Page 94 of Retrograde

“Funny thing about the kids, huh?” he muttered as he reached for a steak. “It will be nice to have such an accomplished in-law. I’ll have to pick your brain about our investments.”

I froze in putting back the serving spoon, ignoring when something dripped off of it and onto the tablecloth. My brain disconnected for several seconds as I tried to absorb what he’d just said.

Then it was like it plugged back in and I slowly looked at him, not hiding how fucking stupid I thought he was. “Yeah, sure, I’ll start planning out the mating ceremony because their dragons flirted a bit. Right after your mate apologizes for how she’s treated Sagan, the shit she’s talked about her, and the fact she stole from the castle.”

He opened his mouth as he glanced around, looking horrified I brought that up around others.

Well, he’d started it.

“And they’re notkids,” I continued. “One isQueen of Thovudinand your boss.Iam not a financial consultant, nor could you afford my hourly rate to review your investments.” I snorted as I eyed him over. “I thought your family should have been exempt considering you’rethieves, and you have the balls to—seriously, the audacity.”

“Fine, I jumped the gun a bit, but clearly there’s—”

“There’snothing,” I sighed and faced him fully. “Yes, it’s not common dragons behave like that when meeting, but it doesn’t remotely result in a mating. Normally a fling and whatever. Great. We’re more than our dragons and—I don’t even remember Berlinger’s resume, so clearly it wasn’t one that stood out. So you think he gets in because of his dragon’s connection?”

I snorted and walked away before I said more. I went right to Maple and Fraser who had been watching the whole thing with frowns.

“Every time we get rid of one, another becomes a problem,” she muttered as she sat.

“The parents are, but Berg seems like a good guy,” Fraser said under his breath. “He seems to want to be here about as much as Sagan wants them here.”

I grunted that I heard them as I took my seat now that Maple had sat. I took too big of a bite and stared down the Alpha who was still staring at me looking pissed. He really was a fucking putz. I understood why people called him the backwoods Alpha or whatever. He was just… Fucking moron.

No shade on Emberward, but it was mostly rural. One big city and it was the smallest of the big cities in the nation. And the area was ranked lowest always in everything. Education. Income. Health—everything.

It always seemed stuck in the past and unwilling to progress into the way life was now. And I didn’t mean the extra sexist ways compared to the rest of the nation but yeah, that too.

“I have to leave early,” I reminded them. “Make sure none of them do anything to her, yeah? They’re being extra big fuckers given what she did and pushed the meeting. The dates are set for the rest and—just watch them.”

“Of course,” Fraser muttered, studying me closely.

Maple reached over and covered my hand with hers. “Are you okay, Darren? You can talk to us too.”

I let out a slow breath and met her worried gaze. “It’s family stuff I should have handled long ago and I can’t forgive myself for waiting until now.” I felt better when they both snorted, fully understanding that regret.

Fullyunderstanding it.

“Go handle what you need to, Brother,” Fraser said quietly. “We’ve got things here and we’ll call you if anything happens. I promise. We can record the rest—we’re all stretched too thin. Rest on the flight and handle it for good.”

That was actually great advice, especially because there were a few more things that I wanted to get in order. I thanked them and left my lunch even to go talk to Sagan. All she cared about was if I was okay and if there was anything she could do to helpme.

I blinked back tears as I squatted down next to her, not caring who was around. “You are truly the best of us, my niece. Never forget that no matter what they do to you, okay?”

She nodded with a frown. “You’re worrying me, Darren.”

“I’m fine. Just need to right a few wrongs and be brave.” I stood and kissed her hair. “I learned it from you. Time to put some old assholes in their place.”

She winked at me. “I look forward to hearing about your victory then.”

Because she had no doubt I would win. That faith in me when I even doubted myself carried me through what came next.

Well, not the nap on the plane and gathering the rest of my presentation, but the strength to walk into my family’s compound and basically burn it all down. Metaphorically, but… There wasn’t much of a difference at times.

I wasn’t surprised that everyone was gathered. Father liked the dramatics and controlled most of the family in a way he shouldn’t have. The elders probably just wanted the details because they all thought we had a great relationship. They still saw the young boy I’d been who wanted nothing more than to be just like his dad.

That boy was long gone and replaced with a man who loathed the people who gave him life.

“Good, now that you’re finally here, we can get started and finish this nonsense,” Father said as he gestured for me to sit.