.

“Are you ever going to put him down?” Liam asks from the doorway.

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