“I was scared I’d lost you,” I whispered.
“I was scared I’d lost you.” His lips tickled on my skin and I breathed a sigh of relief as the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders.
“Seeing you bleeding out there, still, almost lifeless…” I shuddered and his arms tightened around me. Pain washed through me at the thought of him dying ad tears stung in my eyes.
“Being unable to protect you terrified me.” His whisper filled my ears and I inhaled his thick, male scent.
He stiffened up and I let him go. His worried eyes met mine. “They’re back.”
Fear prickled up and down my arms. His fingers laced with mine and hand in hand, we walked toward the front door. Outside a semi-circle of dragons congregated. At the head, Draco spoke.
“A blood oath is under discussion.” He turned around when we stepped outside. “However,” he said, eyeing us both. “I’ve also discovered another passage that allows me to invoke the right to work. If the blood oath is unacceptable, I’d like to formally offer that she join our ranks as one of our team.”
“But she’s human.” Wrath spoke up, his thick eyebrows knitting together.
“The rules do not explicitly state one must be a dragon to join our ranks.” I could hear Draco’s smile in his voice. He was damn proud of himself.
I could feel Stryker’s eyes on me as if he was silently asking me if that was my wish, rather than the blood oath.
“I’m grateful for the option,” I said, stepping forward. Draco’s eyes appraised me, and I nodded at him. “However, my place is at Stryker’s side. If he’ll have me. I gracefully left the option open for him to back out and throw me to the wolves. I could work for them. That would be fine. It might break my heart to find out he didn’t want me how I wanted him, but I’d understand. We were new to one another. Maybe he’d need more time to really decide how he felt about me–
“I, Stryker Darius, accept the terms of the blood oath.” He turned to me and my heart began to beat too fast. “Do you, Kat Hudson, formally promise to pledge your life to mine?”
I nodded. “I formally promise.”
He turned to the group. “Does anyone wish to challenge me?”
I noticed his gaze lock on Draco, who narrowed his eyes and made as if to step forward.
Instantly, Stryker shifted into his dragon form. The gaping wound on his side made me gasp. It looked terribly painful.
Draco bowed his head and stayed in that position as Stryker scanned the group and lout out a loud roar, clearly challenging anyone to take him on.
I turned to him. “I pledge my life to you because I love you. Not to save my life.” I needed to say those words and his eyes focused on me.
He moved next to me and lowered himself as if inviting me to climb on his back and I remembered our conversation.
So could I ride you like a horse?
I guess you could. No one’s ever ridden me before. In dragon form, anyway.
With a smile on my lips, I climbed on his back. I fit perfectly on his back. He scanned the group one more time. No one stepped forward or said a word, so he waited.
Draco spoke up, a disappointed look in his eyes. “So she’ll become the first non-dragon addition to our team, should she accept.”
Under me, Stryker stiffened.
The semi-circle of dragon men began to glance at one another, murmur, and move around a bit, as if discussing this amongst themselves. Several sets of curious eyes locked on me, but I kept my chin held high as Stryker side stepped, moving me a pace away from Draco.
“I accept. But only because I want to help people.” I lifted my chin an inch higher. “I’m still pledging to Stryker.”
I breathed a sigh of relief that everything had wound up working out. I couldn’t be happier to be a member of the team.
But my love and loyalty was with Stryker.
And it always would be.
