“No,” he said, not turning around.
“Have you checked where he’s at over the family link? Can you do that?” I asked and the next thing I know my ear drums threatened to explode as a single bark sounded, followed by a screaming that was made to scare the dead back into their graves.
“Uh-oh!” the boy said, smelling sheepish as he sprinted off in the direction of his house. On the back porch stood a browndog screaming like he might eat me and the souls of my unborn children. I didn’t speak dog, but I knew a threat when I heard one. Still, I followed the kid.
The dog leapt down the steps and pushed the kid behind him, still screaming at me. A second later, a man erupted from the house in just pajama pants.
“Beryl?” Eran called out, shielding his eyes from the sun.
Eran and Bernard were roommates at one point. I’d only met him once or twice, but it was a good thing he remembered me.
“Why do you have Jondi?” he asked.
“I came out looking for Dad,” Jondi said as the dog finally stopped screaming.
“Jondi, go inside with Uncle Vatten and help him check on the babies, please,” Eran said and I fought off the urge to roll my eyes.
“Okay! I found my rock, though! He can come in!”
“No, he’s not,” Eran said. “Not in those wet clothes! You need to change too.”
“I will! My pool still has bite marks, though,” Jondi said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
When Jondi was gone, Eran looked me up and down as if searching me for weapons.
“I didn’t lure him out of the house if that’s what you’re thinking,” I said.
“No, Jondi likes the pond. He wanted his dad and his rock. I’m surprised you were looking for it at all from the things I’ve heard recently,” Eran said, crossing his arms and looking more like his sire than ever before.
“I… I don’t have to explain myself to you,” I said.
“No, you don’t, but if you break Jade’s heart, you better run. Not from me. There are bigger cats who’d love to cook your flank and serve it up to him.”
“Why is everyone intent on eating me?” I asked.
“Because you’ve upset Jondi and Jade. They’re family,” he said and then it hit me. This guy had slept with my mate. My dragon reared up on his hind legs and fire scorched up my throat. It escaped my mouth before I could stop it. My dragon had all he could take of whatever craziness Canton Valley Farm grew. A blur of motion and a wing slapped it away. I landed on my back hard with a lion on top of me. I almost shoved it off because I was tired of lions knocking me over but then his scent hit me. This was Jade in his winged lion form. He snarled, his lips curling up to show his long, sharp teeth. He shifted back still pinning me to the ground.
“If you ever hurt Eran over some petty jealous bullshit we will never be together,” he growled, holding my face in his hands. “Jondi, Jade, the twins, Vatten and Eran – their babies, these are my people, my family. That is not how we handle feelings in this family!”
“I’m not a kid! Don’t talk to me like that!” I growled back.
“You could’ve fooled me with the way you’ve acted today!” Jade growled.
“If you already had a boyfriend, you should’ve said something! This makes a whole lot more sense now!”
Jade roared, tossing his head back toward the sky. His scent turned frustrated and for a moment I thought he might actually eat my face with his human teeth. Phantom fur played across my skin.
“What happened last night has nothing to do with Eran,” Jade said, straddling my stomach. “You may have the parental instincts of a tree, but Jondi is my baby. You scared him. Then proceeded to wake every person on this farm up last night by chasing him! I needed to be there for him, and he needed his rock back. Why are you treating this like I asked you to conquer the moon and put it on a necklace for me?”
“You didn’t even say hello. You didn’t even tell me your name!” I said.
My hands rested on his knees now. He was insufferable. This true-mate response made me such a bloody idiot. He kept pissing me off, but I still wanted him close.
“What part of the baby thinking you were going to eat him don’t you understand?” Jade growled.
“Well, I knew I wasn’t. You knew I wasn’t. Kids think weird things sometimes!”
“And it’s my job as his dad to help him through that! I asked you to do one little thing! You could’ve gotten that rock and came straight inside. We could’ve cleared this whole thing up last night.”
