Page 30 of Hoarded By the Dragon

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I tapmy toe in impatience and get annoyed at the shiny dress shoe. The shoes and the suit go hand in hand with the image I want to project. Cool, controlled, authoritative.

The conference room is another projection of that image. The window shows surrounding skyscrapers, but this one is the best. This building acts as the main hub of my business. There are so many facets of it now that it’s a running joke that it only needs crops growing on the roof to be self-sustaining.

The conference table is large, the surface gleaming, but the other side is empty.

I narrow my eyes, but in the next beat, the Leonids enter.

A moment later would be an insult, and a moment earlier would communicate a subservience they don’t feel. It’s a game that makes me want to roll my eyes.

The men are all bulky in stature, as most shifters are. Usually, the family structures don’t get as large for feline shifters, but this one defies expectation. The three men sit on the other side of the table, not waiting for me to rise and shake their hands, which I wouldn’t have. I can only act so human. I don’t do business as one.

In a way, I’m still lord of the land even though the lands and denizens have changed.

The head of the family nods to me. It’s a surprise that he’s here instead of sending his heir to this meeting. It signals that there is some strategy at work here. Lorenzo Leonid is in his sixties, young enough in shifter circles to still want to cause problems. His body language tries to communicate relaxation, but a drop of sweat gathers at his hairline.

This will be interesting.

His heir, unfortunately named Leo Leonid, sits at his right. The man is in his twenties, and his body vibrates with tension. The black bag that rests on his lap causes a pang of familiarity to travel over my senses. Lorenzo’s brother sits to his left. He’s bigger than Lorenzo in breadth, but lacks the glint of cunning intelligence in the head of the family’s eyes. He’s here to act as bodyguard, even though there is little that he could do if I wanted to destroy the shifters in front of me.

The Council that governs paranormal beings has more to do with me not destroying a fellow territory leader. They require balance, and the Leonid’s territory is too similar to mine in size for me to overpower them with the fact that I am a dragon.

“It’s always good to see you, Kalos. How have you been?” Lorenzo starts.

He wants to talk pleasantries after attempting to waste my time.

“Your tactics are tiring. Tell me why you wanted this meeting.” If I didn’t have this meeting, I’d be focused on Katarina’s presence in my home.

“Of course, we’re only being friendly. As one territory leader to another.”

I raise my brows instead of responding.

“You seem like you’re doing well,” he starts.

“I am.” Surprise pregnancy announcements aside, I wouldn’t give him another answer even if it were untrue.

“We thought with the news of the break-in last week that you may need to cancel this meeting,” Lorenzo says with a shrug.

My shoe stops tapping.

If Ben were here, he’d be able to tell me when the Leonids made this meeting. For a moment, his absence is suddenly like being without a limb. The imbalance is something that could be corrected and accounted for in time, but not what I’d want to adapt to.

It doesn’t matter though if they’d made this appointment before my thief had stolen her way into my hoard or after. These are her employers.

Something that I should have questioned her about earlier, but I had been too distracted by her unbelievable news.

I am not distracted now.

“Why yes,” I start, not denying the event that they wouldn’t have known about unless they orchestrated it. Ben hadn’t even known before the thief had returned. “Having a break-in is startling, but I find it rather invigorating. It’s truly been an age since I’ve gone through my ranks and culled.” My smile is all teeth, and the men in front of me flinch.

Lorenzo clears his throat. “We know how dragons hate to lose any piece of their hoard, so we tracked it down for you, as a favor of goodwill.”

Leo unzips the bag on his lap and places the figurine that Katarina had taken from my hoard on the table. The dragon in me would normally jump to reclaim the lost item, but our brewing young makes us both leery.

I mentally scoff.Goodwill.

“How kind of you. And what is the cost of this goodwill?” I ask.

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