“Ugh. I don’t mean it like that. I know you still like him,” he grumbled. “I meant,howcan you still love him after he went feral?”
Where did this come from all of a sudden?
I shrugged. “It wasn’t a big deal to me.”
“He almost hurt people he loved,” Viol muttered.
“But he didn’t.”
“BecauseIwas there to stop him,” Viol snapped, getting heated.
I crossed my arms. “Nobody was injured, and Jade is fine. So, what’s your point?”
“What if he lost all control? What if, in his rampage, he hurt you by accident?” He flinched as if in pain. “What if he hurt your baby?”
I wasn’t surprised that he assumed I was already pregnant, or about to be. It wasn’t exactly rare for omegas on the Dragonfate Games to end the season with a baby on the way.
At first, his outburst pissed me off. But the undertone of pain in his gruff voice was hard to miss. Then I realized this wasn’t about Jade at all.
“My mate would never do that,” I said calmly. “And you know what? I don’t think you would, either.”
Viol’s eyes widened before narrowing to dark slits. “Don’t say shit like that. You don’t even know me.”
Dear gods. And I thought Iwas dramatic.
Rolling my eyes, I grabbed Viol’s hand and put it on my belly. He inhaled a sharp breath and held it like he’d die if he let go.
For a second I thought he’d yank out of my grip and run. He looked like he wanted to. But he quelled whatever urge compelled him to escape and held his palm steady against my stomach.
“Would you ever hurt me, or this baby?” I asked.
“I would rather die,” Viol growled. I knew he meant every word of it.
“Then why do you assume you’d hurt your own?”
He finally released his breath. “Never mind. It was stupid to ask.”
“For what it’s worth, Viol,” I said, “I’m glad you’ll be in my child’s life.”
Viol blushed, then looked away with a grunt. It seemed impossible for him to take a compliment.
“Thanks,” he muttered. Then he paused, screwing up his nose. Almost imperceptibly, he leaned closer to me, sniffing the air. What the hell was he doing?
I cleared my throat. “If you’re flirting with me, then I should warn you I’m not into threesomes.”
Viol frantically withdrew his hand and pulled away. “Who the fuck said anything about that?” he complained. “Ugh, whatever. See you later.”
He trudged down the hall, clearly in a hurry to leave. Jade reappeared just in time to hear a door slam somewhere in the distance.
“Oh, my. What was that about?” he asked.
I took a cup of steaming tea from the tray in his hands. “Just Viol wallowing in his own angst.”
Jade chuckled, setting the tray down. “I suppose it runs in the family, to varying degrees. Did you have a nice chat?”
“I’m not sure what constitutes a nice chat with him,” I admitted. “But I hope it made him feel better.”
19
