Page 16 of Red and Her Dragons (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 4)

Though I never understood why my family agreed to the arrangement, it wasn’t unheard of for shifters to mix blood with witches. There was an old and unfounded belief that a witch’s power somehow gave the children of the coupling powers. Though I had yet to meet a shifter with powers like a witch, there have been shifters born of a witch who ended up stronger in some way. Regardless, I considered myself lucky. A life bound to that horrible man was a life I wanted nothing to do with.

I was home. And there wasn’t another place in this world or the next that I had ever felt as safe as I was here in the castle.

Seeing a different side to Bret and Jax was nice as well. Or maybe that was just me. Maybe I’ve become more receptive and observant. Perhaps they were respecting Marcus enough to not try to pursue me. Now that we aren’t in a relationship, perhaps I’m fair game.

Regardless, I would rather be chased by three gorgeous dragon shifters than one wolf.

But it would only be a matter of time before Rowan came to the castle. He would likely try to knock down the gates to get me back, maybe even start a war. If he was smart—him and his pathetic excuse of a father—they would stay far away from this place and give up on me.

I needed to let my family know before the wolves got to them. Surely, they would understand the arrangement was wrong for me.

I stood up to get dressed as my thoughts continued to rush through my mind. Despite everything, I missed being back. Things were just a little different now.

6

BRET

My shift was a long one filled with a whole lot of nothing but staring at trees. There was no sign of anything out of the ordinary, and I wondered how that was even possible. Marcus normally wasn’t one to overstate the facts. If he said someone was laying traps for us, then I believed him. Still, if anyone was hiding within the trees, I didn’t see them.

But now it was late in the afternoon, and my patrol was almost over. There was a part of me that was disappointed. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I would find anything to begin with. However, I hoped that I might at least find out who was responsible for laying the traps. Often enough, being visited by a dragon was a fairly solid repellent to bad behaviors. Most people didn’t think to lie when confronted with one.

Alas, I found only woodland creatures that belonged in the woods. Not even a hint of anyone sneaking around, up to no good. For all intents and purposes, the woods were free from humans for the day. At least none I was able to find. And I’m great at what I do. So, it stands to reason that if I couldn’t see them, whoever it was either had the knowledge on exactly how to hide from me—which wasn’t likely—or they weren’t there. The latter was the more realistic option.

As I said, I’m great at what I do.

I supposed it wasn’t a total loss. I was able to find a handful of traps and not only disarmed them, but I also tossed them into the small lake on the northern side of the region. A few less traps meant a few less injured innocents. Which was a win in my book.

As my shift ended, I started back for the castle and landed inside the gates. I shifted back to my human form and approached the door. As I reached for the knob, it opened, revealing Emily and Jax laughing and giggling like two hormonal teenagers.

“Oh, hey Bret,” Emily said. Her face was red, and her hair was all over the place.

I narrowed my eyes as my lips curved into a smile. “Hey yourself.”

“I was just leaving to relieve you,” Jax said.

I nodded. “I’m sure you were.”

Jax poked Emily in the side. She giggled.

That little sting of jealousy started to poke its way through again.

I cleared my throat. “So, what have you two been up to?”

Emily glanced at Jax. Her cheeks picked up a little more color. The way she looked at Jax, it was like her world revolved around him. I wanted her to look at me in the same way.

“Oh, this and that,” Jax said. “Don’t worry, the activities were all Marcus approved.”

“I’ll fill you in later,” Emily said. “But you might get bored.”

“Bored seems to be the theme of the day.” I nodded and smiled wider. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

Jax wrapped Emily in his arms, and the tiny, green bug bit a little harder. I rolled my eyes and tried to shove the sensation deep down. As far down as it would go. Then Jax turned her back to me. He smiled at me like a kid with his hand stuck in a cookie jar and all without a single ounce of guilt.

I glared at him. “All right, all right, you two. Break it up.”

Emily laughed even harder. “Stop tickling me, dammit.”

As much as I hated making her stop, I loved the sound of her laugh. It was like music to my ears. I could listen to her laugh all day. I wanted to be the one to make her laugh. I would spend the rest of my life doing anything and everything to keep that smile on her face if she would let me. All to keep her happy.

---