Taking a moment, Griffin nodded at me, a long exhale flowing out of his chest. The exhaustion was creeping up on him. It took a lot of work to heal, and Orsen had done a number on him. Still, I had to hand it to the guy. He took in the sight of all four of us and didn’t back down. He didn’t escalate things, either. And it had been damn close with Orsen and Bastian being… well, exactly who they were.
“I get it. Just… If you really love her, if you allactuallycare, her happiness should come first. Keep that in mind.”
He wasn’t wrong, even if that hurt like a bitch to admit.
I nodded back at him, then dragged the others out of the door. We left the room, wandering toward the kitchen. We were all feeling the pull, the desperate need to return to her, but like before, this wasn’t the time.
Someone had tried to hurt our mate, to kill her.
We wouldneverlet that happen again.
I’d lost her once. This time, we were going to be smarter. We weren’t dumb kids anymore. We were four seasoned Alphas.
And our mate belonged right here, where we could keep her safe.
Rowan
Staring at the ceiling of Griffin’s room, I listened to the birds twittering outside. The sun had come up hours ago. I’d been awake for far too long, my body protesting the fact I hadn’t moved. But my stomach was empty, I could kill for a glass of water, and of course, I needed to pee.
Part of me was trying to avoid getting up and facing what waited outside the door. Nestled among the blankets on the bed, I was comfortable and didn't want to leave the room, when I knew a decidedly uncomfortable situation was probably waiting for me outside of it. Sighing, my hand drifted over my midsection. The rough skin of the dragon fire burns was a harsh reminder of what I’d been through, even if I couldn’t remember any of the details.
Dragon fire injuries were no joke. I’d seen a few of them while helping Kiki heal in the early days of my recovery. Even a small burn from dragon fire could be fatal, yet a third of my body was covered in its marks, and I had somehow managed to survive.
Kiki had worked tirelessly to keep me alive; I couldn’t go andruin her hard work by letting a bunch of dragons drag me into yet another dangerous situation.
Eventually, I could no longer ignore the growling of my stomach or the call of nature, so I crawled out of bed, throwing on a pair of leggings, and a T-shirt of Griffin’s. Mine were filthy, so his would have to do. I also opted for a pair of running shoes because I had a sneaking suspicion that, if my day went anything like yesterday, I was going to need them.
Not that I’d be able to outrun a dragon in any universe. Those fuckers were annoyingly fast.
But I could damn well try.
Thankfully, I’d traded the small razor blade I’d found in the bathroom for my taser. Knowing I could stuff it into a pocket or the back of my waistband provided a bit of comfort.
Would the horde be mad at me for the scene I’d caused? After everything that had happened, I'd only had a chance to speak with Griff and Ma about the fight. Who knew what kind of reception I would face today?
At least Ma would be happy to see me. The rest of the horde, well, I had no choice but to wait and see if they were seconds away from booting me.
As I pulled the door open, I went to step into the hallway, only to stop short when my foot hit a solid mass taking up a fair chunk of the floor.
“What the hell?” I blurted, looking at the dragon on the carpet.
Nix.
Totally unfazed by my standing on him, he rolled over, stretching languidly before giving me a lazy smile, all lopsided and sleepy.
“Hello, beautiful.” He beamed up at me, pulling himself into a seated position.
“What are you doing, lying outside my door like a creeper?” I crossed my arms, fighting the urge to smile back.
He shrugged, sighing as another stretch took over. He yawned, shaking his head and making his curls bounce. “I didn't want to be far away from you,” he explained simply, still smiling easily. “Are we getting breakfast? I'm hungry, and I’m sure you need to eat.”
Nix stood, stretching yet again. His shirt rode up, exposing the bottom of his abs. I immediately tried to look away, but I couldn’t keep my stare from flicking between the floor and his bare skin until it was finally covered.
Dragons had damn good bodies as a point of fact. Usually, I didn’t care. Hell, nudity was common within hordes because shifting into giant scaly beasts often meant their clothing got torn to shreds. In my time as a healer, I’d seen my fair share of abs, chests, and genitalia of every shape and size.
Unfortunately, my body decided that Nix’s abs were better than all I’d seen before him, responding without permission.
“Just… keep your distance.” My voice was nowhere near as commanding as I wanted it to be. Already being so close, my body was crying out with the compulsion to be near. My body and my brain were very much in disagreement. Without another look, I turned and made my way toward the kitchen, suddenly eager to go to breakfast, and put an end to morning chitchat with the dragon who’d been sleeping outside my door.Which was a whole separate thing I didn’t want to think about.
