"Come closer,” Mrs. Adams said. “I have something for you."

I stepped further into the room and a shiver rushed through me as I remembered our last conversation. Then I squared my shoulders. I'm a dragon. I’d just saved her life. Surely, Mrs. Adams couldn’t hate me. I pulled the seat next to the couch closer and adjusted the cushions as I sat. I nodded at her. "You sound like your old self."

Her gaze narrowed and the gleam in her eyes seemed sharp and lucid. "How would you know? You think you know me when a day hasn't passed."

True, but from our few meetings, Mrs. Adams reminded me of a fierce warrior who could still wield any weapon she pleased. I shrugged my shoulders, leaned back and asked politely, "Did you know my grandmother?"

With her nostrils twitched, she seemed like she wanted to growl. Then she settled in and asked, "Who was your grandmother?"

Good. There wasn't an insult in the question. We were making progress. "Diana Drake."

Mrs. Adams reached into her torn pants’ pocket and retrieved something she held in a handkerchief. "I’ve met her, but right now we have more important things to discuss."

"What?" She shoved the white cloth into my hands.

"I went out to retrieve this,” she said. “Robert buried it with Serena. Your husband will need it."

It would be okay if Robert loved Serena but I needed to know if he loved me now. I unwrapped the material and then held a sharp leather triangle that would clearly cut through the skin. I held it to the light. "What is this?"

"His missing scale."

Robert had talked about missing a piece of his scale from a fight. I lowered my hand and stared at Mrs. Adams. "I don't understand. What am I supposed to do with it?"

She shook her head as if she thought me an idiot. "Are you mated with him or not?"

Mated did not mean I knew how to glue a scale back on a dragon that shifts into a human. "Yes."

"Then you can heal him and put this piece back."

Yeah I was going to need the video lecture on how to do that with clear 1, 2, 3 steps in the directions. "How?"

"I'm not a dragon. I don't know how you do it—I just know that you can."

I folded the handkerchief and wondered if Robert knew. Doubtful, if he’d buried the scale, but it must be important. Mrs. Adams had risked her life to get it. "Fair enough. Thank you. I will ask."

"Your husband won't know until he asks himself. Have him show you how to talk to your grandmother. She'll set you straight, now that you've transformed and joined your flight."

A flight of dragons. My new family. I swallowed as I stared at Mrs. Adams. She was now a part of this and clearly she cared. I held the scale to my heart. "I will."

"Good, now go get some sleep. The first time a werewolf transforms we want to sleep for twenty-four hours. Dragons are even worse."

Sleep? I pocketed the scale. "What made this so urgent?”

She turned her head to stare at a wall. "I'd have been back before night if I hadn't run into Cassandra."

I lowered my voice. "Who is Cassandra?"

"A vampire who wants to kill any of you for a chance to return to her life.” Mrs. Adams looked at me. “She set a trap, but I managed to slip out."

“She’s here?”

Robert had warned me there were smart vampires. Tomorrow would be bad if there was retaliation. Perhaps I was imagining things. "What does she want?"

"You, Robert, Grayson, Logan or the children. I don’t think who she kills matters to her as long as she can be human, but it’s almost dawn now. She can't come in the daytime and you need to rest."

This meant that after a rest, I needed to ensure Robert was at his peak and that I learned more powers. Mrs. Adams flinched in pain. I stood. "You are right. I am tired, but I’d like to find out what bandages you might need."

She glared at me. "How? You don’t know where anything is."

"I am good at finding lost things my grandmother left somewhere. Can I see?"

She lifted her calf and I saw the scratches and the rope burn. "It's cut up but you should have seen what I did to that vampire. It wasn't too bad for this old girl."

I closed my eyes and prayed she'd be okay. I’d have to go find bandages in this huge house, but I had to sound calm. "You frightened me the first time we met."

She swatted the air as if smashing a bug. "You annoyed me as you had no idea what you were. That kind of ignorance can get you killed. You’re lucky Robert followed his instinct and flew to Italy. He took a risk. Now go. I'm tired too."

Arguing with her would be like arguing with my grandmother. "Good night."

She nodded at me. I slipped out the door and went to the adjoining room where I motioned for Samantha to return to Mrs. Adams. Then I walked right to my husband and hugged him as a yawn escaped my lips. "Robert, I'm tired."

He massaged the back of my head as he laughed. "You must be. Let's get you in bed too."

A shriek echoed from outside. I stilled and stared at the door. "What was that sound?"

"Doesn’t matter. We can deal with it tomorrow. It's dawn." He urged me to follow him and after a second I did. Vampires are nighttime creatures so he was right. As we neared the stairs he asked, "What did you and Mrs. Adams discuss?"

"This." I reached into my pocket and took out the handkerchief that I then handed to him.

He unwrapped it as we climbed but stopped halfway up the stairs. "My scale. How..."

Had he left it as some sort of memento to his beloved? I took his hand, urging him forward. I’d keep this casual. "She said you buried it with Serena."

"I thought I’d lost it."

So, no. We reached the last step and turned toward our room. "Mrs. Adams said now that I was here, we can reattach it to you."

His eyes widened as he came nose-to-nose with me. "How?"

“I don’t know.” While he was more advanced in skill, there were pieces we could learn together. I swayed on my feet. For once I had knowledge. It made me feel giddy, but it might be the exhaustion. "Tomorrow I need you to take me to the cavern to see my grandmother."

He placed his scale in my hand which caused my palm to heat. "After breakfast then. And we'll bring that with us."

Robert opened the bedroom door. I asked, "We can go out in the daytime?"

He laughed. "Did you have a problem with the sun before you knew you were a shifter?"

"No."

Tugging off his shirt, he said, "Then we're still good."

I put the scale on the nightstand next to the bed. He kicked off his shoes. I untied my own and sat on the bed. "Robert, if you feared for your kids, what instinct did you feel that led you to Italy and me, away from them?"

He paused and stared at me. "It's hard to explain."

"Try. I want to know." I flopped on the bed to be beside him. Love?

He took my hand and gazed at me. Then he clearly chose his words carefully as he explained, "It was a call in my head that wouldn't stop—like a beacon going off. Logan, my other brother, felt one too but his was to Australia. Grayson didn't get that urge so I begged him to stay close to protect my children."

That's why I hadn't met his other brother. It had been a question but then there were so many since I’d arrived that I lost track. "So Logan is in Australia? I look forward to meeting him."

“He’s a good man.” He stood and removed his jeans. "Let's go to bed now. You must be exhausted."

I undressed, but then looked at my bag. Robert settled into the bed in just his underwear. I waffled on what I should do. I had a sensible cotton night dress in the bag, but then I decided to drop my bra on the ground beside the bed and crawl in next to him. "Have you ever been so tired that you don't think you can sleep?"

He massaged my back. "Close your eyes."

If I knew for sure that he loved me, then I could rest easier. How to ask? He settled into his pillow. Finally I said, "Robert, you gave me a home."

He took my hand and pressed it gently on his chest. "You are a part of me, just as I'm part of you."

"Okay, good night." I held onto him. For now I had to trust that was enough. Whoever Cassandra was, she could not get to me or my family. Now that I had all this, I refused to let go.

Tomorrow morning, my grandmother would tell me everything. I knew it. And I’d get to hug her one more time. All my life she had been the one who comforted me. I’d forgive her for not telling me about my destiny—I loved her, with every fiber of my soul.