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Her temper inched up a bit, but she somehow kept her tone even, masking her irritation. "I filed all the paperwork and even have my documents here with me. Can't you at least let me in to wait whilst you check them and contact the DDA if need be? It's not like I can easily go to a hotel and wait for you to do it."
"Hold on."
She bit the inside of her cheek to keep her reply from coming.
Just fucking great. Her poor, orphaned nephew was staying with strangers—dragon strangers, nonetheless—and the only thing standing in the way of her collecting him and letting him know everything would be better from now on was some bloody bureaucratic mistake.
As she waited, Delaney paced back and forth in front of the gate. She should conserve her energy given the altitude and how cold it was in the mountains of Snowdonia. But moving helped her to focus and keep from saying something she shouldn't.
Maybe in the future, she should bring a jump rope or something with her, just in case she needed the distraction. It’d always helped her focus during her younger days, when she'd been a boxer.
The same voice finally spoke up a few minutes later. "You can come inside provided you stick with your escorts. They'll take you to a secure location to wait until we have a verdict."
The gates creaked open to reveal a female with brown hair and a male with dark hair standing right next to her, his arms crossed over his chest. Even though they wore coats which covered their arms and any sort of tattoos—adult dragon-shifters always had tattoos on one of their upper arms—their height all but told her they were dragons. And probably security forces, too, judging by their don't-take-any-shite looks.
The female spoke first. "Come with us quietly and save your questions for later. We need to verify your story before anything else."
Delaney had no choice but to follow the order. As she walked between the two tall individuals, she barely had time to notice the large open area beyond the gate before they entered a door on the side of the mountain.
She'd read about how the Welsh dragons lived in a series of cave-like rooms, but as they went inside the door, her mouth fell open.
Instead of stone, the walls were covered in decorative tapestries. Each side told a different story. One seemed to be about a dragon owning and then losing a golden necklace. The other side was vaguer, something to do with dragons in Wales, if the mountains were anything to judge by.
She'd nearly forgotten about how she had two escorts until they stopped in front of an old, solid wooden door. The female dragon-shifter spoke again. "You'll wait in here."
They opened the door and shoved her inside before she could make so much as a peep. As the door slammed shut, the sound echoed inside the small room.
While it had lights and a small window, everything about the room was functional—a simple table, a chair, and a pile of blankets on the floor with a pillow. There was also a small toilet and sink along the back wall.
In other words, her waiting room was a prison cell.
The DDA had warned her that the Welsh dragons were distrustful of humans, but throwing her in jail was bloody ridiculous. How could one woman be a threat to someone—or, rather, an entire clan of someones—who could shift into a fucking dragon?
However, fuming and cursing to an empty room wouldn't help her. No, she'd save her energy and then let the clan leader have it once they confirmed her story with the DDA. The English and Scottish dragon clans were always banging on about how humans and dragons needed to be more understanding of one another. Snowridge must not have received that message, and maybe they needed the reminder. Especially since they had only recently become allies with the other British dragon clans and probably didn't want to ruin that relationship if they co
uld help it.
Delaney sat on the pile of blankets, settled against the wall, and took out her final letter from her sister. She knew the words by heart, but hearing Rosaleen's voice inside her head one last time would give her the courage to be brave and face the dragon clan leader.
True, she'd never lacked courage before. But facing a human opponent in a boxing ring was a hell of a lot different than facing a man who could turn into a mythical creature and tear her apart with his teeth.
Opening the folded paper, she read her sister's desperate words one last time to give her that extra bit of courage she needed.
Chapter Two
Rhydian stared at the computer screen in front of him and debated what to do.
A human female had shown up on Snowridge, stating she was Rian's aunt. A little digging by one of his Protectors had shown that she'd done as she'd said and submitted paperwork to the DDA to claim Rian as her kin.
Rationally, he knew she was Rian's family and he should hand over the little boy.
And yet, the thought of sending Rian away after telling him he could stay made him hesitate.
His dragon spoke up. The easiest thing would be to dismiss her and send her back down the mountain. She did miss the deadline after all.
By one day. And given how difficult it is to find Snowridge, I can understand how.
Don't tell me you're going to give Rian to her. He's our son in all but name. He should stay.
