It was not fine, but my mate’s confident attitude made it feel that way. He was the cool tide to my raging inferno. He doused the flames of my wild anger—anger I didn’t even know I had inside of me.
“Is he all right?” Gaius asked from a distance.
“Yes, he is,” Alaric replied. “Right, Jade?”
His conviction reassured me. I still couldn’t speak, but I managed to nod.
“Let’s go somewhere private,” Alaric decided. “Sorry, Gaius, but can you deal with this?”
“I’m on it,” Gaius said, unusually serious. From the corner of my eye, I saw him raise a hand to pat my leg, but then he paused, apparently thinking better of it. “Feel better soon, Jade.”
Alaric ledme into a quiet clearing in the forest. As soon as we arrived, my knees buckled and collapsed. My body trembled too hard to keep myself upright any longer.
“Are you okay?” Alaric asked.
I nodded again, then forced myself to speak. The sooner I acted more human, the faster I’d get out of this state.
“Yes,” I growled. It sounded more draconic than human, but at least it was a solid word.
Alaric sighed, relieved that I’d spoken. He petted my forehead with calming strokes.
“You know,” he said, looking me over, “you are agorgeousdragon.”
That earned him a rough chuckle. I felt my human self slowly floating back down to my dragon body, and I managed to speak again. “I’m sorry about the circumstances.”
Alaric gave me a small, reassuring smile, then asked, “What happened?”
I shut my eyes and breathed for a few seconds. I had to be careful not to trigger myself back into a feral state upon revisiting the memories.
“I lost control when I saw you.” The words came out thick and animalistic. “You were in pain. Danger.”
“I wasn’t—well, itwasuncomfortable,” Alaric admitted.
The feathers on my spine bristled. He could downplay it to ease my feelings all he wanted, but I knew the truth. Bondage like that was not to be done haphazardly.
“You could’ve been seriously hurt,” I growled.
The risks blared like neon signs in my mind, but I dared not think about the potential outcomes had there been an accident. I couldn’t risk slipping backwards again. I forced myself to stay rooted in the present.
Alaric was safe. Therefore, I was safe.
“I’m sorry for alarming you,” Alaric said. “I didn’t think it was a big deal when I agreed to it.”
My feathers went rigid. “Agreed to it?”
The bushes rustled behind us. My brothers stepped into the clearing. Thystle and the twins grimaced and bunched their shoulders, looking particularly guilty.
Everything clicked into place.
“You,” I snapped.
My feral rage rekindled at the sight of them. Crimson and Cobalt predicted my outburst—they ran in front of our younger brothers, a physical barrier between them and my fangs. I dug my claws into the ground so I wouldn’t barrel into them, but I knew deep down, they couldn’t stop me. At least, not in human form.
“You have to calm down,” Cobalt ordered, deep and firm.
I ignored him, snarling at my three youngest brothers, “What did you do to my mate?”
The trembling twins clung to each other. Thystle backed up, eyes wide with real fear.
