Life had become odd. Anya couldn’t have foreseen a future like this, ever. Sure, she’d wanted to be a champion for the misunderstood, for those that needed a voice within this country, but she never thought that her life would bring her into their folds.

Perhaps, she thought, this was the only way it could have played out. Anya twisted the cool drink between her hands, feeling the cold condensation coat her palms. Her father stood over the open grill with a cheeky apron over his chest. She laughed at the curvy image of Wonder Woman on the front of it, not at all lining up with her father’s figure. His face was healing, the swollen eyes now open and a few butterfly bandages holding together the small cuts on his face.

Not two spaces away stood her mate, Luc Avila of the American dragons. The dragon man asked her father all sorts of questions about grilling, about the pros and cons of a gas grill versus a charcoal grill. It was an image she never thought she’d see, first when she learned, as the daughter of a GOE agent, she was mated to a dragon. Then, later, when Andrea Backus tried to trap her and her mate in the basement of the experimental facility.

Anya sucked in a deep breath, letting it fill her. Her mother sank into a seat beside her, having finally finished the draft of her latest novel and sent it in for the editor’s honed blade to take it apart. Bernice Forrest gave Anya’s mate a long look, taking the muscled man in from head to toe before turning to her daughter with an approving look.

Anya laughed, her face warming. Luc’s head shot up and his eyes met hers. The smile on her lips was contagious because she watched it spread over Luc’s.

The cookout went better than Anya could have hoped. Her father made every effort to treat Luc like the man he was. Her mother, on the other hand, had question after question lined up and aimed at her mate. It seemed the writer was dead set on incorporating the infamous dragon shifters into her next novel. Anya would have to read it, of course, to make sure Bernice had everything right and portrayed them the best she could.

This was only a moment in the large scale of things, though. This cookout was just a single day amidst the search for answers. Now that the dragons knew there was a second, hidden family living in their country, they knew there were still a lot of secrets to be uncovered. Why had Luc’s parents return to hiding? What was going on in the facility GOE wanted the world to believe abandoned?

How had her father convinced half the local organization to work for him?

In light of the recent events, Andrea Backus was not only fired, but she’d been arrested on multiple charges. It was a good feeling, one that had brought her father up the chain and right into the director’s seat. An even better feeling had been watching Beauchamp being led away in cuffs, his head hanging in defeat. Anya knew that was for the best. It gave her hope that the world could change.

It gave her hope that she could help it change.

 

***

 

The cottage, as Anya called the home on the lake, wasn’t far from the American Dragon territory. Nathan Forrest had agreed to have the small piece of land added to the Territory for them. It meant safety for Luc and his mate.

It meant Luc could wake up to Anya every morning. It meant they could take a quick dip in the lake before he took her to the Embassy for her internship. Anya wasn’t happy that Liana offered her a full-time job, thinking it was only because her mate status and not her skills. Luc promptly reminded her that she’d stood up to Dane, to the corrupt director of the GOE facility, and strived to make dragons be seen as people. His mate was an extraordinary creature.

He was proud to be hers.

They laid in bed, Luc’s fingers playing across her skin while his mind worked. They’d just made love and he knew her skin was extra sensitive from the way she squirmed beneath his touch. It almost distracted him from his thoughts.

“Do you think… Do you think they still care?”

Anya knew what he was talking about. She turned to face him, propping her head on her hand. Her honey colored eyes met his, easing some of the ache in his chest.

“They wouldn’t have risked their safety for you if they didn’t.”

Luc nodded. “You think they’re hiding for their safety? Why can’t they at least tell us?”

“Probably to keep you safe from what happened to them. Maybe, they’re trying to protect you from something else. I can’t imagine GOE would be very happy if their test subjects escaped into the world and had a voice. They might still be hunted by the Guardians.”

Anya was right, Luc thought. He circled her in his arms and let his head rest against her shoulder. This was good, he thought. His parents were alive and, mostly, well. Luc had found his mate, his lifetime partner and he was convinced she was falling for him.

“I have another question for you,” Luc said as he flipped over. He reached for a small box he’d hidden under the bed. Luc didn’t know if it was smart or if it was the right thing to do, but there was a feeling in his gut that demanded he do this. She would be his in every way possible. Maybe that was his beast speaking.

Still, he twisted back toward his mate and slowly presented the small, velvet covered box in his hands.

“Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

Anya’s eyes grew wide. For a split second, he thought she might shake her head. Then, she threw her arms around his neck. The ring was sandwiched between them and he couldn’t help but laugh. She smothered the laugh with her mouth and the ring was forgotten in the bed as they fell together again.

It wasn’t until they were done making love once more that Anya thought to check the sheets for the forgotten ring box. They found it under the mass of pillows. She made Luc pull it out of the box and slip it onto her finger.

“This is going to be a long engagement,” she told him after looking up from the ring on her finger. A wide smile split her face with joy and made her eyes dance. “I need to finish school before I can become Mrs. Luc Avila.”

“I’m willing to wait,” Luc said before bringing her ring hand to his mouth and placing a small kiss on her open palm.