Page 18 of The Dragon's Captured Heart
“Dragons mate for life,” he said. “Only mated dragons have children.”
I nodded, trying to determine how much of that was him being serious or not. “Uh-huh. Well, my parents should not have mated at all, let alone for life. They should’ve split up. Instead, they dragged us all into their downward spiral.”
“Humans.”
“Callum!” I snapped angrily and loudly. “You need to stop it with the attitude about us, all right?”
He rocked back slightly. For the first time, we locked eyes, and I wasn’t sucked into the weird dragon-eye vortex thing. I wondered why. Did my anger shield me? Or was it his doing? There was just so much I didn’t know! I needed to find some answers, somehow.
“Very well,” he said in time, nodding slowly and acknowledging my point. “I will try. But youarewrong about my family. They didn’t tell me for a reason. I’m sure of it.”
I gave in. “If you say so, but personally, I doubt it. Families are like that, Callum. They do things to one another.”
“I am sorry for the family you were given,” he said coldly, storming into what I assumed was his room to grab a clean shirt. “But I assure you, families don’t just ‘do that’ to one another. Not over something like this.”
“Where are you going?” I asked as he headed for the door.
“To get the reason.”
Then he was gone. Leaving me alone. I stared at the door.
He hadn’t locked it.
Chapter Eleven
Callum
The flight to the small country house my parents maintained on one of the isles didn’t take nearly as long as it felt. My stomach was churning the entire trip, a constant roil fueled by the parade of thoughts running nonstop in my head.
In a matter of minutes, everything had changed. The revelation that Noa had beenpurposefully murderedhad shaken me to the core. Even as I landed, my front legs trembled with the news as I worked to process it.
“Hello?”
The voice came from inside the house, echoing through the screen door.
“It’s me,” I called back as I shifted into human form and strode for the trio of creaky wooden steps that led into the sprawling house.
“Callum!”
My mom came out of the house with a squeal of happiness. Short, standing only five-five and a hair, she was a whirling dervish of energy, her chestnut hair bouncing freely. Tanned,freckled skin, courtesy of a lifetime outside, was flushed red with excitement as her oldest son surprised her with a visit.
Despite what had brought me out there, I couldn’t help but smile, hugging her back with equal gusto.
“Hello, my boy,” she said happily. “How are you?”
“I’m okay, Mom. How are you?”
Motherly instinct took over immediately. After putting her hands on my shoulders, she leaned back, giving me that analytical eye that only moms seemed capable of.
“No, you aren’t,” she said. “Something’s wrong. What is it? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” I said, waving at her as she tried to inspect me for wounds. “Not hurt. Not like that, at least.”
“What’s going on?” she asked softly. “Do you want some tea?”
“Okay.”
Following her inside, I waited at the island countertop while she made us both a warm cup of tea with some honey.
