Draco
No, he couldn’t go down that path. He wouldn’t be the one to break Sawyer’s heart, and if he allowed his feelings to show, allowed one more inch of love to develop, he’d be lost. It couldn’t happen. He’d continue to focus on the now and if the time came… he’d figure it out then.
Then he heard more footsteps approaching, these moving quickly, and a third man appeared.
This one was younger, his face unlined and with a beaming smile that belied the danger they were currently facing.
“Dude, something just set off the wards…. And that would be…holy hot. You are almost as delicious as…um… never mind. Speaking of delicious, what exactly is that awesome smell?”
“Oh man. That sounds good. I’m starving.”
Pearl took a tentative step toward the young man, responding to the friendly tone of the new arrival. “Pearl, heel!”
Draco never spoke to her so harshly, never had to, but he hadn’t been able to take his eyes away from the blades currently held by the two fighters.
She immediately obeyed and moved back to Sawyer’s side, but not without looking up at him with a pout of her own to find out what she’d done wrong.
She clearly wasn’t the only one his tone bothered.
“What’s going on?” Sawyer whispered behind him. “Drake?”
“Everything’s fine. We’re leaving. We didn’t mean to intrude.”
“But you brought cake!”
“We did,” Draco said softly. “We were coming to welcome new neighbors. That’s all.”
The young man slipped between his protectors and they both growled at him in protest.
“Down boys. I got this.” He stepped forward, and Draco held up his hands to try to show he wasn’t a threat.
“Oh,” the young man sighed as he got closer. “You’re one of us.”
“What?” Sawyer peeked his head around again and stared at the newcomer. Draco stepped in front of him again.
“And who’s this?” The guy dropped down to one knee and looked at Pearl.
“Uh, that’s my dog. Pearl,” Sawyer said. “I’m Sawyer. This is Draco.”
The guy smirked. “Draco? Really, Dragon? I’m Henry. Come here, girl.”
Pearl glanced at Draco, holding her position as he’d commanded even though she was eager to scent this new person. “Go on, girl.”
The warriors took up defensive positions, but didn’t move closer. Pearl darted over to the guy and began sniffing his face enthusiastically. Henry laughed and scratched her head. “Oh, you’re a pretty girl, aren’t you? You’re very well loved. That’s a good girl.”
Pearl lay down and rolled onto her back, allowing Henry to scratch her stomach nice and hard, just the way she liked it. When he looked up again, it was with a beaming smile.
“You can tell a lot about a man by how happy his animal is,” Henry said. “And this one is very happy indeed.”
“She’s mine,” Sawyer said. “And she is a good girl. A bit of a slut for belly rubs as you can see.”
Henry laughed and stood again. He closed the remaining distance between them and stared at Draco. “I’d like to touch your arm, Dragon.”
Draco could feel the barely restrained power coming from the man, so he held out his arm. Henry lay his hand carefully along Draco’s wrist, then his head fell back with a gasp. His eyes glowed the bright blue of the mages and he closed them a moment later with a sigh. “You bear the mark?”
Draco’s stomach fell. “I do.”
“I’ve been wondering when we would find the others. And who is your friend? May I?” Henry raised his hand again and Draco tried not to balk. No one touched Sawyer.
But Sawyer didn’t seem to know that. He stepped up beside Draco, shoulder to shoulder, then pushed the cake pan into Henry’s hands.
“I don’t know what’s going on here,” Sawyer said.
He glanced at Draco with a hurt look in his eyes before turning back to Henry.
“But if you need to… touch my arm? You can.”
Henry bowed his head for a moment before glancing back to Draco. “That’s not necessary, Sawyer, but thank you for the offer. Oh my God, that cake smells so good.”
His tone shifted again, going from serious to carefree in a moment.
“Right? It’s my favorite. We saw you guys pulling in earlier and thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves.”
“Awesome. You’re my new favorite. These two wouldn’t know fruit if it bit them in the ass. Meat eaters all the way.”
Draco glanced at the warriors again, still not entirely convinced they weren’t going to wield the weapons against them. “We mean no harm.”
“I know,” Henry said. “These are guard…uh, my guards.”
“Whoa,” Sawyer said. “You have bodyguards?” He glanced at Draco before turning back to Henry. “I told him somebody rich was moving in.”
Henry laughed and looked over his shoulder at the tall red-haired guard.
Draco hadn’t been able to identify what exactly the other warrior was, but he understood by Henry’s look that this guard was in charge of the tributes the clans had all paid as they waited for the prophecy that bound them all together to unfold.