Page 16 of Devoted to the Dragon

I try to explain, to give at least one of us some answers. “Is that why you don’t fully shift? We think so. We’ve seena few young wolves who are unable to. It’s like our magic is unbalanced… dying.” I place a steadying hand on his back, unable to keep from trying to comfort him.

The room is quiet except for the crackling of the fire. Randi takes another sip of her drink. My wolf wants me to bring them to my lap or take this conversation to the bed, get comfortable, and lie together until both feel less hopeless. But we are a mess of complications, the three of us, so I sit and do nothing.

Gunnar looks at me over his shoulder. “Does the Council know about the Thunder?”

“Yes.” I nod simply.

He shakes his head, looking between the two of us. “Then why not host them?”

Randi drains her glass, sets it on the mantel, and walks toward the door. At the last moment, she glances over her shoulder at the two of us, her cheeks streaked with tears.

“Stay,” I mouth. My chest tightens. My wolf itches to go to her, to force her into my arms, to make her finally explain why she keeps us both in misery.

She shakes her head, throat bobbing, and turns away.

My wolf howls, my insides aching. I force myself to take a deep breath and turn to Gunnar.

He stares at me wide-eyed.

“For safety, pup. With so few omegas left, it became a blood bath. We lost many wolves. That was before we combined Randi’s magic with Vandera’s. The council doesn’t have the power to do what they do, not safely.”

One of those early Thunders turned into a massacre, and we lost almost everyone at the club that night. That was the night I lost Randi too. She closed herself off from me, and for two decades since, I’ve been chasing and getting close, only for her to push me away again and again.

He opens his mouth to ask another question, but I shake my head.I’d like to forget that night, to rewind time to before, when she was almost mine. But that isn’t possible.

“I think that’s enough for now.” I signal for him to get up and follow me.

The personal guards’ rooms are opposite her personal lair. I weave through the living room and take the stairs to the back of the house, eyeing the pup over my shoulder as he takes it in.

“Last question.” Gunnar follows me, feet slow. “Does anyone know why omegas stopped being born?”

“No one knows,” I answer. “We only know that it happened around the same time as the wolves stopped receiving mating runes and began turning feral.”

“Those tattoos the elders sometimes have?” Gunnar asks.

“Yes, pup. The mating runes appear—well, they used to—when wolves find their fated mate.” I stop outside my room, nodding toward the other doors in the hallway. “Take your pick. They’re all open. The housekeeper will help you get settled tomorrow. We’ll meet in my office at two.”

He looks around, running his hand through his shaggy hair. “Does this mean I’m keeping my job?”

“I’ve already answeredtwo‘last questions,’” I say with a raised brow, teasing him.

His sheepish grin appears again.

I continue goading him, though I can’t help but let a smile slip. “No. You’re not keeping the job.”

His face falls.

“You’re moving to Randi’s personal guard.”

“Fuck yeah!” Gunnar lets out a whoop and jumps, stumbling again in his blankets but catching himself. “What does that mean?”

“We can talk about that tomorrow. To bed now, pup,” I say, trying for stern but failing.

Gunnar really is adorable. Maybe what Randi needs more than an extra protector is someone who can bring out her softness.I slip into my room, hoping that I can make sense of the complications between the three of us.

Chapter 8

Randi

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