The next day…

“And?” Drago sniffed the air as soon as he opened the door. “Somebody got some.” He grinned as he stepped to the side to let her in. “You smell weird again, like you were smoking or something.” He sniffed again. “Cigars rather than cigarettes.” He wrinkled his nose and then widened his eyes. “You weren’t smoking, were you? You did actually get laid again?” Then he grinned because he knew the answer to his own question.

Ceri didn’t want to talk about it but Drago would be like a dog after a bone if she didn’t give him something. “Yes, we rutted again. I definitely wasn’t smoking anything. He leaves in a couple of hours, so that’s the end of that.” Hopefully Drago would drop the whole thing.

She should have known better than to think he would. He scrutinized her. “You aren’t glowing, or on a high, or happy or anything. You seem…down.” He cocked his head slightly, really giving her the once-over. “Why are you down? What happened?”

“Not at all.” She waved her hand and walked further into his apartment. “Oh good, you have coffee brewing.”

“Don’t try to change the subject.” She turned to Drago, who folded his arms. “Why aren’t you on a sex high? Was the rutting not up to scratch?” He made a face. “Was the dragon crap? I thought he was good? Why else would you go back for seconds?”

“The sex was good. More than good actually.”

“Why are you so down then?”

She helped herself to a coffee cup and sighed softly. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Ceri knew it was the worst thing she could say because Drago wouldn’t let it go now.

“You’ll feel better if you talk about it. I guarantee it. Are you sad he’s leaving?” His eyes lit up. “Are you in love with this male?”

“No!” she replied. “Not at all. Don’t be crazy.” Ceri poured herself some of the steaming brew. “Why does that make you happy, at any rate? It would be terrible if I had fallen in love with a dragon.”

He shrugged. “It would be interesting.”

“Me, being in love with someone I could never have, is not interesting, that would be awful.”

“I suppose. You say it isn’t that, what is it then? I’ll have a cup too.” He pointed at her coffee and leaned against the counter, his eyes on her.

“He was using me,” she blurted.

Drago burst out laughing. "Of course he was, just like you were using him. Wait a minute! Why would you care about a thing like that? You must have feelings for this dragon. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so upset about this."

“I don’t have feelings for him, it’s just…” She pushed out a heavy breath. Drago already knew so much, what did it matter if she told him all of it. She reached into the cupboard and pulled out another cup.

“Just what?”

She huffed out a breath. “I didn’t meet Bay yesterday.”

Drago’s frown deepened. “What are you talking about?”

“You know when I went to Beachhaven on vacation?”

“Yes.” Drago nodded once, a grin beginning to spread across his handsome face. “Don’t tell me you guys… Did you…?”

She rolled her eyes and nodded once. “Yes, we spent the night together then as well. Just one night. I checked out before morning. We didn’t talk much.”

“I’ll bet.”

“I didn’t think I’d ever see him again and…” She raised her brows.

“And then he shows up here.” Drago laughed. “That’s bizarre. So yesterday was the second time you saw him and last night the third.”

She nodded. “He brought the shifter in and then came back to talk to me, only…” Ceri told him what had happened. Keeping it brief and sticking to the facts. “So you’ll excuse me for feeling a little down about the whole thing. I guess I don’t feel good enough.” She felt her lip wobble and chewed down on it. “I don’t think I’ll ever find someone willing to give me a chance. Willing to be with me even though I can’t have kids.” She swallowed down a lump of emotion clogging her throat.

“Hey, that’s bullshit.” Drago went over to her and folded her up in a hug. “You have me. You’ll always have me.”

“You know I love you a crazy amount, but I’m kind of looking for more than friendship.” She gave him a squeeze. “I appreciate what we have. Don’t misunderstand me.”

“You want more.” He pulled away, pretending to be hurt. “You have my heart and soul, which is more than any other female ever had, what more could you possibly want?” She could tell he was teasing.

“Someone to wake up to every morning and, um, I don’t know, sex, regular, really hot sex.” Like the kind she’d had with Bay.

“Now that can be arranged. You know I would be willing to— Ouch!” He yelped when she hit him on the arm. “I’m only kidding. Sex would ruin things between us.” He chuckled, his big body vibrated.

“Sex with you would be lousy.”

“What?” He sucked in a breath, clutching a hand to his chest. “How can you say such a thing? Talk about bruising a male’s ego.”

“Because we have zero chemistry. Less than zero.” She shook her head.

“Yeah, I’ve never understood that. You are quite literally the only female who has never shown any attraction to me. I don’t understand it.”

It was her turn to scrutinize him. Her turn to laugh. “I watched you eat your boogers in first grade. There is no going back from that.”

Drago chuckled, his face turning pink. “I was six years old. It was a phase and it didn’t last.”

“The mental picture is still up here.” She pointed at her skull.

“Okay,” he took her hand, turning serious, “so you’re not in love with this male. I get why you’re upset. You need to know that one day, a male will come along and he will love you no matter what. He will fall for you because you are amazing, and so worth it, and if it weren’t for those boogers I ate in first grade we’d probably be mated right now.” He grinned.

She choked out a laugh and shook her head.

“In all seriousness, it will happen and when it does, you’ll know it’s true love. It won’t just be some asshole male settling because you are fertile. It will be real love. The deep and meaningful kind you crave, and until then, I am here for you.”

“Only until then?” She smiled.

Drago rolled his eyes. “No, dufus, for always. We are friends for forever.”

“Good and with that in mind, please feed me.” She actually felt a little queasy at the thought of drinking from him. Ceri had to though. There was no other choice. It had been a long, restless night. She wasn’t feeling herself. Things would improve. All would be well. She’d get over whatever this was with Bay and move on. The sooner that happened the better.

“So,” Brant said, smoothing his jacket. “Things to look out for. The hunters may disguise themselves as military personnel. They own a fleet of ex-army helicopters.” He went on to describe makes and models. In truth, Bay struggled to concentrate on what was being said.

They were leaving straight after this final wrap-up. It didn’t feel like much had been achieved. He’d tried to go back to see Ceri but had almost been caught by Torrent. He’d lied and said he was out for a walk.

All he wanted to do was fix things between them. He didn’t like that they had walked away from each other as enemies. Ceri didn’t feel like an enemy. Not even close.

The male hadn’t completely believed him and it might be his imagination but it seemed like Torrent had been keeping an eye on him ever since.

That he had been diverted was probably for the best anyway. He’d almost made a fool of himself. It was clear the vampire wanted nothing more to do with him.

He wasn’t sure if drinking her blood had cured him. He didn’t think so ‒ not that he’d tried to disprove it yet. Yesterday had been jam-packed and had included a dinner which ended late. Team-building had started at seven this morning. They were leaving in a few minutes.

“The actual hunters themselves,” Brant said, while looking directly at him, probably sensing his mind had wandered, “come from old money. At least ninety-nine percent of them. The other one percent used to come from money but lost their fortunes somewhere along the line.”

“Fortunes that were never theirs,” Torrent mumbled.

“What was that?” Brant looked at his king. “Did you want to add something?”

Torrent shook his head. “No. Just that these hunters steal from those they assassinate. We’re talking mass genocide here, followed by mass pillaging.”

“They are without honor. Your females and children would be murdered just as readily as your males,” Blaze said. “I do not believe that they will be satisfied with slaughtering our species. They live for death and destruction. None of you are safe.”

“Be on the look-out for anyone with a tattoo on their left hand. The top.” He pointed at that part on his own hand. “It would be a plain, black ink of the all-seeing eye.” Brant pushed a device in his hand and a picture appeared on the white screen of the tattoo in question. “We have each other’s contact details. Let’s report any sightings. Any strange happenings. Let’s work together to eradicate this scourge.”

“We plan on taking a much harsher approach. Any helicopters found to be in our territory, where we can prove without a doubt are hunters,” A difficult task. “will be taken out,” Blaze announced. “Each of our tribes has a Head of Defense. Going forward, this individual will be given a new title.” Blaze turned to him. “From now on you will be known as Head of War. We are no longer going to sit by. We are fighting back.” He pounded the table. The wood creaked.

Bay nodded once, feeling the weight of what would be expected of him. In truth, he had never been much of a fighter. Sure, he could fight. He’d always had a knack for combat, but he didn’t revel in it like many of the others. Like Flood. The male was much better suited to the role. Even Beck would be a better candidate. He swallowed hard.