“It’s okay, guys,” I tell them. “I’ll holler if I need you, so you better come running.”
“Always,” they say as one.
Staten is the last to leave. He turns on his heels and follows his brother out of the same door we entered. When the click of the door sounds, I step behind the couch. My bright green flames encase my body as I peel off my jacket.
“Your dragons can’t question you,” Sean says. “Ever. You give them a command, and it should be followed.” He comes to stand near me but far enough away he won’t get hurt during the transformation. “That was your first free lesson.”
In a matter of seconds, I’m in my dragon form. The room is so large, I easily fit. By the time I’m searching for Sean, he’s in his dragon form, too. He’s big, a bit larger than me. And he’s beautiful: snow-white. Not like my gorgeous boys, but powerful. It’s all encompassing. His scales shine like iridescent pearls. He stalks toward me, but I don’t cower. We’re both leaders.
In this form, his black eyes are so expressive. We aren’t mentally communicating, but I think I know what he wants me to do.
I step forward, closing the distance between us. I hold my head as high as it will go. We’re nose to nose. I’m holding my breath, not sure what his next move will be.
His nostrils flare and then his eyes close as he inhales. It’s not sexual and vastly different from when my boys smell me in this form. He lets my scent wrap around him, and then his stare penetrates into me. I do the same to him. He smells of warm caramel, sweet, so opposite of his demeanor.
“Mr. O’Dell?” I whisper.
He continues to look at me, my wings, my body. Normally, it’d be weird having a forty-year-old dude checking me out, but this is different. He’s not sizing me up for anything. He’s genuinely curious about me. I’ve only ever seen one other Pride Leader: Regan. The night he passed away. We circle each other, letting our tails drag on the floor.
“Brooklyn?”
“Yes!”
His large eye scans my body. My wings twitch from his scrutiny. Now he’s giving me the creep factor. Then his voice in back in my mind. “I will train you, but on one condition, regarding my son and you.”
“Excuse me?” I’m back in my human body and barely sitting on the couch. Because of my raised voice, the double doors crash open, and my boys are running toward me. “Whatever it is, absolutely not!”
They stumble to a halt when they see I’m not in any danger. I may not be, but Sean is. My fists clench at my sides and yet my magic thrums throughout my body, on the ready to strike him.
“What’s going on?” Staten says. He comes to my side and pulls me back deeper into the couch, trying to defuse the situation. Manny takes my hand and sits on the other open seat, leaving McQueen to glare at Sean. “Again, I ask, what are you yelling about?”
“He’ll train me, but he wants something in return that involves his son and me.” I point to the Irish Leader. Staten’s face whitens. Yeah, that’s what I immediately thought, too. And I was just thinking that it’s not icky that a forty-year-old was looking at me.
“It’s not what you guys are thinking. I don’t want her to marry me,” Sean says. “But I want an alliance with the New York Pride, and to do that, she must take Declan as her second. He is my son, and it’d be a good match.”
It doesn’t take long for my protectors to pick up on the key word: match.
“No way!” Manny stands. “Absolutely not.”
“It’s not done that way in New York,” Staten says.
“She’s the PL; she can do what she wants,” Sean says.
“That may be,” I say. “But I’m not marrying your son. I’ll offer him the position as my second, but that’s all.”
“Then we don’t have a deal.” He gracefully stands and turns.
Boroughs, I can’t let him walk away. What about my boys? I won’t give them up. I won’t share them. I won’t bring someone into our circle. I love them. When I marry, it’ll be for love. Not obligation. Maybe Declan doesn’t even want to marry me.
“It’s not a yes,” I say to Sean’s retreating back. “But I want to discuss this with your Declan.”
“What did you just agree to?” McQueen asks. “Because I thought you said that you’d talk it over with Declan first.”
At least he has the courtesy to have this convo in our minds. “Look, it’s my decision, and I need to learn this. No one else can train me.”
“We can find another PL,” Staten says.
“In this short amount of time? We need to leave no later than tomorrow night, so we can find Bronx.”
“I know why you are doing this,” Manny says. “But I agree with my brothers. We can find another way.”
The conversation halts when Declan walks through the door. He either knows what his father has done, or he hides it well enough. His face is calm, giving nothing away. “I’m to show you to the guest wing.”
My Pride follows him as I grab my duster jacket. I take one more look around the room—a room that has changed my life. I scurry to catch up with the guys. We are led down a hall that’s trimmed in dark wood paneling. Golden picture frames hang on the wall showing landscapes, portraits, and animals.
Declan stops before a door. “This is for the guys.” He spins and across the hall is another room. “Brooklyn, you can stay here.” No one makes a move to enter either room. I know my protectors will stay with me, but I do need a moment with the PL’s son. Alone.
“Declan? Could I have a word with you?” I lean my head around him to address the boys. “I’ll be okay and will come get you when we’re done.”
They nod and open the door to their assigned room.
Declan ushers me inside my bedroom but does not close the door. He leaves that choice to me. Instead, he goes and stands next to the balcony and opens the sliding doors.
I lean against the railing, looking out over the property. It has to be well after midnight. It’s quiet, and even the bugs are asleep. Something I should be. “I assume that you know the conditions?” I ask. He nods. “While I will do almost anything for my Pride, I can’t—won’t—marry you.”
“I know.” He keeps his gaze outward. “It’s rare that dragons find that bond. Even more so with a female since you’re the first in modern times. I see the way you look at them and how they look at you, even got to witness them protecting you from us. I know what my father wants us to become, but losing them will break you. I see the fire in your eyes, the burn in your heart, and I want that for me someday. Would you be able to give that to me?” He shrugs. “Maybe, but I doubt it. Isn’t there a fourth?”
“Yes, but we think the Slayers have him and are holding him hostage to get me to come out of hiding.”
He turns to face me. “They know about you?”
“Yeah. I outed myself in hopes to negotiate with the Slayers Council to grant the dragons land. While I didn’t turn full on dragon, I changed my skin. I showed my parents, too, and they support me. Us.”
“The Bryers of New York. Powerful couple, your folks. And the Council kidnapped your fourth?”
“Right before we came here. Bronx was supposed to meet us at the Eye but never showed.”
“This world is going to a shitty mess. How the hell did we get roped into all of this? If you refuse both conditions, he’ll know.” I know he means his father. “So we’ll have to get him to agree to you publicly naming me as your second, agreeing to marry me, but only after you get your fourth back. We’ll only marry after we stop the Slayers and after a certain amount of time. I don’t know about you, but I’m only twenty years old. I’d like to experience life. Love. Living.”
“We could call off the engagement later.” He nods. “Say when we’re twenty-five.”
“No matter what happens, we can’t actually marry. Divorce isn’t an option. Marriage to a dragon is for life. A unique bond happens. The only way to break it is by death.”
“I already have a life bond with Bronx, so how wou
ld the marriage bond work?”
He shrugs. “Not sure. It doesn’t happen often outside of marriage.” He takes my hand. It’s warm and nice but different than what I’m used to. “Are you bonded to the others, too?”
I shake my head as I look at our entwined fingers. “Well, I do have a magic bond with Staten.”
“That’s okay. We can deal with that.”
“So, you really are okay with not marrying me and going along with a lie?”
“Yeah.”
I gently pull my hands out of his. “Why?”
“Do you want to marry me?” He leans against the banister.
“Like today? No. But I want to be married someday.”
“How would that work with your four guys?”
I’ll stay single and live with them in the same place. We can have a room for ourselves so I can have space to still call my own.
“Look,” Declan says. “I don’t know you. We just met today. This isn’t old Ireland, and we don’t have arranged marriages anymore. The choice should be mine. Yours. Ours. And if we’re not meant to be, I don’t want to force you or trap you in a loveless marriage. I know that you’ll never love me the same way you do your protectors. I don’t want to be someone’s backup plan any more than you do.”
And that’s how I know Declan will be an awesome and loving husband to some lucky girl, but that girl won’t be me.
Declan leaves after that speech. I scamper across the hall and knock on the door. It immediately opens. Staten is pacing the room. I’ve never seen him out of sorts before. He’s usually calm. Manny sits on the bed, holding his head. He looks shaken. And McQueen still radiates anger with his crossed arms and frown. I sidestep him to get farther into the room. He kicks the door closed.
No one says anything, but they stare at me and watch as I sit next to Manny. Staten leans against the wall, finally stopping his pacing. McQueen opts to take the same stance, just closer to us.
“Declan doesn’t want to marry me either, but he will go along with the sham to please his father.” I don’t look at any of them. “I will name him as my second. We’ll find Bronx and figure out what the Slayers are doing. Then we’ll announce the engagement between our Prides but won’t specify a date. That is the arrangement I have with Declan. If Sean doesn’t accept it, then we find another PL after we get Bronx back. We’ll muddle through me being the leader. If that means we call a gathering of the Pride, so be it.”
I meet everyone’s gaze. My magic opens, so I can know how they feel about what I just told them. I need them to be okay with it.
Their magic bursts in flares, which I can only assume means they’re angry and trying to rein in their emotions.
Staten is the first to break. “If that’s what you want, I’ll support your decision.” He nods at me.
“I don’t like it one bit, but I think you know that’s what we’d all say,” Manny says. “It’s a compromise without losing yourself. It’s the best you can offer, and I need to be okay with that.”
McQueen huffs. “I’ll never be okay with watching you and Declan, whatever your relationship will be. I’d prefer it to be one of us to be your second, but it’s what’s needed for now. You’re the PL, so I will support you. But if he ever hurts you, I hope you know that we will kill him. Your second or not.”
“I know you all will. But I can handle Declan, his father and whatever blowback I get from this,” I say. “I’m making this decision as PL. You don’t have to like it. Heck, I don’t really like it. But it’s what will happen because we need Sean. Just don’t tell Bronx yet. I think it needs to come from me. Besides, he needs to focus on himself, not on this.” I yawn. “Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day of training for me, and we’re flying home.”
WHEN I WAKE IN THE morning, two different arms drape across my belly—my protectors, even in my sleep. Manny’s on my right, and McQueen is on my left. I don’t need to open my eyes to know that. But Staten’s presence isn’t felt. That’s what causes me to rise.
He’s awake, sitting in a chair just outside the patio door. He turns to look at me, smiling.
Carefully, I wiggle my way out from under the blankets and limbs. Yanking my shirt down to cover myself, I pad over to him. “Good morning,” I whisper.
He holds out his hand. I take it and sit on his lap. Of the four boys, he’s the most cautious with giving me his whole heart. We’ve been together only that one time, but I still feel close to him. I think he’s the most like me, or perhaps it’s because he understands me the best.
“How did you sleep?” he asks.
“Like the dead. No visions, no normal dreams. Just sleep.”
“You’re welcome.”
I shift to look into his hazel eyes. “You did that?”
He shrugs. “I figured you needed a peaceful rest.”
“You’ll need to teach me that.”
“I don’t think there is much that I really need to teach you at all. You know it already.” He pokes my chest. “It’s all in here. You are the one putting limitations on it. You don’t think you can do it, or you’re not believing it can be done.”
I kiss him on the cheek, not wanting to share my morning breath. “I’m sure there’s plenty of things I still need to learn from you.” I lean my head into the crook of his neck. We sit there and watch the sunrise. “What do you really think of Sean and his son?” I ask.
“Sean is a well-respected leader. While he might seem harsh, we don’t hear too much grumbling from his Pride members. Not that they would in front of anyone, but I think we’d know if he treats them poorly.”
“Are there some who do?”
He nods. “You’ll figure them out. We don’t have many dealings with those Prides. PLs can rule how they want. There have been a couple of times where other PLs have stepped in to address items, but for the most part, we leave each other to do our own thing.” Staten kisses my forehead. “As for Declan, I knew who he was the minute he changed into his human form. He’s the spitting image of his dad, except for the hair color. And I knew him to be around our age.”
“What do you know of him?” I lift my head. The snores we hear coming from McQueen make me giggle.
Staten chuckles, too. “I know what you’re asking. From what you’ve told us, he seems to be a good guy. It shows a lot of his character. I think if you did end up marrying him, he’d do well by you.”
“Doesn’t matter in the end because I refuse to marry him. I’m eighteen years old; I don’t need to marry any one right now. Let alone a stranger. Plus, I kinda thought it’d be one of you guys who I marry. Declan guessed that we’re more to each other and pointed out that I couldn’t be married to only one of you then. Since Bronx and I are life bonded, Declan didn’t know how the marriage bond would work.”
“The marriage bond trumps the life bond. It wouldn’t null it completely. The terms of both still hold. Bronx’s life is tied to yours. The marriage bond goes deeper than that. You’ll share a life force, too, but more. It’s hard to explain.”
“But marriage bonds can be broken? By death?” I think of his birth mom who died, and his dad remarried McQueen’s mom.
He shakes his head. “Mom was never bonded to Dad, only in the human sense was she married to him.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. There are many days when I miss her. But I have you now in my life. Not that I think of you as my mother, but it’s nice having a female who cares about me in my life. I didn’t think I’d ever have it after she died. My stepmom, Eliza, is great and all, but it’s not the same.”
“Staten.” I turn his head to face mine. “Not only do I care about you, but I love you. You and your brothers mean the world to me. Everything I am is because of you. I’d give you anything you ask of me. I gave you my heart a long time ago. I thought you knew that.”
“I do know. But it’s nice to finally hear you say it.” He leans in and kisses me.
Morning breath, be damned. We’ve be
en sitting here for the past fifteen minutes, and he hasn’t told me to brush my teeth. I kiss him back with everything I have, pouring my heart into the kiss. His arms snake around my waist, pulling me closer. He deepens the kiss with a brush of his tongue. I open and let him in. My fingers run through his silky hair. All thoughts of marriages and my new second in command vanish.
It’s just this. Us, out here.
He lifts me to straddle him in the chair as his hands roam under my shirt. I tug his off completely, needing to feel his smooth skin. His lips trail kisses down my neck. A small moan escapes me. Staten’s fingers grip my thighs.
I can feel his magic humming beneath his skin. He’s losing control. It’s coaxing mine out, too. I try to smash that down. We can’t lose ourselves. His brothers are just in the next room. Neither of us comment about it, nor at this moment do we care.
Bright green magic rushes out of me.
Staten breaks contact, then sees the light and smiles.
I’m hot. My body is heating up, and it’s not from the heavy make-out session. Well, part of it probably is. This is something more, though. Staten turns my hand over and drops his eyes to my palm. I follow his gaze.
There, hovering is a green and white flame, swirling around and pulsing. I’ve never seen anything like it before. “What is it?” I ask.
“It’s part of your soul.”
Did I just call part of me to bond with Staten? Is that how Bronx did it? Without further questions or hesitation, I cup the flame and lower my hand to Staten’s bare chest. I force the flame into him. He shoots forward, wrapping his arms around me so I don’t fall from his lap.
“You didn’t have to life bond with me,” he says. “We already have the magic bond.”
“I guess I should have asked you first.”
“I would have said yes. Anything in my power is yours. I will protect you until our deaths.”
Oh, man. This just got heavy. I don’t regret bonding with him, but it weighs on my heart knowing that now his life force is locked with mine. I don’t need to ask the question floating in my mind. After I thought it, I answered it myself. Since we’re bonded, if one of us dies, we all die.
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