Page 69 of Devoted to the Dragon

I don’t know if I can get over the past, or if I’ll ever be able to trust the serpent, but I’m going to try for the wolves in this room—and for myself. I’ve waited lifetimes for these men to show up. I can’t reject Knox outright, not without trying.

“I’ve decided I’m going to take Knox up on his invitation to dinner.”

My wolves tense.

“The stones? They helped?” Fennik asks, voice full of understanding.

At the same time,Gunnar grinds his jaw. “Do you have to go?”

I worry my lip, trying to explain my decision. “No, the stones didn’t magically make me forgive him. And no, I don’t have to go. But I don’t think I’m going to get an answer about what to do, not until I understand more about who he is and what he wants.”

Fennik takes my face between his hands. “All right, baby girl. But we’re talking safety before you go.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Gunnar and I say at the same time, then dissolve into laughter.

It’s a pillow fight and a pile of giggles before we manage to fly back to my lair so I can prepare for the world’s most awkward dinner date.

It takes me forever to decide what to wear. What kind of armor do you wear when you’re trying to protect your heart?I stand in the bathroom, adrift. Fennik comes in without speaking, grabbing things from my closet and helping me step into lace panties and a dress. He zips me up, then bends, helping me into my favorite black heels.

“Now finish up, baby girl. You look beautiful, and he’s a fool.” He wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me back against him. His eyes meet mine in the bathroom mirror. “No matter what happens tonight with your newest mate, I want you to know I’m going to understand and support you.”

I swallow around that thick knot in my throat. His permission and his understanding are a huge weight lifted.

He pops my ass. “You’ve got fifteen minutes to finish getting ready, or I’m coming to get you again.”

When I’m dressed and armed with Vandera’s potion, my wolves insist on driving me out to the lake house.

Gunnar opens my door and tugs me into a hug. “You don’t gotta do one damn thing you don’t want to, okay?”

I trace his pec where I know, under his shirt, his dragon brand lives. “I know.”

He passes me off to Fennik, who scoops me into another hug. He doesn’t whisper though. He growls loudly enough for Knox, who is waiting on the other side of the wards, to hear, “If he hurts you, we’ll kill him. No questions.”

I can’t help but chuckle into his chest at their display. It’s sweet though and makes me love them more. On tippy-toes, I kiss his cheek.

The short trip between Fennik and Knox feels like an eternity, but I face it and step through the wards.

Chapter 32

Knox

An engine alerts me that someone has come to visit. I stumble out of my jail shack, amazed to see my white-haired dragon in the back of an SUV.I watch as the wolves scent mark Randi as though that’s a deterrent. I know what we smell like together and what we will taste like if she forgives me.

The older wolf threatens to kill me if I hurt her. Surprise, surprise.

She comes to the boundary line, and I hold out my hand for her but speak to him. “Don’t worry, Daddy, I’ll have her home before it’s too late.”

Instead of the fury I expect for me mouthing off in a tight situation, the Viking and my dragon snicker, passing a secret look between them. Even the silver fox doesn’t look mad, his cheeks turning red as he shakes his head.

“Fuck all y’all,” he says good-naturedly. He turns to me, his eyes serious. “Treat her right. You do that and we won’t have a problem.”

The snark bleeds out of me, and I nod solemnly. “I promise not to hurt her.”

He lifts his chin in acknowledgment, and I think that’s as good as I can hope for right now. It sure beats taking another of their beatdowns.

My soft little dragon turns around and hugs both wolves one more time. As she walks through the wards, she seems to steel herself with each step, adding layers of armor until I’m facing the dragoness who stared down the king. I want both versions of her, but for now, I’ll take fire.

She looks at my outstretched hand and ignores it, waiting until she hears the wolves back away before speaking. “I’m here for them. Not you. Dragons mate with groups of three or more. I can’t bond them without you.”

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