Page 51 of Smoke and Lure

Before she could say more, Liekki strolled toward them with long, heavy strides.His massive shoulders broke through the trees.

“Chanin.”Liekki's rough voice greeted her mate first.

“Liekki.Interesting presentation.”Chanin angled his head toward the low, smoldering pile of embers.

“What can I say?We like to do things big.”The ‘wicked humor’ violet flames Morlie had come to expect from the Drahks’ second-in-command danced in Liekki’s eyes.“Morlie.Good to see your new furry nature hasn’t changed your beauty.”

She blushed.

Chanin snarled and snapped his teeth as he pulled her closer.

This only made the warmth flare more in her cheeks.She couldn’t help but wonder if she had dragon genes, then why was it that she was never attracted to Aodh’s brother or any other Drahk male while she lived among them?“Liekki, charming as ever.”

Because you were meant to be mine.

She smiled as her core filled with warmth, making her pulse race at her Alpha’s possessiveness.

Always yours,she confirmed, even though she never glanced away from the massive male before them.

“I don’t know how to be any other way,” Liekki shoved a hand through his long, dark hair.

She thought she saw a shadow move across his features for a moment.However, it was gone so quickly that she figured she’d imagined it.

“Anyway.I believe this is the part of the evening Aodh would like you all to join us.”Liekki shifted his body to allow them to pass.

She glanced at Chanin to see if he had any clue what was about to happen, but he stared at her with a shrug before they started forward.

There was a bit of rustling behind them.

“Trust me, no one will harm them tonight.”

When Morlie glanced over her shoulder, she saw Liekki holding a hand out to halt the Lupine security.The men that had journeyed with them stood bare in the shadows of the trees but snarled and looked no less menacing as fur began to pop out on their bare skin, quick to dispel Liekki’s words, which did not entirely convince them.Especially after they had all seen the fiery display of the dragon-shifters setting one of their own on fire, even though the dragon was already dead, it still didn’t give any of the wolf-shifters a warm, fuzzy feeling to watch.

Chanin gave his team a firm nod, letting them know everything was fine.Only with the clear message from their Alpha did the guards stand down.

“If that’s all straightened out,” humor-filled Liekki’s voice, “I’ll escort you two over.”Liekki led them out of the woods and headed across the clearing toward the group.

All eyes turned in their direction.However, Morlie didn’t witness any shock among the throng.Now that they were in the depths of the people, Morlie had lost track of her sister.The Drahk were too damn wide and tall for her to see around them even as the group seemed to part gracefully as she and Chanin walked behind Liekki toward Aodh, who was standing next to Apophis and his assistant Yeongi.

“Morlie!”Kai shrieked, broke away from the people she was talking to, and rushed toward her.

Correction: one person was shocked.Kai.

“Kai.”Morlie pivoted and turned toward her sister.The two of them collided and fell against each other in a tight embrace.

Gathered in her sister’s arms, Morlie felt her eyes well up with tears.It had been so long since she’d received one of Kai’s fierce, warm hugs.The kind that always made Morlie feel like everything would be okay, even when her body was being destroyed by disease, Kai had a way of holding her close and easing all her fears.

“Sissy.It is so good to see you.”Morlie loved her new life, but at that moment, being held by her sister made Morlie miss the simple days when the two of them and their parents sat for a meager meal, laughing and talking.When her parents borrowed a board game from the gaming center, they’d play for hours on the one night a week when their father only had to work a half day.

“I’ve missed you.After the day I had, I needed this.”Kai kissed her cheek twice before stepping back and assessing her, looking for changes.

However, Morlie was doing the same thing.Now that she was before her sister, who stood attired in a gorgeous off-the-shoulder white dress with delicate lace on the sleeves and form-fitting silk.The snowy fabric complemented the beautiful medium-brown of her sister's skin.

Having stared at so many of the people during the ceremony for so long, Morlie could almost swear that the design of Kai’s dress was on a higher level than the others, who only wore classic, plain tunics or other average clothing—making Kai stand out gloriously.

Morlie figured it had much to do with who Kai was to Drago and her role in the ceremony tonight, but it worked since Kai's mate’s dress shirt and slacks were just as well-tailored.

“I’ve missed all this.”She waved a hand before her sister's enlarged stomach.“But you still look breathtaking, Kai.”

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