AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I faced him, trying to catch his gaze. Not easy, what with him glaring at Edwards and Harlon in a way that said,If you make one move to harm this woman, you will die.
How had I ever doubted him?
I edged closer, trying to keep him calm. “It’s okay.”
My pulse rose with every step I took. Approaching a calm, friendly dragon, as I had a few nights ago, was one thing. Stepping into the personal space of a raging, smoke-puffing dragon was another.
I bit my lip and kept going, gently tapping the leathery plates of his chest. Wow. They were so hard. Could Nash even feel that?
Apparently, because he craned his neck to look down. Straight down, since I was that close.
My heart revved as I looked up — and up. That was a hell of a lot of dragon up there. Enough to make my knees shake. Thank goodness I knew that was Nash in there.
“It will be okay. Somehow,” I added a little lamely.
His frown said,How?but he did lower his wings slightly.
I patted his chest again.
Edwards pointed at the second, mystery dragon perched on a cliff — the one who’d been watching impassively all along.
“You there! I need you to land here. Now.”
The agency dragons rumbled, reinforcing the order.
The dragon blinked at them, utterly unimpressed. A long minute later, it shook out its wings in a bored motion and stepped elegantly into a smooth glide.
My jaw dropped. Until then, I hadn’t gotten a good look at it. Now that I had…
Pippa did a double take, whispering, “You’re kidding.”
The dragon’s hide shimmered like leprechaun gold, and when it stuck out its feet for landing, its talons had a shiny, manicured finish.
I took a deep breath, bracing myself. My hair whipped as the dragon landed, but that was the least of my worries.
“Mom,” Pippa whispered, as shocked as I was.
The dragon glanced at us briefly, then turned to the agents. Everyone went silent as she looked them over one by one.
Click, click, click went her talons, tapping the rocky ground impatiently.
Then Captain Edwards spoke, and things got even weirder.
Up to then, he’d been the picture of a cool, calm FBI-type. Now, his voice fell to a hoarse whisper.
“Virginia?”
I stared. He knew my mother?
She barely acknowledged him, maintaining her regal attitude with a distinct air of expectation.
“Oh. Right. Just a moment.” Edwards gestured to another agent, who hurried to the back of the SUV and returned with two bundles. He tossed the first roughly at Nash’s feet. The second, he laid reverently before my mother, practically bowing as he backed away.
“Hm-hmm.” Edwards cleared his throat, and all his men looked away to let my mother shift in privacy.
Any normal woman — or shifter — would rush to pull on clothes in a situation like that.
Not my mother.
