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“Shifting?” Abi’s eyes bulged.
“Here, let me take Sofia,” Cynthia said, plucking her from Evan’s arms. “I’ve missed this little girl. Why don’t you let us catch up while you guys talk?” she said to Lucas.
Evan nodded reluctantly. “Okay. Just promise me you'll let me know if you need anything.”
“Promise,” I whispered, reaching up to press a soft kiss on his lips. He returned it with a warmth that belied the worry lurking behind his eyes.
“Lucas, Jax. Let's head to the office and start planning our next move,” Evan said, tearing his eyes away from mine as he shifted into alpha mode.
The three men disappeared upstairs, and Cynthia took Sofia to change her diaper, leaving me alone with Abi in the living room.
“Let's get you something to eat.” Abi led me into the bright, sunlit kitchen, seating me at the island before getting started on a colorful salad, expertly slicing vegetables and tossing them together with practiced ease. “You need lots of vegetables and plenty of meat.”
While she worked, she kept up the lighthearted chatter, not pushing me for any answers, simply trying to keep my mind off the events of the previous day. I couldn’t have been more grateful for her perceptiveness.
“Did I ever tell you about the time Lucas tried to cook for me?” she said, a cheeky glint in her eyes. “He nearly set the kitchen on fire.”
I laughed at the mental image of a flustered Lucas fumbling around the kitchen. “Poor guy.”
“Tell me about it.” Abi grinned. She continued to share amusing stories from Lucas and Evan’s childhoods as she finished preparing our lunch, providing the perfect distraction I so desperately needed.
But despite the laughter and light mood, I couldn't completely shut out the weight of my thoughts pressing in on me.
“When is your next doctor’s appointment? How are you feeling?” she said. I knew I couldn't keep this bottled up any longer.
“Abi,” I wailed, dropping my fork, and covering my face with my hands. “I killed someone.”
My shoulders shook with silent sobs as I tried to get myself under control, but the tears came anyway, streaming down my face.
When I regained my ability to speak, I whispered the truth I’d been trying to ignore, my voice cracking under the strain of the admission. “And it was terrifyingly easy.”
“Oh, honey, come here.” Abi wrapped her arms around me, holding me while I let go of the emotions I’d been keeping bottled up inside. “You had no choice. You were defending those you care about. It’s a perfectly natural thing for a dragon. Your children were on the line. You did what you had to do.”
“And I’d do it all over again. Does that make me a monster? I shifted. I turned into a fucking dragon. I breathed fire and blew up a car. What if I become someone who can take a life without a second thought? This dragon—she’s so powerful. Terrifying, even.”
“You could never be a monster,” she said, squeezing my shoulders. “You're still the same Mariah you’ve always been. That strength and fire has always been a part of you. The dragon just gave them a physical form.”
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “It’s just so much to process. I never expected my first shift to be like this.” Just like I’d never expected any of this. My life felt so out of control. “And then there's Tomas. He's still out there, and I sometimes feel like a hunted animal. Like there’s this gut instinct that he won't wait for a good opportunity. He’s coming for me, and I feel like next time he’s going to do it himself.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Evan said as he entered the kitchen, with Lucas and Jax trailing behind him. “We just got off the phone with Matthew. He’s convinced Tomas will be the one who comes for you now that he’s seen his men aren’t competent enough to do it themselves.”
“Nor does he have the money to hire anyone else to do it for him,” Jax said.
I shuddered, and Evan came over, wrapping his strong arms around me. “We won’t let him get to you, I swear. There’s no way he will get past our security.”
He might have been convinced of that, or perhaps he was just trying to reassure me, but I certainly didn’t put it past that man to find another way to get to me. He’d done it twice before. Granted, we hadn’t the full force of the Carey Clan at our backs, but still. Tomas was desperate, willing to do anything to get his serum. At this point, he had nothing to lose.
“We’ve also spoken with Kyle. Everyone on our security team knows how to be prepared,” Lucas said.
Jax nodded. “My father may be cunning, but he’s also predictable. He’s an arrogant prick who thinks he can get away with anything, and that just might be his downfall.”
“How so?” I said, glancing between the men.
“We might not know exactly when he’s coming, or what he’s bringing to our doorstep,” Evan said, “but we plan to stop him before he ever makes it to the clan lands. He’s been bested by Sebastian his entire life, and now he’s been bested by his own son. He’s become increasingly unhinged, and he can’t stand that his enemy has gotten one over on him. That means he’s going to be even more irrational. Acting without thinking. But he’s too cocky. Too sure of himself. He thinks he’s stronger, smarter, and better than everyone else. It’s going to make him sloppy.”
“I agree.” Jax met my gaze. “He’s going to mess up soon, and when he does, we’ll be there to take him down.”
“What about Matthew?” The plan had been to imprison Tomas, to hand him over to the feds now that they had enough evidence to lock him away.
