“Not well enough,” his mother said. “If you had been, you would have known better than to make that comment in the first place.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said sheepishly, squeezing Emily’s hand as she sat down in the chair beside him. She leaned over and kissed him softly on the cheek again.
Dinner was pleasant enough. The food was as delicious as when they were children. It was always a treat to come over for a home-cooked meal from their mother. Though Emily cooked quite well despite her claims to the contrary, and did it often for both Connor and Owen, it was never the same as the food he had grown up with. Afterward, they retired to the living room to relax and let the large meal settle before returning home.
For Connor, the air loomed heavy with the secret they were keeping from her. He still believed it was best to tell her, but would honor Owen’s wishes to keep it to himself. He had told Emily the same on the way over, so she knew not to mention it either. Still, it just didn’t feel right to him. Apparently, they weren’t the only ones with news, however.
“So, I have to tell you boys and Emily something,” Agatha began.
“Oh?” Owen replied, looking at her with a single arched eyebrow.
“Yes. I’ve been invited to stay in Barcelona for six months with a friend.”
“A friend?” Owen repeated.
“A man,” she specified.
“A man?” Owen repeated again.
“Are you a parrot, son? Yes, a man,” she said in an exasperated tone.
“Who is he?” Owen asked, obviously not approving, but of course she had known he wouldn’t.
“I’ve been seeing him for three months while he has been here visiting, and now he’s invited me back to spend some time in Spain. I was thinking I might accept.”
“I don’t know. How well do you know this man?” Owen said.
“Well enough,” his mother replied, obviously not happy about his reaction.
“I think it’s fantastic,” Connor interjected. Emily nodded in agreement.
“I think so, too,” Agatha replied, still looking at Owen with some concern.
“I’m sorry, Mom. Of course, it’s great. You will enjoy the travels. When would you leave?” Owen asked, knowing that his mother was a grown woman and should be happy without his interference.
“The beginning of next week if I fly out with him. Otherwise, I could join him later.”
“Why wait? It would be much more enjoyable to travel with someone than alone,” Connor said, glancing in Owen’s direction. There was no doubt that they were on the same wavelength, knowing that it would be best for her to be off enjoying herself during this time, far away from what would be going on with them.
“Owen? You are okay with it, too? You’re sure?”
“Yes, Mom. You know I’m just overprotective. Of course, you should go.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. I think it will be a grand trip.”
“I’m sure it will, Mom,” Owen said.
The conversation drifted toward her trip and what she planned to see and do. Before they knew it, the hour was getting late, and there was an early morning ahead for at least Owen and Connor to begin training. They all said their goodbyes, Owen leaving to return home. Emily and Connor decided to take a drive toward the coast near St. John’s castle. They sat in sight of the castle as they looked out over the water below.
“So, tell me what’s wrong,” Connor asked finally. He had given her ample time to come out with it and she hadn’t, but he could tell something was still on her mind.
“I don’t want to,” Emily replied, sounding nervous.
“You said you would talk to me after dinner,” he reminded her.
“I know…and I will. I just don’t want to,” she retorted.
“Okay. Reluctance duly noted. Now, tell me what is up with you?”
“I had a visitor at the house this afternoon.”
“Oh? Who?”
“Aiden,” she replied, looking at him as if to try and read his immediate thoughts, but she only had a moment to do so.
Connor was up from where he sat on the soft grass surrounding the castle like a shot, seeing red. Obviously, she had known he would be upset, and that was why she hadn’t wanted to tell him. How could she not have told him this immediately? He reminded himself that it wasn’t her fault and not to be angry with her. She had just not wanted him to overreact and do something foolish, which was precisely what he was on the verge of doing, and he didn’t even know the whole story yet!
“What did he want?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“He asked me to go to a formal dinner with him as his date,” she replied, her eyes cast downward, unable to look at him.
“And what did you tell him?” he demanded.
“I told him that I was seeing someone and couldn’t accept his offer, of course.”
She was finally looking back up again, a bit of anger on her own face at having him question whether she would have declined the invitation or not, but he wasn’t ready to let it go quite yet. Aiden was too bold and too sure of himself. He wouldn’t have accepted her rejection so easily.
“And?” he encouraged, not sure what he might hear next.
“He asked if it was you, having seen us together on several occasions.”
“That’s ridiculous. This is a small village. Everyone knows we are together.”
“He acted as if he didn’t, but you’re probably right,” she replied, looking at the ground again.
Connor noted how tense she looked, how her shoulders slumped and her hands trembled even as she began to wring them against one another in her lap anxiously.
“Did he leave after that?” he asked, cautioning himself to remain calm.
“Um, no. N-not exactly,” she stammered.
“What does that mean, Emily?” he replied, feeling his anger flood over him despite admonishments to himself not to let it get out of control.
“He said that he had no untoward intentions toward me, that he just needed someone to go with him, and he was sure you wouldn’t mind,” she said quietly.
“Oh, of course not. Why would I mind the woman I love going to some event with the man that killed my father?” Connor said angrily.
“I know, Connor. I didn’t say I would go. I would never…” she began, but he cut her off with his own outburst.
“I’m going to kill him!” Connor barked.
“No, Connor. Let it be. Owen will take care of him when the time comes.”
“This is quickly becoming a very different battle, Emily,” he growled.
“There is no reason for you to battle him,” Emily told him in her most calming tone, but it wasn’t working on him this time. Aiden had crossed the line.
“There is every reason, Emily! Do you really think I can stand by and let Owen go at him alone? Not only did he kill our father with no remorse, but now he is trying to make a move on the woman I love. The man truly has no shame. My God!”
“Connor, you know that there is no other man on the planet for me but you,” Emily consoled. “What Aiden says or does at this point is of no consequence. I shouldn’t have even told you about it. I knew you would behave this way,” she said angrily.
“That changes nothing, and you know it. The only thing worse than him hitting on you is you thinking that I didn’t need to know about it. Do you know how upset I would have been if you hadn’t told me?” he said, trying not to yell.
“It doesn’t change the fact that he hit on me, but it means nothing when you know how much I love you. It’s not as if he can make me go with him, no matter what he tries,” she pointed out.
“What did he try?” Connor asked, the comment redirecting his curiosity to what had actually taken place during Aiden’s visit. What had she left out to protect him?
“He just said that if I didn’t go, he could make things difficult for all of us. You, me, Owen, our families,” she finally admitted, her anxiety obviously increasing as she waited for h
im to explode.
“That’s it. He’s crossed a line, Emily. It’s bad enough that he’s a murderer, but to have the audacity to come after our family again in even the slightest way is just beyond comprehension. The man doesn’t understand that he can’t just do whatever he likes to people and think it is okay. How can you think I could just turn the other cheek about this?” Connor barked at her.
“Just let it go. Stay focused on Owen and getting him ready for what he has planned. Please, Connor. I’m begging you not to do anything,” she pleaded.
“I can’t make you a promise that I will do that if he doesn’t back down,” Connor said, trying to get himself under control rather than upsetting her further.
“I shouldn’t have told you,” she said again.
“What? Of course, you should have. We don’t keep secrets,” he said, his voice returned to at least a halfway-even tone.
“Still, you’re upset, and I worry you’ll do something foolish,” Emily said.
“It’s like dealing with a bully on the school playground. He’s bigger than you, he’s meaner than you, and you’re pretty sure that you can’t take him down. You want to just jump in and do whatever you can to him, at least hurt him. It’s frustrating.”
“I know it is, but you have to remember that he’s worse than a school bully,” Emily replied. “Bullies are content to just spread their misery to those around them. Aiden is a cold-blooded killer. We only know about the woman and two of the shifters he has killed. There could very well be others.”
“I’m not scared of Aiden,” he said flatly, his teeth clenched.
“I know you aren’t, and that is the problem. Please just keep calm and do this the right way. Be ready for him. I’m no fool, Connor. I know you aren’t about to let Owen go up against him alone if he gets into trouble during the fight. I know that you intend to be ready to jump in. I’ve resigned myself to it. I’m just asking that you at least make sure you are both prepared for it the best you can be.”
“We will be, Emily,” Connor said. “We will be, but if he does anything before then, if he comes after one of us, there will be no holding back. I won’t stand by and let him hurt you or anyone else,” he told her.
“I know. Just try to keep calm as best you can,” she told him, getting up and pulling him close to her into a hug. Connor wasn’t soothed by her touch as he usually was. His entire body was tense with the anger that threatened to take over. He pulled away and took her hand to lead her away from the castle grounds.
“Come on, let me get you back home. I need to get to bed early so Owen and I can get an early start in the morning. I’ll call you before I go to sleep to say goodnight,” he said, his voice almost a monotone.
“Okay. Promise you aren’t going to do anything reckless?” she said, looking up at him with eyes reflecting her fears.
“I won’t,” he said simply, stopping for a moment to kiss her on the forehead.
“Promise me, Connor,” she implored.
“I promise,” he said reluctantly.
Leaning in, he punctuated his promise with another kiss before pulling away to brush a strand of hair away from her perfect, porcelain face. It might be the one promise he broke in their lifetime, but if it made her feel safer that he said it, he would just have to hope she could forgive him when the time came. His thoughts remained troubled as he took her home and then made his way back to the cabin he shared with Owen.
“I’m going to rip him apart,” Owen said angrily after Connor told him what had happened.
“Not if I do it first,” Connor replied.
“Connor, you can’t. Let me deal with this, brother.”
“I don’t know if I can, Owen. It was personal enough when it was a matter of his having killed our father, but he doesn’t know when to quit. How dare he add insult to injury by propositioning Emily when he clearly knows she is with me? Who does he think he is to threaten her and everyone around her?”
“You’re right,” Owen said. “I just want to be ready. Little is to be gained by launching an attack against someone so powerful without preparation.”
“I know. I know. It’s just damned frustrating. If I see him, Owen – if I see him out and about…I don’t know if I can hold myself back.”
“I know how you feel, brother.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Connor glanced at his watch. It was nearly ten p.m. Who was visiting so late in the day? Walking over to the door, he opened it to find none other than Aiden standing on the other side. He immediately felt angry again, despite his attempts to get it under control.
“Connor! Great to see you again, brother! Is Owen at home? I’d like to have a word with the both of you,” Aiden said cheerfully, as if nothing was amiss.
Owen appeared in the doorway beside Connor, looking at Aiden with narrowed, distrustful eyes. He pushed past Connor, stepping outside rather than inviting their visitor in and putting him in too close quarters with the already agitated pair. Nothing good could come of being trapped in the cabin with him in human form, unable to shift, and possibly losing their cool. It might give them a better fighting chance against him, but would do them little good to win a fight and then be put to death for their actions.
“What do you want, Aiden?” he said dryly.
“Well, that doesn’t sound very hospitable,” Aiden replied with a furrowed brow, feigning surprise at not receiving a warm welcome. No doubt, he would have known Emily would tell Connor about his visit to her aunt’s house.
“It’s not,” Connor added, stepping outside to stand beside Owen. They faced the fierce-looking dragon leader, wondering what he was thinking in coming here. What did he have up his sleeve now?
“I see. I hate to hear that I’m not welcome in the homes of those I serve,” Aiden said darkly.
“You serve no one but yourself,” Connor replied hatefully.
“Where is all this coming from? What could I possibly have done to gain such ire from the two of you?” Aiden asked, still feigning some sort of innocence.
“You don’t think that visiting someone’s girlfriend and hitting on her, then threatening her when she declines, is reason enough for our disdain toward you?” Connor growled.
“Oh, that,” Aiden said with a chuckle that made Connor want to shift and tear out his throat right then and there. Owen instinctively reached out and placed a hand on Connor’s chest as he took a step forward without having even realized it.
“Yes, that,” Connor replied, glancing sideways at Owen, who was watching both of them closely.
“Listen that is what I came here for. I just need a companion to accompany me to the Grand Ball held for dragon leaders. It is nothing untoward. Since Emily is still fairly new to our village, I thought she would be the ideal person to go with me. She’ll be a breath of fresh air in a sea of old dragons.”
“Including you,” Owen said dryly.
“Perhaps. I am a good deal older, granted, but it’s perfectly innocent. I came here to ask your permission to take her with me so she will feel more comfortable in accepting my invitation. I’m not sure why it would be an issue for you, really,” he said in a sickening, overly-friendly way.
“The lady told you no, and that is the only answer you’ll hear repeated here,” Connor told him with a menacing scowl.
“I hate to hear that. It leaves me no alternative but to force the issue, and that’s just not something I wanted to do.”
“Force the issue? What do you mean by that?” Owen asked.
“If you won’t allow her to come with me, I’ll have to take more drastic measures,” Aiden said.
“Knock yourself out,” Connor replied, his body heating up, on the verge of shifting. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over at Owen, who was shaking his head.
“That sounded very much like a threat,” Aiden countered angrily.
“Take it as you’d like,” Connor told him, retaining his human form but not backing down.
This time, Owen wasn’t quick enough to reach out and stop him, he charged forward and shoved Aiden backwards, catching him off guard, but Aiden didn’t shift. He merely regained his composure and stepped back toward Connor, getting right into his face as he threatened him.
“How dare you lay hands on me? I am the dragon leader of this clan, and I came here as a courtesy to you, not because I had to do so. You’ve shown me nothing but disrespect and hostility. I can’t even fathom where it has come from. Perhaps it has something to do with my missing colleague, Mr. Donnelly,” he said, his face a twisted mask of evil.
“You son of a bitch!” Connor spat back at him, going for him again, this time clocking him on the chin with a wide left hook. Still, Aiden refused to shift, to fight a battle between dragons.
“I hope you enjoyed that sucker punch, McCord. You will pay dearly for it. And while you are cooling your heels in the cells, awaiting your punishment, I will be visiting that sweet little piece of eye candy of yours without you there to interfere,” he smirked.
“The hell you will,” Owen growled, stepping between Aiden and Connor threateningly.
“Oh, big brother to the rescue?” Aiden mocked. “You should have stayed out of it, Owen. Now, I am afraid you will both have to pay the price for your insolence,” he said with a huge fake smile.
“Leave while you still can,” Owen told him.
There was no doubt Owen could feel the heat of Connor’s body behind him as Connor’s core fired up, getting ready to shift at any moment. He was doing his best to contain the situation, but it was only getting worse by the moment.
“Your threats only amuse me,” Aiden replied. “I would think that the two of you would know better than anyone not to cross me. I will see the two of you in front of the Council in the morning. After I’m done with you there, I’ll revisit the issue of Emily accompanying me to the event. She is a lovely girl, isn’t she, Connor?” he asked before turning to leave.
Connor felt the loss of control sweep over him. It was akin to a fire sweeping through a sage field, intense and unstoppable. He felt himself shifting, no matter what the cost. Of course, Owen wasn’t about to let him go at Aiden alone. Ready or not, they were about to do this. There was no planning when dealing with someone like Aiden, but much to their surprise, Aiden still didn’t shift. He turned back and stood steady, looking at the both of them, still in human form.
Betrayed by a Dragon: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Exiled Dragons Book 1) Page 9