by Abigail Owen
Not even a hint of a glow. An intricate brand, alight with the color of the clan, should be glittering at her nape. But nothing showed up. Not even a blip.
She wasn’t a mate.
Icy relief spiked through a hot rush of disappointment. The pull he felt to the woman, the long dormant need to protect her, was something he shouldn’t heed. But given that issue, her not being a mate was a good thing. He didn’t have to worry about her dying if she were to be given to the wrong dragon.
Finn dropped to a crouch in front of her to find those big gray eyes hazy, yet trusting. The look hit him square in the gut. Finn swore under his breath, hating the need to do this, to take away any of her memories, even if good reasons forced his hand.
He reached for her, a hand on either side of her face, trying to assure her with his own gaze. He allowed his eyes to blaze fully, and then pushed his heat through his hands and into her mind. The memory he was erasing was a simple one. Less than five minutes of closeness between them, of his fire on her neck. The short duration meant he could keep the contact brief and impersonal, using the magic contained in his fire to steal that time.
Of their own accord, his thumbs caressed her cheeks. Her skin was so soft, his fire stuttered, just like his heart. Damn it. That was not impersonal. With a growl, he repositioned his hands and focused on his task, upping the warmth he pushed into his body.
She blinked, and suddenly her expression cleared. “Finn?”
Oh, shit. The woman looked…alert. Aware. He redoubled his efforts, cranking up his fire enough that he risked blasting a month’s worth of memories if he could reengage the thrall.
It didn’t work.
She searched his face, her eyes wide.
Yep. Delaney was clearheaded and right there with him. She’d broken the trance. Worse, now he was caught in her gaze, and fuck all if he could break free.
She didn’t ask him what happened. Didn’t recoil from his touch, or the flames she could no doubt see in his eyes, or how close he’d gotten during the process. Instead, an intoxicating wave of heat bounced back from her into him. His whole body shuddered.
She dropped her gaze to his lips and he knew, he knew, where this was going. He scrabbled to draw back his fire and the heat flowing between them, afraid he was influencing her in some way. It was no use. With a whimper, she closed the distance between them and placed her lips over his in a kiss that shot straight through his torn soul.
They both moaned.
Delaney pressed into him with a murmur, melting under in his hands, opening her mouth to his in a way that sent him over the edge. The beast had already unfurled inside him, that bone-deep instinct to claim took over, and he deepened the kiss, taking her mouth like he’d been fighting not to since pulling her out of that barn.
The situation was spiraling out of control and Finn was powerless to stop it.
Did he want to?
Her lips were beautiful under his—warm, enticing, and lush. So soft. So fucking soft. Need stoking hotter than a wildfire in an instant, he slipped his tongue between those sweet lips.
She tasted of mint and strawberries.
Gods help him, he was lost.
“Boss!”
Levi’s shout finally penetrated the haze he’d been trapped in, and Finn jerked back from Delaney. His Beta and Aidan stood in the doorway, staring, the shock on their faces nothing compared to the shock buffeting him.
“So she is a mate?” Levi demanded.
Fuck.
“A mate?” Delaney asked, glancing between them.
He needed to wipe that memory immediately before she started asking more questions. Fast. And the kiss, too, or the next question out of her mouth would be, “What the hell are you?” Trying not to fall into a trap of his own making a second time, he repeated the process all over again and managed to keep her under. How the hell could he have lost control like that?
What he needed was distance, both mental and physical, if he was going to keep his shit together around this woman. Walls he’d build between them for her own protection. His, too.
Deed done, he moved, putting the table between him and her. His body throbbed in time to his thundering heartbeat, but at least the realization slashing through him—the knowledge that if he’d gone any further, he could have seen Phoebe’s contorted expression of pain, witnessed that horror all over again—was keeping him rigidly in control.
A glance at his men showed them still gaping at him. They’d both need shovels to get their jaws off the floor. “She’s not a mate,” he gritted out.
Neither said anything, moving to his side as Delaney was blinking out of the stupor his memory wipe had put her into. A little frown drew her brows down. “Did I…did I pass out again?”
The trepidation in her voice nearly had him around the table again, but then the significance of her immediate assumption sank in. Finn gripped the back of his chair and stayed put. “Is that how your blackouts always feel?”
She nodded slowly, a hand to her head. “But at least there wasn’t fire this time.”
Holy shit. Those blackouts she’d told them about weren’t epilepsy. A dragon had been erasing her memories and leaving her in fires. A glance at Levi told him his Beta was thinking the same thing.
Cold fury settled inside him. As soon as he found the fucker, he’d take great pleasure in meting out the punishment setting these fires required. Death.
First, he had to find the dragon shifter responsible.
Delaney seemed to recover, sitting up straighter in her chair. “I’m all right now.”
Finn nodded. She might be, but he sure as hell wasn’t. She stared at them with that steady look he was beginning to realize meant she was holding herself together and trying to present a calm, cooperative facade. Brave.
“Boss,” Levi whispered, prodding him.
Right. Delaney was still expecting a response to what she’d told them. “Here’s what we’ll do,” Finn said. “Nothing can be proven yet.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “Wait. So, you believe me?”
If she’d shared this with a human, like anyone from the structure crew, she probably would’ve been immediately arrested or taken for psychological testing. But she’d shared it with dragon shifters who understood fire was not always black and white. Hell, it wasn’t even always red and gold.
Not that he could tell her that. Revealing themselves to humans was forbidden.
“We believe you,” he said.
She slumped forward, elbows on her knees and sucked in a shuddering breath. “Wow.”
Suddenly he could see all the weight of the worries she’d been carrying around on those slim shoulders. Years of questioning if the man stalking her was doing it just to get to her, or worse, if she was the cause.
“We’ll help you get to the bottom of this, either way.” Better if he stuck to facts and next steps, rather than give in to the urge to bear her burdens for her.
She lifted her head, her eyes lighter gray now, like the storm clouds had lifted. Mesmerizing eyes.
“Thank you,” she whispered, gaze on him, and him alone.
His body tightened with that look, a fact he resented like hell.
He needed to get away from this woman before he pounced on her, as his inner beast wanted. He couldn’t go down that road again. Seeing Phoebe’s death in Delaney’s eyes would kill him. They’d figure out what was going on, and then he could shove her out of his life.
“We’ll get in touch with the other fire departments to see if we can connect the fires. Levi is also going to look into this Graff person.”
With each set of requirements, she gave a quick nod of understanding.
“We need your full cooperation,” he warned.
“You have it,” she said. “What about the fire marshal and the investigation into the barn fire?”
Often, being what Finn and his men were, and what they did, meant lying. “We’ll deal with him.” Or, rather, Deep would. “But I’d rather
keep this limited to just us for now. Once we have more conclusive information, we can loop in others as needed.”
Her brows scrunched up. “Is that protocol?”
Finn lifted a single eyebrow. “Nothing about you is protocol, luv.” He ignored Levi’s sharp glance at his use of the endearment. He was already beating himself up over that slip.
“True,” Delaney agreed slowly.
Finn took a step back. “Aidan’s going to take you to another room. I have a call scheduled that I need this office for. He’ll collect all the information he needs, then we’ll take you home. I need you to walk us through everything again.”
To his surprise, Delaney stood and held out a hand. “I appreciate your help.”
She shook Aidan’s hand and Levi’s before holding her hand out to him.
With supreme reluctance, he wrapped her small hand in his. Even anticipating it, the energy that zinged from the contact straight to his balls still had him clearing his throat to cover up a grunt of pleasure-pain.
I am so screwed.
The faster they solved this the better. “Don’t thank me until we figure it out. This might not swing your way.”
She withdrew her hand, and he wanted to chase the contact.
Delaney’s lips pinched. “Still. Thank you. Because if it is me, I need to know. I don’t want to hurt anyone accidentally. I’ve already cost people property, but if I took a life…” She shook her head. “I’ll do anything you want.”
Just the words he wanted to hear, only not connected to the case, and he couldn’t let himself want that.
Chapter Six
As soon as Delaney left his office, Finn took a deep breath, grappling with everything that had just happened, pushing through the need to stay with her, make sure she was safe. What the fuck had he been thinking, kissing her like that?
Exactly the problem. Thinking hadn’t been part of the equation.
What he needed was to focus on the job, and that was it. The question was, should he call Deep? He pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen. He didn’t have time. Besides, for now, there wasn’t anything Deep could do about her situation. His role as fire marshal only extended so far. If they had more fires, then he’d fill Deep in.
In the meantime, he had another call to take. One he’d been waiting two days for. Ever since his brother left for France. This new development with Delaney couldn’t be worse timing. Fallon’s situation should have Finn’s full focus, but instead he was stretched in too many directions.
Sitting in this small space with her sunshine—scent still swirling around him, the taste of her still lingering on his lips, and her need for protection practically screaming at him from those incredible eyes—might drive him to doing something beyond stupid.
Like take her back to his room, damn the consequences. Except those consequences were his personal form of torture.
He dropped into the chair at his desk, reining in clamoring instincts, and flipped open his laptop, bringing up the app for his call. Ironic that he couldn’t get away from the topic of mating today. Because that’s exactly where Fallon was. He’d been selected as a potential match for a newly identified dragon mate.
The Mating Council, men from each of the clans, appointed by their kings, ran the process. All human women who showed dragon sign were brought to those men. Based on the family brand that glowed on the back of a dragon mate’s neck under dragon fire, they identified and brought out men to meet the woman. Sometimes only one, sometimes several. It depended on the whim of the Council. With how rare mates had become, dragon lines had many unmated males.
Before his little brother, his only direct blood family left alive, left to be part of the process, Finn had made him promise not to mate anyone unless he was absolutely sure.
The Mating Council wasn’t infallible. Finn would never escape what he’d done. How wrong he’d been. He’d taken a mate destined for another in his line, likely a male he’d never met, even though he’d been sure. But would his more impetuous sibling learn from that? Would he be careful enough?
A thought that haunted Finn in the darkest nights clawed its way to the surface. What if the woman Finn killed had been meant for his brother? After all, Phoebe had been destined for somebody in their family line, and blue dragon mates were found less and less these days. Males from the same line shared the same brand on the back of their necks, and she’d matched that brand. The Council could have gotten it horribly wrong, and Fallon could be about to walk into a similarly hellish scenario.
Finn would never forgive himself if Fallon not only had to carry this kind of guilt around with him, but also lost a part of his own soul, the fire that made him who he was, in the process.
With a few clicks, Finn pulled up his computer and hopped on Skype. Fallon’s call came through a few minutes later.
As soon as his brother’s familiar face appeared on his screen, Finn knew something was up. Jaw tense and unsmiling, steel-blue eyes hard, Fallon appeared grim, not like his usual laughing self. Finn didn’t have to wait long to find out why.
“I’ve found my mate.”
Finn jerked forward and jumped to his feet. He barely registered the slap of his palms against his desk as the pic-in-pic image showed his face crowding the screen. “What the hell, brother? You’ve hardly been there enough time to meet her let alone determine she is your mate. I told you—”
“It’s Maddie.”
Finn shut his mouth with a snap, his teeth clacking loudly in the silence of the room.
Maddie. Fallon had been obsessed with the human. The woman had been suspicious, but she’d moved across the country before anything could be done about her, and that had been the end of it. Or had it?
Finn crossed his arms, dropping back in his chair. “The arson investigator you tangled with last year?”
“Yeah.”
He regarded his brother for a long moment. “Is she the reason you’ve been such an asshole the last six months?”
Fallon rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks.”
“You know it’s true.” Finn gave him a narrow-eyed stare. “She left town suddenly, come to think of it. I hadn’t put two and two together until now.”
Fallon remained silent, a sure indication that he was on the right track.
“Am I right?” Finn pushed.
Fallon shrugged.
Damn. He was right. “I see.”
So, his brother thought he’d found his mate. Despite what Finn had gone through, no way would Fallon not pursue her. A destined mate would experience that pull more strongly than others, and, though he hadn’t said as much, Finn knew Fallon had fallen for Maddie last year.
Hard.
Finn might not have had the chance to fall for Phoebe before they mated, but he knew what it felt like for your life to burn along with the woman in your arms. As far as he was concerned, all that was left in his chest was a pile of ash.
His glance slid to the door as a feminine murmur floated down the hall to him. Trouble.
He shook it off and focused on the screen. Being an asshole and warning Fallon away wasn’t the way to go. His brother needed support, not dissent, no matter how concerned Finn was that Fallon was headed down the same path he’d traveled already.
“Any competition?” Finn asked.
Fallon’s eyebrows went up. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting that reaction. “A guy named Cole. American by the sound of it. Part of a colony on the east coast. He’s the one who brought her to the Council’s attention.”
“So, there’s already a relationship there,” Finn murmured, more to himself.
“He all but claimed her.” Fallon’s face went red, a sure sign he was on the edge of losing the beast inside him, emotions driving his lack of control. “He’s just going through the motions of this process.”
“And Maddie?”
Even over the fuzzy picture, he could see the muscles in Fallon’s jaw working. “She didn’t give an indication either way, other than obviousl
y being nervous about the entire thing.”
Finn grimaced. “Sorry dude, but you are in a tough spot.”
Before Phoebe happened, Finn would’ve done more, teased more, helped more, but he couldn’t push past the black hole inside him, the part of him that burned with his false mate holding him back.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Fallon shot back. “Your wise council is overwhelming.”
Finn ran a hand over the perpetual layer of stubble shadowing his chin. “Did she show dragon sign when she was with you?”
Fallon gritted his teeth. “Not that I knew of. No.”
“And now?”
Fallon raised his eyebrows. “Obviously she does now, or she wouldn’t be here.”
“What kind?” Finn asked.
This was important as far as the Council was concerned. Dragon sign in human females didn’t trigger until they were exposed to dragon shifters, sometimes not until they were exposed to their mate, the connection between them calling to the animal lurking inside their souls.
Fallon cocked his head. “I didn’t ask.”
“If it’s setting fires, that can take longer to manifest.” Now Finn dropped forward, propping his elbows on the desk and steepling his fingers as he thought. “She moved suddenly, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Ask her if she moved because she set a fire,” Finn said.
If she did, that meant she’d shown dragon sign while around Fallon, and not the Cole guy who brought her to the attention of the Council. That might be an important detail if the Council had to step in and decide between the two competing males.
Not that it was a guarantee the Council would favor his brother. Or Cole, for that matter. Hell, more often than not these days, women found in the colonies were mated to dragons who lived in the clans, ones higher up at that. A situation that became the main reason Rune Abadonn, once Finn’s best friend and Beta, had betrayed the team…betrayed Finn…and gone rogue.