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“I come with an invitation. It is soon to be Brayden’s birthday. We are hosting a party for him.”

“How kind.” Brayden was the brother of Sloan, who was mated to Tyr. They and their brother Riley were dragons from the human realm, who had crossed over to Lunastra, the land of dragons.

“I was sure you would want to come? Poe told me perhaps not, but I think I know better.”

Why would Poe think otherwise? “I have been very decent to Tyr’s mate and his family.”

Just because no one felt as if he were friendly or kind didn’t mean that he was ill-mannered. Just because he felt as if Brayden was handsome, what did that matter? He was never unkind or unfriendly to the big red-haired dragon. He simply stuck to what he knew — bwostfal.

Cade’s eyes twinkled. “I think perhaps because the last time he asked you to come to a birthday party, you said no unequivocally. Then again that was for someone you dislike, so maybe this was not the best thing for me to say.”

“Bah. You are an ass.” He slapped Cade on the shoulder. “Will you come in and have something to drink? It feels as though it has been an age since I saw you.”

“I would love that, my friend.” Cade walked with him inside his house, settled at his kitchen table as if he belonged there, which Harden supposed he did. They were friends from the time when they were fledglings and that had been very long ago indeed.

“What would you like to drink?”

“Do you have any of Tyr’s mead?”

Harden stared him down. “If you wanted Tyr’s mead, why didn’t you go to see Tyr?”

“Because I went to see him earlier today to invite him to the birthday party. If I showed up again, he would just tell me no.”

“Tyr’s never told anyone no in the history of his being. In fact, the only thing I can imagine is if you went and asked him for his mate or his child.”

Cade snorted from his seat at the table. “Possibly the bees.”

“Possibly.”

Harden found the bottle of mead. He poured them each a glass before sitting at the table with Cade and clinking their glasses together.

“How are the children?”

“Good, getting big.” Cade sipped the mead after they toasted one another. “You should come up and see them. I know you have a lot of work here on the homestead, but you never come see us. I fear you feel that you’re not welcome and that’s not the truth.”

He sighed, his lips turning down in a slight frown. He didn’t want to be a source of distress to his friends. “It’s not that. I know I’m welcome. It’s sometimes difficult though.”

“What can we do to make it easier?”

That made him laugh. “Hit me? Right in the nose.”

“Oddly enough while I often hear you say that in my head, I have never heard you say it out loud. Why would I want to do that?”

That had him laughing even harder. “Because I’m jealous, that’s why. You have a mate, and so does Tyr. I don’t. It’s hard to be the one who has no mate in a group of friends who do.”

Cade snorted. “Then you should find one. There are many available dragons here.”

“True.” But he didn’t want any available dragons from here. They all knew everything about him, and he knew everything about them.

It was terribly boring.

Life was slow enough without making it so that he had to pretend that he liked someone who held no mystery for him.

Like Brayden.

He surprised himself with that thought, and he glanced at Cade to make sure his friend had not heard the thought. That would be embarrassing.

Cade appeared unaware, so he shrugged. “None of them wish to be with me. They know how grumpy I am, my friend. So what may I bring to this party?”