Page 17 of Not a Tribute

Before he can nod or say anything, Seline is already headed up the stairs. The Alphas follow me into the lounge where I set the flat screen to the CCTV and search for the incident. It only takes a moment to play it for them. I watch as Gregor enters the frame, the moment he shoots Angela, and when Seline changes to her dragon. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion but it was only sixty seconds.

The gathered Alphas all gasp in shock at the events. Their anger and disgust are easy to distinguish on each man’s face at what Gregor has done as well as the sense of amazement at what Seline is.

“Fuck me,” Mikael says with a chuckle. “A female dragon shifter. Who would have thought?”

Everyone else remains in stunned silence.

“What happens now?” Seline asks as she enters the room cradling Ares.

“Nothing,” Mikael says. He strides over to her and stares at my son. “Gregor will be put to death as is the law.”

“And me?” she asks, staring up at the older Alpha.

“You and Liam need to fill out the paperwork for the child,” he says. “I assume he was with the other female. And then you need to get yourselves registered as a mated couple.”

“But,” one of the other Alphas cut in, drawing a glare from Mikael.

“Bring her by the house sometime,” he says to me. “My girls will get a kick out of seeing a female dragon.”

And then he is gone. The other Alphas scurry after him knowing he will surely leave them here if he feels like it.

Chapter Nine

Seline

After the Alpha Council leaves, we have no idea what to do or say. They took my father and Angela’s body with them when they left so now it is only me, Liam, and Ares. And the latter is sleeping fitfully in his crib once more.

“I think we should stay here for a few days,” Liam says sitting beside me on the porch swing. “We’re already here and we can get anything we need from town. We need a break from the insanity, even if it’s just for a couple of days.”

“I don’t mind staying.”

I continue staring out at the lake, replaying the last couple of days in my mind. Now that everything is settled it feels … anticlimactic. Our lives have been a whirlwind of sex and problems from the start and now I don’t know what to do with myself. I know that sounds ridiculous but having everything under control seems weird.

“What happens now?” I ask.

“We do what Mikael said. We need to get everything registered so we can move on with our lives,” Liam says, lifting me onto his lap, my back to his front. “I think after everything we have been through, we deserve to just relax.”

“And then we can live in peace?”

“Probably not,” he sighs. “News about you will spread fast and people are going to have questions.”

I nod reluctantly. I know he’s right but I’m not happy about it. There isn’t much either of us can do about it, though. So I’ll probably just have to adapt to this new normal. At least Ares is safe, and we have each other.

“What are you thinking about?”

“A promise you made before everything went to shit,” I sass, trying to lighten the mood and change the subject.

“Is that so?” he rasps before sucking on my earlobe. “I don’t remember making any promises.”

“Okay,” I say thoughtfully. “I’m sure there will be a line of Alphas around the block happy to make and keep promises now that I can access my dragon.”

Liam moves with unexpected speed, standing with me in his grasp before bending me over the wooden railing that surrounds the porch. My ribs protest the move but I don’t utter a single complaint.

“Do you think saying that to me was a good idea?” His voice is gravelly, raising goose bumps across my flesh.

“I don’t think it matters,” I bite back. “You want a mate, but I don’t know if you can handle one, old man.”

In my life I have never been this brazen or bratty, but I need him to do something, anything. I need to feel connected to him. Our world has been turned upside down so many times in the last few days that I just want something normal. I want Liam to make me feel better, to give me what I need while taking what he wants.

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