Lavinia barely remembered the car ride down to Skyhunter. She'd sat in a daze that was part happiness and part pessimism.
On the one hand, Max wanted to mate her, and his brother would do his best to keep her in the UK.
And yet, her track record of lasting happiness when it came to people in her life wasn't great.
As Max and his brother ushered them inside Skyhunter's head security building and into a private meeting room, her dragon spoke up.Worrying won't help anyone. Focus on what we can do.
Before she could reply, the co-leaders of Clan Skyhunter walked into the room.
They were a thirtysomething mated couple. Honoria Wakeham was blonde and all-around nice and welcoming. At first glance, her dark-haired mate, Asher King, looked constantly angry about something and definitely had "fuck off" vibes. However, she'd learned early on that he was more private than Honoria, and once you passed a few of his unknown tests, he warmed up a little.
Which was why he almost smiled as he looked at Lavinia. "So you found yourself a mate. I would say congratulations, but we have a lot to discuss."
Honoria smiled as she slid into a chair opposite her and Max. Asher sat next to his mate.
Antony, standing in the corner, jumped in. "Whether they mate or not mainly comes down to you two. Can you protect my brother? Will the clan accept him? Because if you can't guarantee that, Max can't stay here."
Max growled, but Honoria replied before him, "It's been more than a year since Asher and I took over. Skyhunter today isn't the Skyhunter of even a few years ago." She looked at Lavinia. "You were told a brief history of the tumult here, although we didn't go into unnecessary detail. Let's just say the DDA never would've allowed you to stay on Skyhunter under the old leadership."
Antony added, "Right, because the old clan leader condoned killing and hiding bodies on his land? Or how about torturing his own clan and family members?"
Asher growled. "Careful, Holbrook. You're close to being tossed off my land. I know you're angry, but if you imply I'm like my fucking uncle, you're gone."
Oh, dear. As Lavinia watched Antony and Asher glare at each other, she felt a dick-swinging contest coming on. Determined to stop it, Lavinia stood. "You might become my brother-in-law soon, Antony, so I'm going to be blunt: stop being a dick to Asher for no reason."
Everyone blinked in the room before Max grinned, and Honoria chuckled.
Antony merely raised an eyebrow at her. She quickly added, "I want solutions, not threats and conjecture. So let's work together, okay?"
After a few more tense seconds, Antony shrugged. "Fine. I'm used to giving orders and not having to work with someone else. I apologize. Now, can you tell me if Max will be safe here?"
It was as if everyone let out a sigh of relief, and the room relaxed. Honoria spoke up. "He should be. There are the usual challenges, of course—we haven't had a human live here in a long time, and some clan members will be standoffish. However, he won't come to harm physically. Ash and I have done our best to clear out the traitorous members." She moved her gaze to Max. "It will take patience and charm, I think, to win over the skeptical people in the clan."
Max replied, "I can do that easily. Although I'll have to be my true self instead of the persona I've crafted for years."
Asher grunted. "I noticed you were less annoying this time."
Lavinia shared an exasperated glance with Honoria. Sometimes, males were stupid.
Her dragon laughed.And yet, we still want to live with them.
Max is better, full stop. He hasn't needled us unnecessarily since the frenzy.
True, although he can be annoying if he wishes.
Max's voice prevented her from replying to her beast. "Yes, well, being irritating was the point. But I can't keep that up with Lavinia." His eyes met hers, and they smiled at each other. "I don't want to annoy her on purpose."
Honoria snorted. "I would hope not, or you won't be mated for long."
Lavinia took Max's hand under the table and squeezed it before looking back at the Skyhunter leaders. "So we have your permission to live here, provided the DDA approves?"
Honoria bobbed her head. "Of course. If Max does well here, maybe the DDA will finally lift their ban and allow humans to date and mate other Skyhunter members."
Antony walked up to the table. "Good. Then I will tap every favor owed to ensure the DDA approves the mating." He looked at Max. "But promise you won't go gallivanting off to find Dragon's Court until they say it's okay."
Max grunted. "I won't. Although they bloody well better not give the project to someone else."
Antony replied, "I'll try my best to sort that out too. Think of it as a wedding present."