Chapter 14
Brad stared down at Lyrian, her eyes closed in a moment’s rest, still finding it hard to take everything in. The last week had been quite a whirlwind—from finding out he was a father, Lyrian was a dragon, being chased by dragons and police, and giving up everything he’d ever known to become her mate.
He couldn’t find it in him to regret one instant of it.
He’d thought he’d have doubts. That he’d wonder if he’d made the right choice, at least once or twice. But ever since the moment he’d made his decision, he hadn’t questioned it once.
That thought was overwhelming. Every decision he’d ever made in his life, even though they’d all been well planned and thought out, he’d always questioned. He’d thought it was part of making decisions, the constant doubts.
Perhaps, as Lyrian had suggested, it had been a lack of trust. A lack of trust in his own ability to make decisions as much as the decisions themselves.
She’d said earlier that there was nothing they couldn’t overcome together if they were determined enough. That they could find a way to make this work, no matter what happened.
And for the first time in his life, he believed that. He trusted that.
He trusted her.
It was the most peaceful feeling he’d ever known, and he lay there simply enjoying it for several minutes.
Until he heard quiet footsteps in the hallway outside.
Careful not to disturb Lyrian, he stood, searching around for his pants. He found them on his way to the doorway and pulled them on, then slipped out through the fur as quietly as he could.
Karla stood there, holding a wide awake Anarian in her arms, and a smile spread across Brad’s face. The one final piece he needed to make his life complete. He held out his hands for his daughter, and Karla handed her over with a smile.
“Sorry,” she said quietly. “I didn’t want to disturb you, but she needed a feed.”
Brad shook his head. “You’re not disturbing me at all. Thank you for looking after her for this long.”
Karla shrugged, a touch uncomfortably, and gave him a wry smile. “It wasn’t so bad. And Taurian was right, getting used to looking after babies is probably a good thing.” Her hand went instinctively to her stomach.
Brad raised an eyebrow. “Any particular reason for that?” he asked, though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
Karla gave an uncertain smile. “Looks like Taurian and I are going to be parents ourselves in another eight months. I only hope we do as good a job as you and Lyrian have.”
“Congratulations,” Brad said quietly, with a genuine smile. He wished he could take credit for raising Anarian, but the reality was, very little of it had been his doing. “I’m not so practiced at being a parent myself, Lyrian raised Anarian alone until last week.”
“But you’ve done a fine job since then,” Karla insisted.
Brad opened his mouth to object, then closed it again. Instead, he nodded, and gave Karla a smile. “I’m sure you will too.”
Trust. He needed to trust that he could be the parent Anarian needed, just as he trusted he could be the mate Lyrian needed. This was both harder, and easier, than planning and organising everything.
“I hope so,” Karla said, but she did sound a little better. “For now, you’d better get some sleep while you can. Things won’t be quiet around here for long.”
Brad nodded. He couldn’t disagree with that. He let the curtain fall behind him as he returned to Lyrian.
He’d been trying to be quiet, but apparently not quiet enough. His mate’s eyes were open, and she smiled lovingly at him and Anarian. “I was just starting to miss her,” she said with a smile as she sat up and held out her arms.
Brad kissed Anarian’s forehead, and handed the baby over, then sat down behind Lyrian as she lay down and attached their daughter to the breast. “Did you hear the news?” he asked, rubbing her back.
“Anarian is going to have a cousin.” She sounded pleased.
Brad was pleased too. He wanted his daughter to grow up surrounded by her clan and her family. But he couldn’t help feeling uneasy as well. “It seems so risky, bringing a baby into things now. We don’t know what is going to happen with this meeting with the government. Hopefully it all goes well, but what if it doesn’t? What if we end up on the run, or worse, fighting for our freedom? That doesn’t seem like any place to be raising a baby.”
He was as much concerned for Anarian as for Karla and Taurian’s baby. Not that he’d had any choice in bringing her into the world. He certainly hadn’t planned it.
But he knew, even before Lyrian replied, that it didn’t matter. Even if he could go back in time and change things, he wouldn’t. The love he had in his heart for his family could overcome anything that happened.
He trusted that.
Lyrian smiled up at him, seeing the truth in his face. “We’ll find a way,” she said softly.
Any doubts Brad had faded away because he knew in his heart she was right.
The End
Ostrian's story is next! Find out what has changed the grumpy old dragon's tune!
Dragon Elder Ostrian is concerned about the increasing number of dragons who are choosing to mate with humans. He's sure there's something strange going on, and he's determined to get to the bottom of it. he's certainly not going to let the pretty human distract him.
Mary is equally determined to prove that nothing is wrong. The fact that she just might be starting to understand the grumpy old elder's motivation is not going to stop her from protecting the place of humans in the clan, no matter how blue Ostrian's eyes might be.
But as the two of them research the history of love between dragons and humans, they realise that the ripples of the past have had more of an effect on the present than they ever could have imagined.
Sign up to my to receive a copy of Jayrian, the first story in Return of the Dragons, absolutely FREE!
She may not be a dragon, but it was her humanity they needed right now.
With time running out before his clan’s prince is discovered by mining or killed by enemy dragons, dragon shifter Jayrian needs to convince the elders to accept help from the humans. He hopes that the clever librarian, Gretchen, might be able to help him with that. He didn’t count on falling for her—that wasn’t part of his plan at all.
Reviews are very important for the success of a book. If you enjoyed reading Dragon Compromise, please consider leaving a review. Even a few sentences help.