Page 104 of Hoarded By the Dragon

“Now,” I say, and Ben vanishes without another word.

“Traitor,” she says under her breath but snaps her mouth shut at my glare.

My hands are less human than they usually are. My control of this form falters in the face of the raging worries echoing in my ears. They make passably shovels as I gently dig her out of where she’s stuck, moving rocks that could have crushed her.

I grit my teeth and focus on the work. She keeps her silence until I move the last bit around her ankles.

I pull her to stand, analyzing her movements. “Are you injured?”

She shakes her head. “Kalos—”

“I told you not to come down here,” I say. The waves of terror that crash against my heart threaten to spill over. Something worse could have happened. I could be pulling her cold body from the rocks instead of watching her step away with a wince.

“I needed to case out the caverns to be able to use the portal charm,” she says, gesturing to her necklace. Her tone is perfectly logical.

“You could have stayed on the stairs,” I snap. It’s useless. Katarina has an adventurous spirit. Telling her to stay on the stairs is like telling her not to be herself, and that fact is what’s chipping away at my control.

I can taste the fire in my mouth. I need to get away from her. I need to finally let the dragon overcome my flesh so he isn’t scrabbling at my walls.

I pull her toward the stairs, wanting to pick her up and carry her, but knowing that would be too much for my current state. The skin touching hers already burns with demand. My jaw is tight. I push the anger, worries, and fierce presence of the creature trapped inside me down.

The effort is enormous.

We could have lost her.

Katarina’s gaze is full of worry. She should be worried. Everyone should worry that I’ll lose control. It shouldn’t have taken her painting images of dragon fire to forewarn how close I am to the edge.

“I should have stayed on the stairs,” she placates. “I just felt like I needed to come down here in case the worst happens.”

And the worst almost happened.

The phone she has gripped in her dusty hand lights up with a call. Both of our gazes drop to the name “Nemo.”

The walls that keep the darker of my emotions contained crack.

“Why is your mentor calling you?” It sounds like an accusation rather than a question.

Her eyes are wide in surprise. “You know who he is?”

I snarl. “I have a thick file detailing how the two of you worked together. Why is he calling?”

Katarina shakes her head, trying to come to grips with the fact that I’ve known who she associated with even as she’d tried to shield him from me.

“He probably wants me to do a job.” Her brow furrows, and she declines the call.

“You’re not doing it.”

I can taste her exasperation on the air.

“I wasn’t planning on it. If you didn’t notice, I’m the size of a house.” Her gesturing to her swollen belly rattles the lizard under my skin.We could have lost our mate, our young.

I narrow my eyes. “And you’d consider it if you weren’t?”

She blinks in surprise andhesitates. “N-no!”

The hesitation causes a chill to invade the churn of panic in my chest, not dousing the sensation but sparking an awareness that floods me with fear.

What about the next time Nemo gives her a sob story? What if she gives in because she needs a thrill after our daughter is born? He wouldn’t disclose the risks.

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