“Uh, that’s my dog. Pearl,” Sawyer said. “I’m Sawyer. This is Draco.”
The guy smirked. “Draco? Really, Dragon? I’m Henry. Come here, girl.”
Pearl glanced at Draco, holding her position as he’d commanded even though she was eager to scent this new person. “Go on, girl.”
The warriors took up defensive positions, but didn’t move closer. Pearl darted over to the guy and began sniffing his face enthusiastically. Henry laughed and scratched her head. “Oh you’re a pretty girl, aren’t you? You’re very well loved. That’s a good girl.”
Pearl laid down and rolled onto her back, allowing Henry to scratch her stomach nice and hard, just the way she liked it. When he looked up again, it was with a beaming smile.
“You can tell a lot about a man by how happy his animal is,” Henry said. “And this one is very happy indeed.”
“She’s mine,” Sawyer said. “And she is a good girl. A bit of a slut for belly rubs as you can see.”
Henry laughed and stood again. He closed the remaining distance between them and stared at Draco. “I’d like to touch your arm, Dragon.”
Draco could feel the barely restrained power coming from the man, so he held out his arm. Henry laid his hand carefully along Draco’s wrist, then his head fell back with a gasp. His eyes glowed the bright blue of the mages and he closed them a moment later with a sigh. “You bear the mark?”
Draco’s stomach fell. “I do.”
“I’ve been wondering when we would find the others. And who is your friend? May I?” Henry raised his hand again and Draco tried not to balk. No one touched Sawyer.
But Sawyer didn’t seem to know that. He stepped up beside Draco, shoulder to shoulder, then pushed the cake pan into Henry’s hands. “I don’t know what’s going on here,” Sawyer said. He glanced at Draco with a hurt look in his eyes before turning back to Henry, “but if you need to… touch my arm? You can.”
Henry bowed his head for a moment before glancing back to Draco. “That’s not necessary, Sawyer, but thank you for the offer. Oh my God, that cake smells so good.”
His tone shifted again, going from serious to carefree in a moment.
“Right? It’s my favorite. We saw you guys pulling in earlier and thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves.”
“Awesome. You’re my new favorite. These two wouldn’t know fruit if it bit them in the ass. Meat eaters all the way.”
Draco glanced at the warriors again, still not entirely convinced they weren’t going to wield the weapons against them. “We mean no harm.”
“I know,” Henry said. “These are guard…uh, my guards.”
“Whoa,” Sawyer said. “You have bodyguards?” He glanced at Draco before turning back to Henry. “I told him somebody rich was moving in.”
Henry laughed and looked over his shoulder at the tall red-haired guard. Draco hadn’t been able to identify what exactly the other warrior was, but he understood by Henry’s look that this guard was in charge of the tributes the clans had all paid as they waited for the prophecy that bound them all together to unfold.
Sawyer
Sawyer sat on his couch with Pearl’s head resting in his lap. She was snoring softly, the excitement from earlier having worn her out. Unfortunately, the events of the evening had left Sawyer with the opposite problem. He was wired. Confused. A little angry. Hurt. He’d seen a side of Draco he hadn’t known existed, and learned that the man he considered his best friend had been keeping some very big secrets from him.
Draco had promised to explain more later and had delivered Sawyer and Pearl home with a quick hug—for Sawyer— and ear scratch—for Pearl— that had only served to annoy Sawyer further. He’d been treated like a child, like a bothersome kid brother who was trying to play with the big boys. Draco hadn’t treated him that way in years, not since he was a pesky sixteen-year-old and the hot older guy closer to his big brothers’ age moved in across the street. Sawyer had worked hard on his friendship with Draco and it had become the most important relationship in his life. He did not plan on going back to the way they were when they first met.
A quiet knock on his front door pulled Sawyer from his thoughts. Pearl hadn’t even budged. Some guard dog she’d turned out to be. He slid from beneath her, laughing at her annoyed huff at him daring to move his leg from its position as her pillow, and walked slowly to the door. He opened it to find Henry standing on the porch, looking mischievous and ready for trouble. His light brown hair was tousled, and his blue eyes sparkled. He was definitely going to get Sawyer in trouble. So Sawyer opened the door further and gestured him inside.
“I bet you’re confused, huh?” Henry asked.
“Something like that.” He wasn’t quite able to keep the hurt, anger, and confusion from his tone.
“Well, I don’t blame you for being cranky. You aren’t the only one in a mood. Thing one and Thing two didn’t want to let me out of their sight. It’s like they forget that I can take care of myself.”
Sawyer didn’t know what to say so he stood quietly aside while Henry walked around his small living room, glancing at the little mementos he had sitting around. He touched a few things, smiled over at Sawyer, then continued to circle the room.
“Do you have any junk food?” Henry asked.
“Uh, yeah. I’ve got some stuff. Chips. Soda. Cookies.”
