by Reus, Katie
“I thought since you’re a dragon you would be more equipped to watch after the little guy before I can find a permanent housing situation for him. Unless it ends up working out and he stays here,” King said.
“What kind of housing situation are you looking at for him?” Because Mikael knew that if they took this dragonling in, Avery would never give him up.
“I’m going to reach out to Dallas and see if any of her neighbors want to house him. Dallas loves Willow and that little dragon helps out around the farm, so maybe she’ll want him.”
Mikael snorted softly. He’d seen Willow’s antics and he wasn’t so sure the dragonling actually helped out with anything…but she was sweet. And she also made Avery smile. “I know nothing about dragonlings.”
Avery turned, clearly eavesdropping even though she was in the middle of the yard, and chucked a cherry at Mikael. “We’ll learn!”
Lightning fast, he reached up, snagged it from midair and popped it into his mouth. Flavor exploded on his tongue and he wondered… Well, he wondered what he always did. If Avery would be as sweet if he ever got to taste her. Especially between her legs. She had a rich, fruity scent that made him crazy on a daily basis. He always craved peaches because of her.
Her eyes widened slightly and she grinned. “That was impressive.”
He would catch a thousand cherries for her to grin at him like that again. It was a sucker punch straight to his heart. One he thought had died a long time ago when most of his family had been murdered.
“If he wants to stay, I want to keep him,” she said as she strode across the yard, the little dragonling loping next to her instead of flying. “But he seems to have bonded with you, King. He keeps watching you, looking for approval every time he catches a cherry.”
Mikael looked between the Alpha wolf and the dragonling, who was looking up at King adoringly. Oh. “Avery is right.”
Frowning, King looked at the dragonling, who stuck his tongue out at him in what Mikael had heard was called a raspberry.
Avery let out a burst of laughter, the sound a balm to his soul.
“I’m trying to keep the city from falling apart. I don’t have time for a pet.” King spoke more to the dragonling than them.
“You can stay if you want, sweet boy,” Avery cooed, scratching behind his ear.
Now the little dragon looked up at her, that adoration directed her way.
The most primal part of Mikael wanted to snarl at the little thing, then felt like an “utter dick,” to quote Riel. He could not be jealous of a dragonling getting Avery’s affection.
“So you’ll do it?” King was already heading for the gate that led to the front yard.
“Of course—” Avery broke off as the little dragon trailed after him, chirping animatedly.
King turned around and held his hands up. “No, you stay here.” He pointed at Avery and Mikael as if the beast could understand.
Maybe he did, because the dragonling looked at them, then at King, then he jumped right over King, flapping his wings quickly as he sailed over the gate onto the other side of the yard. That dragonling had made his decision.
“Pretty sure he’s claimed you,” Avery called out. “And now you need to name him.”
King looked…baffled, but didn’t argue.
As the two left, Avery let out a happy sigh. “Can you imagine how cute it would be to have a little dragon for a pet? King said they found more than one empty shell, right?”
Mikael nodded and headed up the steps of the back patio.
Avery joined him, sitting on one of the lounge chairs that overlooked the backyard with its pretty lights and hanging plants she’d potted herself. There were touches of her everywhere here, from the bright colors and carefully tended roses and geraniums.
In that moment he wished he had the right to pull her into his lap, to nuzzle his nose along her neck and inhale deeply. To rake his teeth against her sensitive skin as he slid his hand down the front of her pants and— He cut the thought off and rolled his neck. No. “He was quite adorable.”
“That’s high praise coming from you.” She gave him another one of those soft grins and stretched her legs out.
You could easily give her a baby dragon, his inner beast reminded him. Just get her pregnant.
He bit back another groan. His dragon was such an asshole. “You thirsty?” He needed space for a few minutes, just to breathe in air that wasn’t laced with her sunshine and perfection.
“Yes, thanks.” Avery gave him a tired smile and leaned her head back. “Hot tea, please. I don’t care what flavor.”
She had many so he picked the raspberry-scented one he knew she usually chose. Not long after, Mikael stepped outside to find Avery dozing on the lounge chair.
He wasn’t surprised since it had been a long day for her. As he’d done a few times before, he scooped her up into his arms—even though it was torture to hold her so close—and carried her inside. She stirred slightly, but burrowed into him as she mumbled something under her breath he couldn’t make out.
On the stairs he passed Ivyn, his youngest brother, but he ignored the pointed look Ivyn gave him and continued to the second floor. Even if Mikael hadn’t known where her room was—which he definitely did—he would be able to follow her scent easily.
Perfection on a summer day.
She mumbled something under her breath, curling into him with complete trust. Her eyelids fluttered but she didn’t open them, just murmured something again, her nose scrunching up in what was definitely an adorable way. Because Avery was adorable—he would always use that word for her. Along with kind, beautiful, his.
Her bed was neatly made, no surprise. With one hand he tugged the comforter down and eased her against her pillow. She automatically turned onto her side and he pulled the covers up to her shoulders. Gently he pulled the tie from her curly, chocolate brown hair so that it fell all around her head and shoulders. She’d once told him that if she slept with the ties in, they gave her a headache.
What he wouldn’t give to run his hands through it, to cup the back of her head as he took her mouth with his. For a long moment he watched her, and reached his hand out to brush her hair out of her face.
But he drew his hand back. Touching her was a special brand of torture—and he had actually been tortured. But this was different, worse. Because she wasn’t his. And he didn’t have the right to touch her anyway.
Instead of leaving her tie on the nightstand, he tucked it into his pocket. Then he snagged a little dragonfly hair clip and added that as well. When he stepped out into the hallway, he found Ivyn standing there leaning against the doorway two bedrooms down.
“What?” The want and need he’d buried for Avery bubbled up inside him in the form of anger at his brother. His nosy fucking brother.
Ivyn simply lifted a shoulder. “What are you doing with her?”
“What does it look like?” And he didn’t answer to his younger brother.
“Like you’re trying to hurt yourself.” Now there was…a touch of pity in his brother’s normally hard gaze.
Annoyed, wanting to punch something now, Mikael turned away and stalked to his own room. His brother was right about hurting himself—maybe he deserved it.
If he’d been home when his family had been attacked, slayed…they might all be alive now.
Chapter 5
With her hard hat and boots on, Avery ducked into the third floor of the condo complex where they were having an issue with some of the plumbing.
There was a shortage of supplies—even though witches could duplicate some things that they needed. So could some half-demons, she’d been told, which was fascinating.
But her construction crews couldn’t depend on them for everything. Some things had to be manufactured to specification.
“Look, boss,” a big bear shifter said, one meaty hand on his hip as he pointed at the open, unfinished bathroom. “I can finish in here. And we have enough for the rest of this floor, but n
ext week we’re going to be moving on to the fourth floor. We don’t have enough and I don’t know how we’re going to get what we need.” She knew Santiago, had known him before The Fall, as it was. He’d been in construction for probably longer than she’d been alive and he was damn good at what he did. She was glad King had put him on her crew.
“Let me worry about that. Just finish up everything you can, plumbing-wise, this week. If for some reason we stall on this job, we’ve got plenty to do at other jobs.”
He grinned, half saluting her. “Okay. I know you’ll come through. You always do.”
She certainly hoped so. She’d already let King know what her crew needed and he was going to reach out to Finn Stavros, the Alpha of the Southern Mississippi and Alabama area. There were a few warehouses in bigger cities like Biloxi and Mobile filled to the brim with stuff that had been untouched during the dragon attacks.
Finn and his pack had provided food and the ability to grow food to other areas with no strings attached, and she had a feeling that the Alpha of Biloxi, as he was commonly called, would give them what they needed with no strings attached either.
It truly was a new world. People were simply helping out because it was the right thing to do. There were a lot of crappy things about this new world but also a lot of really good new ones. Like the fact that if she got hurt, she could go see the supernatural healer and get healed without having to worry about going bankrupt or going into debt. Insurance wasn’t a thing right now, simply getting medical care when necessary was. So yeah, she could get on board with that.
“What’s that look?” Anthony asked, coming up to her.
“Hold on.” She answered the call on her radio and headed toward the stairs.
Anthony fell in step with her. He’d transferred back to her crew for the rest of the week, but hadn’t told her why. She knew that both of her brothers had gotten into some sort of trouble the other night, but neither of them had opened up to her and she didn’t want to push.
When their mom had died, she’d taken on more of a maternal role with them. She’d actually taken it on when their mom had gotten sick, helping them fill out college applications, being there for Anthony when he “came out” as bisexual, though no one had been surprised. In general, she’d just tried to make sure they were okay. “So what’s up?” she asked.
“Nothing. You just look stressed. How can I help?”
“Everything’s good. I promise. I’m just trying to get some small things in order.” She gave him a sunny smile, ignoring the worry burning low in her belly. If they couldn’t get what they needed for the next few floors, it would slow down everything. Which meant the people on the wait list for housing would have to wait even longer and she hated that. People were already in a sort of holding pattern, displaced and afraid, and she wanted to make sure they had a warm, safe place to lay their head at night.
“You sure? We didn’t really talk about what happened last night.”
Meaning when their douchebag of a sperm donor had shown up. She definitely didn’t want to talk about that, and never at work. “There’s nothing to talk about,” she said as they headed down the stairs. “He was just showing up looking for a favor. It’s not like he cares what happens to us.”
“I wish I’d punched him,” Anthony grumbled, flexing his fingers.
“Hey, where’s this coming from?” Anthony had always been more of a lover than a fighter.
He shrugged, grinning. “He has a punchable face.”
She giggled slightly as they reached the bottom floor. “I’m not going to argue with you there, but he doesn’t deserve any space in our brains. I’m going to do my best to forget he ever stopped by.” She didn’t like thinking about him; he brought up too many painful memories. And he certainly didn’t deserve her time or tears.
“What the hell?” Anthony murmured as a shout went up from the parking lot.
She hurried across the gravel, sliding her sunglasses on to block out the bright sun, Anthony hot on her heels. A small circle of shifters had gathered and once she pushed her way through the group, she found Logan, a big bear shifter she recognized from her friend Zia’s crew working on the complex next door, and Mitch, a human male on her crew, facing off with each other.
Zia was on the sidelines, wearing her own hard hat—a purple one—as she looked up at Logan, the bear shifter who drove her crazy. “We need to—”
Avery took the whole scene in and hurried over to Zia’s side. “What’s going on?”
“This asshole stole my Makita.” Logan looked directly at the human male who was trying to stand his ground, but Avery could see the fear in his dark eyes.
If Avery didn’t know Logan, she would probably be afraid too. He was likely six foot five inches, maybe taller. But he was normally so jovial and kind to everyone. “Why do you think he stole it?” She’d seen Logan’s brushless rebar tying tool—and was jealous of the expensive piece of equipment. Avery shifted slightly so that she stood directly in front of the human. She knew without a doubt that Logan would never hurt her, but she wasn’t so sure about Mitch. He was new to her crew, had been put on last week. She didn’t know him.
Zia shifted with her, using her body as a block.
Logan frowned but some of the tension in Avery’s shoulders eased as he looked down at the two of them. “I saw him take it. He thought he was being sneaky, but I came back from my break early. He’s a shitty thief.”
Annoyed, Avery turned around and faced Mitch. “Give it back.”
“You’re just going to take his word?” Anger flared in the human’s dark eyes as he took a menacing step toward her.
But she’d worked with men for most of the last decade and she was not worried about this guy. He was all bluster. So she took a step toward him, hands on her hips. “Yes, I am. I’ve known him for years. Give it back now and get the hell off this job. One of King’s people can place you somewhere else, but you don’t work for me anymore.” She had a feeling King would be very, very pissed about the stealing.
“You stupid bit—”
Faster than she thought possible, Logan somehow moved her and Zia out of the way and smashed his fist into the human’s face.
Avery winced at the crunching sound. That had to hurt.
“Holy shit,” Zia murmured.
Heart beating fast, Avery stared at the groaning, crumpled human on the gravel lot. Holy shit was right. Blood covered his face and the front of his shirt.
“That’s enough, Logan,” Zia said quietly, placing her fingers gently on his forearm.
The bear shifter stilled, though his body was still vibrating with anger as he stared at the human.
“That’s right, listen to your bitch,” the human said as he spit out blood, shoving to his feet.
Okay, it was actually impressive that Mitch could even stand up at this point. And he wasn’t shouting in pain, though she knew he had to be in a lot of it.
Logan started to take another step toward the guy but Avery slid in front of him and held up a hand even as Zia clutched onto his forearm. “He’s not worth it. He’s done for. He won’t be working in any area around here again.” Because she would make sure of it.
Logan leaned around her to glare at Mitch. “If you call Zia or Avery any name again, you’ll have to worry about more than my fist in your face. And I do listen to everything my female says. I’m not sure why you think that’s a bad thing, to listen to the most beautiful woman in the world. You’re a thief and a fool.”
Zia groaned and mumbled something under her breath.
“All right, show’s over!” Avery snapped out. Just then Mikael appeared as if out of nowhere. She’d sent him on a run to grab supplies—because she trusted him and had needed a little space from his hovering. But he was back and his dragon was in his eyes now, all smoky gray rage. She didn’t even have to tell him what to do, he simply grabbed the human by the back of the neck and started dragging him off the jobsite.
Everyone started dispe
rsing, thankfully, getting back to work.
“Logan,” Zia murmured, nudging him in the stomach—though Avery doubted he could even feel it.
“Princess, just tell me what to do and I will do it.”
Zia scrubbed a hand over her face. “Please go back to the jobsite and finish the drywall. And stop calling me princess.”
“I can do anything but that, my Princess.” Then he basically bowed and strode off—strutting as if he was a peacock, which was ridiculous for such a big bear shifter.
Once the bear was gone, Avery turned to her friend and giggled. “Now he calls you princess?”
Zia shook her head, her short, dark curls bouncing around her face. “He announced to everyone that he is my hammer and does as I order. Something is seriously wrong with that bear. I have no idea why he keeps saying these things. I’m human and it’s not like we’re mated. But he says,” she whispered, glancing around once, “that he would follow my commands even over the Alpha. I don’t think that’s a good thing.” She kept her voice low so only the two of them could hear.
“Shifter hierarchies are really weird.” But she was also pretty sure that Logan was obsessed with or in love with Zia. He looked at her as if she’d hung the moon and she’d heard him refer to himself as her hammer more than once. The bear really was kind of ridiculous.
If adorable.
Avery wondered what it would be like to have someone be completely devoted to her, but then…shelved the thought. It would never happen.
Fairy tales were just that. Fairy tales.
Chapter 6
Three weeks after The Fall
Listening to her iPod, Avery stared up at the stars, unable to shake the…blah feeling ruminating inside her. Today had been long and uneventful, but in the quiet when she’d gotten home an impending sense of doom had settled around her shoulders like a familiar ache.
Just…sitting there, pushing in on her.
Suddenly Mikael’s face was in front of her as he looked down at her on the chaise longue. He had a blanket rolled up under his arms.