Page 58 of Anaki

Anaki nodded, giving me a smirk that hid all that pain behind his heart. “Of course, Mama. My hearing is just getting better, so I have to learn to block out the higher-pitched sounds.”

Since his soul was healing–because of me–his dragon must be recovering. But how did his dragon get so damaged in the first place? We never talked about that this morning. Was it a family member, a friend? Anotherlover?

I didn’t like the idea that he could have had someone else, but Anaki was handsome and sensual. He could get anyone he wanted. What was it that caused his soul to crush like that? Anaki loved with his whole being, and to hurt him was damn cruel.

I gave him a small smile and rubbed my hand up his arm. “I have some earplugs back in my suitcase. Maybe that could help.”

Anaki’s smirk grew to a grin. “Maybe I’ll try that. We could give some to Bear and Nadia, too, so they don’t hear you screaming tonight.”

I gasped, my face burning as I snuggled into his arm. “You’re terrible.”

“Not as terrible as when I take two of your holes,” he whispered low into my ear.

My mouth dropped when I looked up at him. “You talk a big game, but can you deliver?” I raised a brow.

It was Anaki’s turn to blush and shuffle his feet when we went past the bar. “When you order me to, I will.”

Christ, this dragon was going to kill me.

A burst of childish laughter echoed through the dimly lit bar, followed by a joyful cry of "Mama!" The customers didn’t even look up from their drinks to watch the small figure darting through the small group of bikers, who stood with beers in their hands.

Luis, with his mop of dark hair and bright smile, came bounding toward me at full speed. I had to prepare myself for the battering ram that was about to knock me over.

I let go of Anaki’s hand to try and grab him, but it was Anaki who scooped him up and held him to my height on his arm. “Hey there, we don’t need to hurt Mama’s back, do we?”

Luis shook his head and smiled. “Wow, we’re high!”

I pressed a kiss to Luis’ cheek. “I was going to come to the cabin soon.Why are you here?”

Ignoring me completely, too absorbed in Anaki’s attention, Luis petted Anaki’s cheek. “Look, dragon, uh…, what is the word, Mama?”

I leaned over to see what Luis was pointing at on Anaki’s face, and I saw light blue, shimmering scales near his ears. His ears were also pointed, as they were last night when Emm left the bar. “Your ears. They are pointed and have scales on them.”

“Scales,” Luis repeated. “Muy bonito. I want to have scales.”

Anaki rubbed his fingers against them, then grabbed Luis’ wrist. “Here, want to touch them?” He grabbed two of Luis’ fingers and had him rub them on the scales. “These are impenetrable. That means bullets can’t get in, and I can reflect magic.”

Luis’ eyes grew wide. “You mean Tajah and Bram can’t use magic on you? Ever?”

Anaki chuckled. “They can when I am like this.” He waved his hand down his body. “If I concentrate hard enough and pay attention, I can absorb less harmful magic. When I am in my dragon form, no magic can touch me.”

“Wow, so cool.”

Anaki chuckled. “It is. Just wait until I can fully shift, we can go swimming in the lake this summer.”

“Yes!” Luis fist-pumped the air.

Abuela stepped out of the hallway where Anaki and I had escaped last night. Her large bag hung on her arm. It probably held her crystals and those cursed mushrooms. Beretta was beside her, with her hand on her shoulder. “There she is. We weren’t expecting you for at least a few days. Why are you here?” Abuela narrowed her eyes at me.

Anaki stood up straight and wrapped his arm around me, still holding Luis. “Elena said she felt cold before I took her on a walk. I wanted to makesure she was alright.”

“I’m fine.” I nudged him. “He’s being a little overprotective.”

Abuela’s wrinkles around her eyes deepened when she smiled. “Good. He needs to be. Bones is busy, but Nadia is upstairs in the clinic.”

Anaki cocked his head. “Bones? Busy? He’s never busy.”

Beretta shook her head. “Best not ask questions, Anaki. It's tense between him and Locke right now.”

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