Jami curled against Drago’s side. He’d been lying there for a while now just staring at the ceiling. She knew he had fears and demons just like her. She’d glimpsed them a couple of times already.

“Are you okay?” she asked, a little nervous about his answer.

She’d sensed a connection to him before he’d told her about the mate thing, but now after everything that had happened, she was beginning to believe that fate may have brought her to Serenity for all the right reasons. And that still kind of scared her.

“I am more than okay, I am—how would you say—blown away. For the first time in a very long time I feel settled. And my Dragen is settled. That’s the perplexing part.”

Jami’s chest tightened. As far as she was concerned this moment couldn’t get any better. Unfortunately, she had to shatter the beautiful after glow with the truth about Sondra. She only hoped he didn’t go all dragen and do something crazy like try to kill the psycho who was responsible for her death.

She snuggled closer to his side and tucked her head into the crook of his shoulder. After one last, lengthy breath she got started.

“I have something to tell you, but I’m afraid. This moment is so perfect I don’t want to ruin it.”

Drago stilled. “Sounds heavy, probably best to spit it out so that we can deal with it and move on.”

She closed her eyes against his reasonableness. There was nothing that even remotely resembled reason. “You were right all along, Drago. The psycho who tried to kill me also killed Sondra.”

His body stiffened against hers and she felt more than heard the change in his breathing.

“How can you be certain?”

“I only have the word of a mad man, but I think with the details he provided and the instincts I know I should trust more, it's true. But I don’t have any hard evidence, if that’s what you mean.”

For a moment she thought he’d taken the information surprisingly well and then it happened. The room filled with almost unbearable heat. Instead of backing away or doing anything else to escape, Jami grabbed rolled on top of him until she straddled his legs.

"Be careful, Jami. The dragen is dangerous when provoked."

She didn't care. If she was to be his mate then it would be her duty to care and soothe for him no matter what form he took. So she bent forward and caressed his flushed face with both hands.

“Maxim, listen to me. What happened to Sondra was the result of pure evil. There’s no doubt about that in my mind at all. But to seek revenge will not change anything for you. You think it will make you feel better, but I believe you are wrong. Nothing at all will bring Sondra back. The truth of that is not only sad, it’s devastating. But you’re a dragen both in body and mind. You are in control and you can make this stop."

"I would be happier if that fucker died. I should have thrown him off that roof when I had the chance."

"I'm sorry, but that's an unacceptable possibility. I mean, I don't blame you for feeling that way. Part of me would like to know he paid for what he'd done with his death. But not at your hand. How can I love you, if you go around killing people? Aren't there consequences for shiften like there are humans for vigilante justice?"

He leaned into her. "You love me?"

"Drago, focus. That was not the important part of my statement."

"Possibly. Or probably I guess. I haven't spent enough time around other shiften to know all the rules. You love me?" he asked again. "And yes, that was the important part.

She closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at him in case this went south. "I know it sounds crazy considering we've known each other for all of one day, but from the moment I heard that sexy Russian accent of yours through my apartment door I felt something. And it's only gotten stronger as I got to know you. I feel connected in a way I have never felt connected before. The closest thing I could compare it to is the bond I have with my sisters. But supposedly it's perfectly normal for siblings all born together to have that type of connection. So yeah, I guess in my round about rambling way, I'm confessing that I am falling in love. Who are we to judge whether that happens fast or slow?"

Drago reached for her hand and pulled it to his lips. "I know. I feel it too."

Her heart stuttered at his confession, forcing her to open her eyes wider.

"There have been so many things that happened today to make this inevitable, but I am fairly certain that when you trusted me enough to jump off of a building not knowing whether you would live or die was the moment of clarity for me. You honestly shocked me with that one. I do not believe most people would have done it." He kissed her fingers. "Trust is as valuable as love. And both are more important than all the treasure in the world."

Her throat closed as a flood of emotions swelled inside her and leaked from her eyes in the form of tears.

"Besides, I have already made up my mind that I will never get you out of my system even if I wanted to. How could I when you make me hard as a rock until all I can think about is tearing off your clothes."

She choked on tears and laughter, while slapping at his shoulder. "You definitely are incorrigible. I really can't believe no one has ever told you that."

He shrugged. "Until you came along, everyone was too afraid of me to say such a thing. That is half the reason I must make you mine. You stand up to me when you need to and I love that." He gave her a crooked smile.

Despite the happy tears and laughter, she couldn't stop thinking about poor Sondra and what she'd meant to her mate. A piece of her heart would forever be broken for him if he took justice in his own hands.

"Maxim," she started quietly. "Will you tell me about Sondra? Not today and maybe not tomorrow, but sometime soon? It's obvious how much she meant to you, but I was connected to her too. We need—I don’t know—something."

He leaned forward and wiped the tears trickling down her face away. "Closure. We both need some. How about this? I will do my best to table my thirst for vengeance on this for now and wait to see how the human courts handle this. But if the ball is dropped, I cannot promise I will do nothing. In exchange we will share our memories of Sondra with each other. I love that you cared enough about her to want to help me." He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "Do we have a deal?"

She nodded. "Yes, we have a deal."

"Good. Now we should sleep. It has been too long since either of us has had a good night."

As if on cue, just the mention of sleep got her yawning. "Okay."

Drago pulled her tight to his side and wrapped his arms and legs around her. "You know if I was in dragen form, I could wrap you up in my warm wings and you would sleep like a baby."

That did sound good. "We might have to try that sometime. It would be excellent for camping."

"Do not count on that, my little princess. I am far too accustomed of silk sheets and room service."

Jami gently laughed as she drifted towards sleep. A few minutes later, Drago's alarmed question woke her up again.

"Hey babe, what did you mean when you said you and your sisters were all born together?"

She tried to answer, but had to fight off another yawn. "Did I not mention we are triplets? Don't worry, you won't have to wait long to meet them. As soon as I tell them about you, they will be on a plane to Illinois from Texas to check you out."

"Well, that certainly complicates matters," Drago sighed.

"What? Why?"

"Looks like we will have to return to Serenity sooner rather than later like I'd hoped."

She snuggled deeper into his arms, seeking more of this warmth. "Of course we are going back to Serenity. Why wouldn't we?"

When Drago didn't answer that question she lifted her head to look at him. "We are going back to Serenity tomorrow, right?"

He nodded. "We are now."

Jami scrunched up her forehead, not understanding his cryptic comments that didn't seem to match their conversation.

"I don't understand." Or maybe she was just too tired to comprehend anything else right now.

"Babe, you are a true mate, born of a human female and an angel. If you are a triplet, then it stands to reason that your sisters are true mates as well."

Oh crap. She hadn't even thought of that.

Violet and Savannah were going to shit bricks over this news.