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“Draco, this is Micah. Micah, Draco, the dragon king.”
Micah wasn’t sure whether to bow or hold out his hand. Sensing his issue, Draco held out his hand to shake it.
“Welcome to the shifter world,” Draco said.
“Thank you. It’s fantastic.”
“Let’s get down to business. Dillon tells me that you had an altercation with some hunters on the mountain. Tell me about it.”
Micah related the story for what seemed like the hundredth time. Draco listened intently as he explained every action.
“It sounds like you were justified in your actions. You three were defending yourselves.”
“We were.”
Micah wondered what was going through his head. He figured it was the same thoughts that Dillon had expressed – that the three of them knew about the situation and shouldn’t have gone to the mountain to shift.
However, Draco just asked, “How long are you guys going to be in Ivy Springs?”
“Not too much longer,” Micah replied. “Dean and I have to get back home. Dean is going to be made the alpha of his bear clan next week. I will go through the ceremony in two weeks. I can’t say about Lucy. I can’t figure her out.”
Draco chuckled at that comment. He did seem pleased, though, that they would be leaving soon. Micah figured that Draco believed that they had caused enough trouble during their stay.
The dragon king asked about Montana, and then someone approached saying that his next appointment had arrived.
“Thank you for coming to talk to me,” Draco said, offering his hand once more. “Safe travels back.”
“Thank you,” Micah said as he and Dillon were ushered out of the room.
Micah thought about the meeting on the way home. It had definitely been an interesting encounter and would be one that he could relate to his friends and family. Not everyone got the chance to meet the dragon king and very few people came out of the shifter world after visiting it. It was memorable and one for the books, so to speak.
By the time Dillon dropped him off at the inn, Micah could barely move. He sent a message to Lucy telling her that he was just going to bed for the night and fell into his bed, exhausted and sore. He was unequivocally ready to leave Ivy Springs behind.
25
Lucy
Every few minutes, Lucy checked her phone, worried about Micah. Clara had mentioned that Dillon planned on taking Micah to meet the dragon king to explain what happened on the mountain. Lucy worried that it was too much too soon, but she told herself that Micah was going to do what Micah wanted to do, regardless of what she had to say about the situation. She knew that he would be gone almost all day, but that didn’t stop her from looking for messages.
Finally, her phone blinged and vibrated. It was Micah. The message simply said that he was tired and was going straight to bed.
She hesitated in front of Micah’s door when she got off work, but she talked herself into going to her room and leaving Micah alone. After ordering pizza, Lucy found some reruns of NCIS to watch. She really liked the episodes with Ziva in them. The character had a great sense of humor and was exceedingly smart. She was also beautiful and a badass.
While the team searched to find the murderer, Lucy leaned back on the bed. She bit her bottom lip and pinched the skin at her throat. Staring off into space, she thought about Micah. More than anything, she wanted to go to the room next door and check on him. She wanted to see for herself that he was still breathing. Although the wound had healed for the most part, she wanted to check it to see if it had been torn open or if there were any signs of infection. The thought of losing him made her stomach roll and her soul scream out.
Rubbing her face with her hands, she felt the pain creeping up from the back of her neck, up the back of her head, until she felt like someone had put it in a vice. She felt a tightness in her chest, making it hard to draw a breath. The realization had hit her like a ton of bricks.
“I love him.”
Hearing the words out loud startled her, but she acknowledged the truth to them.
“I’m in love with him,” Lucy repeated.
She wasn’t sure how it happened or when it happened.
“Maybe I’ve loved him all this time and it just now hit me when I faced the real possibility of losing him.”
Lucy closed her eyes and thought about a life with Micah. The first image that came to mind was the smug looks on her grandfather’s and father’s faces when she went back to Montana with her tail tucked between her legs, agreeing to marry Micah. Her father would congratulate her on deciding to do the right thing for the family. The question for Lucy was whether she could swallow her pride for a lifetime of love with Micah.
