Page 47 of The Alliance

For all that Lew claimed it was the warrior wielding it and not the weapon that won the fight, his dragon must have had the same instinct mine did. Protect his clan. Gain every advantage that could save them.

He said, “Perhaps you could put those spells on it?”

Kingsley looked at me. “Are you happy with that?”

I smiled at my mate. “Will it mean my treasures are better protected?”

He chuffed out a laugh and began to organise the space. “Lew, can you take it to somewhere I have enough space to walk around it? I’ll needsome chalk and some water. I’m assuming Matty will have chalk to draw a pentagram, right?”

I watched him work and took a moment to enjoy the sensations inside me. My dragon was content and energised, watching my mate in his element, looking so strong and protective, and I was satisfied that Seren and Morgan would be safe while they stayed here. I’d ask Edith if I could lay a few protections down around the borders. I felt sure she would agree. She’d let me into her clan’s armoury, which meant she trusted us. And we were showing her trust in return, strengthening her weapons.

This alliance might just work, after all.

Chapter 16

Morgan

Ichanged my shirt for the third time and looked at myself in the mirror. My face looked tense, meaning the relaxed, happy demeanour I’d started to slowly develop among my new family had vanished.

Suddenly, my mate’s strong arms slid around me and I was engulfed in a warm hug from behind. Lew seemed to surround me, I breathed his scent in and he buried his nose in the crook of my neck, right beside his claiming bite.

“What’s wrong, Morgan?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” I said.

He held me tighter, and it should have hurt but actually the less room I had to breathe while Lewwas hugging me, the happier I was. He relaxed his arms too soon for my liking.

“What are you nervous about? Don’t you think your family will be pleased?”

I no longer questioned the fact that he knew what was bothering me. His question before had really been an opening gambit to get me talking. It wasn’t unusual at all for him to blithely carry on with the discussion even though I’d said nothing was wrong. Because we both knew somethingwaswrong.

I swallowed.

“I just want everything to go well.”

“It will.” Lew met my eyes in the mirror. “You know the Hoskinses will be pleased. Don’t you think the Somervilles will be happy?”

I hesitated before answering. I wasn’t sure.

“It’s not that, I don’t think.” Even when I paused again to think, which wasn’t the most sexy thing, Lew still held me tightly and waited patiently. “I think they’ll be pleased. Probably. Maybe.”

“Why wouldn’t they be pleased?”

“I don’t know. I just know that I could never please them before. I was never good enough.”

Lew growled, and the sound and the vibrations it caused to run along my back actually settled me. His dragon always got riled when it wanted to protect me, and sometimes it wanted to protect me from my own family.

“You’re better than all of them, Morgan. You’re the most wonderful person I’ve ever met.”

I smiled, trying to show my mate how much I loved him and how much I appreciated his praised. I knew, logically, that I wasn’t all that wonderful but I also knew Lew actually believed it when he said it. To him, I really was that amazing. And he made me feel it, too.

“Do you think we could tell Alfie first?” I asked.

We’d talked about it before but we’d decided to tell everyone together.

Lew cringed. And that, right there, was the reason we’d decided to tell everyone together.

“I think the others will be offended if we start to tell others first.”

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