Page 58 of Dragon's Revenge

“I don’t know,” Rhene said. “Like I said, I wasn’t in a position to negotiate.”

Fergal stood once more, looking around the barn. “I have faith in all of you as a pack and a clan. If you show him even half the love and acceptance you have shown us and all the newcomers, he won’t be able to come to any other conclusion than that there are good dragons left.”

Okay, that was a sweet thing to say, and he got some applause for that, but the questions kept coming, and while the pack accepted Rhene’s decision overall, people definitely had reservations—Oliver included.

“I’m so proud of you for saying something,” Delton said when the meeting had finally ended and they were headed back to the clinic to check on Adar.

“I felt I had to.”

“It was a strong point you made.”

Oliver bumped Delton’s shoulder. “You made it even better with your scientific explanation. We make a good team.”

Delton’s smile sent Oliver’s stomach into a whirlwind of flutters.

But then he sobered again. “Do you think Rhene’s plan stands a chance?”

Delton was quiet for a while. “It reminds me of a story from the Bible when God wanted to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their iniquities, to use an old-fashioned word. And Abraham negotiates with God, making God promise to spare these cities if he can find fifty honorable men. Then he manages to lower it to ten, and God promises not to destroy the city if ten honorable men can be found.”

“It does sound kinda the same,” Oliver said. “But surely we have ten good dragons?”

“We have way more than that, but like Rhene said, Duff Bás never agreed to a number.”

They were almost at the clinic when Oliver asked, “How did that story with Abraham end? Were the cities spared?”

Delton let out a deep sigh as he shook his head. “In the end, not even ten honorable men could be found, and God destroyed both cities to the ground.”

Well, that wasn’t exactly encouraging, was it?

ChapterTwenty-Three

Adar’s recovery was progressing nicely, though the alpha didn’t agree, much to Delton’s amusement. He’d never figured Adar to be impatient, but the man was sure as hell eager to get out of bed and return to normal life.

He’d been discharged from the clinic the day before and had moved into Delton’s bedroom so Delton and Oliver could take care of him. Adar had protested he didn’t need help, but after being covered in sweat and exhausted from the short walk from the car to Delton’s bedroom, he’d quickly changed his tune. Delton had bitten back his “I told you so.”

Delton had slept on the couch, not wanting to share a bed with Adar out of fear he’d bump into him. He hadn’t minded, though he’d slept like crap—both because he’d woken up twice to check on Adar and because he was so out of his usual routine.

“I don’t like change,” Delton confessed to Adar when the two of them were taking a painfully slow walk the next morning. Adar’s muscle strength had suffered from spending so much time in bed, and he needed to build up his activity level again.

“I would’ve thought change was the whole point of your job.”

“Change inside people, yes. Outside change, not so much. It’s hard enough for people to heal and adapt when their lives are stable. When everything is constantly in motion, it’s damn near impossible.”

“Why?”

“Our brains don’t like change because it costs extra energy. Even people who say they dislike routine have that same issue. Running on habits is easy for us. It’s like an energy-efficient, preprogrammed setting, like getting ready for work in the morning. You always wear the same clothes and shoes, eat the same thing for breakfast, and you do it in the same order, right?”

Adar nodded, a deep frown marring his forehead. “I shower first thing, then get dressed, then eat. Meanwhile, I make a thermos of coffee so when I need to leave, I can take that with me.”

“Exactly. Now, imagine what happens if your shoelace breaks. Or you’re out of coffee. Or you get an unexpected call that disrupts that routine. How would you feel?”

Understanding dawned on the alpha’s face. “Annoyed as fuck. A couple of weeks ago, I dropped my thermos and it cracked, so I had to throw it out. I had a new one the next day because Naran had an extra one I could use, but that one morning, I was so frustrated and irritated. Like somehow, my entire day was ruined because of that stupid thermos.”

Delton chuckled. “That’s a perfect example. Your brain was annoyed with the break in routine because it now had to think about stuff you normally do automatically. It had to consciously run programs that usually play out subconsciously, which requires a lot of extra energy. Now imagine that on top of that, you had to switch jobs. Sivney said you had kitchen duty for the day and had to peel potatoes.”

The look of sheer horror on Adar’s face made Delton snort.

“That’s a nightmare scenario right there,” Adar said, shuddering. “The kitchen is definitely not where my talents are.”

---