Page 59 of Dragon's Revenge

Delton patted his hand, grinning. “Mine neither, so imagine how you would’ve felt.”

“I would’ve considered calling in sick…and I don’t do that. Ever.”

When Delton let go of Adar’s hand, the alpha grabbed his, lacing their fingers together. “This okay?”

A thousand butterflies took flight in Delton’s stomach. “Yes. Very okay.”

The smile Adar sent him only made those feelings stronger. “Thank you. You were saying?”

He’d been saying something? Right. He’d been talking about change. “My job is to help people heal from their traumas. Healing is nothing more than changing how we respond to stimuli, whether emotional or physical. It’s a slow process because it requires retraining our brains. That in itself is hard. Really, really hard. But it becomes even more difficult when everything else is also changing.”

Adar was panting slightly despite their slow pace, a testament to how hard a hit his body had taken. He’d been in prime shape before. “Like what?”

“Like you still recovering. Like the three of us figuring out how to navigate being mates. Like Rhene returning and taking his position as pack alpha again and Duff Bás being here, watching our every move, putting everyone on edge.”

Adar was quiet for a while, but Delton didn’t mind. He’d learned to be comfortable with silence a long time ago—a requirement in his job. One of the biggest mistakes therapists and mental health professionals could make was filling every silence with words. Sometimes, being quiet was the only way to get people to open up. Some people needed to be able to hear themselves think, and if Delton had to put money on it, Adar was one of them.

“You think this will affect Oliver’s healing process?” the alpha finally asked.

“It might, yes. He’s dealing with a lot right now.”

Adar’s body tensed, his hand clenching around Delton’s. Before Delton could ask what the problem was, he spotted the man walking toward them. He squeezed Adar’s hand, and they stopped, waiting for Duff to reach them. Was the dragon slayer out for a casual stroll, or was he looking for them? It seemed it was the latter because Duff stopped right in front of them. “I assume you know who I am,” he said, softer than Delton had expected.

“Yes.”

Adar’s one-word response wasn’t exactly welcoming and friendly, but Delton couldn’t fault him for that. Still, he felt obliged to introduce them. “I’m Delton, and this is Adar.”

“You’re the psychologist, right?” Duff asked.

“That’s me.”

“Rhene told me to talk to you,” Duff said to Delton. “Can we make an appointment?”

“Not without me present,” Adar said before Delton could respond. Then he looked at Delton, cringing a little. “Sorry, I should’ve asked you first. But it’s not safe for you to be alone with him. The man wants to kill us.”

Delton should’ve felt offended that Adar had bypassed him, but he didn’t. He’d never had an alpha be protective of him before, and he couldn’t say he minded how it made him feel. Safe. Like a treasure that needed to be guarded.

“Not you. The dragons,” Duff said, not even blinking an eye at that statement, which was worrisome.

“Excuse me for not taking that as a reassurance, considering our mate is a dragon,” Adar snapped.

Duff’s eyes widened. “You’re mated to a dragon?”

Delton straightened his shoulders. He still wasn’t sure what to think of Duff being allowed full access, but he’d have to trust that Rhene knew what he was doing. “Yes. Oliver, a dragon omega, is our mate.”

“Ah, I see. You need him to have kids,” Duff said.

Fury bubbled inside Delton. “We need him because he’s part of our triad. Without him, we’d be missing a piece. It has nothing to do with kids. Hell, we haven’t even discussed that.”

Duff blinked. “You’re not interested in having kids?”

As if Delton was going to discuss the details of their relationship with a total stranger. “I don’t see how that’s any of your concern.”

Duff opened his mouth, then closed it again. “I still want to talk to you.”

“You heard my mate. It’ll have to be with him present.”

In this case, Delton had no issues with Adar being protective of him.

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