Hoarded by the Dragon (Monstrous Matches, #4)

I sigh with patience like I haven’t explained this to her before. “Balance is important. If I take out a whole organization without a thought to who will replace them, we could be handing the position to someone worse. I don’t want to be a dictator. I’m too old to want to spend every moment policing everyone else. I won’t do that just to get the figurine back.”

It will require the situation to become much more dire for me to risk having to deal with the Council by upsetting their “balance.”

“What do you want me to tell the witches?” Sophia asks. The witches prefer only speaking with women. With the number of power players that are like the Leonids in the game, I don’t blame them.

“I need you to convince them to be patient,” I say. “I will not abandon the figurine. Tell them the stakes are high for the safety of many paranormals if you must.”

If I’d known that letting Katarina leave with the figurine would have caused so many headaches, I’d have locked her up in the caverns under this house after that night and just kept her there.

That’s not true though. My dragon doesn’t care for these games. He gave the piece of the hoard away for the woman’s company. He only disliked when I stepped in and made sure we couldn’t continue anything resembling a relationship after that night.

Mace stands. “I think Sophia can convince them.”

Sophia raises both brows at him. “Oh really?”

“You are very clever, love.”

The harpy who’s skewered at least one man’s balls with her talons according to my records blushes.

“Send the bill and your report about the Leonids when you can,” I say. I hire them because they are skilled, not because I want to watch them simper after each other.

“We’ll show ourselves out,” Mace says, and there’s a gleam in his eyes that gives me warning. “Odd that Ben seems so preoccupied of late.”

“I’ll show you out,” I say, if only to keep the demon from snooping. I’d hate to have to kill him. I like him half of the time.





16





KATARINA





GRIFFIN CLEANS UP WELL. After Ben took Stella home, we go for a supply run. It took watching some videos online, but eventually, the cat has been bathed, fed, and is sleeping comfortably on my bed.

I’d asked Ben not to tell Kalos about the cat, and he had sighed as if I’d told him Maggie was never going to make her award-winning potatoes again. I won’t tell him, but he’ll find out. You can’t keep the cat a secret forever, he’d said.

I don’t need to keep Griffin a secret forever… just for now. I run my fingers through his fur which is a full shade lighter now that it’s been washed, and he buries his face into the blanket on the bed in delight. Happiness glows in my chest. Being chosen by a cat may be a joke to some people, but the warmth of him under my hand and his rumbling purr just make me happy.

I don’t want to pop that bubble for anything, especially not to tell Kalos. The house is big enough that he probably won’t even notice Griffin prowling around. I’ll keep him in the giant bathroom and closet combination at night when Kalos visits and go from there.

I sigh and check the time. Maggie said she wanted to do a health check before dinner, so I leave the cozy cat on my bed after some belly rubs.

As always, the kitchen smells amazing. Maggie sees me and points me toward the table and chairs of the breakfast nook that we all eat at during the day. The set-up is much smaller than the dining table and has a comfortable bench at the back below a large window.

Maggie hustles over after checking all the pots on the stove. “Ben told me about the cat.”

My mouth drops open, and Maggie laughs.

“I thought he was capable of keeping a secret,” I say.

Maggie shakes her head. “He’s a gossip, or at least with me he is. He won’t tell Kalos because you asked him not to though. I’m glad you have a pet. I’d love to meet him when he isn’t a secret anymore.”

“His name is Griffin, and he’s perfect,” I say.

Maggie grins. “I have no doubt about that. Cats are always perfect.”

“I’m letting him settle in, but maybe in a couple of days he’ll have free range of the house.”

I hold out my hands for Maggie to check on the baby, and she takes them. The zing of her magic always tickles, and I focus on staying still. She takes longer this time, her brow furrowing in concentration before she smiles at me again, but it’s tighter now.

“I have some concerns, but I think we should talk to Kalos about them.”

The blood drains from my face. “What?”

Is it odd to be so attached to something that happened by accident? Maybe, but I don’t care. This is my baby, and there’s something wrong. Are they okay? What if I ate something I wasn’t supposed to? I haven’t even checked the chemicals I use for work. I always wear gloves, but could they have hurt the baby?

“It’s nothing serious yet,” she says firmly and pulls me to stand with her. “Let us go talk to him.”

I focus on controlling my breathing as we walk, and tears start to well in my eyes. Something is wrong, and I don’t know what to do. Maggie pats my hand in reassurance, but it doesn’t help the spikes of worry tearing at my heart.

What if it’s my fault?

I don’t think I could bear the guilt.

“Sweetie, it could be nothing.” Maggie’s voice is worried now. The tingles of her magic try to calm my riotous heart, but to no avail.

“What’s wrong?” Kalos’s voice comes as a surprise, and the sound of it makes it easier to take a deep breath. We’ve somehow navigated all the way to Kalos’s study while I’ve been lost in my daze of panic.

Kalos strides forward from his place behind the desk, and I’m hit with the intimidation of his presence all over again.

“I have some concerns, but I need for her to try to calm down,” Maggie says. “I thought it would be better to tell the two of you together.”

His arms come around me in the next moment, and my shaky hands slide under his suit jacket. I breathe in his scent, and my heart rate starts to slow.

“Next time, just tell her. Don’t wait for me. It’s her body the child is in. She deserves to know what’s going on,” Kalos growls.

“Of course. I’m so sorry, Katarina,” Maggie says.

I just nod, focusing on keeping myself calm. “Can you please say what you’re worried about? The guesses in my head aren’t good.”

Maggie looks hesitant and glances at Kalos before starting, “The child isn’t developing.”

I tighten my hold on Kalos, not caring that we don’t have the type of relationship where I can take solace in his arms. His body is a comfort I won’t refuse.

“Explain,” Kalos commands.

“They are only a little further in their development than they were when Katarina came here last month. They aren’t progressing like a normal pregnancy. You did say that eggs can lie dormant for years at a time without enough heat to spur growth.”

I breathe out a choked sob in relief. This could just be a dragon thing. This could be completely normal.

Maggie smiles at me, but her concern is still there. “But I don’t think the gestation would be safe to leave dormant. I believe that you need to provide more heat than what you have to spur them to grow.”

“What do you suggest?” Kalos asks, his hand rubbing my back.

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