Page 34 of Logan

Legion arched an eyebrow. “Your terms are acceptable. This is your family, Emily. We share our resources. This is not a loan. Everything of Logan’s is yours by right. What is his is yours.”

“We aren’t married,” she said stubbornly because she had no real response to his statement.

Legion glanced at Logan. “The bond between mates is more binding than a human marriage, but I hope you will consider holding a wedding. The women love planning them, and dragons enjoy the eclectic array of food offered at the event.”

She glanced down at her hands. Nobody had ever offered her anything without wanting something in return. Logan and his family were offering millions of dollars for nothing. “I can’t accept. It’s too much.”

Legion sighed. “Consider it a finder’s fee. You have discovered the truth about Logan’s brother and the existence of his mother’s pearl. That is worth more to us than you can imagine. We would have paid any price for that information.”

“But the pearl is gone,” she said.

Logan shook his head. “It cannot be destroyed by human hands. Lothos had been keeping it safe, so it still exists. We will find it again now that we know to look for it.”

“I don’t know what to say. Why would you do this?”

Legion and Mara both frowned. They seemed as hurt as Logan that she was stunned by their generosity.

Legion touched his mate’s shoulder. “The dragons are bound to the druids. Without you, we have no future. We will die before weallow your race to be enslaved by the darks and used like cattle. Any druid we find, whether she has a mate or not, is to be protected, even if she chooses a human life. Money has nothing to do with our pledge.”

“But it is two million dollars. Not ice cream money.”

Legion grunted. “Money means nothing to us. We amass great wealth easily. We have lived for thousands of years, and the majority of my brethren have slept through the years. Our wealth grew, but until recently, we did not enjoy any of it. Now we can at least enjoy the things we can procure for our mates.”

Emily shook her head. “This is a lot to take in.”

Mara sighed. “You get used to it, eventually. My store was one bad week from going under when I met Legion. Natalie was working for free so we could keep the loft above our store. Money bags over here just waltzed in and paid off all my debt and then bought the building next to the store so I could expand. I hadn’t bought anything that wasn’t from a thrift shop in years when I met Legion.”

Emily nibbled her lip. “I had the best of everything. My uncle liked to keep up appearances, but I had no friends and no family that would admit I was related to them. I would have taken the run-down loft and worked for free, too, if my life was my own. At least you knew Natalie stayed with you because she loved you.” She hadn’t meant to sound envious, but her last true friend stopped coming around after her mother died. Her parents were uncomfortable with Emily’s new environment, and she couldn’t blame them.

Mara reached her hand out and squeezed Emily’s. “I know I was lucky. Natalie was always there for me, even when my mother died, and my sister couldn’t be. I am truly sorry you were so alone, but you never will be again. Let us help you, Emily. We only want your safety and your trust.”

She knew she was going to let them. How could she say no? “It’s just so much money. I will want to help at the store, or something else to help out if I agree.”

Mara’s eyes brightened. “Sam would love some more help at the store. She isn’t as comfortable with the men yet. She is the store manager. But don’t worry about the money. The men can literally make gold from thin air, or we could always harvest the gems in the caves if needed.”

“What?” Emily asked.

Mara shrugged. “Legion says they are naturally occurring, but I think the dragons produce them. There are diamonds, rubies, and an array of other gems embedded in the rocks. The caves are literally full of treasure if you know where to look.”

“I want to look,” Emily said without thinking, but Logan chuckled as Legion smiled.

“We could show you now. Are you ready to meet Adara?”

As Emily’s heart raced with anticipation, a wave of nervousness washed over her at the thought of meeting Adara, the source of the druids’ power. This was no ordinary encounter. This meeting would change the course of her life forever.

She couldn’t help but feel a mixture of curiosity, fear, and eagerness swirling within her, each emotion vying for dominance. Meeting Adara meant facing the truth of her own identity as a druid, a realization that filled her with both excitement and nervousness.

If Adara claimed her as one of her own, there would be no turning back. She would be forever bound to the ancient lineage of the druids, her fate irrevocably intertwined with theirs.

Amidst the excitement of embarking on a new life filled with untold possibilities, Emily couldn’t shake the feeling that she was exchanging one prison sentence for another. The weight of expectation and responsibility pressed down upon her, threatening to suffocate her possibility of freedom.

But despite her apprehensions, Emily knew that she couldn’t ignore the call of destiny. With courage and determination, she squared her shoulders and prepared to face whatever challenges lay ahead, knowing that the path to her true purpose was in the hands of Adara, the powerful being who held the key to unlocking her destiny.

Emily stood on the precipice of destiny, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that her entire life had been leading to this pivotal moment. Meeting Logan, with his enigmatic presence and undeniable connection to her, felt like more than just a chance encounter—it felt like fate itself had intervened to bring them together.

She knew that she was many things—some of them not necessarily good—but one thing she had never been was a coward. Despite the uncertainties and challenges that lay ahead, she was determined to face them head-on.

Logan touched her neck with a soft caress, and she felt a renewed sense of purpose and resolve.

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