“Can you stop and talk this out with me?” she pleaded.
“What’s there to talk about?”
“Well, for one thing, you told me to stay away, but you were outside the cabin the whole time!” She threw her hands in the air.
“I knew you needed someone to watch over you.” He shrugged like that explained everything.
She gaped at him. “Why tell me to go away if you aren’t going to do the same? I don’t get this. I don’t understand what you think you’re doing.”
He spun on her. She came to a halt, the world around her shaking.
“No matter what I feel for you, I will never be able to give you the life you deserve. Gavin knows who I am now. Do you want to be alone with me for the rest of your life, hunted by every clan leader who feels slightly threatened by my existence? Or do you want to know what it feels like to be safe with a family who loves you?”
Daphne raised her chin. “I don’t see how those two lives have to be separate!”
His lip curled. “Gavin is never going to accept me. Go back to them and live a happy life. You’ll find your forever mate in time, and you won’t have to think about me ever again.”
Daphne growled, feeling her beast swimming close to the surface. She grabbed Ford before he could leave and yanked him back. His gaze flicked between her grasp on him and her.
“No,” she said.
He cocked his head, clearly confused and on the edge of rage. “What?”
“You heard me. I’m not going to be told what to do anymore. Men who think they know best for me can shove it. Do you think you’re going to spend the rest of our lives telling me what to do?”
“Obviously not,” he spat.
“Good, because I don’t want anyone else. I don’t care if fate had another shifter picked out for me. You’re the only person I want, and I’m not going to let you walk away from this.” She loosened her grip on him in the hopes that he would choose to stick around.
Ford glanced at the dark woods around them, like a threat would jump out at any moment. Daphne wasn’t afraid of Zander or his threats. She was afraid of an empty life without Ford. Even though she’d only just met him, she knew there would be no one else for her.
Maybe fate had made a mistake. Maybe Ford had gotten lucky and fate had given him two mates. She didn’t care. Daphne wanted him and only him.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re pushy?” Ford asked, eyeing her with a soft smirk.
She fought back her grin. “That’s what my brother always said. I like to call it determined.”
Ford’s gaze drifted past her, toward the cabin with all its lights on. Daphne’s gut churned. She didn’t know Gavin like Casey did. She’d made this grand stand to keep Ford, but that meant she might have no home at all.
Clearly, she wouldn’t be going back to Zander’s clan. The life she’d led there had ended. Cold poured through her. The revelation left her off kilter, and she could only hope that Ford would catch her.
But he only shook his head. With every passing second, he stepped further away from her. She wanted to reach out and take hold of him, but only stumbled.
“I wish I could be what you need,” he said, making it sound like goodbye.
One moment, Ford smiled at her and the next he’d turned his back on her.
“Don’t worry,” he called back. “I’ll keep my promise to Zander. He’s a dead man if he comes back.”
Daphne clenched her fists at her sides. Everything she wanted to say sat on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t spew any of it. She didn’t scream or fight. If Ford wanted to walk away from all she wanted to give him, then that was his choice.
She couldn’t let this break her. She absolutely wouldn’t crumble and fall to the ground.
No. Screw this, she thought.
Daphne charged forward, into the darkness. She collided with Ford’s back and sent them both tumbling. He caught her and rolled so he couldn’t crush her.
“What are you doing? You’re a madwoman!”
She laughed. Exhilaration pumped through her veins, making her feel more alive than ever. So, that was what it felt like to give in to her urges? If that was the case, then she needed to try it more often. She no longer had any reason to hold herself back. The life she’d built around herself then had to tiptoe around was gone. She was as free as any bird in the sky.
“Stop. Running. Away,” she growled before claiming his lips.
With a moan, Ford rolled her over and pressed her into the earth. His groin ground against her hips as his tongue delved past her lips. She dragged her nails along the back of his neck before interlocking her fingers so he couldn’t escape.
“You’re mine,” she growled.
He tucked his face against her shoulder. His laugh sounded bittersweet. “I guess I am. Gavin is not going to like this.”
“Gavin can eat shit,” Daphne said too confidently.
Though she’d grown up with him and he was her brother’s best friend, a part of her knew she needed to tread carefully. Gavin wasn’t just another shifter. He’d become a clan leader and had the strength to back it up. If he decided that Ford was a threat, then they would have to run.
Daphne had done exactly as Ford warned and traded family for love. Her beast uncoiled and shook itself out, preparing for a fight. She wouldn’t let Gavin scare her. She would make a stand and vouch for her mate.
Her mate.
She didn’t know if it was still too early to say I love you. She didn’t even know if she truly meant it as she had so little experience with love. Her feelings were still wound like a set of earbuds in a pocket. She would have to take time to unravel them and truly understand the depth of her devotion. For now, though, she reveled in the joy Ford had brought her.
“Quit making out in the road!” Casey shouted.
“It’s time for a conversation,” Gavin said, much more quietly.
Ford tensed over her. She took his face in her hands and gave him another soft kiss that silently promised that everything would be fine. All that determination and strength she’d mastered over the years would prove useful tonight.
“I feel like I’m about to stand trial,” Ford whispered after helping Daphne onto her feet.
“It won’t be that bad,” Daphne told him even though she couldn’t be certain.
Chapter Eleven
The cabin felt much smaller with the entire clan present. Ford shifted his weight from one foot to the other and tried to keep from looking around nervously. The only dragons here he was familiar with were Erik, Bree, and Daphne. The others he knew, but not that well.
Ford never thought he would stand before a clan ever again. He figured he would be struck down before that ever happened.
Daphne stood beside him, her hand grasping his. Her touch anchored him and kept his beast at bay. If it weren’t for her, he would have lost the fight to his beast’s rage. The creature wasn’t all that happy to be on this informal trial, but it wasn’t trying to bust through walls to escape yet.
No one spoke. Not at first.
Silence crackled like static in the empty spaces between all the shifters holding their breath. Bree practically vibrated. Ford gave her a nod, hoping that was enough to tell her he didn’t need her to fight on his behalf. He wasn’t here to drag others down with him.