Page 14 of Dragon’s Revenge (Irresistible Dragons #7)

Chapter Thirteen

N ot even an hour later, they had assembled everyone willing to participate in the rescue mission. Fallon looked around the meeting barn, hope filling him at the sight of so many men. All Fallon and Adar had done was ask, and not a single person had said no. Well, except Oliver, but he had good reasons.

Adar cleared his throat. “I’m not used to taking charge, so bear with me,” he said softly, and everyone hushed. “And please speak up if you have objections or ideas, or anything. Together, we are so much stronger and smarter than alone.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Palani said. “So, where do you want to start?”

“Minimal defense strength.” Adar looked around the room. “We start by deciding what we need as the bare minimum to defend both packs and the Doyle clan. Especially the new dragon omegas, since they’re so vulnerable. We have to keep everyone safe while we get the omegas out.”

Palani nodded. “We can bring the packs together if we…”

A door opened, and Fallon felt his power ripple through him even before he recognized who it was. Lidon. The alpha moved with his quiet grace, almost soundlessly, as he took his seat next to Palani. He must’ve been aware he’d interrupted, but he didn’t hesitate to kiss Palani firmly with a possessive, deep kiss that left no doubt about his claim on the man.

Only then did Lidon acknowledge the silence in the room. “My apologies for being late. I had an…urgent matter to take care of.”

Palani snorted. “An omega to fuck, you mean. I can smell Vieno on you…alpha.” He added the last word quickly when Lidon quirked an eyebrow.

“Jealous much?” Kean teased his brother, and then they all laughed, Fallon right along with them.

These men were incorrigible, but gods, did he love them. He’d follow Lidon to the ends of the earth and lay down his life for him and anyone else. Such a strange feeling to be so deeply connected to others with a bond that surpassed being mere friends. They were family. Brothers.

“I interrupted you, I think?” Lidon said to Palani.

“Adar mentioned we need to set up a defense first, and I suggested bringing the packs together. The Hayes pack can come here. It’ll be easier for us to make that move than for them, what with all the new omegas in the Doyle clan. They’re still recovering from their ordeal and shouldn’t be thrown into the turmoil of being relocated right now.”

Ordeal. There was a word that covered a multitude of sins, though Fallon didn’t know what to call it other than that.

“Make it happen,” Lidon said.

“Bray can set up a defense plan,” Palani told Adar. “All we need to do is assign him sufficient manpower, and he’ll get it done.”

“He’ll need more than manpower,” Fallon spoke up. “We need sufficient magic to defend the packs as well. It’s not mere mortals we’re fighting. If it’s a dragon attack, we’ll need magical abilities to withstand that.”

It still scared him, voicing his opinion like that, especially when Lidon was present. But he couldn’t keep his mouth shut when he knew they were making a tactical error.

“You’re right,” Adar said. “You and Jermon are our strongest magical dragons. Would you rather be in charge of the magical offense or defense?”

Fallon’s mouth dropped open. “In charge?” He looked at Jermon. “Shouldn’t you be…? Or someone else? I’m only an?—”

“You’re the one who saved my life,” Erwan said sharply. “Without you, the Murphys would have taken me. So cut the crap about you only being an omega. You can kick anyone’s ass here when it comes to magical abilities, and that includes my brother and me.”

Jermon leaned forward, nodding. “He’s right. You have the opportunity to go up against your abusers, Fallon. You’ve beaten them before, and we all know you can do it again. What do you say?”

Even if he lived to be five hundred years old, Fallon was certain he’d never forget the feeling that barreled through him. Knowing he had the trust of his leaders, the full confidence of their belief in his abilities, was the most powerful rush in the world.

He straightened his shoulders. “I’d be honored to lead the attack.”

“Awesome,” Adar said.

Gregor cleared his throat. “I’d be honored to help Bray in the defense.”

It had been a bit of a shock for Fallon to see Gregor again. Fallon had been a child when Gregor had left the Murphy clan for the Fitzgeralds, but he did remember him. No bad memories, but still, the association with the Murphys was always jarring.

“He’s the strongest red dragon I’ve ever seen,” Fergal said, his voice full of pride. “No one has ever beaten him.”

That fit what Fallon remembered of him.

Adar nodded. “Thank you. That’s a powerful ally to have on our side. What about you, King Fergal?”

“Just Fergal will do. And I’m?—”

“Not available for the frontlines,” Gregor said sharply. “And that’s not up for debate. You are the king of the Fitzgeralds, decimated as our clan might be. I have sworn an oath to keep you safe, and I will, even if it means tying you to your bed.”

Fergal’s cheeks grew red, but he raised his chin. “You mean our bed.”

Fallon bit his lip to keep from laughing. Those two were a riot. Amid the severity of what they were about to do, this provided a welcome comic relief.

“Our bed,” Gregor conceded through gritted teeth.

“No need to tie me down, Commander. Not my particular kink. Besides, I was about to suggest I stay with the dragon omegas. As an influencer, I’ll be able to help them stay calm.”

Oh, the king was a light-blue dragon? Fallon filed that information away. They didn’t have many of those in the clan, other than Nadiv.

“Perfect,” Adar said, smartly choosing to ignore the underlying battle of wills between Fergal and Gregor. “Now, how do we go about it? Because I don’t think a frontal, all-out attack is the way to go.”

“We gotta use their weaknesses against them,” Palani said slowly, scratching his chin.

“Omegas.” Fallon could barely keep himself from jumping up. “Omegas are their weakness. They don’t see us as a worthy opponent or even as a force to be reckoned with.”

“Not even after what you did to them?” Adar asked.

“No. It’s too deeply ingrained. They may mistrust me now that they’ve seen firsthand what I’m capable of, but not other omegas. They’ll always focus on the alphas.”

“I agree,” Gregor said. “I’m not sure if you’re all aware, but I grew up in the Murphy clan.”

“He left as soon as he was old enough to see that what they were doing was deeply wrong,” Fergal said immediately, coming to the defense of his commander.

Gregor shot the king a look, his previous anger making space for something much softer. “Yes, I did. But it means I know how these alphas think, and Fallon is right. They’re so conditioned to expect nothing from omegas that even after what they’ve seen from Fallon, they’ll have a hard time taking them seriously. It’s literally a battle against hundreds of years of bias and prejudice.”

“So we make sure they have plenty of alphas to draw their attention while the omegas do the real work and free the prisoners.” Palani looked at Fallon. “But we’d have to put you with the alphas.”

Fallon immediately understood what Palani was getting at. The alphas would distract while the omegas would sneak in and free the others. And how he loved Palani for calling them what they were: prisoners. “Yeah, because they won’t trust me anymore. As long as they have eyes on me and the most powerful alphas, they won’t suspect anything is up.”

“How about we try to buy them?” Jermon suggested. “It’s what they did, isn’t it? When Hubert offered a crapload of money for Finlay. Money is a language they understand, and us offering to buy the omegas from them wouldn’t make them suspicious.”

He was right. Money was a strategy the Murphys would understand and wouldn’t question. “That’s a brilliant idea.”

“What about me?” Erwan asked. “They’ll be looking for me for sure.”

They would be. If they didn’t see him, they’d be suspicious. “True, so you’ll have to be in the lead group.”

Erwan chuckled. “You’re not getting off that easily, Fallon. Just because I’m there doesn’t mean I’ll be in charge.”

“But you’re the king…and the White Dragon. They’ll be expecting you to lead.”

“All the more reason why he shouldn’t,” Palani said. “I agree that you should be with the alphas, Erwan. They’ll expect to see you there. But let Fallon still be in charge. That’ll throw them off, I hope.”

And so a plan was formed. They spent an hour going over all the details until everyone was satisfied this was their best chance.

“We meet at five,” Adar said. “Don’t be late.”

Everyone dispersed, some hurrying out to prepare themselves. As Fallon walked out, Lidon called him out. “Fallon, a moment, please.”

Fallon’s heart skipped a beat. Had he done something wrong? He forced himself to walk over to Lidon, who was still standing there with Palani, Erwan, and Jermon. “Yes, alpha?”

Lidon’s face grew soft as he looked down on Fallon. “You did nothing wrong, little omega, I promise.”

How had the man known? “Thank you, alpha.”

Then why had Lidon asked him to stay?

“I wanted to give you all permission to tap into my powers if needed.” Lidon met their eyes one by one, first Fallon and then the two Doyle brothers. “Whether it’s for offense or defense, if you need me, do it. Drain me.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Palani protested, but Lidon put a hand on his mate’s shoulder. “If they take too much, they could k?—”

“They can’t kill me. No matter how much power they take from me, they’ll never take more than I can give. He’s the White Dragon, my love. We’re connected, Erwan and me, and our destinies are intertwined. It was foretold.”

Palani’s shoulders sagged. “I know, but I can’t stand the thought of something happening to you. It’s killing me that we don’t know if Rhene is okay, if my brother is okay. How am I supposed to let you go too?”

Fallon’s throat tightened. Palani was always so strong, so tough. It was hard to see the beta struggling. He opened his mouth to offer some well-meaning encouragement, but instead, something else entirely came out.

“ The White Dragon’s mate, the consort of the Doyle clan, has his own journey to walk now, and by doing so, he will bless his clan and his pack. Trust him as he has always trusted you, and be willing to sacrifice what must be given up to gain what’s worth more than anything else .”

He blinked as the words stopped. What the ever-loving fuck had that been? Where had that come from? Four pairs of eyes stared at him in wide-open astonishment.

“I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I don’t know what came over me.”

Palani put a warm hand on his shoulder. “The gods chose you to give us a message. That’s what happened. To reassure me that my brother is and will be okay, and that I need to let go of him for now. So thank you.”

Before Fallon realized it, Palani was hugging him tightly, and he awkwardly patted the beta on the back. “I didn’t really do anything, but you’re welcome?”

And when Palani let go, Erwan hugged him, and Fallon gave up on protesting. He would be grateful instead that his words had encouraged everyone else and leave it at that.

When he came home, Yitro and Duer were waiting for him. News of the upcoming mission had spread rapidly, as usual, and both sported tight faces. Fallon took a sleeping Ainle from Yitro’s arms and snuggled with him on the couch. Why was it that babies always smelled so good?

“You’re going, I assume?” Yitro asked softly.

Fallon nodded. “I’m leading the magical part of the attack.”

“Oh, honey…” Yitro reached for Duer’s hand.

“I have to do it,” Fallon said. “The lives of the omegas depend on it.”

“We know, and you have our full support.” Duer’s voice was gentle. “We have so much faith in you, little dragon. But forgive us for being worried about you. You’re… You’re our everything, you know? We’re not complete without you.”

Fallon all but melted as his two mates sat on either side of him and hugged him. He’d been so blessed to find this happiness, something he hadn’t dared to dream of back when he’d been with the Murphys.

They sat for a little while, and Fallon’s heart quieted like it always did when he was with his mates. “I had a prophecy today,” he said and shared what had happened with his mates.

“That’s truly special that you were chosen to deliver that message,” Yitro said. “You’re special, honey. Even the gods agree.”

Fallon always felt a little awkward when Yitro said something like that. “I don’t know about that, but I’m grateful I could bring Palani and Erwan hope. They need it. They miss him something awful.”

Duer shuddered. “Can we change the topic? I’ve been where Rhene is, and those are not memories I want to revisit.”

“Sorry…” Feeling guilty for inadvertently triggering his mate, Fallon quickly changed the topic. “I hope I run into Dempsey again.”

Yitro chuckled. “If he wasn’t such an utterly evil man, I’d almost feel sorry for him. He doesn’t stand a chance against you.”

“No, he doesn’t.” Funny how those earlier doubts had vanished, as if the faith everyone had in him had boosted his self-confidence. “Though I think he should worry more about Adar than about me. I may have magic, but Adar has pure rage over what Dempsey did to Oliver. If Dempsey so much as looks at Adar the wrong way, he’ll kill him.”

“I never thought I’d say this, but death would be too easy a punishment for him,” Yitro said. “He should suffer more for what he did to others.”

“I often think of that spell you used the night they tried to abduct Erwan,” Duer said to Fallon. “May what you have given others be paid back a thousandfold to you. That was it, right?”

“Yeah. And I meant every word of it.”

Duer hummed, looking pensive. “I was raised Christian, and my grandfather was a preacher. There’s this verse he often quoted that says, A man shall reap what he sows . There’s a deep justice in that and even a sense of comfort. Those who sow kindness, love, and compassion will reap it, now or in the afterlife. And those who sow hate and violence, like Dempsey and the other Murphys, will call that upon themselves. What you did is nothing more than wishing that verse becomes truth for them, for them to reap what they have sown. There’s justice in that.”

Fallon put his head on Duer’s shoulder. “I love how you worded that.”

Yitro sighed. “Me too, but I have to say I wouldn’t mind at all if it turns out Adar is the gods’ instrument of justice, if he’s the one who will bring that harvest home, you know?”

“Same,” Fallon said. “I had my revenge on him that night, and humiliating him and the others was one of the proudest moments of my life. Adar deserves to have his. If it comes down to it, I will happily step aside and let him have a go at Dempsey.” Then his face hardened. “But I will damn well stay close and make sure it’s a fair fight.”