“Merci,” Matthieu said, inserting himself into the middle of their conversation. “My toast was cold.” Both men stared at him, speechless, as he took a bite. “Oui, much better. Now. Let us put all our cards on the table, as they say. Believe me, you are not the only ones who are displeased with what has come to pass.”
Geoffrey pinned Matthieu with his strikingly dark violet eyes. “This is no business of yours, omega.”
“My name, as you well know, is Matthieu, not ‘omega.’ Unless, of course, you wish for me to call you ‘dragon.’ Although, as there are now two of you, I’ll have to add a qualifier. You are thedragon connard.” Matthieu took another bite of toast.
Ian cocked his head to the side and looked like an overlarge canary. “And what about me? Which dragon am I?” He seemed far too intrigued to be angry.
Matthieu popped the last bite of toast into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “That remains to be seen. For now, you can be thejolidragon.”
“The pretty dragon,” Ian translated with a smile. “I like that.”
“You would.” Geoffrey started looking around the room. “I should go. I’ve discharged my duty. The omega—Matthieu—has been safely delivered into your care, Mr. Brand. I believe I can now take my leave.”
“Stop,” Ian commanded and Geoffrey halted in his tracks. A strange kind of energy crackled in the air, settling heavily on Matthieu’s shoulders. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
Was it his imagination, or was there a faint glow around Geoffrey? Matthieu blinked, and it was gone.
“Hm,” Matthieu commented to the room in general. “Perhapsdragon autoritairemight be more apt.”
“Let me go,” Geoffrey said, his voice terse.
“No,” Ian replied. “I’m not done with you yet. You belong to me, Geoffrey Conrad Drake. I made that clear long ago.”
Matthieu started edging toward the door. Listening to their argument over breakfast, he’d been halfway convinced he was in the middle of a lover’s squabble, and this cemented the idea. He had no intentions of witnessing whatever was bound to happen next. Instead, he headed for the guest house’s small kitchen.
“Stop,” Ian commanded again, and Matthieu’s feet obeyed.
What the…?
With an admonishing sigh, Ian added, “That is quite enough out of both of you. Geoffrey, you will stop behaving like a whelp being refused supper. Matthieu, I’m sorry, but you have to stay.”
“What did you do to me?” Matthieu asked. “Why can’t I move?”
“Oh, bang-up job, whelp,” Geoffrey sneered. “Do you intend on spilling all your secrets tonight? You could also tell the omega the combination to your hoard.”
Matthieu shook his head. “S’il vous plaît, I don’t want to get in the middle of your little lover’s quarrel. You can just… undo whatever you did, and I’ll get out of your way. You two can bicker and come up with a solution, or perhaps go to couples counseling, or the draconian equivalent. I do not care. But I demand that you let me go.”
“So you can run while I deal with this lavender pain in my ass? I think not. I wanted to run, but Geoffrey won’t, so now I’m stuck, and if I’m stuck, so are you. Either we all run, or none of us do.”
“I’m not running,” Geoffrey countered. “It’s insane. Ian, where would we go?” The last word was spoken with such anguish that it wiped away the anger that preceded it. “You can’t hide from this—we have to accept our fate and move on.”
“And if he’s my mate?” Ian countered, the words holding a weight Matthieu didn’t entirely understand.
Geoffrey flinched, then shrugged, moving like a scarecrow in a slight wind. “Then you have each other and I will endeavor to be happy for you.”
“Fuck. That.” The two words were spoken with such anger that Matthieu winced despite not being their intended target. “You aremine. Mymate.”
Matthieu nodded, as much as the stasis surrounding him allowed. It had seemed that might be the case, no matter how unlikely or impossible. Alphas didn’t mate with alphas. That was just the way it was. But Matthieu thought that notion was as stupid an idea as keeping omegas cloistered to be potential dragon sex partners. One of the reasons Matthieu had wanted to be an Attendant attorney was that, in addition to bringing down the Pedigree, he wanted the dragon community to recognize—not punish—that two omegas could fall in love. He found it ridiculous that anyone should have to hide their relationship out of fear.
Even petulant dragons.
But before he could help anyone, Matthieu had to figure out how to navigate the present situation. If he ran, or even attempted to, he’d likely lose any chance he might have had to go to law school. If he ran, he’d never be anything but an unattached omega with no real skills beyond his ability to suck cock and take a dick in his ass. If he stayed, maybe he could find a solution that would benefit them all, since it appeared none of them were happy with how things stood now.
An idea occurred to Matthieu. A terrible idea, fraught with all sorts of potential disasters, but an idea nevertheless. Despite its pitfalls, it still seemed to Matthieu to be their best potential way forward, given that the remaining options were rather dismal.
He struggled against the magical hold while the dragons continued to bicker. If he could just…
With a small exertion of force, Matthieu was able to move his hand enough to undo the first button on his shirt. It was all it took. Ian stopped his verbal sniping with Geoffrey to stare at him. “How did you do that?
