Page 61 of Draven

TOBIAS

"Let me know if you need anything else," I told Doyle after handing him a spare blanket.

"I will, and thank you for opening your home to me," Doyle said.

I blushed. "My trailer isn't much. I'm sure you wished you were recuperating in a nicer house or something."

"Tobias, your home is wonderful. I can tell you put plenty of love into it," Doyle said. "Don't be ashamed of it."

I could feel my flush deepen. Doyle was right, of course.

I had nothing to be embarrassed about. My father raised Tom and me in this trailer, and I had good memories here.

Thanks to this place, I didn't need to pay rent and could put that money instead into my bank account.

I wished Doyle a good night before joining Draven in the bedroom. He was still talking to Zane on the phone.

"There's no need for that. Doyle says he's comfortable here, and he'll head right back there once he's recovered. I'll drive him myself," Draven was saying.

"Belladonna—" Draven began, then caught sight of me and offered a smile.

That smile never failed to make my heart race, even now. Some days, I still couldn’t believe this gorgeous and possessive dragon was mine.

"No. We won't discuss this on the phone. You'll have to tell me face-to-face," Zane said.

I felt awkward, even though I didn't mean to eavesdrop. Shifters had excellent hearing, and I wondered if I should excuse myself.

But it seemed Zane ended the call first. Draven stared at his cellphone for a few moments.

I joined him in bed, sitting close and leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"Zane wants to see for himself how Doyle's doing," Draven said with a sigh. "Can't blame him. Doyle's family, after all."

I tried processing his words, then swallowed.

"Wait... does that mean he's coming here?" I asked.

Bruce and his pard already felt uneasy about Draven being here.

I had no intention of telling him Doyle was here... and now Zane was coming too? It seemed like a recipe for disaster.

"Hey," Draven said, reaching for my hand. "He won't linger here long. Zane will most likely just take Doyle with him and leave. No one has to know they were here in the first place."

Draven was right. Bruce didn’t need to know about Zane or Doyle being here.

Like Draven said, the two dragons would soon leave Red Vine and return home. No fuss.

Except... lately, in my experience, things had a tendency to go wrong.

It was as if the universe had a twisted sense of humor, delighting in throwing unexpected curveballs just when everything seemed to be going smoothly.

And with the recent string of events, I couldn't shake the feeling that trouble was lurking just around the corner, waiting to pounce when least expected.

"I love how you can guess what I was thinking... and I hate that your pack mates need to keep their presence a secret in Red Vine,” I said.

"It's fine, just a temporary inconvenience. Back in Sky Stead, it's different. The townsfolk there are used to the presence of my kind, so they don't treat us differently," Draven said.