Midas, who was still burnt, even in this form, had leapt into the fire to haul out Mendelsohn.
I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t move.
Finally, I unlocked my knees and rushed back and forth around the ditch meant to contain the blaze. There was no good way to insert myself into their fight. It was vicious. Mendelsohn was hurt, but Midas wasn’t at his best either. Mendelsohn had determination on his side, a total disregard for his life, and he was winning.
“Screw it.” I leapt into the fire, but Midas knocked me aside before the first bead of sweat fell. “No.”
Mendelsohn took the opportunity to impale himself with a metal skewer that appeared to belong to a rotisserie set meant for roasting game.
I fought against Midas, but he held me down with a paw to my sternum.
The cold light in his eyes chilled me, and I froze when his claws flexed dangerously close to my heart.
“I’m not afraid of you.” I glared up at him. “You won’t hurt me.”
An inquisitive rumble in the back of his throat all but begged me to test him.
“I will kick your bald and scabby ass from here to New York if you don’t let me up now.”
The beast didn’t want to, that much was obvious, but a familiar alertness flooded his gaze, and he backed away from me.
Once I scrabbled onto my feet, I dumped the remaining water over my head and went for Mendelsohn. He was dead before he cleared the flames. I told myself he would have died anyway, but I was pissed at Midas for interfering. A few seconds either way could have made all the difference.
I whirled on him, ready to give him a piece of my mind, but he sat with a vacant stare that chilled me to the bone. He had shifted while my back was turned, and he kept staring at his hands…the same as Mendelsohn had done.
That spark of righteous anger snuffed out to cold embers when his haunted gaze met mine.
A lilt flavored his words, but he didn’t seem to notice. “I almost…”
“You almost got your ass kicked.” I sat beside him. “I was playing being nice because I like you.”
“You couldn’t stop me.” He curled his abused fingers. “Not if I wanted it bad enough.”
“Try me,” I dared him, proud my voice didn’t tremble. “I’m tougher than I look.”
“I could kill you,” he said softly. “So easily.”
This was about more than Mendelsohn. This was about the nightmares that woke him, the past that haunted him. I could back down, let him brood, and hope it passed. Or I could prove to him, to both of us, that I could take him. It would alleviate his fears, smash the walls between us, or kill me in the process.
Ambrose perked at the idea of pitting our strength against Midas, and I hated the thrill he fed into my blood.
“I’m done with this.” I got to my feet. “I’m over it.”
Midas nodded, his shoulders relaxing, as if he had always known it would come to this.
This, in his mind, clearly meant goodbye.
The ease with which he gave up on us earned him a punch to his stupid square jaw. The obvious relief at it being over between us got him a kick to the side of his stupid handsome face. The fact he let me beat on him, welcomed it, made me think I was negotiating with the wrong half of him.
“Change,” I ordered him.
“No.” He dug his fingers into the ground, his muscles trembling. “Hadley, no.”
“Change.”
“You don’t understand.” His tormented gaze found mine as magic puddled underneath him. “Run.”
“I’m tired of running.” I meant it, with every fiber of my being. “We’re settling this tonight.”
The change took him, swept him up, and left him in a quivering mass of rage shaped as his gwyllgi.
“Midas is mine.” I sank power into my voice. “That means you’re mine too.” His lips quivered, teeth peeking through. “You hear me?” I took a firm step closer. “Knock it off.” And another. “Right now.” And another. “You think you can take me?” I stood toe to paw with him. “If you think…uh…”
The beast lowered his head, lay on the ground, then rolled over to expose his vulnerable belly.
Submission from a future alpha was a big deal. This wasn’t Midas the man, this was Midas the beast. They were the same, but they weren’t the same. Midas employed higher reasoning. The beast was a creature of instinct. Where the man might be swayed by his emotions, the beast responded to strength.
He believed I was stronger than him, and that was sobering.
Sure, I figured Ambrose and I could take him in a no-holds-barred fight. Mostly because Ambrose played dirty, and I counted on Midas not to want to hurt me.
Basically, I expected to hold my own. This…was not that.
The beast thumped his tail once, an invitation to rub his stomach, and I did. With Ambrose on standby.
Uncomfortable was a good word for seeing one’s boyfriend belly up with his tongue lolling.
Relieved was another.
I got the distinct feeling the beast I had been interacting with up until now was a watered-down version Midas had deemed fit for my consumption. One with his wildness leashed, tamed by my hand. Or so he would have me believe. This guy was the real deal. Blood, fang, and claw guided him. He was a creature of instinct, and his must be roaring at him.
“Okay.” I flexed my cramping fingers. “Are we done here?”
The beast whined in its throat but let the magic wash it away to reveal the man.
“You want to explain what just happened?” I waited for him to speak, but he kept silent. “You’ve got Jekyll and Hyde syndrome.” Still nothing. “I’ve read about it in wargs. Most who suffer from the condition end up that way through trauma.”
“I obeyed you.”
Relieved he was talking again, I shrugged it off with a smile. “I’m good at yelling until people do what I say.”
“I shifted when you commanded me to, Hadley. I obeyed you.”
“Are you sure?” Yes, I felt stupid the second I asked, but oh well. Nothing new there.
“You magically forced my body to listen to you.” He stared at me. “I had no will of my own.”
Recoiling from him, I tasted bile in the back of my throat. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
No wonder he hated the power that came along with his mantle if a sharp word bent people’s wills to his.
“I’m not mad.” He reached for me before I escaped him. “I’m just…surprised.”
“The courtship thing must be messing with us.” I wished I had wiped the dampness from my palms before they slid against his. “That must be it.” I searched his face. “Right?”
The cry of sirens snapped his jaw shut on whatever answer he had been about to give.
“We need to move.” He stood and pulled me up with him. “The sentinels and the cleaners will be here soon. If we want answers, we need to search Mendelsohn’s tent before they arrive.” He yanked me after him. “Whatever happened tonight, the answers must be here.”
I wasn’t fooled by his sudden sense of urgency, but he had a point. We had to act fast.
“You check his.” I took a moment to orient myself. “I’ll search Gayle’s.”