Meaning, would Mikael take full responsibility for them now? Of course he would. “Do you need me to escort the lion home too?” He couldn’t believe he was even asking, but…Avery liked that jackass.
The wolf was back in King’s eyes. “Aurora is coming to get that troublemaker.”
Ah. Okay, then. Mikael nodded once at the wolf and headed out. He knew King was busy figuring out how to set up a currency system, an education system, and if they ended up having a prison of sorts, a system for that as well. Though in the shifter world, things were run differently than in the human one, so he had a feeling that things would look far, far different than what humans were used to once King had full control of New Orleans. Not that any of that was Mikael’s concern right now.
As the three of them stepped out into the waning sunlight, he gripped the back of both Riel and Anthony’s necks and squeezed with just enough pressure to make his point. “You’re too old to be getting into fights.” Or maybe they weren’t. Hell. His own brothers were almost as old as him. Old and jaded, they’d retreated from the world and gone into Hibernation millennia ago once they’d grown tired of humans and shifters and treachery in general. They’d lost most of their family, and sleeping had been the respite they’d needed. But his dragon had decided it was time to wake up. He hadn’t understood why.
Until he’d met her.
Both males winced slightly but Riel was the one who spoke up. He was often the spokesperson of the two. “Maybe you don’t tell Avery about this?”
“I will not say anything to her right now, but I also won’t lie to her.” The boys were supposed to have been helping out on a construction site on the other side of town this week, assisting another crew. It was clear that King had held them for a while, probably since last night if Mikael had to guess, likely giving them time to cool off and think about their actions. “We are all rebuilding the world right now. Do you think fighting unnecessarily is helpful?”
He could scent the shame rolling off both of them. Good.
“No,” Anthony muttered. “But I’m still not sorry for punching that douche canoe.”
“Me neither,” said Riel.
Mikael let out a low laugh. “Well if anyone has the audacity to talk about another being’s deceased mother, they deserve to get more than their nose broken. I will show you how to take down another human quickly and efficiently without permanently maiming them.” Hopefully.
They both gave him a surprised look.
Feeling protective of them, he wrapped an arm around both their shoulders and squeezed once before he let them go.
“Don’t worry about that loser,” Riel muttered as they continued down the sidewalk. “He’s your ex for a reason, Anthony. He showed his true colors and he’s a piece of shit. He’s not your ride or die.”
The two boys started murmuring to each other but their words made Mikael frown. “What is ride or die?” He did not understand a lot of human idioms. And this one was definitely new to him. Not that he’d been awake for very long anyway, but he’d discovered that many idioms were senseless. Much like the actions of many humans.
“You know,” Riel said. “Your one and only.”
That still did not make sense. “Explain more.”
“Basically it means,” Anthony started, “that your significant other is someone who you’ll always support. You’ll always be loyal to them… Ah, you have their back no matter what. I think originally it was some biker phrase, something to do with riding or dying, but now it’s that one person who you’ll ride into battle with or, you know, die trying.”
He frowned as he digested their words. Avery was definitely his “ride or die.” Though he never wanted her going into any sort of battle. She was too soft and wonderful.
She was his everything, even if she only saw him as a friend.
Chapter 2
Bent over the architectural plans laid out on her desk, Avery scribbled another note. She was in the middle of building a small condominium complex, in the punch-out phase of another one, and in a couple months, she would be heading up another project per King’s orders.
This was on a different scale than when she’d been flipping houses and handling small apartment complexes, but she had the knowledge and experience and had been living in New Orleans her entire life so she knew a lot of people—which was a big plus right now. Humans were scared (yes, she was human, although she wasn’t scared), and working with people they trusted gave humans a sense of normalcy.
As she looked at the plumbing specs, she made a mental note to call her friend and fellow contractor Zia with a question.
She nearly jumped when someone knocked on the front door. Mikael had slipped out earlier—very sneakily, but not sneaky enough—and she had no idea where he’d gone. Her brothers still hadn’t come home and she wasn’t sure where Mikael’s two brothers were. They’d disappeared right after Mikael had. Quiet dragons.
But she wasn’t their mother so she wasn’t going to worry about it. Still, she was a little surprised that Mikael had left without saying anything to her. He was usually her shadow. A dark, broody, quiet, sometimes grumpy one. And…she had other feelings about him leaving without telling her. Feelings she wasn’t going to acknowledge.
Because that was how she rolled—burying her feelings in the healthiest way possible.
Striding to the front door, she tugged it open and froze. Her father stood on the stoop.
Nausea swelled up inside her as she stared at him. She hadn’t seen him in nearly six years. Wearing jeans and a pullover sweater that looked rumpled, he was more disheveled than she’d ever seen. His dark hair that had been peppered with gray in a very fashionable way years ago was now turning almost white in areas. He also had a few days’ worth of facial hair and looked…old. Haggard. This was not the same man who used to get weekly manicures and massages, who’d played tennis four days a week, and swam laps in his pool the other three.
“Shep.” She grinded her teeth together at just seeing his face. She refused to call him Father or Dad. It was simply Shep now. Or asshole. He’d lost all rights as her father after what he’d done to their mother. They didn’t even share a last name anymore—she and her brothers had rejected every single part of him. Now she was Avery Cortez.
“Avery, how are you?” He tried to force a smile, but it came off strained, fake.
“What do you want?” she asked, because he was very clearly here for something. He didn’t care about her or Riel and Anthony. He cared about himself and that was it. Experience had taught her that.
He glanced past her. “Are the boys here?”
“No, and they’re not boys. They’re men.” Okay, that was kind of a stretch. At twenty-three and twenty-four, yes, technically they were men, but Anthony and Riel were so immature. A little impulsive at times, quick to fall in and out of love—but that was to be expected. She wasn’t that much older than them, but some days she felt light years older.
In response, he walked past her and into her house.
She blinked, her nausea turning to a fiery ball of rage in the middle of her core as she shut the door behind her. “Come on in,” she muttered as she turned to face him. Might as well get this over with. She knew he wouldn’t leave and she really didn’t want to have this conversation outside where her neighbors might overhear—because she had a feeling she would start yelling.