Lily brought up what looked like scanned images of handwritten reports.
“Bits of the mom were found by the furnace along with what one investigator thought might be the makings of a pipe bomb. She was going to try to kill a dragon but orphaned her daughter instead. Dumbass. Like a pipe bomb would have worked anyway.”
“Did you find any connection between Aegidius and her family other than the harassment and restraining order?”
“Nope. No idea how they found him. Both Jess’s mother and grandmother worked regular middle-class jobs that weren’t in any way affected by anything Aegidius did. He didn’t even own real estate on their side of town.”
“There may not have been a connection before, but it’s possible Aegidius kept track of Jess when she was growing up and put a word in for her with Kurt.”
“I’ll see what I can find, but I’ll need dad’s help to look into the financials. I’m not sure how she paid for college or anything. Her parents were in debt when they died, and her grandparents weren’t any better off. She got a scholarship, but not a full ride. Maybe Aegidius helped her out and then got Kurtis to hire her. He wouldn’t have made it obvious, though.”
“Could be. Tell your dad look into it. Any sign that the mom or grandmother had magic?”
“No, but that wouldn’t be obvious in public records. Maybe that’s how they found Aegidius, though.”
“Thank you, little one.”
Lily looked up at him, giving her best puppy dog eyes. “You’ll stay away from her, right?”
“I can’t. I need to know why she was sent here.”
Determination filled Lily’s eyes. “If she tries to hurt you, I’ll kill her.”
“You said the same thing about the baker if he was out of blueberry doughnuts again, but point taken. I’m bringing her here this afternoon. No slithering through the woods to spy. As far as I know she doesn’t know about any of us. Keep your distance, okay?”
“Yes, Poppy.”
“Good girl. Now help me put away the groceries.”
Lily dutifully helped him. It was an odd change to go from the outside world where people treated him like he was an attractive young man in his mid to late twenties to being at home where he was the venerated patriarch that his descendants felt obliged to serve and protect. The young often needed to be reminded that his age made him more powerful, not less. If anyone was going to do the protecting, it was Wrath.
Unlike his father, he didn’t rule his people like a king, though some insisted on treating him like one. His son, Seth, had written colorful chronicles of Wrath’s history on scrolls some thousand years ago. They’d been copied and recopied a hundred times as well as being translated. Wrath was a living legend among his people because of those silly stories. Most were based on a far darker reality, but Wrath let the young have their fun retelling the mythology of their ancestor without correction. It wasn’t really about him. It was about them and their taking pride in their history in a way they saw fit.
He’d always encouraged them to develop their own culture and they did, complete with holidays.
Lily left through the patio door and headed toward the wooded back of the property where she lived with her family. Wrath had tried to live underground as they did but found that he needed more sunlight. Only when he slept did he prefer being underground.
As soon as the distraction of Lily was gone, Wrath’s mind turned to Jess. She was a lovely thing, the perfect trap for him. He wanted to touch her again and catch the sweet scent of her arousal. The thought of her heart-shaped ass pressed against his crotch awakened his dick. Great.
He decided to take a quick shower, but there were still images of Jess in his mind. Hot water caressing his body, he eased his discomfort with the palm of his hand. He hadn’t had it this bad since he was a kid over four thousand years ago. That had to mean something.
He got out of the shower and put on looser jeans to make room for the inevitable erection. He also put on a sweater that would add a layer of concealment.
His inner dragon remained annoyingly silent when he thought of Jess. That also had to mean something, didn’t it? His dragon was never slow to give a warning and he still trusted it to do so. Maybe it saw Jess as a different kind of threat.
Maybe she could make her way into his heart.
That was a problem. As much as he felt driven to find a mate, he’d had a mate and lost her. She’d given him a family and he’d always be grateful for that. To find a new mate and start a new family would be a regression. He couldn’t bring dragons into his family and, whatever magic Jess had, they’d most likely have dragon offspring.
His family fought and died for independence from dragon rule. He couldn’t upset the balance they’d achieved.
No, she couldn’t be his mate. If that was what Etel was going for, he’d failed. Wrath might fuck Jess, but she’d never be his mate and he’d never bring dragons into his family. It would incite a war with dragons wanting to claim his offspring as their own. Wanting to rule them and use them.
As he prepared to leave to meet Jess, Wrath swore he would never let that happen.
He had to get his head in the game. He’d get all the information he could from Jess, maybe have some fun with her, and send her on her way. She was working with Kurt and Etel. She might even be a dragon hunter. Jess was the enemy.
If he kept reminding himself of that he’d be fine.
Chapter 7
A baby girl. Kurt never thought he’d have a girl. No first-generation dragon had ever had one. His little girl was special from the
