Zoey returned to the apartment confused. Happy, at least as far as she could be given the circumstances, but confused all the same.

  The fact that I was sitting at the kitchen counter talking with Arjun was exactly what she expected to see when she returned. Zenya and Arjun’s legal assistant working with a few documents, a spiral notebook, and a laptop at the kitchen table perfectly aligned with her expectations, too.

  Sam and Beth sitting on the couch talking to a kobold she hadn’t ever met before, though, didn’t help her confusion one bit.

  I stood up, excusing myself from the no longer pressing conversation with Arjun, and walked over to her as she did a double-take at the newcomers to our home.

  “How’d it go?” I asked.

  “Confusingly,” Zoey responded honestly. “Who’s that?” she asked, pointing at the couches.

  “Asmara. Arjun’s daughter.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “And why’s she here?”

  “Okay, the short version is that Arjun wanted me to marry her.” Both eyebrows raised in response to that. “As his daughter, she’s stuck between both worlds where she lives currently. Can’t integrate with the magical world without giving up her father and can’t participate in the mundane world because she’s a kobold. An exile in no man’s land in the middle. The solution, in their mind—”

  “Was to marry you, giving her access to both the magical world she’s been locked out of, because Aisling has let you operate freely, without giving up her father, because as a dragon you have an undeniable right to meet with him," Zoey concluded astutely.

  “— Yeah. Exactly.”

  “And you accepted?”

  “Er, no.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t know her, even a little?”

  “Did you know Beth? Did you know Sam was a witch whose mother was an important piece of the regional government? Did you know I was a werewolf? Did you know my brother was a werewolf?”

  “No. But that’s not really an argument in favor of pursuing a position of ignorance again, and I’m rather surprised you seem to be in favor. I actually expected you to be upset with what I did agree to, given that I did it without you.”

  “What did you agree to?”

  “Letting her live here. Getting the benefits without the requirement of marriage.”

  Zoey glanced between me and the three women on the couch. “Hmm,” was all she responded with.

  “But, how did your visit go? Or do you not know anything yet? Or do you not want to talk about it?”

  “No, I got answers immediately. Magic’s kind of cool that way, James. At least, usually it is.”

  “Not sharing, then? That’s totally fine, Zoey,” I tried to say calmly.

  “The doctor said I looked great. Healthy. No concerns. Scans were good. Blood was good. Tissue sample was good. Egg count looked fine. But I’m not pregnant. Which doesn’t make sense. Because with how much you’ve been filling me, if I’m good, I should be. Especially since I haven’t been having my monthly. She didn’t have any clue why that was happening. Stress, she suggested. Bitch, I’ve had stress irregularities. I still get something, even if it’s weird and sometimes delayed and weak. And I’m some of the least stressed I’ve ever been in my life. I’ve made it. I have a husband who I love. I have a family here that I can tolerate. My job has asked nothing of me for the past month. The fuck do I have to be stressed about?”

  I opened my mouth, but she continued, “No, James. No. I mean, you’re right; there are some little everyday quibbles I get bothered by every now and then. It’s not like before. I’m not chasing records in the gym — even if somehow I’m hitting them, anyway — and I’m not working 90 hours a week and eating whatever garbage I can make work in my downtime. In absolute terms, no, I’m nowhere near the stress I’m used to and I don’t understand what’s going on and the magic says I’m perfectly healthy and in peak condition but my body isn’t acting like I am. It’s not like these things are ever perfectly consistent, but, fucking hell, J, why can’t I just get a straight answer? I thought I was never going to have a mate, but then you showed up. I think you’ve spent our entire childhood lying to me, but it turns out that, actually, your insane story about waking up and being told you were a dragon is the complete truth. And even after I’ve tried to persecute you for being a normal dragon despite you not actually being one, you’re still willing to let me into your life. Even after you learn that I was reporting on you when I had to. So, I think I’ve finally gotten a chance for a family of my own before my body stops cooperating. I’m heartbroken because I feel like I’ve just missed something I could’ve had, and I feel like I made an oath to you that I broke without meaning to. But, okay, I come to terms with that reality and talk to you about my fears and go to the doctor to get it confirmed, and she says, ‘Nope, you look all good. Shouldn’t be a problem if his swimmers are fine. Can only speculate why you’ve had interruptions in your cycle because your body looks good, otherwise.’ When do I get to get off the ride, J? When do I get to feel the ground underneath me again?”

  I wrapped my arms around her. Everyone else had stopped what they were doing to watch our interaction. Zoey didn’t care. She was, for the moment, allowing her emotions to leak. It wasn’t frequently that she allowed herself to feel like she was now. For the most part, she kept it bottled up and locked down. This morning, she was definitely emotional, but it was mostly pulling in one direction. She had expectations and was preparing herself — and me — for them to be confirmed. And then they weren’t, and, once again, she felt like the world was moving underneath her, and she didn’t have anything to hold onto as it did.

  And then she caught me off guard because, in our hug in the center of my kitchen, as I was attempting to console her and give her something to feel grounded against, she leaned forward into me and nibbled on my earlobe. When she then leaned back and looked at me, I could see a fire in her eyes that didn’t add up to me. It didn’t seem to align with her previously fragile mood. When the dragon looked deeper, though, I understood enough. She was frustrated by everything. The hug wasn’t enough. She needed to be grounded and have an outlet for today, both because of the spontaneous nature of being called into the doctor’s for a check and because of the information she received there.

  She kissed me and made no qualms about displaying what she wanted to everyone else in the room. She practically growled when she demanded, “Bed.”

  I nodded. I didn’t fully grasp why, but I understood it was something she needed right now.

  I turned to Arjun and said, “I’m terribly sorry. Something’s come up that needs my attention, and I’m afraid I’ll have to be leaving now. I don’t mean to rush you out. If the contracts still need more time to finalize, Zenya has my authority for this matter.”

  Zenya felt surprised, I assumed because I said that so decisively, and something was on Sam’s mind, but I was only half listening to the feelings emanating from the people in the room. Zoey needed me.

  Arjun laughed. “No, I do believe we’ve overstayed our welcome today. I’ll be heading north over the next few days, perhaps to New York, perhaps to some of the mountain trails in the Catskills. We’ll talk after the holidays. Pencil in a final meeting for early January?” I nodded my agreement. “Asmara, have you exchanged contact details with one of James’ mates?” When she nodded as well, he continued, “Good. Then we’ll wrap up here and get out of your hair.”

  I nodded, glanced at Sam and Beth (who nudged her head in the direction of the hallway and mentally whispered, “Why are you making her wait, James?”), and then started heading toward my bedroom.

  Given that Zoey had at least a minute head start on me, and knowing what she wanted from me, I was almost surprised she was still fully dressed when I got there. The heat from the kiss she plastered against me as I slipped into the room and shut the door made it clear she hadn’t changed her mind.

  Between kisses, she half whispered, half growled, “Doctor said I’m good and ready, so you’re going to fuck a baby into me today, James. Lots of werewolf eggs just waiting for you inside me. I want you to fill me up so much that I’ll have a whole litter of pups for you, James. Flood me. Don’t leave anything to chance.”

  I tossed her on the bed, and she bounced on it, flipping over onto her hands and knees, wiggling her tight ass at me. The spandex shorts probably could’ve fit on Beth, and I could see her sex clearly outlined with how she angled herself at me.

  When I stepped forward and put my hands on the waistband, she wiggled against my grip and said, “Just fucking rip them open.”

  When I hesitated, confused by why she wanted that, she reiterated, “Just fucking rip them and get your fat cock inside me, James.”

  So, I did. I sprouted a claw, carefully ripped an opening for myself over her crotch, and nudged her legs apart. Putting my head at her glistening opening and pushing in, more aggressively than I wanted and probably less than she did, was an easy and obvious follow-up step. Gripping the tail that sprouted in my face to pull her hips back against me was instinctive.

  “Fuck, yes!” she exclaimed as her skin slapped against mine. “Fucking love when you split me open, James. God, you fill me so goddamn well. Needed — oh, fuck — needed you in me. Couldn’t wait another minute where the doctor was the last one there. Needs to be you. Fucking — oh! — don’t fucking hold back. Cum in me, James. Give me your babies. Your pups! Please! Fill me up!”

  It might’ve only been ninety seconds since I tore through her shorts, but it was all the dragon needed to hear. He encouraged me as I brought a hand to Zoey’s neck, my fingers digging into her skin as I tugged her up off her hands. She clenched around me as I pushed myself as deep as I could inside her. The dragon wanted me to bite her, but I wanted her coherent, or at least as coherent as she could be, when I asked, “You want me to flood your needy, waiting womb with my seed, Zoey?”

  “Fuck, yes, do it already,” she moaned around my hand, her legs twitching and trembling as they held her up against me.

  I did, exploding and pumping her full of me. She squealed, grinding her hips back against me, pushing against my hand to get the leverage she needed. I panted. She panted. I let go of her neck. She slumped forward and landed on her face, breathing hard simply into the pillows, her limbs unable to support her.

  After thirty seconds, she cleared her throat and seemed to come back to life, lifting her head up and leaning up onto her elbows.

  “Fuck, that was good.”

  “Fast,” I mumbled.

  She slid off me and turned around.

  “Yeah. Love it when you just give it to me like that. Not all the time, but when I need it? Feeling like I can just shake my tail at you and get it? So fulfilling. And regular filling.”

  She took me into her mouth. There was no mistaking what she was doing. She was trying to get as much of our combined liquid inside her as she could, yes, but she was mostly trying to tease me back to full mast.

  Despite only being thirty seconds after stuffing her full of baby batter, it was working. I never really softened. Her tongue was magic.

  “We’re not done, handsome,” she said authoritatively.

  “Seems like that’s my call, isn’t it?” I asked playfully, fully intending on using the return to form she was working her tongue to get.

  “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. This little wolf girl would desperately love it if her great, powerful dragon owner would take her again and keep her stuffed full of his spunk for the rest of the day. Rest of the year. Rest of her life.”

  “I think I could be talked into that,” I whispered back.

  Zoey kept me inside her for hours. She had me behind her, holding her face down against the pillows as I took my pleasure from her body. She curled up underneath me, her legs wrapped up around my back as the mating press she needed devolved into missionary as I flattened her into the mattress. She rode me until I filled her for a fourth time, her legs pressing into my hips as she clenched in our shared release.

  She blew me in the shower as I tried to wash her hair and then pressed her glistening body against me with my shaft slipping between her thighs as we washed the rest of our bodies, keeping me just teased enough to stay hard the entire time so I could give her the little bit I had left as we stepped out. She wanted some inside her for the rest of the day, even though she wanted to feel clean from the sweat we had shared.

  When we collapsed back on the bed, naked, tired, and satisfied, she curled against me. She left her tail and ears out, and she practically purred as her head nestled against my shoulder. Sam came in a few minutes later, turning the lights on low as she did.

  “Are you two finally done?” she asked.

  “For now,” Zoey responded. “Depends on whether or not I’ve got a bun in the oven.”

  “Is that something we’ll be able to tell?” I asked. “I thought you took a test. That takes like a month, doesn’t it? Before it’s accurate, anyway.”

  “You’d be able to tell with Sam within twenty-four hours,” Zoey asserted. “Because of how much mana she has in her body now, you’d be able to see it change as a second living thing started developing inside her. With me, I don’t know. Maybe you’ve supercharged me enough that you’ll be able to sense it early. Maybe we’ll have to wait for the tests. With Beth, good luck. No telling what her barrier prevents. You could probably see it if you can sense the mana in her.”

  “Well, good,” Sam said. “Because I feel like I was the one getting bred. My god, Zoey, how many times did you get him going? I’m sore and no one touched me. You two were so into each other that you didn’t even see it when I came in to grab a change of underwear for Beth and me. Zenya’s been sitting in the second tub because she couldn’t focus on the documents anymore.”

  “Fuck,” I groaned. “I didn’t think about that. Arjun and Asmara and his advisor left first, right?”

  Sam nodded but took a chance to tease me. “Well, they were out of the apartment, at least, quick shot.” When I looked at her in concern, she shook her head. “No, you had at least a few minutes to spare. Beth and I were cleaning up from lunch, and Zenya was typing up a formal print of what she and Arjun’s lawyer agreed to have you look over before Arjun returns from his vacation. And then the three of us were whimpering, and you were groaning in here.”

  “How do I handle Zenya?” I asked.

  “Err, James, this isn’t new for her,” Sam responded.

  “I know. But every time I ignore it, it feels like I’m digging deeper.”

  “Okay. Go ask her how she feels about it. I don’t think she wants an apology, so don’t give her one. I know you want to do that because you feel like you haven’t given her a choice, but James, it’s not like you have a choice, either. It’s not like my mom wants one. If you had another day like today where you go five times in two hours and she was trying to get something done here, yeah, maybe apologize. But when you play with one of us at night or first thing in the morning? It’s a nice way to get in the right mood before the day starts or to wind down before bed. No one’s complaining. She’s, uh, I don’t know if I should say this.”

  Both Zoey and I raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Sam blushed. She stalled for another ten seconds before answering in a rush.

  “She made me really uncomfortable one day by offhandedly saying that sometimes she warms herself up before she goes to bed and then waits for you to be intimate with one of us and finish her.” As soon as Sam finished that sentence, she immediately continued, “Right, anyway, Zoey, did you want lunch? Or, dinner at this point, I suppose.”

  “What do you have? That soup smelled like rabbit food when I got here.”

  “Chicken-fried steak, for you. And a regular one if you’d prefer that. Can have them ready in a couple of minutes for you, if you want.”

  “Both? In here? I don’t want to get up.”

  “That’s perfect. Beth and I want to talk to you, and James, actually.”

  “About?” Zoey asked, her ears perking up.

  “In due time,” Sam said as she left the room.

  Twenty minutes later, she and Beth returned, carrying a pitcher of water and four glasses alongside a plate, knife, fork, and Zoey’s dinner between them. Sam sat at the desk chair while Beth joined me on the bed as Zoey immediately began digging into her dinner.

  “So,” Sam started, “Zoey, first, Beth and I are terribly sorry. It seems that there’s something that we’ve both not shared with each other, or with James, or with you, that would’ve prevented a lot of heartbreak over the past few weeks.”

  Zoey kept her eyes fixated intently on Sam despite eating ravenously, listening with just as much energy as she ate with.

  “We weren’t aware that you had concerns about your body. James didn’t tell us that was what today was about, presumably because he felt your conversation was private, but you kind of told everyone in the kitchen earlier.”

  “Appointment wasn’t for that,” Zoey said with her mouth full. “Security department needed to drugs test me. ‘Cus dragon magic looks like PEDs.”

  Sam furrowed her brow for a second before continuing. “But you made—”

  “Yeah, I thought I couldn’t have his babies and the doc was nice enough to check that out for me, too. She said I’m good to go, but James fills me like I’m his personal creme horn shell at least four times a week.”

  “Could the problem be on James’ end?” Beth asked.

  Zoey shook her head as Sam explained, “He’s a dragon. Natural healing would make it all work. Maybe if he had no mana source and was lost and destitute, it wouldn’t work, but dragons would be considered sex spirits if they weren’t such naturally powerful evokers. I suppose it could be him, but, honestly, the bond we all share with him and his entire existence having an obvious explanation we’ve overlooked is more likely than something being wrong with his cum.”

  “Oof,” Beth grunted.

  “Exactly. But, okay, Zoey? You’re not having your cycle anymore and are worried it’s because you’re too old, right?”

  “Yes,” Zoey grunted around a bite of the unbreaded steak. “That’s the gist of it.”

  “Neither Beth nor I have had one in the last two months either.”

  “Wait, really?” I asked incredulously. “How didn’t I realize that?”

  “You were too busy enjoying the fact that, for some reason, we didn’t experience it?” Sam offered with a shrug.

  “Wait,” Zoey demanded. “You’re telling me that neither of you have had your periods since you got involved with James?”

  “Yes,” Beth said as Sam nodded.

  “And neither of you are pregnant?”

  “Nope,” the two women in question responded.

  “Should we maybe have asked Arjun if that was normal?” Zoey groaned.

  “I texted Asmara,” Beth said. “She asked him. He, much like James, didn’t know if it was normal or not. He told her that, while he certainly didn’t remember a partner of his ever suffering from their monthly, that wasn’t exactly proof against it happening. Most of his, how did she put it, liaisons over the last two hundred years have been, effectively, hook-ups. Not people he lived with or had long-term relationships with. Meet up, fancy dinner, shag in a luxurious hotel, and she leaves back to the mundane world thinking nothing more than she had a nice night with her silver fox sugar daddy. He has no idea what kind of effects it has on them because they’re not around for more than that.”

  Zoey looked at me. “Do you have contact information for the other dragons?”

  “I don’t, but Zenya would.”

  “Cool. Cool. Cool. Um, James? The ground’s moving again.”

  “God, I’m sorry, Zo,” Sam said.

  “It’s not…” Zoey trailed off and rephrased what she was going to say. “It’s not entirely your fault. It’s not even mostly your fault. I didn’t say anything either. I only told James this morning.”

  “And tomorrow, we’ll call Adriana and Eleanor and see if they know anything,” Sam declared.

  “I’m not sure if they’ll answer,” I added glumly. “Not that they’d refuse, but Eleanor and Clement said they were traveling into Canada, and I can’t imagine Adriana or Juliana hanging around very long, given our interaction. It might be a few days before we get a straight answer, assuming either of them have one.”

  “Assuming?” Zoey asked.

  “Well, does a female dragon partner get the same reaction from a male dragon that you three seem to have? Do they get it themselves innately? Could it be a bond thing instead of a dragon thing, or is Arjun actually just that oblivious?”

  “We’re going to talk to them and ask,” Sam said conclusively. “But, if that was the primary source of concern, Zoey, I thought you should know.”

  Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

  “It was,” Zoey replied solemnly. “But, if it’s not because I’m too old, why am I not already pregnant? I kept my appointment with my regular physician in January to try and get answers. I understand it isn’t likely for me to have a baby dragon, but it’s not like there were ever any issues with other dragons having any children. The stories all paint them as having dozens of kids in the process of producing a true heir. I mean, Asmara exists, right?”

  “Which would help if we knew who her mother was and could talk to her. From the conversation, I think she’s a mundane human. Not sure what the full story is there and don’t think there are answers to be had.”

  “Speaking of Asmara,” Sam pivoted. “I think you should reconsider your stance on her.”

  “Err, what?” I asked. “I could almost understand that from Beth. She seems to like watching as much as she likes being involved. Zoey seems entirely indifferent for reasons that I don’t understand, too. But, from you, Sam? What?”

  Sam nodded like I had acted precisely as she had predicted me to. “Let me explain. For starters, I’m not suggesting that you actually change your opinion yet. I’m only encouraging you to move forward with an open mind when we eventually let her into our household and into our lives.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because, frankly, she came here expecting to be invited in. She was willing to offer you that to get what she wants. And yet, in declining, you’ve given her what she wants and taken the burden of hosting her for no benefit.”

  “Sam, I couldn’t just—”

  “I know. I’m not saying you should’ve accepted immediately. I’m just saying to keep your mind open about her. Because she was willing to tie herself to you for life to get what she wanted. She was willing to pay. And all you heard was that she was in an unfortunate situation. Which is fair; that’s what she said. But she wants you as a partner as much as she wants the world you’ll provide for her. You don’t know her. She doesn’t know you. It’s too soon to make that commitment. But she could be your partner eventually if you don’t cross her off the list because of how you met her.”

  “Why, though, Sam? Why are you interested in this?”

  Sam tucked a strand of her red hair behind her ear, thinking for a second before continuing. “Selfishly, because I know what your powers do and what she wants to be. She wants to be a wife, James. Everything she said today screamed, ‘I want to be a housewife.’ I don’t know if you picked up on this, but Beth didn’t actually like the act of cooking. She liked doing something that made her feel like she had value, something that could repay you for ending up here, and she liked bonding with my mom. I don’t know if you know this, but I don’t like cooking, either. Playing with new magic is cool, but it’s gotten old. I do it because the food is so much goddamn better, and now that I’ve experienced it, I’m not going back. Now that I know that, somehow, it doesn’t cost us what it costs everyone else. You take one afternoon of cuddling with me and we have mana-infused deliciousness covered for a month.”

  “And, with the bond, she’d be able to do that, too, and you think she would actually enjoy the act as well as the outcome,” I surmised. I exhaled, harshly, and some of the crumbs from Zoey’s breaded steak blew from her plate onto the bed. In an act of annoyance, I turned my exhale into a conjured breeze, blowing them further down the sheets.

  I was surprised when the wind I conjured swirled at the end of the bed, collecting all of the stray crumbs together in a ball before gently carrying them back to the otherwise empty plate.

  “There’s no need to make a mess,” Sam stated disappointedly.

  “That was you?” I asked.

  “Seemed like a good time to try.”

  “What happened?” Beth asked.

  “James wanted to litter in the bedroom. I cleaned up before he could,” Sam answered.

  “She ‘cleaned up’ by taking control of the air I conjured. While I was still controlling it,” I explained to Beth and Zoey.

  “Well, you heard Arjun earlier. He said you made me a dragon. It’s more than that, James. With the bond, with the connection, it’s like you made me you. So, yeah. You cast a spell. You could’ve changed your intent with it while you still held it. I did it for you since I didn’t want to clean it up later.”

  “Sorry,” I replied softly. “That was impulsive of me.”

  “You’re forgiven,” Sam said. “Since you did clean up before it got everywhere,” she added with a smug smile.

  I snorted. “Okay, but, you really want me to think about taking her as a mate just because if I did she could cook for us?”

  Sam shook her head. “No. First, I don’t want you to think about taking her as a mate. I want you to not eliminate that thought from the realm of possibilities. Don’t remove it out of hand simply because you ‘wouldn’t want to put pressure on her’ or whatever noble nonsense you feel the need to believe. When she gets here, interact with her. Think about how she acts.”

  “You know that’s a one-way track to her being here forever, right?” Zoey asked. “I mean, not that I’m complaining because it somehow got me here, but James isn’t exactly good at saying no to women.”

  “I’m not that bad,” I protested.

  “No, instead of getting married to the girl, you just decided that she could come and live with you and learn about the magical world alongside you. Totally keeping your distance there,” Zoey chided me, though it was clearly lighthearted.

  “I know that it’s a possibility as long as James keeps his mind open,” Sam responded. “I wanted to see what your thoughts were. I know you didn’t get to interact with her, or even speak with her, but you will in the future. She was cautious and reserved with us. She was crushed when James declined marriage. She wanted that but didn’t do a good job of explaining why, at least to James in a way that James could accept.”

  “What do you mean? How do you know?”

  “She wasn’t attempting at all to regulate her emotions. Despite what you talked about, she didn’t think about its practical effect on the conversation; she was so unused to being around the magically inclined that she didn’t think about trying to withhold herself. She was sending you all kinds of signals when you first walked in, explained that she wanted to marry you in an exchange in the way any other dragon would have found comfortable and understandable (and you would have, too, had it not been a romantic exchange), was crestfallen when you denied her, and then was cautiously hopeful when you found a workaround that still had her here,” Sam explained.

  “And then she talked with us for two hours about what you were like, what you enjoyed, what you wanted from a partner. She tried to be subtle about it, but she hasn’t had to lie to put food on her table,” Beth added. “And then Zoey showed up and needed you. Do you know who was giving you the biggest bedroom eyes in the room?”

  “Zoey?” I answered.

  “He’s got you there,” Sam chuckled.

  “Okay, yeah, obviously Zoey. But Asmara saw your mate show up and then you kicked a dragon out of your house to make sure Zoey got what she needed. She was only considering asking for you to take her because of how you reacted to Juliana asking me to get her a plate of food. And then you do that.”

  “Just keep your mind open, James,” Sam concluded.

  “Okay, hold up, time out. Why do you all want this, or are at least okay with the idea? What have you all come to understand that I seem to have missed?”

  “Have you not yet internalized the repercussions of what you described on Friday?” Zoey asked.

  “Clearly not.”

  “And today with Arjun, the new information just added to it,” Sam supplemented.

  “Okay, don’t keep me in the dark, will you?”

  “James, you’re a dragon. On Friday, what did they tell you?”

  “So, so much,” I sighed.

  Sam nodded. “Fair. Right, they told you that acquiring things made you more powerful. So, let’s talk about that. Are you going to start an art collection? A rare animal collection here? Maybe take after Clement and start acquiring businesses?”

  “No,” I replied firmly.

  “Right. Money? Are you going to go out and amass vast wealth to hoard like the dragons of mundane storybooks, just so you can sit on a giant pile of coins and treasure?”

  I scoffed. “No, of course not.”

  “James, do you even want money?” Beth asked.

  I thought about her question for a moment before shrugging. “It costs money to be alive, so, yes?” I replied waveringly. “But, I want enough to afford a place to live. I want enough to pay for groceries and transport and clothing. I want enough to do that for all of us. And I want to be able to pay for a night out when we decide we want one. I want to be able to buy something impulsively every now and then. I want to be able to take a trip to the Grand Canyon with Sam and I want to be able to pay for Beth to go to school if she wants to and I want to be able to raise the child Zoey wants without worrying about where I’m going to afford their clothes for the next year or if they can squeeze into their old shoes for an extra month or three.

  “But, I’ve got that. I’ve got more than that and, unless something changes drastically soon, when I start trying to get us a place that we own ourselves, the passive income is only going to increase. So, no, from the position I’m in right now, I don’t want money. I don’t want to deal with it more than I do, and I’m grateful Zenya does most of that for me.”

  “So, if you want to get more powerful—” Beth started, but I cut her off immediately.

  “No. I don’t want to. I don’t need more to do what I want, and I have no use case for more. Is this your argument for marrying a woman I’ve interacted with for all of twenty minutes, once, as she was shepherded by her father and came to me to exchange her future for an introduction to a world that is still going to hate her for things outside of her control? You want me to marry her, to start a relationship with her, simply because it will make me stronger? Why? Why on earth would I want that? The power I already have is nothing more than a constant source of pain and frustration, and it has led to nothing but lies or, at best, half-truths from everyone in power around me as they try to corral me toward a future where I’m nothing more than their lapdog. No, Beth, I would give up all the power in an instant if I could do that and still end up in a world where you came to me, and Sam was allowed to talk to me, and Zoey was no longer alone.”

  I turned to Sam. “And you’re on board with this? You let them talk you into the idea of tying a woman with hopes, dreams, a life of her own to lead, or at least to explore, simply because it would make me more powerful? What the fuck, Sam? How could you ever think I would be on board with that? Why the fuck would you agree to open this conversation?”

  I only realized how pissed I was at what felt like a betrayal from inside my circle when my throat was sore when I was done growling at my mates. Beth looked shell-shocked, having evidently convinced herself that this discussion was a worthwhile one. Having not been as much of a participant in its setup, Zoey remained relatively neutral, though she was clearly on edge with how strongly I had been affected by the path we had taken.

  Sam, however, had a soft, patient smile on her face. It annoyed me. It grated on me. A little bit of calm, of understanding, of relaxation came off her. Not much, just enough that it felt like she was asking permission to use her natural talents. She wanted to finish the discussion now, but she needed me to have more of my head and less of my wounded heart so that I would hear her words and think instead of being clouded with my emotions.

  It was just enough. I was pissed. But I nodded, and she sent more, and then she responded to what I had said.

  “No, James. I was suggesting, if you’ll remember, that you simply keep an open mind and remember that, by including her in your life, you’ll benefit as well. Coming to be her friend, and perhaps love her, will be something that makes you more powerful. And, for transparency’s sake, because I think that adding her will make us more powerful, as well. My conjuring and Zoey’s physical gifts will likely improve, as well as Beth’s shielding. Because, for better or worse, you seem to have made us into dragons. You seem to have shared part of yourself with us and fundamentally changed what we are. Being placed in the draconic house was more correct than we could’ve imagined. Making you more powerful, I would bet, makes all of us more powerful. I’m not advocating for you to go and add partners without discretion to grow more powerful. Frankly, I don’t think that would work, James.”

  “Why?” I interrupted. “Hasn’t it? So far, hasn’t it?”

  “I believe it has. As a hypothetical, James, let me ask: why does a business not hire everyone possible? You wanted to be an engineer. Why doesn’t an engineering firm hire everyone in the city? Why not recruit every architect and materials specialist and foreman and electrical engineer and what have you?”

  “Because there won’t be enough work to need that many employees?”

  “We’re in a hypothetical land where there’s enough demand to support it because there’s enough demand for you as a partner, even with us already here. You’re running the engineering firm, James, and you have a million applicants. Why not take all of them?”

  “Because there aren’t that many positions?” I answered with some uncertainty.

  “Right. Why not, though? There’s always more work that could be done.”

  I started to understand where she was going. “Because not everyone who applies will be good at the job they’re applying for. Not everyone will fit in that role. And not everyone will be a good fit with everyone else already at the company. Add the wrong people in one direction, and you get constant arguments and bickering and internal politics instead of progress, while adding too many in the other gets you yes men approving every decision you make with no understanding of whether it’s good or not. You need enough skilled, experienced workers to help you at the top make decisions, enough young, hungry workers to learn from the experienced ones, and, cynically, who’ll make less money to keep your overhead down. Hiring everyone means you end up with too many seniors, who cost too much for you to be profitable, or too many juniors, which means they don’t develop and grow, or too many of both, which means you don’t create an internal atmosphere and end up with people clocking in and clocking out.”

  “Exactly. So, back to your problem, why can’t you simply go and add more partners without discretion, James?”

  I nodded. “Because it’s not the physical part that’s important for the dragon. The bond itself works, and it is really interesting how, from merely the physical part, but the dragon needs the emotional part. It needs the relationship to be built, the intimacy and closeness.”

  “Exactly. So, Asmara? I don’t know. Maybe she’s a good fit here. She seems like she could be. Let her intern as a wife for a little. See if she’s a good culture fit with us, if she adds something missing to our household. If, six months after she’s moved in, we’ve decided she isn’t a good fit, we let her go to experience her own life. If, six months after she’s moved in, she decides she doesn’t want to be tied to a dragon now that she’s actually able to live the life she deserves to, we let her go. But keep your eyes, ears, and mind open in the meantime.”

  Between her sensible words and the soothing waves of her emotional resonance, I had calmed. I still wasn’t happy about the insinuation that I should weigh relationships because of the potential growth in power it would cause. I knew, intellectually, that it was how all relationships worked, but that felt pretty cynical, even for me.

  Sam continued, “So, no, I’m not going to encourage you to pursue Asmara, merely to consider her. However, I am going to encourage you to pursue Evgenia.”

  “No,” I replied immediately. “You only brought this up three days ago, Sam. I’m not mentally ready to consider it. I’ve had a busy week, and I need time to consume it.”

  “James, she already lives with us. She handles all of your financial dealings, she handles almost all of your interaction with the outside world, she lives here, she eats with us, she’s friends with us in the way that she can be. You’re as close to a boyfriend as she’s ever had. You heard her when we had movie night: the only time she’s ever been in bed with a man of her choosing was with you. Not to be crude, but you’re already giving her all of the sexual attention she needs on top of the socialization she wants, so even if you’re deluding yourself into declining any further advances with her so that she can go and try with someone else, she isn’t ever going to.”

  “It sounded like I was doing that with your mom, too,” I rebutted.

  “Yeah. My mom has had adult relationships before, James. Dunno if you realized this, but she has a kid. She chose her job over them, and you gave her a way to get a regular release safely and without any judgement. Zenya hasn’t ever had a healthy relationship and is getting more of it than she’s aware that she needs from you already. My mom doesn’t want one, but she’s experienced them, knows what they’re about — she’s making an informed choice. Zenya doesn’t know what she’s missing and can’t trust anyone else to even try. You’re already in one with her, and it’s probably time you accepted that and started doing right by her.”

  “Why?” I asked. “For more power?”

  “No!” Sam sighed. “Because she’s been waiting for it for months, James! My god, do you know how demeaning it is to see the most eligible bachelor in the country, one who offered to let you live with him and eat his food and socialize with his friends, seemingly shack up with three random girls while completely ignoring you? Yeah, obviously, if you had pursued it when you had the initial contract, unethical. Now? The lines are so blurred anyway that you need to stop pretending you’re doing the right thing by leaving her out. You talked to Mallory and now scratch her itch every week with no problem. Zenya watched as Beth grew to love you, as you took me into that relationship, and as you brought Zoey into our family while feeling the love you give us every night. She’s content being just the help because that’s still the best position she’s ever been in, but, for god’s sake, James, she’s more important to this family than anyone but you.”

  “That’s not true,” I said.

  “James, she’s the one who pays the taxes and makes sure Beth and I have money for groceries, and she looked at the contracts before we picked a gym, and she has handled correspondence with that ass of a wizard. She’s got the contact information for all of the dragons and has handled the negotiation for Arjun’s island, and whenever you get off your ass and start doing things, she’s going to be the one making it all work, translating the bullshit of the real world into a language your idealistic mind wants to hear.”

  I swallowed.

  “Sam, are you saying I haven’t been doing enough?”

  She turned as white as a ghost. “I’m sorry, James. I didn’t—”

  “No, you meant it. I’m not doing enough?” I asked, calmly, trying to show her that I meant the question genuinely.

  “That’s not what I meant, James. I didn’t mean that you haven’t been doing enough. Just that you’re not currently doing much. Fuck, that doesn’t sound better. Look, you’re not doing much today. But, two months ago, you weren’t a dragon. You shouldn’t be doing much, yet, even if you were allowed to, okay? But, eventually, that’s going to change. And Zenya’s going to be even more important to us. You need to either tell her what she is to you, just a friend and employee you trust, and ask her to move out so that she is clear that she isn’t a part of our family, or offer her the real position at your side.”

  “You’d be doing more?”

  “Fuck, J,” Sam sighed, her eyes watering. “Is that what you’re taking from that? Look, I’m not going to lie to you — Yes, in your position, I would be doing more. I would be doing things differently. So would Zoey. Beth probably would be, too. All three of us are different. Zoey and I would’ve had an existing understanding of the magical world and the ways we could work with it. Beth—”

  “I would’ve just tried what I knew. Those deals you got at the start? Fucking someone’s niece for enough money to live on for years? Yeah, I’d have taken that,” Beth clarified. “Wouldn’t have known anything else. Wouldn’t have realized I already had enough cash in hand to make rent.”

  “So I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that I wouldn’t do anything differently,” Sam continued. “I would have. But I’m not you, and you had to learn what you were, not just who you were.”

  I eyed Beth and Zoey. “What do you think?”

  “I didn’t think about it like that until Sam explained it,” Beth started. “But, I think she’s right. If we try to step back and think about it, Zenya won’t ever try for more when you’re here. It sounds like you might be the best thing that’s ever happened to her, so she isn’t actually capable of leaving you. I might know a thing or two about that. But she isn’t aware of what she’s missing.”

  “But what are your thoughts, Beth?” I interrupted her. “What do you think I should do about it?”

  “James, that decision is in your hands,” Zoey answered for Beth. “I know you don’t want it to be this way, but you’re our leader, okay? Yeah, in the kitchen, Beth and Sam are in charge, and in the gym, I’m in charge, and with a contract in front of you, Zenya’s in control. But, overall, in general, you make the decisions. You don’t want to; I know. That actually makes you a bit better at it. And, as strange as it sounds, the fact that we all look to you when there’s a tough call to make makes you a good leader, too. The human psyche is fascinating in that way. You are a good friend, a good lover, and a good leader of your house, if a bit reactive and passive. That’s understandable, given how we got here. But you need to make the decision. Part of being a leader means understanding that sometimes, you’re going to make a bad call. Sometimes, it’s going to go tits up, and you’re going to get the blame. It happens, and we know that. But part of being a good leader is knowing that a lot of the time, a mediocre decision made at the right time that everyone supports can have even better outcomes than the perfect decision made too late with some people pulling against it.”

  “What are you saying?” I asked.

  “We’ll support you, James, unless you’re doing something truly out of character. Unless you decide to kick her out on the street at midnight with no clothes, we’ll support you. But, I agree with Sam. Right now, you have her living with one foot on each side of the personal-professional barrier. You need to decide where she is now, where she can be in the future, and what that’s going to look like, and then you need to talk to her about it.”

  “Not today. Not before the holidays. In January, when the dragons are gone and we’re back to the normal level of insanity, I’ll try. I need time to figure it out myself. Do you have any opinions? Any at all?”

  Beth answered first. “She’s a part of our household already. She’s a part of the reason we work. And she’d make you stronger, which makes us stronger, which makes you stronger, et cetera. No, J, don’t give me that look. It’s not why she’s here, but it’s a part of the equation that Sam was right to highlight. It’s a part we can’t just ignore because it’s unpleasant, okay? Anymore than you can ignore the parts of our meetings you don’t like. Zoey and I didn’t have a choice. Not really. You can argue I did because I did it willingly, but when I went to fuck you, we didn’t know that meant forever. I’m not complaining; I’m just saying that Zenya gets a choice. She knows almost everything and has seen you for more than 24 hours. I’m saying that you offer her this side of the line. Give her the choice.”

  “I’m content either way,” Zoey started. “I like her around. She’s uncomfortable around me, but she tries really hard not to let whatever happened in the past show. It’s clear that she knows I’m not the one who did it, but there’s still trauma there. Like Beth said, she’s important for us. I don’t think that’s enough of a reason to invite her in, not on its own, but given that she lives here already and the only reason we don’t know her any better than we do currently is that she’s stuck in limbo between partner and employee, I’m not against giving her a more clear role.”

  “She deserves to know love, James,” Sam replied. “And right now, you’re giving her just enough of a taste that she won’t ever go find it on her own.”

  “Right. But do you like her? Do you think you could—”

  “James, we’ve lived with her for two months already,” Beth cut me off. “Give it a rest. Yes, I am fine if you bed our live-in Slavic solicitor. I am fine if it is in this bed. I am fine if she says she wants you alone.”

  “I was going to ask if you could see yourself sleeping with someone who doesn’t,” I replied. “I don’t know if she’d even want to.”

  Sam nodded. “Easily, given that I already do.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “James, you’ve been averaging like three and a half hours of sleep a night for the last month. And you’re not showing any signs of fatigue. You stay up late with Beth watching movies that neither of you have ever seen, take us to bed, sleep for a little bit, then get up and chat with mom or go for a run with Zoey before hitting the gym properly or getting a morning swim in. You, clearly, don’t need to sleep. Arjun said it was good for your mental health, but it’s quite clear that your body doesn’t need it like a human does. So, yes, easily, all of the quirks Zenya has? They’ll be minor compared to yours.”

  “Why now?” I asked.

  “I saw her interacting with you at the moot,” Beth responded. “She was like an actual woman next to you with a job to do for you. And when she was working with the other advisors, and her nose was buried in the work? She was still great. And then we got home and she didn’t have time to run away and hide. Sam gave her something to do and then put her on the bed with us. She fit in really well with you, and despite seemingly being wary of us, she eventually relaxed. It made me wonder why she wasn’t with us more. I thought about it. Sam thought about it. Now we’re doing something about it.”

  “Why don’t we go and talk to Marjorie on our way back from the gym this week?” Zoey offered. “We can see what her thoughts are about inviting Zenya into our family.”

  “That is the most sensible thing I’ve heard so far,” I sighed. “I just can’t imagine Marjorie being on board.”

  “So, Zenya is something you want?” Sam asked. “Just given that you sound disappointed that Marjorie might not agree with it.”

  “I don’t know. Really, I don’t know. She hasn’t exactly opened up fully with us, so I don’t know her. But she hasn’t opened up, at least partially, because of the position she’s in. The position I’ve put her in.”

  “We’ve put her in,” Sam corrected.

  “Sure. Either way, it’s hard to know if I want to get closer to her when I don’t really know who she is, and the only way to do that is to get closer to her.”

  “Well, you haven’t been hiding,” Beth offered. “Talk to Marjorie. Think about it. Then ask Zenya.”

  “After the holidays,” I said. “We can talk to Marjorie when it’s convenient, but I’m not pushing any of this on Zenya until after the holidays.”

  “Why?” Sam asked. “Why make her wait?”

  “I want to let her enjoy a celebration, hopefully a relaxing, happy, lighthearted time, without that lingering over her head. I don’t know when she was last happy. I want the holiday and her birthday to be enjoyable, to be something that she can have to remember. I want her to know that’s how we feel about her.”

  “Did you get her a present?” Beth asked.

  “I did. I had something made.” Turning to Sam, I asked, “Actually, could you help me finish it?”

  Mentally, I showed her what I had and what my intention was for it. After a few seconds’ consideration, she nodded. “Yeah, I should be able to make that work. Tomorrow?”

  “I’d really appreciate that. We’re almost out of time. What do you think about it?”

  “You’re really going to fill it?”

  “Yes. I want her to have the option to heal that way, even if we’re not around. And I want to give it to her before we talk about anything else so that she can say no and still have access to it. Not that I’d deny her in the future, but…”

  “You want her to go into your discussion with a position of strength.”

  “Yeah,” I sighed. “I want her to know we care about her and want her to succeed, you know?”

  “You should’ve been a white dragon,” Zoey chuckled. “Not rich, dark, broody red. Or I should’ve been a weremare instead of a wolf, so that when you ride me, well, you know,” she said with a smirk.

  I giggled at the imagery, but protested, “I’m not that noble.”

  “Whatever you say, James,” Beth replied. “Everything points to it being the case, but you can say whatever you like. If you want to pretend you’re anything but what we all see, go right ahead. We’ll be here waiting for you to return to reality.”