Chapter Three
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MERRICK WAS STARING. Rex wasn’t sure why, but he suspected it had to be because of the way Harmon was standing next to him. Most people wouldn’t care, but Harmon was standing closer than a friend would, which gave Rex ideas.
Clearly, he wasn’t the only one whose thoughts had gone that way.
The possibility of anything happening with Harmon made Rex giddy.
It had been too long since he’d last been in a relationship.
He’d thought he might find someone within the pack, but clearly, that wasn’t in the cards for him.
He should probably avoid a coven leader since he’d never had to deal with that kind of responsibility, but it wasn’t like he and Harmon were about to get married.
They hadn’t even done anything but talk.
There might be nothing there, but Rex was pretty sure that Merrick wouldn’t be staring holes in his forehead if there wasn’t.
“So?” Arlen asked Merrick. “Who are you driving with?”
“Are we sure I can’t just fly there?” Merrick asked instead of answering the question.
“Yes, we are. We talked about this already, so stop being a dick and choose because if you don’t, we’ll leave you here, and you’ll have to drive yourself.”
Merrick glared at him. “I can drive.”
“I never said you couldn’t.”
Merrick huffed. Rex was hoping he’d choose to drive with Mallory and Arlen.
He didn’t know what was going on between him and Harmon, but maybe the drive would help him figure it out.
Even if it didn’t, it would be better to be alone with Harmon than feel Merrick glaring at him from the backseat the entire time.
The drive wasn’t long, but considering where they were going, everyone was nervous. Well, except for Merrick. He still looked like he was planning someone’s murder. Unfortunately for him, that was his usual face.
“I’ll come with you,” Merrick said begrudgingly.
Arlen looked relieved. “Good. Now get in the car.”
Merrick obeyed without adding anything, but he did glare at Rex one last time.
Rex wasn’t afraid of him. Hell, if Merrick dared touch him, Rex would just have to go to Alpin and complain to him, and Alpin would take care of his boyfriend.
Considering how annoyed he already was at Merrick, it wouldn’t take much to turn the situation explosive.
“Let me know when you’ve arrived,” Kieran said. He looked amused. “And keep me updated. I want to know what’s going on in that house.”
“We’ll give you all the information we can get,” Rex promised.
“And be careful,” Tyrian said.
Rex wasn’t sure why his entire family had decided to come and say goodbye. He wasn’t going to war or moving to the other side of the planet. He’d be just a short drive away, yet for some reason, they were behaving as if he were marching to his death.
He might be. He didn’t know what they’d find when they reached the clan, and some of the dragons might decide they didn’t want to deal with vampires. Rex didn’t care, but it would take just one angry dragon to kill him.
Maybe his family had a point.
He made sure to hug all of them, including Alpin, who was visibly annoyed. Rex knew that it was directed more at Merrick than at him, so he wasn’t offended. He made sure to squeeze Alpin extra hard, smiling when his brother squeaked.
“Are you trying to kill me before you leave?”
“I’m just reminding you of how much I love you.”
“You don’t have to kill me to do that.” Alpin huffed. “I love you, too. Keep an eye on Merrick for me, will you?”
“I’ll report to you every evening.”
“You do that. I need him on his toes.”
Merrick definitely was. He kept eyeing Alpin as if afraid his boyfriend would explode.
As much as Rex loved his family, he was relieved when he could finally climb into the car. He was also incredibly relieved that Merrick wouldn’t be driving with him because it looked like he was still bickering with Alpin.
“How high are the chances that your brother will pop up at the clan house?” Harmon asked, staring out the window of the car.
“It depends. If Alpin manages to sneak out without anyone seeing him, I give him one day, but our family knows how he is. They’ll keep an eye on him for Merrick, and they’ll make sure he’s not going anywhere.”
Harmon nodded. “I get it. He’s worried about his boyfriend.”
“There’s that, sure, but he’s also angry that he’s missing all the fun, as he calls it. Sometimes, he has a hard time taking things seriously.”
“I don’t think there’s anything more serious than a leaderless dragon clan.”
“It’s not just that. Alpin hates missing anything.” He always wanted to be at the center of the action, but Rex suspected that it wasn’t because he actually wanted to be there. He just didn’t want to miss anything.
Rex and most of his siblings didn’t struggle with spending a lot of time away from each other, but Alpin always had.
It was a good thing that he’d found Merrick and that he had a pack now.
It was even better that their family was putting down roots and that all of them would be living with the pack.
The only one who might not was Rex, but he’d deal with that when he couldn’t avoid it anymore.
They were finally able to drive off with Alpin still glaring at them.
Rex could have sworn he could feel his brother’s gaze until they left pack territory entirely.
He relaxed once they did, happy to focus on the road while Harmon was on the phone.
It had started ringing just a few minutes after they’d left, and while Harmon hadn’t seemed happy, he’d answered without hesitation.
“I already told you why this is necessary, Brad,” Harmon said. “I know you worry, there’s no reason for you to. I’m not going there alone. If it makes you feel better, I can ask the others to never leave me alone.”
Rex couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation. He knew that it was Brad, Harmon’s second-in-command, and he couldn’t help but wonder why the man was so worried. He didn’t want to lose his coven leader, of course, but it sounded like more. Clearly, Brad and Harmon were friends.
That didn’t mean that Rex wasn’t annoyed at Brad. He understood the situation, but the man had agreed to be Harmon’s second. Surely he could continue taking care of the coven for a few more days.
“I promise that I’ll be home as soon as this is over. We just need to ensure that the next clan leader won’t attack us because of what happened to Martin. I realize that the coven isn’t anywhere near this area, but it doesn’t mean the clan isn’t dangerous to us.”
Rex tried to imagine having the kind of responsibilities Harmon had.
It was hard. Rex had never been in charge of anyone that way.
He’d never even been part of a coven. He and his siblings, along with their father, were a family, even though none of them were related by blood.
They’d never acted like a coven. They respected their father and tended to follow his advice, but that was what it was—advice, not orders.
Covens were different. People were expected to follow the leader’s orders, and leaders were expected to put the coven first, before even their personal lives.
Was that something Rex could do? He didn’t know, but he thought it was unfair to Harmon that he had to shoulder most of the responsibilities by himself.
Maybe it was time for him to choose another second-in-command, or maybe he could add someone to his coven who would assist, like a partner.
It wasn’t the same as shifters, for which the alpha mate was almost as important as the alpha, but it could be close.
The problem was that Rex didn’t like the thought of Harmon being with anyone like that.
That was something else he had to think about.
If he wished to pursue anything with Harmon, he’d have to deal with the coven, too.
Hell, if things with Harmon went well, Rex wouldn’t have a choice but to help him the way Brad was supposed to be helping him.
Was that something he could do? Was it something he wanted?
He didn’t know, but something told him he had to find out. Maybe spending time with Harmon would help with that.
* * * *
DID HARMON FEEL BAD about leaving Brad in charge of the coven longer than necessary? A bit. Would that stop him from going with Rex and the others to the dragon clan? No. He wasn’t even thinking about going home.
“I just don’t know how you do it,” Brad said. “They don’t listen to me.”
“They do listen to you. You might not be the coven leader, but you’re my second-in-command. They’re just testing you.” Like children, which was infuriating. Harmon’s coven wasn’t made up of children, although sometimes, he wished it was. Kids would be easier to deal with.
“It’s just that now Tyler refuses to be in the same room as Sarah. It’s made things awkward.”
“You have to sit them down and get them to talk to each other.”
“Don’t you think I’ve tried that? She insists that he stole her bag of expensive coffee and she wants him to buy her a new one, but he said it wasn’t him and he’s offended because she’s accusing him.”
Harmon was going to scream. “You’re going to have to figure it out.” At least it wasn’t a life or death situation.
“Or it could wait until you’re home.”
“You really want to wait that long?”
“That long? How long do you think it’s going to take?”
Shit. “As long as it needs. I think that the coven’s safety is more important than me coming home to settle a dispute about coffee.”
Since Rex was driving, there was no way for him not to hear what Harmon was saying, so Harmon hadn’t even tried.
It wasn’t like he had anything to hide, anyway, except maybe how ridiculous his coven was.
When Harmon glanced sideways to see how Rex was taking it, he saw that Rex was trying very hard not to smile.
Harmon could admit it was a little funny. At the very least, it was better than his coven members trying to kill each other. He could deal with coffee. Hell, Brad could deal with coffee.