Page 45 of The Heart of the Dragon

The result was a thicket of greenery that hid the main house from the nearby road and the parkway. It reminded me in so many ways of being back home that a wave of nostalgia washed over me. I hated the idea of being homesick. I had no home to miss or be nostalgic about. Every moment of my time under my uncle's roof had been tainted by the fact he'd kept me under a spell for as long as I could remember.

There was no love, or happy memories to reflect on. Only pain and servitude.

The dragon stirred inside me at the anger surging through my veins. I didn't want to admit it, but I'd had more troubleregulating my emotions since walking through that portal than even Isaac or Kitra had guessed.

And while the poison had been a respite, I didn't want to do that again either.

"Here we are. Home sweet home."

Rose smiled briefly and for a moment I could almost forget all the things I had done thus far that hurt her. I didn't know how to break it to her, but the more time we spent together, the worse things would get. And if I couldn't keep my emotions in check around her, then Goddess help us all.

A slight breeze kicked up as we made our approach, and the familiar strawberry and mint scent filled my head. But there was something more there and now I could sense it. So much so that the dragon stirred restlessly under my skin.

Omega.

The thought snuck in again without my permission. I'd been trying to hide it ever since the angry side of me said no. Holding onto that made it easy to refuse the alternative.

Mate.

But my dragon was a possessive monster. And an omega mate was a rare, precious treasure that any dragon would want to hoard for their own. In any way they saw fit.

However, I wasn't sure. The dragon might be back, but he wasn't quite whole. My senses were still screwed up.

We all followed Rose up the path, and when she reached for the door, I stilled her movements with my hand on her arm. "Are you sure about this? Finding out about fae and dragons mightnot be in the best interest for your family. For some humans, mental health is a fragile thing."

She smirked. "Did you just call me fragile AND crazy?"

"That wasn't my intention. You are different."

She shook her head. "I don't know whether to be insulted or not. I am curious, though. What makes me different than other humans?"

"You didn't run screaming when you woke up to a giant dragon destroying your house for one," Isaac quipped.

I shoved him back to give us space. No one needed a meddling asshole in the middle of their conversation.

"Don't be a jerk."

"Him or me?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"I guess both of you."

"Maybe we should talk more before going inside," Kitra interjected. "I think there's more to your story than you are telling us."

"More tomystory?" Rose choked. "Are you serious right now? Okay pot. Let's go see about that kettle."

All three of us looked at her in complete confusion.

She chirped with laughter. "Okay note to self. Fae don't understand weird human idioms. I'm just saying that it's a little ridiculous to think I have a story when its you three that stand out like crazy people inmyhuman world."

"I think we've more than proven ourselves," I uttered quietly.

"Okay, enough, let's just go inside and sort this out with?—"

"Rose is that you?" a voice called from inside.

Kitra froze. “Oh shit. Do you smell that?”

I barely had time to inhale when a large, middle-aged male appeared in the doorway. Huge. As in, there was no way this man was all human and he reeked.

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