Page 14 of Devoted to the Dragon

Brooks is waiting for me in the courtyard that separates the main house from Randi’s personal wing. The burly clean-cut wolf looks pointedly at the scruffy pup wrapped in a blanket in my arms. “She chose the half wolf for her personal guard?”

“So it seems,” I say with a sigh.

“But at least she has chosen. You both need it. He can travel with you to the Council while we keep fort here.” Brooks falls into step beside me as we weave along the stone path in the garden.I grumble my dissatisfaction, but Brooks only shakes his head. “You know we can’t go with you, not when my mate needs to stay here.”

He’s right. I know he is. But others have been on the guard longer. “We know nothing of this wolf but whispers.”

Brooks rolls his eyes. “He’s only been here two days, and I can already tell Gunnar isn’t a spy. He’s from the Outskirts, and none of those wolves think much of the Council. He’s made quite a reputation in the ring, taking down multiple ferals at once. I made some calls after I realized Councilman Lars sent him. Turns out he was owed a favor.”

I lift my chin in acknowledgment. “Henry learned the slightly more politically correct version. That doesn’t mean his loyalty couldn’t be bought. A kid from the Outskirts? The Council could make him a hell of a deal.”

My wolf paces, pissed at my line of reasoning.

Brooks shrugs. “True. But Vandi says he has the trace.”

“Does she know who?” I ask.

We stop at the edge of the courtyard, Brooks turning toward me. We have reached the protection wards, and he can’t go beyond them. “You know the spell doesn’t work that way. She can see that it called him but not why or for whom.”

“But does she have a hunch? By now, she usually does.” I look at the moon high overhead. It offers no guidance. Instead, my wolf paces inside me, impatient and eager to return to the lair.

The odd young wolf shifts in my arms. He’s all pup, snuggling closer against my chest, little goosebumps rising on his skin from the cool night air.

Brooks chuckles. “Of course.” He pats my back gruffly and turns around for the main house.

“You’re not going to tell me?” I call in disbelief.

“Nope. You’ll figure it out,” Brooks calls over his shoulder, obviously amused about whatever he thinks he knows.

My wolf beats against my chest, urging me to take the man inside and get him warm.

I’m halfway up the stairs to our shared rooms when I realize what Brooks means. I’ve been through dozens of guard trainings and never seen Randi respond to a wolf like she did tonight. She always begins the caging with a singular wolf, but it’s detached, an unemotional necessity.

But the memory of her golden eyes turning molten makes the new connection. The pup touched her dragon and coaxed her to come out and play, something she rarely lets herself do. Randihas chosen the half wolf for her own because he must be one of her mates.

Mine. My wolf snaps his jaws at me as I stare wide-eyed at the man in my arms. My wolf’s singular thought is insistent.

Mate.

I sip my bourbon,watching the sparking flames in the fireplace shift and dance, contemplating how to handle this newest revelation.

Gunnar is our mate, mine and Randi’s.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Wolves typically mate in trios. Two alphas, one omega. Usually, though, the wolves are matched in their dominance. This man is barely a wolf. It’s happening to more and more of the young ones. I know it’s because there is something wrong with our magic. But a half wolf as mine and Randi’s mate?

I can’t wrap my head around it.

My wolf growls low in my chest, annoyed by the distance between the pup and me. He wants to hold him and ensure he is okay after playing with our dragon, but I don’t share my wolf’s certainty. I can’t tell if pride or befuddlement clouds my mind.

How is the half wolf going to protect her? With how he reacted to her touch, I would guess he’s submissive by nature, no matter his reputation in the underground. Will he be able to stand up to her? Push back when she needs it? Will he standfor herif it comes down to us or the Council?

Why him?

The dragoness is aloof and solitary. She is with us but always separate, like when she soars above us during her flights. I doubt Randi will even acknowledge why she chose Gunnar. She maynot even realize who he is. Or worse, she’ll deny him as she denies me.

Two mates don’t make a horde. In the old stories Randi used to tell me, it was always three or more mates.But if Gunnar has arrived from Vandera’s call, maybe that means it is time?

I’m no closer to an answer about what Gunnar’s arrival means when the pup wakes. He sits up, drawing the blanket around himself and yawning loudly as he looks around the room.

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