Page 52 of Twilight of Embers
Battling against my beast’s instincts, I jerked the door open and stalked down the hallway. It was mostly empty now, but I still didn’t risk my increased speed. I jogged like a human would toward Maddox’s office.
I’d heard the fury beneath his words. Something had happened. Something bad. Something he blamed me for.
My gut twisted as I picked up my speed.
It only took a matter of seconds for me to reach his closed door. I didn’t bother knocking; I simply jerked it open. Storming inside, I came up short.
Hayden lay against Maddox. Her skin was far too pale, but her cheeks were flushed. Her eyes were closed as if she were sleeping, but that made no sense.
“Close. The. Door,” Maddox growled.
I quickly obeyed. “What’s wrong with her? Is she sick? Do we need to get her to a healer?”
Maddox’s eyes flashed gold. “Did you touch her?”
I stilled. “Sure, I—”
“Did you touch her?” he snarled.
Oh, shit.
My spine jerked straight. “We kissed,” I admitted, panic coursing through me.
Maddox let out a stream of curses. “What were you thinking? You’ve tethered her to us without her permission.”
I’d heard about this kind of thing happening with true mates, but I didn’t think it was really possible. “It just happened.”
His eyes flashed again. “What? You tripped, fell, and landed on her mouth?”
My back teeth ground together. “No. I was upset about East. She was comforting me. And it just happened.”
“It didn’t just happen. You let it happen,” Maddox snapped. “And now everything will change. She’ll need touch from us. If she doesn’t get it for too long, she’ll get sick.”
My gut churned. Shit. This was my fault. “I’m sorry—I didn’t think it would happen like this.”
“No. You didn’t think at all,” Maddox challenged.
He was right. I’d been selfish and short-sighted. But Hayden’s pull was too strong to resist. Maybe that made me weak, but I’d always be weak for her.
“What do I do?” I asked softly.
“Right now, you need to get her home. Get East or Cáel to drive. You stay in the back with her. She needs skin-to-skin contact. In a few hours, she should feel better. But from now on, if she goes more than ten or so hours without contact from one of us, she’ll start to get sick.”
A lead weight settled somewhere deep. How the hell were we going to manage that? I’d just have to find a way.
“How long does it last?” I asked.
Maddox’s jaw worked back and forth. “Until the bond is complete.”
But once the bond was completed, there would be a new risk. Hayden would most likely go into her first dragon heat. There were many legends about what that would entail. Bonds would be locked up for days on end, trying to satiate their mate who had an endless need coursing through her.
I swallowed hard. “I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Maddox pinned me with his stare. “Yes, you will.”
He looked down at Hayden. The blonde strands fluttered around her face as she breathed deeply. There was so much adoration in his gaze, so much care and protectiveness and devotion. It didn’t matter that Maddox was holding himself back from Hayden. He was already gone for her.
I pulled out my phone and typed out a text to Easton.
