Page 28 of Devoted to the Dragon

“Yes, dearest. You can go from point A to B without getting lost.” Bash snickers, crossing his bulky arms and staring me down. His forehead and eyes are edged with the deep veins of his recent feeding, and I wonder if all he ever eats is his own bitterness to have such a shit mood all the time.

My oldest sibling, Sloan, our only sister and the heir apparent, elbows him. “I notice that we haven’t seen you venture into wolf country. At least Knox has actually gone up against them. You just talk shit.”

I may be a fuckboy, but Bash tries and still manages to fuck up. That’s the reason he has it out for me. Beyond enforcement, Bash is always scheming to try to prove he can handle the second seat—selling weapons to the wolves was his brilliant idea. He’s afraid the family will give second seat to the comeback kid, so heconstantly reminds us that I’m a flake. He should know by now that I don’t want the seat, but he can’t seem to let it go.

My fathers ignore our bickering, poring over a map on the screen.

Mother rounds the desk, her shadows greeting me, and I unfurl mine, allowing them to say hello. The black smoke-like bands circling over her suit dress weave with mine for a moment as we hug. The contact, though brief, allows me to hear her request.

Snakelet, I need your shadows. The wolves have a proposition for us. We have been asked to attend their Wolf Council meeting in their territory. I can’t send Sloan somewhere so unstable without backup. This will be her first true test, and I need someone I trust with her.

I look back at Sloan. “I guess this means we’re roomies.”

My brother looks between the two of us. “She’s sending both of you? Why would the heir go to the wolves?”

Sloan ignores him, her front fangs glinting as she grins at me. “Rumor is we’re there to induce an orgy under the full moon.”

My brows lift, this whole exile sounding a little more my speed. “Now you’re talking. Tell me what you think we’re up against.”

I join my family at the maps, my brother scowling at the periphery.

Chapter 14

Fennik

Itake one more pass through Frenzy, but only Delia and a server are there, finishing out the close of the bar. The blood at my pulse points throbs, my alpha rising to the surface.

Randi better not have gone back to her nest alone. Not again. Not after yesterday.

After our signals practice and talk in the woods yesterday, we needed to split up to finish preparing for our trip today. We planned to meet back in her lair, but she was still gone when Gunnar and I returned an hour ago.

I’ve been patient. Hell, I’ve been more than patient. But I’m done with this game of chase. I’m her mate, and she will stop running from me.

Winding through the hallway behind the bar, I make my way to Randi’s office and knock once on the closed door before sliding inside.Vandera and Randi are bent over her desk, their backs to me and their eyes trained on a book open between them. I clear my throat, and two heads whip my way.

The witch takes one look at me and packs up, a smug smile on her lips. “I’ll finish strengthening the wards tomorrow. We’ve got it under control.” She passes by me in a cloud of herbs and flowing fabric, her laughter carrying on her way out.

Randi closes the book and shuffles through the papers on her desk, looking for something. “Let me finish putting these?—”

“Enough,” I grit out, though I want to bellow. “I’m done with your running.”

Randi pauses, papers in hand and a small O of surprise on her lips. “I—” She looks at the papers on her desk, then back to me, her face a cloud of confusion. “I’m not running. I was finishing out plans with Vandera?—”

“Never again,” I promise. I eat the distance between us, cutting off Randi's explanation. “You will never run from me again.”

“I wasn’t?—”

Her protest dies with a hard press of my lips against hers. She gasps, and I swallow the sound. It’s a kiss fueled by my desperation. Randi knew and chose not to trust me or let me take care of her. She chose to do it alone.

And here she is in her office. Stalling. Pulling away.

Her confession gutted me and shook my foundation. I’m hurt by her actions, disappointed that she didn’t feel she could trust me with what she knew or why she was waiting. Most of all, I’m pissed at myself.

I let her play this game of chase, let her pull away over and over even though I could see she was hurting. This could have been different if I had stepped up. I’m not the same boy who came to her wide-eyed and ready to yield, yet I never changed our dynamic. Randi has pushed me away, but I let her.I was afraid if I pushed, I would lose her altogether.

My hand clasps her neck, my voice wrecked by the emotions sitting in my throat and pounding in my chest. “If you run, I will chase you. Find you. Catch you. And each time I do, I will remind you.”

She opens her mouth to speak, but I shake my head. The time for talking is over. I whip her around, folding her onto her desk and trapping her beneath my weight.

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