Chapter 15

Fifteen

"Why exactly dowe have to meet with this guy again?" Tan asked while we were driving to that giant tower in the center of the city. "That thing is so ugly. Such an eyesore."

I hummed in agreement. I had no idea why a dragon, of all things, would put that monstrosity in the middle of the city. I would've thought that dragons would be attracted to pretty things, like gems and jewelry, not giant towers that looked ridiculous. So very strange. But maybe that wasn't fair of me to assume, and I was letting biases and fictional stories curb my judgment.

When we finally parked in the attached parking garage, we entered the building through its main entrance with Orangelica wrapped around Tan's neck. Taking in the entrance, I was honestly amazed. Based on how it looked from the outside, I'd assumed the inside would be just as tacky and have awful decor, but I was wrong. Very, very wrong.

The impression that came to mind was that I had walked into a very big hug.

Everything was welcoming and pretty and homey all at once.

And it wasn't only the decor, or even the kind and welcoming people in the lobby. It was the atmosphere, the magic that seemed to live in the air here. It was as if I'd walked into the world's most comfortable blanket, and even though I could tell the feeling was a result of someone's magic, I knew it wasn't harmful magic. In fact, this was helpful, in the grand scheme of things. It made the people here feel safe, and that was surely something a leader would want.

But… why go to all this trouble? Why put this ugly ass building in the middle of the city in the first place? Why make it horrible on the outside but turn the inside into a place anyone and everyone would want to be?

This dragon king was going to be a strange one, that was for sure.

Tan went to the receptionist, and she sent us to a specific elevator and told us what floor to go to—the top one. Which… wasn't a surprise, really.

Maybe the height was the sole reason for the building. Maybe he liked shifting and taking off from way up in the clouds.

The elevator climbed up the tower, and Tan said, "This all feels really weird."

I eyed him and gave Orangelica a few pets. "It does, but it feels… good. At least to me. Are you feeling something different?"

His brow furrowed. "No. Nothing dangerous, just… I dunno." He shrugged. "I feel a little jittery, and I don't know if it's because of nerves or whatever magic I feel here."

I nodded in sympathy. "I get that, but maybe we should reserve judgment until we meet the man."

He blew out a breath in frustration but nodded and walked out of the elevator when it stopped. We were met with another receptionist sitting at a desk, only this one didn't look at all friendly and kind like the one downstairs.

"Name?" she asked before I could even get out a hello.

"Remington Ellwood and Tanyl Helegolor at your service," Tan said with a small bow of his head in her direction.

She lifted her hand in a wait-a-minute gesture, then pulled the phone up to her ear and said, "I have a Mr. Ellwood and a Mr. Helegolor here to see you, sir."

Hearing my name said like that, like it was one of my fathers' names, always made me feel a bit off-kilter. I wasn't an old man like they were, but I suppose I wasn't a youngling anymore either. Still, it was strange to be referred to as Mr. Ellwood. I was never that proper with people, not even with clients.

And hearing Tan's name made me want to giggle because calling him Mr. anything was absolutely ridiculous. Tan was great at work, but outside of it, he was like a big kid.

As if hearing that thought, Tan shot me a look, and I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing. My friend leaned in and whisper-yelled, "Don't get me started, asshat."

I snorted and bit down on my cheek again to prevent any other snickers from escaping.

Tan elbowed me hard in the belly, and even though it hurt, I was grateful for it since it stopped any sound from escaping me.

"Yes, sir." The receptionist hung up and said, "He's ready to see you, Mr. Ellwood."

I blinked at that. "What about Mr.—"

"Just you for now. We have a few questions in regards to your zoning license. He'd like Mr. Helegolor to take a look with me for a few minutes."

My eyes narrowed because that was a very unusual request. And honestly, really rude. Though, I figured it was a ruse to get me alone.

But before I could ask or say anything wrong, Tan said, "I'll take a look. Mr. Ellwood can get started without me."

"You sure?"

He waved me off and moved closer to her desk, and the receptionist sent me a long look before saying, "The door is open."

I gave her a nod and left Tan to it, heading inside the office. Even though I had nothing but good and welcoming feelings coming at me from the magic, I was glad Orangelica was with Tan so he wasn't alone.

I entered the office and shut the door behind myself. The office felt of the same pleasant magical buzzing as the rest of the building, only more potent. So I supposed that magic was coming from the dragon king himself.

His office was large with two walls of windows. Dark chestnut wood furniture dominated the office—desk, chairs, bookcases, a couch with more matching chairs in one corner, a coffee table, end tables—and everything was accented in gold. There was an abundance of gold that made me hold in an eye-roll.

Of course a dragon shifter would be surrounded by gold. Of course he would.

The man himself was facing away from me, staring out a window. From the back, I could tell that he was a bigger guy, like me—shifter genes tended to do that to a person. Very muscular, broad shoulders, and about six-three, if I wasn't mistaken. His hair was cropped close on the sides with a tiny bit of length on top and was nearly as gold as all the pieces in his office. It was shining in the sun streaming through the windows.

"Hello, sir," I said. "I'm Remington Ellwood. It's a pleasure to meet you."

He turned around, and I searched his face. His gold eyes shone brightly against his tan skin, the vertical pupil looking strange on a human face, and the deep frown on his face made his features seem harsh. If I hadn't already known he was a dragon, I had a feeling I'd be able to guess just from looking at him.

From the way his magic felt in this entire building, I hadn't been expecting such an angry-looking man to turn around.

"Hello, Remington Ellwood. I'm Garrick Von Stein. You may call me Garrick."

Okay, well, that surprised me. I'd expected him to demand I bow before him and call him King. Maybe he was just one of those people that had a grumpy face. "Hello, Garrick. You can call me Remi."

He gave a nod then gestured at his desk. "Have a seat. We have much to discuss."

Did we? I'd thought this was an informal meeting where I could introduce myself—since my family was important in Brinnswick—and tell him my plans for my company since I was bringing jobs to his city.

I followed him to his desk and sat down, waiting for him to start.

"I heard that you've started the hiring process. How's that going for you?"

I wasn't surprised he had someone spying on me. I'd expected that. Someone from an influential family from another country comes to start a business? It made sense to have me looked into. I answered, "We launched the listings on my website and in the local paper yesterday. We haven't conducted any interviews yet."

He hummed. "I understand you're planning on hiring around twenty employees?"

"To start with, yes, but I plan to expand that to twice as much in a month's time. After we get our footing here, I'll hire more people that can travel to the surrounding towns and cities within your territory. I'm hoping to continue growing and offering our services to anyone who needs them."

His unnerving gaze forced me to put my wolf on a leash. The way he was staring at me made me want to growl and shift. I never had this much trouble keeping control. But my wolf didn't like the challenge I saw in the man's eyes, and I had a feeling the dragon knew exactly what he was doing.

After a moment, he said, "I've looked into you and your business. As soon as you put in your request last year, I sent some agents to Brinnswick to see how you conduct yourself and to test out your security. I wasn't about to let some fraud from another country come here and screw over my citizens."

I'd figured he would've looked into me, but I hadn't realized he'd done all of that. There was nothing to say to that, so I remained quiet.

He stared for another few seconds. "You and your products passed every test my people could throw at you." His head tilted to the side. "You don't seem surprised by this."

"I got into this business so I could help protect people. I don't sell things that don't work. I work hard to come up with new and improved ways of keeping people safe every day. No, sir, I'm not surprised I passed your tests. I'd be appalled if I hadn't."

His lips twitched as if he was thinking about smiling, but in the end, he couldn't quite manage it. "It's not surprising, given who your family is." I didn't respond to that either, and the dragon let out a long sigh. "I have something I need you to do for me."

"Sir?"

He leaned on his elbows and steepled his fingers in front of his face, those golden eyes staring uncomfortably. "Over the last five years, I've hired every security firm in my entire territory, and not a single one of them has passed even half the tests my people put yours through. In the last year, I've had several precious artifacts go missing from various buildings I own throughout this very city, and I'd like it to stop before something dangerous winds up in the wrong hands."

He pulled out a folder and slid it across the desk to me. I took it and flipped it open. The first page was a list of buildings, most of which I thought belonged to the public—like the library, community buildings, and several museums—but apparently, Garrick owned them.

"This is a list of my properties, listed in order with the ones most in need of security to the least. I'd like to hire you to take over the security of the top five as soon as possible, and if all goes well, we can make our way down the list in a few months' time."

My eyebrows rose. That was a lot of buildings, and some of them were really big jobs that would take way more people than I'd planned to hire.

"I'll need to hire more people and have more equipment shipped from?—"

"Do it. I need these top five buildings guarded as soon as possible."

"I won't be able to get you a quote until?—"

"Spare no expense. You'll be compensated handsomely. You have an open-ended budget from me. Trust me, Remi, I'm an old dragon. I'm good for it."

I stared at him for a long time, my mind moving a million miles a minute. I did do commercial work, but I hadn't been planning anything even close to this scale.

"Whatever your fees, I can?—"

I cut him off this time. "Assuming our lawyers can agree on a contract, we'll be happy to do it." I closed the folder. "We'll start with the top five buildings and go from there."

"Thank you. If I can assist you in any way in getting started, please let me know." Before I could respond, there was a light knock on the door, and Garrick sighed and said, "Come in."

I glanced over my shoulder to see Tan walk inside. He closed the door behind himself and shot me a small smile before his gaze swept over to the king.

Tan froze, and my body tensed on high alert as I turned to see what had caused that reaction. But all I could see was Garrick sitting there, staring back at Tan. But he was frozen too and staring straight at my friend.

What in the world?

The dragon shifter king suddenly stood, walked around his desk, and headed straight for Tan.

I scrambled to my feet and tried to put myself between them, but Von Stein pushed me out of the way as if I was nothing more than a gnat. I stumbled but kept my footing. Apparently, dragon strength rivaled wolf shifter strength. By a fucking lot.

A low growl came out of me. A warning to back the fuck up and get away from my friend. And I reached into my pocket to pull out one of the many weapons I had in my arsenal, thanks to my dads and siblings.

Maybe this guy had bulk and strength on his side, but I had an array of weapons no one on this continent had ever seen before. My brother Delaro was very… creative with his magical items, and he made sure I was fully stocked for any scenario.

This dragon asshole wouldn't know what hit him.

Before I could throw something at him, the dragon stopped less than a foot away from my friend, and I narrowed my eyes when I realized that Tan hadn't even tried to move away. In fact, he was still frozen to the spot, staring at that dragon asshole.

And more surprising, Orangelica hadn't made a move toward the dragon or even to protect Tan at all. She was still lying across Tan's shoulders, staring at Garrick with intensity. Why wasn't she helping me protect her Bonded?

The dragon's eyes were glowing brightly, making me tense further since I didn't know what that meant. Was he close to shifting?

A puff of smoke poured out of Garrick's nose and mouth when he said, "So pretty, little one."

Tan narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you calling little?"

I breathed a sigh of relief that Tan no longer seemed frozen.

Another puff of smoke escaped the dragon as he leaned down—because Tan really was short, especially standing next to the dragon king—and he said something in a language I didn't understand.

To my surprise, the smoke circled around Tan's head, framing his face and brushing across his skin like a caress. And then, to my horror, it quickly shot straight up his nostrils. Tan sucked in a deep breath, then started coughing, and I decided I'd had enough of this bullshit.

I stepped closer, grabbed Tan's arm, pushed him behind me, and growled out, "Get your hands off my witch."

A deeper, angrier growl came out of Garrick Von Stein, and his voice was so much growl it was difficult to understand him. "He's not your anything."

I puffed out my chest. "That's where you're wrong, Von Stein. He's my friend, my family, and I'll be damned if I let you hurt him any more than you already have."

Something in my statement seemed to grab his attention because he shook his head like he was coming out of a trance, and the glow in his eyes dissipated, his gaze clearing. "I…" He cleared his throat. "I would never hurt him."

"What the fuck do you call shooting your freaking smoke up his nose then?"

"I… I didn't hurt him. I swear I didn't hurt him."

I glared at him and opened my mouth to reply, but Tan's hand gently grabbed my arm, and my best friend said, "It's okay, Rem. I'm fine."

I wanted to look behind myself to check him out with my own eyes, but I was afraid to take my eyes off the apex predator in the room for even a second. So instead, I said, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. I'm good." To my dismay, Tan stepped out from behind me, saying, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that to me again, though, Mr. Von Stein." His words were perfectly polite and reasonable, but the steel and ice in his voice was not. He was pissed.

Good. Garrick the asshole dragon deserved every ounce of fury from my small witch friend.

Judging by the wince and sudden sheepish expression on the dragon's face, I was pretty sure he understood what Tan wasn't saying.

Garrick cleared his throat and did a little bow, saying, "My deepest apologies, little pretty. I meant no harm."

Tan squinted at him before sighing. "Whatever. But stop calling me little."

"I notice you don't mind the pretty part," I muttered under my breath, trying to break the tension in the room and getting an elbow to the gut for the effort.

I rubbed my side and said, "I think we're done here, Mr. Von Stein. We'll see ourselves out."

"No!" He winced at how loud he shouted and lowered his voice. "No. Please don't go yet. I need to talk to the little pretty first."

"Seriously? Are you deaf, man?" Tan asked, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the dragon.

Von Stein completely ignored him and added, "Alone."

"I beg your pardon?" I asked.

"I need to speak to him alone."

I snorted out a humorless laugh. "I don't think so, buddy. Come on, Tan. Let's get out of here." I put my hands on his shoulders to steer him away and froze when a loud growl filled the room.

My eyes widened when I took in Garrick. His eyes were glowing again, and golden scales were starting to pop up over his neck and face. His fingers had grown claws.

What the actual fuck.

"Don't touch him," he growled out at me. "Release the pretty. Now." His voice was so deep now, I could feel it vibrating the floor and rumbling my bones.

Before I could react, Tan threw a shield over the top of us and said, "Don't you dare threaten my best friend, you giant bully."

To my horror, Tan reached through his shield and… and swatted Von Stein right on the nose. Like, a little tiny nose tap. The move made the dragon jerk back in surprise and turn his attention from me to Tan with a look of hurt on his face.

Orangelica finally moved, but only to stand up and meow loudly at the big dragon, as if putting her two cents in.

My best friend said, "That's enough out of you, asshat. We're leaving, and just so you know, I'm the one who gets to decide who touches me. Not you. So I suggest you knock it right the fuck off and leave us alone."

Then he turned on his heel, grabbed my arm, and pulled me toward the door. He easily maneuvered his shield around us and through the door without breaking a beat, so we were still shielded when we stepped into the elevator.

I kept my mouth closed until we were out of the building and far enough away that shifter ears couldn't hear us. Tan must've been of the same mind because he waited that long before he said, "That was fucked up."

"I don't even understand what the hell just happened," I admitted. "But agreed. It was fucked up." After a moment, I added, "Did you seriously just swat the fucking king's nose?"

Tan's eyes were wide when he turned to me. "Yeah, I think I did."

We stared at each other for a beat before we both laughed loudly. I patted his back, still chuckling at my crazy friend. I didn't even know why I was surprised.

As we calmed, Tan sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I can't believe I did that, but that guy is a douche."

"Yep."

"I hate him."

I turned and lifted a brow because whatever voice he'd just used to say that didn't sound anything like hate. "Is that right?"

Tan glanced at me for a moment before rolling his eyes. "Shut up."

"Holy shit, you actually like him? After all of that?"

"What? No. I definitely didn't say that. He's an asshole."

"But…?"

"But he's a hot asshole, so there's that."

I snorted out a laugh, shaking my head. "Shameless."

"That's me, Mr. Shameless."

With a small laugh, I threw an arm over his shoulders and pulled him into a side-hug as we walked. "For real, though, are you alright?"

He sighed. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"The smoke didn't hurt you?"

He shrugged. "It felt weird when it happened, and my magic reacted to it, but I'm fine now."

"Reacted how?"

"Don't know how to explain it. It sort of felt like the smoke… woke something up inside of me, but I can't feel it now, so it was probably just a reaction to foreign magic, you know?"

I wasn't so sure about that, but the only thing I could do at this point was keep an eye on him and make sure he wasn't acting strangely or anything. And maybe ask my dads if they knew anything about dragon magic. Guess I'd be calling them again for advice. Not that they were any help whatsoever with the coin.

Although, Bel and I hadn't seen the coin in days, so it wasn't like my dads had even gotten a look at it, let alone a feel for its magic.

After a few seconds, I said, "Stay the night at my place tonight?"

He sighed, and for a moment, I thought he was going to argue with me, but then he said, "Yeah, okay. I'd feel better having someone else there too."

I grimaced because that meant he was worried about the dragon smoke as well. For fuck's sake, what the hell? Stupid, rude, grumpy, jerkish, dickhead of a dragon shifter.

Since I had a… roommate, for lack of a better word, now, I figured I'd text him a warning.

Me: Something weird happened today, so I want to keep an eye on Tan. I asked him to stay the night at our place tonight. You okay with that?

Tan and I were still walking to our car when my phone vibrated with an incoming text.

Belryn: It's your apartment, Remi.

I blinked at that, then scowled.

Me: Our apartment.

When he didn't respond to that, I sighed and rubbed my forehead. I really had my work cut out for me with him.

"You doing okay there, Rem?" Tan asked as we walked through the parking garage.

"Yeah. Bel's just…" I trailed off with a shrug.

He pursed his lips. "If he doesn't want me to stay, I'm sure I can stay with Isa or Savelle tonight."

"No, it's not that. He's just… I want him to move in permanently, and he's fighting me at every turn because he's afraid of getting used to it and then having me kick him out."

Tan took a moment to think about that before replying. "I mean, he's not wrong. You're planning on leaving in a few months."

"Yeah, but I'd never kick him out of his home."

He sent me a soft smile. "I know you wouldn't, but he's still getting to know you. Give it time."

I nodded, finally saw my car, and headed in that direction. "We should have a sleepover, like the old days."

Tan grinned widely. "That would be fun. Check with your man first, and I'll text Is and Sav if he's cool with it." He slid into the passenger's seat.

I stood with my arms resting on the hood while I texted Bel.

Me: Do you mind if we have a full-blown sleepover instead? With Isa and Savelle too?

He texted back right away.

Belryn: Sure. I'll find somewhere else to go for the night.

I blinked at that, not understanding what he meant at first, and when I finally did, I cursed under my breath and called him without hesitation.

"Hello?" He sounded hesitant.

"I meant a sleepover with you, Bel. For fuck's sake, I'm not kicking you out, may'ezza."

He paused for a beat, then two. "They're your friends. I don't need to be here, Remi. You know I wasn't planning on stayin' forever anyway. I'm fine with?—"

"I want you there." I said it as fiercely as I possibly could. "Bel, you're the one I want there most. Please stay another night." I repeated that nearly every night now. It made me sad to think that he might disappear one day before I had the chance to convince him to stay one more night and for all the nights after.

He made a sort of choking humming sound that I interpreted as shock. It took him a few seconds to speak again. "Are you sure?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "You're killing me, may'ezza. If you're not comfortable with them there, I'll tell them to have the sleepover at one of their places, and you and I can hang out together tonight."

"You can't do that, Remi. I?—"

"I'm not kicking you out. Not tonight, not ever. You stay, whether they come over or not."

He let out a long drawn-out sigh. "Alright. Fine. You can have your sleepover."

I grinned and decided to push my luck. "Only if you'll hang out with us too?"

"Ugh." He groaned. "Fine. You're a pain in my ass, Remington Ellwood. Hey, what's your middle name?"

I couldn't help but laugh at that. "It's Deron."

"Remington Deron Ellwood. I like it."

"Thanks." My mouth twitched with a smile. No matter how ridiculous Bel was with, well, everything, he still always managed to put a smile on my face. "What's yours?"

He let out a bark of laughter. "Ha. Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yes, I would."

He chuckled. "I'll see you when you get home, Remi."

He hung up before I could force him to tell me, and I let out a sigh. Seriously, my work was really cut out for me with that one.