It was only during times like these when she felt relief from the doubts and insecurities that plagued her. When all her doubts were vaporized in the heat of passion, and the deepest, most private part of her soul said to him, I don’t care who or what you are. You’re mine.

You’re mine.

Chapter Two

Finally, everything was done. Dragos had given away his demesne. It turned out, an old dragon could learn new tricks, do new things. Could decide on taking new adventures.

The gryphon Rune, Dragos’s former First sentinel, and his Vampyre mate Carling left their home in Florida to settle in a spacious apartment in Cuelebre Tower that had been specially fitted with Vampyre safety shutters, and Dragos had to admit that was one thing he never thought he would see happen. Turns out, an old dragon could also let go of engrained habits. He had distrusted Carling for so long, it was only when Carling had been kidnapped with Pia that Dragos had finally been able to fully accept her relationship with Rune.

All necessary paperwork was completed, the t’s were crossed, the i’s dotted. The official shit had been vetted by demesne lawyers. As for the unofficial shit…

Well, the Wyr sentinels were well versed in handling any unofficial shit.

They’d had a huge going-away bash in the Tower ballroom. The food was fabulous, the liquor ever-flowing, and people gave them presents even though Dragos and Pia had specifically stated in the invitations, no presents, please. And if Dragos’s eyes glazed over at the excruciating number of Wyr who got all fucking weepy at him, nobody mentioned it. Pia kept a close eye on him and rescued him whenever things became too heartfelt.

The main thing was, everybody survived and had a good time.

Pia got to dance with Quentin, her old friend and former employer. Now Quentin, a Wyr panther, was a sentinel—another thing Dragos had never thought to see—and he was mated to another sentinel, the harpy Aryal, who had the dubious honor of being the most insane female Dragos had ever met.

Aryal tried to needle Graydon, also a gryphon and one of Dragos’s original sentinels, into a wrestling match. Graydon had resigned his sentinel position and was moving to Rhyacia with his mate, the Elven lady Beluviel. They were new parents also, and Pia and Beluviel were close friends. While Pia did have Eva, who was her best friend and personal bodyguard, Eva didn’t have children, nor was she mated. It would be good for Pia to also have Beluviel in Rhyacia, and Dragos had to admit, it would be good for him to have Graydon.

Annoyed with Aryal’s antics, Graydon kept brushing her off until she threw up her hands and walked away, only to circle around and tackle him from behind. That cleared a space around them quickly.