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Lykem laughs. “I’malwayshere. You aren’t. Get your ass here before Dawsyn gets naked and do me a favor by sending over the coordinates for the she-wolf.”
My best friend gags. “Do I want to know about Dawsyn getting naked?”
Cillian responds with a resounding “No” as Lykem’s laughter deepens.
“Alright, well, if you’re sure,” River continues, “I’ll get you the location, Lykem. And Dawsyn, I’ll be there within the hour.”
We end the call, and I turn to my mate’s best friend. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”
He winks. “I think I might have a slight idea. Make sure to save me a turkey leg if I’m not back in time for dinner.”
“Dinner’s not until tomorrow,” I say with a frown, then look at Cillian, who wraps an arm around my waist. Maybe this is a bad idea.
“He’ll be back tonight,” my mate assures me.
Before I can tell Lykem to be safe, he’s out of my office and heading out to be a savior. He’s never officially joined the protector team like River, but that dragon sure does love going on random missions. Though, most of them these days happen in Drago. All of which have included searching for more clans and making sure they’re all living peacefully.
Even all these years later, after having opened up their realm to Earth, we’re still finding dragon shifters who have no clue. Most are content to stay right where they are, but some have joined us, finding a home in the wolf packs instead of the communities as a steppingstone.
Excluding Cillian and Lykem, we have five dragons here in East Texas. One family of three and two singles. They’ve acclimated well, and that’s made my heart happy because I know what a hard choice it was for Cillian to leave his land behind and join me here so I could run my pack.
He pulls me snug against his chest and I look up at him, the flutter in my stomach still present even after all this time. “Should we get naked now that he’s gone?”
His lips flatten, clearly not finding me as funny as I do. “Only if we’re headed home.”
“Hmm, home sure sounds nice,” I say, “but I think Aunt Lucy will kill me if I don’t get my ass out there and spend time with her.”
His grimace intensifies, and his grey eyes darken. Lucinda isn’t his favorite person in my family, but then again, she isn’t most people’s. “I guess it’s a holiday. What did you call it again? Chris-something?”
I shake my head and grin. “Christmas. It’s more of a human thing, and we normally don’t make a big deal about it, which is why you’ve yet to experience this chaos, but I guess this year is different.”
“I think your mother is having regrets about handing over the reins to you,” he says sincerely, and I might have thought that, too, but I know her better than that.
“She’s big on memories,” I tell him. “She grew up human. These things are important to her, even if we haven’t embraced them all these years. Well, at least not since I was little and believed in Santa.”
His head tilts to the side. “Who the hell is Santa?”
“Long story.” My palm covers his chest. “I’ll tell you later. I’m going to go make sure Mom doesn’t completely lose her shit. Are you sticking around or headed home?”
He glances toward the door. “I don’t sense your dad, and if he’s run, then I’m out of here.”
“Probably the smarter choice.” He leans in and kisses me, but I cut it short. As much as I cherish our alone time, someone is bound to come looking for me soon.
“See you tonight?” I ask, pulling away.
He nods. “How long does all this last?”
“Tomorrow is Christmas, so it will be mostly over after that, but some might stay longer,” I say, so he’ll know our kids aren’t the only people he’s going to have to share me with.
Cillian never had a big family, but he’s spent the last decade adjusting to mine. Even if they’re not all blood, I love them all the same.
My crazy aunts, my overbearing uncles, all my cousins, and of course, my GiGi. She’s getting older, and I refuse to think of a world without her, but when she gets here, I won’t miss a single second with her. Every moment matters as the years pass.
Cillian follows me toward the living room but slips out the door before he’s noticed. Aunt Lucy and Mom are arguing over where to put the tree. Aunt Sam is standing there holding said tree with pure disdain on her face while Aunt Embry sits on the couch eating popcorn.
My family. I wouldn’t trade them for the world.
Most days.
