“She’s safe,” I told him, a dance of genuine amusement in my tone. Emme was openly shocked, her eyes wide and her mouth ajar as she took in her room.
Hunter slowly hung up his phone. “What did you do?”
This little war was between Emme and me, but if I didn’t explain, Hunter would be quite vicious in tearing the world apart for the truth. When it came to Emme, especially now they’d bonded, he had no composure.
“You know how the security system went down for a couple of minutes last night,” I said, finally lifting my head to take him in. “That was Emme. She snuck into my room and plantedglow in the darkdragons everywhere. I’ve just returned the favor.”
The tension eased from Hunter as he let out a low chuckle, running his hand through his hair, tearing free his waves. “Glad to see you’ve found a non-violent way to respond to her cute streak of rebellion.” His eyes darkened as he stared out the window, taking in the lights of the city below. “I’m constantly waiting to see what she does next. The challenge is… nice.”
He pressed his hand to the bite on his shoulder, and I was intrigued, wondering how it felt to bond in the way they had. My bond to my brothers was forged in pack magic, but it wasn’t as physical as how they’d connected to Emme.
I felt an odd interest and protectiveness for the omega, but Hunter and Kellan were next-level. They’d been fundamentally changed through this bond, and while I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to make the same choice, there was curiosity.
Hunter reached out and gripped my shoulder, and I fought back the urge to knock his touch away. My dragon and I were used to him, so there were no stronger urges than that. Thankfully.
My brother had been pushing his little touches for years, hoping it would eventually desensitize me. If anything, the sensations grew worse with age. The clawing under my skin, and icy coldness spreading through my chest as my reason slowly bled away. One day I’d lose myself to the beast completely, and then everyone would be fucked.
“Let’s go home to our pack,” Hunter said, rubbing his hand over his face. “It’s late. I’m fucking exhausted.”
Easy for him to say; he got to crawl into bed with Emme. “I might hang around here for a few more hours.”
Hunter’s expression turned sharper. “Not a chance, brother. You’re coming home with me. I made a promise long ago to never let you fade into the beast, and to keep that promise I will drag your ass into the pack—into family days, intoreallife, whether you like it or not.”
His promise had been sealed in blood by two tweens who’d decided they were done with the abuse of their “father.” My dragon had protected me the best he could, and in doing so a part of what had made us equals was broken. The disconnect between me and my beast meant I could never fully trust him.
“Yep, okay.”
Hunter was the one constant in my life, the only fucking one who got through to me when I was floundering. Without his influence, I’d teeter right over the edge of my sanity and rain fire and brimstone all over the shifter community. It was a fuck of a burden for any entitled alpha to carry, but my brother rarely strained under the weight on his shoulders.
There was none like him in the world, and knowing he had Emme in his corner made the scattered pieces of my soul feel a little less destroyed.
We packed up quickly, and while Hunter drove us home I watched Emme on my phone. It was intriguing that even as Kellan took in the room with her, they didn’t leave. Emme just stared around from her perch in the bed, the smallest of smiles on her lips.
The anticipation of what she might do in response lit a spark inside my chest, and for once it had nothing to do with dragon fire.
After our arrival back home, I spent half the night watching her sleep between two alphas, all the while wondering what it felt like to be able to so freely touch another.
Eventually, my body forced me to sleep for a few hours, before I got up early and headed in for training with my squad, wishing I could drag Emme with me again.
I’d give her one day to recover, but tomorrow her ass was mine again. Hernot so scrawny ass, as she’d pointed out. By the time I finished teaching her to protect and defend herself, she’d have more muscle and stamina, and I’d be a touch less paranoid.
Maybe.
It was my role to be the immoveable mountain that stood between my pack and danger. The last sight our enemies would face. The one who kept them all safe, no matter what it took.
The morning passed in the office. We had a ton of work to catch up on after being absent during Kellan’s recovery. The afternoon consisted of flight training, and when I released my dragon, my squad didn’t even flinch. We’d come a long way from the first day I’d stepped up as their squad leader, and even though my pack were the only shifters I trusted implicitly, I’d built a decent bond with my squad. All were strong and capable alphas, and we had each others’ backs.
“You’re one scary bastard,” Horton called as he dodged my massive right claw. The eagle shifter was the bravest on the squad, holding his ground even when I huffed out my irritation.
We took to the sky, practicing our deadly attack combinations, and I released my more civilized side and became the beast. My dragon never attacked our squad, as they knew better than to touch us. Emme hadn’t known, and I still couldn’t believe she’d just placed her hand on my snout. Without thought or reason.
My dragon snorted and released a blast of molten fire. My beast thought I was a fucking moron, assuring me he’d never hurt her, and for once… I almost believed him.
By the time our training was over, other squads had arrived, and I was forced to converse with Warrick. “How’s everything at home?” he asked, bouncing on the spot as he stretched his arms out. “Kellan and Emme okay?”
“They’re safe and healthy,” I assured him, unwilling to give this alpha any further information. He had an unnatural interest in my omega, and while it appeared to be purely due to their friendship, it still irritated me. Alpha Warrick Annandale needed to learn to stay in his own fucking lane and leave our omega to the Reeves pack.
“Cora said she invited her to book club later this week,” he added. “I wanted to assure you that I’ll have the squads patrolling around the venue, though I’m sure you’ll all be there as well. We can’t be too safe.”
