“What happened?” Now I was heartbroken for Dom. I knew it wasbad.
Logan sighed, glancing at his fresh tattoo. “It happened before I knew him. Coop and Keegan used to work for Eva before they learned what I was and I hired them. One day she sent Cooper with one of my scales, to sell it. We didn’t want Eva to be the only one who got them. Otherwise it would seem suspicious. So, every month or so, she would send one of her trusted guys to another state where she knew they had a powerful sorcerer who would pay top dollar. It was also a test to see if they could be trusted with knowledge of a dragon living closeby.”
I leaned forward so I wouldn’t miss a single word. “So they didn’t know they were sellingyourscales?”
Logan shook his head. “Not at first, no. Eva just told them she’d come by it and needed help selling it. They were bred to protect skyborn, but she wanted to be sure before introducingus.”
Whoa. What if one of them had been in the druids’ pockets?Scary.
“We’d never sold to this guy before, but I wasn’t too worried because I’d heard he was obsessed with all things dragon and would pay top dollar for scales, talons, andwhatnot.”
Pee. Whatnot was pee.I just nodded, trying hard not to think of my recent experiences withurine.
“So Coop goes in and realizes it’s a pureblood bar. They despise shifters and half-breed witches, but even so, it was a quick deal. The money was wired and he’s out the door, but as he was leaving he heard these sounds. He said it sounded like someone was torturing acat.”
Bile rose in my throat and I shook my head. “No. Not Dom…” I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear this storynow.
Logan stepped closer, pinning me with his green eyes. “Yes. Dom. Coop went outside and shifted and was able to sneak down into the basement in his nimble foxform.”
We just stood there looking at each other, Logan waiting for me to ask him to finish the story, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it. After a long pause, I finally whispered, “Tellme.”
Logan sighed. “Coop said Dom looked like a ball of ground meat and fur, barely breathing. They had an underground fighting ring, pitting Dom against bears, mountain lions, and every other animal in a bid to makemillions.”
Tears slid down my cheeks. Now I knew why he had all those scars. “Why?” I chokedout.
Logan shrugged. “There’s people in the world who don’t see things right. They see others as being below them. They’re sick. It’s a mental illness, and I wish it were easy to change, that Eva could magic it away. But shecan’t.”
“How did they get himout?”
Logan grinned. “Coop called Keegan and Eva in. Eva went in as a bidder, got a front row seat to the next fight, and threw a smoke spell, blinding everyone. Keegan and Coop busted through the wall. Got himout.”
My jaw was hanging open. “Well, we should burn that damn place down!” How many other animals were there being tortured rightnow?
Logan nodded. “Eva said the next day they moved. The sorcerer rents out the spaces and changes locations every month. Keeps it all moving so you can’t trackhim.”
It infuriated me, and also softened my heart for Dom and Cooper. Guilt welled up inside of me again, fresh and hot. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have run.I—”
“No! Don’t do that. Coop could have died years ago when we ran into hunters that were after me. It just happened. This life is dangerous and we all know it. Any one of us could go.” He reached out forme.
“But...” I tried to argue and he stepped closer, pressing his body intomine.
“No, it’s not your fault. It’s my fault, for talking so much shit about druids that my own mate thought I’d hate her for the blood that ran in her veins.” His hand came up to cup the back of myneck.
Everything else around me blurred; all I could focus on was him, his scent like freshly fallen snow, and trees—his heat running straight into my core. He laced his fingers through my hair, cradling the back of myneck.
“I could never hate any part of you,” he whispered, and pressed his lips to mine. I melted under his kiss, urgent and gentle at the same time. When we pulled away I was breathless, raw, and utterly inlove.
The sound of someone clearing their throat popped my love bubble, and had me looking over at the happy druid. He smiled wide. “Thought maybe you got lost,” he saidpolitely.
I smiled sheepishly and Logan’s hand slipped into mine as we followed Isaac to the sound of running water. Somewhere off in the distance, I could hear the jingle of that goat’s bell. What Logan had told me about Dom replayed in my mind, and I couldn’t focus on anything else until we came upon a large waterfall cascading down the mountain into the pristine, cerulean water of a small pond. It was the same waterfall from my dream … there was something relaxing and magical about it. I guess a property most waterfallshad.
Isaac spun and faced Logan and I. “The Earth has chosen you to carry her magic, and that is a great honor,” Isaac told me as I eyed the tattoo on my shoulderwarily.
Wow. He was jumping right in,Ithought.
“And how exactly did that happen? The Earth tattooing me?” I’d always wanted a tattoo, but I was scared of the pain. Which was ironic now that I had two. One I’d signed up for, and one Ididn’t.
Isaac was wearing a Japanese-style shirt with a short, Asian-looking collar, and harem pants. His feet were bare, toes sunken into the dirt. His two orange-crystal-topped staffs lay in a bed of green grass beside him. He was the quintessential hippie in thatmoment.
