Even before the Rogers pack corrupted and drained her, she’d been an apathetic, uninterested, neglectful parent. “Did you meet anyone else connected to me?” I asked. “Did you ever meet my father?”
He eyed me for a few long seconds. “No, I have no idea who your father was, but I did hear Alpha refer to a Constantine and your mother more than once. I don’t know if that’s your father or just another shifter in your mother’s life…”
Constantine. The name wasn’t familiar, but it was a clue for Slade, who still worked on tracking the shifter from the security footage. Along with anyone else connected to that day.
“Thank you,” I said, reaching through the bars to hug him.
Talon pressed himself into me, his strong arms banding around my back as the air filled with heat, and I felt a tingle of energy surrounding us. It washed over me like magic, but without any sulfur tainting the air. The prickling sensation in my essence seeped to my fingertip, and I was once again reminded of the time I’d shoved Talon in the bunker.
Today, though, it was all the dragon. “What are you doing?” I asked, pulling back from his broad chest. “Are you using magic—” I gawked as the bars came into view. Bars which were nowon the other fucking sideof me.
He’d pulled me right into the cage.
“What have you done?” I whispered, jerking my gaze back to his. “Hunter and Slade are going to straight up murder you.”
Talon, looking pleased as fuck with himself, his arms around me again as he lifted my feet right off the ground in our first proper hug. “I needed you closer,” he rasped, breathing in my scent like an addict getting his first hit of omega in months.
His smoky maple grew stronger with each breath, and I took the opportunity to fill my lungs even as I panicked. It wasn’t that I was afraid of being with him like this, but it was still a risk.
But for real, I could get very used to being hugged by each of my mates. As our bond thrummed, I was once again a touch-starved shifter soaking up all the comfort.
The moment was shattered by the bang of a door as two enraged alphas stormed into the room.Oh crap.Here was hoping there’d still be a house by the time Kellan and Finley returned.
CHAPTER 49
EMME
Hunter and Slade reached the bars, fury drawing their expressions into hard lines.
I patted Talon’s shoulder. “Put me down.” I said, needing to defuse the situation, only to have him completely ignore that request and grunt.
Great, we were in alpha mode.
Hunter grunted back and Slade let out a growl that was menacing enough to bring every hair on my arms to attention. “Enough!” I snapped, and to my freaking surprise, all of them paused their dominance games to give me their full attention. An omega could go a little mad with that sort of power.
“Okay, we’re going to solve this one with our brains today,” I said, forcing my nerves to sink below my annoyance. “We already knew Talon could manipulate the prison, which means he’s been very good so far. Let’s not lose it because he suddenly decided I needed to be on this side of the bars.”
“How are you managing this?” Slade bit out through his clenched teeth. Those pearly whites were lucky not to be cracking under the force. “I can manipulate smaller energies and atomic structure, but you’re working with material that’snot only filled with elements which weaken shifters but are also spelled.”
Talon huffed, and I thought he was going to ignore Slade too, but he didn’t. “As I’ve told you many times, you’ve allowed yourself to grow weaker by not repairing the rift between you and your dragon.”
“And I’ve told you,” Slade hit back, “that you have a rift also.”
Talon shrugged, and I was lifted with the movement. “My rift isn’t as deep as yours. My dragon and I fight on the same side, even when we’re not as connected as we should be. You and your beast are as much enemies as you are allies, and that’s why you’re weakened. We should not be beholden to the same weaknesses as other shifters. Not to any elements, and not to magic. At our full strength, they would need something truly spectacular to take us on.”
It was true that everyone in this city was afraid of Slade, but it hadn’t seemed to extend to witches, who’d always thought themselves aboveallshifters.
“Can you put me down, please,” I asked again, softer this time. “I promise I won’t run away.”
Moving so slowly it was almost comical, he let me slide down his frame, until eventually my feet hit the ground. His hand remained on my back, keeping us pressed intimately together, as our beasts enjoyed our sudden closeness.
“Thank you,” I said, momentarily forgetting we had an audience as I examined his dark eyes. Just like with Hunter’s stormy irises, there were hints of color in the darkness—Talon’s hint was green.
He leaned into me, and our lips were only inches apart when Slade slammed his hand against the bars. “If you fucking touch her without her consent again, I will tear you into so many pieces all they’ll find will be scales.”
With a shake of my head, I pulled away, not sure if I would have refused his kiss.
“Don’t forget where his loyalties lie,” Hunter said, his gaze imploring me to come to him. No doubt he could feel my confused desire in the bond. “At the end of the day, he will heed to Fletcher’s command, even if it hurts you. You’ve already lived through that.”
