Emily shook her head. “What rubbish. He obviously doesn’t know anything about genetics. When it comes to a human reproducing with a dragon, dragon-shifter genes—in all forms—are dominant and human ones are recessive. Shared traits, such as hair or eye color, function the same as if it were two dragons or two humans.”
“Aye, that’s true, but the old leader didn’t see it that way. He had his own doctors backing up his claim.”
“Then they weren’t real doctors. And I hope they aren’t still practicing medicine. If they are, tell me their names. I have contacts who will ensure they stop.”
Looking at Emily’s flushed cheeks and bright eyes, at her indignation for medicine being used as propaganda, something in him shifted a wee bit.
His dragon said softly,She’s in the dragon-shifters’ corner and always will be.
Ignoring his beast, he replied, “The so-called doctors left Lochguard long ago, and Dr. Innes ensured the other clans knew about them, back when he still lived there.”
“Good. I still would’ve liked a chance to try and convince the old leader of the truth, as hopeless as it might’ve been.”
He smiled and quickly added pasta to his boiling water as he said, “Aye, and you would’ve made a good case, too, Emily. But I doubt even you could’ve changed the old clan leader’s mind, no matter how many lectures you gave.”
She sighed, making him glance back. He watched her long fingers play with the stem of her wineglass as she replied, “Whilst I know you’re right—those who rule through fear are afraid of truth and facts—I still would’ve liked to try.”
“You’re mighty fierce for a human female.”
She sat up a little taller. “I may not be super strong or intimidating, but I learned early on to fight for myself and my accomplishments.”
He frowned. “Why?”
She shook her head. “You won’t distract me that easily, Cam. You still haven’t told me how part of Lochguard endedup convincing a majority that those with human mates should leave?”
He could deflect, ask about her family and history, and leave the topic behind.
And yet, his mum would share it without a thought. And for some reason, he wanted to be the one to tell Emily, so he replied, “My dad had to fill me in when I was older, because as a lad, I didn’t understand it. How could our friends turn on us so completely? But according to him, the old clan leader didn’t like the humans challenging his beliefs about dragon superiority. And unlike previous leaders, he issued harsh punishments to anyone who contradicted him. Some tried to stand up to him, like the MacKenzie or MacAllister families, but the old leader said he’d take their children and kick them out of the clan if they continued to disagree with him. And unfortunately, there was nowhere for them to flee with their families. The old leader would’ve found them anywhere in the UK, taken their pure-blooded children back to Lochguard, and maybe even would’ve killed the parents, too.”
“And so, to protect their children, they had to back down and stay quiet.”
He nodded. “I heard later that once the old leader was gone, Lorna MacKenzie and her friends tried to reach out to us here, but we were still hurting and ignored them.”
“Which I understand. You didn’t want to risk being welcomed back only to be banished again.”
“Aye, that was probably part of it. But by then, we’d formed closer ties to the humans in the nearby villages and towns, and they’d learned to mostly accept us. Lochguard, on the other hand, is miles away. If we’d focused on strengthening relations with them, we might’ve destroyed our ties to the humans here.”
“Except now, it seems the two clans are trying to reconnect more.”
Cam grunted. “It wasn’t as necessary when the Dragon Knights were still around since they focused mostly on the bigger clans, and we’re fairly isolated way up here. But the dragon hunters have a wider network, more resources, and Lochguard simply has more people and connections, meaning we’re easier pickings for the hunters. So, to survive, we’re doing what we have to.”
His pasta timer went off, so he turned around to check his dinner. Emily remained quiet, and he mentally sighed in relief. Maybe they could stop talking about the past and focus instead on the rules of their pretend dating situation.
Emily watchedCam as he cooked, and she sipped some more wine. Much like the dragon hunters, Clan Seahaven had been mostly an abstract to her. Oh, she knew they existed, and they had a history. But to hear some of what Cam had experienced as a teen, when his clan leader had basically said his bloodline was tainted because of his human mother, made her heart ache for him.
While her teenage years had mostly been spent studying in libraries—she’d entered university two years before most and she’d been determined to excel despite her age—she’d had her fair share of not quite fitting in and being teased for her weight and lack of fashion. But that was nothing compared to the equivalent of a local politician berating her mother for existing and diluting the gene pool, like what had happened with Cam.
What she wouldn’t give to find those ignorant arseholes and school them on basic genetics. Or reveal how adding humans to the dragon-shifter gene pool often strengthened it, providing new resistances that pure-blood dragons didn’t have.
She was so lost in thought about how to take down the former leader a few pegs that she jumped when Cam placed a bolognese-filled bowl in front of her.
“Penny for them?” he asked.
“Okay, I never expected you to ever use that phrase.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know, it’s not very Protector-like.”
