Chapter 5 #2
“I shouldn’t have to explain myself to you, but I will, this one time, because you’re my blood.
” He bit off each word, snarling at the taste they left on his tongue.
“It was predicted that you would survive the fight as long as you didn’t lose your nerve, and discovering you were up against a dragon would have rattled anyone. ”
He had a point, so I nodded. “Yes, Alpha.”
“Rust trained you for this,” he continued. “I would never throw you into a fight you couldn’t win. Case in point, you could have killed him.” His eyes narrowed. “You should have.”
I hung my head in shame. “Yes, Alpha.”
“Whatever consequences come from leaving him alive… they’re on your head now.”
And there would be consequences.
I will be a curse upon your head, the noose around your neck, a sword driven deep into your side.
A freaking dragon.
I didn’t recount his warning to my father because I didn’t need to. Everyone knew what happened to those crazy enough to steal from a hoard. I was screwed. Not only that, missing his heart had likely put the entire pack at risk.
I tried to apologize, but my throat had been coated in sandpaper, and the words wouldn’t form.
Dad looked at his beta and nodded toward the door. “Hitch, make sure the pack keeps their drinking to a minimum. Increase patrols, too. I doubt the dragon will attack immediately, but we need to be ready regardless.”
“Yes, Alpha.” Hitch turned and made for the door, but not before his gaze slid over me, contempt dripping from his eyes.
That was nothing new. Neither was the way he wrinkled his nose in disgust as he marched past me.
Yeah, I got it. I smelled funny. It didn’t matter that I worked my ass off with Rust every morning and helped train the pups after school every afternoon, because I was different.
A half-breed with a dark witch for a mom.
Wolves like him would never fully accept me, no matter what I did.
I’d just stolen a magical rock from a dragon, for fuck’s sake.
Then again, I had left the bastard alive.
The door closed behind Hitch like an exclamation mark on my mistake.
Rust stepped forward. “It’s been a long time since anyone’s had the balls to trespass on pack land, Alpha. Ziara has never been given an opportunity to kill. That oversight’s on me.”
Dad looked from me to Rust and nodded. “Were the two of you followed?”
Rust shook his head and answered. “No.”
“Good.” To me, he added, “And you were careful to cover your scent?”
“Yessir.”
“That should buy us some time.”
The alpha took another pull from his flask before screwing on the lid and setting it on his desk.
He grabbed the bloodstone and studied it before pushing off the desk.
His eyes had softened slightly by the time he approached me.
“You gave the pack the leg up we need today. If the dragon comes calling, we’ll handle the threat. We always do.”
Our pack had already suffered so much.
My eyes flickered to a picture on the corner of my dad’s desk, as they often did when I was in this office.
I could only see a sliver of the five-by-seven framed photograph from my position, but I knew that image like the back of my hand.
It was the most valuable thing in the room.
The most important possession my father owned.
A picture of his dead lifemate and their son.
Cassandra and Joseph were in the district when the Mondeine had bombed it with silver. They had been my father’s world, and they were slaughtered. Now, the time was coming to finally avenge their deaths.
Dad slid the bloodstone back into my bag and zipped the pocket. “Keep that safe,” he said. “You’ll need it soon.”
He released Rust and me with a wave of his hand.
We both nodded and backed up a few steps, heads bowed in submission, before pivoting to exit. Rust draped a comforting arm over my shoulder as soon as we were out the door. We made our way down the hall and out of the building.
“I should have killed the bastard,” I said.
Rust squeezed my shoulder. “We all make mistakes, pup.”
“Oh yeah? How many dragons have you left alive to endanger everyone you care about?”
He chuckled, but the sound carried more tension than humor. “This is a whole new ballgame for me, but we’ll get through it.”
The night’s events crashed into me, draining away the last dregs of my adrenaline. Trying not to drag my feet, I turned toward the tunnels, but my mentor tightened his grip on my shoulder to prevent my escape.
“Come have a drink with the pack.”
I glanced toward the commons and felt a pang of longing for something that could never be.
By now, Hitch had likely spread word of my failure, completely glossing over my success, and I lacked the energy to defend myself tonight.
“Did you know he was a dragon?”
Rust frowned and looked away. “The alpha has his reasons for everything. We must trust—”
“The process.” I finished for him, taking a step back as I pulled away from his father-like grasp. “That’s not what I asked.”
Still, he didn’t look at me as his arm dropped to his side.
“That icy predator scent… I asked you—”
“No. I didn’t know,” he snapped. “I’ve come across one of the beasts in the past, but this one smelled different.”
The relief I felt at his admission threatened to take my legs out from under me. Had Rust known, Dad would have likely ordered him to keep the information from me, but it meant something that my mentor hadn’t lied to me.
“I’m exhausted,” I said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
He hesitated for a moment, and some unidentified emotion flickered behind his eyes, but he didn’t press. “Sleep in tomorrow. We’re taking the day off.”
“Sure,” I lied.
He might be, but I sure as hell wasn’t.
A dragon was coming for us, and I needed to be ready.