Page 3 of Red and Her Dragons (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 4)

“Sorry,” he murmured. “Please continue.”

She took in a breath. “What I found was a secret meeting between him, his father, and a group of humans. They are looking for Kai and setting expensive traps. Kai is your friend, right?”

Marcus met Emily’s hazel gaze.

He never expected Emily would have the pieces of the puzzle he needed to solve. But he was never more grateful that she had. He cleared his throat. “Yes. I know him. Did they say what they wanted him for?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t get that far. My guess is they had to have offered Bryson something he couldn’t refuse to stoop low enough to work with humans. I can only think of a few things that would do that, and none of them are good.”

Marcus nodded and continued to clean up Emily’s battered body.

His worst fears were confirmed. And it was about to get worse.

“What happened to you?” he asked.

“I got caught and locked in my room. When I tried to escape, Rowan did what he does best…”

“He beat you?” Marcus said, trying hard to hide the anger that boiled through his veins.

She shrugged. “You should see how he came out of it.”

Marcus smirked. “Bret taught you well.”

“He did.” She smiled and winced.

“Well, you’re safe here,” Marcus said. “And you’re welcome to stay as long as you would like.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Because I’m never going back there.”

“You can stay forever then,” Marcus said with a smile.

“I couldn’t put you out,” she said. “But I’ll stay here for a little while. Just until I get back on my feet, so to speak.”

Marcus nodded and finished addressing Emily’s wounds. He then took her to the guest room. The same room she used to have. Once she was inside, he gave her a set of clothes to change into and bade her a quick goodnight before leaving to go do his rounds. Now that he knew who the target was and most of who was behind the traps, he had an idea of what to look for. In the morning, he planned to stop by Chase’s place to learn what he can from Kai. He would pass along the information to Bret and Jax once he got back.

1

EMILY

The second I opened my eyes, I stretched my arms above my head, ignoring the protest in my still sore body. Slowly, over the next few days, the soreness would fade. Especially with the way I slept. Last night was the best night’s sleep I had in a long time. Years even.

I climbed out of bed and shuffled my way toward the kitchen, still wearing the oversized sweats and t-shirt Marcus lent me. My feet brushed along the marble floor as I moved. It wasn’t long before the sounds of breakfast being made in the kitchen reached me. Soon after, I listened to the way Jax and Bret were giving each other hell. My lips stretch wider in response.

It had been a little over two years since I was in this castle. And that’s what the place was. Almost cliché considering dragon shifters lived here, but it was home. The castle had always been a home to me. This was my safe place.

Before I rounded the corner that led into the kitchen, I stopped and poked my head into the room. Bret and Jax stood with their backs toward me. Another smile stretched my lips as a plan formulated in my mind. Though it was never a great idea to sneak up on dragons, much less these two, I couldn’t help myself. I really wanted to surprise them.

Of course, that also meant banking on the hope Marcus hadn’t told them I was back yet.

I bit my bottom lip and silently stepped into the room. Once I made it to the island, I quietly pulled out a chair and took a seat. A few seconds later, I said, “Good morning, boys.”

Both Bret and Jax turned around and set their shock-filled eyes on me. They smiled and shouted my name. Both men rushed me, pulling me from the chair, and then took turns swooping me into their arms and squeezing me close.

I laughed as I pulled away. “I’m happy to see you too.”

“I hope you’re hungry,” Bret said. His blond hair was cut military short, though a thick layer of fuzz covered the bottom half of his face. His silver eyes took in mine. He stood a whole head taller than me and was covered in thick, hard muscle.

“I could eat,” I said and scratched at his beard. “What’s this?”

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