Page 68 of Training my Human

“And you’re a member?”

Leo nodded. “As was my father before him. He introduced me to the group. For the longest time, the stewards have been seeking out unhatched eggs but not having much luck. The dragon females tended to scatter their clutches to increase the odds of viability. However, finding those eggs proved difficult. Too many volcanoes, you see.”

“Yet you claimed you knew Tseax had one.”

Leo’s bright smile made my fist itch. “Only because of a stunning breakthrough. About a decade ago, in the remote Peruvian Andes mountains, we discovered the home and hoard of a female dragon. Long dead, unfortunately. No flesh remained and her bones were brittle with age. You’ve seen them in my collection in the basement.”

“You said those belonged to dinosaurs!” I accused.

“Because I couldn’t exactly tell you the truth and quite frankly, they do have much in common. Anyhow, this dragon hoard contained dozens of scrolls written by its servant. It took years before we could properly translate them. The parchment was understandably fragile, the ink used faded, and then the language not something you can pop into Google Translate. But after much care, attention, and research, we did it. We managed to decipher a few of the parchments, including one that listed the locations of a clutch that contained seven eggs.”

The pain in my wrists from the tight plastic was the only reason I didn’t suspect I was hallucinating what sounded like the plot of a fantasy novel. “You have a map to the eggs.”

“Not exactly. Keep in mind, back then people and dragons didn’t have the same means as we do to create accurate maps. What we got instead were general descriptions such as ‘over the mighty sea, past an island and mountains, the spreading forest parts for the cone that rises.’”

“You figured out the Tseax from that?” I didn’t hide my skepticism.

“Actually, Tseax was one of several cones we were watching.”

“Didn’t you claim you caused it to explode?”

“I did.” Leo looked gleeful. “It occurred to me that I might die of old age, waiting for a volcano to erupt and hatch a dragon. So I had Malone work on a way to activate it. Don’t ask me to explain how he did it. I’m just the money man in all this. What luck the first one that exploded bore fruit.”

“Why are you talking to her about our work?” The sharp bark came from the man who entered. The same suit that I’d met at my trailer who tried to falsely arrest me.

Leo cleared his throat. “Pip, this is Dr. Malone.”

My gaze narrowed. “I’ve already met the asshole.”

“To think, a mighty dragon took an uncouth, trailer trash female as his servant.” Malone tsked.

“Better trailer trash than a jerk off who thinks it’s okay to drug people and experiment on them while they sleep,” I retorted. “Although, I’m a little confused. Seeing how you tried to kidnap Abaddon from my place, why didn’t you take him while we were unconscious?”

“I wanted to,” Malone grumbled. “Leo wanted us to wait.”

“The habitat I’m building wasn’t ready yet.” Leo sounded almost apologetic. “Besides, we were fascinated by the way the dragon interacted with you. What an intelligent creature. We learned so much watching.”

Nausea hit me as I realized not only had I been drugged and vulnerable, but I’d been spied on too! Watched while I dressed or walked around in my underwear and nothing else. When I took a shit. When Maddox and I fucked.

Leo must have read my expression because he shook his head. “We had no interest in you, Pip. Only the dragon.”

“Did it ever occur to you to talk to me about this? We’re supposed to be friends. But no, instead of saying, ‘Hey, listen, I know you’ve got a dragon and guess what, I’m totally interested,’ you went straight to trying to forcibly nab him. Then you put us in a glass house like we were some exhibit there for your amusement.”

“I’ve already said I didn’t handle this well but I promise to make up for it.” Leo waved his hands as if it were of little matter. “Once the dragon is secured in his new habitat, he’ll see the benefit. As much food as he needs. People to care for him around the clock.”

I interrupted. “I doubt Abaddon will see it that way.

“Which is where you come in. You can explain we mean him no harm. That his best chance at survival is with us.”

I snorted. “All that spying and you obviously didn’t learn much about Abaddon.”

Malone’s phone beeped. “It’s Kaitlyn. I’ll return in a moment.”

The asshole stepped out of the office and I stared at Leo. “I thought we were friends.”

“We still are. Once you and Abaddon are settled in, you’ll see. Things will work out. You’ll both come to understand that I am determined to help the dragon thrive. Perhaps he can help us find some of the other eggs so he isn’t alone. A female would be nice. Did you know that, unlike humans, dragons, even those born of the same mother or fertilized by the same father, have completely different genetics?”

“And?”

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