Was it any wonder I was having nightmares about the beast?
My tongue throbbed where I’d bitten it to escape, the coppery taste of blood sharp and real. My ribs ached where the nightmare dragon had captured me in his claw. I lifted my shirt to find faint bruises already forming.
Impossible.
Dreams didn’t leave marks. Sweat drenched my shirt, plastering it to my skin despite the cool underground air of the den.
Nothing but a nightmare.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor outside my window. Low voices I recognized joined in as the patrol passed, leaving behindthe scent of the oils used to sharpen their weapons. Water dripped somewhere deeper in the tunnels. Electricity hummed. Inhaling deeply through my nose, I focused on the sounds and scents of normalcy as I attempted to reason my racing heart into a less breakneck speed. I was safe. The dragon was miles away, likely still licking his wounds behind his creepy hedge.
My hands had almost stopped trembling by the time I re-sheathed my daggers and scooped up my backpack, unzipping the small front pocket. Careful of the sharp end, I reached in and withdrew the bloodstone, trying like hell to ignore the way it pulsed in my hand. This sharp little piece of crap was the hope of my people. I studied it, wondering what the big deal was.
Better be worth the trouble.
I stowed the artifact back in its pocket and sucked in another deep breath through my nose. A familiar scent signature reminded me I wasn’t alone. Straightening, I forced my shoulders away from my ears and crept into the living room. My boyfriend’s little sister was asleep on my sofa, exactly where she’d been when I’d stumbled through the door early this morning.
Knowing I couldn’t wake her with blood on my breath, I took a quick trip to the bathroom, rinsed out my mouth, and splashed water on my face. I considered changing into less sweaty clothes, but I’d be working out soon, so what was the point?
Instead, I carried a brush and a spray bottle of water to wake the pup with a pat on her shoulder. “Mornin’, sunshine.”
She jerked awake and sat up, her long blonde hair a rat’s nest of tangles and knots. “What time is it?”
“Time for you to get your butt to the mess hall before you miss breakfast.”
“I can’t believe I fell asleep.” She yawned and stretched. “I tried to wait up for you to make sure you got home safe.”
Well, if that didn’t sucker punch me in the feels. “And what would you do if I hadn’t?”
“I would have come after you.” Tali wasn’t disrespectful enough to add “duh,” but the insult was heavily implied.Regardless, her answer tugged equally on my heartstrings and my protective instincts because this little nutjob would do it. I leveled an authoritative stare at her and said, “Don’t ever come after me.”
She stuck out her chin in defiance.
“I mean it, Tali. You wouldn’t believe the shit that’s out there. We almost got eaten by a griffin. Promise me.”
She huffed out a breath. “Thought you didn’t want me making promises I don’t intend to keep.”
I tapped her leg with the brush, and she scooted over, making room for me to slide onto the cushion behind her. Ignoring the way her nose wrinkled at my scent, I sat and started working the knots out of her hair.
“I already have an alpha, pup.”
“The alpha has the pack to protect. Mack’s supposed to protect you, but with him gone?—”
That was about enough of that bullshit. “I can protect myself.”
The girl gave me side-eye.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Nothing personal, but with Mack gone, it’s my duty to keep an eye on you.”
The pup was thirteen, going on twenty, with the baby face of a cherub and the attitude of a budding alpha. She lived to test boundaries and had a hard time showing her throat to anyone. That would be a problem someday. For now, she was just a girl who didn’t quite fit in.
I could relate.
She would be the death of me. Her cheeks were high and tight with her grin, but I couldn’t escape the feeling that consequences would come for me. I needed to keep her out of the dragon’s arctic hemisphere until her brother could talk some sense into her.
“I mean it, Tali.” I stopped braiding long enough to use her hair to turn her head around to face me. “I will never forgive youif you put yourself in harm’s way for me. I’m the adult in this relationship.”
