The Dragon’s E-Mail Order Menage

“Should I have called first?” She hated how formal and unnatural her voice sounded, but she couldn’t seem to stop it. She sincerely hoped that it wouldn’t be like this between the two of them forever, but for now she didn’t know how else to be.

“No, no need to call. Family, remember? When it’s family you don’t have to call. Now why don’t you come inside? You’re making me nervous the way you’re just standing there.”

“That makes two of us,” Maggie muttered as Edward pulled her through the front door. He and his mother walked straight towards the kitchen, still the absolute heart of the home, and her mother sat in her usual chair. Maggie would have sat as well but the sight of Cali sitting in there and looking up at her with mistrust stopped her from doing so. They weren’t there. Not yet.

“Hey sister.”

“Hey. What are you doing here?”

“Be nice, Cali,” her mother said with a warning tone, “that’s not how we talk to people we haven’t seen in a while.”

“It’s okay, I actually did want to talk to you about something specific, if it’s okay.”

“Of course it is. What’s going on? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Maggie hesitated, knowing how crazy what she was about to ask was going to sound to her mother and especially to Cali. “It’s just, well, do you remember that story you always told me when I was younger? The one about the princess?”

“Queen. The legend of the fire queen. Of course I remember it, but why?”

“Is it… is there any way it could be true?”

“Please,” Cali scoffed, “what did you do, decide to take a bunch of drugs just because you moved to the city?”

“Cali, I’m warning you. Now Maggie, what do you mean? I’m not sure I follow.”

“I know, I must sound nuts. It’s just that I got one of my feelings about Hudson, one of the guys I’m living with.”

“One of?”

Sh*t. Maggie was only now realizing that she hadn’t told her family about her rather unconventional living arrangements and she was also realizing that she couldn’t ask her question without mentioning them both. She could see the look of disbelief on her mom’s face and she knew that if she stopped talking for a second she would lose what was left of her nerve, and so she had no choice but to forge ahead, trying not to see her sister’s judgement as she spoke.

“Yes, one of. Levi comes from a very prominent family and he is an alpha. He knows that he’s an alpha. But Hudson was abandoned and he doesn’t know anything about his background. I know he doesn’t suspect it at all, but I believe he’s an alpha too. No, not just believe. I know it. I just do.”

She could see that Cali was all set to tell her what an idiot she was being and probably what a sl*t she was, too, but her mother held up her hand to stop her before she had the chance to speak.

“Two alphas. That would be the dragon princes. Have you seen them shift?”

“I have. Levi is golden like the sun. Hudson is completely black aside from his eyes.”

“One light and one dark,” she muttered, her eyes taking on a faraway look. “Maybe this is why.”

“Maybe this is why what?” Maggie knew she was shouting but she couldn’t stop herself. She was just so desperate to know what her mother knew and wasn’t saying. She needed something, some kind of confirmation that what she had been thinking wasn’t crazy, that this was really happening; that she was part of a legend come to life and not just living in a dream.

“Maybe it’s why you had to go. Did you know you were going to be with two men and not one?”

“No, not at all. It was a complete shock.”

“And yet you stayed. Why?”

“I don’t know, I really don’t. I was all set to leave and something kept me there. I can’t explain it.”

“Maggie, I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I think you should be there. I’m not one hundred percent convinced that what you’ve found yourself in is the legend that we’re speaking of, but I’m not one hundred percent sure that it isn’t, either. And if it could be, if there is the smallest chance that this is what you think it is, you must stay. It would mean that you and these men and the children you will make together are of the most vital importance to our kind. That isn’t something to take lightly.”

Maggie was about to thank her mother, would have run into her arms to thank her, that was how relieved she felt, but something she heard outside made her stop. It was such a familiar sound that it came like second nature to her. It was almost too familiar and for a moment she couldn’t seem to place it. But then the understanding came, all at once and like a swift slap to the face, and her eyes widened as she turned from her mother to Cali and then back to her mother again.

“Damon?! Is that Damon’s truck?”

“Yes, dear, I believe it must be.”

“But why?! Why would he be coming here?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Cali practically shouted in indignation as she jumped up to her feet. “Just because you threw him out of your life doesn’t mean the rest of us had to. He was hurting, Maggie. He was heartbroken. It’s our duty to be there for him, to comfort him in his time of distress.”

“Oh sure,” Maggie spat, feeling more spiteful toward Cali than she had in a very long time. “I bet you couldn’t wait to comfort him. Good for you.”

And then Maggie really did take a slap to the face, a hard hit that sounded much duller than she would have expected it to. Her mother stood in between them, giving Cali a look that told them both that her violent behavior was not to be tolerated.

“That’s enough. Maggie, you should go. It wouldn’t be good for you and Damon to see each other, not now. I believe he’s still much too raw to be around you.”

“All right,” Maggie responded meekly, all of the fight having leaked out of her. She ruffled a confused-looking Edward’s head and started for the door when she felt her mother’s cool hand on her arm. She turned and was surprised by the look of intensity in that worn and yet somehow still beautiful face.

“Maggie, if you need anything you just call, okay? Anything. I’ll be thinking about you. If this is really what you think it is, you have been dealt a great gift and an even greater responsibility.”

Her mother squeezed her arm gently and Maggie pulled her in close, hugged her tightly and kissed her lovingly on the cheek. Then she flew out of the front door, not even bothering to keep it from slamming on her way out. She felt like she was moving through molasses, like she wasn’t capable of moving fast enough. She had no interest in seeing Damon, but she had no interest in hurting him, either. She needed to get out of here and she needed to do it quickly because she could see his truck approaching the house quickly.

She turned the car on, getting it to turn over after the second or third try, and floored it. She almost made it off of the farm without Damon seeing her at all, too. It was only at the end as she drove by him entering the gate that he realized she was there. She saw his head turn, saw his eyes widen as he realized who she was, and then she was flying away from him down the highway and toward what she now thought of as her home.