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“I guess he wasn’t as familiar with that code of his as he thought he was,” Aidan said.
God, what had he begun with Kristen? He couldn’t let her walk down this path. He’d have to let her go.
“Kristen doesn’t deserve this heartache. I’ll tell her to stay away from both of us. I’ll let her go.”
“Then you condemn us both to death, brother. Don’t you get it? Why do you think Da and Josiah died so young? Because neither could live without their fated mate—the woman we both call Mother.”
No. Aidan refused to believe it. “There’s got to be a way out of this.
“Damn right there is.” Micah curled his lips into a snarl. “Kristen will choose me. I’ll live, and you, Aidan, will die.”
“No!” Anthea shouted.
“You’d rather I die, Mother?”
“Of course not, Micah. Of course not. Oh, damn it all to hell. If only I could go back in time and…”
“And what?” Aidan asked. “Anything you had done differently would have resulted in one or both of us never being born.”
“How am I supposed to live like this?” Anthea threw up her hands. “I’m damned as well as you two. As well as both your fathers. We’ve got to find a way out of this godforsaken code.”
“The only way out of it is for Kristen to choose one of us,” Micah said, “and it’s going to be me.”
He turned and jumped off the terrace. He changed in midair, and the black dragon flew toward the mountains.
“What on earth happened to him?” Anthea asked.
“He’s been on how own since he was a kid. He’s turned…evil, I’m afraid.”
“But why?”
“I don’t know. But I’ve sensed it over the years. I had no idea Declan had died so young until Micah told me a day ago. Perhaps he fell into the wrong crowd or something. But you’d think he’d have come to his senses by now.”
Anthea squeezed her hands together. “You know, Aidan, it’s been so long, I wondered if you’d ever find your mate. Part of me hoped you wouldn’t.”
“Trust me, I’ve had the same feeling. But I’ve found her, and so has Micah. I’ve begun the bonding, but until it’s completed…”
“It doesn’t matter. She’ll bond with both of you if she has the chance. She won’t be able to help herself. Trust me. I know.”
“Then I’ll find a way out.”
Aidan turned his back on his mother. He’d find a way to make Kristen stronger than Anthea.
He had to.
12
Wow.
The man was striking. Light blond hair, long, in a ponytail, and striking blue eyes. Or were they green? Slightly taller than Aidan, and longer and leaner, but strong. Definitely strong. Kristen could tell by his build. And oddly, a dragon tattoo…only his was a black dragon with a golden eye.
An odd current ran between them. Different from what she felt around Aidan, but present. Definitely present. He was attractive in a different way. More refined—and more dangerous.
Kristen cleared her throat. “May I help you?”
“Yes, you can, Kristen.”
He knew her name. Strange. Then again, not so strange She looked down at her name tag.
“I’ll be happy to help you with anything you need. Are you looking for something in particular?”
“Do you have any books on dragons?”
“Yes, we have a few. They’d be in the mythology section. Here, follow me.” She emerged from behind the counter.
A strange sensation overwhelmed her. Not quite lust, not quite…honestly, she wasn’t sure what it was. She wanted to be close to this man. Yet she didn’t want to.
The strangest feeling….
“Here we are,” she said, finding the dragon books. “If you don’t find what you’re looking for, I can always order anything out of the catalog for you.”
The man picked up a book. “What can you tell me about his one?”
“I’m not an expert on mythology of any kind,” Kristen said, “but that’s a pretty popular one. We sell a fair amount of that title.”
“Does it cover the Highland dragons?”
“The what?”
Had she heard that term before? No, she couldn’t have, but it resonated within her. As a sort of…truth. What were the Highland dragons?
“The Highland dragons.”
“You can certainly look in the table of contents or the index. That ought to tell you.”
“I want you to tell me.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know anything about the Highland dragons. I’m sorry.” She turned, wanting to head back to her desk, but unable to move her feet. “Feel free to look around.”
With herculean effort, she picked up one foot and made her way back across the floor to her desk.
A few minutes later, the blond man came to her desk with two books. “I’ll take these.”
“I’m so pleased you found what you wanted.” She rang up his purchase.
“Oh yes, I found what I wanted.” His firm lips curved upward. “And the books too.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You, Kristen. I found you.”
“I beg your pardon?” she said again.
