25. Hayden
We were the first people out the door the moment the cocktail party ended. Instead of the limo waiting, there were three large SUVs. A dozen enforcers milled around the vehicles, scanning the surrounding forests for any sign of attack.
Terry strode forward and handed Cillian a set of keys. “They’re in the forest outside our territory.”
Cillian let out a low growl. “We won’t be able to avoid war for long.”
Cáel echoed the sound with one of his own, and his fingers twitched at his sides. He was itching for a fight, to make the Corbetts pay. But the thought of him, of any of them heading into a battle like something out of a vicious fairy tale was more than I could take.
I grabbed Cáel’s hand, squeezing it hard.
He looked down at me, emotions warring in his expression.
“We need to move,” Maddox said in a low voice.
Knox nodded, opening the door to the back seat and sliding inside. Cáel helped me in after him. I was regretting the choice of dress now. If we were met with trouble, fighting in this thing would be utterly ridiculous. I’d have a boob out in no time. On the upside, maybe flashing my opponent would be a distraction technique.
A laugh bubbled out of me.
Knox’s brows pulled together. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, just laughing harder.
Easton’s forehead creased as he and Cáel took the seats in front of us. “I think she might be cracking.”
Cáel punched him in the chest.
“I’m not saying it to be an asshole. I just meant she’s been through a lot over the past few days.”
That just made me laugh harder. A lot was an understatement. And it was more than the past few days. This last month had been enough to send me into a straitjacket. Meeting five men I was inextricably drawn to. Discovering they were dragon shifters. Discovering that I might be one, too. Mates and enemies and the freaking council. I needed a drink, and I wasn’t sure there was a strong enough one out there.
Cillian started the engine as Maddox climbed in beside him. “We’ll be home soon, but we need to take the long way.”
That had the laughter dying on my lips. We needed to take the long way because the Corbetts were waiting on the normal path.
“What if they’re this way, too?” I whispered.
Knox pulled me tight against him. “This isn’t a route others know about. We have several leading to the property that are hidden.”
“Good. That’s good.” Except I knew they’d created those for a reason. Because this wasn’t the first time they’d had trouble. Not the first time they’d been under attack. My stomach twisted in a vicious squeeze.
Cáel looked worried as Cillian pulled away from the house, SUVs full of enforcers flanking us.
“Is this how it always is?” I asked, voice barely audible.
“How what always is?” Knox asked gently.
“Your lives. Someone always out to get you?”
Cillian and Maddox shared a look in the front of the vehicle, and I had my answer.
I had a million other questions on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them down. The guys didn’t need to be worried about me right now. They needed to focus.
The SUV in front of us picked up speed, and Cillian followed.
Knox held on to me tighter as we took a curve quickly. “It’ll be harder for anyone to follow us at this speed. Their tail would be obvious, and the enforcers tailing us would take care of it.”
Take care of it.That wasn’t exactly accurate. It was more take care of them. People, shifters. Yes, they were beings that intended us harm, but it was still taking a life.
A phone rang through the speakers in the SUV. Cillian hit a button on the wheel. “What is it?”
“Single rider. Motorcycle. Hundred yards back,” a male voice clipped. “He’s riding without his lights, thinking he’ll stay out of sight.”
“Idiot,” Maddox mumbled. “We won’t have to kill him. A car will take him out.”
“Not taking that chance,” Cillian muttered. “Throw the spikes when we hit gravel. Take him alive if you can.”
I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood.
“Yes, alpha.” Then the call cut out.
“They’re getting bolder,” Easton muttered.
Cillian gripped the wheel harder as we made another sharp turn. “Hayden changed things. They want to get to her before we bond.”
My stomach bottomed out. Because they wanted to use me as some fucked-up breeding animal.
Cáel let out a rumbling roar.
The rest of the guys cursed.
His chest rose and fell in ragged pants, and his whole body vibrated. “Need. To. Hunt.”
“Control, Cáel,” Cillian ordered.
Scales rippled over Cáel’s forearms. “Can’t.”
“Another minute and we’ll be in the forest,” Knox promised. “Then you can hunt.”
Cillian’s green gaze flashed in the rearview mirror. “Take him alive.”
Cáel growled. “I’ll try.”
Pain and fear swirled in my chest. “Don’t. Stay with us.”
Cáel twisted in his seat, agony clear on his face. I wasn’t sure if it was from fighting the shift or the fact that he was about to deny me. “I have to, Little One.”
We hit gravel, and the SUV slowed. Cáel was out the door with a speed that had his body blurring. A second later, a white-and-silver dragon was taking flight, and the SUV was picking up speed again.
Tears burned the backs of my eyes.
Knox squeezed me tighter. “He needs it, Hayden.”
“Why?” I croaked.
“He’s been through a lot. If he doesn’t let that part out, the part that needs to protect, to hurt those who intend us harm, then there’s a chance he could go feral.”
I stiffened. “What does that mean?”
Knox and Easton shared a look, but it was Easton who answered. “It means that his human side would lose dominance, and his dragon would take over completely.”
“What would his dragon do?” I whispered.
“Hunt. Kill,” Easton answered.
Knox looked down at me. “And the Cáel we know would never come back. He’d be in his dragon form forever.”