Page 112 of Hoarded By the Dragon

I have been a coward, pushing my nature down to the far reaches of my soul, hiding from myself.

No more. I am awake, and I must return.

I’m back through the portal and in the caverns without a thought. The scent of dragon fire and blackened stone snuffs out the scent of my mate. I can’t tell how long ago she was down here. Ben appears before me as I shift into my more human form. He tosses clothing at me without ceremony.

“How long?” My voice sounds raspy.

Ben’s expression is blank. “Three days.”

Worry brews in my chest at his neutral face. Other times we’ve done this same exact scene, but I would start with questioning him about the business and how it fared without me. Eventually I’d ask about him and Maggie. I assumed that if I kept them low priority, I could keep lying to myself about them being my family. As I assumed not having Moon in my life would separate me from extraneous feelings.

Not this time.

“Is Katarina alright?” I ask. My heart seizes when his expression falters, but I breathe through it.

“I don’t know. She’s no contact right now.”

He recounts the Leonid attack and a primal rage pumps in my veins. Katarina is in the wind, following some intuition from her fae blood. It was a wise choice.

If I had stayed here… it would have never happened, but I also wouldn’t feel as whole as I do now. I’m not fixed by any measure, but the discordant urges are gone. I’ve built a bridge between my competing selves and only time will tell what it can weather.

“Are there any casualties? Were you, Maggie, or Jensen hurt?” I ask.

Ben blinks in surprise at the question before answering.

“Jensen got hit in the head pretty bad and Maggie has been nursing him back to health.” Ben’s lips twitch. “I think he’s a hundred percent, but milking the situation. Maggie says he’ll be fine by tomorrow either way.”

“How do we find Katarina?” I ask. I need her to return. I need to apologize. Now that the pieces of myself are pulling together, the memory of her flinching from my callous words and cowering before my dragon fire sinks its claws in.

I lashed out at my mate and need to make amends. I need to protect her from those who would use her against me.

Ben winces. “The attack isn’t the only thing.”

* * *

I claspmy fingers and gaze at Katarina’s best friend. Stella bites her lip but meets my eyes, looking for all the world like she’s a child in a principal’s office.

“I’m not sorry,” she says.

“I wouldn’t think you would be.” I glance at the fertility statue that she single handedly snatched back from her blood family. “This actually works very well for us, but Katarina will be displeased to hear that you put yourself at risk.”

Stella’s gaze grows steely. “I’ve always been powerless. Nothing I could ever do would put a dent in them. Not a single thing. I ignored the desire to hurt them all my life, but you gave me a way I could. It might be a small way, but it was something only I could do.”

My lips twitch. She means it literally. Only someone with her blood could walk into the compound and get it back.

“So, I’m not sorry,” she ends.

I nod. “Very well. We will have you stay here in the meantime in case they discover how they lost the statue. Your mother is welcome here as well.”

We may still have use for Stella’s fury before all this is said and done, but that plan isn’t my first resort. It would upset Katarina, and I’ll avoid that if we can.

Stella winces. “I sent my mom on vacation somewhere remote. We have some time before I need to worry about her.”

And before she needs to confess what she’s done. If she decides to confess. My reports listed their relationship as close, but no worthy parent would want their child to take on revenge on their behalf.

“Have you heard from Kat yet?” Stella asks.

“Not yet.” And that fact grows more unbearable by the minute.

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