Page 77 of Dragon Exposed

31

A Spell’s Undoing

LEVI

Izobelle curled in next to her best friend, watching over Nina as she slept. She looked so concerned, so nervous about what would happen with the other woman, I couldn’t bear to tear her away, to carry her back to our room.

Even after she fell asleep, I stayed in my chair, watching over them both.

Admiring my mate’s strength, her compassion.

I just hoped that for once, we were going to get a win. That Nina would wake up, none-the-wiser about what happened, about Tabitha, about any of it.

Izobelle deserved that. She deserved the world, and all I’d given her, all I’d been able to provide her had been pain, fear, and anguish. All she’d known as a dragon’s mate had been one shitty situation after another.

I never wanted her to have to choose between me and her life. This, her friends, her job, even hunting down Viktor, all of that was what made her who she was. And because of me, because of the dive I took, nothing was ever going to be the same for her again.

I can hear you thinking, Levi. Most men wouldn’t wake up their woman by thinking too hard.Izobelle rolled over and looked at me in the early morning light.And for the record, I don’t blame you for anything that’s happened. I don’t hold it against you. Hell, if I’d never met you, we both probably would’ve died in Epsilon. I wouldn’t be a dragon. I wouldn’t be having the best sex of my life so often I sometimes wonder if maybe I did die that night in the club.

I watched as she sat up and then crawled out of bed, walking over to kiss me softly. “Don’t you dare believe that I’d do any of this differently. I haven’t lost anything. Everything that’s happened, everything I’ve gotten, brought me you.” She crawled into my lap, cuddling in close. “I’d say it was more than worth it.”

I wrapped my arms around her, mentally reminding myself over and over that there was another woman in the room, that no matter how much the robe gaped and revealed the soft curves of her breasts, I couldn’t slide my hands in there and start something.

“What are we going to do next?” She leaned her head on my shoulder, not being nearly as cautious about where her hands wandered. “How do we move on from here? How do we keep the people like Nina, your family, everyone we care about, safe?”

“I think we need to go back to the beginning, to what we were both doing the first night we met.” I shifted her slightly, so that she was still on my lap, but in a position that didn’t put quite as much pressure on my cock. “We need to hunt down and kill some vampires. And we need to get Syrena up here, to find out just how much Tabitha did to your friend, if there’s any clues about what else might be out there.”

Running my fingers through Izobelle’s hair made her let out a soft little moan, which just drove me to do it more, to weave the long blonde tresses into intricate braids, again and again. It gave my hands something to keep them occupied and let me keep touching my mate. It gave me a small way to make sure she was cared for.

“I don’t know if we can do that yet.” She whispered in the early morning light, as if she didn’t want to wake Nina.

I wasn’t as sure it would be that easy. Coming down off of spells, off of being a vessel for someone else’s consciousness, couldn’t have been that simple to just get over. “If we don’t go hunting, what are you thinking?”

“I think I need to learn how to be a proper dragon. When I’m in your head, sharing my thoughts, or whatever you want to call that conversation, I can feel you, and I can feel your dragon. But I don’t feel my own yet. I can’t fly, I don’t know if I can breathe fire. I only shifted because I was so pissed off, so afraid of losing you, that it just came out. How can I help you fight, how can we hunt down vampires like Viktor together, if I don’t even have my shit together as a newbie supernatural?” She sighed, pressing her head back into my fingers as I massaged her scalp. “I don’t want to be a liability, Levi.”

“Do you think Nina’s well enough to travel? I could take you both back to my cabin, we could use the seclusion of it to practice, and to make sure that Nina won’t be a threat to herself. Or anyone else.”

“Do you really think that’s a risk?” Izobelle’s eyes grew wide as she turned to look at me. “I can’t let her suffer. Not because she dared to befriend me.”

“I’ll call Syrena. She should be able to get us a potion, even if she can’t come in person. She’ll be able to help.”

Izobelle sighed, as if she didn’t want me to contact the witch. “Is she our only option?”

My brow furrowed. “Do you still have a problem with Syrena?”

“No. I just… When she helped me to use this stupid necklace to find you, she seemed stressed out, like whatever else she’s working on with your family, whatever else is going on with all of this new world order, is overworking her, draining her energy.” Izobelle shrugged. “I feel like maybe I’m pushing my luck with her, asking her for so much.”

“Syrena’s been our clan witch for centuries. She knows how much magic, how much energy she can expend, before it becomes dangerous.” I rubbed Izobelle’s back. “She’ll tell us if we can’t be one of her priorities.”

“Centuries? There’s no way she’s that old.” Izobelle’s eyes grew wide as she shook her head at me like I was crazy.

“Mate, you’ve got a lot still to learn about dragons, witches, all of this.” I chuckled softly. “Why don’t I order us some breakfast, and then we can call Syrena together? She’ll confirm her age, if you really doubt me.”

She just smirked. “Okay, I believe you. But if I’ve still got a lot to learn, it just means you’re going to have to teach me.”

“Anything you desire, mate.”

I pressed a kiss to her temple before I gently scooped her up and carried her back to the bed, setting her down before I grabbed the hotel phone and ordered a breakfast spread.

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