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He gave me a low, rumbly chuckle. “At least you’ll smell like me.”
I couldn’t suppress my smile. “You’re practically a caveman.”
He grunted for me, and I snorted. When he laughed, I did too. Hard.
His laughter died, and I heard footsteps on the stone floor.
“Would we ever get to seal our mate bond, if you did decide to leave with me?” I asked him, my humor forgotten.
“I think fate would send us into heat again eventually,” he murmured. “Could take a few days. A few months. Maybe even a few years. But it’d happen eventually. I’d hunt down a witch and force her to figure out a way to ignite it again if I had to.”
“Romantic,” I drawled.
“I don’t give a damn about romance. I just want you.” He hugged me tighter. “I’ll see you in a few months.”
My eyes stung. “You better not be bleeding the next time we meet.”
His hand brushed my ass, squeezing lightly. “That a threat?”
“Yep. I’m very terrifying.”
“Five and a half feet of pure fire.”
“Keep yourself safe, Auggie.” I finally started detangling myself from him as Jasper opened the cell door.
He held me tighter. “Wait there.” His growl was strained again. “Don’t touch her. Don’t let anyone else touch her, either. Get her far away from here.” There was a pause. “Who the fuck did she ride to get to the mountain?”
“Eli,” I answered for Jasper. “He smelled awful, and he’s terrible at flying in a straight line.”
His muscles relaxed slightly. “I’ve been telling him that for decades.”
“Centuries,” Jasper corrected.
My stomach tightened.
They really had been family for more than a human lifetime.
If I did go along with my plan, would I ever come first for him? Could he ever choose me over them, if it came down to it? Because I could respect loyalty in a messy situation like we were in—but I could never promise my future to someone who would abandon me if his brother asked him to.
Family was important, but if I really became his mate, he would have to consider me his family too.
Could he do that?
And just as importantly, was I willing to risk everything for the insane plan I’d come up with?
I finally let go of August and peeled his arms off of me. He was reluctant, but he eventually let go.
His hands wrapped around the bars again, his bruised face in the gaps between them and his chest pressed tightly against the metal.
My shirt was wet with his blood in multiple places, and the scent of it filled the air even more strongly than it had before.
The dragons I’d come with fell into position around me, hiding me from August again before we started to move.
My mind replayed the moments we’d shared and the facts of the situation as we walked back up the stairs.
He was hurting.
And I had to decide whether or not I could live with that.
