Page 17 of The Ruby Dragon's Unconventional Mate

Lachlan’s attack had left his brother vulnerable and close to death for way too long. And now he wasn’t able to change, to shift back to his usual human form. He was no longer free to just wander the human world like the rest of them were. So just the travel between the West Coast and Colorado had been fraught with danger.

Bryant had gone home. He’d dealt with the things he’d found, had discovered how bad it was, and what the best-case scenarios were. Then he’d gotten Lachlan and him here to Logan’s wing where they had a place.

Lachlan shook his head. “I don’t think that’s exactly the whole situation.”

Logan nodded once. “The main situation, as far as I know, is that you were texting him up until the point that you were actually in the wing. Then you ghosted him.”

“I felt bad; I was embarrassed. I didn’t know what to say.”

Lachlan was going to hurt himself snorting like that. “How about the truth?”

“Yeah, well, I’ve said that now too. I’m not sure that helped.” That was obviously another understatement.

Logan’s head tilted. “What did you say?”

“Just the truth. That I had to help my brother, and I had to make him my priority. That he’s my twin, and he wins. Simple as that.” It had been harsh, but it was also the truth.

Logan winced a little bit and glanced at Lachlan.

“I know!” He sighed softly. “But it is what it is, right? I just want to work with him.” He just wanted things to go back to the way they’d been.

That’s not going to happen.Lachlan watched them like a hawk.That’s never going to happen. Everything is changed. Things aren’t ever going to be back the way they were. They could be worse; they could be better. But they’re never going to be the same.

Gee, thanks, bro. Not helping, really.

Logan sighed. “Well, I can see the problem clearly now.”

“With Lars?”

“With both of you. Lars wants to be his lover’s first priority. A mate. Not an afterthought.”

“We’re not mates.”

It hurt a little bit to say. Maybe it hurt a lot, but he had responsibilities—businesses, Lachlan, this new guardian position. He didn’t?—

He just didn’t have time for that nonsense.

“Well then, that’s easy, I suppose, but the simple fact is I need him here. We’re having a meeting. You can sit there and keep your mouth shut while I apologize profusely. I’m assuming that you and Lachlan are working with Jake for the long term.”

“Actually, boss, that’s me.” Bea stood there, and that woman was the closest thing to a dragon when she wasn’t shifted that he’d ever seen. “Mickey’s good with me working swings and covering, so I’ll be able to help out and do whatever training needs to be done. That way, Lars, Jake, and you can work days. I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep Lars here. He’s a good guy.”

Bryant sighed. “Look, I wasn’t—I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”

“Then you shouldn’t have been an asshole. You treat enemies like that—pretend to be their friends and then lie to them and then ghost them and then show up unannounced.” Bea looked him up and down, lip curled in a snarl. “You didn’twantto have any trouble. You didn’t care at all whether or not you caused it. So let’s call a spade a spade, shall we? We are not children. We know when what we do is offensive or when it’s not. We know when the actions we take hurt someone else. And when we know that and we do it, then we get what we get, and we have to own it.” Bea pierced him with a look that felt like he was a butterfly pinned on a board. “That’s my recommendation for you. Own it.”

“You don’t have to be an asshole either.” Lachlan snarled. “My brother was just protecting me.”

“Goody for you. Are you sure that you’re capable of being a guardian if you need your brother to protect you?” Bea asked.

Lachlan snapped back. “Are we sure that Lars is capable of it if he needs his brother to protect him?”

Bea started to gather up energy to roar when Lars and Jake stepped in the room. “No one is protecting me. I’ve been protecting myself for a very long time now. Logan, you have something to say?”

“Yes. I deliberately misunderstood how upset you were, and I apologize. Please, I want you to stay. I need you here, brother.” Logan gave him and Lachlan a long look. “We might not have found the best fit. We may need to look for someone else.”

Ouch. Bryant rubbed his chest. That hurt. He and Logan had been friends for a while. But he got it too. Lars was Logan’s brother…

“We can do this,” Lachlan said. “Well, I can. Bryant is here to run businesses.”

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