The Dragon's Mate (Shifters Series Book 7)

by Elizabeth Kelly

  “That long?” Tyler said.

  “The fox needs to be completely healed,” Gram said before patting Tyler’s arm.

  “Can you bring us here Wednesday night?” Tyler asked Bren.

  Bren mentally reviewed his schedule. He was testifying in court that day for an ongoing case, but unless something got fucked up, he would be done in time. “Yes. Say around six?”

  “Sure,” Kaida said.

  Gram joined them and smiled at Bren before putting her arm around Sika’s shoulders and giving her a squeeze. “How are you feeling, sugarpie?”

  “Like I’m gonna explode,” Sika said. “I’m so ready to hold our hatchling in my arms.”

  Hatchling?

  “Soon,” Gram said.

  Sika took Gram’s hand and pressed it against her belly. Gram’s wrinkled face lit up and she rubbed Sika’s belly gently.

  “Can we go, Bren?” Corey asked.

  Bren glanced a final time at Kaida. She was staring at Sika’s belly with longing in her gaze and he felt his own pang of want. He wasn’t sure if a guy could have a biological clock but if they did – his was ticking and had been for some time. He’d always wanted kids, lots of them, and as he neared his mid-thirties, he was painfully aware of how much faster time seemed to be moving.

  He realized with embarrassment that he was staring at Kaida and that Gram was staring at him staring at Kaida. He joined Ty and Corey at the door as Corey took a tentative step toward Kaida and Gram.

  “Thank you again,” he said. “For everything. I, uh, really appreciate your help.”

  “You’re welcome, little fox,” Kaida said.

  “We’ll see you Wednesday,” Ty said. He seemed oblivious to Corey’s discomfort and tension.

  “See you Wednesday,” Kaida said. Her gaze flicked to Bren briefly before she gathered the mugs and turned away.

  Feeling like a small child who’d been dismissed, Bren herded Corey and Tyler out of the cabin.

  Chapter Six

  What are you doing?

  Kaida ignored her inner voice as she took the elevator up to Bishop’s office.

  You don’t even know he’ll be there. For God’s sake, you’re acting like an idiot.

  No, she didn’t know if Bren would be at the office or not. He had mentioned he would talk to Bishop on Monday, but she had no idea if he actually would or not. But that didn’t matter because she absolutely one hundred percent was not dropping by Bishop’s office in the hopes of running into Bren. She was stopping by because she was in the city and she missed her friend. It would be good to say hello and see how wedding preparations were going.

  And why exactly are you in the city? You think Gram didn’t know you were lying when you said you needed tampons?

  She cringed. God, she couldn’t lie for shit and when Gram had stopped in as Kaida was leaving, she’d said the first thing that popped into her head.

  Gram hadn’t said anything, just grinned and asked her to pick her up some beef jerky – the old woman was addicted to it – but Kaida had still felt like a yearling in the throes of its first real crush.

  She couldn’t help it though. Her dragon was driving her crazy about seeing Bren again. It didn’t seem to matter that they would see Bren again on Wednesday, her dragon was insistent about going into the city.

  Unease trickled down Kaida’s spine as the elevator doors opened and she stepped out into the hallway. Her dragon rarely wanted to leave the clan, it found the city too loud and overwhelming, so for it to demand she leave in the hopes of maybe running into Bren…

  She shook off the unease and pulled open the door to BKF Securities. Bren wasn’t in the reception area and her dragon’s excitement deflated. It growled unhappily and she soothed it as Willow, the company’s receptionist, smiled at her.

  “Kaida, hello! How are you?”

  Kaida smiled at the bubbly receptionist as her dragon immediately perked up and purred in greeting. As a general rule, her dragon wasn’t fond of humans, but from the moment Kaida had met Willow, it had an instant soft spot for the perky and sweet human.

  The fact that Willow knew she was a dragon, was also oddly comforting. Although she hated that Willow only knew because Bishop’s mate Ava had been stalked and nearly killed by an insane dragon, it was a relief to not have to hide who she was around Willow or Ava.

  “Very well. How are you, Willow?”

  “Good. You’re here to see Bishop?”

  “Yes. I don’t have an appointment though,” Kaida replied.

  Willow waved her hand in the air, “Please, you don’t need an appointment. You guys are practically besties.”

  Kaida’s grin widened as Bishop’s office door opened. Ava, her curvy body clad in hospital scrubs and her red hair in a ponytail, stepped out into reception. Bishop towered behind her, holding in his arms a chubby, smiling redheaded baby who looked exactly like her mother.

  “Kaida, hey!” The scent of Bishop’s happiness drifted to her and her dragon made another happy purr. “What are you doing here?”

  “I was in the city and thought I would stop by and say hi. Hello, Ava.”

  “Hi, Kaida.” Ava smiled at her. “It’s really good to see you again.”

  “You too. You’re looking well.”

  “It’s the excitement of the wedding,” Willow said with a laugh.

  “More like stress.” Ava pulled her phone from her purse. “I swear, Bishop, I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed to get married in six weeks.”

  Bishop kissed the baby’s smooth cheek. “What’s the point in waiting?”

  “He wanted to go to the courthouse and get married by the justice of the peace,” Willow said to Kaida. “Can you believe it?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with a small wedding, Will,” Bishop said.

  “That’s not a small wedding,” Willow said. “That’s a ‘my old lady is knocked up and I need to marry her before her father comes after me with a shotgun’ wedding.”

  Kaida’s smile widened when Willow gave Bishop and Ava a suspicious look. “Hey, you two aren’t having another baby and just not telling me, are you?”

  Ava shook her head. “God, no. I am not pregnant, Willow, and if you start that rumour, I will murder you. So help me God.”

  Bishop joined Kaida, leaning down to press a kiss against her cheek. “It’s good to see you.”

  “You as well, my bear.” Kaida touched Lila’s chubby thigh and the baby gave her a wide smile. “She’s getting so big.”

  “Four months old now,” Bishop said proudly. “She said daddy the other day.”

  “She didn’t,” Ava said with a laugh. “Honey, I know you want Lila’s first word to be daddy, but she can’t talk yet.”

  “It sounded like ‘daddy’,” Bishop said. He growled to Lila and the baby kicked her feet happily and squealed with excitement before pulling on Bishop’s short beard. He growled again and nuzzled her cheek.

  I want to hold the hatchling!

  Kaida soothed her dragon. She wanted to hold the baby too, but it would be rude to ask. Still, she couldn’t stop herself from running her finger along Lila’s chubby thigh again.

  “Honey, give Lila to Kaida to hold,” Ava said.

  Kaida glanced at Ava and the redhead smiled at her. “Only if you want to.”

  Bishop held Lila a little closer. Willow laughed. “Am I the only one who finds it adorable that Bishop never wants to share Lila with anyone?”

  Bishop rolled his eyes before handing Lila to Kaida. Her dragon purred to Lila and Kaida allowed the sound to escape from her throat. The baby’s eyes went wide. She stared at Kaida before looking at Bishop. He growled soothingly and Lila turned her gaze back to Kaida. She touched Kaida’s mouth and when her dragon purred again, Lila giggled.

  “What is that noise?” Willow asked. “It sounds like purring but…isn’t.”

  Kaida cleared her throat. “Uh, that’s me. My dragon, uh, makes that sound sometimes.”

  “Cool,” Wi
llow said.

  Kaida kissed Lila’s head as the chubby baby relaxed against her. Lila touched Kaida’s hair and Kaida pressed her nose against the top of Lila’s head and inhaled deeply. God, she wanted her own hatchling. Her stomach ached and her dragon made a soft noise of sadness.

  Even if she found a mate from one of the other clans, the odds that she would conceive were incredibly low. The fact that Sika had conceived was a damn miracle. Her hatchling would be the first born to their clan in over a decade and the entire clan was on pins and needles waiting for the hatchling to be born.

  We might have a hatchling, her dragon said.

  The hope in its voice made her chest ache.

  Perhaps, she replied.

  “You okay?” Bishop’s voice rumbled out, low enough that only she could hear.

  “I’m good.” The door behind her opened and she smelled Bren’s scent. Her dragon surged forward, purring and squealing and acting like an idiot. Her arms tightened around Lila and the baby made a squeak of discomfort that had Bishop immediately reaching for her.

  Kaida relaxed her grip and kissed Lila’s head. “Sorry, Lila.”

  Lila stared over Kaida’s shoulder at Bren as Bishop said, “Detective Matthews? What are you doing here?”

  “Didn’t I tell you?” Willow said with a small grin. “Bren called this morning and asked to chat with you. He’s your two-thirty appointment.”

  Taking a deep breath, Kaida turned to face Bren. He was staring at her and Lila, and she could smell both his lust and his happiness at seeing her. It made her dragon giddy – hell, it made her giddy – and she eyed the human with barely controlled lust.

  He was wearing jeans and a blue dress shirt that complimented his eyes. The charcoal gray sport jacket he wore hugged the broad expanse of his shoulders. His tie was burgundy with small blue squares in a diamond pattern. She had a sudden vision of that tie wrapped around his wrists and her headboard while she rode him. What would he look like naked? Would he moan when he was in her pussy?

  Bishop glanced at her, his nose twitching, and heat made her cheeks flush. Bishop could smell her lust for the human and she had no idea how she was going to explain that. She swallowed hard as Lila let her head clunk down against Kaida’s upper chest. She giggled again before rubbing her cheek back and forth. No doubt the baby could feel the vibrations. Her dragon was purring so loudly that it was almost impossible to keep the sound inside.

  “Hey, Kaida,” Bren said.

  Bishop grunted in surprise. “How do you know her?”

  Ava joined them. “Hello, Bren.”

  “Hi, Ava. It’s nice to see you again.” Bren kissed Ava’s cheek.

  Her dragon protested immediately, the purr turning to a growl, as Bishop’s jealousy coated him in a thick scent. Her dragon hissed at Ava, and Kaida stiffened.

  Stop it, she snapped.

  Keep her away from the human. He’s ours!

  Oh my God, he’s not ours. Besides, you know as well as I do that Ava is Bishop’s mate. Her dragon was losing its mind.

  “How do you know Kaida?” Bishop repeated.

  “It’s a long story and partially the reason I’m here,” Bren said. “Why are you here, Kaida?”

  “Oh, um, I was in the city and stopped by to see Bishop,” Kaida replied.

  “Happy coincidence then,” Bren said. His gaze turned to Lila and Kaida’s dragon purred again when his eyes softened, and more happiness drifted from his skin. “Hi, Lila. You’re looking more and more like your mama every time I see you.”

  “Thank God,” Willow said.

  Bishop growled at her and Willow laughed. “Hey, you literally said that to me yesterday.”

  Bren reached out to Lila and the baby grabbed his hand. She examined his finger before trying to put it in her mouth and he gently tugged his hand free before smiling at Kaida. Her cheeks flushed again – oh my God, she really was acting like a yearling with her first crush – and she looked away.

  She groaned inwardly when Ava looked at her and then Bren. Bishop’s mate couldn’t smell her and Bren’s mutual attraction, but she was clever for a human. “I got your RSVP for the wedding, Bren. I’m so glad you could make it.”

  “Me too.” Bren was still staring at Kaida and she thanked God she was holding Lila. If she wasn’t, the temptation to simply grab the human by the arm, take him outside to her car, and bang him until the ache in her pussy was finally gone, might have been too strong to resist.

  The way he was looking at her – like he would be more than happy to join her for a quickie in her car, was doing things to her insides.

  Yes! Please? Her dragon whined.

  “You know,” Ava smiled at Bren, “I realized that I forgot to email you your invitation to Bishop’s birthday party this Saturday. It’s short notice, but any chance you can come? We’re having it at the house. Nothing too fancy, just a barbeque – if the warmish weather holds out – and a few friends and family.”

  “Oh, uh…” Bren glanced at Bishop.

  The big grizzly shifter was staring at Ava with undisguised shock, and Kaida almost laughed.

  “Kaida will be there. Right?” Ava said.

  Lila sat up and leaned forward with her mouth open and pressed it against Kaida’s cheek. She licked and gnawed as Ava sighed. “Lila, no licking. Sorry, Kaida. This is something new she started doing a few days ago.

  Lila giggled, and Kaida grinned at her before kissing the top of her head. “I don’t mind. And, yes, I’ll be at Bishop’s birthday party.”

  “You have to come,” Ava said to Bren. “Right, Willow?”

  “Oh, totally,” Willow said. “It’s not a party if the cops don’t show up.”

  Bren laughed. “Sure. I’ll be there. What should I bring?”

  “Just yourself,” Ava said. “Mara and Roland are bringing enough food to feed an army. I’ll text you the address. We’re eating around six but feel free to come by any time after five. Speaking of which,” she glanced at her watch, “I need to get going. My shift starts soon, and I need to get Lila over to Mara.”

  Kaida handed Lila to Ava. The curvy human smiled at her and then Bren. “We’ll see you both on Saturday.”

  She left the office and as Willow returned to the reception desk, Kaida said, “I’d better go so you can meet with Bishop.”

  “Actually,” Bren said, “if you have time, why don’t you stay? You were kind of a part of this and can give Bishop a better idea of what they did.”

  “Sure,” she said before she could stop herself.

  Her dragon growled with pleasure. Bishop gave her another searching look before pointing to the boardroom. “All right, let’s talk in the boardroom.”

  * * *

  “Okay, so,” Bishop scanned the tablet in his hand, “you want someone to keep an eye on Tyler as he’s biking to and from school.”

  “Corey as well,” Bren said. “He lives about ten minutes from Tyler and Ty usually bikes to his place first and then they bike to school. Whatever the extra cost is for Corey, I’ll pay it.”

  “His parents don’t know about what happened?” Bishop said.

  “He lives with a foster family,” Kaida said.

  “Right.” Bishop looked over his notes again. “You said that earlier.”

  “I’m pretty sure they’re not going to pay to keep Corey safe, but he means a lot to Tyler and I don’t want him getting hurt again,” Bren said.

  “There won’t be an extra charge for Corey,” Bishop said. “He’ll be with Tyler and it’s just as easy to keep an eye on both as it is on one.”

  “Thanks,” Bren said with a quick glance at Kaida. “I’m hoping it will only be for a couple of weeks.”

  “You think this Jeff kid is gonna lose interest?” Bishop said. “Because from what you’ve told me, I doubt that’ll happen.”

  “No, but Kaida has agreed to show Corey and Tyler some ways to protect themselves and how to fight if Jeff does approach them. Once they’re better prepared, we’ll ea
se off on the extra security.”

  Bishop’s mouth dropped open and he stared at Kaida. “You’re teaching them how to fight?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “I’m bringing them by her place Wednesday night for their first lesson,” Bren said.

  She didn’t think Bishop’s jaw could drop any further, but she was wrong.

  “You’re training them at your place?” Bishop said to her when he’d lifted his jaw up off the boardroom table.

  “What? What am I missing?” Bren said.

  “Nothing,” Kaida replied. “Bishop just knows how much our clan values their privacy.”

  “I know, and I promise that the boys will be respectful and not bother any of the other bear shifters,” Bren said.

  Bishop sat back in his chair, his gaze still trained on Kaida. “The council agreed to this?”

  “Yes.” She cut him a look that said we will talk about this later.

  Bren was studying her and Bishop, and she tried to look nonchalant. She didn’t know many humans, but Bren seemed weirdly attuned to when she was lying or hiding something. And it had more to do than with her being shit at lying.

  Ya think? He’s a cop, Kaida. He gets paid to know when people are lying to him.

  “Okay, well, I’ll look over the schedule and assign someone to Tyler and Corey starting this afternoon,” Bishop said.

  “Thanks, I appreciate it.” Bren’s surprise was written all over his face.

  Bishop frowned. “Of course. Did you think I’d say no?”

  Bren didn’t reply, and Bishop looked over the tablet again. “Most likely it will be Davis with Ronin subbing in on his days off.”

  “All right. If they can, I’d prefer if Tyler didn’t know he was being watched over,” Bren said.

  “Yeah, that shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll have Willow type up an estimate of the fees and email it to you in a couple of hours. Initial off on it and email it back. All right?”

  Bren nodded and stood before holding out his hand. Bishop stood up and shook it firmly. “I guess we’ll see you Saturday.”

  “You will,” Bren said. “Kaida, it was nice to see you again.”