"What do you mean, stay away?" My Cardia asked, looking at me.
"You were unconscious for this part in our mating, but a dragon will kill anyone that enters the mating area. Roarke will view them as a threat no matter who they are. A dragon normally, when he finds his mate, will take that mate to his lair. Then, he will call his trusted dragons into service, protecting the entrance from any entering. I guess Roarke isn't waiting for anyone to guard the room," I explained.
"Oh, wow. We need to do that for Roarke and Devin. We have to make sure no one enters," my sweet mate said.
"Yes, my heart, we will stand guard for them," I chuckled, pulling him into my arms.
I paused as my dragon hearing picked up the sounds of tires on our road. No one came up the mountain to see us except Master Stephen and his mate, but we would have to go see them. I stood up as I heard the vehicle come to a stop. As I neared the door, I felt a power on the other side —dragon power. There were dragons or a dragon on the other side.
I turned to Ben. "Take Callum and go up to our rooms. I don't know who these dragons are, and I need you and Callum safe." I prayed he listened. Ben sometimes had a stubborn streak. He nodded, grabbed our son, and went upstairs.
A knock sounded as I watched my mate disappear up the steps. I turned, my heart beating fast. I didn't know if I was going to have to fight, and Roarke was indisposed. I reached for the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Three identical men stood on the other side. They were huge, at least as tall as my six-seven. They wore red plaid kilts and different-colored shirts. They had large muscular frames, dark red hair, and green eyes like Roarke. They were so similar in appearance to Roarke; these had to be his brothers.
"How may I help you?" I asked.
"We're looking for our brother, Roarke," the one in the middle, who wore a tight black muscle shirt, said. They even sounded like Roarke, but their brogue was more pronounced.
"Roarke is busy at the moment. He won't be available until tomorrow, maybe the next day," I said, fighting a tiny smirk. Roarke was definitely busy.
They each scowled at my response. It was crazy, seeing the three brothers act as one.
"Why can't we see him now?" Black shirt asked. "What's going on with our brother? He hasn't called or texted us in weeks. Our da is going out of his mind with worry," he said, his Scottish brogue becoming even more defined as he spoke.
"Let's not have this conversation standing in the doorway. Let Roarke's brothers in, Kris." Ben's voice sounded behind me. I turned my head, and now I had the scowl. He was supposed to be upstairs.
"You're a vampire," the one on the left, who wore a dark red button-down shirt, said hotly. "What does my brother have to do with bloodsuckers? What have you done with him?"
I felt my eyes glow at the insult to my mate. My dragon was pissed. He wanted me to kill these hatchlings for daring to insult our heart.
I growled low in my throat. "Watch how you speak about my Cardia, whelp!"
The three turned their wide eyes to me, realizing that I was a dragon, but not only that, I was the stronger dragon. More powerful than all three combined.
"A thousand apologies, my lord. We did not know you were a dragon, and he was your mate. Forgive our brother," Black shirt said, bowing his head slightly. The other two followed suit and bowed their heads.
"Krispin, stop. They're worried about their brother; let them in so we can be properly introduced," Ben said with exasperation.
Knowing I could not deny my mate, I sighed and moved aside from blocking the doorway. I motioned the three in and shut the door as they entered the great room.
"I'm Benjamin Morgan, of the Walden Coven. This is Krispin, my beloved. You can call me Ben and him Kris," Ben said, putting his hand out to shake in greeting.
"Angus MacNair," the man wearing the black shirt said, shaking Ben's hand.
"That's Addison and Aaran," he added, pointing to each of the other brothers. Addison wore a plain white T-shirt, and Aaran wore the red button-down shirt.
Ben shook the other brothers' hands and stared at me, waiting for me to do the same. Reluctantly, I stretched out my hand and shook theirs.
"Can you please tell us what's going on with Roarke? He hasn't talked to us in weeks, and we’re all worried," Addison quietly asked. He seemed to be the softest-spoken and most subdued of the three.
I exhaled. "Your brother is fine. He’s just been working on wooing his mate. That's the reason you can't see him now because of the mating heat. He's upstairs finally claiming his mate."
"His mate!" all three all but shouted.
"When did he find his mate?"
"Why didn't he tell us?"
"Father’s going shit kittens!"
