“What?” She blinked.
“Panic-sharted. It’s a terror-fart that turns into a nasty little surprise in your pants—”
“Not that, you idiot! It…turned her on? He had some very tough paramours who’d turn to ice when they felt even a sliver of that temper.”
“Well…that seems a bit much. He doesn’t usually do anything with it.”
“It’s the power behind his commands and his bearing and…” She shivered.
I pointed at her. “See? If you said all that to Finley, she would have shivered with arousal. They are true mates. He has claimed her. They fit, trust me. She’s hard as hell, and she won’t give him an inch. He needs that.”
“Yes, he does.” She let silence drift over us for a moment. “Was he pissed that the true mate bond was held by a commoner?”
“I have no idea. But they were very hot and cold at first, so possibly. She kept resisting his commands, which pissed him off, but it also turned them both on… My job was miserable there for a bit, but then I almost died and—”
She lowered her hand to my shoulder again. Another flinch! Damn it! I had to stop. It amused dragons when they made people flinch.
“She resisted his commands?”
I rolled my eyes and contemplated throwing up. “She can kill people with her will alone, Tamara. Yes, she can resist his commands. To a point. And he can resist hers…to a point. What does the term ‘true mates’ mean to you if not a couple equal in power and temperament? They were literally made for each other. And thanks so much for asking about how I almost died. Very caring.”
She blew out a breath and shook her head. The silence lengthened, and it occurred to me that some of the changes in our kingdom had actually been for the better. Finley wouldn’t be subjected to the same ridicule and judgment as she would’ve been before the curse. She’d be judged mostly on her merits.
Tamara stayed put, and just as I was starting to wonder whether her boredom would turn to violence, she said, “I never really spoke to him. The prince, I mean. I had high standing as the captain of the queen’s guard, but…” She shrugged. “There was a way things were done in the castle, and I didn’t have business with him. But I watched the queen in the fields more times than I can count. I watched her with him, too. Those were her happiest times, tending the fields with him.”
“He found that again with her. With Finley. I mean, obviously it wasn’t the same feeling, because that would be weird, but—”
“She always told me, ‘Don’t call him “the prince” around me. Call him “your son,” because he’s not like the princes before him. He won’t be like the kings of the recent past. Or the present. He’ll change this kingdom. He’ll summon the dragons from all the small villages and towns in other parts of the world and consolidate them, like in the days of old. Give them a proper home. As it should be. He isn’t a prince when he’s with me—he’s my son.’”
“And then she told him to flee.”
“I think she recognized a losing battle. His happiness meant more to her than turning a falling kingdom around. It wasn’t the demons who did that place in; they just took advantage of the rot already there.”
“Clearly. And after sending him away, she gave in to the long night.”
“She didn’t have anything left to live for, Hadriel. You have no idea what she was enduring.”
I nodded, because she was right. I didn’t.
“Anyway.” She pushed off the banister and wandered away.
“No worries. Don’t ask about my stuff or anything,” I called after her.
She stopped and looked over her shoulder.
I grimaced and hunched next to the banister, then went back to minding my own business. You could only taunt a dragon so much. I really needed to learn my lesson.
“I know why you—”
“Oh fuck!” I jumped, jiggled, sidled away, and threw up. “Fuck!”
Weston stood behind me, naked, each muscle clearly defined. He somehow still looked robust and godly despite having been starved. Fucking alpha males. They were my one weakness.
“I know why you didn’t shift,” he said, watching me with the intent gaze of a wolf assessing his surroundings. “On the bridge.”
“Oh yeah?”
He stared for a moment, and this time I half thought I should put my ass over the side. He made my bowels a bit watery. Quite the weakness! I would never survive a romance with one of these bastards.
“You knew you would fall in line with the pack,” he said, one hand on the banister, probably really annoyed he needed to hang on, since the alpha dragon did not.
He waited for a moment, but I didn’t comment. I knew he didn’t expect a response.
“Even though it would’ve granted you safe passage,” he said, “you stayed in human form so that you could stay true to the…Finley.”
“She’s a dragon,” I spat out. “Wait until she shifts. You’ll see.”
He jerked his head downward, his version of a nod. “I commend that. It took courage, doing what you did. It shows loyalty. She has a good wolf in you. A real good wolf.”
I couldn’t help beaming with pride. That was an incredible accolade coming from an alpha like him.
“How’d they get you?” I asked.
Normal people would’ve blown out a breath and looked out at the sea. Or inhaled. Or done something other than stare a hole into my head. But as alpha of what was probably a very large pack, he was not normal people.
“They got one of our younger wolves. He was running in the water past curfew. He didn’t know the repercussions of being on the beach that late. His mother had two younger children to look after, and the father was absent. She had gone home to feed the younger ones, telling the young man what time to come home. When he didn’t show up, she asked a neighbor to watch the kids so she could go look. I went instead.”
The muscle in his jaw jumped, and this time he did look out at the ocean.
“They were loading him into a net when I got there.” He shook his head. “It was a fool’s mission, I knew that. But I couldn’t bear the thought of doing nothing. I couldn’t bear the thought of seeing his mother’s expression when I delivered the news that he had been taken. So I tried to get to him.”
“And were taken as a result.”
“Yes.”
“And he…”
“Didn’t make the trip. They piled a couple of other captives on top of him. I was on the bottom of the shuffle as well, but…”
“You’re built like a brick wall, yeah.” I stared out at the lightening sky. “You had curfews?”
“We were having a lot of disappearances down by the water. We hunted the area a few times, but the water washed away most of the scents. We weren’t entirely sure what was causing it, so I’d enforced a curfew.”
“I guess you figured it out.”
“Yes,” he growled. “I will need power in order to claim vengeance, however. The demon king is wealthy and influential. My king and queen might hesitate in declaring war.”
“Well, there is one future king and queen who will not hesitate. Not for a moment. They’ll overturn the goddess’s own bed to bring him down.”