Page 24 of The Dragon's Stormwoven Bond

“His first night here.”

My father sucked in a breath, then stormed out. My mom looked at me with sad eyes. Somehow her hurt was worse than my father’s anger.

“I’m sorry.” There was nothing more to say.

I searched for my phone, but in the mess of making my nest, I’d misplaced it somehow. My eyes blurred with tears.

“I’ll call Valen and Rhythe,” she offered.

“Thank you,” I said.

She took out her phone and called Valen first, telling him I needed him. He didn’t answer, but she texted him and assured me he was on his way.

He had no idea what he was walking into, or maybe the tone of her voice gave him the exact idea, but regardless, he was on his way, and once I heard that, I allowed myself to feel—truly feel all that had just transpired, tears flowing down my face.

I had so much to apologize for, to make up for… To my mate for asking him to hide the truth from his longtime friend, my brother for putting him in the middle, my parents for actively lying to them because I was too scared of their reaction. I wasn’t sure how I was going to fix any of this, but I was going to before our dragonets were here.

Chapter 14

Valen

I looked down at my phone, my dragon pushing to get out and fly directly to him. I wasn’t sure what had happened, but I didn’t need to know the details to know that my place was by his side and not in my stupid office.

All I knew was that my mate needed me, and that was enough. Katrina had called, and when I didn’t answer right away because I was in a meeting, she texted, saying to come to her place immediately.

As soon as I saw her text, my phone beeped with another. This time it was Rhythe letting me know he was on his way to Pep. Something was seriously wrong if she was calling for both of us.

I didn’t hesitate. I got up from the meeting without a word and took to the skies, thankful for my ability to cloak my dragon from the outside world. Old age had its benefits.

I flew quickly to Eryx’s home. Clearly, our secret was out now. That much was a given. Other than that, I had no idea what had happened to my mate. All I knew was that I had to get to him, to comfort him, to take all of his hurt away.

Never in all my centuries had I flown as fast as I did to get to my mate, and I shifted to my human form just as my feet hit the ground. I bounded up the porch stairs, my heart leading me to where my mate was.

Eryx met me at the door. His face was red with anger, his fists balled at his sides, the scent of smoke heavy on him. I knew it would be bad, but… “Valen, how could you—”

I held up a hand. “Not right now, Eryx. I need to get to Pep.”

I’d work on fixing things with my father-in-law later. For now, my mate was all that mattered, and if Valen couldn’t see that, he could try and stop me. He’d lose. But he could try.

“Oh, my son, who’s clearly expecting your clutch?” He spat. “This is how I find out that you two are mated?”

I stopped in my tracks, stunned. “A clutch?”

My joy at the news was interrupted as Eryx took a step back like I had slapped him, the smoke scent intensifying and his eyes the color of his dragon’s.

“You didn’t know?” As pissed as he was before, that level had multiplied.

“Eryx. Not now. Leave him alone,” Katrina said. “Valen, up here.”

Katrina had never been my biggest fan. She thought that sleeping with anyone other than your fated mate was abhorrent, and therefore, in many ways, so was I. But she had mated young, and her experience was that of true love. She didn’t know the loneliness that came with centuries of being without a life partner.

I did. And while I might not have made the best choices through those years, they only made me appreciate what I had with Pep even more. He had become the center of my universe.

Maybe Katrina saw that. Whatever the reason for her apparent change of heart, I was grateful for the save, because fighting with her mate when I could be comforting mine wasn’t going to happen. I followed Katrina’s voice.

She led me to a room where Pep sat in a nest surrounded by blankets. His eyes met mine, tears welling up in them. He looked like he had been through it, and it crushed me.

“Valen…” His voice cracked, and the tears fell even harder.

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