Page 75 of Devoted to the Dragon

The way he’s looking at the destruction of his gift hurts me. His expression is full of remorse and sadness, as though he’s sorry formymeltdown. And maybe I thought he was or should be, but looking at the devastation on his face makes that hard to reconcile.

He sighs in defeat. “I’m a fuckboy, Randi. The baby of a ruling family. I’ve spent my life making messes. I didn’t care.

“The only things I’ve ever been good at are shadow-walking and making rooms full of people want to fuck. That’s it. I didn’t give a shit about anything much. My sister and my mother.But that was never enough to anchor me. I was restless. I had everything, and it didn’t matter, because I knew something was missing. I told myself I was okay with it.

“But it was a lie. Those memories? That was me searching for something that would make me feel alive, make it feel like any of this shit had meaning.”

“What does that have to do with the forest?” I whisper. I think I know. I think I’veknownand chosen not to see.

His violet eyes hold me in place. “Do you know where those woods are?”

“No.” The word is shaky, standing on rumbling ground.

He looks at me as though I’m the center of his orbit—as though I'm the sun. “It’s the territory line. A human campground in the forest. Until the Alpha King let us in, I couldn’t get past it, even though I thought I was going crazy because I kept hearing things others couldn’t. And when my family needed a volunteer to go into wolf country, I went even though I handle sex and never politics or trade. I went because I wanted to know what was on the other side. But it wasn’t the wolves calling. It was you, wasn’t it?”

My nose burns again, though there aren’t any more tears. The irony that I crafted the spell with Vandera that called him here is too much. I don’t know whether to laugh or scream or cry. I’ve already done the other two, so I’m not surprised when the bubble of hysterics pops free.

He pulls me into his lap, wraps his arms around my back, and holds my face inches from his. “I’ve fucked up a lot. I’m snarky. Petty. Vain. I never cared. Not really. But you’re the only thing that’s ever mattered enough. I want to be good enough for you.”

His thumb rubs my cheek, his voice turning soft and supple, full of adoration. “I crave you. And I know I fucked this up too, but I swear that I’m not here to do some political bullshit. I killed the Alpha King because he was after you. No other reason.If another comes for you, I’ll do the same. But I’m not here for money, magic, weapons, or whatever else you think. I’m here because I can’t be anywhere else. I’m here because your soul called to mine long before our night in the woods.”

I tear my gaze from his and flee, wrapped in the blanket, to the edge of the waterlogged raft, staring into the breaking dawn on the still lake.

Knox’s heat settles at my back. He brushes his lips along the column of my neck. “Take your time. Punish me until you’re satisfied. Kill me if you must. But I’m not leaving. You’re my omega, and I will take care of you however you let me.”

“I’m not ready,” I whisper.

“You don’t have to be. I’ll be here waiting when you are. This time with a better nest.” He clasps my hand and slips something hard covered in paper into my palm. “Go home to your wolves. Let them soothe the ache I can’t. I promise it’s okay.”

That does it. I bite my lip, but another tear breaks free. The blanket hits the dock, and I leap into the air as I shift. The wards taste bitter when my dragon flies through them. She blasts her fire, sad and desperate to bring him to her nest.

But she doesn’t. She flies where I lead.

Chapter 35

Randi

The house light flicks on behind the bar.

“Peppermint patty!” Delia screams, jumping like a startled cat. “You scared the bejesus out of me, boss. What’re you doing sittin’ in the dark?”

Delia's hand flies to her chest. I’m sure I look like a mess. It was a night of chaos that I didn't bother to wash off. I’ve only covered the wreckage in a terrycloth robe I pilfered from the staff locker room.

I don’t bother to move, head resting on my hands as I stare at the small, wrapped stone. Although I should have thought to turn on a light. It looks less ominous than it did with my dragon’s night vision.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just over here avoiding.” I should go upstairs. And I’m going to. But I needed an hour in the dark and the quiet to be numb. Going to my dragon’s nest felt like actually running away. At least I’m only downstairs.

Delia’s gaze tracks over me as she worries her bottom lip. “I see you got hold of Vandi’s special stash.”

I nod into my hands, the movement making me dizzy. Alcohol doesn’t do much to shifters, though we do drink it. It burns off too quickly with our fast metabolisms to ever get verybuzzed. But Vandi learned how to make my grandma’s gin, and we keep a bottle behind the bar.

The numbing buzz won’t last long, but it quiets my frayed edges, so for a minute, I don’t have to feel or think.

“Can I ask you a question?” I tilt my head, looking at the blonde ball of sunshine as she starts a pot of coffee.

She pulls down two mugs and sets them on the wooden countertop. “Sure. Shoot.”

“When you found your way here… what did it feel like, the call?”

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