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“Desert allergies,” she shot back, her chin lifting defensively.

“To what? Sand?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Shut up,” she scoffed, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand.

Then I realized that I had left Maisie standing completely exposed in the middle of a shifting wasteland. Instantly, my protective, Mate-driven attention locked onto her. My posture turned rigid.

Guy noticed. Of course, Guy noticed. He was a Dragon Guardsman, trained to read every micro-expression, and my aura was currently screaming with a hyper-fixated energy.

Guy looked from me to Maisie. Then back to me. Then his gaze settled squarely on Maisie, an amused gleam entering his hazel eyes. He gave me the look– the universal, silent interrogation of a sibling who had just caught me red-handed.

My jaw tightened. "Don't."

"I didn't say anything," Guy replied smoothly, his hands sliding into his pockets.

"You were about to."

Maisie uncrossed her arms and walked over to us, her houndstooth boots crunching in the dirt as she leveled us both with a look of pure, unadulterated skepticism. "Oh, good. There are two of you."

Guy’s grin widened. Of course he liked her. Apparently, Maisie’s particular brand of smartass translated perfectly into MacAllen.

Inside my mind, Sully puffed out his massive chest, his tone unbearably smug. “Tell him, Lad. Tell him now.”

“No,” I snapped back.

“Tell him she is our Mate! Let the boy know!”

“Absolutely not.”

Maisie narrowed her eyes at me, her eyes zeroing in on the clench of my jaw. "Are you two talking about me in there again?"

"No," I flatly replied.

"Still a terrible liar," Maisie tossed back.

Guy’s eyes flared with sudden amusement as he looked from me to Maisie and back again. He knew me too damned well. His grin turned into a full, delighted smirk.

I took a step forward, my voice dropping into a dangerous warning. "I swear to the Goddess, Guy…"

"Your Mate?" Guy asked, completely ignoring the threat.

Maisie froze. Her jaw dropped, and her head snapped between Guy and me. "His WHAT?"

Before the romantic chaos could completely detonate, a soft, familiar shimmering texture altered the local ether behind Guy. A woman stepped out of the fog, her presence carrying a cool, dark, and highly disciplined Magical frequency.

She took one look at me, and recognition flashed through her bright emerald eyes. The Mating Bond would've shown her enough of Guy's history, grief, and memories to know exactly who I was.

"Knox," the redhead said quietly, her emerald eyes steady.

I looked at her, my instincts flaring as Guy automatically and seamlessly stepped directly in front of her, his body shielding hers from the unknown variable. I noticed that movement immediately– the universal, primal choreography of a Mated Dragon.

"Knox, this is Bernadette. She prefers Bernie, and she’s my Mate," Guy introduced us, his tone softening with unmistakable pride.

I blinked, genuinely caught off guard. "You found your Mate?"

Bernie raised an eyebrow, a dry, elegant smile playing at her lips. "Try not to sound so shocked, Mr. Ranger Man."

Guy cleared his throat, casting a quick look at me. "She's a Necromancer."