Page 38 of Don't Fae With Dragons

“Realm’s Mother, Cory!” Port shouted, more a gasp than a true yell. “We’re sorry, Cory. You know that. It was never meant to happen like this. She’s just ... hard to ignore.”

I scoffed. “Notthathard. She’s just a girl, after all is said and done!”

“A girl we all care for, Cory, we can’t help that” Max admits with a snarl. “You’re not the only one who’s drawn to her. We’re pack now, anyway –there’s no way around it, if you’re drawn to her, we both are, too.”

I grumbled a bit at that. He is right –pack is a uniting front, and it’s not uncommon for packs to share in partners.

Max continues, “Even if we wouldn’t have all been attracted to her before the pack, we’re united now, by a force greater than any of us. You know this, Cory –we’ve all been told the stories –and you can’t snap and attack Port and me every time we slip up. Pack won’t allow it.”

It was a pretty compelling argument, I have to admit. I calmed down quite a bit after that, after realizing that wearea pack now, and I have to treat them as such. Am I still the Alpha leader? Oh, certainly –nothing will change that. However, I do have to cut them a little slack, however stupid they may be at times.

I can be stupid too, Isuppose, although I would like to think I’m notablylessstupid than someone who would scare the living daylights out of the one faery my pack is most drawn to.

Anyway, after that dinner, things have been going as well as can be expected. Mili has been mostly avoiding us, and I’ve been reluctantly allowing it. I’ve gone to her chambers to see her a few times, but she’s always out somewhere. It drives me to madness not knowing exactly where she is, I’ll confess.I just want her to be safe and heal her magick quietly like a good, normal girl, but she insists on testing her strength and forcing herself to keep up with her rituals.

I had half a mind to lock her in the bedroom until she’d recovered her magick energy a reasonable amount, overzealous faery that she is. After some consideration, though, I figured that would be a bit too evil-seeming. I’m really a charming fellow, and it would be a shame if my own paranoia prevented her from seeing it.

Now, though, I’m at my wits end. She apparently was in thewoodsrecently, and didn’t notice Max sneak up on her – I did have words with Max about this, too, as could be expected. But he stalked her, like a woodland cat, until something caught fire from him, and she heard the crackling of the leaves.

Neither of them would tell me what happened during the rest of the encounter, which terrifies me, still. Max did promise, though, that they didn’t have any sort of relations. If theyhad, I would technically be within my rights as the pack Alpha leader to duel him to the death, and I told Max as much. Actually, I don’t know if that’s true, but Max doesn’t know any better.

Anyway, after I suitably threatened him into leaving the lovemaking until a later time, he swore to leave it alone – and thank the Realm’s Mother, too. I don’t want him scaring her off for good.

At some point during their little forest rendezvous, though, Mili apparently got it into her pretty little head that it’s a good idea to practicefighting dragon shifters.Yes, truly fighting us. Now, only a fortnight since her arrival, we’re battling together in the woods, every damned day.

She’s very adamant that we don’t go easy on her, which sends me into a panic quite regularly. Seeing her thrown to the woodland floor always scares the Realm out of me, and I can never help myself but to run to her and make sure she’s alright. To Port and Max’s credit, they’ve never mortally wounded her, nor have they even come close. The more I watch them fight, too, the more impressed and delighted I am with their skills –even with Mili’s. Still, I worry for her safety among us dragons.

She’s sitting on a mossy log next to me, now, nursing her minor wounds. In the middle of our chosen clearing, Max and Port are going at it.

I’m strangely intrigued by the sight, though I’d never admit it. They fight much differently than I would have expected them to. Port uses attacks that border on dirty shots, his style much scrappier than the elegant, poised fighter I anticipated him to be. On the contrary, Max is agile and defensive, almost graceful in his movements.

Their chosen weapons are entirely opposite of what I’d guess. Port is a middleweight fighter, and quite a bit shorter than Max, but still relies on daggers and his short sword. I even saw him stash a battle axe in his bag one day, though he hasn’t brought that out with Mili, yet.

Max has the range of weapons I would’ve expected from Port: a bow and arrow he guards with his life, a crossbow, andeven a slingshot. His training seems to be preparing him to defend Port, so as to let him go in and do the dirty work.

It’s strangely endearing watching them fight. They battle like scorned lovers, anticipating each others’ movements with expert intuition. Their footwork is reminiscent of a mating dance, and more than once I catch them grinning in the heat of their sparring. I can’t help but smile watching them, and I rest an elbow on my knee as I lean forward to watch more closely.

“How did the three of you meet, anyway?” Mili asks softly. She’s become a lot more assertive in the fortnight she’s been here, and – gods strike me down –I actuallylikeit. I never thought I’d appreciate a woman speaking to me with confidence, but here we are.

I smirk in response. “They stumbled in here, about to be killed by assassins.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “What? That can’t be.”

“It’s true,” I sigh with a grin. “I saved their sorry behinds.”

“They’ve never gone back home?”

I shake my head. “It’s only been a few weeks, but I doubt they’d return now. We’ve become too close.”

“Weeks?” she exclaims. “Realm’s Mother, I thought you’d known each other for years.”

“It feels like it, doesn’t it?” I smile and glance back at them, just as two brutish looking figures burst into the clearing.

“CORY!” Port screams, just as he and Max start positioning themselves for a fight.

Mili gasps and reaches for her sachets of protective herbs, but I pull her close to me by the arm. She looks up at me, mouthagape and eyes wide with shock. She’s so beautiful, standing here so close to me –I can’t let anything happen to her.

“No,” I hiss. “Please, Mili. Hide. I’ll take care of it.”

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