Chapter 22
Patrick’s imposing form loomed in front of the gates, where he stood with two guards flanking him. Colt’s security had gathered, Louis pointing angrily at what I assumed was the dragons’ vehicle.
A guard moved toward Colt’s window as he rolled it down.
“What the hell is going on?” Colt barked.
The youngish guard winced. “I’m sorry, sir. He just showed up a minute ago and refused to leave. We were about to call you.”
Colt muttered a curse under his breath and switched off the vehicle. “Stay with Leighton.”
He was out of the SUV before any of us had a chance to respond.
Trace quickly followed, mumbling something about not letting Colt go out there alone.
I slid toward the door, but Ronan caught me by the arm.
“Don’t,” he warned.
I gently tugged my elbow free. “He’s not going to do anything here. There are too many witnesses. And I need to show him that I’m not afraid.”
Patrick O’Conner was a bully. And there were few things that pissed off a bully more than pretending as if they had no effect on you.
I pulled the latch and opened the door.
Colt’s and Trace’s gazes shot instantly to me, both going flinty. I simply smiled, pulling on that mask of carefree indifference. A scramble sounded behind me, and I knew that the rest of the guys had made their way out of the Escalade.
“What are you doing here?” Declan asked.
There was something about the tone of his voice. It carried so many emotions in such few words. Anger, pain, cold detachment. The sound made my chest ache.
Fury flicked in Patrick’s gray gaze. “My son is here.”
A muscle in Declan’s cheek ticked wildly. “You don’t have a son.”
That silver blazed. “Don’t let yourself be swayed by lies and half-truths.”
“There’s only one liar here, and I’m looking at him,” Declan shot back.
“I’ll let that one go, knowing you’ve been through a lot lately. I won’t be so magnanimous again,” Patrick gritted out.
But I could see the truth beneath his words. If Patrick got the chance, he’d make Declan pay for his insolence.
Ronan moved to his brother’s side, their shoulders touching. The sight had a different sort of ache taking root in my chest. One of painful relief. That the twins had found each other again. That they had each other’s back.
Patrick wasn’t nearly as pleased. His breathing grew ragged as he struggled for control.
The guard to his right shifted slightly. There was a flash of something in his expression. Relief? Happiness? It was gone so quickly I couldn’t be sure, replaced by a blank mask that made the hulking blond man look terrifying.
Patrick’s hands clenched at his sides. “I wanted to put our differences behind us.”
Colt arched a brow. “And why is that?”
The dragon king grinned, but it looked slightly deranged, as if his facial muscles didn’t remember how to make the movement. “It’s important for our community to work as one. There’s too much at risk with the rise in shadow demon attacks.”
A shiver ran through me at the memory of the beast with tar dripping from its teeth.
Colt’s eyes hardened, a wave of alpha energy changing his entire demeanor. “We’ve always wanted to work together as one. It’s you who have been hesitant to commit fully to the clan alliances.”
My mouth pulled down in a frown. I hadn’t heard about this. All I knew was that there was a treaty in place that mostly kept the peace.
“Given what’s happened over the past few years with leaders killed, can you blame me for being hesitant?”
“No,” Colt answered. “But I can ask you what has changed.”
Patrick’s gaze flicked to me, a wariness there that set me on edge. “We may need the girl. Maybe she is the one to hold you all together.”
Ronan scoffed. “Just yesterday you were demanding the breaking of our bond, punishing us.”
Patrick’s jaw worked back and forth. “I think it’s wrong to go against The Assembly’s wishes, but I realize I may have spoken too hastily.”
Dash moved closer to my side, his lips ghosting my ear. “He’s scared of you.”
My eyes flared, but I saw what Dash meant. The way Patrick had positioned himself in a defensive stance toward me. The way his eyes kept shifting my direction. Having his guards with him.
Patrick swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I suggest a deeper alliance. One that will ensure we’re a force no one dare make a step against.”
Declan opened his mouth to speak, but Colt cast him a quick look.
“What would this alliance entail?” Colt asked.
“Help in good times and bad,” Patrick began. “A promise to take up arms for the other if we are moved against.”
“There it is,” Dash whispered.
“No.” Colt’s voice wasn’t loud or especially harsh, but there was a finality in it that brooked no argument. And he didn’t soften the decree by explaining it.
Redness crept up Patrick’s throat. “Do you realize what I have offered you? My army is the largest of all the clans. The most powerful.”
A smile curved Ronan’s lips. “If that’s really the case, then why are you here, asking for an alliance with one measly bond?”
“I was trying to bring peace,” Patrick gritted out.
Declan chuckled, but it had an ugly hue. “Sure, you were. You haven’t done a single thing for the good of others in your entire life.”
“This is your final warning, son. Watch how you speak to me.”
Declan stared down his father. “You’ve lost your power, Patrick. You no longer have a hold on me. I’ve found my true family, and they’ve given me more in mere months than you’ve given me in a lifetime.”
Patrick charged forward, but Trace threw a purple ball of fire in his path, making Patrick pull up short.
“Careful, lizard king,” Trace warned.
Silver fire wound around Patrick’s hands and arms.
“Remember whose land you stand on,” Colt growled. “If you make a move on me or my bond, we’ll rain down hellfire on you. Because we actually do have alliances that will stand with us.”
Patrick glared at him. “You’re going to regret this.”
Colt shrugged. “Doubtful.”
A rage unlike anything I’d ever seen swirled in Patrick’s expression. “You have no idea what I’m capable of. But you’re going to learn. And when you’re begging for mercy, I’m going to remind you of this moment.”