Page 46 of Smoke and Moon

“I may have to arm wrestle you for the first and last bite.”One last time, Morlie looked outside, pulled herself away, and came to the table.

Yes, something was going on with her sister.Kai felt assured she had made the right decision about the baby news until she could sort out what was happening with Morlie.

~YH~

“Congratulations to the Thunder,” Liekki sauntered into Aodh’s office.

“Yes, congratulations to the Thunder,” he echoed, watching his brother claim the seat across from his desk.

“On my walk to your office, I was serenaded by the satisfied cries and moans of multiple Drahkelles being bred.”

Aodh chuckled.“Good.Our number has been stagnant for way too long.”

“Honestly, I doubted for a moment that your dragon would ever lay his claim on Kai.I am sure fucking her with all those soft curves had to be incredible, but knowing each time you pulled out her womb was empty had to tie your cock in knots.”

He scowled at his brother.“Not quite, but it wasn’t easy being divided inside.I don’t wish that on another Drahk.”

Aodh meant it.He’d never been on opposing sides with his dragon.He and his beast had been aligned since he first shifted as a youngling.However, knowing Kai was his mate but having his dragon refuse to agree shredded Aodh in two.Now, he felt whole, and with Kai’s claim and breeding done, he felt complete.

“I don’t plan to be in your situation.When I’m ready to settle down, I’ll let my dragon lead me to my mate, a Drahk.That way, I don’t have to wait for his approval.”Liekki winked.

Aodh rolled his eyes as he shook his head.“Anyway.Update me on Morlie.”

“She’s going to rabbit.”Liekki shifted lower in the chair and rested one ankle over the other knee.“She was fine as I was bringing her back.But, not too long after, she pulled her door open to leave.I startled her when she saw me sitting outside of it.”

“I figured as much.”Aodh rubbed his chin.“You think it’s from the mark.Her being in contact with her mate triggered something?”

“Chanin isn’t a fool.He did what I would have done.”A cunning smile stretched along his brother’s mouth.“The wolf placed his mark on her.I’m sure it was due to Morlie’s agitation and the lock she kept on the forest for hours.”

“You think Chanin will come for her.”Aodh’s features tightened with the thought.“Shit, maybe he’s out there now, pacing along the border looking for her?”

Liekki shoved a hand through his long, dark hair.“We’ve had added patrols since the theft incident, so if he attempts to cross for her, Chanin will have a fight on his hands.”

“True.”Aodh had confidence in Edjer’s security team.“However, as I told Kai, Chanin knows that our treaties are important to maintain civility.No one wants the same battles and wars that happened when humans first went underground.It’s for the best.”

“Yes.So, what do you want to do?”

“In the next few hours, Morlie would have been under guard for more than twenty-four hours.We’ll know by then if he marked her enough for her to shift.”Aodh leaned forward to rest his elbows on the desk as he bridged his fingers.

“Fuck, if that happened.She’d put herself at risk.A wild, untrained wolf in the middle of Drahk territory?”Liekki let out a piercing whistle.

Aodh had the same thought as his brother.If Chanin bit Morlie and allowed enough of his serum to leak into Morlie’s bloodstream, it could be bad.Not only would she have to go through such an intense change alone, but even if he warned his Thunder not to attack Morlie, she’d be feral and uncontrollable in the first few hours.If Morlie drew first blood...Aodh shoved the thought back.It was a situation Kai shouldn’t have to deal with.Apprehension swelled inside of him.If Kai’s sister got injured or killed at the hands of one of his Drahk, it would break his mate.

Even if she didn’t carry his offspring, he couldn’t allow Kai’s emotions to shatter in such a way.

“You know what would solve a lot of this?”

He shifted his gaze to his brothers.“For my mate to come to me and confess that her sister is actually of age to mate?”

Aodh wasn’t upset at Kai for misleading the council.She’d tried to protect her sister.Someone in that state of mind would always have his admiration.He had an entire Thunder to protect, and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to keep them safe and healthy.

His brother’s mouth tilted up into a half smile.“Why do you think she lied?Doesn’t she know we can smell her sister’s level of maturity?”

“I’m sure that possibility never crossed Kai’s mind.Otherwise, she’d have done something else.”Aodh sat back.“But, it’s simple, brother.Kai has built her whole world around her sister and doesn’t know how to cut the strings.”

“Soon, she won’t have to because Morlie will rip those strings apart.”

~YH~

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