It took Sever a long time to go to sleep after making love to Lori. And even when it did, it felt as if it had only been a second before his phone began to buzz, waking him up.

He looked around him blearily, realizing the sun had just begun to rise, and it was time to go back to his room anyway.

His mate wasn’t sure about him. She didn’t want Taylor to know because she wasn’t sure if he was staying around.

He didn’t know if she even wanted him to. She’d alluded to being independent, to being unwilling to settle down unless it was the right man.

And she’d dated before. Maybe even done things like she’d done with Sever, presumably with men who turned out to be the wrong ones.

So how did Sever know he wasn’t one of those?

He put a hand to his head, fighting back jealousy. He didn’t mind what she’d done before she met him, because it was her life and her choices. But what bothered him was not knowing if she could feel the way he did.

He felt she was his mate, but he’d been wrong before, and…

No, before, he’d been too willing to listen to a manipulator. Lori wasn’t claiming to be his mate, so she wasn’t like Amelia at all. And the way she’d made love to him, clung to him, letting her hazel eyes shine at him… Didn’t that mean something?

Or had it been that way with other men?

He looked down and realized the buzzing had stopped. He picked up his phone, pulled on his discarded clothes, and crept down the hall to his bedroom.

It was still early enough that no one was up, and all was safe and quiet.

He took a quick shower, got changed, and crept downstairs and out the front door to make a phone call.

When he’d walked a good way from the house but could still keep all of it in view, he dialed Citrine.

“Hello? Sever, is that you?” Citrine’s familiar voice said on the other end.

“Yes,” Sever said dully. “How are things going with Robbie?”

“Wolves,” was all Citrine said ominously. “Anyway, Dante told me you’re having cat troubles.”

“I am,” Sever said. “There is a settlement of them near this small town. Probably in the town, too. My mate is here, with her adopted young, and the town hates them. The cat shifters are threatening them. I’m not even sure why. I thought shifters were at peace with humans.”

“For the most part, we are. There are shifters who believe otherwise, that humans should be ruled by shifters. That’s what the war on Pride Island is all about.”

‘The lions?” Sever asked.

“Yes, the lions. As leaders of the shifter world, they turn the tides. The fighting has been going on for a couple years now. But anyway, you aren’t dealing with lions.”

“Right,” he said.

“Some kind of bobcat, I’m guessing,” Citrine said. “Based on the description you gave Dante.”

“Okay,” Sever said. “So what does that mean?”

“I mean cat shifters are secretive and tend to live in small, isolated pockets. We don’t know a lot about them, simply because shifters generally can’t sense them. They tend to keep to themselves and their families. Small groups. Loyal.”

“I see. So just stay out of their way?”

“It may not be that easy,” Citrine said. “Cats in general are territorial. Much worse than other animals. It could be they see anyone as a threat to their space. Does your mate live close to them?”

“Closer than the general town, yes. But that doesn’t explain the looks we get in town. Like everyone thinks they’re outsiders.”

“I’m guessing it’s just a territory thing. But for whatever reason, they have decided your mate shouldn’t stay there, so you’ll have to get her out.”

Sever put a hand in his hair, tugging on his braid painfully. “I can’t. This is their home. This is—”

“You’ll have to make her see reason,” Citrine said. “The cats aren’t going to give up. They’ll fight to the death for their land, most likely, and you as a dragon shouldn’t be killing them.”

“I’ll do what I have to, to protect my mate.”

“Of course you will, but is that any kind of life out there? Always looking over your shoulder, waiting for a cat to attack? What kind of life is that?” There was noise on the other end. “Anyway, I’ve gotta go. Chaos breaking out here, as usual.” Citrine usually calm voice was harried. “Good luck, Sever. You’ve always been my favorite of your group of dragons. Make it happen.”

“Good luck with Robbie.”

“I’m going to need it,” was his harried reply. Then the line went dead.

Sever let his phone hang in his hand by his side and looked back at the house.

Lori had never implied she would be willing to leave, but Sever fully trusted Citrine when he said the only answer was to get out of there.

He walked slowly back to the house, coming up the front porch steps to see Taylor there, sitting on a step.

“Who were you talking to?” Taylor asked. “I heard yelling.”

Had he raised his voice and not realized it? “I’m sorry. It was nothing.”

Taylor nodded, and Sever internally sighed in relief that it didn’t appear the boy had heard anything he said.

“So what are we doing today?” Taylor asked.

“I’m not sure,” Sever said. “I need to have a talk with Lori.”

Taylor stood, concerned. “About what? You aren’t leaving, are you?”

“No,” he said. “Well, not like that. I need to talk to her. Can you give us a moment alone?”

Taylor’s face was grim, and he nodded tersely before walking down the porch and off to the other side of the house, slightly angry.

Sever let out a breath. It seemed he couldn’t do anything right lately.

It should all be so simple. He’d found his mate. She wasn’t some dragon lying to him. She and her kid both liked him. They should be able to work this out.

She looked at him as though she liked him. If she really liked him, then wouldn’t she be willing to move for him? If he told her she should? He had to hope so.

He pushed the front door open and saw her standing in the kitchen, turning on the coffee maker and wearing a cute pink robe that had little frayed edges. She turned to smile at him.

“How are you doing this morning?”

“Fine,” he said, taking a seat at the table. “But we need to talk.”

She sat down across from him hesitantly. She was so beautiful she took his breath away. Full lips, gentle eyes, cute dimples. Cute freckles. He wanted to reach out and wrap one of her candy-colored locks around his finger and pull her in for a kiss.

But it was time to get serious.

“That was my boss,” he said. “He just called and I went out and talked to him.”

“Oh?” she asked. “What about?” She looked nervous, and he hated he had to do this. But someone had to bring up the idea of leaving, because it just wasn’t going to work for them to stay.

“I… Have you ever thought about moving?”

She pushed back from the table with a start. “What? Why are you saying this? Do you have to go back?”

“Something like that,” he said quietly. “Look, I just need to know. Are you even open to the idea of leaving here? You could go back to Houston, or anywhere really.” He wouldn’t mind moving wherever she wanted to go as long as it was safe for her. Maybe going back to her old home would be best. He’d miss his dragon friends, but he would already be taking so much from her just getting her to leave Cate’s Canyon.

She stared at him for a long moment. “Why? Why do you want us to go?”

He set a hand down on the table a little too hard, startling her, and felt instantly guilty. “I just… It’s not safe here.”

“Oh,” she said slowly, eyes narrowing, face going hard. What was she thinking? “I get it. Your boss called, and you don’t want to be worried about us, so you’re just going to make sure we get somewhere safe before leaving, is that it?”

He cocked his head. With his heart pounding, he wasn’t even sure what she was saying. Or why she was so angry about it.

“Yes?” he said, hoping that was the right answer.

She stood abruptly. “I need to go upstairs. For something.”

“Wait,” he said, running to catch her. “Why are you angry? You know it isn’t safe here for you or Taylor. It’s never going to be safe.”

She jerked out of his hold. “Then get out of here. Go, you coward.” She put a hand over her face. “I was a fool to trust you.”

“Why?” he asked, pulling her hand back. “Why are you getting so angry with me for just telling the truth? You can make your home anywhere. You just—”

She pushed away from him, her hazel eyes furious. “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do. You don’t really have any hold on me. You aren’t really my friend. You’re just some guy I hired who agreed to come out and help us. And if you want to go, if it’s too much for you, or if your boss needs you, you’re free to go. But you don’t get to tell us what to do, to make us leave our home so you’re more comfortable.”

“I think you are really misunderstanding,” Sever said slowly, trying to let his brain catch up on what she meant. Did she think he was leaving them? Because it wasn’t like that at all. Maybe he wasn’t explaining it right.

Or maybe she was saying she never intended to stay with him, and so him even asking her to change her plans a little for him was out of line.

Either way, he felt his head was exploding.

Just then they heard the front door bang open.

He looked up to see Taylor standing there, little hands clenched into fists. “What do you mean you hired him?”

Lori whirred around. “Oh no.”

“So it’s true?” Taylor asked. He looked at Sever. “You aren’t really our friend? I knew you weren’t going to stay. Why would you?” He ran past them and jerked out of their reach, heading for the stairs. He rushed up them, stumbling, and ran into his room, slamming the door behind him.

Sever looked at Lori in alarm. “I never meant to upset anyone. I only wanted to help.”

“By booting us out of our house? Why didn’t you just write that to us in the first place? I asked for help staying where we are. If you didn’t want to help with that, why didn’t you just tell us to move and be done with it?” She shook her head. “I was trying to give him a home. Instead, I gave him another person to break his heart.” She took a step toward the stairs. “I guess I was stupid. I guess we all were.”

“What the hell are you saying?” Sever asked. “What is so wrong with wanting to keep you from harm?”

She folded her arms tightly around her and took a deep breath. When she released it, she seemed to calm slightly. Her demeanor had gone from angry to resigned. “You’re right. There’s nothing wrong here. I got… the wrong idea about things. But it’s just… after what we shared last night, this was the last thing I expected this morning. I need some time to think.” She looked up at Taylor’s room. “Then I need to fix things with him.”

Sever stared at her helplessly. “Lori, I’m not abandoning you.”

“You aren’t?” she asked. “Sure seems that way to me.”

“All I said was that you needed to move,” he said.

She put up a hand wearily. “I get it. I’m overreacting. Your job is done, and you need to go back to your boss.”

“No, that’s not—”

“I’m done talking,” she said. “I can’t right now. I woke up hoping, thinking we were going to have another wonderful day together. Instead, I get a slap in the face to wake up from a dream I’ve been having. So just let me wake up, Sever. Let me wake up.”

He stood there helplessly, hands clenching and unclenching, as she went up the stairs, paused in front of Taylor’s room, and knocked. When there was no answer, she walked slowly to her own room, opened the door, and closed it behind her.

Sever was left alone in the living room, wondering what had gone wrong.

He had no idea how to fix it.

Once again, he felt tricked and alone. Like he’d misunderstood something and there was no way out of it. He felt the depression of the past few months waving over him. He felt totally trapped.

He stumbled out of the house through the back door and into the fresh air, gulping it down greedily.

Then he looked down at his phone.

Against all odds, he knew what to do right now. He had to call Dante. For once, he would lean on his friends.

* * *

Lori let the tears fall as she sat on her bed, trying to contain herself.

Had she overreacted? Maybe. But it wasn’t the first time someone had totally changed the game on her.

Last night, he’d been so loving in her arms. Today, he was basically saying she needed to go somewhere safe so he could get back to work in Seattle without having to worry about her.

At least that’s what she thought he was saying.

And now everything was ruined with Taylor, and she didn’t know where they would go anyway, and it was just like it was when she found out Matt had died.

When she found out her whole world was changing and she had a whole new set of problems to fight all on her own.

She’d tried to be strong. It had been hard for her to ask for help, to write to Sever at Date-A-Dragon.

It hadn’t been hard to accept him into their lives, wonderful and protective and caring and hot.

But now it all felt like a big mistake, because in only a moment, with one call from his boss, the fairy tale was over. And even though he knew how much this land meant to her and Taylor, he would tell them to leave it because he couldn’t stay.

Well, no one had asked him to stay forever. Even if it was what her heart had desperately wanted.

She knew the world didn’t work that way. There weren’t happy endings. Nothing was easy.

You could think things were fine and then the next day find out one of your closest friends was dead and that you were all his son had in the world and somehow had to guide this young man into adulthood on your own.

And have to move into a town that hated you, putting on a smile every day for the kid who needed you.

She’d been strong every day for as long as she could imagine, and for just a few days with Sever, it had been nice to be weak. To rely on someone else.

But that was a fantasy, and it was time to wake up. She could be strong again. She’d been strong before. She steeled herself, straightening her shoulders, trying not to think of Sever’s handsome, confused face.

If she did, she’d cry.

He had every right to go back to where he’d come from. He’d always been doing them a favor. But he hadn’t had any right to work his way into her heart. To tell her to trust him when he had no intention of staying until they were safe, let alone forever.

He was selfish if he thought he could just snap his fingers and tell them to go.

Where would they go anyway? She’d sold her place in Houston, and it would take time to find something new. She supposed she would have to talk to Sever, ask him how soon he had to leave. She should try to keep her feelings out of it and keep things professional. After all, she would need all her focus to figure out the best move for her and Taylor.

She sighed as she stood and opened her door, ready to knock on Taylor’s door and try again to reach him.

She knew he felt betrayed. She did, too. But it was her fault for lying to him. Her fault for trusting too much in someone who didn’t owe them anything.

Her own father had left her. Matt had left her. Why should she fault Sever?

She stopped in front of Taylor’s door and raised her hand to knock. “You in there, sweetie? I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

No answer.

She bit her lip. “I know I should have told you the truth. Honestly, Sever became my friend almost instantly, and I wanted you to feel safe. I knew we weren’t going to make it here on our own. I needed help. He answered and offered it. I wasn’t in a place to make demands.” She put a hand over her face. How was she supposed to explain this to a child?

“Please, forgive me. Let me in and we’ll talk. No matter what, I’m here for you. I’m not going to leave you, Taylor. Not ever.”

Still no answer.

A slight sense of alarm came over her, and she jiggled the handle. “Hello? You in there?” She tried harder, but the door was locked. “Open this door right now. You can be mad at me later.”

When nothing happened, panic filled her heart, and she scrabbled on the top of the doorframe for the key that was always there. She shoved it into the lock and pushed the door open, heart feeling like it was going to explode.

The room was empty.

The window was open. She ran to the edge of it and looked down with a small cry. There was nothing. Taylor was gone.