Greylen
As I scanned through the security footage, I did my best to find anything out of place. One of our patrolling dragons had warned us they’d sensed something was off about one of the cabins on the outskirts of our lands. So immediately, I’d rushed to my office and started searching my many screens.
We had instructed the guards to investigate no further. If it were Cyrus, he could easily hurt someone. Even though he had been hiding with Byron, we had no doubt he would be returning to try to get his revenge at some point. He was too stubborn to admit defeat.
Orsen had gone to get the rest of our clan, while I looked for any sign that Cyrus was encroaching on our territory and how close he had gotten.
The report claimed he was in a cabin on the very edge of our lands.
I could see that happening; he knew the lands better than most, unfortunately.
Another downside to our enemy being the horde’s former Alpha.
“Where is he?” Bastian growled, storming into my office, Orsen hot on his heels.
No one else was following him, however, and this was news for all of us to hear. “Where’s Nix? He knows this is about Cyrus, right?”
Orsen chuckled, shooting a quick glance at Bastian, whose ears had turned pink at the tips. “He, umm, needs a few moments to… deflate, if you know what I mean.”
My brows shot up, and I let out a chuckle. I knew exactly what he meant, and I was jealous of the lucky bastard. Still, why was Bastian so on edge? There was no time to dwell on that, though. I gestured at the screen, redirecting the focus.
“So far, I can’t see Cyrus on any security footage, but if the reports are correct, and he’s in one of the dilapidated cabins on the edge of the lands, I don’t think I would catch that, anyway. Especially if he flew in.”
Bastian shook his head, his brow knit together. “It’s been years since my father shifted, and the pain in his leg makes it that much more difficult. He would have traveled on foot or driven.”
“Okay. In that case, I’ll get one of the younger dragons to scroll through the security footage while we check it out. If he’s here, we need to deal with it fast.”
Griffin appeared in the doorway, a little out of breath, as if he’d jogged here. “I got the message—he’s near?”
Since Griff was one of the enforcers, I’d texted him the moment we got word, and I nodded at him, jerking my thumb at the security footage.
“We can’t all leave to check this out. One of us needs to stay back to guard Rowan,” I said, making eye contact with each of my clanmates.
Griffin crossed his arms. “It should be one of you guys. She needs one of her mates by her side. And I am not missing the chance to beat the living shit out of the person who tried to kill her.”
Well…one of the people, at least.
Tanner was currently sitting in a cell while we decided what to do with him. I had a feeling that was going to be a messy situation, regardless, particularly seeing as he had a baby on the way.
“I can stay,” I said, nodding at the screens. “I’m more useful here, anyway.”
I didn’t mean that in a self-deprecating way. My talents were definitely more toward the technological, and I could fight just as well as any dragon, but my clanmates were far superior when it came to physical throwdowns compared to me.
Bastian looked torn.
“You can stay, and I can go,” I assured him. “Whatever you think is best.”
He shook his head. “While everything in me doesn’t want to leave Rowan, I can’t let my father get near her. Or worse, get away again without punishment. He needs to pay for what he did.”
“She will be surrounded by loyal dragons here,” Orsen said. “You made sure of that.”
I resisted the urge to chuckle. Bastian had made it crystal clear after the scout’s visit exactly where we stood.
Bastian nodded. “Fine. I’m checking on her. She’ll want to know about this, then we go hunt that bastard down.”
“I don’t like that they’re going out there all alone.”
I gave Rowan a sympathetic expression as she spoke, holding out my hands for her to come sit by me.
She took me up on the offer, but I still surprised her by pulling her right into my lap.
I needed to be close to her, needed to ground myself with physical touch while the others were out there in the woods, dealing with Cyrus.
Rowan needed it, too.
“I’ll admit that I’m a little upset I didn’t get to go and give that jerk a piece of my mind. I mean, I’m the one he tried to kill. I should get to at least… kick him in the balls or something.”
I chuckled, and Rowan narrowed her eyes at me.
As much as I knew she was trying to play it off, it was clear that Rowan was upset about all this.
Hell, I was pretty sure she was downright terrified, based on what I knew about her.
And I understood that. We all had every reason to be angry… and nervous.
“You know what I mean. I’m just… Ugh. This sucks.”
I pulled Rowan closer and looked up at her, cupping her chin.
“I know, mate. I get it, believe me. A huge part of me wants to be out there, too, but you know as much as I do that keeping you safe is important. Plus, this is Orsen and Bastian we’re talking about.
There’s no way they’ll let him walk away. ”
Nodding, Rowan rested her head on my shoulder. “I know. Nix went with them, too, right?”
“He did. The three of them will find out exactly what Cyrus is up to.”
The conversation dropped off, and I tried to control the worry burning a hole through Rowan’s chest, offering what I could to keep her calm. She knew that her mates were capable, and I just needed to remind her of that so she wasn’t so focused on what could go wrong.
But it didn’t help that we were just… here. We were waiting around for word. Just… waiting.
Even as a patient person, I was having trouble with it.
I considered how many mates, spouses, and lovers were going through similar situations, and the understanding of how hard this was made them seem all the stronger. Celia was waiting to know what had happened to Tanner. Allison had waited to find someplace safe for her family.
We’d waited for Rowan when Emmeline had disappeared.
And it took her six years to come back.
“They have to come back. They have to,” Rowan whispered, and I rubbed up and down her arm.
We sat there in the silence of the room, her in my lap. For so long, I stroked her head, holding her as we remained perched on the knife-edge, not knowing which direction we’d teeter off. Or if the blade would slice clean through us.
She could lean on me for however long she needed, though. I’d be here. I knew how hard this was; I was intimately familiar with the pain of not knowing, so I’d be Rowan’s rock. Because they were coming back.
“I want this to be over already. We’ve been battling with Cyrus for longer than we realized, and I’m over it. We all deserve to just be happy. To be at peace and not struggling so much. We’ve been through enough.”
I lifted her head and looked straight into her eyes.
“You’re absolutely right, Rowan. We have.
And I know we’re trying to put an end to this so that we can start enjoying our lives again.
I definitely don’t want to be dealing with this shit for a second longer than we have to. And you certainly don’t deserve that.”
She was about to say something when a commotion started up outside. Tension ripped through us, and she straightened as I heard someone call out, “They’re back!”
Turning, we looked out a window.
The next moment, Griff came running in, breathing hard. “Rowan, clinic! Nix got hit hard!”
My stomach dropped. Rowan lurched out of my lap, my pulse sprinting. Part of me wanted to mention that Rowan was in her tiny pajamas, with a zip-up hoodie over the top. But it really didn’t matter, now, did it?
Her mate needed her. I knew, to her, that was all that mattered. We sprinted out of the den with Griffin, toward the clinic, where they had taken Nix.
Fuck, buddy. What have you gotten yourself into?
Running with Griffin to the clinic, Rowan demanded an overview of what she was up against, shouting, “What happened?!”
“Cyrus set fire to the cabin when they got there. He saw them coming, then the fucker ran off.”
I could see the moment her healer brain kicked into motion, and she nodded. A burn was serious, but a dragon could heal from that as long as it wasn’t too bad. Rowan needed to see it for herself, of course, but if it wasn’t that severe…
“And the others?” I shot a look at Griffin, and he glanced at me with a bob of his head.
“They’re all right. They didn’t go as far into the flames. They just tried to put it out before the entire forest went up.”
I nodded back at him. We could get through this. We could. We had to.
For Rowan.