Dragon 3 Chapter 14 (Patreon)

As we walked up to Jadelyn’s front door, Kelly let go of my arm, but she still walked with a bit of a bounce. I wasn’t sure if it was the good news on her pack’s fertility, our moment, or a little bit of both.

“Zach, welcome back.” Jadelyn greeted me as soon as I turned the corner into the kitchen area.

Tyrande and Yev were there along with Morgana, Scarlett and Jadelyn.

All of them except Jadelyn were lounging in the area just off the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Jadelyn was pulling dishes out of the oven. “Just in time for some of the food. How did your trip go?”

“Everything turned out well.” Kelly beat me to the punch. “The problems are all fixable, and we have what we need to help.”

“Did… my friend… come through?” Morgana stuttered as she realised we had guests, and her friend was in hiding.

“Don’t be like that.” Tyrande said, leaning back on the couch. “It isn’t like we don’t know Hestia is in the city. We’re leaving her alone if she leaves us alone. Her father has been quiet in the states; no one wants to do anything to rile him up or give him reason to come back.”

There was an air of tension between Morgana and Tyrande. I realized they didn’t play well together.

“Hestia was able to help with the problem. We just need to gather some ingredients for her.” I used H’s name, now that I finally knew it.

I laughed to myself. Hestia. What a perfect name for a crazed elven alchemist.

“Your husband has an interesting group of friends.” Tyrande addressed Jadelyn.

“Mates.” I clarified.

That made the high elf pause. “Mates? You're sharing him?” She asked Jadelyn.

“Yes. It’s made my life quite lively; I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Now, Zach, can you help me get some plates out for our guests?” Jadelyn continued to host as if there was no problem, but the tension in the room was growing thicker with Tyrande’s judgment.

“Is there going to be an issue between you and Morgana?” I asked her.

“No. But it is kind of like eating with the boogeyman.” She said, eying Morgana.

“I’m not a monster. We came here for Tredelas like every other elf. I just happen to have a second aspect to me.” Morgana crossed her arms and got up to help herself to more blood. “Besides, your family owes much of your survival to T and myself.”

Tyrande clenched her jaw. “We do.”

Her admission surprised everyone, and the room went silent.

“But that’s why we don’t do anything to Hestia, nor will we do anything to you. Both out of respect for your strength and because some of the Highaen family do realize what you’ve done.” Tyrande admitted, even though it looked like she was pulling her own teeth.

“Well! That went better than expected.” Kelly said, breaking the tension.

“Yes, now that we got that over with.” Scarlett pushed the conversation forward. “Do we want to talk about what you found at the templar base?”

“Templar base?” Yev perked up.

I put the plates down and started gathering silverware to put with them. “We went on a little exploration into Austria. I went into a templar base and poked the nest a little bit.”

Both of the Highaen girls were looking at me as if I had two heads. “Why would you do that?”

“My own business.” I made it about me rather than Morgana. “I run a small mercenary business and there was a job.”

I looked up at them. “But I did get additional intel I think you’ll be interested in. They are planning their raid to get Yev now that they know she’s a dragon.” I dropped the news like a bomb.

Tyrande leaned back and laughed. “Good fucking luck. No one is touching Yev in Sentarshaden.”

“Sister, this is serious.” Yev tried to reason with Tyrande.

“You can’t actually be worried, can you? Here, under Sentarshaden’s shade, no harm is going to come to you. No one would dare pick a fight with the Highaen here.” She turned to her sister, her voice full of sincere confidence.

She really thought that they were untouchable here in the city.

Yev looked around, seeming to want to pull her sister to the side. But then she looked up at me. “You said you run a mercenary company, and that you were able to go into and out of a templar base? Did you fight any?”

“Four templars, three angels, a shit ton of cherubs.” I ticked off my fingers, shrugging like it was a normal day. “Oh, and I took down two helicopters.”

I got an angry glare from Jadelyn. “You shouldn’t put yourself in so much danger.”

Yev turned back to Tyrande. “I love our family, but I don’t think you fully respect the risk their zealotry poses. They wouldn’t care about angering the Highaen family.”

“She’s right.” Morgana agreed. “As someone who’s fought them plenty, they are like rabid dogs. The threat of your family isn’t enough to keep Yev safe. Dragons are rare now, and they need them for their plans.”

Tyrande glanced around for someone to support her, but all she found were more concerned faces. “Then what do you suggest, given you’ve fought them so much?” She asked Morgana.

“You could hunker down, but then they’ll always be out there looming over you. It’ll eat at you. Baiting them and being ready for it is a much better approach.” Morgana suggested.

“I will not use my sister as bait.” Tyrande’s voice rose in challenge.

Yev put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m interested in this bait strategy. Not only for the templars but for others that would come after me now that it is known that I’m a dragon.”

Tyrande slumped back onto the couch.

“Well, it is pretty self explanatory. The trick is doing it in such a way that they bite. Groups like this look for patterns in your schedule to plan and set up an attack. So, you need to limit your schedule to one or two repeating tasks, so you can control what they will choose. The trap then gets laid around those two tasks.”

“Like coming over here every night for the last few nights?” Yev asked.

“Yes, like that, but I’d rather we didn’t make Jadeyn’s home the trap.” I wasn’t about to let my mate’s home become a dangerous place for her.

“We won’t.” Yev was quick to agree. “But that sounds like a plan. You and Morgana are a mercenary company? What are your rates?”

Morgana rubbed her hands together, a vampiric grin spreading across her face, but I interrupted her. “We’ll do it as a favor.”

“Excuse me?” Morgana turned, her eyebrows high on her face.

“If you’d like, I’ll pay you.” I rolled my eyes. She had plenty of money, and we could use some additional allies.

And Yev didn’t realize it yet, but we had the same enemies and threat. I was happy to get a chance to weaken their forces.

“No. I’m not going to take your money.” Morgana rolled her eyes. “Your precious pile of gold is safe from me.”

“A favor for the Highaen family is worth quite a bit.” Jadelyn reminded Morgana, not that it did much good.

“Why would you do this?” Tyrande asked me.

“Because I don’t like the templars or what they stand for.” I told her. “We’ll do this for an opportunity to take a shot at the templars. It’s not like I’m on their favorite people list at the moment, anyway.”

I switched into tactical mode. “We’ll need you two to plan out Yev’s next two weeks. Pick one or two places that you’ll repeatedly go that are low security, like a favorite coffee shop.”

“I don’t like coffee.” Yev said.

I paused. Who didn’t like coffee, or at least the caffeine boost? “That’s fine. It doesn’t have to be a coffee show, just something like that.”

“We could go to the magic range every other day.” Tyrande suggested.

I wanted desperately to ask what that was, but I decided to save that question for later. I had a close enough guess. It sounded like a shooting range, but for magic.

“Would be an easy place for them to come in armed too.” Morgana agreed with the idea. “We’ll be there at the same time, and I’d suggest quietly stationing Highaen men in the surrounding buildings. The other key is to make sure you do not let them have another option, where they would attack when we aren’t ready.”

When Yev didn’t say anything, Morgana reemphasized the point. “This all falls apart if they try to nab you outside the trap. No deviations.”

“Got it. We’ll make up a plan for my next two weeks. What do we do about common places, like my home?” Yev asked.

“Does it already have its own security?” Morgana asked.

“Full Highaen security; we both live there.” Tyrande clarified.

I nodded, thinking about Jadelyn’s level of security. If a full templar and angel contingent came, I wasn’t sure their security would be able to do much.

But they would at least be able to stall them. And I trusted that Scarlett had plans in place that made that level of protection work for Jadelyn.

“Scar, would you do us a favor and double check their security teams?” I knew she’d spot any flaws.

She wrinkled her nose at the idea, but she nodded. “I can do that. But I doubt they’ll love the idea of showing me all their protocols.”

“We’ll make sure it happens.” Yev was starting to seem agitated with all the talk of an impending attack.

“Don’t worry; we’re on the job. Waiting will suck, but you are in good hands with Morgana and I.”

Yev stopped fidgeting, growling back at me. “I’m not some helpless girl. I’m a dragon. Fighting them head on is what I want to do, not hide.”

“What’s it like being a dragon?” I asked suddenly.

She shrugged. “It’s like secretly being enormous and aggressive, but having to hide yourself in polite society all the time.”

I nodded. I understood what she was saying. It was nice to know I wasn’t the only one with an inner beast.

My mates did a good job of helping me release a lot of the emotions I kept bottled up inside. I realized that might be one of the big reasons for dragons to have harems. They helped tame all of our energy.

“Let’s move onto happier topics.” Jadelyn inserted herself into the conversation. “Dinner is going to get cold if we talk much longer about this. Come on everybody, get your food!”

There was a grudging agreement to drop the dark topic of Yev being hunted, even though many of us had entered a work mindset.

“These meatballs are amazing.” Kelly said, happily popping one into her mouth straight from the serving dish.

“Thank you.” Jadelyn’s eyes pressed into thin lines with her broad smile.

I walked over and squeezed her into my side, giving her a kiss on the forehead before I jumped in to grab some food.

As we all sat around the table, we settled into lighter topics, ignoring the templar challenges for the moment.

***

After the sisters left, we found ourselves with a new problem. We had to divide up the bedrooms.

“I’m not sleeping in the same bed as her.” Kelly pointed a wild finger at Morgana.

“Bite me.” Morgana crossed her arms. “Have you even formally become a mate?”

“My bites hurt, blue bitch. Careful what you wish for.” Kelly bit back, but she softened as she turned to me, wanting my input.

I wanted nothing to do with this argument, but I knew I’d play this role with the multiple women in my life. They’d need me as a mediator. “We share a bed. It’s not too late to back out if that’s a problem.”

Kelly looked like I’d slapped her, and I wished I’d softened it a bit.

But then she just smiled and nodded. “Got it, Alpha.” She headed off to get ready for bed.

“What about me?” Morgana joked.

I grabbed her, pulling her head to the side, and bit her neck possessively. “Mine.” I growled.

Her skin pebbled with goosebumps under my fingers.

I knew it would take Morgana a bit to get used to a serious relationship, but I wasn’t about to let her put up any walls.

She’d spent years pushing people away, and I was determined to tie her down and make sure she understood that there wasn’t any running from this dragon.

“Are we starting already?” Jadelyn asked with a smile as she leaned on the door frame in a sheer silk negligee.

I took her in hungrily, and the look on my face seemed to spur Morgana to go get ready for bed.

Scarlett was off somewhere in the house. After refreshing Jadelyn on her drills, she had disappeared to talk to the rest of the staff. Given the impending attack, we were on high alert.

That left just Jadelyn and me as I scooped her up and closed the bedroom door behind us.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and clung to me as she stared into my eyes. “How’s my big, strong dragon? Everyone is worried about a dozen other things, but someone needs to look after you.” She kissed my cheek.

My heart melted. Jadelyn was soft in a way I desperately needed. She could politically maneuver and negotiate like I’d never seen, but her heart is what truly endeared me to her.

“Scared.” I said honestly. “Scared of the change I know is coming. My secret is going to be out. And I wasn’t entirely sure what that would look like before, but now, seeing Yev go through it, I do. I’m not sure I want that.”

“No one likes change. Though we aren’t human, we have that in common with humanity.” She patted the bed next to her, and I realized I’d started pacing.

“Come here,” she said. “Lay down and let me take care of you.”

I walked over and laid down with my head in her lap, and she immediately started running her hands through my hair.

“It’ll all be okay.” Jadelyn sang a note that made my head light, as if it almost scattered the worries. Her hand softly traced my temples.

I groaned, pressing the back of my head into her thighs. “I thought you were going to take care of me another way.” I mumbled, still lost in the relaxation.

Jadelyn kissed the tip of my nose. “We might later, but you are too stressed. I can see it. I’m in tune with you, my dragon. What else is on your mind?”

“You, Scar, Morgana and now even Kelly. I’m changing all of your lives. Putting you all in danger.”

“A gold dragon is significant.” Jadelyn reminded me. “We all know that global winds will shift around what you do. That we are all here means we have accepted it. What else can I say to help you understand that?” Jadelyn kissed my forehead, leaving a small cool spot. Then she let her fingers trail down the side of my neck. They pressed into my collar, finding two spots that when she released, did amazing things for the tension in my shoulders.

“It’s my fault that Yev is being targeted.” I said, turning to putty under Jadelyn’s touches.

“You offered to protect her for free. It sounds to me like you are doing everything you can to make it up to her. And maybe it wasn’t you? She thought it was some old dragon. If her senses are right, that doesn’t sound like you.” Jadelyn quickly put yet another one of my worries to bed as her fingers kneaded my shoulders and down my arms.

The beast wanted to rise up and nuzzle Jadelyn to death. It was so content. I hadn’t realized how much I needed this.

“Shh.” Jadelyn shushed me. “Don’t think too much. We’ll work through all of this as a family. You know, I’ve never met the Bronze King before. I’m kind of excited to go on that adventure with you once you’re outed. Plus, I desperately want to be able to brag to everybody that my husband is a gold dragon.”

I chuckled. “And silver. Who knows, maybe there’s more I can be.”

“The Pendragon.” Morgana stepped back into the room, wearing nothing but a leather corset that impossibly cupped her breasts. “The king of the dragon tribe. We will explore that together.”

“What did you say?” Kelly came in after her.

There was something about their posture. They stood too far apart and almost leaned away from each other. I sighed, the stress starting to return at the idea of them bickering.

But Jadelyn spoke softly, a not-so-subtle threat was clear in her tone. “You two cut it out. I don’t care if you bicker, but for both of you to be part of this family, you need to work together. Most importantly.” She paused to look between the two of them. “You do not bring more stress upon our dragon.”

“I—” Kelly started. Morgana was smart enough to stay silent.

“No.” Jadelyn’s tone was cold. “You’ll end up somewhere dead in a ditch if you keep fighting. Both of you. I’ll have no one cause rippled in our family. Is that understood?”

I paused for a moment. I’d never seen Jadelyn be so terrifying.

Even Morgana was pausing to consider her. “Understood. There need to be rules and order if this is supposed to work. Zach isn’t the kind to grind us all under the heel of his boot into happy submissive wives. We need to police ourselves.”

“Kind of like a pack among his wives.” Kelly interpreted it herself.

“If that’s how you best see it then, yes.” Jadelyn had stopped messaging me. “Now come to bed. I think our dragon needs rest more than he does excitement.”

“I could use—” But one look from Jadelyn told me not to fight her.

Scarlett strolled in and took one look at Jadelyn, pausing. “Who pissed her off? That’s a royally bad idea.”

“Hush you, get in bed.” I told Scarlett.

“Yes, sir.” She snapped a salute and practically bailed out of her clothes as she bound across the room and dove into what was becoming a pile of women around me.