Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Emily had barely finished setting up her research space when someone knocked, and Dr. Daniel Keith entered. He smiled at her, his pupils flashing as he said, “Euan needs to see you right away.”
She frowned. “Is something wrong? Does Stonefire need me back?”
“I don’t know the particulars, but if he’s being vague, there’s a reason. It’s not an emergency or he would’ve said so, but you should go straight over to see what he wants.”
Resisting a sigh, she walked over to Daniel. “I’m sure Euan is like Bram, in that he wouldn’t disrupt our day if it weren’t important.”
“Aye, that’s right. Come on, I’ll show you the way. The sooner you chat with him, the sooner you can finish unpacking at your temporary home, too.”
Daniel had given her the day to set up both at the surgery and her accommodations before starting work the next day.
She’d wanted to help with the school examinations this afternoon, but in the end, she’d stayed to gear up for her research.
The sooner she completed her latest tests, and hopefully a finished serum, the sooner she could leave.
Maybe even go back to Wales and accept the university research position she’d been offered repeatedly.
Because Stonefire would be strange now that Trahern had a mate and two stepsons.
After locking her computer, she grabbed her coat and followed Daniel out of the surgery. As soon as the wind hit, she shivered and put her hands into her pockets.
Daniel smiled. “You get used to it eventually, I promise.”
“But I bet you still have to wear jumpers in the summer.”
“Most of the time, aye. But not always in July and August, or if we’re really lucky, part of September, too.”
She sighed. “At least it’s beautiful here.”
“Aye, that makes up for it, for sure. I remember living on Lochguard, and whilst I longed to go back for years, I no longer do. Finn is nice, and he’s trying to repair things, which I appreciate.
And aye, he would probably take all of us back, if we wanted.
However, there’s something about Seahaven that just feels like home now, chilly wind and all. ”
Since Emily had never really felt at home anywhere since childhood, she merely smiled and took in the sea and the buildings of the clan. The walk to Euan’s house took about five minutes, and after knocking, she was guided into the living room. Emily blinked at who was there.
She’d met Antony and Iris in the past, although more times with the former instead of the latter. Although now that they were mates, Emily suspected she’d be seeing more of Iris in the future.
Antony grinned, walked over, and took her hand. Like in the days of old, he kissed the air just above it. “Dr. Davies, it’s always such a pleasure.”
“Um, sure.”
Iris shook her head and pushed Antony aside. “Thanks for coming, Emily. There’s something we need to talk to you two about. So, sit down and we’ll get started, aye?”
It was then Emily noticed Cam in the corner, near the small fireplace. He met her gaze and then stared back at the flickering flames.
Well, so much for her thinking they’d become friendly earlier in the day. He was back to mostly ignoring her and being rude.
Pushing aside her irritation, she sat on one of the small sofas. Euan took the chair, and Iris and Antony sat on the other sofa.
As silence ticked by, Emily blurted, “So what’s going on and why am I here?”
Euan looked at Emily. “The dragon hunters have put a bounty on your head.”
She blinked. “What are you talking about? Why?”
Antony answered, “They’ve had one on you for a while, I’m afraid.
However, you were well protected on Stonefire, and we didn’t think it much of a threat.
Now that you’re on Seahaven, however, that’s shifted.
” She opened her mouth, but he put up a hand and beat her to it.
“The reason you were allowed to come here, despite the dangers, is because you’re extremely close to solving one of the biggest problems when it comes to defeating the dragon hunters—safeguarding against their dragon poisons.
Your work needs to be done, no matter what.
But Iris and I have been planning for this ever since you agreed to come here. ”
Her mind focused on one thing. “I’ve been a target all this time, and no one told me?”
Iris glanced at Antony before replying, “Aye, I’m afraid so. But to be fair, a lot of people and dragon-shifters have bounties on their heads. Normally, it comes to nothing, as the amounts are small. But, unfortunately, yours has gone up to fifty thousand pounds.”
Fifty thousand pounds. That was a lot of money, more than enough to entice someone to kidnap or kill or do who knew what to her.
She hugged her arms around her body, took a few deep breaths, and willed herself not to imagine all the ways they could hurt or kill her.
But instead of panic, anger stirred in her belly. “I deserved to know about this long before now.” She glanced around the room. “Did all of you know?”
Her gaze ended at Cam. He merely shook his head. “No, lass, I didn’t. Not until today.”
Maybe if she weren’t worried about someone trying to harm her, she’d focus on how he’d never called her lass before. But instead she looked back at Antony. “Am I one of your little pawns, then? One you don’t see as a person and will use and throw away to get what you want?”
An emotion she couldn’t name flashed in Antony’s eyes. Iris placed a hand on his leg, and then faced Emily again. “It’s not like that, Emily. We have to sort through all the shite the dragon hunters throw our way, which means focusing on the most dangerous threats first.”
“And now I’m one of them.”
Memories of her dad saying that associating with dragon-shifters in any form, even through studies, would get her killed threatened to break free.
But she tamped them down. Her father’s words had been uttered out of his hatred for dragon-shifters and not because he actually cared about her safety.
Cam crouched in front of her, snapping her back to the present. His pupils flashed rapidly before he finally said, “I won’t allow them to hurt you, Emily. I vow it.”
To a dragon-shifter, vows were all but ironclad and extremely important. Especially to a Protector.
She wanted to believe him, and yet, she’d dealt with the former dragon hunter prisoners and knew about the horrors they’d been subjected to. Death was easy compared to what they might do to her.
And if the hunters would pay fifty thousand pounds for her, then it was only a matter of time before someone found her.
What could she do? Go into hiding?
But where?
And would it even matter?
Her throat closed up, and she struggled to breathe. What was she going to do?
Cam watched Dr. Davies as they explained about the bounty and noticed when she started panicking. While dragon-shifters had to constantly worry about the hunters, it was rare for a human to be a target, especially when they weren’t even mated to a dragon.
And it wasn’t as if she were a trained soldier or law enforcement officer, or anything similar. No, she was a researcher who probably got lost in her work and didn’t pay much attention to the outside world unless she had to.
Then Dr. Davies curled into herself, as if about to break, and he couldn’t stand by and watch. He walked over, crouched down, and waited for her to meet his eyes.
His dragon growled. I don’t like that she’s afraid.
Neither do I.
She met his gaze, and he said, “I won’t allow them to hurt you, Emily. I vow it.”
Biting her bottom lip, she glanced away and started to breathe heavily. Not wanting her to get stuck in her head, he stated, “Emily, look at me.” She met his gaze again. “I mean it. I will protect you.”
“But how can you say that? Unless I’m going to be restricted to staying indoors and only allowed out when I have an escort, that’s impossible to guarantee.”
As he debated if now was the time to reveal their plan, Antony spoke up. “We have a solution for that, Dr. Davies—you’ll be staying with Cam.”
He narrowed his eyes at the human male as Dr. Davies gasped. Her eyes shot to Cam’s and blurted, “I can’t do that. You don’t like me.”
His inner dragon growled, but Cam replied before his beast could say anything. “That’s not true.”
“But it is. You’ve been practically glaring at me since I entered this room, even though I was trying to be friendly this morning.”
He resisted a sigh. It wasn’t as if he could tell her he hated how he didn’t have enough Protectors to truly look out for her. Or that he wished Seahaven wasn’t the most vulnerable dragon clan in the UK.
Because it wasn’t her, per se, that made him angry. It was the bloody dragon hunters and the unfounded hatred those humans had for his kind.
His dragon spoke up. At least give her part of the truth, aye? Otherwise, she won’t believe anything you say going forward.
His beast was right, so Cam said, “It’s not you, personally, I promise. The situation is more complicated, and Antony will gladly explain it.”
The human quirked an eyebrow, clearly not liking how Cam had put the explanation back to him, but he didn’t bloody care. Dr. Davies deserved to hear all the facts, and Holbrook knew them best.
She glanced at Antony and then at Iris. “What is he talking about? How can it be even more complicated than the hunters wanting me? Is it dead or alive? So they do want to murder me, then.”
Antony shook his head. “No, they want you alive. But Cam’s right, you should know more.”
As he explained the bounty, the reasons for wanting her, and how his operatives were living nearby to help watch her, the tension didn’t leave her body. If anything, she hugged herself tighter, and her jaw clenched.
And even though her presence made his job more difficult, he didn’t like her upset. He could only imagine the threats she’d received over the course of her career, simply because she wanted to study and help dragon-shifters.