Seath listened intently to the boy with a solemn expression. “A pancake ceremony?” Seath murmured, nodding. “Yes, yes, of course. It is the most important ceremony for BFFs.”
Zander was telling Seath that to be Best Friends Forever, they had to exchange pancakes and eat them together. According to Zander, their BFF bond would be sealed only after the pancake ceremony.
“What about your mom?” Seath whispered.
“Mommy can’t be my BFF,” Zander explained patiently. “Mommy is a girl!”
Seath suppressed a chortle.
“So, will you be my BFF?” the boy asked Seath earnestly.
“I’ll be honored to be your BFF.”
Seath cut his pancake into little bite-sized pieces and placed them on Zander’s plate. They clinked their forks together three times and shouted, “BFFs!” Smirking and giggling, the two of them stuffed their pancakes into their mouths at the same time.
Wearing a huge grin and honey all over his face, Zander announced proudly, “Mommy! Seath and I are BFFs. We are Best Friends Forever!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
As they continued eating, Zander peppered Seath with questions about dragons and his dragon powers.
“What can you do?” Zander asked as he licked honey from his fingers. “Can you breathe fire?”
“Yes. My brothers, Sky and Storm, are dragon shifters too, and they can fly, fight and spew fire. Oh, Storm can control lightning too, because he is a stormfire dragon.”
Zander’s eyes rounded. “He can? That is super awesome! Can I meet him? Please?”
Seath was about to reply when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and barked out a surprised laugh. “Well, speak of the devil. Storm’s calling me right now.”
He grinned at Zander, who was jiggling excitedly in his seat. “Hey, Storm,” Seath said, answering the call. “Yeah, I’ll be at Piper’s house the whole day today. I want to finish putting up her fence today, so I won’t be able to work on Mr Hamilton’s garden with you guys today. I talked to Sky last night, and...”
Seath winked at Zander as he continued talking to his brother. He wasn’t surprised that Storm had already heard everything from Sky. The three brothers were very close, and there were no secrets between them.
“So, what are you doing right now?” Storm asked casually.
“Huh? I’m in the kitchen, having breakfast with Piper and her son, Zander,” Seath said.
“Oh, okay then. Take your time and finish your breakfast. We’ll hang around and enjoy the fresh air. Open the door for us when you’re ready,” Storm said with a low chuckle. “We’ll be waiting outside.”
Seath jumped to his feet, startling Piper and Zander. “What? What do you mean you’ll be waiting outside?” His eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Where exactly are you now, Storm?”
Seath’s ears pricked up when he heard the sound of vehicles pulling up in front of Piper’s house. He recognized the sound of Sky’s truck and Storm’s car.
“No way!” Seath muttered as he ran to the front door.
“Seath!” Piper called out and hurried after him. “What’s going on?”
Seath unlocked the door and yanked it open. His jaw dropped when he saw Sky’s truck and Storm’s car parked right in front of Piper’s house.
His two elder brothers got out of their vehicles and grinned when they saw him.
“Sky! Storm! What are you doing here?” Seath sputtered.
“We came to help our baby brother build a fence,” Sky said, his green eyes twinkling merrily. “And to meet our new sister-in-law,” he added. “Family is everything.”
Storm elbowed their big brother in the ribs and shushed him by wagging a warning finger. “Don’t scare her,” Storm whispered sternly. “We know she’s our sister-in-law, but she doesn’t know that much about us yet.”
“I’m not...” Sky began to protest.
Storm nudged Sky again when he saw Piper appear at the door beside Seath. Both Sky and Storm straightened up and smiled warmly.
“Good morning, Ms Wylde,” Sky said, his smile widening into a delighted grin.
“Um...good morning,” Piper answered, her eyes darting from Seath to his two brothers. She managed a tentative smile as the two men strode up to her front steps.
“Fireblood Landscapers at your service,” Storm announced with a dramatic flourish.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Piper blinked at the two tall, blond men standing at her doorstep. One look at them and she knew that they were Seath’s brothers.
The three brothers all had the same powerful build, striking green eyes and golden hair.
“Ms Wylde, I’m Sky Fireblood. We spoke on the phone yesterday,” one of the men came up to her and held out his hand. “This is my brother, Storm.”
Piper shook hands with them and said, “Please, call me Piper.”
“We’re here to clear your yard and put up the fence,” Storm said.
“Oh, that’s really quick. I didn’t expect...” Piper took a deep breath and winced. “Can you give me an estimate of the total cost? I know there’s quite a lot to do, but I’m on a tight budget so...”
“Cost?” Sky gasped and rounded on Seath. “Didn’t you tell her?”
“I...”
“There’s absolutely no charge,” Storm interjected. Both Sky and Storm were giving Seath sidelong looks of disapproval.
“I can’t possibly...” Piper began, but she stopped when she saw both Sky’s and Storm’s eyes glowing with a fierce light. Their eyes glowed even brighter as they stared at the side of her neck.
Piper clapped her hand to her neck and backed away. “What…?”
The two men blinked and the glow in their eyes faded.
Without warning, Sky and Storm jumped on Seath and began thumping him heartily on the back. “I knew it!” Sky bellowed. “I was right! Your dragon emerged because it recognized its mate!”
Storm had Seath in a headlock and was whooping and hooting with glee. “Our baby brother is mated! You found your mate, buddy!”
Piper watched in shock and confusion as the three men mock wrestled one another and stumbled into her living room.
“Mommy, who are they?” Zander asked, tugging at her hand.
The sound of Zander’s small voice made Seath and his brothers freeze. Sky and Storm scrambled off their youngest brother and turned around.
“They are Seath’s brothers,” Piper said, holding her son’s hand tightly.
“Oh!” The boy’s eyes rounded. “Seath’s brothers are dragons, right?”
“Yes. I’m Storm and that’s Sky,” Storm said, crouching in front of Zander. “We’re dragon shifters, like Seath.”
Zander broke into a grin. “Cool! I’m Zander, and I’m a hippogriff shifter.”
Sky smiled at the boy. “You’re a very special shifter, Zander.”
Storm noticed that Piper had her hands protectively on her son’s shoulders and was staring at them with a mixture of bewilderment and apprehension.
“We’re sorry if we caused you any alarm,” Storm told her. “We can be rather loud and boisterous at times.”
“Why were your eyes glowing just now?” she blurted out.
Sky and Storm exchanged a glance and smiled. “Our dragons recognized our brother’s dragon mark on you. Your mate mark is invisible to human eyes. We had to use our dragon sight to see your mark.”
“We’re just so happy for Seath! And I was so excited to meet you!” Sky said. “I called Storm right away.”
“Yes he did. Sky called me once he got off the phone with Seath last night,” Storm added with a lopsided smile.
“I told Storm to get all the tools and equipment ready,” Sky went on.
Storm jerked his thumb at Sky’s truck, which was loaded with gardening tools, fence posts and accessories. “We have everything we need to get your fence erected today. We’re sure we can clear most of your yard by the afternoon. When the three of us work together, we’re unstoppab
le!”
Piper opened her mouth and shut it again. Words were swirling and tumbling around in her head, but she couldn’t quite pick the right ones.
“I almost had a hemorrhage when you asked us to give you an estimate of the cost,” Sky went on. “You’re family. And family is everything!”
“F-family?” Piper wheezed at last.
“You’re Seath’s mate. You’re our sister-in-law, and Zander is our nephew,” Sky answered.
Storm grinned. “Welcome to the family, Piper and Zander!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Piper pressed her hand to her mouth as her emotions threatened to overwhelm her. Everything seemed to be happening at once, yet everything just fell right into place.
She liked Seath’s elder brothers immensely, and she could feel the genuine care and affection they had for her. Care and affection she hadn’t even felt from her own mother and sister.
These were her brothers, her family. She knew that the Fireblood brothers were extremely busy. They had a lot of projects at hand, yet they simply pushed aside all their other work and rushed all the way out here to help her.
Her safety and well-being mattered to them. They made Zander and her their priority.
“Thank you,” Piper whispered at last, blinking back tears. “Thank you so much...”
Sky and Storm smiled kindly as Seath put his arms around her. “You know,” he whispered in her ear. “I didn’t expect my brothers to come out here this morning. But then again, I should have known.” He chuckled softly. “Sky and Storm may be dragons, but at heart, they’re real mother hens.”
“Hey, we heard that!” Sky huffed.
Storm laughed and winked at Zander, who was staring at them curiously. “Are you the one who can control lightning?” Zander asked Storm.
“Yup.” Storm thumped his chest proudly. “Your Uncle Storm can do some pretty cool things.”
“Uncle Storm?” Zander repeated, his eyes rounding. “You’re my...uncle?” Zander turned to his mother in surprise. “I have an uncle?”
Piper nodded at her son. “Yes. You have two uncles. Uncle Sky and Uncle Storm.”
“Wow,” Zander breathed. “And I have a BFF too!”
“A BFF?” Sky asked, raising his brows.
“Yeah. Seath is my Best Friend Forever! We had the pancake ceremony this morning,” Zander said in all seriousness.
Sky and Storm nodded at Zander but shot quizzical looks at Seath. “You can only be Best Friends Forever after you’ve gone through the pancake ceremony,” Seath explained to his brothers.
“I see,” they replied together.
Zander turned to Piper, his blue eyes shining with hope and anticipation. “Mommy?”
“Yes, darling.”
“Seath is my BFF. I really, really, really like him. Can he…?” The boy trailed off, unsure of how to phrase his question.
But Piper knew what was on her son’s mind.
“Yes?” she prompted gently.
“Can Seath...be my Dad?” Zander asked, looking up at Piper and Seath. “Will you be my BFF and my Daddy?”
Seath pulled both Zander and Piper into a big hug. Holding them close to him, Seath answered, “Yes and yes!”
“Really?”
“Really, really, really. You are my BFF and my son,” Seath told Zander proudly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Piper blushed when Seath stepped behind her and planted a kiss on her nape. She turned around quickly and saw that they were alone in the kitchen. “Your brothers,” she said, looking around.
“Sky and Storm are out in the yard,” Seath murmured against her neck. “I’ll join them soon.”
Piper gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and shoved him gently. “Go,” she said. “Go help your brothers.”
Seath smirked. “Yes, Ma'am!”
Piper looked out the kitchen window and saw Seath join his brothers in the backyard. She had just made sandwiches for them, and her kitchen had seemed a lot smaller with three burly men sitting around the table.
Sky and Storm had gone back out to work as soon as they finished eating but Seath lingered for a while to talk to her and steal a few kisses.
The Fireblood brothers were very efficiently and she could see how well they worked as a team. They had already cleared most of the yard and erected the fence around the house.
Zander had been running around with Seath the whole morning. She had never seen her son so animated and excited before. He chatted nonstop with Seath, his Uncle Storm and Uncle Sky.
Piper realized with a twinge of guilt that the little boy hadn’t had the opportunity to interact with many males and other shifters in his life. She was so glad and thankful that Seath had been around when Zander shifted for the very first time.
Zander had finished his milk and sandwiches and gone to the living room to pick up his toy truck. After washing up the plates and cups, Piper went to the living room and saw Zander asleep on the couch. She smiled and kissed his forehead tenderly. Her little bundle of energy had depleted all his energy for the morning. It was time for his nap.
“Come here,” she whispered as she carried her son to his room. She tucked him into his bed and closed the door softly.
Seath came in through the kitchen and told her, “We just received a call from Mr Hamilton. Mr Hamilton asked if we could finish his garden ahead of schedule. Sky agreed, so my brothers have gone back to the work site. They told me to thank you for the coffee and sandwiches.”
“Oh, I...I’m so sorry I took up their time...” Piper stammered.
“No, no,” Seath said quickly. “Family comes first, no matter what. Your fence is done, so Sky and Storm decided to accommodate Mr Hamilton’s request. Otherwise, we would just tell him no.”
“But...I just feel really bad...”
“Don’t,” Seath said, taking her hand. “Why should you feel bad? I love and protect my sisters-in-law and nieces too. Likewise, my brothers will take care of my mate and son.”
Piper smiled. “I heard Zander calling you Daddy just now.”
“Yes. I love being his Dad,” Seath said proudly.
Piper’s vision blurred with tears and she threw her arms around Seath and hugged him. His words filled her heart with pure joy and happiness. She hugged him tighter to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming. This was real. She was really holding her wonderful, loving mate in her arms, and she had a real family now.
Seath gave her a soft, tender kiss before releasing her. “I have to drive into town to get some tools and supplies,” he said. “I won’t take long. I’ll be back soon.” He peered over her shoulder. “Where is Zander?”
“He’s taking a nap.”
“Okay. I should be back by the time he wakes up.”
Piper shook her head. “No. You should go help your brothers finish the job for your client. The fence is up, and most of the weeds have been cleared away. You guys are simply amazing. I can’t believe how fast you work!”
Seath opened his mouth but Piper pressed a finger to his lips to silence his protest. “The rest of the backyard can wait. I can do a bit of gardening myself. Go and finish your projects. Your clients are paying you. Don’t keep them waiting.”
When Seath still didn’t move, Piper took off her apron and said adamantly, “If you don’t go, then I will go and help your brothers. You won’t allow me to pay you, so I’ll work for you guys. That’s only fair...”
“Okay, okay, I’m going,” Seath said, putting up his hands.
Piper grinned. “We’re having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.”
“I won’t be late for dinner,” Seath promised.
Planting another kiss on her cheek, Seath turned and went to the front door. Piper followed him out of the house and waved until his car was out of sight.
Piper shielded her eyes from the sun and squinted down the quiet road. It was early afternoon yet she felt a sudden chill in the air.
With Seath and his brothers gone, the whole place
felt so quiet and still. Piper turned and stared at the tall fence surrounding her house. She glanced towards the forest and gulped.
Why did the forest feel so ominous and forbidding all of a sudden?
Piper rubbed her arms and shivered. She felt cold even though she was standing in the heat of the midday sun.
She looked around warily but saw no one, yet she had the distinct feeling of being watched. Piper hurried back into the house and locked the door.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Piper heard a sound coming from Zander’s bedroom. It was a strange shuffling sound.
“Zander?” she called out. “Are you awake, baby? Do you have to go to the bathroom?”
She heard a whimper, followed by a muffled scream.
Piper’s heart lurched. She raced across the living room and wrenched Zander’s bedroom door open.
“Zander!”
Piper gasped when she saw a tall, dark-haired man in Zander’s room. The man had his back to her and when he turned around, Piper bit down a cry of horror.
“You! Hawke!” she rasped. It was her stalker, that seemingly nice man she had met in the bookshop. Mr Disastrous Coffee Date was here, in her house, in Zander’s bedroom!
“Why...how...” Piper stuttered in disbelief. How could he have found her? Had he followed her all the way to Shadow Point?
Piper winced as she stared at Hawke. When she first met Hawke at the bookshop she frequented, she had been sad and lonely. She had just lost her job, and she was feeling terribly alone and hopeless. She had noticed him because of his eye patch. It gave him an air of mystery. When Hawke approached her, he had seemed so well-mannered, soft-spoken and well-read. He was witty and charming, and he made her laugh.
So she agreed to have coffee with him.
Big mistake.
After that disastrous coffee date, Hawke started stalking her. Piper thought that she had gotten away from Hawke when she moved to Shadow Point.
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