Page 49 of Twilight of Embers
It didn’t. No matter what, I would feel her. Once they fully bonded with her, it would be pure torture, not that it wasn’t already. Hayden was already haunting my dreams. I didn’t want to think about how bad it would be tonight with her scent everywhere.
My gaze flicked to Maddox. “It’s not like you’re all that thrilled about this either.”
He sent me one of those damned teacher stares. Like he was disappointed in me. “I’ll never see Hayden as anything but a gift. The fact that I need to keep my distance from her for the next four years doesn’t change that.”
Cillian grunted. “Good luck with that.”
Maddox’s jaw hardened. “She’s young, Cill. A good thirteen years younger than us. Innocent. Has no idea this world even exists. You need to remember that.”
The green in Cillian’s eyes swirled, deepening until it was almost black.
Cáel was usually the one to scare the shit out of me, but when Cillian actually lost it, he was terrifying.
“She’s my mate.” Cillian’s words were so low they were barely audible, but they vibrated with his fury.
Cáel muttered a curse, moving so that he could easily dive between Cillian and Maddox. If Cill actually lost it, Cáel would be toast.
Maddox remained casually calm. That was his gift, staying at ease no matter what shit flew our way. From the dragon council to rival hordes. He never showed a flicker of panic.
“I’m not saying you can’t have her,” Maddox began. The words eased the slightest amount of tension in Cillian. “I’m just saying that you need to move slowly.” He looked around the room. “You all do.”
My back teeth ground together. “I’m not moving at all.”
Maybe distance was what I needed. Space to get this pull under control. I could go roaming. Maybe go stay with Cillian’s half brothers in Rhode Island. He’d said they were good people.
But some small part of me knew that even an entire country between us wouldn’t dull Hayden’s siren song. Because that was exactly what she was. Some mystical creature who was going to bring destruction to all of us.
Cáel glanced at Cillian. “Who do you have guarding her?”
“James and Sean.” Cillian cracked his neck as if to relieve some invisible pressure there.
But I knew what the pressure was. Now that he’d touched Hayden, the mating urge would be riding him hard. The need to claim Hayden. But also the need to keep her safe, protected.
It was no surprise that Cillian had put two of his best enforcers on Hayden duty. It was a miracle he’d even let her leave horde lands.
“And what happens when she realizes two hulking dudes are following her everywhere?” I challenged.
Cillian’s eyes flashed in my direction. “They know how not to be seen.”
They were good, I’d give him that, but they couldn’t stay hidden forever. Especially not on campus.
“This is such a fucking moronic idea,” I spat.
Knox’s eyes bled to gold as he strode into the room. “You’ve made your opinion abundantly clear. So much so that you made Hayden feel uncomfortable in our home, in her home.”
Those two words, her home, had me seeing red. “You don’t get to decide that. Unless someone died and made you alpha,” I snarled.
Knox’s chest rose and fell in ragged pants as his nostrils flared. “You need to pull your head out of your ass and do it now. I won’t lose her because you’re scared.”
Claws pierced the skin on my fingers as I struggled to hold back my shift. “I’m not scared. I’m smart. I’m not going to let anyone hold the keys to my sanity. Not ever. I can’t believe you would either. Especially just for a piece of ass.”
It was the wrong thing to say.
There was no warning; Knox simply charged. He hit me in a football tackle, sending me flying backward. We rolled, each of us landing blows to each other’s ribs, jaws, and who knew where else.
Hands latched on to my shirt, jerking me out of the tumble.
“Enough!” Cillian yelled, the alpha vibes filling his tone and forcing my head down in submission. “Being at odds like this is the last thing we need. We have to be at the top of our game, or we could lose Hayden altogether. Because once the supernatural world finds out she’s a dragon, they will come for her. And they won’t hesitate to slaughter us to get to her.”
