That alone should have stroked her own beast’s anger, but she felt a shock of warmth spike in her core, instead. What should have been a facedown had turned into one of the most confusing encounters of her life. Daphne prided herself in always having her life together. Right then, she struggled to keep herself in check.
Finally, she managed to put more than two words together. “You didn’t have to abandon me at the airport, though!”
He lifted one brow. “Abandon? You make it sound like I’m a close friend who promised to do this for you. I’m nothing to you, sweetheart. Forget my face because you’ll never see it again.”
The idea of never seeing him again sent a sharp panic through her. She sucked in a breath while her heart thumped wildly.
Daphne pulled a wall down between herself and this man. This wasn’t like her. She didn’t melt for anyone. She tried to yank her wrist from his grasp, but he held on tight. Her struggle only brought him closer, until he loomed over her with his broody, pained eyes.
Kiss him, a voice in her head whispered.
“Don’t bother tattling on me to your brethren. They already know about me,” he said before letting her go.
She whirled on him as he walked away. “If I grabbed that stick up your ass, would I be able to puppet you? Because it seems like you’re strung up, too.”
He stopped, looked her up and down. “I don’t think I’m the only one.”
Her jaw dropped. He vanished through the kitchen door once more. She lunged to catch it, but the lock mechanism clicked before she could get inside. The urge to kick the door came and went while she tried to calm down.
Just when she was thinking about going around to the front to run back into the kitchen, her phone rang. She froze. It should have been on silent. The only number programmed to ring even when on silent was Zander.
She muttered a quick curse before rummaging for her phone in her bag. Just like she thought, Zander’s name lit up her screen. Her stomach flipped. She debated not answering, but he would chew her out for ignoring him later, and it wouldn’t be worth it.
“Daphne,” he purred. “You failed to check in with me when you landed. You should have called me an hour ago.”
She pursed her lips. She hated being watched like a prized pony in an open field, but her job was crucial to the clan. If they lost her, no one else would be able to do what she did. Zander’s worry was warranted.
At least, that’s what she told herself.
“Sorry, Z. I had something to take care of once I landed. You know, girl stuff.” That was a lie, of course. He didn’t know that, though.
“I fail to see how that could take upwards of an hour,” he said. “But I’ll forgive your digression this once. Have fun visiting your brother, but don’t get any ideas while you’re there.”
She opened her mouth to assure him that her loyalty wasn’t in question, but he kept going.
“I cannot let you go, Daphne. I know you understand that.”
Something about his words rang with a very thinly veiled threat. A lump formed in her throat. She was grateful that he couldn’t see her face just then because it would have likely given away every thought that flashed through her.
“Don’t go and betray me like everyone else,” Zander said.
Daphne nodded until she realized he couldn’t see her. She wanted to slap herself in the forehead. Hadn’t she just been thinking about how he couldn’t see her?
“You don’t have to worry about a thing,” she reiterated.
Hanging up was awkward and left her feeling uncertain. Daphne stared at her phone for a long while. She wanted to go back into the restaurant and harass the hot dragon shifter just to shake free of the constricting feeling closing in around her.
There was work to be done, though. She called her brother, finally. He sounded relieved to finally hear from her. Casey asked her where she’d been, but his concern sounded nothing like Zander’s questioning. Daphne liked to think of herself as a fully functioning and very independent woman, but something about being back with her big brother put her at ease.
His truck roared down the road. She shook her head and wondered why every male regardless of species needed to preen to make up for their dicks. From peacocks to dudes with lifted trucks, it all seemed ridiculous.
“You’re going to love Evangeline,” Casey said, with his hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. “She’s a spitfire. She’ll make a great dragon.”
Daphne nodded, only half listening. She ran a hand through her hair before remembering that she’d taken time to painstakingly braid it. Annoyed, she yanked the tie from the end of her hair and shook out the crinkled waves.
“Tell me, why did you leave Zander’s clan?”
Casey’s good mood vanished in the blink of an eye. His smile fell into a grim countenance. “If you’re asking that question, then that means you won’t understand.”
Daphne scowled at her brother. “But there’s protection in big clans like Zander’s. He might be hard to work with—believe me when I say I understand that better than most—but he’s not the worst. I just don’t understand why you would throw away everything you had…why you would leave me.”
His steel resolve broke, making his shoulders droop, and he sighed. “I didn’t leave you on purpose. Do you really think I’d abandon you?”
She turned her attention out the window. A gentle rain had started and was beading along the glass. She watched a droplet race from one end of the window to the other.
“You really think I left you? I didn’t choose any of this.” Casey’s voice dropped into a growl.
“Don’t take that tone with me,” she snapped. “I get that you found a mate out here, but the two of you could have moved home. Then I wouldn’t have had to fly all the way out to nowhere in order to help you. We could all do this together.”
He sighed again. She got the hint that every sigh contained a multitude of words he couldn’t bring himself to say. She didn’t understand it, but she also couldn’t keep pestering answers out of him. He wasn’t going to say what she needed to hear, which was an apology.
Why were all the men letting her down today?
Casey parked the truck outside the cabin, which was less of a cabin and more of a small mansion. Wood tree trunks supported the overhang that cast a shadow over the massive front windows. She caught a hint of movement behind the darkened glass and wondered who was waiting inside.
They’d mentioned that their little makeshift clan had grown in numbers now that nearly all of the deserters had shacked up with mates. Even Erik, her toughest shifter to work with, had found a mate. Daphne pitied the woman, especially when she heard that Erik had accidentally changed her.
The sound of fighting spilled out of the front door. Inside, a dark-haired woman straddled Erik, who was lying on the floor. The woman had one hand on his throat and the other reaching for something in Erik’s outstretched hand. Every time she reached for it, he yanked it a little further away.
A gleam lit the woman’s eyes. Instead of getting up, she leaned forward. Erik’s eyes widened when he realized she was going to choke him out.
“So, this is what it feels like to be a woman with a choking kink?” he rasped.