Devoted to the Dragon (The Last Shifters #1)

27. Knox

Chapter 27

Knox

S loan places an envelope on my nightstand and starfishes on my bed. It’s after midnight, but she’s still in her work suit.

“Ugh. You owe me so big.”She chucks her phone and lets out a sigh. “The treaty terms have been written out, and the humanitarian aid accounts are set up.”

The bag of saltwater taffy I toss almost hits her face before one of her shadows catches it at the last second.

She laughs as though I’ve said something hysterical. “It’s cute you think going to the coast for my favorite candy is going to make us even.”

A snort sounds as she ditches her heels and folds herself cross-legged to look at me. She’s tired, her eyes dull with the need to feed. This is the life she’s been raised for as the heir, and she plays it well, but sometimes I worry about her.

Sweetening the deal, I toss her the sweatshirt I lifted from Donovan. She huffs indignantly but puts it on over her suit.I swallow my smile.

She catches it anyway, rolling her eyes. “Shut it, you.”

“I didn’t say anything,” I say, playing innocent.

I return to packing because we pretend she hasn’t had a decade-long crush on my crewmember. He’s from a lesser snake family that serves one of the big six, like mine. It’s unlikely she would ever be allowed to mate him, but that doesn’t stop her longing.

“You didn’t have to. But at least mine is only a sweatshirt. You’re packing away your life.” She says it in that way only siblings seem to have of loving you while simultaneously calling you on your shit in the most brutal ways.

Her words sting, the reality of my situation hitting so hard that I need an antacid. “You’re right. I’m over here packing my ass up for an extended stay in enemy territory with a dragon who probably wants me dead.”

“As your sister, I feel obligated to point out that I think this is an awful idea that’s gonna get you killed, but in general, I get the appeal.” She plops a piece of candy in her mouth, twisting the white paper wrapper between her fingers. “Who wouldn’t go to the ends of the earth to find their soulmate? I mean, how do you beat ‘literally made for each other’?”

“You don’t.” I shrug. I’ve got a plan, but it’s paper thin and held together with wishes.

“Get Stef to make you a love potion. Problem solved.” The pile of wrappers beside her is growing, and her smile is loose. She’s teasing— mostly.

“Do you think before you say shit out loud? I’m trying to win her back, not drug her.”

My sister cackles. “I mean, I probably wouldn’t do it. I was just saying.”

“I’ll tell Donovan to watch his back.”

She hisses at me, but there’s no venom behind it. “Jerk.”

The truth is that even though I love my family, I can’t stay for them—not when I know she’s out there.

Until a few days ago, I was fine fucking around and half-assing shit for my family. Sure, I’ve searched for more. It’s never been anything but the same shit, different day. But seeing the dragon felt like waking up.

When my mother came to pull me into the family meeting, I knew my dragon would be gone when I returned. Even though I wanted to lock her away and keep her here forever, that’s not going to be how I win her over. I told my family my plan was to show up and beg. My mother didn’t bat an eye. She offered me a treaty with the dragon instead.

It’s time I do something that matters, even if it’s just to me. I zip up my bag and toss it over my shoulder, grabbing the treaty. My sister launches herself at me, hugging my neck as though it’s the last time she’ll ever see me. Maybe it will be, but I can’t think like that and do what I’ve gotta do.

“Show her the real you, okay? Because that guy is worth forgiving.” The tears in her voice make my stomach clench.

“You know from experience,” I joke so we both don’t cry.

“I’m proud of you, asshole.”

I hug her back, then slip into the shadows without drawing out the goodbye.

My new tether burns brightly, a blinding beacon that leads me to my mate, and I follow because, as Sloan said, who wouldn’t want the chance for that kind of love?

The problem with a paper-thin plan is that it’s not exactly fireproof. It’s been less than five minutes, but it’s already going up in flames.

Her territory is warded. That I’d assumed. I’d intended to show up, ring the proverbial bell, and announce my intentions to beg forgiveness and make things right.

Absolutely stupid, I know, but what else could I do but offer myself up to her and beg for mercy?

Now my delusional ass is standing in the center of a circle of snarling wolves and one beast dude while the dragon holds a pointed claw to my throat. My shadows? Useless.

I didn’t see that coming.

The tree-hugging witch standing next to my mate zapped my ass with some purple lightning. Poof. My shadows are frozen in place. I knew dying was a possibility, but I’d thought it was a slim possibility.

I’m a dumbass.

“Who are you?” my mate rattles off. Her dragon’s hiss is so high and loud that I feel it in my toes.

I shrug. I was a lot of things, but none of that matters now. “I’m your mate.”

The beast dude scowls. “We got that. The bond mark on her shoulder is pretty clear.” He looks about ready to make me lunch. Without my shadows, that’s an actual possibility.

We’ve got an audience, but this isn’t for them. I lean into her claw, letting the tip cut into my skin. “We’re here right now instead of in bed like most newly mated pairs, and that’s on me. I’m gonna fix it if you let me.”

My mate’s eyes briefly flash from gold to blue as she searches my face. Her nostrils flare, and her eyes narrow.I don’t know what she’s looking for, but all she’s gonna find is how beautiful I think she looks and how sorry I am.

“What’s your name, serpent?” the one with zappy fingers asks.

I don’t look away from my dragon’s eyes as I answer the witch. “My name is Knox Orm. I’m the fourth child to Lady Sasha Orm, leader of the serpents’ Western Territory. I’m here to beg forgiveness and offer a treaty with the serpents.”

“And if we don’t want a treaty with the serpents or your apologies?” My little dragon huffs. Literally. Steam and everything. It’s actually really cute despite the murderous intent in her eyes.

“Honestly, I don’t have a plan B. You’re my plan.”

“Sounds foolproof.” Her jaw tenses, and I can’t tell if it's because she’s holding in fire or wants to smile. The glowing throat isn’t a notch in my favor.

I whisper so only she can hear me. “I’m gonna figure out how to prove that even though we started off on opposite sides, there is only your side now. I know you don’t have reason to trust me, and I’m sorry for how things started, but I’m not sorry you’re my mate.”

“That makes one of us.” She removes her claw, spinning away from me so fast it leaves me dizzy.

My mate runs from the circle, shifting into her dragon with a fiery roar before taking flight. The crowd around me is stunned, looking at one another and trying to decide whether that means I die or I’m coming to dinner.

Same, guys, same.

The white-and-grey wolf shifts into the hot-daddy hallway guy and hits me square in the nose, followed by a throat punch that packs enough juice to throw me across the circle. The beast dude takes his turn, and man, can this guy throw a punch.

I’m useless without my shadows, but that's fair, considering the forest and what the three of them faced there. I take my licks until I’m on my ass, a bloody mess. My eyes water, and my throat feels as if it’s collapsed, but it’s the broken ribs that sting like a bitch.

Hallway Daddy stands over me, his big form menacing and his wolf wild in his eyes.“That’s for bonding her without asking. You’re lucky you’re not fucking dead. You’ve got two options: you can leave, or you can be her prisoner. Take your pick.”

“I do love to be tied up,” I mouth off, spitting blood. It’s a tic, I swear. I get pushed and all I can speak is snark.

“The less you talk right now, the better.” Hallway Daddy yanks me off the ground by my neck. “Vandera, can you rig up wards outside? I don’t want him in her lair, even if he is a prisoner.”

The witch nods. “Take him to the cabin by the lake. I’ll meet you there.”

See? It’s gonna be fine. A vacation even. Now all I have to do is figure out how to win over a dragon they aren’t planning to let me get near.

“Hold up.”

The wolf dragging my ass doesn’t stop.

“Seriously, can you wait just a minute?” I choke out, my throat burning from his too-tight grip.

He snarls.

“Can you just give her this?” I reach into my pocket and offer up a bag. I’d planned to give her these memories with context while we got to know each other, but if I’m not going to see her, maybe this will help bring her back to me.

“What is it?” the wolf asks, letting me hold the thing out awkwardly.

“It’s a gift for my dragon.”

His eyes flare with his wolf, and his growl is filled with deadly intent. I might’ve been too hasty in using the word my .

“Her name is Randi.” He grabs the bag and passes it to the witch, glaring at me.

She takes it and inspects the bag, eyes closed and hands moving as fast as her lips.

“Is it a weapon?” the wolf asks.

Ouch. I may not have the best reputation but damn. “I’m not here to hurt her.”

“Too late.” His hold on me tightens, his face so distorted with anger and so close to mine that I’m sure I’m about to get spit on. “You bonded her minutes after capturing her in the woods. I don’t trust you, and you won’t get the benefit of the doubt. Until she says you’re clear, everything you do is suspect.”

“I understand.” I put my arms up in surrender. “Tell her they’re like the fang. They won’t hurt her. I’m not here to cause her more pain, and I’m prepared to wait.”

The witch tosses the wolf the bag. “It’s clear. I’ll meet you at the lake.”

Looks like I’ve escaped with my neck.