Unable to help myself, I took a step forward, desperate for a hit of her calming energy. “I just need a minute to hold her,” I rasped, hoping the entitled alpha understood and didn’t fight me.
If they put me back in my cage without this touch, I’d be likely to destroy the rest of their house.
Hunter huffed, andthank the goddess, handed her over without fuss. She settled against me, and when her hand pressed to my cheek, everything that had felt off-center righted itself. “I’m so sorry, Tal,” she whispered, pushing herself up to kiss my cheek, uncaring of the blood I wore. “You had to make a terrible choice, and I’m so grateful you chose us. I will always choose you. I promise.”
My dragon’s roar was filled with pride and contentment. We had claimed our mate, and proven our worth, and she chose us.Always.
“Mine,” I breathed against her skin, taking in her sweet scent. “You’re mine, sweetness.”
She dropped her face against my chest. “I can’t believe you and Slade turned into a super dragon. You need to tell us all about being Slalon.”
I heard my twin laugh at that, and I was equally as amused. “We have so much to tell you,” I confirmed, and she settled at that statement.
After a few minutes, Kellan said, “Why don’t I take Emme inside and help her get cleaned up. We can all regroup soon.”
Hunter looked torn, until eventually he nodded. “Yeah, I need to speak to the council and enforcers.”
Emme mumbled as her eyes fluttered closed. “I keep thinking about Cora and Warrick, and everything they went through. Can one of you find out what’s happening with them too.”
Hunter prowled closer, and her eyes flew open to meet his dark gaze. “Yes, we’ll find out. All you can do is offer them support and give them the space to grieve as a pack.”
A choked sob escaped her, and I wished I could kill Alp—Fletcher all over again.
“You’re right,” she swallowed roughly, and Kellan stepped forward.
It took every ounce of my control to release her, and I wouldn’t have for anyone who wasn’t part of this pack. I’d have murdered them for even suggesting it, but they were hers too.
When Emme settled against the blond alpha, she let out a sad laugh. “I can walk, mates. I don’t care if there are bits of Fletcher on the ground. He deserves to be under my fucking foot.”
Kellan kissed her cheek, and like the rest of us, was too weak to resist her. He dropped her gently to her feet, and the pair of them strolled into the house. Emme only looked back once, but it was enough to settle my beast.
“I can handle the council,” Hunter said, stepping right into his role of entitled alpha. “You all get everything out here cleaned up, send our family messages that it’s safe, and then let’s meet up in the living area. We have a lot to discuss.”
Despite my stronger dominance, I felt no desire to fight him for his role, and accepted his orders without worry.
Unsure if they wanted me back in my cage or not, I hesitated until Slade indicated I should stay with him. It took over an hour to deal with the carnage of the street, and I met more than a few shaken family members, including Hunter’s sister, who’d stayed to fight.
She showed not one sliver of concern over her father’s death. “Wish I’d been the one to kill him,” was all she said, before heading back to her house.
When we were done, Slade told me to follow him. “You can bunk with me,” he said as he led me up the stairs.
I blinked, our bond flaring strongly inside. “What? No more containment room?”
He shot me a flat stare over his shoulder, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. “No more containment room.”
That confirmation settled my beast even more. “I thought you hated others in your space?”
We’d had a lot of time to talk when I’d been his prisoner, and I’d quickly learned how he kept his world in order. How he kept his dragon under control.
“I’ve spent too many years missing a fundamental part of myself,” Slade explained with a shrug, even though I could see how tense his muscles were. “I won’t do that again. We need this bond, and we need to figure out how to exist in our combined form. Which means we’ll be sticking together for a while.”
My chest warmed at the thought. “I’d like that, brother. And my dragon likes it.”
Slade turned to meet my gaze. “Mine too. For the first time in my life, I’m not at war with him, broken and fearing what we might become in the future. We are as one.”
It was the same for me.
When he faced me, I took in the tattoos on his chest, and noticed a change. “Was it always like that?” I asked, gesturing to the twin dragons. Their scales were closer in color, and there was a shining white wolf between them now.
