“Me either. But Imre did.”
“I’ll have to thank that dragon, after I beat him for tattooing his name on your neck.”
She shrugged. “It’s just what the bite did. Sorry.” But she wasn’t sorry at all. She was proud to be his mate. Proud to be his partner.
“The bite?” Glorfindel sighed. “You all married dragons. I should’ve known.”
“Whatever. It’s better than Borgia Remus.”
“You’re right.” Glorfindel nodded slowly.
“Actually, I bet that was your plan all along, wasn’t it?”
“For Krysanthe, yes. This worked out better than I could’ve planned, minus that hiccup.”
“Oh, you mean the one where you almost died? That hiccup?”
Glorfindel managed a tired grin. “Now you know how I felt all the time when I was raising you.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Nope. But life isn’t, is it?”
“Sometimes, it is.” She thought about how she ended up with Imre. She thought that they completely deserved each other, in the best way.
“I thought I heard you talking.” Krysanthe sat down on the other side of the bed and took her father’s hand in her own. “I’m so glad you didn’t leave us.”
“In no hurry to be queen?” he asked.
“I never want to be queen. Not if it means losing you.”
“I probably have a few hundred years, yet.” He coughed again.
Voshkie, Imre, Mikolas, and Ondrej all filed through the door, filling the room. Aranka held out her other hand to Imre and he moved to stand behind her, his presence a comfort.
“My family.” Glorfindel nodded as he looked around the room. “Where’s little Cezille?”
“Self-defense with Fabian,” Ondrej said.
“Of course.”
“I thought we’d lost you,” Krysanthe murmured.
“Me too.” He squeezed her hand and looked to Aranka. “So how are the defenses?”
For the first time, Aranka could answer him. Her chest surged with pride. “We’ve repaired the south wall and built one new escape tunnel. Crews are working on the others. Voshkie and Mikolas are going to check in on other Drago Knights chapters in the north and Imre and I are going to the south, once we’re further on construction.”
Glorfindel nodded. “What about Breslin?”
“He’s still in the wind,” Imre answered. “But our allies are hunting him and we have confirmation that Lenore Breslin is in fact hunting him and she has a weapon that can kill him. The ancient Luchtaine hunts at her side as well as a bone fairy who is much like their boogeyman. He can liquefy Breslin’s insides, take his bones. He won’t be hurting anyone then.”
“His end game is dangerous. It seems his goal isn’t to punish or annihilate any one certain group. These attacks are coordinated efforts to reveal our existence to the humans. After that, it’s anyone’s guess. If we can help them, let them know the Orlaith stand with them.”
“As do the Drago Knights,” Ondrej added.
“We’re safe for now, as are our allies. That’s all we can ask for, at least until Lenore takes his head,” Voshkie said.
“What happened to Loup Marais?” Aranka asked. “Is it still burning?” Imre was supposed to find out if the loup garou there needed any other help from them.
“They’re rebuilding and mining the gold you called to the swamp,” Imre said, looking to Glorfindel. “And Pim was found dead. It was a witch wearing his skin that we met.”
“I’m glad they found a use for the gold.”
“I still don’t understand how they took you.” Aranka squeezed his hand. “It’s not like you to let anyone close.”
Glorfindel waved it off. “Damn witch. Never could trust her, never could resist her.”
Aranka narrowed her eyes, as did Voshkie and Krysanthe. An unspoken agreement to drop this witch where they found her passed between them.
“Girls, it’s my own fault. I know better.”
“What’s her name?” Voshkie asked.
“Yeah.” Krysanthe added.
“Never you mind. She had her reasons. What matters is that we’re all together. We’re all safe. And we have each other.”
Aranka looked up at her mate. Her father was right. She had everything that mattered.
Want to know more about Peter Breslin and his fate? Check out Lenore, the ongoing serial free to newsletter subscribers. Catch up with the Woolvens with Big Bad Billionaire, The Werewolf Tycoon’s Secret Baby or the free novella, Princess of the Pack.
Imre: Drago Knights MC (Mating Fever) Page 7
