Page 15 of The Alliance

Beside him, his mate smiled and patted Alfie’s arm.

“Mrs. Wilson is quite fierce, but she is very loyal and an excellent chef. She’s not as scary as all that.”

Alfie turned to his mate. “That’s because she likesyou.”

Blaze grinned unashamedly at the golden dragon. “I know. It’s the advantage of being smol and cute.”

As the conversation turned to the normal chatter of mealtimes, I finally managed to eat some of my own cooking. It wasn’t bad at all. I ate with my leg pressed against Darren’s so I could feel the heat of him all down my thigh.

Half-way through the meal, I met Alfie’s eyes and he held my gaze for a long moment before smiling. He spoke quietly just to me and Darren, though I’m certain Nana was listening.

“We’ve got a bond, you know.”

“You and me?”

“Yes. You’re the first Hoskins I’ve got one with, other than Edith. And Morgan and Seren, of course, but they’re Somervilles too. And Lew and Dane as well, but I’ve met them before and I pretty muchhaveto have a bond with them becausethey’re mates with my brother and cousin. You’re the first person I’ve got a bond with who isn’t directly related to my clan.”

“How did we get it?” I asked.

“I don’t know. It just appeared while I was talking about Mrs. Wilson. It feels like akindbond.”

It was one thing to have my mate praise me, and I’d never get enough of that. It was another to have my family be nice to me, but it was something else to have an almost-stranger do it. Alfie didn’t have a reason to make me feel good, other than he was kind and what he said was true.

A completely unfamiliar pride filled me, satisfying me more than the food. I had a bond with the golden dragon. Me. Before any of my family had one, Alfie had a bond withme.

I blurted out the first thing I could think of that would go some way to showing him how happy and grateful I was.

“I’ll show you how to make spaghetti and meatballs, if you like.”

Alfie’s face lit up. “Would you? Then I could surprise Mrs. Wilson when I get home. If she lets me.”

I nodded, glad I could help. Then realised my mistake. “Um, what I mean is, um, Darren…?”

Darren said, “I’d love to help out, if you want me there, Prince.”

I let out a sigh of relief. Darren would be there. And he was sweet enough to pretend I’d be doing any of the teaching when we both knew it would be him. I couldn’t see bonds like Alfie, but I almost convinced myself that I could. Our bond would look kind. How would that even look?

As we finished dinner and the talk went on around me, I wondered whether I could draw a bond like that in one of my comic books. Maybe I’d get Alfie to describe it more and then I’d definitely be able to draw it. I couldn’t wait to get started.

Chapter 6

Dane

It was early in the morning and I knew that most of the castle were still asleep. We hadn’t had a late night, exactly, but if everyone felt the way I did, then their dragon was a touch restless and angsty, which made it hard to settle down. I’d only managed to drop off to sleep by fucking Seren hard and passing out afterwards.

Seren didn’t seem to feel the same tension I did. Probably that was because his dragon felt safe around the Somervilles, since he’d grown up with them and knew they were family, that they would protect him. And he felt safe around us, his new family. He didn’t have any reason to be anxious.

That theory was proven by the fact that he was nowhere to be seen when I woke up. He was probably off, bouncing round and getting into mischief.

I smiled to myself. Seren lit up the world and I couldn’t wait to go and see him doing whatever it was he wanted to do. It might be a full-time job keeping him out of trouble but I was totally up for the role.

After my shower, as I was getting dressed, I heard a high-pitched squealing outside my window. I stopped, confused. I recognised that sound. It was Hannah, and she was shrieking with pure joy and excitement.

That, in itself, wasn’t unusual. What was unusual about it was they sounded far too close.

I was currently on the third floor, which meant they should have been a good distance from my window and not… right outside it.

Hurrying over to the window, I flung back the curtains and looked out. Right there, speeding back and forth at an alarming rate, were Hannah and Ed, clinging to the back of a dragon. I recognised that silver dragon.

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