1.

Peggy

“W here are you going ?” I smile at my husband, Cameron, reaching for him. He laughs as he places his hand in mine, then tugs me so I’m flush against him. The two of us are in our kitchen, which we recently decorated all in light blue: the color of Fablestone, the color of hope.

I want my mate to stay here all day with me. We can bake, we can eat, and we can make love. He looks like he’s going somewhere, though.

“I have to go talk with Wilson,” he says. There’s a longing in his voice. He wants to stay with me just as much as I want him to stay here.

“Don’t go.” I kiss him. “Stay here with me all day.”

“I wish I could.” I know he means it, too.

“Reality isn’t always fun, is it?” There’s a hint of a whine in my voice, but Cameron doesn’t mind. He brushes back a piece of my hair.

“I need to go check on some clan business,” he says. He kisses me before he takes a step back. Gently, he runs his hand over the scar on my wrist. It’s from the time I swore a dragon’s oath to his sister. It’s from the time I promised to bring Baby Daisy – who is now practically grown up – safely back to the clan.

“Clan business?” I ask. “What kind of business?”

“The kind that’s going to keep me away all day.” Cameron has the decency to sound regretful about this, at least. He’s not happy about going away. I’m not happy about it, either.

“I thought we were going to spend the day together,” I say. I cringe at the continued whine in my voice, but the two of us rarely get any time alone together. As the clan leader’s right-hand man, Cameron is always looking after everyone. He’s always busy. Wilson rules the Fablestone Clan with an iron hand, but Cameron is basically the protector of everyone. Anytime there’s a problem, Cameron is there to help. He always does whatever it takes.

“I want to,” he says gently.

“But duty calls.” I knew this would be a requirement of our relationship. I knew I’d have to share him with the clan. Sometimes I don’t want to.

“I don’t have to leave right this second,” Cameron says, kissing me, and just like that, I feel like I’m going to be able to have my cake, and eat it, too. Maybe we can be close to each other, intimate, before he leaves. I bite my lip, suddenly excited.

“No?” I reach for him, kissing my husband.

“Not just yet.” He kisses me back eagerly, pulling me even closer to him. Cameron is the best damn kisser I’ve ever met. Even if he wasn’t a dragon shifter, I think he’d be completely out of my league.

“You’re so perfect,” I whisper.

“Baby, you’re the perfect one.” His words shoot straight to my heart and remind me just how much I need him, just how much I crave him.

He lifts me up and carries me to the kitchen counter. He sets me down and situates himself between my legs. Then he kisses me as I wrap my legs around him. Yes, this is it. I’ve been waiting all day for this moment. We’ve both been busy, and we both really need this “together” time.

Only, just as Cameron starts unbuttoning his shirt, there’s a knock at the door.

“Ignore it,” I say.

“I can’t,” he groans. Cameron looks physically pained as he takes a step back from me. I glance down. Even with his pants on, I can see just how much he wants to be with me right now. He wants this just as much as I do. He needs me.

“Ignore the door,” I say again. “They can come back later.” We both know that isn’t going to happen. The dragon shifters of Fablestone are tenacious. When they want something, they want it, and they’re basically always ready to do whatever they need to get what they want.

“They’ll just keep knocking.”

He’s right, but I don’t want him to be. With a growl, I hop off the counter and speed past him to the door. I yank it open without bothering to check who it is. Lee is standing there looking surprised. He sniffs the air, and his eyes widen. Yeah, he knows he interrupted.

“I’m sorry,” he says.

“Can you please just come back later?” I ask. I’m desperate. Needy. I was so freaking close to getting some much-needed attention from Cameron.

“I really can’t,” he says. “We have a situation.”

“There’s always a situation,” I say, whining. I hate how pathetic my voice sounds right now, but I can’t help it. When I first came to Fablestone, I knew the world of dragon shifters was in danger, but I kind of hoped the danger would disappear eventually. It’s been a few years now, but things are still chaotic sometimes.

“It’s a big one,” Lee says.

Cameron appears again beside me.

“Lee? What is it? I was on my way to talk to Wilson. He said he has news.”

“Yeah, well, this is related,” he says.

“In what way?”

“In every way that matters.” Lee jerks his head toward me. “Might as well bring Peggy along with you,” he says. “She’s going to want to hear this.”

“What am I going to want to hear?” And what news did Wilson have? Cameron hasn’t told me anything other than the fact that he needs to go talk to the clan, and that he’s going to be gone all day.

“Clan Thunderstorm reached out,” Lee tells me.

“They said they have important news for us,” Cameron says.

“Important news about what?” My heart starts to race as I wonder whether the monsters that have haunted my nightmares for years are back. I don’t want them to be. They can’t be. Cameron’s eyes soften as he looks at me, though.

“It’s not Lucky,” he says. The evil corporation that hunted dragon shifters hasn’t bothered anyone for years. Everyone’s quite certain that it was destroyed. For the last few years, we’ve been able to relax. We’ve been safe, and we’ve been comfortable, and we’ve been okay.

Nobody has come to harm us.

“Then what is it?” I ask.

Lee cringes. He knows better than to lie to me. He knows I’ll freak out if he does.

“It’s a new threat,” he says. “Someone is hunting dragons, and they’re starting with Thunderstorm.”