All she could think of to do as Rossella tried to reach around her for the baby was to scream as loudly as she could. In the bedroom that Antonio had given her, where she had felt the safest she thought she could in this house that was always ready to surprise and shock her, she was now fighting against a dragon hell-bent on getting its claws on her baby.

Tony was screaming at the top of his lungs as well, the whole scene was a cacophony of yelling and screeching, with Rossella going between hissing threats and just tearing at Julie’s clothing in order to get to Tony.

“Let go of him and we can end this quickly,” Rossella growled, the heat of the dragon as it emanated its rage through Rossella’s form scorching at Julie’s back.

“Get away from him,” Julie answered, clutching her son with both arms and pressing his head into her chest, practically curling up around him.

“If you’d stop being so stubborn, it would all be over already,” Rossella added, gripping her arm tightly in a vise-like grip.

When Julie yanked herself away, the sleeve of her blouse was practically ripped off the shoulder seams, revealing deep gashes on her arms left by Rossella’s nails. The dragon had marched into her bedroom, wild-eyed and nearly incoherent, rattling on about how she would have to take matters into her own hands. She had made a beeline for Tony, who Julie had just set down in the crib, and it was only the speed of a mother sensing danger for her child that had allowed Julie to snatch up Tony before Rossella could.

Since then, they’d been stuck in this wild, senseless struggle, with Julie hanging on and Rossella trying to separate mother from son.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Antonio demanded, blowing into the room, slamming the door hard against the wall.

Rossella didn’t even seem to notice that he was there.

“Antonio!” Julie yelped, relief flooding over her.

Giovanni was right after him, as was a woman who Julie didn’t recognize. She stayed carefully in the background, though the moment she’d lain her eyes on the scene, her hand had come up to cover her mouth and her brows had knitted in horror. At least someone here had the decency to be repulsed by what Rossella was doing, though of course it didn’t act as much of a consolation.

Antonio covered the distance between them in a couple of fast strides and pulled Rossella back by the shoulders, then shoved her away further. He wrapped his arms around Julie and pulled her to his chest, kissing the top of her head once before leaning back to catch her gaze. She felt tears brimming in her eyes, but she refused to let Rossella see her cry.

“Are you alright, la mia bellezza? Is Tony alright?” he asked, clearly shaken.

“We are,” Julie breathed, her words stuttery with nerves. “She just… she marched in here and demanded I hand over Tony. I don’t know what got into her.”

The look that crossed Antonio’s expression told Julie that he probably did. With another kiss, this time on her lips, he moved to face Rossella. The woman was in shambles, her eyes golden and her face twisted in rage. From the corner of her eye, Julie could see Amira approaching the scene, staying back the same way as the girl had.

Tony had hushed right up, his expression knitted with a frown the same way as Antonio’s was.

“Explain yourself,” Antonio demanded of Rossella.

Julie couldn’t see a single way in which Rossella could excuse what she had done. Only madness could lead a woman to try and hurt a child, and Julie was certain that it was exactly what Rossella had intended to do. Though she had the sinister premonition that it would not have ended only in pain if Rossella had had her way.

“We were so happy,” Rossella said, the corners of her mouth dropping as she looked up at Antonio, “before she came.” Rossella pointed at Julie, her hand shaking, but Antonio paid it no heed. “If she would just go away, I’m sure we could be happy again. But you won’t let that runt of a child go with her, now would you? But if he didn’t exist…”

She trailed off and a deathly silence fell over the gathered crowd. Julie was sure some of the servants had come to check on what was going on as well. This would be all over the villa, and the adjoining ones soon enough.

“We were never happy,” Antonio seethed, his voice so low and gravelly that it sounded more like the dragon than the man. “We were forced into an arrangement that had no place for love, no place for feelings. It may have been fine for earlier generations, but it clearly is not fine for me. That child you speak of is my son, and he will be stronger and better for the bloods of both the dragon and the human. What you did here today is inexcusable.”

Rossella’s attention snapped back to Antonio, her eyes wide with terror now. Julie held her breath, the heat of Antonio’s words roiling around in her stomach. She’d hoped, despite knowing that she shouldn’t have, that there might be a future for her and Antonio. Now, he was making sure that everyone knew they did.

“Julie is my mate, and she will be my bride. Our arrangement is off, Rossella, and if I ever see you near me, my mate or my son again, I will not be held accountable for what I do. Only my respect for your father and your sister hold me from tearing your head off your shoulders where you stand.”

Rossella opened and closed her mouth a couple of times like a fish out of water. She was a picture of brokenness, suddenly seeming like she was shrinking right before Julie’s eyes. Maybe she had truly loved Antonio, Julie wouldn’t dare guess, but whatever it was, this was clearly a blow unlike any other to her.

“Take her away,” Antonio called, two dragon guards from the security detail slipping past the family as soon as the order was given and hooking their arms around Rossella. She opened her mouth once more to say something, but no words came out. Only a long, heartfelt sob as she was dragged off in view of the Capirelli family, her own sister and the servants of the house.

Antonio stepped up to Julie and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“Are you certain you are alright?” he asked, worry in his voice.

He still fumed, it was almost too much to stand next to him because he was so hot with rage.

“I am now,” she promised him.

“Good,” he whispered, giving her a smile before he looked up at his family again. “May it be known then. My engagement to Rossella Simonetti is off. I will be marrying my mate Julianna Sawyer in a week’s time.

“As head of this family, it is my honor to say that the Capirelli and the Simonetti union will be made true after all, through the bond of Giovanni Capirelli and Rosa Simonetti. If anyone has a problem with either of these arrangements, they are welcome to come talk to me about it, but I will not promise to be understanding.”

The smile that spread across Antonio’s lips was feral, in control. He was every bit the man that Julie had remembered from her night with him, self-assured and the master of his own domain again, no longer embroiled in political nonsense he wanted no part of.

And he was all hers.

“Disperse,” he barked, sharing a wink with Giovanni, who looped his arm around Rosa for the first time in public.

“Thank you,” Rosa mouthed to Antonio, though her eyes were brimming with tears and Julie thought they were more for her sister than the announcement.

Amira was the last to disappear from the doorway. She gave Antonio a measuring look and for a moment, Julie tensed, expecting another showdown. Instead, the woman nodded, not only to Antonio but to her as well. Maybe one day, she would learn what made the woman tick and understand her, but for now, this small token of acceptance was enough to tide her over.

Left alone at last, Antonio turned to face her and her breath caught in her chest.

“I should have asked if a wedding so soon is something you agree to,” he said ruefully, stealing a giggle from Julie.

“Not if I would wish to be your wife to begin with?” she asked.

Antonio’s expression twisted into horror for a moment, and Julie had to rush to explain herself, lest her dragon lose his sanity.

“Of course I’ll marry you! And if you get my family here without abducting them outright, I think a week from now is perfectly doable.”

“La mia bellezza, you should not scare me like that,” Antonio chuckled, kissing her on the lips and then ruffling his hand through Tony’s hair.

“I’m going to try to keep you on your toes,” she promised. “I might not be a dragon, but I refuse to be a boring wife.”

“I don’t think life with you could ever be boring,” Antonio said with a gentle roll of his eyes.

While she might have disagreed with him from time to time, like on the topic of whether being plucked from the ground by a dragon and carried off was a sensible means of conflict resolution, she could agree with him on that much. It was never going to be boring… and she was certain she was never going to feel alone again.