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The little girl stared up at her with awe. After another second, Mel crouched down and tickled the girl’s sides. Ava started giggling and squirming, and Mel stopped but remained crouched to look Ava in the eye. “What do you think? Do you reckon I’m going to run off screaming or try to hurt you?”
Ava stared at her for a second before she answered, “I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“Because Drustan only tickles me because he fancies me. Do you fancy me, Ms. Hall?”
Mel laughed. “Not in that way, Ava. But I think I like you.”
Ava beamed and Mel stood up to talk with the other children. Within a few minutes, they were all relaxed and chattering away in the way young children did. She’d never thought of herself as a teacher, but maybe this teaching thing wouldn’t be so bad after all.
* * *
Tristan stoodinside Melanie’s empty cottage and tried his best to forget what he’d done here less than six days ago. Spending time with the young had indeed calmed his beast to a level Tristan could control. But right now, upon finding Melanie was no longer staying here, his dragon was snarling for him to find her. Now.
Her scent was nearly gone. Only through sheer force of will did he resist finding something that still carried her scent so he could bring it up to his nose and brand her smell into his memory.
Of course, that was his dragon’s need hammering inside his head. It’d taken him five days to calm the bastard down, yet at the first whiff of the human, his hard work had all but evaporated.
Fucking fantastic.
He turned and left the cottage. If he was going to investigate the human, he needed to find her first. She could only be in one of two places. He decided to start with Bram since Samira would probably bar him outright from talking with her. That human female could be as fierce and protective as any dragonwoman.
After knocking on Bram’s door, Tristan entered to find a nervous Cait on the far side of the room, her eyes downcast. Since he knew how easily she spooked, he remained silent and kept his distance. Bram flashed him a look of thanks and then said to the woman, “That’s all for now, Cait. You can go.”
The woman nodded, and rushed out the back entrance. Once the door clicked closed, Bram turned toward him, and Tristan said, “Since when does Caitriona Belmont leave her cottage alone?”
“Since Melanie Hall started visiting her.”
What has she been doing? Where is she now? I want her. Why can’t I have her?
He silenced his inner dragon and said, “Where is Melanie now?”
Bram sat down in his chair behind his desk. “It’s taken you five days to ask me that question, which means either you truly do hate her, or you’re fighting yourself because of what happened to your mother.”
He growled. “You seem bloody trusting with the human female considering how little we know about her.”
“Ah, but you see, you’re wrong about that. She’s won over my niece. And if Melanie Hall can win over Ava, I’m confident she can win over most of the clan in time. Her straightforward-yet-kind manner has already won over Cait, Samira, Liam, Liam’s siblings, and three of your fellow teachers. The one who’s judging her without knowing her is you, Tristan MacLeod. But that’s about to change.”
The mention of some of the other teachers made him suspicious. “Not that it’s any of your fucking business, but how?”
Bram raised an eyebrow. “We’ve been friends nearly our whole lives, but even if that wasn’t enough to care about your stubborn arse, the way you treat the mother of one of our clan is most definitely my business.” He grunted, knowing Bram was right, and his clan leader continued, “Melanie has been working with the young dragons, and from tomorrow, she’s going to spend three mornings a week with your pupils.”
Three entire mornings in Melanie’s presence a week would most definitely set off his dragon. While he personally was trying not to think what it’d be like to fuck her sweet, tight pussy again, he was going to hide behind the excuse of his students’ safety. “And if my dragon gains control, what then? The scent of my child will trigger the beast’s instincts.”
Bram shrugged. “If you were living with her and fucking her on a regular basis, it wouldn’t be a problem. But since you’re letting your prejudice get in the way of recognizing how wonderful the human female is, then you have to deal with those consequences. If it means resigning from your teaching job because you can’t get your shit together, so be it.”
“Bram—”
“No. This discussion is over. As clan leader, I’m kicking your arse out of my office so I can do some work.”
Tristan clenched his jaw. Pulling his clan leader title out had been enough to stop him from arguing, as Bram well knew. “Fine. Will you at least tell me if she’s staying with Samira?”
“Yes. Now get the hell out and go deal with your bloody issues. They’re giving me a headache.”
Tristan turned on his heel before he said something he’d regret and left.
He had planned to visit Melanie, but now that he knew he would have to spend tomorrow morning with her, he needed to retreat to the teaching area. If he didn’t calm his dragon down again, his beast wouldn’t care if children were present or not, it’d jump the female at the first whiff of her scent.
