Page 67 of Dragon Unhinged

Ileave Declan to take his bath, finding a fluffy terry cloth robe that is entirely too big for me in the closet before I head downstairs to see if there’s anything worth eating in the kitchen.

I know I should trust him, but I can’t help but feel like Declan’s missing a huge part of the fact that I’m pregnant.

I’m not a dragon. I’m not even a claimed human.

I’m just a human, carrying a potential dragon baby. Will I lay an egg or give birth to a baby in dragon form or human form? Oh my, I’ve got to write down all my questions.

The front door to the townhouse opens, and I grab the first thing I can find that even remotely resembles a weapon—a meat mallet.

“Declan? Are you decent?” A woman’s voice calls into the house, and I tentatively sneak toward the front door.

I hold the mallet in front of me and try to conjure up the meanest expression I’ve got. I imagine I look like a kitten batting a toy mouse. “Who are you?” At least my voice comes out in a deeper, stern tone than my usual girly voice.

The woman’s head jerks around and she smiles. She closes and locks the door before turning back toward me. “You must be his mate. Malcolm said you were pretty.” The woman standing in the entryway is dressed in an A-line dress that looks like it would fit in more in the 1940’s than now, and she’s even got her hair done in curls and victory rolls. “I’m Syrena.”

“How do I know you’re not lying to me?” I grip the mallet a little tighter, even though I’m pretty sure that any supernatural creature could stop me before I could get a good swing in.

“Call your mate down here. Or ask him to send you an image of me.”

Declan? Someone claiming to be Syrena is here. Can you come down?

Rather than responding, I hear the thud of heavy footfalls on the stairs, and I swallow hard as he appears, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans slung low on his waist, his long hair hanging down his back in wet ropes. Seeing him in a normal setting, cleaned up, his wounds healed, and clean shaven has me all antsy to get him alone again.

“Syrena!” He runs to her and wraps her in a bear hug.

Immediately making me want to claw the woman’s eyes out.

Whoa. Where did that come from?

Declan glances back at me. “Did you just growl?”

I’m still focused on the woman touching Declan.

Declan keeps his eyes on mine. “This is my mate, Brianna.” He releases her and pulls me into his embrace, wrapping his arms around me from behind and resting his chin on the top of my head. “We have a wolf upstairs, who could use some help. But we need to talk to you too.”

“Malcolm gave me a quick rundown, but I need more. Where the hell have you been? I’m glad to see you’re not looking too worse for the wear.”

“That night in Vegas I was captured by fae rogues who knew exactly what they were doing. We’ve got another problem we’ve got to solve while we’re taking down Grey. They’re running underground fight clubs with shifters. I guess roosters and dogs were not enough anymore.”

Syrena slowly nods. “We’ve gotten some data about that. Athena and Kash have been working with a couple of the Carmines trying to get more information. They’re locked down tight though. It’s going take a lot, especially if rogue fae are helping them. Those bastards don’t give a shit about how much magic they use to get something done. It’ll be the rest of us picking up the pieces. How did you even manage to get out?”

“Brianna’s friend, Ellie, broke the spells. She’s a fae, pixie to be exact. She’s strong and luckily my mate knows how to make good friends.” He lets go of me, and steps closer to Syrena again, turning so that she can see his back. “We could use more fae like her on our side. There’s not even a mark.” He extends his wrist as if to show her something, but there’s nothing. Not anymore.

I swallow hard, trying to remember that he’s mine, and no matter how much he seems to want to show off his bare skin, or how she touches him, he’s still mine. “She took one of the other prisoners away to help him heal, and we brought Ewan with us.”

Syrena nods again, her eyes drifting to the stairs. “I’ll want to see him, but I have a feeling you’re the more important person to talk to right now. Declan, why don’t you go up and finish getting dressed, so that your mate stops looking at me like she wants to put an end to your clan witch, and we can all talk.”

Great. Now I feel like an ass.

I blush and drop my eyes to the ground.

But it would be nice if he’d stop parading around half naked in front of anyone who’s not me.

Declan’s hand brushes over the curve of my ass. “It’s nice to have you be possessive, mate.” He heads back upstairs.

Once he’s gone, I sneak a glance at Syrena again. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. This is all new to me.”

She gives me a kind smile and gestures for me to follow her. “Let’s see if this safe house is stocked with any good teas, shall we? Or are you more of a coffee or a cocoa fan?”

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