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Chapter 17
GAGE
“Where is your ex?”I asked, scratching my head. So many people crowded around us in the markets, stepping on my feet, talking non-stop.
Reed lifted his chin, staring past the mass. “Just farther down this aisle.” But just as he finished, a blonde with the brightest yellow cat eyes stepped in his way, glaring. Her lips twisted into a crooked line. In an instant, her palm struck out and slapped Reed across the face. Loud and sharp. I cringed on the inside. The woman stormed off, vanishing into the crowds.
“Oh, damn, is that your ex? She hates you.” I clapped Reed’s shoulder. “What the hell did you do to upset her?”
“That’s a different ex,” he grumbled and rubbed his red cheek. “Fuck. She wanted me to marry her after we dated for two weeks.”
I laughed, my stomach rolling with way too much enjoyment. “She’s one of those loonies,” I said. “You’re better off. It’s the clingy ones who sneak into your house at night to kill you. I had one who insisted on being with me every hour of the day, and it drove me crazy. This one time I went to work, and I discovered her hiding behind a curtain, convinced I was cheating on her.” I made a circular motion with my finger next to my temple. “A man needs alone time, you know? But damn, you didn’t mess around.”
Reed huffed and marched through the hordes of people, and I tracked after him. I shouldn’t make fun of him because before I’d met Elliana, I’d had a different woman every few months, searching for the right person to love me, to help me become complete. With each girl, I’d expected this instant electricity andbang—I’d turn into a full dragon. But after years of misfortune, not only had I given up, but I’d been resigned to the fact I would never be more than a mutant with wings.
Elliana had changed my world. I craved her beyond just finding a mate. She’d had me hyped up on adrenaline to get under her skirt at first, but it was more than that. I’d grown delirious with curiosity to discover who she was and adored our in-depth conversations about the history of Haven Realm. Why were there seven territories? Where had all the different races come from? My theory was that Haven Realm was once part of a larger landmass that had broken up into multiple continents and drifted apart.
What I’d discovered was that I’d focused on the wrong element—finding my true mate had been about the practical need to transform and belong. Not because I loved the women. Until Elliana. Now, whether I transformed or not was inconsequential. I’d accepted that fate long ago.
Reed halted near a baker, and I scanned the market stalls around us. “Is she here?”
“At the end of this row,” I said.
I glanced past several people to find a woman wearing an ankle-length black dress glued to her body, revealing every curve. Her chestnut hair was drawn into a messy ponytail. Dark makeup lay smudged under her eyes. She stood behind a table, shuffling a deck of cards.
“So she’s a fortuneteller,” I whispered toward Reed.
“A soothsayer.”
“All right. She can tell us if we’ll succeed. Excellent. Let’s do this.”
Reed didn’t move. “When you’re near her, keep your mind blank. Don’t think about anything.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” A moment didn’t pass where I wasn’t pondering the miracles of life… or more like remembering Elliana’s tight pussy gripping my cock. I adjusted myself. Fuck, shouldn’t have thought that.
“Look.” Reed lowered his voice. “She knows many witches and will gossip with anyone who listens, and we don’t want the reason we need Vanore spreading to the purple-eyed demon. So focus on birds or how you collect gold.”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “Don’t tell me you believe that shit?” I didn’t horde anything shiny in my tree house. And yes, I lived out of reach to avoid anyone finding my home—plus, I loved the height.
Reed’s gaze dropped to the buttons on my shirt, then to my shiny buckle with an accusatory glare. “Yeah, right.”
“Don’t judge, man. You’ve been dating every crazy in Tritonia.”
His mouth opened, but instead a female voice called out, “Reed!”
We both twisted toward the dark-haired beauty, who beckoned him over with a curled finger. Just seeing her piercing eyes on Reed had me wanting to back away. Seemed every female dreamed of mating with a lion leader, that or something in the Tritonian water. I bet if I showed my dragon wings, I’d have them swarming all over me too. But my heart belonged elsewhere.
Reed closed the distance to his ex, and I followed suit, passing a stall selling animal bones for spells. Yep, I’d need nothing from that shopkeeper, unless they had a small enough bone to pick my teeth with.
“Ally.” Reed turned on the charm, as if he genuinely were pleased to see the woman.
She smiled and rounded the table, drawing him into a hug. But without warning, her mouth pressed to his. She gripped his shoulders, pressing herself against him. Reed pushed against her arms.
I approached to help a friend from the leech woman when they broke apart, Reed recoiling.
“Now that’s what I call a reunion kiss. Better than a slap in the face,” I said.
Ally stood inches from me. Before I could respond, she snaked her iron arms around my neck and hauled me closer. Our mouths clashed, and a charge shot through my body, paralyzing me on the spot.
