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Web and Liam had returned to the vet’s vehicle as asked. Pan was surprised they were still there.

The vet gave them the key and asked them to drive it around to where they’d left their car, and showed them where to hide the key so that it would be waiting for her when she was done.

Pan took Noah’s hands. “Thank you for your help. I could not have done this without you.”

Noah glanced away and shrugged. “I’m sure you would’ve figured something out.”

“No. You know the people in this world who can help, and you know how this world works.”

“And you know how magic works. It seems like a fair trade.”

Pan considered him for several heartbeats. “Are you making a deal with a god?”

“Maybe? Is that a bad thing?” Noah held his gaze as if unafraid.

“It’s not a done thing.”

“Maybe not on your world, but you’re in my world now.”

As unsavory as it was, Noah had a point. “Very well. You will teach me of this world, and I will teach you magic.” He smiled as he realized he had the perfect gift for Noah. “As a thank you, I have a magical object for you, since you are a collector.”

Noah grinned. “Is it a cursed object?”

“No, though it is the last of its kind.” His voice caught as if the loss of the selkies was still raw. No one would’ve mourned the loss of all the centaurs.

“Come on, I want to deliver this and get home before dark,” the farmer called.

“I will see you at the palace.”

“The pub,” Noah corrected, even though both were true.

Pan nodded. “Safe travels.”

“You, too.”

Pan wasn’t sure who was going to face the most difficulties, Noah taking the dragon into town, or him and the vet dealing with more fucking centaurs.

CHAPTER31

If there was one thing Noah never wanted to do again, it was to ride in a tractor towing a trailer loaded up with a dragon. It wasn’t that the dragon was making a scene or being difficult—though what Pan had said to her to make her behave, he had no idea—it was the smell of being so close to a dragon.

It was like someone had shoved two pickled onions up his nostrils and doused him in raspberry cordial. It was a pickled sweet scent that he was never getting out of his lungs, his skin or his clothes. He’d noticed the stink of the dragon behind the pub, but being close to one for the best part of the day had given him an entirely new appreciation for the scent.

And the toxic funk of dragon shit.

He was sure he could still taste it, clinging to the back of his throat. He wanted to soak in a hot bath and scrub every inch.

No, there was something worse than being in the tractor—holding the wing that also smelled of blood and decaying skin. He was impressed with himself for not throwing up when a clot landed at his feet.

He called Meredith to tell her what was going on and that they were on their way with the female dragon. Then he leaned back and closed his eyes. At least he was away from the centaurs. He had no plans of ever getting close to them again.

A cop on a motorbike greeted them as they got closer to town and then escorted them the rest of the way in. The dragon must’ve smelled her mate because she started making noises. Noah was sure Pan would’ve been able to translate the sounds, as it was, he had no idea.

When the trailer rocked due to her excitement, the farmer glanced at him. “Is this safe?”

How was he supposed to know? “I guess. As long as she doesn’t tip the trailer?”

“I meant, is her mate gonna eat us?”