The Loneliest Dragon at Christmas (An MM Monster Christmas #2)

Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

A very froze at his father’s question. “I am actually.” Avery sat up a little straighter in his chair. “A friend.”

“A friend? Who is this friend?” His father’s brow furrowed.

“Jack Berry.”

The duke’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve never heard of a Berry family. Where did you meet this fellow?”

Avery took a sip of tea, not meeting his father’s gaze. “At a bakery.”

“At a bakery? Again at a bakery? Why do you keep going to bakeries?” His father put down his teacup. “Honestly, Avery, you do not go wandering into bakeries. That is beneath you.”

Avery’s shoulders tensed. “I was looking for something.”

The duke waved a dismissive hand. “Your servants could look for something for you. That’s why they exist. And what was this Berry fellow doing in a bakery? Who exactly is he?”

Avery let out a breath. He should have thought this through. His father had never approved of him getting close to the nanny, or the previous butler. A baker would not be a suitable companion for the duke’s son either, even if his son were an illegitimate by-blow.

Avery took a deep breath, trying to calm the nerves coiling around inside him.

His father had fired the nanny and the butler.

But Avery would not let his father take Jack from him. He was too precious.

Mine.

Reaching into the bottom of his stomach, Avery sought every scrap of courage and strength he could scramble together. He raised his gaze to his father’s. “Jack Berry is a hearth and kitchen witch, and he works in a bakery. He and I are together.” Avery was impressed at how level and calm his voice was. His insides felt like jam.

“What?” his father growled. He rose and stepped towards Avery, towering over him.

Avery didn’t drop his gaze. He wanted to. All his instincts screamed at him to submit, to lower his head, to apologise to his father. That was what he’d done when his father had scolded him before.

But Avery would not do that now. He needed to stay strong. For Jack.

He held his father’s gaze. But Avery would not apologise. He would not apologise for loving Jack.

“You have always had this problem, Avery,” his father’s voice rumbled. “You’ve never known your place. You have dragon’s blood in you. Dragon’s blood!” The walls vibrated. “Yet you’re associating with people far beneath you.”

Avery gritted his teeth until he could hear them crack. “Well, who am I meant to have as a companion, Father?”

Duke Azer’s eyes flashed with fury. Avery had never spoken back to him in his entire life.

“I’m a bastard,” Avery spat. “The duchess and your children, my half-siblings, don’t even know I exist. I’m below them.” The anger rose furiously inside Avery.

For years, he’d been excluded and isolated. And now his father blamed him for finding someone who actually cared for him. “You have never introduced me to the family acquaintances and friends. So who am I meant to spend time with, Father?” Smoke rose from his nostrils and mouth.

Avery’s outburst surprised himself. And from the stillness on his father’s face, it surprised him too.

“I will find you appropriate companions if you are so desperately in need of them,” the duke said through clenched teeth.

But Avery would not yield.

Avery rose to his feet, though his father still stood a good half a head taller. “I don’t want your appropriate companions. I have Jack.”

His father’s eyes flashed, the pupils shifting to vertical slits.

Still, Avery did not stop. “Jack cares for me. He wants to be with me. I love him!” Avery’s voice reverberated, vibrating in his bones.

His father didn’t blink. Didn’t move. He just stared at Avery. The air seemed thick and alive with tension. Avery had never stood up to his father before. He didn’t really know what to do next.

After a few moments, his father asked, “Have you mated with him?”

Avery swallowed. “No.”

His father let out a breath.

Avery took a step towards his father. “Not yet. But I plan to ask him. I’d be proud to be Jack’s mate.”

His father sneered. “A dragon and a dirty witch.” He laughed, a malicious sound. He shook his head in disgust.

Avery took another step towards his father. He could feel his dragon prowling in the back of his head, snarling and snapping. “Don’t insult Jack. He is mine.”

“And what if I refuse to let my son be mated to a baker?”

“What will you do? Disown me? Deny me in public?” Avery almost wanted to laugh. “You’ve never acknowledged me. In fact, I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s not like anyone would know that your bastard son is mated with a witch.”

“You are still my son,” the duke said, voice low and level. “You are a dragon.”

But Avery didn’t back down. “I won’t leave him. He is mine.” The urge to shift surged. He wanted to pounce. He wanted to fight. Even if his father would surely destroy him.

“What if I stopped giving you an allowance and paying for your living expenses? What would you do without me supporting you?”

Avery had no idea. He had no money except that which the duke gave him. He’d have to let Daniel and Cook go. But he’d still have the apartments, since they belonged to him.

And even if he lost everything, he’d still have Jack. And that was all that mattered. “I’ll be fine without it. I choose Jack.”

His father didn’t speak for several seconds. “What if I find another way to stop you?” The threat lingered in his father’s words.

The fire exploded inside him. “You will not harm him!” Avery roared. The walls shook. His claws sprouted. With every ounce of strength, Avery held back his shift.

His father stared at him. His eyes regarded him steadily. “Interesting,” he whispered.

Avery snarled.

The duke looked away from Avery towards the door as if he really didn’t find his raging son a threat. “Was that the servant at the door?”

“What?”

“Giles!” his father snapped.

Daniel appeared a second later.

“Was that servant at the door Jack Berry?” the duke asked.

Daniel glanced to Avery. “Yes, Your Grace.”

“He was here?” Avery looked at his father. “What did you do?”

His father raised a brow. “I sent him away. I thought he was a servant delivering a package.”

Closing his eyes, Avery tried to calm himself. “Where is he now?”

“He left after Giles took the packages,” the duke said.

Without looking at his father, Avery began to strip.

“What are you doing now?” Duke Azer asked.

“I’m going to shift. I’m going to fly. I’m going to get my baker back! And you will not stop me,” he growled.

Surprising Avery, his father didn’t even try.