Page 28 of The Manny's Fiery Dragon Bond

“My name is Ollie,” I said, holding out my hand. “And you are?”

“Not shaking your hand,” the man said. “I am Elias Falkridge. A member of this clan since its inception. I’ve been an advisor to clan leaders for longer than your family’s been on this continent.”

“Perhaps,” I said, “but never a clan leader, right? After all, Malric’s been leader for how long now, dear?”

“Nearly a century,” he said. He kept me close to him, and I sensed his dragon just below the surface, simmering with rage, but his tone was even. I was impressed with his restraint, because if I had a beast strong enough to take this asshat down, he’d probably have already ripped through this far-too-expensive tux.

“It was a pleasure to meet you. Malric and I need to make our way to our table. He’ll be speaking soon, I believe.” Being a manny had prepared me for this moment. I’d had occasions when I had to hide my fear as I handled emergencies over the years.

We walked away, and I held on tightly to his arm, needing to borrow some of his strength.

“I would like to go back and murder him,” Malric said.

Same. But I couldn’t encourage that behavior, despite my seething hatred for the bigot.

“Maybe later,” I said. “For now, we just keep going.”

“You were absolutely perfect, mate. I’m so very sorry that happened. We knew we would face some comments today, yes—but not that. Never that. That was grounds for removal from the clan.”

“Malric. Nothing’s happening tonight, especially not a banishment.” Despite my desire to watch that go down in front of all the people that jerk thought worthy of him. “Just take deep breaths, get up on stage, say what you need to say, and let’s go on with the night. We’re not letting him ruin it.” I stopped for a moment, making him face me. “Thank you for defending me.”

“I hardly did anything.”

I cut him off. I put a finger over his lips, like he had done to me earlier. “That growl—I knew what that meant. You would protect me above all else, and that, my dear, means the world to me.” I leaned in closer, making sure my next words were just for him. “I also know how much it turned me on.”

He let out another growl, a very different kind, one that told me he felt the same exact way. Sexiest dragon ever.

Chapter 16

Malric

Iletmyselfintomy son’s house, as I normally did. He and I hadn’t yet had a chance to really talk about the fact that I had found my mate, except for when he berated me into not fucking this up completely. He, more than my other two children, had a stake in this, since Ollie worked for him. He also had an understanding of some of our obstacles, ones I planned to remove.

It was one thing for a dragon to have an opinion. We all had them. It was another for Elias to disrespect both my mate and my position in public like that. He knew better, having been around for such a long time. But with that seniority came a sense of entitlement and superiority that wasn’t acceptable.

I went to the kitchen and found Tavian at the stove.

A mischievous grin covered his face when he saw me.

“What?” I said. “You look like the dragon that captured the canary.”

“Well, you look like the dragon that ensnared the mouse.” He was enjoying this much too much, and it was exactly what I needed… full acceptance and joy over my mating.

“Okay, I walked into that one.” And would again, probably. I was okay with that.

“You really did.” He put the lid on the skillet and crossed over to me, pulling me into a hug. “You know me and Eryndor are very happy for you, Dad. Thalric is also, and if he ever slowed down his traveling long enough to visit, he could tell you in person.”

Thalric was the wandering sort. I hadn’t actually seen him in person in many years. Thankfully we’d all adopted enough modern technology to keep in touch. It wasn’t a case of him not wanting to stay connected, it was more that his dragon needed to keep moving. Humans would call it wanderlust, but I had a feeling it was more than that.

“I know you all are. I truly didn’t think this was possible, but I’m very happy that it is.”

“Me too. Father would be pleased as well. He always wanted you to be happy, even without him here.”

I sighed. I knew that it was true, and as happy as I was about finding another mate, sharing my life with someone and having a bright future, the guilt remained. And the grief.

Grief was such a fickle thing. There were days when I didn’t feel the sadness, the loss, and others when I wore it like a bad suit. There was no rhyme or reason as to it, either.

“We are gonna have to figure out how this is all gonna work out, though. Have you and Ollie talked about whether or not he’ll continue working?” Tavian asked.

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