“Come here, boys. I’ll tell you the story.” Bastien gave him a look that suggested it would be aheavilysanitized one.
Faolan and Lyam gave Viraj a second glance before running to their papa with tails swishing.
“What cute little braids! Isn’t Uncle Viraj so nice?” Bastien smiled as the pups nodded.
“But, a little story time. Remember that times are different, now. They were different when I was a kid and even more different now.” Bastien beamed. “Dragons can be unkind when threatened and desperate.”
The pups watched him obediently. “Long ago, Pepa Ryan’s daddy gave him to Uncle Viraj as a present and told him to come to this country. They did things differently. So, understand, thatUncle Viraj’s father found a Drake for Ryan, and Uncle Viraj thought they were happy. He gave your uncle Viraj this town. Your pepa Ryan was worth a whole city of silver. But, Pepa Ryan was sad with his Drake and many years later was found by your other pepas and they fell in love.”
What did our pepas pay for Pepa Ryan?Faolan stared with wide eyes as Lyam cowered.
“Not a penny. All their riches went to him alone. I learned better, by that time.” Viraj lowered his head as the guilt stung.
What did uncles Teige and Gatlin pay for you?Lyam glanced at Viraj.
The thought made him laugh. “Years of patience.”
Bastien cleared his throat. “Stags don’t pay for mates. They know better.”
“Now, at least.” Viraj huffed. “How’s Teige’s claw?”
“Teige’s what?” Bastien blinked, thinking for a moment before his mouth formed a soft “o”. “Fine. Not ingrown. But we are going to head out here soon. We’ve overstayed our welcome, and you know seasons are short.”
Viraj’s cheeks burned as he nodded shortly. Having Bastien or Ryan go into heat at the estate would be inconvenient.
With a soft grunt, Viraj stood on stiff legs. It’d been days since their guests arrived, and days since Viraj and his mates had coupled, wanting to be polite—they could get loud.
“Thank you for the lovely stay, Uncle Viraj. And keep taking your medicines. Gatlin and Teige have been told what to watch for and will call if there’s an issue.” Bastien didn’t meet his gaze before gathering the children up in his arms, forcing them to shift; both stark naked and as roguish as any pup had a right to be. “Now, let’s go find pants.”
Faolan and Lyam huffed in annoyance as one as Viraj bid them farewell.
Viraj could agree, he’d been forced to wear pants for days. And he’d been barred from their hoard due to the mysterious desire to renovate the place. He thought it was rather comfortable.
With a soft sigh, he rose and left his office, meandering the halls in search of his brother. But the search was short, as he found him by the soft gleam of his head, standing in a hallway, posture slumped, eyes glassine. Sadness marred his face.
When Viraj approached, he swore he saw a tear for a moment before disappearing with an errant brush of fingers. So, Viraj turned his attention to Ryan’s focus, a photograph—an old tin plate photograph. A group of residents crowded before the old mine, smiles bright with Viraj, Teige, and Gatlin at their backs.
Christine was absent from the photo, one person he would have wanted to see more than the others. They’d not had the technology readily available until almost forty years later, and only because the silver mined there was absolutely necessary in the process of making tin-type photography. Constance and Thomas had been there, older, and hadn’t lived much longer after that. They’d lived long enough to see their love become stigmatized and illegal beyond the level of Thomas being transgender. But still, they’d raised near a dozen children, and some of their descendants still lived in Silverton. Even Thomas’s blood son. His grandson still lived in Silverton, a wolf shifter, as he’d married into shifter blood.
Tabitha and Henry smiled back in the photo, slower aging than their human counterparts, the old snakes, but old age had claimed them a dozen years ago or so. It seemed like everyone had gone. Edaline had passed some fifty or sixty years back, but one person out of that whole mess still lived. Viraj cleared his throat. “How’s Anna doing?”
Ryan smiled wickedly. “Oh, she and Casper are thriving. He inherited all of Fee’s seriousness.”
“And his penchant for troublesome partners.” Viraj laughed.
“Oh, that was all Anna, from the day he hatched. Casper was six months behind all the others learning to walk in his human form because she carried him everywhere like a stuffed toy.” Ryan matched Viraj’s laugh. “I wish they all could have found dragons to mate. That way they could live longer.”
It was so rarely done that even Casper hadn’t known his magic would keep her heart with his.
“Bastien was such a surprise.” Viraj laughed.
“Anna didn’t even know she was expecting until almost two months before he was born. Gaspard had to all but shout in her face to make her believe. And Casper… He’s so protective.”
“I hear good things about his Drakes.” Viraj sighed. “Can’t say the same for all Lochs.”
Ryan’s expression darkened. “The Dette council rejoiced when we castthatvote.”
Viraj nodded. “Teige and Gatlin cast their votes, too.”
