Conrad
THIRTY-ONE
Three days after the meeting underground, we received Evander's response.
It wasn’t a note, and if it’d been anyone else, I’d have wondered if he was tired of playing childish games.
Flint alerted us that he’d received a phone call from Vasik. Evander never did enjoy the unpleasant aspects of doing business, and as he wouldn’t be face to face with me or my mate, he delegated it to Vasik. I wondered how many job titles my twin had assigned to the dragon shifter since I’d left.
“Evander acknowledged the pack mark and has withdrawn his claim under flight law.” We were in Flint’s private office, and he was sipping coffee.
A photo of Tony, Lottie, and Kendric was on his desk.
“He requested no further meetings, and the Solari will not pursue Madd or interfere with the pregnancy.”
That was it. He hadn’t issued any threats, and he’d imposed no conditions. The message was abrupt, saying only what was needed. I didn’t expect warmth and there was none to be had. It was a complete surrender.
“It's a trick.” I knew my twin better than anyone, despite us never being close. And he didn’t back down. I wanted this to be over so Madd and I could begin our life together, and I hated to put a damper on the celebration.
“Maybe.” Flint put down the mug.
“It's not maybe.”
Like Flint, I was also drinking coffee, and I took another sip. I’d switched back to coffee once the morning sickness passed. Madd had tears in his eyes when I brought him a brewed cup on the first morning, saying drinking tea didn’t agree with him.
“Evander doesn't withdraw. That’s not his style.” I wish I knew what he was up to.
“He could be out of options,” Ranger offered. He was eating cereal standing up because he’d rushed here after sleeping in. “You took his fire, Flint took his law, and his big scary meeting fizzled in the panic room. He's got nothing left.”
“He's got dragons.” I wasn’t getting through to the wolf shifters how much havoc the dragons could cause when they weren’t disabled by claustrophobia.
“Dragons who watched their new leader flail and fail underground. That's not great for morale,” Hunter said.
Madd was staring at me because he’d once said I didn’t trust peace. That wasn’t true. I longed for it. What I didn’t trust was Evander and his band of not-so-merry dragons.
But for Madd’s sake and especially the baby I carried, I had to try and get past this. I put a hand over my belly that was starting to curve with new life. I owed it to the two people I loved most in the world not to assume we were under attack.
Over the next few days, I stopped looking at the sky whenever we went outside. That was the first step in regaining some normalcy. And the following week, I slept the entire night without once waking and checking the sensors.
I let Madd drag me to a secondhand bookshop because it reminded him of the one near that tiny apartment I’d rented. We browsed the shelves for almost an hour, and I didn’t look toward the door, though I positioned us facing the entrance. Old habits really did die hard.
Madd was back at work and bored because he was no longer doing undercover work.
We’d agreed on that, but even so, his cover was blown.
Now he was stuck in an office with Hunter as his superior, and he was convinced he was being given easy work that anyone could do just because of the uncertainty in our lives.
Flint waylaid us outside the cafeteria one morning
“You have decisions to make.”
“About that,” Madd began. “You’re not making use of my talents.” He was aware that no matter how catastrophic events had affected their lives in the past, Flint and his brothers had continued doing their jobs.
“That’s my fault. Dragons are a different beast to humans and traitors.” Flint had been worried about my mate’s safety. “But forget that for the moment, I want to talk about something else.”
“Huh?” Had there been another threat? I leaped to my feet with adrenaline surging through my veins.
“Where you’re going to live.” Flint looked between us. “You're in a room in the compound right now. That works for security, but it's not a home, especially not with a child.”
“Your family is still here, as are your brothers.”
“And we’re all returning to our respective homes this weekend. And so is Treyton.”
My brother had informed me of his and Brock’s decision, but I figured he’d never been in real danger.
I hadn't let myself think about a home because I couldn’t get past the danger my twin represented. But Flint was right. A baby needed a home, not a room in a building with guards and surrounded by concrete.
“You have options,” Flint said. “You stay in the compound and we convert one of the larger rooms into a proper living space. It's secure, and you’ll be in the midst of the pack.”
“Or we move out.” Madd’s eyes lit up. He’d grown up in a house with a garden and a fence far from here, and he chafed at being confined behind high walls.
“Somewhere within pack territory so you're close.” He paused. “There’s a place not far from Tony’s and my house. I know the owner.”
I narrowed my eyes because Flint had an angle, and I suspected that owner was him. Without asking my mate what he wanted, I knew. But as per our rule, we made the decisions together.
“Are you talking about your guest house?” Madd asked his cousin.
“No. I don’t expect you to live on the grounds of my home. No one should be within hearing distance of their Alpha. This house is half a mile away.”
“What do you want?” Madd was bouncing on his feet, and I knew his answer.
“I’ve never had a home that wasn't part of our business, so shall we look at this place?”
Madd flung his arms around me. “We can grow vegetables and have a swing for our little one, maybe a paddling pool.”
Those weren’t amenities I’d grown up with. Father would have scowled if I’d asked to dunk my bare feet in his pond.
Flint dangled a key in front of us. “I brought these with me just in case you wanted to take a peek. It’s furnished with the basics.”
“We can go now.” Madd snatched the keys. “I assume as you’re the boss that I have time off?”
Flint waved us away as my mate took my hand, and we raced outside. We’d been using a car belonging to the pack, but that would have to change if we moved.
Madd was in the car with the key in the ignition before I’d climbed in. I’d never been to Flint’s place, but I’d been told it was where he and his brothers grew up.
“Ranger lives in a huge apartment close to the original pack headquarters, but the rest of us live in houses.” Madd stopped at a red light.
“And Flint's place is about twenty minutes outside town. Close enough to commute and far enough away that we aren’t faced with work and pack members when we open our front door.”
My dragon was excited to be headed into the countryside because he hadn’t done much flying since we left the Solari, and soon my bump would be too big for me to shift.
Madd slowed and pointed out Flint’s house and estate as we passed, and I peered through the huge metal gates. Wow. That was impressive. He turned a corner and slammed on the brakes.
Evander? my dragon asked.
No.
I ran my eyes over the small house that was set back from the road. It had a wooden gate and a front garden with pink climbing roses. Madd said Rudy must tend the garden because he had a thing for those flowers.
We got out. “That’s beautiful, like a fairytale cottage, but it needs a more secure fence and cameras.”
Madd laughed and pulled me close. “You’re assuming we’re going to take it?”
“Sorry, no, we’d have to talk about that.” I put on my stern face.
My mate took my hand, and we trooped up to the front door. Once inside, we stood in the entryway and stared. The main room had a fireplace and large windows that overlooked the back garden. There was a large modern kitchen and three bedrooms, the main one with an ensuite bathroom.
We wandered from room to room, but it was the back garden that caught our attention. I opened the porch door, and there was a swing set that looked brand-new. And a paddling pool.
“How did your cousin arrange that?”
“Best not to ask.” Madd tossed off his shoes and got in the pool. The water came up to his ankles, and he kicked some toward me. “Come in. The water’s fine.”
We splashed one another, and the bottom of our pants were soaked when we climbed out.
“I’ll give you a push.” Madd was beside the swing, urging me to get on.
I flew so high on that swing with my mate pushing me, my dragon asked to take his scales.
“Soon.”