Ford nodded because he could think of nothing else to say.
“You should be warned. My sister is one stubborn bitch. You’re not going to lose her. She’s going to stick around until the day you die and then she’s going to die just so she can follow you into the afterlife, and that will only happen when you’re both old and decrepit. She’s not going to let you pass before then.”
“It doesn’t bother you that Gavin welcomed me into your clan?” Ford asked cautiously.
Casey shrugged. “I understand why you did what you did. Besides, you turned on your clan leader because of a woman. Considering how she’s my sister and nearly Gavin’s sister by proxy, nothing is going to happen to her. I think we’re all safe.”
***
“Do you have anything you need shipped out here?” Ford asked, his hands on the steering wheel.
Daphne snorted. “Hell no. That bastard paid me well enough that I can afford to replace everything I’m leaving behind. This is the first page of a new life.”
Despite her words, Daphne had never been unemployed before. Zander had been paying her for the work she did with the new shifters. In the span of a single night, she’d lost her job and her clan only to be picked up by another clan. She knew she would have a better life here, but they had new shifters that needed her and no budget to pay her.
She was effectively working for free now. As if the burden on her shoulders needed more weight. What was worse was the thought that none of that might even matter soon. Zander had more forces than they did. Even though Gavin’s clan had grown in numbers recently, that didn’t mean they could compare to Zander’s century old clan.
Daphne wanted to scream, but she knew that would do nothing to lessen everything closing in around her. It might make Ford run for the hills though, and so she kept the sound trapped inside her until her head spun.
Ford took her hand and the world calmed for a moment. When she turned to him, she caught him watching her with a wry smile on his lips.
“What?” she asked, confused.
“Nothing. I just wanted to look at you.”
She playfully slapped his arm while her cheeks warmed. Pleasure curled in her chest and radiated enough warmth to ease the knots forming in her muscles.
They were on their way back to Ford’s house for some personal space. Daphne had informed Evangeline that she wouldn’t be able to do any training, but Evangeline had seemed supportive of the idea of a day off. That didn’t mean their training needed to come to an end, though.
Daphne still had a ton of work ahead of her. She couldn’t stop thinking about it for long. Only Ford’s flirtations distracted her from her anxiety, and even then, she was only reminded that Ford hadn’t yet promised her anything. He still acted like he might disappear at any moment.
Perhaps that was where the anxiety stemmed from. She’d given Ford her whole heart, and it seemed like he wasn’t ready to do the same. She understood hesitation, but this seemed like an absolute refusal.
“You brought your bag, right?” Ford asked after parking. He twisted to peer into the back seat.
“I brought enough for tonight,” she said, grabbing the bag at her feet.
His brow furrowed. “Maybe I should have been more clear. I’m not sure how to do this anymore.”
Her heart stilled. Blood running cold, it sank to her feet. Here it was. Ford would tell her that they had only one night left, and then they would have to go their separate ways. She’d been waiting for this but hadn’t actually guarded herself against how badly this would hurt.
“Daphne Albright, will you move in with me?”
“What?” she blurted out.
He scowled again. “Did I do something wrong? Was that not how I’m supposed to ask?”
She laughed, relief making her dizzy. “That’s not it. I’m surprised. I thought you weren’t going to…”
“Commit?” he filled in.
“Well, yeah. It seemed like you weren’t sure about us. I’ve made myself clear, but you’re a hard man to read.” She fiddled with the strap of her bag.
He got out of the car, leaving her in a stunned silence. She shook her head and stared blankly at where he’d been only a moment ago. Then, her door swung open. Ford unbuckled her and scooped her out of her seat before kicking the car door closed with his boot.
“If you won’t give me an answer, then I’m just going to have to take you home.”
Ford somehow managed to unlock his front door with her in his arms. But the scent of dragon that greeted her when he stepped past the threshold was not of Ford. Though he tried to grip her tighter, she swung her feet to the ground and saw the state of the small home.
It was a wreck. The couch had been sliced open and its stuffing spilled out like guts. The notebooks that had been stacked on the dining table were charred, as were the edges of the table. Daphne stepped closer and studied the wreckage, realizing that someone must have torched the whole table with their dragon breath.
In the kitchen, nothing appeared off at first. Then she realized the meticulously cared for knives that had been hanging on the wall above the sink were gone. No, not gone. They had been shattered. Metal shards glittered on the kitchen floor.
“And so, the war has spilled into your life,” Daphne whispered.
Guilt sat heavy in her gut. The more she looked around, the worse it became. She hadn’t asked to step into this fight. If anything, she felt like she’d been thrust into it. She never meant to drag Ford along with her.
“Don’t act like this is your fault,” Ford said, though his voice was tense. “I’ve been hiding for a very long time. This could have been one of my old clanmates. I didn’t think they would come looking for me, but…” He trailed off.
She was about to shake her head but decided to sniff the air. Stepping closer to the mess of steel shards, she found droplets of blood. A familiar scent reached her nose and made the guilt in her gut even heavier.
“Zander didn’t like the way you stood up to him,” she said.
What hurt even more was the fact that the dragon she scented was one she had trained. The man led a good life because she’d helped him, and now Zander had turned him on her.
“Don’t worry about it,” Ford said. “I can contact a local guy willing to teach me how to make knives. You can use the wrecked furniture as an excuse to fill the space with things you like. This isn’t even a setback.”
Though Ford spoke with confidence, he hadn’t stopped growling. His jaw flexed as he peered around the room. Daphne stepped up to him, but her own guilt made her feel leagues away from him. He took her hand and pulled her into his chest, helping her to close that space.
When he put his head to her shoulder and breathed deep, she understood.
Ford didn’t care about any of his things. He was grateful they hadn’t been here when this happened because he didn’t want to risk her.
She pulled back and peered up at him. “One of my dragons did this. If I ever see him again, I’m using everything I learned about him to shove his head up his own ass and turn him into the dumbest looking ouroboros anyone has ever seen.”
Ford blinked. The corners of his mouth quirked. His humor quickly faded. The truth of the matter remained: his home was no longer safe. They had come here to be alone with one another, but she knew Ford wouldn’t want to stay.