by Abigail Owen
Delaney’s chin went up. “Yes.”
Brand’s eyebrows twitched as he shifted his gaze back to Finn. “So, the rumors are true.”
“I wouldn’t know what you’ve heard.” Finn walked by, careful not to bump Delaney’s feet as he shouldered past them. “Titus?”
Finn didn’t have to say more. Fallon was their healer, but with him gone, Titus had stepped into the role as much as he could. His footsteps hurried away, and Finn had every confidence the man was getting the first aid kit.
Brand stalked after him as he made his way to the kitchen. “Isn’t harboring a human against the rules?”
Finn, his back to the man, sighed. He really didn’t need this shit, but a rogue sent by his king was nothing to dismiss. Delaney must’ve caught his irritation because she poked him in the ribs. He glanced down as he gently placed her on the countertop of the island.
“Cooperate,” she mouthed, though a smidge of amusement shone in her eyes.
She scooted back so her legs were straight, her poor feet sticking out over the end to keep the burns from touching anything.
“You’ve been listening to the wrong rumors then,” Finn said.
Titus showed up at his side and hooked a stool to sit in front of Delaney’s feet, getting started on cleaning the wounds and applying salves and bandages.
“I’ve heard that this woman has some unusual fires happening around her.”
Fuck. “Did Rune Abadonn tell you that?”
“No.”
“Then where’d you hear it?”
Silence.
Unable to help Titus in the process, Finn turned and leaned a hip against the counter, arms crossed. “She’s a dragon mate.”
Again, no reaction. “One you haven’t informed the Alliance of?”
Suspicious ass. “She was kidnapped. We had to get her back first.”
Brand cocked his head. “Who took her?”
“The dragon who is after her. Black dragon named Graff Hughes, a rogue.” He looked pointedly at Brand’s hand, which was missing the mark of his king.
Brand didn’t move, but his eyes flickered with recognition. Barely a blink, but Finn caught it. Brand knew something.
“Why’d he take her?”
“He’s been stalking her. He thinks he’s her mate because he found her.”
“That’s often a key sign, or so I’ve heard.” Brand leaned back against the kitchen table, seemingly at ease. Finn wasn’t fooled. The man, even relaxed, was dangerous.
“I know.” One of the other men at his own mating had found Phoebe, a fact which still dragged at his conscience. What if he’d been her destined mate, and Finn had stolen that from him? “Delaney’s sure he’s not it, and you know what would happen if he tries to mate her while she believes that.”
“Does the man’s mark show on her neck?” Brand crossed around the island to stand behind Delaney.
But when he reached for her hair, she snatched it away, turning to glare at him. “I didn’t give you permission to touch me.”
Lips twitched, as if he was amused with a small cat hissing at him. He glanced at Finn. “Have you not explained everything to her?”
“Her is sitting right here,” Delaney snapped.
If anything, Brand appeared more amused, not that he actually smiled.
“I apologize,” Brand finally said, not that he looked it. “Have they explained everything to you?”
“Yes.” No give from the woman on the counter.
Brand’s mouth tightened. “May I check your neck?”
Delaney rolled her eyes. “No.”
“You won’t find anything,” Finn said.
Those gold eyes sharpened on him. “What do you mean?”
“Her neck shows no signs.”
“Then she’s not a dragon mate.” Brand went to move away from her. “I suggest you get rid of her before the Alliance finds out.”
As if Finn didn’t know that. “She lit on fire in front of me.”
Of the various dragon signs a female could show, that was the most indisputable. Brand paused. “You witnessed it first hand?”
“Yes.”
“Anyone else?”
“Um, over here.” Delaney raised her hand. Her tone, which clearly said she considered the massive, dangerous gold dragon shifter a dimwit, had Finn coughing to cover another laugh.
“Just the two of us,” he confirmed when Brand merely stared at him, ignoring Delaney.
“That puts this in a different light.” Brand ran a hand over the scruff covering his jaw, considering both of them. “What I’m looking for has to do with a fire creature and something unusual.”
“Unusual how?”
Brand shrugged, not sharing. “I’ll know it when I find it, and when I do, I have orders to bring the creature to your king.”
Fuck. This just got a thousand times worse. Again, the urge to snatch up Delaney and fly her far away from here shook Finn.
“Wow.” Delaney filled one single word with disdain until it dripped with it. “I really hope you don’t mean me, because I’m really unimpressed with dragon shifter attitudes.”
She flicked a glance Finn’s way, and he had no doubt she was mentally heaping his own sins against her onto that list. “With this track record, I’m debating if I even want to be a dragon mate or involved with dragons at all.”
She hissed and jerked her foot.
“Sorry,” Titus mumbled.
Looking at the shifter helping her, Delaney’s face softened. “I guess some of it has been okay.”
Titus lifted his head and winked at her. The man, usually closed off around anyone but the team, and even around them, actually winked. If that wasn’t proof that she was a dragon mate, Finn didn’t know what was. But Brand wasn’t to know that.
“But you,” Delaney glared at Brand. “After you pull your head out of your ass, if you still think I’m going anywhere with you, you can forget it. King or no king.”
Brand flicked him a glance.
Finn didn’t so much as twitch. “I get the impression she doesn’t like you.”
Brand crossed his arms. “How about this… I stick around a while. Maybe you’ll figure out what you are.”
“And if she’s a dragon mate?”
Brand shrugged. “No longer my problem.”
Then it became Finn’s problem, because the Alliance would take her. The rogue didn’t need to say the words, but they hung in the air regardless.
Finn held in a scowl as a knee-jerk reaction of denial spun through him at the thought of her leaving or ending up somewhere else. Maybe far away with one of the clans. No matter how he put it off, her departure was inevitable. He’d better get over this need to keep her. Fast. Because her staying here wasn’t going to happen.
“Is there a place where we can talk privately?” Brand asked, pulling Finn out of his dark musings.
Finn glanced at Delaney, who raised her eyebrows but didn’t protest. Then he clapped a hand on Titus’s shoulder. “You got her?”
He received a nod, then turned to their new, unwanted guest. “This way.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Delaney watched Finn go, trying her best not to feel like he was walking away from her with weird finality. Not that he was rid of her yet, but with Brand’s arrival, he’d shut down that tenuous connection that had formed between them.
Titus finished wrapping up her feet. He glanced up. “I’ve done what I can. Luckily, none of the burns are bad, or very deep. Your feet will be pretty swollen and painful for a while, though.”
Awesome. “Can I walk?”
“Shoes will hurt for a while. Try to stay off them and keep them elevated, but yeah, you can walk.”
Delaney sighed. “Okay. Thanks, Titus.”
He studied her, his gaze speculative. “There is something we could try…”
She lifted her eyebrows and waited.
“Dragon blood has healing elements. We heal fast.”
She glance
d at her bandaged feet. “Would it work on me?”
“If you’re a true dragon mate, it should. But if you’re not…”
“Let me guess. I die.”
Titus grimaced, all the answer she needed.
Dragons were apparently deadly creatures in more than one way. Delaney scooted forward so that her knees could bend, letting her feet dangle, and winced as they started to throb. Did she dare risk it? Finn was pretty sure she was a dragon mate. And honestly, everything fit. The only bizarre thing, apparently, by the reactions of the men around her, was the fact that no brands showed up at the nape of her neck.
With her feet in their current state, if Graff got to her again, she wouldn’t be able to run. I need to be able to run.
But would Finn give the go-ahead? He already felt responsible for his previous almost-mate’s death. Delaney didn’t want to heap onto that. She’d already put him in a tough position.
“I’ll think about it,” she said.
Titus regarded her silently for a moment. “How about this. Fallon is usually our healer because he’s a universal donor.”
“Dragons have that, too?” Who’d have guessed?
Titus nodded. “Let me take your blood and type it and see if one of our group is the same type. That way you know if you even have the option. Okay?”
“Sounds good.” But she’d only take it if she had to. If this pain got worse.
He smiled. Titus had a sweet smile. She liked the soft-spoken dragon. If she admitted it to herself, she liked all of Finn’s team. Rivin and Keighan were nuts, but hilarious. Levi was a big teddy bear. Aidan was fierce, trying to prove himself. Hall and Kanta she had yet to spend much time with, but they’d been kind. Even Drake, despite his frowns, had grown on her.
“Do you think I fit in here, Titus?” she asked.
The big man paused in putting away his medical supplies. “Why do you ask?”
She twitched a shoulder in a shrug. “I like you guys, is all. I feel like I’ve known all of you forever.” Like she’d known Finn forever, and the others came with Finn. Package deal. A brotherhood closer than most families.
Black eyes raised to meet her gaze. “We like you, too…”
Disappointment knotted up in her stomach. “But?”
“But you’ll find the place you truly belong when you find your mate.”
That again. “I guess so.”
He picked her up and carried her into the great room to set her on the couch by Levi, who patted her knee. They helped her prop her miserable feet up on the leather ottoman, a soft pillow underneath to cushion her.
The TV wasn’t on, but all the guys were there. Except Hall and Kanta. Where were they?—
“Oh my God.” Delaney smacked her head. “Sera? I need to call her.”
Her friend would be beside herself. Sick with worry.
“I called and told her we found you,” Aidan assured her.
Thank goodness. Delaney relaxed a little. “I should still call her.” Except she’d lost her phone.
“Finn has your phone.”
She blinked at him. Rivin must be a mind reader.
“Okay. I’ll wait until he comes out.” She glanced at Aidan. “What’d you tell her?” No way could Sera miss a man appearing and then disappearing with Delaney right in front of her face.
Aidan glanced over her shoulder, in the direction of where Finn had disappeared with Brand, then returned his gaze to her. “All of it,” he mouthed.
Oh, jeez. Sera must be wigging out.
“She okay?” Delaney knew why he’d mouthed that. They didn’t need an outsider knowing about another human discovering the team.
He nodded. “But you’re right, you should call her in a bit. When you have more…privacy.”
If she ever got any privacy, damn straight she would. Seeing Sera would be better, but she suspected that was out for the time being.
Titus settled on the ottoman beside her feet. “Hold out your arm.” She did, and he rolled up her sleeve and tied a rubber tourniquet around her bicep.
“What’s this about?” Rivin asked.
“I’m going to see if any of our blood matches hers. Try to heal those feet faster.”
Delaney didn’t miss the exchange of glances.
“Are you sure that’s wise when she’s still human?” Rivin asked.
Titus wiped a cold, wet cloth over the bend in her elbow. “I told her the risk. She’s still thinking about it.”
All gazes swung to her.
“I need to be able to run,” Delaney said. Because Graff might come for her again. One risk outweighed the other.
“Finn agreed to this?” Levi asked.
Titus prepped the syringe. “I’ll ask when I get his blood.”
Delaney winced as he stuck her, then watched dark red blood fill the vial attached to the needle. Titus slipped the needle out and applied pressure with a gauze square before taping it down. “Leave that on for a bit.”
He got up from the ottoman. “How long do you think they’ll be?” she asked, referring to Finn and Brand.
“No telling,” Levi muttered.
She’d never seen these guys this subdued. Must be serious. But was it about her or about the new blue king’s rogue dragon? Probably both. All she’d done was add to Finn’s problems.
She pursed her lips. “I can’t sit here just twiddling my thumbs while we wait. TV?”
“More Christmas romances?” Levi asked.
Delaney grinned. “I won’t torture you guys when you’re being so nice.”
“Football?” Rivin suggested.
Ugh. No thanks. “How about a compromise. Action movie?”
An hour into the movie, Delaney couldn’t have said what it was about if she hadn’t already seen it. She sat on the couch, staring at the screen, her mind a bazillion miles away, except when her feet throbbed, which was about every five minutes. Even the painkillers Titus gave her hadn’t done much to dull the ache.
This was not going to work. She wouldn’t be able to hobble let alone run when they felt this bad. But she kept her thoughts and her pain to herself.
Titus passed in front of the TV to take a seat, but she hardly noticed. Honestly, she hadn’t realized he’d left the room.
“Delaney.”
She jerked around to find Finn standing behind her and winced as her feet protested the movement.
He frowned, then glanced at Brand, who followed him into the room. With a closed expression, he swung his gaze back to her. “Are you in pain?”
If the guys hadn’t all turned when he’d called her name, they would’ve now. She ignored the stares and didn’t say anything. She’d caught the careful note in his voice.
Levi pinched her arm. “You should’ve said something, Peanut.”
“Ow.” She rubbed her arm. “There’s nothing you could do.”
Finn stared at her long and hard, as if assessing the same thing she had been for the last hour. Did her pain outweigh the risk?
“I’ll be fine,” she insisted, tipping up her chin. Because she’d rather deal with this than put Finn through another death, and she got the feeling Brand’s presence was an additional issue.
“Fuck,” he muttered. Or at least she thought that was what he muttered.
Then he pinned her with a look that she took to be significant, in some way lost on her. “Do you need to rest? Would that help?”
The deliberate cadence to his voice in combo with the intent stare was obvious enough that she figured he wanted her answer to be yes. Though she had no idea why.
“Maybe it would help,” she said slowly.
He gave her a subtle thumbs-up where Brand couldn’t see. “Titus, can you help?”
Finn came around and gently hoisted her into his arms. Titus followed as they went upstairs to Finn’s bedroom. “Levi, can you keep our…guest…company?”
“You got it, boss.”
As soon as they left the room, Delaney started. “You want to explain—”
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He held up a finger to her lips. Okay… They needed to be quiet about whatever was happening. With a care she wouldn’t have suspected from such a big, tough man, Finn settled her on the bed. Then he waved at Titus.
Delaney watched in silence as Titus pulled out a syringe similar to the one he’d used to draw blood earlier. Only, this time he drew Finn’s blood.
She glanced between Titus, and Finn, and the blood…and realization dawned. Finn was a match. “No,” she said. Not him. Anyone but him.
They both waved her to hush. But she glared at the two of them, then focused on Finn. “I’m fine,” she whispered.
“No. You’re not.”
She grabbed his shirt and tugged him down to eye level. “I am not putting you through something like this unless I have to.”
Finn took her face in his hands. “If Graff comes for you while you’re hurt, your death would be a hell of a lot worse than by dragon blood, which just sort of puts you to sleep and you never wake up. I don’t like this, and I won’t force you, but no way am I letting you not take this risk because of me. Got it?”
Delaney searched his eyes but saw only conviction in them. “Okay. I guess we’re doing this, then.” Because he was right. If she was going to die, she’d rather go the sleeping beauty route than be burnt alive from the inside out.
“Roll over,” Finn whispered.
Without hesitation, she rolled to her side, carefully arranging her feet so they sort of floated off the end of the pillow propped under them.
Finn lowered his head to hover close to her ear. “Undo your jeans and push them down.”
She did as he asked while struggling with a wave of need at the command. Because she’d love to do this with just them in the room, and for very different reasons.
Good gracious. He’d corrupted her with all that dirty talk. She was a twisted person who needed to get control over her raging hormones. Finn knelt at the edge of the bed, face-to-face with her, and took her hands. Then he nodded at Titus. Like before, Titus disinfected her skin with a cold wipe.
“Are you really sure?” he asked softly.
“Do it,” she said.
She flinched as the needle stabbed deep. Titus depressed the plunger and Finn’s blood was shot into her.