Page 51 of Dragon King’s Bullied Mate

He nodded. “It’s too hard. Malaya is fixing it.”

Lyra rumpled his hair. “What can we do for you?”

“Mikael?”

The king knelt down immediately. “What is it?”

Beckett held up the book with a hopeful look on his face. “Will you read to me?”

The softness that entered Mikael’s face nearly made Lyra’s heart burst. Other than herself, she had never seen anyone look at Beckett with that kind of patience before.

“Of course,” Mikael said quietly.

Beckett beamed and grabbed his hand to lead him to the bedroom. “It’s quieter down here.”

Lyra waited a minute before she followed them silently and peeked in the door of the small bedroom, followed by Malaya. Something warm and painful twisted inside her chest because Beckett looked so impossibly happy snuggled up against Mikael who awkwardly attempted to fit his broad frame onto the tiny mattress without collapsing it entirely.

Malaya snorted from the hallway. “You look ridiculous.”

“Leave,” Mikael muttered without looking up from the book.

Lyra lingered quietly in the doorway afterward while Mikael began reading in a deep calm voice that filled the tiny room with surprising gentleness. Mikael even attempted different voices for the characters.

Badly… very badly… but he tried and Beckett loved every second of it.

By the time the story ended, the little boy was already drifting toward sleep. His small hand still clutched part of Mikael’s sleeve while his breathing slowly evened out beneath the blankets.

Mikael stayed there several extra minutes anyway, just watching him. Something about the sight made Lyra’s chest ache in a way she did not entirely understand.

Eventually Mikael carefully disentangled himself from Beckett without waking him and stepped quietly back into the hallway where Lyra still waited.

“He’s exhausted,” Mikael murmured softly.

“He hasn’t slept properly in days. A little nap won’t hurt him.”

Mikael studied her face for a moment before speaking again. “You haven’t slept much either.”

“I’m fine. Really.”

“Can I ask you a favor? Another one, after saving my life, that is.”

She nodded. “Of course. What do you need me to do?”

“Will you take me to where you found me?”

Lyra blinked slightly. “Now?”

“If you’re willing. Malaya can stay here and make sure Beckett is fine. He’ll probably sleep for a while.”

She hesitated only briefly before nodding. She knew he was still trying to put the pieces together, but she was afraid that seeing where he was found wasn’t going to give him many answers.

The late morning air bit sharply against her cheeks as they stepped outside. She pointed in the direction they needed to go and they headed through the deep snow, pristine until their feet left prints behind them. For not the first time, she wished she had the ability to paint so she could capture the pure essence of the forest after a good snow.

For a while neither of them spoke. The quiet between them wasn’t uncomfortable though. Mikael broke the silence first.

“I owe you an apology.”

Lyra glanced toward him with her brows raised. “For what?”