Page 22 of The Dragon of her Dreams

I nodded and as I stepped toward them, Jaegar’s grip on my hip tightened. I glanced up at him. “It’s okay. Come meet my family.”

His feet were frozen in place or so it seemed.

I held out my hand to him, offering him my own strength.

He didn’t move for a long moment, then finally, he took my hand in his.

I guided him over to where my parents were hugging Iain and Veronica.

“Hey, guys,” I said, letting go of Jaegar’s hand.

Veronica threw herself at me, almost knocking me over with the strength of her hug. “Happy birthday!” she cried before pulling back. Veronica looked tanned and vibrant.

“Vacation going well?” I asked.

“Oh yeah,” she gushed. “Travelling isamazing.”

Veronica slipped back into her place beside my brother with a smile.

Jaegar reached out for my waist once more, the protective dragon in him rising to the surface despite the fact these people were family and no threat to me.

Iain’s eyebrows quirked up in question.

Before I could answer him, Veronica’s lips curved into a huge smile. “And who’s this?” she asked.

Dad mercifully stepped closer and made the introductions as quickly and painlessly as possible, giving a shortened version of everything leading up until this point.

Iain reached out and shook Jaegar’s hand, making him let go of me for a short moment.

I thought I’d be glad for the respite, but instead, my skin ached to feel the heat of him once more. My royal personality, the one who had learned to hold her own and live with her own company, now warred with the passion of my dragon.

Veronica frowned at Jaegar. “So, how do you know my family? I’ve never met you before.”

“Oh, ah...”

I had to laugh amicably at Jaegar’s inability to answer Veronica’s question. “We call Veronica the Dragon’s Daughter. Ever since we were kids Veronica’s been able to outrun, outfly, and outburn us all.”

Iain pulled her possessively to his side. “Yep. She’s amazing.”

Veronica turned her face up to receive Iain’s kiss, but her eyes were still glued to Jaegar. “You still didn’t answer my question,” she pressed.

Dad coughed loudly. “Maybe I should go and get Damon?”

“Maybe someone should answer my question,” Veronica snapped. “Because if I didn’t know better, I’d ask why you have my father’s eyes.”

Jaegar straightened beside me, tensing at Veronica’s temper. “Well...”

“Jaegar is your half-brother,” I explained quickly, jumping in to smooth the transition. “He was born to one of the women in your kingdom, five years before Uncle Damon met Aunt Cass.”

Veronica’s eyes flashed with the fire of her dragon. “Are you serious? I’ve got another older brother?” She rolled her eyes dramatically, then laughed, breaking the tension to smithereens. “What can I say? Welcome to the chaos!” Then she did what Veronica always did, she surprised us all. She walked across the small circle, closing the divide between her and Jaegar, and wrapped her arms around him for a hug.

He stared at me, worry-struck, clearly not used to such shows of familial affection.

I mouthed,hug her back,because Veronica wasn’t letting go.

Jaegar’s arms came around her very slowly and carefully.

When Veronica finally let go and moved back, I could almost feel him trembling at the interaction that was so foreign to him. He’d felt rejected all his life, and now he was being accepted and swept up into the biggest family unit in the realm. It would be overwhelming.

---