Page 18 of Dragon's Code

“It’s forbidden. Being her friend was dangerous enough. I was not going to get her killed.”

Jerrick nods like he accepts that answer.

We all turn when we hear voices. Another few men strut into the bar.

“Is there a reason why we’re meeting here without our mates present?” The man at the lead asks.

Gavin Ellsworth was once the Garnet prince, but he defected to be with his human mate, much to his parents’ dismay. He was their only child at the time, and their only heir. They’ve had a couple more kids since he defected, but I doubt King Brandon has ever gotten over the supposed betrayal of his family legacy.

Gavin’s mate, Pru, is a doctor and has been since the early 1900s. He’s been a huge proponent for dragons mating with humans or whoever their mate is deemed by the Fates.

Jerrick stiffens a little at the sight of his former prince, but it’s hardly noticeable.

Behind Gavin are two more dragons. Ryker, a former Tourmaline Clan guard, who was one of Ash’s best friends. He left a few years ago when he found his human mate and knew that our clan would not accept them.

Next to him is Darius, the prince of the Lapis Lazuli. He and his royal guard, Khalid ended up mated to the same woman, Michelle. She’s the one I’m most interested in meeting this weekend. They say she saw the ghost of a former Obsidian Queen and was crowned the queen of the Obsidians by her. None of us are sure what the hell that means, but we need to figure out the Obsidian history and whatever secrets the Elders are keeping.

“Where’s Khalid?” Braxton asks.

“He’s staying with Michelle. We don’t feel right leaving her alone,” Darius says.

There are mutters from around the room that all of them are uneasy about leaving their mates alone.

“All right, we won’t make this long,” Jerrick says. “The Elders are going to find out that there are a lot of us finding our mates and that we’re not abiding by dragon law. Even with so many of us, they could still condemn us all. We need to figure out a game plan for the worst case scenario, and that’s what we need to be ready for. And we need to be ready sooner than later.”

When Jerrick pauses, I put in a few of my own thoughts. “We also need to figure out how this is going to affect the humans. If it gets out into their news that we’re taking human mates, they could come after us. It’s not like humans have ever been comfortable with interracial, or in this case, interspecies, couples.”

“They’re not good with polyamory either,” Darius says. “Not that dragons are either. The Larimars were the only ones who liked to share their mates.”

“We can’t control how anyone is going to react,” I say. “There are going to be dragons and humans who are pissed with the suggestion, let alone the fact that we’re breeding.”

Jerrick’s lip curls. He scoffs, “Breeding. Never mind that we’ve had four baby girls born who the witches confirm all have dragon shapes. They’ll be shifting soon.”

“Who will be shifting soon?”

Jerrick and I both jerk around at the sound of a very familiar and very unwanted voice.

Jasmine Rahman is standing in the doorway of the bar. She’s dressed in a purple bodycon dress that hugs every inch of her curves. Subtlety has never been one of her strong suits. As one of the last unmated female dragons, she’s been flaunting her shit since she turned fourteen. I’ve never been interested in her, and it’s clear that all she’s interested in is power and more power.

She pushes off the door frame and saunters in like she owns the place.

The rest of the dragons in the room all form a semi-circle around her. Jasmine being here is bad news. She can’t know what’s going on here. She can’t know that the bulk of the men in his room are mated to former humans. She’ll go right back to her fucking king and we’ll lose our advantage to set things in motion the right way. The way in which the Elders won’t have any choice but to get on board and change.

She stops in front of Darius and gives him a placating, patronizing curtsey. “Your highness.”

Darius scoffs, “Just stop, Jasmine.”

She gives him a smile so sharp, I’m surprised the edges don’t slice through her skin as she executes it. “Your father sends his love.” She says it with a fake lilt to her voice.

Darius’s features harden and his body stiffens as he pulls his shoulders back. “Send my love back. Is there a reason you’re here? This is sort of a bachelor weekend for us.” Darius’s tone couldn’t be any more clear…she’s unwelcome.

Jasmine shrugs. “King Marcus thought it was important that I see what you’re up to as you’ve been disappearing a lot. You and Khalid. There are those in the clan that believe the two of you are having an affair. Your King, of course, won’t stand for that kind of thing, not in his kingdom.”

Darius’s expression goes from stoic and terse to joy. He’s all but laughing when he replies, “That’s what he thinks is going on?”

“It’s not as though you’re giving him any information.”

“He’s not entitled to every inch of my life.” Darius turns away from her this time.

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