She was most definitely going to kill Ian and Connor when she had the chance.
When the main landing area came into view, she swore a few more times. There had to be at least forty people standing around something she imagined was the stage.
After she sorted out her brothers, she would have a word with Finn. She somehow didn't think he'd approved of the ad hoc event. After all, it wasn't as if any of the human females had to put on such a public display merely for a chance at staying.
She heard grunting but couldn't see over the heads of the taller dragon males. Somehow she pushed and elbowed others aside, attempting to make her way. Once people realized it was her and murmured the news through the crowd, they finally cleared a path. She reached the front just as Lachlan flipped Connor onto his back and put a foot against his windpipe. Lachlan stated, "Cede."
But then Connor extended a talon from one of his fingers and pressed it against Lachlan's foot. Even from several feet away, she smelled the faint whiff of blood.
She wished she could extend a talon, too, and see how Connor liked it. Stupid silent dragon meant she couldn't, though.
And her brothers had probably counted on that.
They would most definitely be dead by the time she finished with them.
Lachlan then kicked up his foot and thrust it against Connor's talon, bending it the wrong way.
Her brother yelped, and Lachlan took the split-second distraction to grab the lower part of Connor's talon, flip him over, and yanked both of her brother's hands behind his back. Lachlan growled, "Cede."
Aye, her brother could merely shift into a dragon, and then Lachlan wouldn't stand a chance. However, not even her idiotic brother was going to risk that and a lecture from Finn. So Connor mumbled, "I cede."
Lachlan released him and helped her brother up as everyone clapped around her.
She was a wee bit proud but far more furious. So Cat jumped onto the stage and shouted, "What the bloody hell did you think you were doing, Connor? If you killed him, you know what it would do to me."
Connor rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't kill him. Bruise him a little, aye, but not kill him."
The smell of blood was stronger on the stage, and Cat felt a slight stirring at the back of her mind.
Fuck. It was her dragon.
Her brother's stunt had made her inner beast angry enough to weaken the drug still in her system.
She dared a glance at Lachlan, and the stirring strengthened. "Connor, you bastard, now you've done it."
Not wanting to risk her beast waking up in front of a crowd, with Lachlan only a few feet from her, Cat turned on her heel and fled, the rumblings in her mind growing stronger with each step.
Thanks to her idiotic brother threatening her true mate and drawing blood, her dragon was fighting to wake up. The need to protect wasn't just a male dragon prerogative; no, females were just as fierce.
And now she couldn't be near Lachlan unless he was ready for the frenzy.
Heading toward her mother's restaurant, Cat would have to tell her mother and Finn everything. Then she'd have to hide in the cottage they would use for the frenzy until Lachlan was ready.
A thread of nervousness rushed through her. Not because sex with Lachlan would be a bad thing. But she'd wanted another day with him, to know him, to better prepare him for when her dragon came out.
And her brothers had stolen it from her.
Aye, as soon as she was able, she would kill them both.
Lachlan watched Cat run into the distance and wondered if he'd been mistaken.
Because he swore he'd seen her pupils flash once before she left.
A female voice cut through his thoughts, one he recognized as Faye MacKenzie. "You fucked up, Connor. You've provoked her dragon enough to want to protect him."
Lachlan turned, blinked at the sleeping bairn strapped to Faye's front—did she really bring the wee thing everywhere?—and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Faye sighed as she switched her gaze to him. "I told everyone this was a bad idea, but all the males said it was just good fun. And that a female dragon wouldn't be so protective if her mate was losing a fight. Bullshit, for sure. But of course no one listened."
Faye's pupils flashed rapidly before she spoke again, "Come with me, Lachlan. Connor, clean up this mess and make sure Cat is okay."
Lachlan blurted, "But Cat said the silent drug worked better on female dragons."
Faye nodded. "Aye, they do. However, when one's mate looks about to be stabbed by a talon—not to mention the fact Connor drew blood—it'll wake up the most docile of dragons." She glared at Connor. "The rules were no shifting any part of your body."
Connor shrugged. "I knew he could handle it."
Under normal circumstances, Lachlan would acknowledge how Connor's words were all but an endorsement of his skills. However, he wanted to know more about Cat's situation. "Is Cat in pain now?"
Faye took his hand and guided him off the stage—she glared at her older brothers for good measure along the way—and finally replied, "I'm not sure. If it's not magical dick time now, it'll be soon. So I hope you're ready." She glanced over at him. "My gut says you're going to go through the frenzy."
"Aye," he murmured.
She nodded. "Good. Whilst I'm happy for Cat, it also means I can train you on the side once you've finished it and watch with glee as you best some of the dragon males."
He blinked. It wasn't as if he was going to wrestle every week in front of an audience.
However, he pushed her comments aside to focus on what was important.
Of course, that meant asking a near stranger something Cat had promised to explain in more detail today.
Still, he'd rather have Faye explain it than her mate or the clan leader. She seemed blunt and to the point, and he could use that right now.
Not to mention he didn't have to try and impress her to the same degree as he did with the clan leader.
So he cleared his throat and asked, "Cat was going to explain more about what happens when her dragon takes over today."
"And now she can't." She muttered a curse. "Aye, well, I guess that means I get to give you the dragon side of the birds and the bees."
Maybe he'd be wrong to ask Faye after all.
She grinned over at him. "Oh, don't worry. We don't have talon-lined vaginas or anything. It's more that the dragon will take over our human form and demand sex. Rough and hard most of the time." Her gaze turned soft. "It's quite good, actually."
Not wanting her to regale him with her own sexcapades, he steered the conversation toward something much tamer. "But will her dragon be out the whole time? I know it can take weeks sometimes before the frenzy stops."
Faye shook her head. "No, usually the human and dragon half take turns, sharing the experience like they do with almost everything in life. And her dragon can sense when you need sleep or food, and will give some breaks. But if you try to leave, her beast won't allow it. So you have to be doubly sure about this." She pierced him with a fierce look. "Are you?"
He didn't hesitate to answer, "Aye, I am."
"Good. Cat's my friend, so whilst I know her brothers would've issued warnings, I'll do it too. Hurt her and you'll have to deal with me."