The Dragon’s Aide (Charmed Away Temp Agency #2)

Chapter 36

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Having someone outside of his grandmother stand up for him against his family was new. It thrilled Isaac to his toes. He leaned heavily against his mate, a smug grin on his face at his mother’s disgruntled look. Maybe being mated to a lawyer wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. She had nothing to say against his argument. Not even his grandmother could have managed that.

“Well, enough of that, I think,” his grandmother said, putting her hands up. The empty tea cups and pots lifted out of their hands and moved away, out the door and down the hall to the kitchen. In their place, she summoned the family spell book, a heavy tome that was thousands of years old, with every known spell the family ever created themselves. Isaac had always admired the book, but he wasn’t allowed to touch it. Only the clan leader could.

“So, there are a few ingredients for the ritual we will need. And we’ll have to alter it somehow to allow for the dragon to participate. I think we can–”

Isaac shook his head, stalling her. “You don’t need to alter it. He can give form to his magic. He did it more than once while we were in the forest.” It was still the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. And after they’d mated, the wind and fire seemed happy to work together, going through the motions alongside each other before twining together between them and disappearing. It made Isaac’s heart race every time he experienced it. A small part of him didn’t want to share that experience with his family, but he couldn't get out of this ritual. He didn't want Maverick to be seen as an outsider.

His grandmother looked impressed, as did his father. His mother was still pouting. She’d get over it eventually. They made plans for the ritual in two days so they could gather materials and give Maverick time to practice with Isaac beforehand. It wasn’t the same as what they did in the forest, and it wouldn’t be right to throw him in the deep end without any sort of explanation or walk through. His mother had tried to argue they needed more time, but Isaac was insistent that they get it done as soon as possible. He wasn’t going to miss more classes than he absolutely had to.

They came back outside eventually, joining the family in the yard. Benedict cut them off before they moved to face the rest of them, tipping his head toward a little seating area on the deck. “Come sit with us.”

Since Benedict and Lilah were the only cousins who mated outside of mage lines, he was happy to go along with that plan, dragging Maverick with him. Like in his grandmother’s office, Maverick dragged him into his lap when he sat, which made Isaac smile. He said he was less possessive now that a week had passed, but Isaac got the feeling he was downplaying a little. He didn’t mind it. His mate wanted to keep him close. It made his chest warm every time Maverick drew him closer.

Lilah was seated next to her mate, a soft smile on her face. She’d always been a gentle woman. Her magic wasn’t powerful, but her father was an earth mage, so she had a stronger connection to the earth than the rest of the family did. Her mate, Charlie, was a chef, believe it or not. Most orcs liked to do more labor-intensive jobs, but unless you counted chopping onions for hours on end, that wasn’t really Charlie’s style. He was more of a gentle giant.

Benedict’s mate, Fox, was the first in the family outside of the clan. He was… not well received, and for a while Benedict refused to come home to visit because they couldn’t accept his mate. Isaac called him pretty often, he never supported the idea of only mating to make magical babies, and he was glad when the family finally pulled their heads out of their butts. Fox was also a bit of a troublemaker, which he said was payback for making his mate sad for two decades.

Isaac made introductions for Maverick’s sake and laughed when Maverick leaned around him to shake hands without letting him up. There was a perfectly good spot on the couch right next to him, but Maverick was stubborn and wasn’t going to let him move.

“So, how’d it go in there?” Fox asked, tossing a cashew in the air and leaning back to catch it as it fell. “They planning on disowning you for a while, too?”

Benedict made an irritated noise and whacked him lightly. “Stop that. They apologized.”

Fox’s lilac eyes rolled so hard, it gave Isaac a headache just watching. Benedict forgave the family. Fox hadn’t yet. And Isaac didn’t blame him.

“No. We’re having the ritual in two days. They need that long to get some of the ingredients. Apparently we’re low?” It seemed kind of odd, his cousin Douglas took care of their stores and was meticulous about it. Isaac didn’t think he’d ever let them get low on anything important.

“Most of the things they use for the ritual aren’t used very often outside of that,” Lilah explained. “They stock up when they think they’ll need them. Besides, they’ll need that long to gather the rest of the family home.”

Ugh. He’d forgotten about that. The ones here now were only a small portion.

“How many are there?” Maverick queried. Isaac heard the tension in his voice. He wasn’t happy about more potential threats around Isaac.

Lilah tipped her head thoughtfully. “Maybe two hundred? Not all of them will come, of course. Some live across the country, some can’t leave work, that kind of thing. Think of it like a wedding. You’ll get a lot of cards in the mail welcoming you and you’ll meet them all eventually, but for a last-minute ritual like this, a good deal of them won’t be able to make it.”

Isaac looked over his shoulder at Maverick, brushing his knuckles over his chest to soothe him. “Don’t worry about it. If my grandmother approves, no one will argue against her. And it’s only one day. Then we can get back to our lives and face a whole other shitshow.”

Maverick’s expression said he wasn’t happy Isaac brought that up. He couldn’t help it. It was stressing him out. He hadn’t lied about hating the anticipation. He liked to face his problems head on without waiting around. And until he knew what was waiting for him on the other side, he’d have a lot more snark than was probably necessary to deal with all the negative emotions.

“What kind of shitshow?” Fox asked curiously.

Shit. He hadn’t wanted to discuss that with his family. He was the one who brought it up, though. Damn it.

“Uh…” He shot a pleading look to Maverick to rescue him, but Maverick was too busy glaring at the wall of the house. Goddess, he was just digging himself into a hole right now. Anticipation made him such an asshole.

“Mind your business,” Benedict demanded of his mate. “Or maybe I should tell them what happened the last time we visited your family home?”

Fox blanched and shook his head rapidly. “I’m good. Keep your stories. Pooh bear, are you hungry? You’re getting a little growly. Let me go see if the food is done.”

He shot out of his chair in an instant to get his mate some food. Benedict snorted at Isaac’s confused shock.

“I’m sure you’ll get some dirt on your mate eventually. Use it sparingly. It’ll be more effective that way.”

Maverick let out a disgruntled growl when Isaac laughed. Being mated was going to be so much more fun than he’d expected.

They returned to the cabin for the two nights before ritual prep, so Isaac could teach Maverick the steps with some privacy. It was more complicated than the little rituals they’d been doing together while they were alone. Not only would their magic be pulled into a physical form like they had been doing, but it would need to interact with the family as well. Maverick wasn’t happy about that part, he didn’t like the idea of anyone touching Isaac, even just his magic, but he’d have to put up with it for one night. Even if he chose to do the ritual in dragon form, Isaac’s magic would still be working with his family’s.

“Did Mr. Hawksley say anything when you asked for a few more days off?” Isaac asked as they laid in bed that night.

“Mm. Not much. Just that he hoped I was doing well and to call him when we returned so we could discuss how things would change going forward.”

“That’s good, right? That you’ll have a discussion? He didn’t sound mad or resigned or anything?”

It was dark in the room and Isaac’s head was pillowed on Maverick’s chest, so he couldn’t see the dragon’s expression, but he felt the one shoulder shrug.

“I’ve always had difficulties getting a read on him. We’ve been friends for years, but he’s hard to pin down emotionally unless he has an extreme reaction to something. Only Avery can read him easily.”

“We can call him,” Isaac suggested. “See if he can at least give us an idea of what we’ll be walking into. He’s your friend, right? I’m sure he’d be willing to help.”

Maverick let out a long sigh. “No. I don’t want to know. Right now, I want to focus on you and making things right with your family. They’re still upset about you mating without speaking with them first.”

Isaac scoffed. “I don’t really care what they think. They’ve been judging me for years, since I refused to join the military.”

“Why did you refuse? We’ve never discussed it.”

It was Isaac’s turn to sigh, and he pushed himself up onto his elbow so he could look Maverick in the eye. In the dim lighting coming through the window, Isaac could see parts of his mate’s gorgeous face, but Maverick’s eyes were better than his. He would be able to see the emotion in Isaac’s.

“There were a lot of reasons. A big part of the reason is my brother. He was a battle mage for years, except he didn’t come out unscathed. He’s got severe PTSD, sometimes struggles to understand what’s real and what’s not, and it’s strained his relationship with his mate. Not that they’re mated for love, he married like most in my family did, for strong connections and stronger future children. But sometimes it feels like he’s not even a person anymore. He came home the same year I was first approached by a recruiter. I’d always hated the idea, but after seeing my brother… I didn't want that for myself. Besides, it felt wrong to use my magic that way. I only ever use it that way in self defense. Or to get stubborn dragons off their asses for a shift.”

Maverick made an irritated sound, but Isaac could see his smile in the darkness. He dragged himself closer so he could better reach Maverick’s lips, kissing him softly. Maverick trailed his fingers through Isaac’s hair, deepening the kiss, but he didn’t let them go too far. They had a ritual in the morning, and a third round would only exhaust them both. Yes, they’d already had two rounds. Don’t judge him.

He settled back in his spot, listening to Maverick’s steady heartbeat as his mate combed his fingers through his hair.

“I wasn’t lying before,” Maverick said out of nowhere. “I think you would have been wasted as a battle mage. Your intelligence and your patience are your greatest weapons. Besides, if anyone expected you to fight, I’d end up burning down cities. Perhaps fate knew what it was doing when it steered you in another direction.”

Isaac snickered, pressing a kiss to the spot over Maverick’s heart. “Maybe. But now that we’re mated, you’ve basically signed up to be my permanent study buddy. Get ready for long nights quizzing me on law terms and facts and dealing with my whining during test time.”

Maverick’s hum was warm and happy. “I’d be delighted, my heart. Whatever you ask of me, it’s yours.”