They stare at me with no short amount of awe, and I feel the urge to squirm under such close scrutiny.
“I can’t believe you’re the next shifter queen,” Brodie murmurs, and I wince, not sure if he’s disappointed or pleased, but his next words make me feel so much better. “But I’m very happy about it.” His and Hunter’s eyes both glow with their inner animals, and I shuffle my feet, feeling awkward.
Violet clears her throat. “Escort?”
“Yes, of course.” Hunter is all business. Both of them are, in fact, and I mourn the loss of the casual, friendly way they were speaking to me. “I’ll let my father know, and he can make arrangements.” He pulls a phone out of the pocket of his uniform, and my heart starts to race with panic.
“No.” I hold up a hand. “Please, is there any way we can do this discreetly? Can’t the two of you just escort me?” I plead, looking between them, and Brodie’s eyes soften, even if he keeps his expression professional. He and Hunter exchange a look, and Hunter huffs a puff of smoke out of his nostrils.
“We can do that. My dad is going to kick my ass, but I will deal with it.”
“You boys look after my girl, okay? She’s going to need people on her side. Can I trust you to do that?” Grampy is staring the two shifters down like he has his own inner beast, and both men give him their assurance.
“I promise, sir. Our team has been assigned to watch her until her coronation and she chooses her mates. We will keep her safe,” Brodie sounds even more serious than when he found me with Archie. “We will go out back. Put the pendant back on for now. That will keep you hidden until we can get where we need to go.”
I give my grandparents hugs and kisses goodbye then follow the guys into the alley. Violet follows us, but she stays in the doorway of the bakery.
“Aren’t you coming?” I ask her, and she bites her lip, looking from me to the two men.
“It sounds like the queen has chosen you. Neither of us are going to stop you,” Hunter assures her, and she relaxes slightly.
“What about work?” She looks back, and I hear Grampy grumble, “Go, child. We might be older, but we can handle this.”
Violet whips off her apron and returns to the kitchen to hang it up. I hear the rumble of my grandpa’s voice as he says something to her, but I can’t make out what the conversation is about. It doesn’t take her long to return though.
“We need to get her to the edge of the neutral zone, then Hunter can shift and take us all directly to the palace,” Brodie says as the three of them fan out around me—Hunter at my back, and the other two on either side of me.
“Shift?” I can’t help the words from blasting out of my mouth, and Violet chuckles, making me feel very nervous indeed.
“Oh boy, Colbie, I hope you pulled up those big girl panties, because you’re about to ride a dragon.”
Chapter
Twenty
Colbie
Idon’t think my brain actually processed what Violet said, because when we get to the border of the neutral and shifter zones, and I watch with undisguised awe as Hunter shifts. Standing before me is a twenty foot, dark purple dragon, and all I can do is reach out and run my hand over its shiny scales, but before I can touch it, Violet slaps my hand away.
“Ah, maybe don’t touch the pretty fire-breathing shifter without permission,” Violet stammers.
The dragon swings its head around and pins her with its green stare, blowing smoke out of its nose and huffing with annoyance. She holds up her hands and backs away.
“Then again, maybe he wants you to touch him. Who the hell am I to tell you what to do?” she mutters before grumbling under her breath, “Damn grumpy lizard. I’m only trying to teach the shifter ways. We don’t want her going around stroking every shifter she comes in contact with, do we? That’s like a man going around squeezing every woman’s breast he sees. It’s lucky he’swearing magickal clothes, otherwise he would have had to get naked in front of us all.”
“Naked?” I ask, not hating the idea of seeing this man naked.
“Yeah, unless they are spelled, clothes get ruined when we shift, so most of the time, we get naked first. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it,” Violet assures me as I gape at her in horror.
Brodie chuckles, reaches up, and grabs my hand, placing it against Hunter’s side and running it back and forth. His scales are surprisingly warm to the touch and kind of silky feeling. “Violet is right. You shouldn’t go around touching every shifter you see, but Hunter really doesn’t mind if you touch him. It’s natural. You’re going to be curious, and he especially likes it if you scratch between is eyebrow ridges.”
I gasp in shock as Hunter’s large head leans in and practically headbutts me, and Brodie points to a spot. I reach up and rub the area he pointed at, and a loud purring sound comes out of the dragon’s mouth as he leans his heavy head against my stomach, his nostrils flaring in and out with large lungfuls of air.
“That’s enough.” Brodie pushes the dragon’s head away, glaring at him. “Come on, up you go. I promise the big lug is actually a fairly smooth ride.”
“That’s what he said,” Violet mutters behind us, and I can’t help my snicker of laughter. I’m pretty sure I’m in a small amount of shock. Seeing the dragon just made this all very fucking real.
Brodie rolls his eyes but smirks at Violet’s comment. “I like you.” He points at her before cupping his hands and nodding at them. “Put your foot in here, and then use the spikes on his back to pull yourself. Settle into the spot between his head and his wings, then scoot along, and I’ll climb up behind you. Violet, are you coming with us?”
