“What are we going to do?” Wren asks in a shrill voice. “If we give ourselves up, they’ll shoot us.”
“More than likely,” I agree, my jaw clenching. “We need to hurry. I’m going to shift.”
“No,” Falkor says, shaking his head. “You can’t. Your beast will—”
“My beast will listen to Wren.”
Falkor stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. “How? It won’t work. It—”
I turn to Wren, taking her hands in mine.
“Listen to me very carefully,” I say, holding her gaze. “I’m going to shift, and you are going to mind-bond with my dragon. It will happen instantly.”
She frowns. “What are you talking about?” Her voice trembles. She tries to pull her hands away, but I hold on tighter. “I don’t understand. I can’t—”
“That’s why your head hurt so badly when I shifted before. My beast was trying to mind-bond with you, but you wouldn’t allow it. You kept him out.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “That can’t be.”
“That’s why you were able to control him,” I press on. “He listened because he wanted to bond with you.”
Understanding dawns in her eyes, followed quickly by something that looks like betrayal. She pulls her hands free.
“And you knew this all along?” Her voice goes quiet.
Guilt twists in my gut. “Wren—”
“I’m not allergic to dragons,” she says, and she actually snorts, sounding angry. “Of course I’m not.” She rolls her eyes. She schools her emotions.
I’ve hurt her, but there’s no time to fix it.
“We’ll talk about it later,” I say. “Right now, you need to listen to me. I’ll shift, and you’ll mind-bond with him. You won’t be able to keep him out this time.”
“Why not?” she demands.
My throat tightens. “Because we’ve had sex.”
Her face goes pale.
“You’ll bond,” I continue, “and you’ll be able to control him. You’ll need to tell him what to do. We need to get Falkor to safety first. Tell him to go to Eldra’s house. Then we need to get to the Vaccination Center, and we need to do it quickly. You will be able to control him. Trust me on that.”
She snorts again. “Trust you. Right.” Her eyes are hard now. Her mouth pressed into a thin white line. “I don’t want to be bonded to your dragon,” Wren says. She’s pissed at me, and I fucking get it.
“We don’t have a choice here,” I tell her, my voice rough with desperation. “Please, Wren.”
“What happens when I break the bond?” Her jaw clenches. “When I go back to the Mainland?”
“Nothing,” I force myself to say. “You’ll be fine.”
Because the truth is, shewillbe fine. It’s me who won’t survive long-term. I’m not sure I’ll make it through another broken bond, but it isn’t about me right now.
I have to save Wren. I’ll give up anything to make sure she’s okay.
Even if it means being broken to the point of no return. I’ll do it.
The sound of glass breaking cuts through my thoughts. A window, somewhere toward the back of the house.
“Please, Wren. It’s now or never. Once we have the evidence, take us to the meeting spot. You know the one. Put this in your pocket.” I hand her the burner phone. “Keep it safe.”
