Chapter Two #3
“You don’t,” Kieran confirmed. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m not looking to take over your clan or to have any kind of influence on the everyday decisions your leader will make. As long as you stay away from my pack and don’t hurt people, your clan can do whatever you want.”
Jacob was silent again, but Rex already knew what he’d say. Like Jacob had mentioned earlier, he didn’t have a choice.
“Fine,” Jacob eventually said. “Send your people.”
“They’ll see you soon.”
Kieran reached for the phone and hung up before Jacob could say anything else. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the sound of everyone breathing. That didn’t last long.
“So, who are you sending?” Alpin asked. “Because I have to say, I’ve always wanted to see the clan.”
“You’re not going,” Merrick told him.
“Oh? Who’s going to stop me?”
Rex was pretty sure this was foreplay for them.
He didn’t care much, but he did wish he didn’t have to see it.
He didn’t want to think of someone he considered his brother in that kind of situation, and he’d done it way too often since Alpin had entered his life because Alpin couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
“I can go,” Rex volunteered.
Everyone turned to look at him, including Harmon.
Rex continued watching Kieran. He hadn’t thought a lot before volunteering, but he wouldn’t change his mind.
This was a way for him to step away from the pack for a bit.
Maybe that way, he could make a decision as to what he’d do next.
He still wasn’t sure he wanted to leave the pack, but he did know that he didn’t fit here.
Hopefully, being away for a bit would help.
If it didn’t, well, Rex would still have done something good.
“Are you sure?” Kieran asked.
“I’m the only one here who doesn’t have a partner. I don’t mind going as long as I’m not going alone.”
“You won’t be. I’ll need more volunteers, though. I don’t want to force anyone to do something they don’t want.”
“Merrick and I can go,” Alpin said.
“Didn’t you hear what I said?” Merrick said with a growl. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Alpin crossed his arms over his chest. “You can’t tell me what to do.”
“Can’t I? Because I just did, and I know you’ll obey.”
“Why would I? You take all the fun out of this.”
Merrick leaned closer and whispered something in Alpin’s ear. Rex didn’t know what he said, and he didn’t want to find out. From the way Alpin’s cheeks flushed, though, he could take a wild guess.
He hated it.
“I’ll go,” Arlen offered.
As a dragon shifter and a former member of the clan, it would be good to have him come along. He knew things about the clan and how it worked that would hopefully facilitate this mess. It would also be good to have a dragon on their side, just in case.
Rex had known he wouldn’t be doing this alone, but it was good to see that so many people wanted to help.
“I’d go, but I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Taylor said.
Considering he’d been wounded, it definitely wasn’t. It looked like Taylor wasn’t happy about that decision, but it was the right one.
“I’ll go,” Luca declared.
Everyone in the room groaned. Luca’s heart was in the right place.
The problem was that he’d been willing to do anything to get rid of Martin, including sacrificing himself.
It drove Rex’s brother Parker crazy, and Rex didn’t blame him.
Parker loved Luca. He probably didn’t want him anywhere near the clan.
“No,” Parker said, and that was that. Luca looked like a wounded puppy, but he didn’t argue. He knew he wouldn’t win.
“All right,” Kieran said as he looked around the room. “So we have Rex and Arlen.”
A few hands rose. Rex wasn’t surprised to see that Mallory would be coming along since Arlen was, or that Alpin was still trying to sneak his way onto the team. Merrick glared at him so hard that Rex wouldn’t have been surprised if a hole appeared in his forehead.
Merrick grabbed Alpin’s hand and pulled it down. They stared at each other, and it felt like Rex was encroaching on a private moment. Why they were having it in the middle of a crowded office, he didn’t know, but he wished they’d stop.
“Rex, Arlen, and Mallory,” Kieran said. “Thank you for volunteering. I do think that we need a few more people, though. I don’t want the clan to feel like we’re invading them, but three people are not enough, especially when only one of them is a dragon shifter.
It would be great if someone else were willing to go. ”
Rex looked around the room. He trusted everyone there, so he didn’t really care who would come.
As long as someone did.
* * * *
HARMON KNEW HE SHOULDN’T volunteer. Now that the fight was over, he was supposed to go home to his coven and settle back into his role as leader. Brad was chomping at the bit to return to his former role, and Harmon was sure that his coven members would feel better if he were home with them.
None of that was enough for him to keep his hand down. He raised it, catching Kieran’s attention. When Kieran looked at him, he nodded. “I’ll go, too.”
“What the fuck?” Merrick muttered.
Harmon didn’t look at him. He kept his attention on the alpha as he lowered his hand.
Kieran might still tell him that he didn’t want him to go, and Harmon wouldn’t have a choice.
Technically, the two of them were on the same level, but they were in pack territory right now, and Kieran had led the fight against the dragons.
Even though they were both leaders, Harmon wasn’t in charge.
Kieran watched Harmon for a moment before nodding. “All right.”
“Harmon, what are you doing?” Merrick asked.
“What I have to do to keep my coven safe.” It was only partly a lie. Harmon was going because he wanted to and because he dreaded going home, but he did want to keep his people safe, and the only way to do that was to ensure that the clan wouldn’t attack anyone ever again.
“Your coven isn’t going to be happy when you end up eaten by a dragon.”
“I don’t think that the clan is so dangerous that they’d stand up to Kieran that way.”
“Maybe not most of them, but we don’t know if Martin had supporters who weren’t here during the attack. What if some of them are still with the clan and decide to get revenge?”
“Then I’ll deal with it when it happens.”
“I can’t do anything to change your mind, can I?”
If Harmon had been afraid of Merrick and hadn’t known him as well as he did, Merrick’s glare at him might have made him change his mind.
As it was, he knew that Merrick would never hurt him.
Hell, he wouldn’t even try to force him to do anything.
He knew better. “No. I’m doing it, whether you like it or not,” Harmon confirmed.
“And it’s fine with me,” Kieran added when Merrick turned toward him. “If Harmon wants to go, I won’t stop him. I understand needing to protect your people.”
Merrick huffed. “Fine.”
“Hey, how come you’re letting him go but I can’t?” Alpin argued.
“He’s not my boyfriend. As much as I want to tie him down to a chair and make sure he doesn’t go anywhere near one of the clan dragons again, I can’t do that.”
Alpin wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, that would be awkward.”
What was awkward was this conversation, and Harmon quickly turned back to Kieran, eager to stop listening to Merrick and Alpin.
Kieran nodded at him as if thanking him. Maybe he was, but he didn’t know that Harmon wasn’t truly doing this for him. Yes, he wanted to protect his coven and even Kieran and his pack, but he also needed time and space. Hopefully, he’d find that.
In enemy territory, surrounded by a bunch of dragon shifters who were probably already plotting how to kill him.
This wasn’t going to be a relaxing trip.
“If Harmon is going, I’m going too,” Merrick declared.
Alpin opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Harmon was pretty sure this was the first time he’d seen the man so silent. Alpin hadn’t been quiet for more than a few moments since Harmon had met him.
“All right,” Kieran confirmed. “I think that five people should be enough. Taylor, Luca, I’m sure you still have allies in the clan.”
Taylor nodded. “Yeah, I can reach out and ask them to keep an eye open. The clan isn’t all bad, far from it. We’re normal people who were forced to do things that still haunt my nightmares.”
“But Martin had enough followers to attack the pack,” Harmon pointed out.
What he didn’t say was that even though apparently, a lot of clan members hadn’t agreed with what Martin was doing, they were still going along with his orders.
He didn’t blame them. He understood that Martin had been a powerful dragon who’d used fear to guide the clan with an iron fist. Harmon didn’t know all the details, but he could imagine that Martin had threatened and maybe even hurt people to get others to obey his orders, like in Luca’s case.
Martin had stuck his son in a cell as revenge for Luca refusing to kill people in the mall attack.
He might have done worse if they hadn’t gotten the boy out when they had.
“Which is why you need to be careful,” Taylor said.
“I’m not going to say people will welcome you with open arms, but most of the clan only ever wanted a peaceful life.
You’ll have to deal with a few of Martin’s supporters, but everyone else should be fine.
They won’t be happy to have you there, but they also won’t try to hurt you. ”
Harmon hoped he was right because he wasn’t sure how he would explain to Brad that he’d volunteered to spend time with a dragon clan so they could choose their next leader.
Brad was going to be so incredibly pissed.
But Harmon wouldn’t change his mind. He needed this, and not only for himself. Brad would have to deal with it. It wasn’t like he’d abandon the coven to itself while Harmon was away.
There was nothing else to say. Kieran ended the meeting after telling everyone who was headed to the clan that they had to be ready as soon as possible.
Harmon was a visitor here, which meant he didn’t have much to pack.
That was why he didn’t rush out of the room once the meeting was over—that and because he wanted to stay as far away from Alpin and Merrick as possible since they were still bickering over Alpin not going.
“I’m a good fighter,” he was saying as Merrick guided him out the door.
“I never said you weren’t,” Merrick answered.
“Why aren’t I allowed to go, then?”
“Your brother sure is something,” Harmon told Rex.
“And he’s Merrick’s something. I don’t know what the poor man was thinking when he decided that he wanted Alpin, but he’s braver than I am.”
Harmon smiled. “You love your brother.”
“Oh, I do, even though technically, he’s not my brother.”
“You were turned by the same vampire. It’s like Merrick and me. We might not have been blood related when we were human, but we have been since we were turned.”
Rex nodded, silently agreeing. Harmon wanted to continue talking to him, but he wasn’t sure what was left to say, and he didn’t want to make things awkward.
He said his goodbyes and left Rex in the office, talking to Kieran. Harmon might not have a lot to pack, but he still needed to call Brad and tell him what was going on. He wasn’t looking forward to that call.
“Are you sure?” someone asked, making Harmon jump.
He turned to glare at Merrick. “If I wasn’t a vampire, you’d just have given me a heart attack.”
Merrick shrugged. “That’s not how it works. Are you sure, Harmon?”
“About going to the clan?”
“No, about becoming a ballerina. Yes, about going to the clan. Why would you do that?”
“Because I need the coven to be safe.”
“And you don’t trust the others to ensure that they are? They don’t need you to go with them.”
That would have hurt if Harmon hadn’t known Merrick as well as he did.
“I know what I’m doing, Merrick. I understand why you’re worried, but you don’t have to be.
I’ll be fine. I don’t expect the clan to cause any trouble.
If someone there does, they’ll be an isolated case. I’ll be fine. We all will be.”
“I don’t like this,” Merrick grumbled.
“You don’t like anything. Well, except for Alpin.”
“I just think this isn’t necessary.”
“So what if it’s not?”
Merrick arched a brow. Harmon decided to ignore him.
He wasn’t about to tell Merrick that he had doubts about being coven leader.
Merrick would probably tell him to leave the coven because that was what he’d do in his place, but Harmon couldn’t.
He just needed a little time away from the coven.
Once he had it, he’d go back, and everything would be back to normal.
Hopefully.
“I have to pack,” he said. “And you should do the same.”
Merrick groaned. “I have to deal with Alpin first. He’s not happy.”
“I’m not surprised. Oh, and, Merrick?”
“What?”
“I’d look great in a tutu.”
Merrick looked disgusted, but Harmon laughed. This was one of the things he’d missed the most about being away from his brother. It would be good to spend time with Merrick.
And maybe Rex, too.