Page 59 of Surge of Storms

“Yes,” he says, with no emotion at all, which is frankly creepy.

“And what do you intend to do with me here?”

Than answers this time. “Make you our mate.”

I swallow around the lump in my throat.I can get out of this. I can escape these two. This will just require a lot of caution. I’ll have to think carefully before I say anything.

“And where are Malikay and Balor?”

They exchange a look, but Kek answers, “They do not know about this plan. They… would not have approved.”

Okay, that’s good at least. I only have two dragons to deal with, not four.

Both men begin to sniff and move closer to me. I can’t help but smell them too. Kek has the ripe scent of meat that’s been left out in the sun for days. Than, on the other hand, smells like rotten potatoes. Potatoes that have been left so long they’ve turned to liquid.

A shudder rolls through me. Every instinct in my body screams to get as far from these two men as I possibly can, but I need to do that without pissing them off.If this turns to violence in my human form, I don’t have a chance.

As they come closer, I say, “This looks like a nice home you’ve found for us. Can I see it?”

They stop sniffing. Both look a little happy. Maybe because the undertones of what I’m saying is that this is a home I’m happy to share with them.

“Let us show you,” Kek says.

I crawl out of the bed, staying as far from them as I can possibly get. They walk me through the ten bedrooms and six bathrooms that occupy this half of the house, and then bring me to an open concept living room, dining room, and kitchen, which is far bigger than the whole house I grew up in.

Every step of the way, I slow them down, pointing out and praising items along the way. Both men look incredibly happy, but they don’t know I’m buying myself time. That I’m trying to make them feel like we’re all on the same side.

This is the only chance I have of getting out.

“Can we look outside?” I suggest.

Than instantly rounds on me. “We will not be going outside where you can fly away.”

I force a smile. “Of course. Of course.” Even though the wall of glass doors makes it feel like my freedom is close enough to touch. I just need to find a way out of them.

We stop near the crackling fireplace , and I can see that this is where they’re cooking all their food. It’s obvious they caught a couple chickens. I guess I should be glad they are chickens rather than something less appealing.

“You’re good hunters,” I say.

Again, they look happy.

Kek reaches a hand forward and snags my hair, moving closer to breathe me in.

I leap away from him, trying to keep space between us.

He growls. “You are our mate.”

My heart hammers. “But you must not be familiar with females. We’re smaller and more fragile than males. You have to approach us slowly and gently.”

They don’t look happy, especially Than, but I know I just need to keep them distracted.

“So, what have you been doing since you awakened?”

Kek watches me closely. “We awakened and were not sure what to do until Balor found us and reminded us of our purpose. Of our desire to have a mate. To have you.”

Okay, that was the last place I wanted this conversation to go.“Why are Balor and Malikay the ones in charge instead of you? Or are you in charge now?”

They exchange a glance, frowning, and every muscle in my body tenses. This is what I want. I want to pull the focus off of me and get them thinking about other things. I need to buy myself time while I come up with an idea.

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