CHAPTER THIRTEEN: CONNIE

THURSDAY MORNING was yet another bright and warm California day, the perfect day for Kit's parents to fly home. Connie had enjoyed visiting with them the past few days.

Since they were returning in Hudson's private jet, each of the dragons who volunteered to stay in Chris's territory had packed several suitcases.

Connie would keep an eye on their cabins while they were gone.

They'd taken Kit's parents to the airport and seen them off. Since it was only midmorning, Kit decided to work until at least noon.

Connie followed Hudson and Kit to Kit's office, sipping his drink. They'd stopped on the way to the bookstore for coffee and pastries. Almost an hour later, Beckett walked in.

"Good morning, everybody," Beckett said, a Styrofoam cup in his hand as well. He looked at Kit. "Your parents get off okay?"

"They did, yes. Thanks for asking." Kit waved Beckett to the little table in his office where they were sitting.

"I liked them. I can see bits of their personality in you," Beckett said, coming into the office. He sat down in one of the extra chairs.

"Why, thank you. I like them too."

Beckett snorted, then he glanced at Hudson and Connie. "Do you guys have a few minutes?"

Hudson raised an eyebrow. "Of course. What's going on?"

Beckett eyed the pastries on the table, then helped himself to one. He grabbed a napkin too. After taking a bite, he laid it on the napkin in front of him. "These are good. So, do you remember Connie asked me to see if I could find anything in my hoard about humans mated to dragons?"

"I do, yes. I take it you found something?" Hudson turned to Kit. "Beckett's dragon collects rare books and such."

"I know, he told me," Kit said. "I'm incredibly jealous."

"I came across some scrolls dating to the third century BCE. Most of them are written in Hebrew, so I had to get them translated. Which took involving a specialist since they were written on parchment."

Kit gaped. "Jesus. When you said rare, I certainly wasn't expecting something like that."

"There's no telling what his hoard's estimated value is," Connie said, licking the icing off his fingers.

Kit hummed in his throat as he watched Connie.

Connie cleaned his fingers really, really good, then winked at Kit.

Kit cleared his throat. Dragging his gaze from Connie, he turned back to Beckett. "Um, what?"

Connie snickered.

"The scrolls are old. Very, very old." Beckett rolled his eyes. "Try to pay attention."

Kit pointed a finger at Connie. "Tell him that!"

"I'm paying attention."

"You're distracting me, that's what you're doing." Kit reached down and adjusted himself. "Anyone want any more coffee? I feel the need for more coffee."

Hudson held up his cup while Connie shook his head no. So he was still smiling. So what? There was a hint of color in Kit's face, which was adorable.

Kit hopped up and got Hudson's cup.

Beckett was still sipping on his. "I just got the translation back. The scrolls were slightly damaged by the time they came into my possession, so the translation was incomplete."

"But apparently there's something there, enough of something that you felt like you needed to tell us." Hudson nodded his thanks to Kit when he returned with the coffee.

Kit walked past Connie on his way to sit back down, purposely bumping into him. Connie chuckled.

"Yes. I found a few other books on the subject, but this scroll was certainly the oldest." Beckett rested his elbows on the table. "As you know, a red dragon is immune to another red dragon's fire."

"That's not really something new," Connie said. He turned to Kit. "You might remember that there are four dragon courts: Fire Court, Storm Court, Winter Court, and Night Court."

Kit nodded. "Right. There's a distinguishing feature to each court. Like you guys have red hair and brown eyes because you are red dragons."

"That's true," Hudson said. "The Storm Court, for example, can have any color hair, but their eyes are this weird combination of blue, green, and purple. They control lightning, storms, wind, and rain. Where we breathe fire, they breathe lightning."

"Technically, I'm not a soul bond of Hudson's, but I still wouldn't be affected by Hudson's fire because we're both red dragons," Connie said.

"But I'm not a red dragon."

"Right," Beckett said.

"So, I would be affected."

"Well, that's where things get complicated," Beckett admitted. "According to the scroll I found, once you take their blood and you complete the bond between the three of you, you are immune. The problem is—"

"There's no way to test that short of a live demonstration," Kit finished for Beckett. "And yeah, no thank you. I have no desire to be charbroiled."

"Actually, it wouldn't even be that," Beckett admitted. "Dragon fire is about ten thousand degrees Fahrenheit. It immediately carbonizes humans into ash."

"Again, no thank you. That's definitely not on my list of things to do. And why the hell are either one of you asking about something like that?" Kit asked.

"Because there are always rumors." Hudson shrugged, tapping his fingers on the table. "And frankly, knowing you were immune to our fire would be useful information. Unfortunately, testing that possibility isn't a viable option."

"I'll say." Kit shuddered slightly.

Connie took Kit's hand. "You can't blame us for asking questions. We can't change you into a dragon. Our blood will extend your life span and make you stronger than what you are, but even a dragon can be killed."

"A dragonbone dagger is a perfect example of something that will kill a dragon," Beckett said.

Hudson growled softly. "Those are an atrocity."

"Not arguing with you," Beckett said. "I agree they are indeed."

Kit squeezed Connie's hand. "This is about Lennox, isn't it?"

"Right now, everything is about Lennox." Hudson reached over and played with the end of Kit's ponytail. "We're just trying to find ways to keep you safe."

"I know that, and I certainly appreciate it, but you need to keep one thing in mind. Connie said that even a dragon can be killed," Kit stated. "Everything dies. One way or the other. Well, I guess unless you're an immortal."

"Oh no, even they can be killed," Beckett said. "It's just harder and usually only able to be done in a very specific way."

Kit opened his mouth, then abruptly closed it. "I don't even know what to say to that. I simply can't wrap my head around it. Anyway, back to dragon fire. It's not feasible to test this particular legend. I like my skin on my bones."

"As do we," Hudson said.

"But while we're on the subject, could you look through those books again to see if Kit needs to drink from both of us at least once to establish a mating bond?" Hudson asked.

"I took some notes. I do remember seeing something about that, and I think it said that yes, Kit would need to drink from both of you to officially establish the bond with each of you," Beckett said.

"But once the bond is established, is there anything that says he must drink from both of us to prolong his life though? Could he get away with only drinking from one of us?" Connie asked.

"I don't remember, but I'll check my notes."

"But that doesn't seem fair. It's obvious this is something you guys like, and that'd be cheating one of you out of something you enjoy," Kit said.

"But—"

"No, I won't do that. Not to mention it could also cause problems." Kit blew out a breath. "I'm not doing that, Connie. There's no way I can pick which one of you to drink from. And I know you. You'd insist I drink from Hudson because he's a royal."

"I'd like to point out that his blood is certainly stronger than mine," Connie said.

"It's a moot point. I'm not going to choose between the two of you." Kit crossed his arms over his chest. "End of story."

"Both of us will feed him," Hudson said quietly. "Never sacrifice your wants for me. I'm serious, Connie."

Oh look, that was Hudson's kingly voice. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Yeah." Kit glared at Connie. "What he said."

Connie understood why Hudson was irritated with him, although he'd had good intentions. If Kit couldn't get past the repulsion he felt for blood, and if he could only stand to drink from one of them, then it would be better if it was Hudson.

His mate could debate that for as long as he wanted, but it didn't change the fact that Hudson was an Ancient, and as such, he was much more powerful than Connie.

And he would always be so. But Kit was also right because eventually it would bother Connie. That was just the nature of the dragon. The fact was, he couldn't wait to bond with Kit and Hudson.

Nobody had to know that he had literally dreamed of making the bond permanent. Making love was not what made the bond official. There were certain words that needed to be spoken outside of the blood exchange. Those words tied their souls together and completed the bond, but it wasn't just the words.

Anyone could be forced to say words. In order for souls to bond, the person speaking those words had to mean them. They literally had to come from the person's soul.

It was something the dragons of old never fully understood. Forcing a human to bond with them never worked because the human, more times than not, was forced into it.

Connie held up his hands. "Okay, okay. I hear you loud and clear."

"Good. I will get past this aversion I have to blood, and it'll be fine."

Connie leaned over so he could kiss Kit on the cheek. "I know. I was only thinking about your comfort."

Kit turned his head so Connie's lips collided with his. Warmth curled in his stomach. Connie loved kissing Kit—he gave as much as he took.

Kit ended the kiss, then rubbed his thumb over Connie's lips. "And I thank you for thinking about me, but I will never choose you over Hudson. The three of us are mates. The three of us."

"I won't bring it up again," Connie said.

"Good." Kit patted Connie's cheek.

THEY HAD lunch first, then Beckett returned up front to help with customers. As they left the bookstore, Connie inhaled discreetly, but he smelled nothing out of the ordinary. In other words, no werecats.

Connie unlocked the SUV and got into the driver's side. As soon as Kit and Hudson were settled, he locked the doors, started the vehicle, and pulled out of the parking lot.

Kit was asking dozens of questions about what Beckett had told them as they pulled onto the interstate.

"You know, I'd love to see the scrolls that he found that information in. They're a piece of history," Kit said. "They've got to be worth a fortune."

"Most definitely. Dragons are kind of funny, though, about letting people into their hoards," Connie said. "But maybe he'd let you. He knows how much you love books. But don't get your feelings hurt if he says—shit!"

All Connie could see in front of him was red brake lights. A lot of red brake lights that he was coming upon entirely too quickly. He practically stood on the brake, trying to stop.

Kit grabbed the door handle of the SUV as he was thrown forward. "Fuck. Fuck, Connie, they're—"

From the back seat, Hudson growled loudly. "Dammit!"

"I know. I know! Hold on!" Connie wished Hudson had been the one sitting in the front seat instead of Kit. Dragons could take a lot more damage than humans.

Oh Gaura, Kit was human. Completely human.

Seeing that he was still going to plow into the person in front of him, he jerked the wheel to the right and onto the shoulder. Fortunately, there was a grassy area right next to the interstate.

They bounced across the grass, throwing huge dirt clods into the air, before finally coming to a stop. His damn heart was pounding after Baja-ing across the grass.

At least they were off the interstate. Horrified, he watched vehicle after vehicle slam into the back of each other.

And some of those vehicles were eighteen-wheelers. People were going to die from this, or at the very least, have their lives completely changed. Once more, it brought home just how fragile humans were.

There was smoke curling into the air farther up the interstate. Was something on fire? Were there people trapped in those burning vehicles? He sincerely hoped not.

"Is everybody okay?" Connie asked, turning away from the carnage.

"I'm fine." Kit was still busy staring into the passenger-side mirror. "Jesus, they're still coming."

"Hudson?"

"I'm okay too. I'm calling 911," Hudson said from the back seat.

"Oh shit, oh shit, we're about to be hit—"

Connie glanced into the rearview mirror. Bearing down on them was a pickup truck. "Hold on!"

He barely got the words out of his mouth before the truck rear-ended them. There was a sickening crunch of metal as the impact drove their SUV forward a few feet. They must've also tried to get off the interstate but couldn't get stopped before they hit them.

Kit's airbag deployed, as did Connie's.

"Son of a—" Kit yelped.

"Fuck, are you okay?" Connie asked.

"Yeah, yeah."

Connie checked the rearview mirror. Hudson appeared to be fine, but he was frantically hunting for his phone now. He could hear him muttering under his breath about how he had dropped it.

"Are you okay?" Connie asked Hudson. He could see Hudson but also see the several wrecked cars behind them.

"I am. You?"

Connie rolled his shoulders. "I'm okay."

"Kit?" Hudson asked.

"Yeah. I—oh fuck!"

Connie watched as several more vehicles darted onto the shoulder, trying to get out of the way of the other drivers. As he watched, a pickup truck went airborne.

"Dragon gods," Connie whispered. What the hell had happened in front of them to cause such a chain reaction?

Connie dragged his gaze away from the catastrophe when he heard Kit groan. "Kit? Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. I just bounced my face off the airbag." Kit gently rubbed his nose.

Connie quickly assessed his mate. There was no blood, at least, but Kit's heart was rabbiting. Hudson's was a little elevated too, but that was probably more from his other mate being aggravated.

"Found it!" Hudson exclaimed, sitting up with his phone. "Connie, I'm going to call 911. You contact Torres and Nelson. Tell them what's happened and to get here, and to get as close as possible. I don't like this."

"What?" Kit asked, turning around. "What do you mean?"

Since Hudson was talking to 911, Connie answered. "If this was arranged, we're at a disadvantage."

"Wait. Arranged? What are you saying? Are you implying somebody deliberately caused this wreck? Just to involve us? Why?"

Connie was fiercely tapping on his phone. "Sure. Why not?"

"But what'd be the point? We're surrounded by humans. If you're suggesting Lennox did this, there are witnesses everywhere." Kit waved at the numerous wrecked vehicles around them.

"And it's complete chaos. People are hurt, there's smoke coming from several vehicles, and it's going to be a clusterfuck just trying to get ambulances and fire engines in here," Connie said. "Like I said, complete chaos."

"God."

"There's no telling how far up the interstate this went." Connie finished texting. "Or how far behind us. We're stuck here."

Connie glanced in the rearview mirror again. At least it looked as if people had figured out something was happening and slowed the hell down. As best as he could tell, it didn't appear as if more cars were wrecking. Then he glanced out the driver-side window.

What a mess, and now people were getting out and walking around. No way were they doing that. Unless this vehicle caught fire, no one was getting out of it.

"911 has been told. They've got a lot of calls coming in," Hudson said. "Did you contact Torres and Nelson?"

"I did. They're on their way."

"Do you think we should get out and help?" Kit asked. "I mean, there are people just wandering around out there. They're probably in shock."

"No," Hudson said. "Absolutelynot."