Page 28 of Protector Dragon's Shattered Mate

Brennan looked sideways at her and grinned. “Yes, I would love some help. These losers always say I do a better job with the lunch sandwiches, so they just stand around running their mouths.” He laughed and handed her a pile of tomatoes. “Wash those and slice them thin. And don’t cut yourself; the knife is really sharp.”

“Well, we don’t really get cut.”

He made a show of slapping his forehead. “Damn. I knew that. I know full well you’re a bear. I saw you with my own eyes, but when I’m around you your aura justscreamswitch.”

“Really? No one’s put it quite like that yet.”

“Yes, really. I’m one hundred percent dragon shifter, as far as I know, but I’ve been around so many different kinds of supernatural people that I feel like I’ve got a pretty good read on what’s what. Your magic’s just…” He waved his arms in a big circle. “You know?”

“All over the place?” she asked.

“I don’t mean that in a bad way,” he said. “You have a lot of magical power. So that’s really cool. Once you learn to use it, you’ll be unstoppable.”

“I don’t know if I want to be unstoppable.”

“I know the feeling. We all have to live with the fact that we could go on a rampage at any moment.”

She nodded. She understood the feeling.

While they ate, the group suddenly stopped and everyone sat up straighter, looking toward the driveway.

Then she felt it. There was another witch on the property. She had no idea how she knew. But she did.

She looked over at Quinn who was the closest to her. “Is that Nora? Is she here?”

“Yes. She just texted to say that she’s pulling into the driveway. How did you know?”

“I could feel it. It went straight to my brain.”

“You will definitely have to tell her. She’ll want to know.”

“I will,” Sofia said. She was so glad she would get to meet Nora. She wasn’t sure how much Nora could teach her in half a day, but anything was better than nothing.

She stood there with her BLT sandwich. Something she’d never had before, but that Brennan had insisted on making.

Nora walked through the doorway. She was a lot smaller than Sofia had expected. Which was stupid that she expected any size at all. Witches’ bodies were like humans; their sizes were more variable than shifters.

“Hello everyone,” she said in a lilting Irish accent. Her eyes zeroed in on Sofia.

“You must be Sofia.” She came forward. “It’s so lovely to meet you. I’ve been looking forward to it. Would you like to go speak in private? There’s no pressure either way.”

“Yes, I’d love to speak to you alone.” Anytime she spoke about what had happened with the wolves, Levi grew agitated. She understood why he did. But she didn’t want to upset him, especially now that she was leaving.

“Great, that’s settled then.”

Brennan came over and wrapped Nora up in a big hug. “Would you like a sandwich?”

“Yes, that would be lovely.” She took the plate and a sparkling water. “Before we go, I do have something you all need to know. Niall went to the coordinates where the compound was. He ended up sneaking in and talking to a few of the wolves. Itisthe same pack that held me captive. Maxim is dead, but they have a new leader.”

“Koryak,” Sofia said.

“Yes,” Nora replied.

The room went still. There wasn’t even a gasp.

“We were expecting this. And I’m telling you so that you all be cautious. I know that you normally would not find a wolfshifter a particular challenge, especially for the dragon form, but these wolves have been experimenting with dark magic. The same kind of dark magic that my mother and her coven used.”

This time there were a few gasps. Fallon, Brennan’s mate, had her hand over her heart. Her eyes were shining.

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