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“I’m not—” She stopped herself from another denial, which didn’t seem right with Chumana. The last thing she wanted to do was to upset the woman whose clothes she wore and who was nice enough to get her out of Liekki’s place. “Why do you think I’m his mate? Did he say that?”

“No. Liekki didn’t say that at all. But there was no need. I knew it as soon as you were close to me. I sensed him on you.” Chumana shrugged as she lowered her arms.

Avalore waited a little longer for the lovely Drahk woman to say more, but she didn’t.

Inhaling, Avalore felt better. This situation was a misunderstanding. “It’s because he blew smoke all over me. It’s probably still in my hair from last night. Your kind has some pretty powerful smoke. Knocked the hell out of me.”

As she began to walk again, Avalore lifted her loose braid and brought it to her nose for a quick sniff.

Oddly enough, she didn’t smell anything but the cleanser and light moisturizer.

It smelled wonderful—like a unique field of wildflowers, she imagined.

Avalore had seen many pictures in the archive center but never smelled any.

Evidently, the dragon-shifters had a strong sense of smell, and Chumana picked up some faint notes of the smoke . She dropped the hair and continued past Chumana, who stepped alongside her with a single stride.

“Nope. It’s not the faint traces of the deatach glan heyl .

..his scent that indicates to all shifters you are his.

” Some of Chumana’s words came out rough and booming when she said the words in a language Avalore didn’t understand as they rounded another gigantic place before guiding them through a clearing where a few other people were traversing in the same direction before them and entering the side of the biggest structure.

His . “Oh, no. I am no one’s. He assisted me when I was hurt, but I’m my own...” Avalore grabbed Chumana’s arm to stop her before they went inside. She felt the need to clear up the misunderstanding.

However, she didn’t need to try hard to stop the tall, toned woman; Chumana’s steps halted on a dime as she stared down at Avalore’s grip on her arm.

The scale-shaped markings, once black, were now tangerine in color.

Avalore frowned. Her hold was tight on Chumana’s forearm, but she was pretty sure she wasn’t hurting the woman. But when the dark-haired beauty lifted her gaze, the matching flames that blazed there made it clear to Avalore that her touch was not wanted.

Quickly, Avalore dropped her hand and stepped back. Shit. Did I do something wrong? Is this friendly woman about to torch me? Dammit, I left the rock at the house.

“Um...I didn’t mean—”

Just as fast, the flames were doused, and Chumana’s lips began to curl up at the corners. “No worries. Drahks do not allow touching except from mates and family or when Drahks agree to have sex. It is considered bellicose and instinctively incites our dragons to fight.”

What in the hell have I gotten myself into?

Run, Avalore. Run right now.

“Come on, let's eat.” Chumana’s smile was bright and as radiant as the rising sun now.

Eat . “Yes, I need food.” To run.

Unless their kind were mind readers, Chumana didn’t know that she was aiding her to get away from this place and that she didn’t want anything to do with these shifters. What else could set them off if a touch could inflame them?

I’m not sticking around to find out.

“This is called the Mckenna Building.” Chumana led her into a side door.

“Oh, my word. It’s huge! How many people can you fit in this place.

” Avalore hadn’t noticed any windows along the wall beside the door and expected the windowless room to be dark, but it wasn’t.

Not only was there a humungous fireplace, long enough to take up half of one of the side walls, with a detailed carving of a flying dragon, its wingspan appearing over sixty feet if it had been drawn to scale, and the lines of the body crawled up the wall more than two stories, stopping a few inches below the ceiling.

Avalore didn’t want to know what tool could scrape such an intricate stone design.

Another high ceiling. The room was full of about forty or so big, broad-shouldered men and women seated at long tables. Plenty of tables were still empty. The groups were scattered, but everyone seemed happy to gather at the occupied tables.

“All of the Thunder can fit if it was needed. However, unless it was for a special directive from the Mckenna to be here, we are never all together. This is nothing. Wait until you see how packed the Great Hall gets at dinner. A lot of the Thunder eat in their homes, but in the evening, meal can be festive.”

“Why is the building named after him if it is a food and meeting hall?”

Chumana guided her to a table close to the center with two empty seats. “This is part of his home. When it arrives, he and his mate and their offspring live in the whole upper level.”

“Oh.”

“You see that door over there?” Chumana pointed across the big room.

Following the gesture, Avalore spotted the wide archway where a man sat in a chair on the other side of the arch facing away from the hall. She supposed the handle of a sword hovered high above his shoulder for quick access.

Avalore nodded. “Is that man on guard?”

“Yes. Only if Aguya Kai is in residence, a guard is posted, or if the two are indisposed, guards take shifts.”

She spotted the start of some stone stairs beyond the door. Glancing back at Chumana, she frowned. “Indisposed?”

“Fucking.” Chumana shrugged nonchalantly.

Avalore gasped. She wasn’t a prude, and she lived a life inside the Wall where people were paid to, in a sense, have sex to get babies, and others were couples, and some just for fun. But no one talked about it, probably because they didn’t have time while they tried to scratch out a life.

“Sex and sex talk freely happens among Drahk, hell, all shifters, for that matter. We all have needs and high drives, and we indulge in them often and casually, before and after we declare a mate.” Chumana’s smile was broad as she directed Avalore to take a seat.

This conversation just made Avalore wonder again about Chumana and Liekki’s relationship. Were they sex buddies...is that why he’d asked Chumana to escort her around?

Had he been with her last night?

Avalore didn’t want to have to hate the woman.

Blocking out those thoughts, she stared at the table.

It had a platter and bowls filled with food covering it.

All the variety of dishes reminded Avalore of the day she served the guards and workers in the Consumer Providence.

Their food had been just as plentiful and smelled just as good.

Avalore’s mouth watered, and her stomach grumbled loudly.

Those around the table were dressed in all types of clean clothes and appeared happy as they chatted and smiled, with some showing the same amethyst glow as Chumana had when she met her. Nothing like what groups looked like in the district.

“We eat family-style here, so don’t be shy to dig in, too,” Chumana urged as she reached out and grabbed the bowl of rolls, then offered them to Avalore. “While you fill your plate, I’ll introduce everyone.”

She discovered that Chumana worked as a cook in the kitchen, but other than that, Avalore half-listened to names or what everyone did in the territory as she grabbed two rolls, some sort of roasted meat, a heaping of fried potatoes with what seemed like a million herbs and onions speckled through them, and sauteed spinach and mushrooms.

There was so much food. Once Avalore and the other twelve women arrived in the lab, they had eaten decently, but nothing compared to the wonder of all the food before her. She wondered if she shoved some bread into her tight cargo pockets if anyone would say anything or make her put it back.

“Avalore. It’s great to meet Liekki’s mate.” Over and over, Avalore heard similar comments.

She considered correcting them but decided not to waste her time. Soon, the place would be in her shadow, and she’d be halfway to......somewhere else. Intel. She needed to know more about this place before she could plan.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Avalore muttered around savory meat so tender it melted like butter on her tongue. “Did Chumana say you’re a patrol person?”

The man beside her, with short, red hair and a beard, big but not as massive as Liekki's, pushed his empty plate away and gave her an assessing look before meeting her stare.

“Yes. Night patrol once or twice a week when I’m not in my shop. I just got off. Ready for a bit of fun before I rest.” He wiggled his brow suggestively and made the two reddish caterpillars above his light eyes dance.

Avalore didn’t have to know dragon-shifters to know he was flirting with her.

Flattered, her face warmed a bit; men in the Dispatch didn’t flirt; there wasn’t time for such social teasing because they were trying to survive.

If they wanted to hook up and try for the breeding stipend, they just discussed it quickly and got on when it was convenient for them both. No flowery words or heated looks.

And the lab guard's belief that he had any right or authority to try and have sex with her wasn’t flattering at all.

She cleared her throat, dancing around his offer. “So, do you just circle this area here?”

“Hell, no, that would be dizzying for my dragon to cover an area that would only take a few minutes from the sky. There are enough Drahks moving about to cover the center of our territory. I take the southwest border.” He raised his cup of something dark, brewed, and brought it to his mouth for a healthy swallow.

“Southeast,” she frowned. “How far away is that?” She was hoping for a few miles or a day's walk to reach the end of the dragon territory. She wasn’t a fool. If she wanted to escape Liekki and those in his Thunder, she’d have to escape their area.