"Ah, I've got it! Cody."
Graham's second son waved his fork. "And me?"
"Jumbalaya?"
"No, silly, I'm Justin."
"Oh, of course!"
Kiyana glanced at him and winked.
His dragon spoke up. She'll be an amazing mother.
Of course she will.
And no matter what you say, you've missed our family.
Alistair glanced around the dinner table, all of his nephews—apart from wee Roman—kept playing with their food and shouting words or making noises when Kiyana asked questions.
He replied, Aye, I have. More than just the last few months, too. I don't regret trying to fulfill my vow to Rachel, but if Kiyana hadn't come along, I might've missed out on life for a lot longer.
In that, we agree.
He nearly told his dragon how much he'd missed their normal conversations. Everything pointed to his dragon remaining normal. Well, apart from the memory lapse right after they'd been driven crazy by the drugs.
In a way, he was grateful. Yet at the same time, it worried him that his beast might become the darker version again someday.
Wee Bruce, who was barely two, somehow toddled over to him and lightly slapped Alistair's side. "Up, Ali. Up."
Alistair was not the easiest of names for a toddler, and so he was often Uncle Ali, although it sounded more like Ah-ree.
He scooted back enough and placed Bruce into his lap. After tickling his side a second, Alistair noticed the silence from the adults. Scanning the room, he ra
ised his brows. "What?"
Hamish cleared his throat. "It's been years since you so easily played with the lads, Alistair. It's nice to have you back, in more ways than one."
As he glanced from person to person, he finally stopped at Kiyana. Holding his nephew in place with one arm, he took Kiyana's hand with his free one and brought it to his lips. "Kiyana brought me back to life. You should thank her."
She beamed at him, and his heart lifted. Bloody hell, he loved her so much. He wouldn't be the male he was without her, and that was only the tip of the iceberg of things he owed her for.
Maybe it was too soon, and maybe his brothers would say he was an idiot, but once he and Kiyana were alone later, he was going to tell her how he felt.
She didn't have to love him back just yet, but he wanted her to know she was more than just a mate randomly chosen by fate.
As if on cue, his mother broke the silence. "Aye, well, I've been telling Carol how lovely her daughter is. Now someone else can do it, too."
Carol smiled and shared a glance with Kiyana as she said, "I wouldn't go so far as to call her an angel, but I do love her."
Kiyana snorted. "If I were an angel, you wouldn't have known what to do with me."
"I suppose so."
His mother chimed in. "Aye, well, none of my lot are angels, either. Although sometimes Graham fools everyone because he hardly ever talks. But enough of that. I want to know when Kiyana and Alistair are going to have their mating ceremony."
His dragon grunted. We should've already done so.
I didn't want to rush it, and Kiyana deserves a nice one.