The Arena novel Chapter 61

Cedric, Palila, and Kenna left before the sun rose. Kenna was excited to carry her father back to the pack. I’m happy that she’s excited, but it will be sad coming home to a nearly empty apartment tonight.

“I’ve left food for you, Tana. And I probably won’t be gone for long. I’ll see if it’s a place where I can make a home, and then I’ll come back until you are ready to leave,” Palila says.

“Thanks, Palila. But if you’re having a good time, don’t feel the need to rush back. I’m planning to come visit this weekend anyway.”

When I got to the office, I went directly to Edur’s office. He isn’t thrilled to be losing me. He and I make a great team. But as soon as I walked in, he smelled Cedric and the baby on me, so he knew what had happened.

“As long as you’re happy, Tana,” he says, “and as long as I can pull you in for the hard cases. No one can sniff out the money like a dragon!”

“Thanks, Edur. Do you know the process for telling the others? Cedric mentioned that there might be a notice that I must give?”

“Yes, generally, the humans want four weeks. We can take that time to look over your current accounts and see if there are any that we need you to stay on contractually.”

Mr. Brodski tried everything to get me to change my mind, more money, more time off. In the end, he settled for having me contractually and agreed that I could work remotely until they found a replacement for me.

Edur chuckled as we left.

“What?”

“He has no intention of finding a replacement for you. No one can do what you do, Tana. He’s hoping you’ll settle into working remotely, and that will be the end of it.”

“If I can make it work, I’m fine with that. I’m even fine with coming into the city once a month to be here for meetings, if necessary. Of course, once the baby is born, that may change, but for now, it’s fine.”

“You’ll be showing before you leave, so he’ll realize why you have to go.”

Thursday night, Kenna comes back to get me, and Friday night, we fly to Cedric’s pack lands. Kenna’s excitement of the area is catching, and before she lands, she flies me over the pack lands, showing me the large forest area surrounding the pack’s living area.

After she’s given me the tour, Kenna flies into an area that looks like it is under construction. Before I have a chance to ask about it, Cedric is there, scooping me up and kissing me. My arms immediately go around his neck, his scent surrounding me and bringing a peace that has been missing since he left. I think that will be a constant now whenever I’m away from him. It feels like my scales aren’t laying quite right. It’s uncomfortable but not painful. Being back in his arms, my scales all fall back into place, and everything feels right again.

He pulls away, looking at me. “I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” I say as Kenna shifts. I turn and watch her walk over to a small, partially built building. When she comes out, she is wearing clothes.

“What’s that?” I ask, pointing.

“Oh, well, I didn’t want my mate and daughter walking around the pack naked, so I’m clearing an area where you can both land easily, and I’m having a changing room built so you can keep a change of clothes here for when you fly in and shift.”

“Aren’t we all animals here, Cedric?”

“You actually know him. My Gamma, Galen. He’s Bastian’s half-brother, so I guess it makes sense that they would be mated to sisters.”

“Galen,” I say, thinking back to the last time I saw Cedric’s Gamma. I saw him briefly when I dropped Cedric off, but before that, it was after the destruction of an arena, and Cedric was injured. “I liked him.”

“Good to know.”

“Is it common for wolves to mate with other species so frequently?” I ask Cedric.

“No, it’s not. But I’m the last Lycan, so there wouldn’t be another of my species who isn’t a hybrid. And when I made Bastian and Galen my ranked members, they drank my blood. It didn’t make them Lycans, but it did give them strength beyond that of a normal wolf. So, maybe the Moon Goddess has found us mates that will give us strong hybrids to carry on our genes.”

“I guess that makes sense for me as well. The only way to make a pure-blooded dragon would be for me to mate with Avani, and that’s never happening. So, a generation of strong hybrids is the next best thing.”

Cedric pulls me against him. “Good to know you have no intention of having a pure-blooded dragon because I don’t share,” he says in my ear.

I turn and wrap my arms around his neck. “Avani was never my type, Cedric. I much prefer a hairy, growly mate to a scaly one.”

He nips my neck at my mark, causing me to shiver before a throat-clearing reminds us both that we aren’t alone. I start to pull away, but Cedric keeps me close.

“Come on. I’ll show you our room.”