Page 69 of Bite Me

Oh no, was Leon really going to do this in front of all the dragons? It wasn't like they probably already thought poorly of her, but now they would like her even less because Portia was going to get into a lot of trouble for helping Jada. It wasn't like Leon to wait so long or be so dramatic with his discipline.

“If it were up to me,” Leon continued, “I would ban you for life, and we both know that's a very long time. But I'm not the one you wronged. I won't be meting out your punishment.”

Portia glanced between Jada and Leon and shook her head in fear. “No, ban me. I'll leave.”

“That's not how this works. Now tell your sister your offense against her.”

Jada glanced at all the other women in the coven trying to figure out who Portia had harmed. None of them cared for her, but it had never bothered Portia. It had always been harder for Jada not to care.

“She has the heart of the human, so maybe she'll go easy on you,” Leon said and waved his arm indicating Jada.

Her? Portia had helped her, not harmed her.

Portia looked up at Jada, sorrow and pain written in all her features. No, Jada wouldn't believe it. What could Portia have done to her that would make her feel this bad?

“Tell her, Portia. Or I will.”

Tears fell from Portia's eyes and the rest of the coven recoiled. They had a disdain for emotional outbursts from their half human sisters. She and Portia had both learned not to cry in front of them. She shook her head and then looked at the floor.

Leon grabbed Portia by the arm and lifted her to her feet. “Your sister here told Kur-Jara where to find you and your mate.”

Jada had never felt the burn of betrayal. “Portia?”

Portia wouldn't look at her and that alone told Jada that it was the truth. “Why? I don't understand. Why would you do this to me, to us?”

Portia had been her friend, the closest thing she had to a true sister. She thought they understood each other.

Leon shook Portia's arm until she tore it away. “Because, Jada, you are not the only mate of a Dragon.”

Portia tore her shirt open to reveal a golden shard on a cord, identical to the ones that Ciara and Fleur wore. She had no doubt in her mind what it was. Cage Gylden's soul shard.

It didn't have the light inside like the bone carving that contained Ky's soul shard around Jada's neck. It lay against Portia's skin cold and dead.

The dragons rushed toward Portia. “You're the succubus that stole Cage's shard. He's dying because of you.”

Jada held up her hand and stopped the dragons from advancing on Portia. “What's going on?”

Portia pressed her lips together and didn't say another word. Leon rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“She exchanged your mate for hers.”

Portia slumped, her final secret revealed. “Geshtianna is holding him hostage. It's why I got in trouble the last time. I knew Leon would send me to her for my ban. She told me if I could get a Dragon soul shard she would let him go.”

Jakob growled low and Jada didn't blame him. “Then why do you still have it and aren't flitting off into the sunset with this Dragon of yours, if there even is one?”

“She wouldn't release him. She said the shard itself wasn't enough. And if I wanted her to let Jett go she needed more. I had to get her the location of another Dragon's mate. One that hadn't yet been given a soul shard.” Portia glanced around at everyone else in the room, her eyes hovering over Ciara and Fleur. “Do you know how many dragons’ mates there are? None. There were those two or nothing. Until you. When I saw you with that Dragon, I knew right away. I'm sorry.”

Jada walked up to her sister. Even that word hurt her now. She looked Portia straight in the eye and slapped her across the face.

This wasn't her family. Ky was.

Jada waited until she was out of the room and could hide behind closed doors before she broke into tears.

Leon found her later in the kitchen, not like it was the best hiding place. She'd only been gone a few days, but with mostly full-blooded demons there weren't a lot of ingredients to make anything. Half the stuff in the refrigerator had spoiled and no one had noticed. She threw most of it in the trash but did find a stray stick of butter she hadn't used in her last recipe. There was also still flour, eggs, sugar, and--best of all--milk chocolate chips. She had every intention of putting a batch in the oven to share with the dragons and their mates, but here she sat eating cookie dough straight out of the bowl.

“You can't hide from this one behind cookies,” Leon said.

“It's not cookies, it's cookie dough.” Leon had never understood her need for comfort food. Mostly because the kind of food that comforted him came from a vein. But warm delicious smells from the kitchen was one of the only memories she still had of her mother. She’d made cookies just like this, and breads, and pies, which was probably why Jada had been a chubby child.

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