Harmon’s stomach dropped.“Are you quitting?”
“Not until I know you have help.”
“But youarequitting.”
“I just can’t do this in the long term, Harmon.I yelled at Samantha yesterday, and she hadn’t even done anything.She just happened to be there when I snapped.She was so offended that she refused to have dinner in the same room as me.”
Harmon sighed.He’d always known that Brad would quit eventually.He’d just hoped to have more time because he had no idea who to replace Brad with.“We’ll talk when I’m home,” he promised.He knew he wouldn’t change Brad’s mind.Brad had been talking about quitting for a few years now.Harmon had ignored him, and Brad hadn’t pushed, but clearly, that was over.
Harmon could sympathize.The day-to-day guidance of a group of people who lived together and behaved like toddlers wasn’t easy.Maybe he should hire a kindergarten teacher to do it.
He listened to Brad’s complaints for a little while longer before they hung up.When they did, Harmon had to resist the urge to scream.He could feel Rex watching him, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to talk about any of it.
It seemed like Rex understood because he didn’t ask what was going on.He didn’t say anything.He continued driving and put on some music.
Eventually, Harmon had to break the silence.“So, I bet that you can guess why I needed some time away from my coven now.”
Rex snickered.“It sounds like you’re dealing with a bunch of children.”
“That’s what it feels like most of the time.I don’t usually have to deal with a dragon clan threatening my people’s lives.No, usually, it’s bickering over coffee, blood, people not cleaning up after themselves, chores, things like that.Sometimes, I can’t believe that some of these people have been alive for hundreds of years.”
“I think that since we live for so long, sometimes it’s hard to remember priorities.When you’ve been living with the same people for decades and you’ve been safe the entire time, you tend to focus on the little things.”
“Is that something you and your family have experienced?”
“You should hear the bickering when we all get together.”Rex snorted.“It’s an everyday occurrence with Alpin.I think that he does it because he likes the attention.”
“How do you deal with it?”
“We give him space to rant for a bit.It’s better now that he’s met Merrick, but before he did, we were all he had.He’s kind of the baby of the family.We’ve always indulged him, something we probably shouldn’t have done, but it’s hard to tell him no.Have you seen his baby face?”
Harmon chuckled.“I have.”
“Then you understand.I’m glad he has Merrick now, and not only because he’s Merrick’s problem to deal with.He’s never done well alone, and he’ll never have to be alone again.”
“I think that’s why most of us live in covens.We have so many years in front of us, and it’s scary to think about being alone all that time.”
Rex frowned.“I don’t mind being alone, although it helps that every so often, our family gathers.It’s going to be weird not to see them every day after spending all this time with them.”
“So you’ve decided that you’re leaving?”
“Not yet.I don’t know what I’ll do once this is over.I don’t want to think about it yet.”
Harmon understood that becausehedidn’t want to think about returning to the coven yet.Dealing with vanishing coffees could wait.
They both fell silent, but it wasn’t awkward.Even though Harmon had said that he didn’t want to deal with the coven right now, he couldn’t help but think about how Brad was going to solve the coffee problem.As long as he did so before Harmon came home, Harmon didn’t really care.
He was both relieved and nervous when they reached the clan house.None of them knew what to expect.Would the dragons let them in, or would they attack them?If they did, Harmon and the others would have to defend themselves, and it would become a bloodbath.
They let Arlen and Merrick take the lead since they’d been clan members in the past.Maybe that was why the gates opened and their cars were let in.Rex drove behind Arlen and followed him until he parked in front of the house.It was massive, but not as big as the castle where Harmon and his coven lived.
The house had three floors, and most of the rooms had a light on.Harmon could see people through a few of the windows that still had their curtains pulled back.The white railing of the wraparound porch was a nice contrast with the dark green used on the outside walls and the dark gray of the roof tiles.
Rex peered out of the windshield.“I didn’t realize it was this big the last time I was here.”
They exited the car and hovered there, waiting for the other three.Once the dragon shifters had joined them, they moved toward the front door as a group.They only took a few steps before it swung open.A man appeared, his arms crossed over his chest, a severe expression on his face.It was obvious that he wasn’t happy to have them there.
How the man felt didn’t matter.Harmon and the others had a job to do, and they’d do it.Harmon might also be here to distract himself from his coven and their messes, but even though sometimes he wished he could strangle them, he cared about his people.They were his family, and he wouldn’t let anyone hurt them, not even a bunch of dragon shifters.
