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Everything about Morlie he desired, wanted, needed, and even as a part of him couldn’t wait until she was whole and healthy again to sheath his cock deep within her tight, wet walls.

Oh, yes, once she was better, he wouldn’t allow a day to go by where he wasn’t thrusting inside of her on every available surface and wall in his home.

He planned to fuck her so often that the very bricks that held his house together would constantly echo her screams like the old cavernous rock formation of the Grand Canyon in times past. However, what he did now had nothing to do with lust. Instead, he tended to his mate with care because he needed her to survive this.

Come out on the other side, accepting her wolf, being his she-wolf.

You can do this, mate.

~YH~

“I hear you and Kai are headed to our parents’ for the evening meal?”

Aodh cocked a brow up as he glanced up from the security reports he reviewed and eyed his brother as he strutted into his office. “We are. I assume Mother invited you. You planning to go? I could tell our sister to be there as well. We could make it a family affair.”

Liekki chuckled. “Yeah, right. Do you think Eilidh will not attempt to set your tail on fire the next time you’re in flight if you try to keep her from spending time with her friends? She enjoys her evenings feasting, dancing, and laughing by the fire.”

As the oldest of the siblings, Aodh could only help but wonder if that was all his little sister was getting into at night.

He could ask one of his security team, but it wasn’t in his nature to invade another Drahk’s privacy unless he needed to intervene.

As the big brother, he also did not want to think about his sister being intimate with anyone.

Even if Eilidh would not be doing anything that he, Liekki, and practically every grown drahk partook in when they were of age, he put it out of his mind.

Dragon-shifters were sexual beings, as he’d explained to Kai.

Besides, Kai’s sister was the same age as Eilidh; she was now off on her own and mated.

Possibly even Lupine by now. If Morlie didn’t call Kai soon, he’d have to contact Chanin.

The Alpha wolf needed time with his mate to help her adjust, but Aodh didn’t want his mate to worry.

And when Kai wasn’t eating, sleeping, exploring divisions of their territory, or fucking him, her eyes were shadowed with concern.

Aodh couldn't handle seeing that for long.

Nodding, Aodh agreed with his brother’s words.

The only difference with their family compared to most Drahk was that they’ve always held positions on the leadership council and eventually in the Wise Ones.

Even as a drahkelle, his sister must step up, find her place, and lead.

“True. But the sprite will have to learn responsibility eventually.”

“Perhaps.” Liekki lowered his bulk in the seat across from him. “However, until the youth are flooding our territory again, I’m in no rush to see the young adults settled down and step into major roles.”

Aodh wondered if it was because his brother had not settled on a mate yet.

His brother, unlike his monogamous nature, Liekki had prided himself on having a different female or females in his bed or whatever available corner he chose to fuck them.

However, as he eyed his Second-in-Command now and watched his brother stare out the large window as if he’d lost something beyond the treetops, Aodh spotted the weary lines around Liekki’s eyes and the drawn tension in his brother’s shoulders; Liekki was restless.

Perhaps he’d been preoccupied with Kai and going on with her, the situation with the humans, and the other territories; it seemed he’d missed a problem regarding Liekki.

“It’s true.” Aodh continued to lean back in his chair and study his brother. “Since our breeding issues have been resolved—”

“All thanks to our virile God of Fire,” Liekki faced him with a wink.

Aodh chuckled and shook his head. The thought of Kai swelling with his youngling filled his chest with warmth from the fires of joy his dragon exhaled within him as the damned beast rolled over as if he were basking in the sun—c ocky bastard.

However, Aodh couldn’t chide his dragon because of the swelling pride he felt every time another scale appeared on Kai, and her stomach rounded a bit more; it stole his breath.

As he refocused on Liekki, Aodh noted that even with his brother’s jovial attitude, he could now recognize the mask. He pondered how long his brother had dealt with the mysterious weight on his shoulder.

“Are you coming tonight? Is that what you came to tell me?” Aodh arched a brow.

“No.” Liekki glanced down toward his pants and picked an imaginary piece of lint from his clothes as he avoided eye contact.

Another sign something disturbed the towering beast before him. If they were in dragon form, it would be easier for him to read Liekki and pick up on the powerful emotions their beasts couldn’t hide.

“I’m taking one of the security routes tonight,” Liekki met his gaze.

Liekki’s stoic expression didn’t fool Aodh. “I haven’t heard we’re down a Drakh on the team.” Aodh tapped the report on his desk he’d been reading. Most of it had to do with movements within other territories.

The Drakh didn’t spy on the other shifters.

No. Aodh respected his council colleagues to govern their property.

However, a dragon’s vision was long-range and sharp, and they couldn’t help but observe certain activities across their borders.

If Aodh wanted to, he could have one of the security flyers scan the Lupine lands and search specifically for Morlie and see how she was doing, if she was a wolf.

However, that was a deliberate invasion of privacy on multiple levels, and Aodh would not order it.

“You wouldn’t.”

“True.” Edjer would handle any lapse in security and report it to Liekki if it elevated to the level of concern. Then, only if it was a significant problem that would affect the territory's safety would it come to Aodh’s attention.

Liekki drew his leg up to rest his ankle on his knee. “I’ve been out most nights.”

That shocked Aodh to hear.

When Aodh tipped his head to the side and frowned, Liekki rushed on, “Not because there’s a problem. With the rogue wolf still loose, I wanted to keep an eye out for him. I know Chanin and Bleddyn can help find him. Just making sure the rogue doesn’t decide to use our territory as a rescue.”

Aodh rested his elbows on the chair's armrests and linked his fingers. “I appreciate the extra measures.” Still unconvinced that his brother’s nighttime patrols were as clear-cut as Liekki tried to make it seem.

Perhaps it was the slight flicker of a pale-tangerine flame in the depths of Liekki’s gaze, there one second and gone the next.

The man before him was not only his brother but his close confidant.

They’d always shared the truth. “Anything else?”

His brother arched a brow but sat quietly for a long moment as if Liekki expected him to say more. “‘Else?’ Why would there be?”

Aodh allowed another pregnant pause to attempt to wait out his brother, allowing Liekki the space to open up if he desired. When long moments lapsed, it was apparent to Aodh that Liekki would continue to keep his private council for now. “Just making sure.”

Exhaling out a tiny wisp of smoke from his nostrils, Liekki rose. “I’ve kept you away from your reports long enough. I’d offer to help, but I know how much you enjoy the paperwork.” He stretched as if imprisoned in the chair for months.

Another sign of something had wound his brother up. Aodh, let it go.

“Yes.” Aodh sighed. It was true. He didn’t mind the tedious paperwork, while Liekki preferred to be in the skies or a different pair of thighs. “If I don’t get this done and the livestock report still needs to be reviewed, Yeongi will not go home, and Kai and I’ll be late to the house.”

“I’m too fond of you to let Mother come for you if you are late to the evening meal table.” Liekki stepped away from the chair toward the large window.

“I appreciate that.” Aodh chuckled. Their mother could be the fiercest when it came to governing their family home. He could see Kai being the same way.

Liekki nodded his head toward the window. “May I?”

“As long as your big-ass beast doesn’t shift in here and knock all my stuff around, by all means.” Aodh watched his brother strut toward the giant, sliding door.

Standing by the handle, Liekki glanced over his shoulder. “One time, a Drakh breaks a desk and a couple chairs, and his brother won’t let him live it down.”

Aodh gave him a half smile and recalled a memory from their youth.

When they were young adult males new to the prowl, they were in a meeting with their father when Rhys was Mckenna.

Liekki had spotted a drahkelle he’d been enamored with flying overhead.

With hormones in full rage, his brother had shifted and shattered the chair and split their father’s desk in half and was charging for the window before the roaring voice of the Mckenna halted him.

They both had been in trouble, Liekki for the damage and Aodh because he couldn’t get himself up from the floor where his laughter held him bound.

Rhys had sent them both to the territory's northern end to work with the goat keepers for three months.

It took their father that long to calm down.

Aodh was sure their mother persuaded their father to allow them to return to the territory center.

“It’s one of my fondest memories,” Aodh declared.

“Mine, too.” Liekki winked, then slid the door open enough to step out to the landing. Seconds later, he leaped from the wide platform and took to the sky in his dragon form.

Turning back to his reports, Aodh had to believe his brother would confide in him when he was ready. Determined to leave his office soon, he buried himself in his work.