Page 10 of Dragon's Revenge

He leaned in for a soft kiss, then refocused on Adar. “Okay, that’s good. I mean, not that you’re hurting, though you certainly deserve to feel some misery after what you did, but it’s good to hear you’re completely certain about him.”

“So how do I convince him? How do I make him understand I’m serious, that I believe he’s our third? That I want him in my life?”

“Honestly? I don’t think he’ll believe you right now, no matter what you say. He’s too hurt, so he’s closed himself off. Words aren’t gonna cut it. All you can do is show it, prove it to him. You know, the whole actions speak louder than words thing.”

Actions. That was good because he sucked with words anyway. He was more of a doer. “What kind of actions? Do I get him flowers? Bring him breakfast in bed? Buy him chocolate?”

Sivney smiled. “None of those things can hurt, but there’s another cliché that’s applicable here: love is often spelled T-I-M-E. You’ve gone out of your way to spend time with Oliver. Now do the same for Delton. Be there for him. Talk to him. Be his friend the way you were with Oliver.”

That didn’t sound too daunting. “But how do I combine that with protecting Oliver?”

Sivney leaned forward, his blue eyes drilling into Adar’s. “There’s a whole security team. You’re not the only one who can keep him safe.”

“I know, but especially now that we fear another attack, I can’t just leave him alone.”

“But leaving Delton unprotected is fine?”

Wait, what? But Delton was…

He was a beta, but that didn’t mean he was fine. If an attack came, both his mates needed protection, not just Oliver. In fact, when it came to defending himself, Oliver was probably more skilled than Delton. Oliver could shift into a dragon and had his magic. Delton didn’t. So why was he treating Oliver like he was fragile but not Delton?

“All alphas tend to be protective toward omegas,” Sivney said softly. “And when an omega has a background like Oliver’s, it’s hard not to want to wrap him in bubble wrap. But you can’t always put Oliver first. If you want your triad to be truly equal, Delton has to be just as important to you.”

He was right, and once again, a wave of shame filled Adar. “I didn’t realize the message that would send.”

Sivney put his tiny hand on Adar’s big one. “I know, big guy. If I thought for even a moment that you’d done it deliberately, this would’ve been a very different conversation.”

Why was this shit so hard? Everyone else made it seem so easy and effortless.

“Relationships are hard work,” Naran said as if reading Adar’s mind. “And anyone who tells you differently is lying.”

“It was hard for you three as well?”

Sivney laughed. “Do I look like I’d be easy? I went into this kicking and screaming, and it took me a long time to accept we were mates. And even then, we needed time to figure out how we fit together. I’m not your standard omega, and Lev here…” Sivney’s eyes filled with so much love as he looked at his mate that Adar almost wanted to look away. It felt too private, too intimate. “Lev is perfect the way he is, but we needed to experiment to see how we could give him what he needed.”

That did make Adar feel better. No, it wasn’t an easy solution, some kind of three-step plan he could follow, but it did offer hope. And right now, Adar needed all the hope he could get.

Naran leaned forward. “You know what I would do if I were you? Ask Delton. Sit down with him, tell him the truth about how you feel and that you’re certain he’s your third. Then, ask him what he needs from you and Oliver to prove it. Flat out ask him. Knowing Delton, he’ll appreciate that. He’s always advocating for open and honest communication.”

Adar’s shoulders hunched. “The last time I tried that, it didn’t go well.”

“No? What happened?”

Oy. He’d bared his soul already, so he might as well come clean. “I told him he was already hurting, so what did it matter if he risked getting rejected again? It couldn’t be worse than what he was feeling now.”

Sivney’s eyes widened. “Holy shit, just when I thought I’d heard it all.”

Naran winced as he dragged a hand over his chin. “I agree that doesn’t look good, but it’s not unfixable. In this case, I suggest starting with the mother of all apologies and some major groveling.”

“I recommend flowers,” Lev said. “They always work with me.”

Flowers. Adar could do that. There were plenty of wildflowers to be found right now, so he’d gather as many as he could in all kinds of colors. He could ask one of the dragon omegas for a cute ribbon to tie them into a bouquet. Surely, that would be a good start. “What else?”

“I second that honest conversation Naran mentioned,” Sivney said. “But maybe refrain from saying stupid and hurtful shit.”

Naran bumped the omega’s shoulder. “No need to rub it in, firecracker. You’ve been known to say stuff you later had to apologize for.”

Sivney opened his mouth, his eyes lighting up, but then he closed it again. “Fair enough. Can I recommend writing out some things you want to say? Just so you can think of them ahead of time and not have to come up with arguments on the spot?”

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