Page 52 of Dragon in Denial
The next person to appear was a wiry, younger dragon whose eyes lit up when they found Ketu. The last person in line wasn’t a dragon at all but Argyle, the gargoyle from the City of the Dead.
Ketu indicated the dragon with gray eyes. “Antoinette, this is Gabe, my reeve. Gabe, this is, um, my mate.”
Antoinette tossed him a glare that would have made a lesser man cower.
Gabe’s lips quirked into a smirk. “Is she aware of that status?”
“It’s a long story,” Ketu said.
Yeah, one we haven’t even worked out yet.
“Bro,” the younger dragon called out, lifting his hand like he wanted a high five. “Nice.” He eyed Antoinette and nodded. “You did good.”
Ketu rolled his eyes and did not give the kid a high five.
“You found your mate?” the woman with the green eyes said, pushing her way through the crowd. “Congratulations. Hi, I’m Talia.”
Antoinette shook her hand.
“Talia is Gabe’s mate,” Ketu supplied.
Antoinette nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
“And I’m Petra, her best friend,” the other female dragon said, offering her hand to shake.
“Hi,” Antoinette said, sliding her hand into the other woman’s.
“Petra and Noah are mates,” Ketu said, pointing at the dragon who’d had his hand on her back earlier. “And you know Argyle. Oh, and this is Rahu.” He pointed at the rather overzealous young dragon.
“Nice to meet you all,” Antoinette said politely.
“Okay,” Gabe said. “Enough with the chitchat. What the hell is going on, Ketu? Why did Ginger get a call from my mother, demanding we come to New Orleans? Why didn’tyoucallme?”
Ketu glanced at Antoinette. She held her breath. Was he about to tell his reeve that she’d essentially made a deal with the devil? Antoinette didn’t fully understand the dynamics between Gabe and his mother, but she comprehended enough to know he would not be pleased with the decision Antoinette had made.
And it was obvious they all cared for Ketu, If he decided to stay here in New Orleans now that they were mated, how would that make the rest of these dragons feel? Would they resent her for taking him away?
Would they hate her for the deal she’d made?
Ketu cupped his chin and scratched his cheek and then dropped his hand to his side. “We found Delilah. Met with her.” Another glance at Antoinette. “And we made a deal with her to end the dragon’s blood trade.”
