“Sounds good,” I mumble, eyes closed before I even hit the ground.
ChapterEighteen
KODIAK
Ican’t shake the image from my head of Amara going under that fucking truck, of Stone’s white hair drenched in blood from cracking his skull on the pavement. The people I love keep getting hurt because I’m not enough to protect them.
‘Nobody wants you, Kodiak, not even your parents. And really, who could blame them?’
Stone, Raiden, and Amara want me,I remind myself, trying to squash down the memory. But no matter how many times I repeat the mantra to myself, it doesn’t help. Everything that happened today hit too close to home, and I’m dreading the nightmares it’ll inevitably dredge up for a while.
“Can’t sleep?” The tent flap flutters closed behind Amara as she sneaks out on silent feet, leaving my brothers snoring softly. “After carrying Stone thirty miles out into the middle of nowhere, I’d think you’d be dead on your feet.”
Avery shifts on her perch on top of the tent, glancing at Amara before scanning the campsite for threats before drifting back off to sleep. As soon as Amara’s within arm’s reach, I tug her down onto my lap beside the small campfire.
“My turn to keep watch, and with Stone down for the count, it means a longer shift. Too dangerous for all of us to sleep at the same time until the dust settles.”
She blows out a heavy breath. “Fuck, I should have realized. Go get some sleep. I’m up anyway, so I’ll cover Stone’s turn tonight, and starting tomorrow, you can factor me into the rotation.”
Banding my arm tighter around her waist, I deflect, “Like any of us will be able to sleep if you're on guard duty alone.”
“Ooph, good thing my self-esteem is at an all time high these days, or that might have sounded insulting.”
I gently bite her shoulder, smirking when she squirms on my lap. “We know damn well you can hold your own if you need to, but you told us yourselfthat you’d rather avoid confrontations. You've had to fight your entire life, Amara. Just because youcandefend yourself doesn't mean you should unnecessarily put yourself in a position where you have to.”
Turning my face into the side of her neck, I press a soft kiss against her skin. “What’s the point of having a harem of dragons wrapped around your finger if you aren’t going to use them? And there are so many,manythings you can use us for.”
She hums a low, contemplative sound. “You’re right, I’ll never have to file my taxes or take the trash out again. If I wasn’t already sold on the benefits of being a team player, this would do it. You guys really should have led with that pitch instead of waiting for my car to blow up to convince me to move in.”
I bark out a startled laugh, quickly muffling it in the crook of her neck before I wake up the others. “You’re good for keeping my ego in check, that’s for damn sure.”
Twisting sideways in my lap so she can see my face, she grins unrepentantly. “Somebody has to.”
My heart stutters in my chest in the face of that bright smile. Before I even realize I’m moving, I cup her jaw and kiss her like we have all the time in the world, desperately trying to believe it. She’s just… everything. Everything I’ve always hoped to find, and everything I need. After centuries of searching, I’ve barely had any time with her, and have already come far too close to losing her several times.
‘I’m getting my mate-mark removed.’
Threading my fingers through her hair, I pull her tighter against me, deepening the kiss. Possessively claiming her mouth, I pour all of my desperation and fears into it, trying to brand myself on this woman’s soul so she’ll never be able to get rid of me.
Breathing ragged, I remind myself that it’s too dangerous to take things further when the others are asleep, and reluctantly pull back. “You should get some more sleep while you can. Even if Stone doesn’t wake up today, we’ll need to move camp to somewhere more secure.”
She stifles a yawn, but makes no move to get up, resting her head against my shoulder. “I don’t want to yet.” Knowing damn well I’m going to pry until I get an answer anyway, she fills the weighted silence with a resigned sigh. “Nightmares. Seeing Stone crack his head open, then barely half an hour later drop unconscious at my feet, shook me up pretty bad. If I try to go back to bed now, I’ll just keep tossing and turning for hours and wake up Raiden. He barely sleeps as it is, I’m not going to wake him up for no good reason.”
“He sleeps better when you’re next to him,” I half-heartedly argue, but pull her closer all the same, just as messed up over the fact Stone hasn’t woken up yet.
“That’s why it took me twenty minutes to leave the tent in the first place,” she says, smiling softly. “After I was finally able to escape the labyrinth of limbs, I switched out my shirt so he could use the one I slept in as a pillow. Figured it smelled enough like me that it would buy me a couple of hours before he noticed.”
“Gods, you’re perfect. You know that?”
She snorts. “Far from it, but that’s okay. I might be a hot mess, but at least we’re never bored.”
“All I heard was that you’re hot and exciting.” I sigh dramatically. “Great, now I’m turned on and can’t do anything about it. Thanks for making guard duty that much harder.”
Chuckling quietly under her breath, she relaxes against me and we drift off into companionable silence. I rest my chin on top of her head, staring into the crackling fire dancing in the cool night air.
“It’s only going to get worse, you know,” she eventually says softly. “More and more people are going to grow bolder because they know you guys are laying low. We don’t have the luxury of biding our time and playing the long game like we hoped.”
My heart skips a beat before kicking into overdrive, fingers digging into her side as I tighten my hold. “Sure we do, this doesn’t change anything.”
