“So is this where you live?” Theo forked up another bite.
“No, this isn’t even where the main pack lives,” Liam told him. “Where we found you…” Liam paused, chewing his lower lip as if he wasn’t sure how much to tell him.
Theo understood; they might be mates, but Liam didn’t really know him. How did one tell a complete stranger everything about their life?
Liam took a deep breath as if he had made a decision. “Where we found you used to be a dragon enclave, but they left and we thought they had taken their house with them. I’m not sure how it managed to show back up.”
“I don’t understand how an entire house can go missing.” That didn’t make any sense.
Liam shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
He frowned, utterly confused. “You mean you don’t know?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t know a lot of things, obviously.” Liam rocked Gael, gave him a frown. “You don’t seem surprised about the dragons.”
Why on earth would he be? “What about the dragons—that they disappeared?”
“That they exist? You don’t seem surprised that they exist.”
He shrugged, not loving the distrust he was feeling. “Do you think I ought to be?”
“Well, that’s an exceptional question. I don’t know.” Liam chuckled softly, and the tension eased. “We’ve dealt with a lotof werewolves and more than a couple dragons. But this is something new, something big. It’s a tad concerning that the house is there, because it had disappeared.”
“Did it leave a hole?” A house that big had to have left a hole.
“No, it was like a facade. I mean, like the front of?—”
“I know the word.” He was hungry, not uneducated. He’d managed to keep the baby alive, keep himself alive. That was a win-win situation. “Wow. I was running, and I thought it was safe and—it was empty, so I didn’t—I wasn’t doing any harm, I do know that.” He hadn’t hurt anything. Nothing.
He found himself close to tears, and Liam reached out for him and took his hand. “Yeah, you were not doing anything wrong. That’s absolutely true. You’re not in any trouble. I don’t want you to feel like you are.”
That touch was very comforting, and he turned his hand over and twined their fingers together.
“I have to admit. I don’t know how to feel about it.”
“You don’t know how to feel about what?” Him?
Liam offered him a smile. “The dragons were our friends, and they disappeared. They just up and poofed, gone. It’s wild. And, you know what? I miss them. I went up there, and there you were. I’m not used to interesting things happening to me.”
Theo added another piece of pineapple and then kind of stared over at him. “Dragons are pretty interesting.”
“Yeah. I mean, my family has been taking them supplies for… decades. It’s just weird to not have them up there.” Liam chewed on his lip, which he noticed was a habit. “Maybe the house knew you needed it so it reappeared.”
“Hmm.” He chuckled. “So if you went up there, would it still be there?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to go see, but I can wait until you and Gael are stronger.”
“Oh, you don’t?—”
“Yeah, I do.” Liam put the bottle aside when Gael finished, lifting him to one shoulder to burp him. “You’re what’s important to me now, Theo.”
His cheeks heated, and he smiled with genuine pleasure. “Thank you, mate. Gael should sleep again for a while now…”
“Yeah?” Liam bounced the baby, who burped hugely. “You want a bath?”
“Oh, goddess yes.” He was crusty. Gross. A hot bath sounded heavenly.
“I’ll go tell Niall.” Liam stood, putting Gael back in the bassinet. “And see about some diapers to change him into.”
