Timothy could hear that the shower was still running. Liana would be a while...
He took his phone and then wandered out along the wooden pathway that ran around the house over the water. Then he thumbed through his contacts until he found the dragon of the storm, Gregory.
Gregory answered almost immediately.
“Everything okay?” the other dragon shifter said. “Ginny called an hour ago.”
“I was out in the ocean,” Timothy said. “Everything’s fine. Fire dragons attacked early this morning, but Ginny probably gave you all the news.”
“About your mate, you mean?” He could hear the smirk in Gregory’s voice. “Congratulations! I didn’t think we’d see you settle down at last. I bet she’s one of your supermodels—or a movie star? Or maybe reality TV, knowing you... Ooh, wait.”
Gregory lowered his voice. “She’s not that famous porn starlet you told me about who presumably has been hounding you with calls—”
“Hey!” Timothy said sharply as annoyance rose up in him. “I won’t have you speculate about my mate in such a way—show some goddamn manners! What the hell is wrong with you?”
It took a moment until he realized that Gregory was laughing at the other end. “Just teasing. This time it’s not one of your outrageous tales then, hmm?”
There was something strangely knowing about the way Gregory said it.
Timothy had to bite back a sound of disgruntled annoyance. Apparently, he hadn’t been able to fool Gregory with the tales he’d made up about all of his past conquests.
“She’s real,” Timothy said, still annoyed. “And you’ll be polite when you meet her, do you understand me? She didn’t know anything about shifters, and she nearly died because of me. I won’t have you scare or insult her.”
“Sorry,” Gregory said. “I’m looking forward to meeting her.” Then he paused. “And I’m glad you found someone who brings out that protective instinct in you. It suits you... better than those old, outrageous tales.”
Now Timothy was the one who sputtered.
“Whatever,” he said after a moment, trying hard to keep his composure. It really wasn’t fair that a powerful dragon like him should feel so out of his depth—but he’d never met a woman like Liana before.
And he’d never felt for someone so intensely before. The mere thought of those fire dragons coming close to her again...
Timothy took a deep breath. “Back to business. We’re all to meet in Sky Home, I hear. Want to meet up before we get there? We can fly the rest of the way together, which means more safety for our mates. And Liana will have a chance to meet everyone, before that damn chimera can scare her out of her wits.”
Gregory was silent for a moment.
“You know what?” he then said. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you speak actual sense. Your mate must be a good influence. But yeah, let’s meet. Now that Naomi is pregnant, I hate the thought of fire dragons coming anywhere close to her. Safety in numbers.”
“Not that we need it,” Timothy said, feeling the same wave of protectiveness for Liana rise up in him. “But still, we’d be foolish to risk anything. After that thing they pulled last time...”
“I’ll call Damon,” Gregory said. “It’s not quite on the way for him, but I bet he’ll be curious about your mate as well. How does 10 a.m. sound? Do you remember that hill where you and I used to race each other as teenagers?”
“Good choice,” Timothy said. “Out of sight from any cities—and with a good view of our surroundings.”
“No fire dragon will sneak up on us there,” Gregory agreed cheerfully. “And if they do—what can fire do against the three elements combined?”
“Let’s not jinx it.”
Timothy looked out at the ocean. He hated flying away from his natural element—here, he truly felt at the height of his strength. With the ocean all around them, he’d be able to keep Liana perfectly safe from any fire dragon attack.
Still, it was true that as the master of the water, he had a duty. A duty to all shifters and all humans.
He might not like it, but he couldn’t hide with such a threat out there. He had to answer the council summons.
Chapter Fifteen: Liana
The next morning, Timothy woke her early.
They’d stayed up late, sitting arm in arm by the fire as it burned down. They’d watched the moon rise over the calm, dark water of the ocean before them, and Liana had felt completely, utterly at peace.