Talon hesitated, his hold tightening, and I panicked just as he finally saw reason and released me. It took two strides to reach Slade, and my hands rose to hover between us.
I had no idea if my touch would send him over the edge, but there was a hope that my omega energy would soothe his beast. The dragon shifter’s limbs trembled, and puffs of smoky air surrounded me, until the marshmallow of his scent was choked out by the ash.
“Slade, I’m going to touch you,” I warned him. “You have two seconds to say no or shake your head or growl. Even an alpha grunt will stop me.”
When no response was forthcoming, I moved slowly and lowered my hands toward his chest.
He released a harsh breath as my palms connected to his shirt, careful not to graze any bare skin. When I found no rebuff or increase in rage, I stepped closer and lowered my head to rest between my palms. I wasn’t situated over his heart, but I could hear the rapid beats as we stood there in silence. It took a few minutes for those thuds to calm, and eventually Slade’s hands swept up and wrapped around my back.
Thank the goddess.
“I would never hurt you,” he breathed into my ear. “I would never have lost control and hurt you. But I would have killed him, which might have hurt you anyway. I believe you’d survive his death, as your bond isn’t fully complete, but it’s still a risk I shouldn’t contemplate.”
I wanted to reply but I was consumed by the feeling of being held against him in a hug, a mere fraction of his strength wrapped around me. My eyes burned until I had to bite my lip to force my emotions back under control.
If Talon hadn’t cleared his throat, I’d have forgotten anyone else was even in the room.
As it was, neither of us moved, and I hoped Slade also wanted this perfect moment to go on just a little longer. Or forever.
CHAPTER 21
EMME
Talon slammed his hand against the bars of his cell and I jerked out of Slade’s hold, taking two steps back. Slade didn’t follow, and when our gazes met, I was relieved to see he was calm and contained once more.
“Why haven’t you bonded with her?” Talon demanded, his unbroken arm wrapped around the bars. “Your beast is raging at your denial of the connection.”
Slade’s expression softened as he stared at me, only to harden when he turned to Talon: “My dragon isn’t stable enough to bond.” Even as honest as he was, it surprised me that he would reveal thatweaknessto his enemy. “There’s a disconnect between us and I worry that if I tangibly tie myself to Emmeline, and one day lose myself to the dragon, I’ll take her down with me.”
I was aware of Slade’s issues, and with the ghost of his touch still branded on my body, it hurt to know that we might never have more than this.
“My dragon’s the same,” Talon said casually, as if he didn’t care. “But he’s more stable with Emme. She’s an omega, and their literal role is to calm and power alphas. In whatever means we need.”
He wasn’t technically wrong, but the way he said it instantly reminded me of Blaine and Fletcher.
“My role is not to power you, asshole,” I snapped, wishing I was close enough to kick his broken arm. “My energy and essence isminealone. If I chose to share it, that’s one thing, but when you speak abouttaking what’s yoursthen you’re out of line, and I’ll have no part in it.”
Talon tilted his head, and it was so reminiscent of Slade that italmostderailed my angry tangent. “Why would you not want to share with your mates?”
I snorted. “Reverse psychology won’t work on me, dickhead. Iwouldshare with my mates in a life-or-death situation, as I have already proven, but as you are all arguably more powerful than me to start with, there’s no logical reason I should just share with you on the regular. Especially when I’ve lived through the damage it can do long term to a beast and essence. There’s a risk that I’d lose my wolf completely and end up broken and wishing for death.”
Slade’s low, menacing growls indicated his dragon remained close to the surface.
When he pressed his hand to the middle of my back, his heat caressing my spine, I barely contained my groan. “Emme will never share her essence again,” he said, his tone making it clear he’d kill anyone who tried to make me. “Not even to save one of our lives. We have no idea what we’re messing with here, and until we know for sure the long-term consequences, we’re not risking her.” He pinned the other dragon with a hard stare. “If you cared about her or felt the true pull of a scent match, you wouldn’t want that for her either. You’d want to doanythingto keep her safe and healthy.”
Talon’s expression now held a hint of confusion, and I decided to take advantage of that by asking our most pressing questions. “How are you and Slade related? You look almostidentical, which has me thinking you have the same parents? Or are from the same nest? I don’t know how it works for dragons.”
“Dragons have nests,” Slade confirmed, his hand falling away from my back, and I tried not to mourn the loss. “I’ve never met any other dragons to know if we all look the same.”
Talon snorted, and I debated breaking his other arm. For funsies. “We don’t all look the same. Alpha has many old photos and books depicting our kind. We come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and facial features.”
“Except you two are exactly alike,” I reiterated.
His smile held an edge of menace. “Ah, yes. Well, I don’t know everything, but I did overhear Alpha discuss us a few times. When he spoke about hisotherfamily.”
I remained quiet, leaving him to continue. He just stared pointedly at me, his unbroken arm through the bars.
Fuck a duck. He’d stated his terms earlier, and I wasn’t fulfilling them.
