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When Declan’s man didn’t obey right away, Declan added emphasis. “I said get back here. Now!”
The windows rattled, and several of the humans howled, covering their ears. One human vomited into the trashcan at the side of the mayor’s desk. Gerard’s knees wobbled a bit, but he was able to resist Declan’s shout. All of his men crashed to one knee, but they kept their eyes on the humans.
Sunglasses tripped as if someone had grabbed his ankle and fell on his nose on the floor. Blushing to the roots of his hair, he scrambled to his hands and knees and shuffled backward, taking up a position at Declan’s side.
All the humans, when they could get themselves together, gaped at Declan. The mayor struggled to his feet, flushed, and sweaty. “This is the kind of thing you do? I want all of you out of my city today—now.”
“What makes you think it’s your city?” For one second, Declan forgot his resolve.
Gerard touched his arm.
“Fine, we will leave—for now,” Declan said. “But don’t be stupid. You and I know some of your people have gray eyes, and they certainly don’t look like us. Don’t harass your own kind.”
“You’re daring to lecture me?”
Declan turned to leave, and Gerard followed. He glanced over his shoulder at Skip, and the human boldly stared back, that ugly smirk still in place.
“I say they shouldn’t be allowed to leave alive,” Skip said. “But I’m just here as an advisor.”
Gerard didn’t believe it for a second.
Chapter 5
Lachelle strolled into the cabin and studied the place. Walls made of wood, simple furniture, no embellishments with design, just functionality. In all honesty, it was bigger than her apartment back in the city, but that wasn’t the point. The very fact that she had to leave was what bothered her.
Now she was at Declan’s homestead, surrounded by dragon shifters. While she didn’t feel all that worried about her safety, she resented being uprooted and booted out because she was a “dragon lover.” Leave it to people to find some phrase to instill all of their prejudice and hate seconds after a conflict rose.
“You sure you want to stay here, Lachelle?” Janessa asked as she followed Lachelle into the cabin. “You know you’re welcome to stay at my house with me and Declan. We’ve got loads of space and three more empty bedrooms. You could have your pick.”
“Why do you have so many?”
“Crazy thinks I’m going to have a whole squadron of kids. If that’s what he thinks, I’m going to disabuse him of that mess quick.”
Lachelle would have laughed if she didn’t feel so down. “I’m good. I just want to be alone to think about where to go from here.”
“And what about Gerard? He’s going to move in with you, right?”
Lachelle hesitated. They hadn’t discussed it. She didn’t know if they should continue as a couple, or to pretend there was nothing between them. God, it was complicated.
“I don’t know what Gerard is doing. He can stay here if he wants or not. I’m not planning on asking him.”
Her sister hugged her. “Everything will work out. I promise.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“Hey, I’m not going to fight you on it. All I’m saying is hang in there. If we don’t stay positive, we have nothing to look forward to. Get settled, and I’ll show you around later. We can eat dinner together. How’s that?”
Lachelle didn’t commit. She put her sister off and got her out of the cabin. When the hour grew late, and Gerard didn’t show up, she waited until the sun went down. Then she went for a walk
. At least she had nothing to fear from mobs bent on punishing her for feeling the way she did about the dragons. Or for people curious about what it was like to sleep with one of them.
As she walked, she shook her head in amusement. People were nuts. They spanned the spectrum—from terror that they would all be killed, to wondering about the anatomy of a dragon shifter. She knew what that question meant when a woman walked up to her on the street to ask her about it point blank.
Now, she was among them. The moon glowed brightly overhead. A breeze stirred in the trees, and peace seemed to permeate the air. It seemed like nothing could touch this sanctuary.
“Where are you going?”
She jumped at the voice in the darkness. It was a woman, but Lachelle couldn’t see her.
