Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
He turned to leave, and the eager woman trailed behind him, “Hi. I’m Barbie. What’s your name?”
Keres never paused as he strode toward the exit.
“Hey. You have crappy manners. I’m just trying to take pity on you.” Barbie spat after him.
Keres wheeled, eyes glowing black with anger. “I need no one’s pity, newcomer. Your family will never produce a mate. Don’t waste our time.”
A hush fell over the room. Everyone was watching the interaction. The shocked look on Barbie’s face almost made having to hide inside her mother’s house worthwhile. Almost. Processing through his words, Lalani realized Keres had just dismissed not only Barbie but her entire family as inconsequential.
“Dragons obviously have extremely poor taste,” Barbie announced to the silent crowd who turned to look at the mates on the dais.
Lalani knew she was targeting her with that dig. She regretted that Aurora and Ciel were included in the negative comment. Putting on a brave face, Lalani didn’t want Barbie to know her barb had affected her.
The three seated dragons bristled. Ciel pressed a hand to Drake’s chest and corrected her, “Being a dragon’s mate is a true honor and should not be cause for resentment.”
Barbie shrugged that comment off and returned to her seat. The hubbub of voices rekindled immediately.
“Could she be more unpleasant? Keres just became my favorite shifter,” Ciel joked. The immediate growl from the dragon holding her made her backpedal. “You’re my mate not simply a shifter, Daddy.”
“I’d hope so,” Argenis growled, obviously having not forgotten her statement.
Did Ciel call the shifter Daddy?
Flashes of erotic scenes ricocheted through Lalani’s mind. She knew there were Daddy books, but she’d always preferred the illicit videos and drawings she’d found on the internet. Her favorite fantasies about a powerful male who’d take care of everything and discipline her when she didn’t follow his rules were difficult to locate, but with determination, she’d found some good ones. Really enticing ones. Now that the internet had ceased to exist all that was gone.
She peeked up at Khadar, who watched her carefully. He lifted a fork to tempt her with more food.
“I’m not hungry anymore.” Sadly, she noticed a heap still remained on the plate. Barbie Ann was the best diet plan. Who could eat after all that negativity? She hated to waste food when it was more difficult to obtain and prepare. An image of the almost empty peanut butter jar waiting for her at home popped into her mind.
“We’ll work on it together,” he suggested and ate the bite himself. Wooing her with the choicest selections, Khadar tempted her from time to time to enjoy more as he devoured the food on the plate.
Lalani watched the other shifters do the same. How much could these men consume?
“Dragons,” Aurora explained when Lalani looked at her in disbelief.
“Why do I believe that’s the answer for everything?” Lalani said without thinking.
Aurora and Ciel laughed and nodded. “You’ve already figured that out. It took us a week or so.”
When the plate was empty, Lalani rested her head against Khadar’s chest. She was so tired. For the first moment in a long time, she felt safe. Closing her eyes, she listened to the gathering around her.
Chapter 3
Feeling his mate relax into sleep against him made Khadar treasure her even more. In a short period, he’d already discovered she did not trust easily. He suspected she didn’t interact frequently with others but stayed by herself.
She had, however, talked easily with the other mates. This was reassuring because he did not wish for her to be lonely. The mates of this time period seemed different. They enjoyed spending time together. He had come across Aurora and Ciel with Drake and Argenis supervising. Khadar set a mental reminder to invite the two women over to interact with Lalani. He didn’t want her to be as alone as he suspected she’d been.
He didn’t like that the residents of Wyvern had dragged her to the gathering. But what if she had never left her house? He would not have found her.
The dragons without mates flashed into his head. The Blue, Bronze, Red, and Black dragons still searched for their mates. He’d seen each walk through the assembled crowd as they rotated off guard duty and then leave alone. Of all of them, Keres had gone the longest without a mate. His mind was still clear, but his temperament was turning as black as his dragon form.
The dragons would have to talk about him soon. Tonight was not the night. Tonight was the night to celebrate.
“I will take Lalani home now,” he told the others and stood with his mate cradled in his arms.
“We will join you in flight,” Drake decreed. Argenis rose to his feet as well. They scooped their protesting mates up in their arms and walked for the exit.