Judging by the size of them, it was a miracle any of themfit,but since that wasn’t his exact meaning, I forced my addled mind to focus. “I have some theories,” I said, not sure if any of them were true. “But maybe it’s best if we ask Talon. That’s what I’m down here for after all.”
Slade didn’t release me for many long moments, which set Talon off again, as he growled.
“Fine,” Slade finally snapped, “but don’t get within touching distance. If he touches you, I will break both of his arms.”
The murder-y nature of his tone had a natural fear response spiking in my chest, but I didn’t try and pull away. Slade, who’d clearly felt the surge of my pulse, examined my face closely. “You have an instinct to fear my beast,” he murmured, “but you also trust him. You trust us not to hurt you, don’t you, Snow?”
“I trust you both completely,” I replied without hesitation.
His expression tightened once more as if he didn’t love that response, and then to my astonishment, he leaned down and whispered, “Don’t move.”
It was a command I couldn’t disobey, and I wasn’t even breathing as he shifted closer, descending from his lofty heights to press his lips to the corner of my mouth. Fire exploded through my body—not literally, though with a dragon you could never be sure—and it felt like I was burning alive as my stomach swirled and my core clenched desperately.
Slade’s touch was over so quickly that I wondered if I’d imagined it, but as my tongue darted out to taste the spot, a lingering marshmallow sweetness remained, and it almost sent me to my knees. His eyes darkened. “Careful, omega. Don’t pushmeor my dragon when we’re in this state.”
“Hard not to push a little,” I choked out, the scent of my arousal filling the room, and when a hand slammed against the bars behind Slade, I was reminded that we weren’t exactly alone down here.
Slade closed his eyes, and it appeared he was praying for the strength not to straight up murder his doppelganger. By the time he opened his eyes, he was visually back in control, and if I hadn’t been standing close enough to see the faintest tremble in his hands, I’d have thought he was wholly unaffected.
Talon didn’t help as he demanded his freedom. “Let me out. Now!”
Moving into his line of sight, I leveled a firm stare at him. “Until we can confirm that you’re not a threat to our pack and the shifters of Golden Claw, you will stay contained.” I glanced at Slade, who remained close to my side. “I’m assuming this room is protected from any sort of tracking spell?”
He gave a single, grim nod. “Yeah, this was originally designed for me. It’s a contingency for the day I lose control completely. My brothers needed a place to contain my humanoid form until they figured out how to either kill me or repair the bond between me and my beast. It’s the safest spot to keep him.”
Slade leaned against the wall, and while he appeared to be relaxing, I tracked the tension in his broad shoulders. “I don’t know how Blaine screwed up in imprisoning me, when he’s had a dragon at his disposal to test on, but I won’t make the same mistake.”
“Blaine is overconfident,” Talon said with a grunt, and I took it as a positive that he was offering up information without us even asking the question. “He believes himself untouchable. Alpha gives him too much rope, and he will hang himself.”
I blinked and bestowed a small smile on him. “Nice work, Talon. That was a rather astute observation, highlighting the fact that yourAlphais not perfect.”
He wore the flattest stare known to shifter to convey his thoughts on that.
“Anyways,” I continued airily, sticking with our pretense of casual and friendly conversation, “let’s ask the real questions, shall we.”
Talon’s arm remained stretched between the bars. “Take my hand and I’ll answer any question you ask.”
Slade was no longer the picture of false relaxation, his spine slamming straight as he reached my side in a single long stride. “Not a fucking chance. He could kill you in a heartbeat, Snow. Faster than even I could stop once his hands are on you.”
Talon removed his intense stare from my face to glare at Slade; they stood close enough now that I had to gulp at their similarities. Clad in black, they were twin godlike statues of perfection.
“The omega is mine,” Talon said, enunciating each word so clearly that he hit every damn letter. “Mine to keep. To protect. To claim. To use as needed.Mine!And a dragon does not hurt what is his.”
Slade leapt forward, his fist slamming into Talon’s face with enough force that the dragon’s arm snapped between the bars ashe was thrown back. I gasped, and before sanity caught up to me, I was against the bars, scrambling to reach the injured shifter.
“Slade!” I cried, shooting him an angry glare over my shoulder. “That was so fucking uncalled for. I’ve already told you he’s been programmed by Fletcher, and he wasn’t offering any violence toward me. There was no reason to react so brutally.”
Talon didn’t make a sound as he dragged himself up, his broken arm hanging awkwardly at his side. “I’ll heal soon enough, don’t stress, Emme.” His voice remained even and calm, as if he didn’t even register the pain.
Slade, meanwhile, filled the cell with extreme heat, and when I glanced up over my shoulder at him, a chill traced across my skin. Ironically.
He was out of control.
His eyes pinpoints of green.
Talon’s arm wrapped around my center, dragging me fully against the bars. “You need to get away from him,” he snarled. “He’s not in control of his beast, and if he shifts here, he’ll crush you.”
Slade’s gaze snapped to stare at the arm encircling my waist, and the fury in his expression grew as the air blistered. “Let me go,” I whispered. “Let me go to him. It’s the only chance we have.”
