Chapter One
Lorna MacKenzie eyed her youngest son arguing with flashing dragon eyes and wished for once he’d taken more after his late father, Jamie.
Her inner dragon snorted. Two serious male sons would’ve been much worse. Fergus and Fraser balance each other out.
Fergus and Fraser were Lorna’s identical twenty-nine-year-old twins. I’m not so sure about that.
Regardless, Fraser does take after Jamie. He's protective.
As she watched her son, Fraser, challenge Ross Anderson, the human male staying with her, Lorna wouldn’t disagree with that.
Fraser stood tall, his ginger hair glinting in the light. “I think it’s time for you to find your own place, Ross. The cancer’s gone and you’re taking advantage of my mum’s hospitality.”
Rather than scold her son for assuming what Lorna wanted, her curiosity wanted to see how Ross would respond.
Her dragon huffed. And why is that?
Lorna ignored her beast.
The gray-haired, brown-eyed human male took a step toward Fraser, not the least bit intimidated by the dragonman, who was a little more than thirty-five years his junior. “What I do or who I stay with is none of your concern, lad. If Lorna wanted me to leave, she’d tell me to leave. She’s not one to beat around the bush.”
“Watch how you speak about my mum, Ross,” Fraser growled.
As the two males stared at each other, Fraser’s mate and Ross’s daughter, Holly, sighed at Lorna’s side. “Should we just leave them to have their row? I’d much rather spend time with my baby nephew.”
She stopped listening to the two males and answered Holly. “I’m never one to turn down time with wee Jamie, but Fergus needs my help and should be by at any minute.”
“Oh?” Holly asked. “What for?”
Lorna smiled. “I can’t tell you, child. It’s a secret.”
Not that Lorna was in on the secret herself. She only knew Fergus wanted her to talk with an old acquaintance. Since Lorna knew everyone in the clan and more than a few secrets about them, she’d help her son with just about anything he needed. She only hoped it was something that could help better protect Clan Lochguard; the attack two months ago still loomed large. It would take many more years to rebuild.
Her dragon grunted. We’ve rebuilt before, and we’ll rebuild again. Lochguard is strong.
Aye, we are. But isolation doesn’t work as well as it once did. Diplomacy is the future.
Holly opened her mouth to reply to Lorna’s statement when Fraser closed the distance between himself and Ross. “Then let me ask her point blank.” Fraser looked to Lorna. “So, how about it, Mum? Are you ready to ask this human to leave?”
Holly frowned. “Fraser, that’s my dad you’re talking about. You shouldn’t be so hostile.”
Lorna placed a hand on Holly’s arm, signaling she’d take care of the situation. “I think you need to go take a dunk in the loch.”
Fraser blinked. “What?”