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“I won’t have anyone, including a mate, thinking I’m not capable of taking care of myself. I’m not weak. I'm fully aware that I could have died. But at least I would have died saving the people I care about."
Rumir growled, his eyes still on Lucian who stood behind me. I could feel the chill coming from Lucian—this was a power I had no idea he had—but I could also feel the heat radiating from Rumir.
I was trapped between fire and ice.
“Step aside, Natalie,” Rumir said under his breath, but I remained where I was.
“I’m the one that gave you the opening to kill that thing. Me! And I’d do it again in a heartbeat! So stop this, both of you!”
Rumir stepped forward and suddenly, a wave of dominance knocked the wind out of me, pushing me down on one knee. For a second, I was stunned, confused by what was happening.
He was using his dominance on his own mate. Dragon dominance.
Werewolves could only affect other werewolves with their dominance, and it should be the same for dragons. Apparently, when it came to this hybrid mate bond, all bets were off.
I whimpered, and within me, my wolf curled into itself as the weight of Rumir’s dominance crushed me, demanding I submit.
Tears welled up in my eyes, but when I looked up at him, there was confusion mixed with the anger twisting his features. I understood the fear he’d felt, seeing me in danger. I’d felt it and heard it in his voice, just as I felt his pain when his wing had snapped. But this—this was unacceptable, because instead of releasing me, Rumir bared down on me even harder.
“I will never lose you, not even through your own recklessness.”
I fell to my other knee as Rumir’s words bore down on me, and Lucian rushed forward. I knew the second Rumir’s jaw broke, when Lucian’s fist sent him flying backward. Once I was released from Rumir’s hold, tears sprang to my eyes. Rehema fell to my side, holding me around my shoulders.
I looked up at Rumir, whose broken jaw was covered in ice that immediately began to melt. Lucian's right arm was a block of ice that extended down to his claws, which were sharpened to deadly points.
“If you ever do that again, Rumir I’ll kill you." Lucian's voice was low, but his words were clear. I closed my eyes, hearing the truth in them, and once more, I felt defeated. This thing between the three of us was never going to work. "Don’t you ever assert your dominance on Natalie again. Your word is not law, and she's our mate, not our possession. What happened here tonight is already done. This is over.”
Rumir snapped his jaw back into place and extended his wings. He looked at me briefly, regret in his eyes, before he looked back at Lucian. “If anything happens to her under your watch, Lucian, I’ll make sure you suffer a fate worse than death. That’s a promise.”
I looked away as Rumir leaped into the sky, sending dust flying all around us. I listened to the sound of his wings fading in the distance until there was nothing but silence.
The ice on Lucian's hand melted, but he kept his back turned to me while Rehema helped me to my feet.
No one spoke but quietly went their separate ways, and I bit down on my tongue to try and stop the tears as Rehema tapped at my bracelet.
I watched as Lucian did the same. His back was still turned to me, but before he teleported, he glanced over his shoulder at me, his face still covered in ice. After he teleported, I stared at the spot he’d just stood for a time until Rehema tugged on my arm, her voice low and apologetic.
“Come on, let’s get you home.”
