"Like I care." Apollo's hands slid down to grab his ass. "Mine. All mine." Lachlan just shook his head and kissed him on the lips.
"Ewwww, kissing," Ciara said from the doorway. "My eyes!"
Lachlan flipped her off until the kiss was done before pulling away. "I'll be back soon. Don't blow anything up while I'm gone."
"I'm not making promises I can't keep," Apollo said, turning to Ciara. "And you will make sure he is safe at all times."
"Yes, sir." Ciara saluted him with a mocking smile. "Come on, bro. We need to walk."
"Don't you bitches talk about me either," Apollo said, crossing his arms.
"I'm not making promises I can't keep," Lachlan echoed cheekily and quickly joined Ciara.
Outside, the midday streets of Paris were enjoying a break in the rain. People turned their faces to the sun as they moved about their day, calm and peaceful. Sometimes, Lachlan wondered what it would be like to be anyone else—to be normal, to not have people look to you and your family to help deal with supernatural threats. The feeling would always pass eventually.
He was an Ironwood. The family history had its darkness and demons, but they had always stood between the helpless and the monsters that preyed on them. That meant something. His name, his blood, his calling, and one day, his death—it would all mean that he had tried his best to protect those who weren't able to defend themselves. Apollo hated that he had thrown himselfin front of him the day before, but Lachlan couldn't help but be that person. It was just who he was.
"You are looking moody all of a sudden. Missing Apollo already?" Ciara teased as she pulled her long black hair up into a ponytail.
"He's upset that I protected him yesterday because the alchemists won't care about killing me. I'm just a human and not a super special dragon or anything," Lachlan replied because if he could talk to anyone about this, it was his sister.
Ciara dodged a puddle on the footpath. "You might not be a shifter, but you're special to Apollo, so maybe take that into consideration."
Lachlan snorted. "Yeah, I'm special to himnow. Don't get me wrong. I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can while I have his attention."
"Oh, little brother has them big feelings happening," Ciara sighed. She looped her arm around his. "Tell your big sister all about it while there're no snooping supernaturals around."
"I love him, Ciara."
Ciara almost tripped. "Lachie..."
"I know. I know. I shouldn't because he has some perfect mate out there for him, but until they show up, I'm not going to let him go," Lachlan said stubbornly. It was a knife to his guts every time he thought about it. "I can't help how I feel."
"And he knows?"
Lachlan nodded. "Yeah, he knows. I've told him, and he's...told me."
"That he loves you? Then what the hell are you pouting for?" Ciara demanded.
"I'm not pouting. I'm pensive. You haven't seen how crazy these alchemists are. They want him and aren't going to stop with a stern warning. We have to go nuclear on them. It's not just Apollo in danger. It's our whole family and supernaturalcreatures everywhere. We are kind of responsible for them. No one else is up to the task." Lachlan laughed just thinking about it. "Who would have thought the Ironwoods would become protectors of the supernatural."
Ciara laughed with him. "I know. I can understand why Kenna is still struggling to stop smoking some days. Could you imagine this was our future when we were kids?"
"You a wolf and mated to one, and me in love with a dragon? Never in a million years. Bron mated to the Night Prince. How is this our life?" Lachlan said. He steered Ciara into a cafe where they got some takeaway coffee. They would have to start looping back toward the hotel soon, but they had time.
"I'm not seeing anyone suspicious or supernatural anywhere," Ciara commented, blowing on her coffee to cool it. Her eyes were scanning the streets, always alert.
"Your wolf senses aren't picking up anything extra?" Lachlan asked.
Ciara screwed up her nose. "Only that Apollo has scent-marked the hell out of you. It's kind of cute that he's so possessive. Maybe you should have kidnapped him months ago."
"Ha! That's what I said. I can't stop him from coming with us to take down this facility tomorrow night. It's stressing me out."
Ciara sighed. "Bro, he's adragon. He might not have shifted yet, but he is still one. I'm more worried about what he's cooking up right now than anything these blood alchemists can throw at us. That's not even mentioning what's going through Valentine's head."
"And Killian's. Okay, I see your point. We just need to get this done so I can get Apollo back home into his lab and out of harm's way."
"He doesn't need to be coddled, Lachie. He's a Greatdrakes and knows how to fight and protect himself. His dragon side will make him stronger than both of us put together," Ciara replied,drinking more of her coffee. "You have to trust him to do his part like he's trusting you not to get hurt. We have to save anyone and anything they have locked up in cages. That's what you should be focusing on. Killian will be able to handle most of them, but we need to be calm and ready to help stressed-out, hurt, and traumatized creatures. And that's after we kill all these Sanguis Vitae fuckers."
