Chapter Six
––––––––
REX WAS IMPRESSED BY the way Harmon had taken charge.
And a little bit horny. He wished he could grab his boyfriend—because that was what they were, wasn’t it—and drag him back to their bedroom. Unfortunately, they had a job to do.
He hoped it wouldn’t take long.
The sooner they were out of here, the better it would be for everyone, including the dragons.
It was clear that they were wary of the newcomers, and Rex didn’t blame them.
They’d just lost the two people who’d led their clan, along with a bunch of other people who hadn’t had a choice in attacking the pack.
They needed to make changes, but they were also grieving.
Having a bunch of strangers in their home telling them what to do couldn’t be easy.
Rex didn’t care. None of this was easy for him or his friends, either. They didn’t want to be here. They wanted all of this to be over, and the only way to make that happen was if the dragons cooperated.
Rex was pretty sure that Jacob wouldn’t.
He had a stubborn expression on his face now that he’d realized he wouldn’t be chosen as the next leader. He’d be a disastrous leader, though. His reaction to Sarah and what had happened with her was proof of that.
When Harmon sat in one of the chairs, Rex slid into the one next to him.
Harmon smiled at him, a quiet little thing that was just for them.
Rex smiled back. He still didn’t know what he’d do once they left this place, but he knew that he wanted to be with Harmon.
What that would look like was anyone’s guess, but they’d have more time to talk and make decisions once they were done dealing with the dragons.
The door opened, and Eva stepped through, followed by two of the guards from earlier. They framed Sarah, who, if Rex wasn’t mistaken, was shaking.
He hadn’t taken the time to really look at her earlier.
She was younger than he’d expected, with braided red hair that fell behind her back and freckles peppering her cheeks, nose, and forehead.
She couldn’t be more than twenty, if even that.
Her green eyes were wide and damp, reddened by the tears she’d no doubt been crying.
Instead of berating or accusing her, Rex wanted to comfort her.
He understood loss. He was a vampire, and he’d lost many people in his life.
He’d been lucky that he hadn’t been as young as Sarah when he’d lost the first person he’d cared about, and he wasn’t sure how to help her.
He wasn’t sure he could help her. He just knew that he didn’t want her to pay for attacking him.
She would already pay enough for killing Brian.
“Sit down,” Eva said gently.
Sarah stared at her for a moment before obeying. She sat in the closest empty chair, looking like she’d rather be anywhere but here.
She wasn’t the only one.
“Why did you kill Brian?” Jacob asked.
Merrick growled. It wasn’t loud, but it made both Jacob and Sarah jump.
Eva put a hand on Sarah’s shoulder, but no one tried to reassure Jacob.
The man was playing with fire, and if he wasn’t careful, he would get burned.
It didn’t matter that he was a dragon shifter.
Merrick was one, too, and Rex knew how good he was at fighting.
He’d wipe the floor with Jacob if Jacob continued pushing.
Rex turned his attention back to Sarah. It wasn’t his place to say anything, but if no one spoke, he was going to have to. The tension was killing him.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” Eva asked gently.
Sarah hesitated, then nodded once. “You know what he did.”
“I do. The entire clan does.”
“I didn’t go there with the intention of killing him,” Sarah murmured, staring down at her hands on top of the table. “I just wanted to confront him. Now that Martin and Lou are gone, I hoped that Brian would pay for what he’d done. That’s what I told him, but he laughed in my face.”
Rex was sure no one would mourn Brian. Hell, if the situation were different, he was pretty sure the clan would throw a party to celebrate what Sarah had done.
“He said that Alex knew better and that he should’ve done what he was ordered to do. He said it wasn’t a great loss because Alex hadn’t been a good fighter, anyway. If he had been, he wouldn’t have let Brian kill him as easily as he had.”
It was good that Brian was dead because if he hadn’t been, Rex was fairly certain he would’ve ended up hunting down the guy.
“I yelled at him,” Sarah continued. “But I wasn’t going to kill him. I hate him, but I don’t think I could hurt anyone, not even him.”
“What happened, then?” Eva’s voice was even more gentle now. It was clear that she felt for Sarah. If she ended up being the next clan leader, she would have her job cut out for her. She’d have to decide what to do with Sarah.
Rex was once again happy he didn’t have to deal with this kind of responsibility. He might have to eventually if things between him and Harmon went well, and he really hoped no one in Harmon’s coven would be stupid enough to kill someone.
“I yelled at him,” Sarah explained. “He grabbed me, and I wasn’t fast enough to pull away. He dragged me into his room.”
Rex sucked in a breath. He could imagine what had happened after that. Of course that was the kind of person Brian had been.
“He was eating an apple,” Sarah said. “There was a plate on the coffee table with a knife. When he—”
She paused and screwed her eyes shut. No one said anything, not even Jacob. Rex realized that was because Merrick was glaring at him when he turned to look at the man.
“When he threw me on the couch, I bumped into the coffee table and saw the knife. I grabbed it,” Sarah continued.
“Why did you attack me?” Harmon asked.
“I was afraid because I heard that you were looking for Brian’s killer. I didn’t want anyone to know what I’d done. I’m sorry.”
Rex couldn’t hold a grudge after hearing Sarah’s story. He didn’t think he would have even if he hadn’t found out about it. It was clear that she hadn’t wanted to hurt Harmon.
Harmon turned to Eva. “I think it’s time to gather your clan. We can tell them that Brian’s killer has been found.”
“What’s going to happen to me?” Sarah asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not your clan leader. They’re the person who will make that decision.”
“I never meant to hurt him, even though I hated him,” Sarah said.
“I’m sure your next leader will take that into consideration.”
Not if the next leader was Jacob, but that wasn’t going to happen. Rex would make sure of that, and he was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one. Everyone in the room disliked Jacob. More than that, Rex was sure that everyone agreed that he wouldn’t be a good leader.
Harmon turned to Jacob. “Why don’t you get everyone together? Is there a room big enough for the entire clan?”
“The dining hall.”
“Then get everyone there.”
“What’s going to happen to her?”
“Like I said, I don’t know. It’s not my job.”
Jacob looked like he didn’t want to leave, but in the end, he did. Rex felt like everyone was breathing a little easier once Jacob was out of the room. He was glad he’d never have to deal with the man again once this was over.
“Well, that’s at least one problem solved,” Merrick said. “We all agree that Jacob isn’t going to be the next leader, right?”
Rex nodded. He didn’t need to think about it.
Everyone else seemed to agree with him. Merrick sighed when he realized it. Rex didn’t blame him. He didn’t want to stay here any longer than they absolutely had to, either.
He glanced at Eva. He didn’t know much about her, but he knew someone who did and who could tell him and the others more.
They’d come here to help the clan choose a leader. They’d known they wouldn’t have a lot of time to get to know these people well enough to be sure they wouldn’t do anything stupid, but he didn’t think Eva would.
“Why don’t you take Sarah back to her room?” Rex suggested as he glanced at Eva. “You can join us in the dining hall once you’re done.”
She nodded and leaned toward Sarah. The two of them spoke quietly, and Rex looked away because what they were saying was none of his business.
He really hoped that whoever would have to punish Sarah would keep everything that had happened to her in mind.
She might have gone about it the wrong way, but Brian had gotten what he deserved.
Eva guided Sarah toward the door. The guards stepped out with her as if wanting to protect her from Sarah, which was ridiculous. That girl wouldn’t hurt a fly, even though she’d killed Brian.
There was a moment of silence when the door closed. Rex relaxed since they were alone now. They’d even gotten rid of Jacob.
“We all agree that the leader should be Eva, right?” Mallory asked.
“I don’t know,” Rex told him. He turned to Arlen and Merrick.
“What can you tell us about her? Do you think she’d be a good clan leader?
” The pack couldn’t afford for the clan to be an enemy, which meant they needed someone who would work with them.
Kieran didn’t care if the clan imploded and disbanded, as long as they stayed away from the pack.
He cared about his people, and he wanted to keep them safe.
Even if it was at the detriment of the dragons.
* * * *
HARMON HADN’T EXPECTED the night to end with them finding a new leader, but he was excited. He wanted to go home. He wanted to spend time with Rex. He wanted to never have to think about this dragon clan again.
“I think she would be,” Arlen said. “I’ve always liked her.
I don’t know how things changed after Merrick and I left, but she’d be better at it than most other people.
She always tried to do the right thing, even when she was ordered otherwise.
That got her in trouble a few times. She didn’t stand up to Martin or Lou, not openly, but she did what she could to help people behind their backs. ”