Chapter 26
Gregory
Adistant thunder of hooves, muffled by the trees, broke the spell. Of all the moments, they had chosen this one. I gauged the time it would take them to finish the last stretch of the long, winding path up the mountain—a few precious minutes.
Evan’s slick body slid against mine as I lifted him from the water and stepped out of the tub. Goosebumps erupted over his skin as the chilly air hit us. I grabbed the nearest linen cloth and began to rub it over him quickly, but he suddenly dug his fingers into my bicep, stopping me mid-stroke.
His grip was tight, the tip of his nose flushed, and the delicate skin beneath darkened to a soft red. His eyes were coated with a wet sheen, begging for answers. “Who is it?”
I paused, tuning out the beat of the hooves to pinpoint the source of the intrusion.
The fierce crackle of lightning marked Adam’s presence, and beneath it, the steady, unwavering thrum of Harren’s earth power.
The third galloped with an arrogant flair belonging to only one person.
“Adam and Harren,” I said, crossing to the chest where I kept our clothes. “And Lord William.”
“Oh.” Relief washed out of him in a soft breath, his shoulders slumping as he bit his lip. “I thought it was someone bad, you know… Mordaine.”
Fear rolled off my mate, and my hands clenched, the urge to hunt and destroy surging through me. A guttural rumble rose from my core, and my throat worked to keep it from escaping.
I stepped in front of Evan, took the linen tunic from the pile, and slid the fabric over him, guiding his arms through the sleeves.
The tunic settled over his chest, and our combined scent filled the air.
The temporary mark I’d given him was already blending my sandalwood with his jasmine, a sign of my claim that settled deep into his skin.
This was the fragrance of an alpha’s devotion, of a purpose fulfilled.
But I needed to be closer to the source. I brushed his wet copper hair aside, tracing my thumb over the faint bruises of the bite I had left on his neck. I bent to the mark, drinking in the concentrated scent before I pressed a kiss on the tender skin.
Evan shivered, a full-body tremor that had nothing to do with the cold. His palm rose to rest against my cheek in a gesture so soft it silenced the beast raging inside me.
I leaned into his touch, letting myself sink into this moment for a fraction of a second, knowing the world outside was waiting to tear it away.
I drew back, the loss of his touch a sudden chill against my cheek.
From the wooden chest, I retrieved his smallclothes and trousers.
Kneeling before him, I guided his legs into the trousers, my knuckles grazing the smooth skin of his calves as I worked the fabric up his thighs.
All the while, his intense stare bore into me, unreadable.
Blood rushed hot and thick through my veins under the force of it.
Once I fastened his trousers, I placed my hands on his hips, grasping the bone there as I rested my forehead against the warm, flat plane of his stomach. The hard ridge of my arousal pressed against my own pants, a demanding ache.
“Your nightmares,” I rasped, my lips brushing his skin. “I’ll hunt down every last one of them. I’ll burn the memory of that fiend from this world and anyone else who dares cause you pain.” I met his eyes. “I will be the monster that chases all the others away.”
Evan stayed silent as he threaded his fingers through my hair, the gentle strokes a stark contrast to the violence in my promise. Finally, a long, slow breath left his lips. “I know you will,” he said.
For a single beat, the world outside fell away, but it came back too quickly. The now-deafening thud of warhorse hooves biting into the dirt marked their arrival outside. Leather creaked as three men dismounted. Boots stomped onto the porch, the wood protesting under their combined weight.
I released Evan’s hips and rose to my full height, placing myself between him and the door. Cupping his chin, I tipped his head back until his gaze locked with mine. “Listen to me. If you feel even a second of discomfort, give me a look. I’ll chase them from this mountain myself.”
His smirk returned, a softer version this time. “Chase them off a mountain for me?” he murmured. “I could get used to that.”
I gave him one last squeeze as a heavy fist hammered against the wood.
“Gregory!” William’s amused boom echoed through the door.
“I could smell what you two were up to from the base of the mountain. You can’t pretend you’re not home.
” He continued, not waiting for an answer.
“You still haven’t shown your face since that mess in the village square.
You’re not even working at the smithy, and we still need to send that fire-infused sword to King Valoren.
You’re making me look like a negligent Lord, hiding my pet dragon away. ”
Adam’s warning carried through the door. “Keep goading him, William, and I won’t lift a finger when he decides to roast you alive.”
A dramatic sigh followed. “Brother, have you no heart? Of course you’d threaten me.
He’s always been your favorite. It’s the incantations, isn’t it?
You prefer that he not have to mutter a single syllable to summon a flame.
While we, the not-blessed folks, have to memorize verses until our tongues go numb, he just…
exists and magic happens. You should be—”
I wrenched the door open, cutting off his jabbering, and the three men on my porch stepped back at the violence of the motion. I let my pheromones flood the space, marking everything and Evan as mine.
Leaning against the doorframe with my arms crossed, I zeroed in on William.
He was about my age and height, with the same dark skin and silver eyes as Adam’s, but without the lines of weariness that marked his brother’s face.
He wore court clothes, not attire for visiting a mountain cabin—a deep blue doublet with silver thread glinting in the morning sun.
Adam shot him a sideways glare. “I warned you,” he said.
The old knight moved past me, carrying a small cloth sack. “Ignore him, son,” he murmured with a firm clap on my shoulder before stepping inside. His warm greeting to Evan carried over to me as he placed the sack of honey cakes on the dining table.
Adam was no threat. His unbroken bond left him immune to the lure of another omega. William, however, was an entirely different matter.
Harren stood rigidly beside the lord, staring at the floorboards, the very image of a scolded pup. The submissive posture sat strangely on the young alpha, who usually held his chin high with a seasoned guard’s confidence.
I drew in a slow breath through my nose. Harren reeked of rain-soaked leather and something else… The dejected smell of a wet cur. I faced William again. “What brings the great Lord of Mossfen all the way up my mountain?”
William grinned as he produced a bottle of wine from a satchel at his hip.
The Sunstone Crest label caught the light.
“A truce,” he offered, holding it out. “And congratulations are in order, I hear.” It was a classic William maneuver, using a fine vintage as a casual decoy to mask a more serious agenda.
I made no move to take the bottle. “A truce implies there was a battle, William. I don’t recall one.”
William’s grin didn’t falter, but the amusement in his silver gaze gave way to something more challenging.
He lowered the bottle. “That’s true enough,” he conceded, his own tone losing its lilting edge.
“But the battle isn’t between us. It’s already here.
” He jerked his chin toward Harren, a silent, damning gesture that made the young alpha flinch.
“The circumstances are dire, Gregory. And for that, I need your help.”