“What? Just tell me.”
“You must hunt and win your female but you must do so after being hobbled.”
“Hobbled?” Dread filled him and he looked at the ground, his mind running a mile a minute. The feeling of dread worsened, not because of the pain and suffering he would endure but because it made his task infinitely more difficult.
“I’m sorry. You should have had more willpower. You should have followed our Lores in the first place. I wish I could change things.”
Tide nodded, he grit his teeth as he looked Torrent in the eye. “Meghan must not know of this.”
Torrent frowned. “You have to tell her. She needs to have all the facts before deciding what she would like to do. You said so yourself. You stand very little chance of succeeding, Tide.”
“I will do what it takes. I will succeed.”
“You will be hobbled. Do you know what that means?”
“Yes, I know exactly what that means. You cannot tell her.” There was a desperate edge to his voice that could not be helped. “She must not know of this because she will never agree otherwise.”
"I don't blame her." Torrent shrugged, his whole demeanor was nonchalant. "If she chooses the hunt and you fail, which, let's face it, you probably will, there won't be any payday for her."
Torrent’s attitude infuriated Tide. Then again, his brother didn’t know Meghan. Not like he did. “That’s not it.” Despite the anger and sheer desperation, he felt, Tide practically whispered the words. “Meghan is a good female. A kind female. Do you know why she needs the money?”
It took a few moments for his brother to finally shake his head. “No.”
“It’s to fund her research. She’s trying to create a vaccination for a human affliction called asthma.”
“Yes, I remember now. She will make millions if she develops a cure.”
“No.” Tide shook his head. “She plans on giving the cure away. She’s doing it to help sufferers. Her sister and nephew are such sufferers. It’s something that’s close to her heart.”
“You will take this away from her if you go ahead. You need to be honest with her or you need to let her go. You cannot win her.”
“That’s where you are wrong. Hobbling is designed to make it difficult for a male to win a female. Difficult, but not impossible.”
“Don’t do this.” Torrent swallowed thickly.
“I ask you this … would you do it for Candy?”
“In a fucking heartbeat, but—”
“You have your answer.” Tide strode from the room. He needed to speak with his female.
“Tide!” his brother shouted, stopping him in his tracks. He didn’t turn. “No rutting between now and then or you forfeit your place in the hunt.”
“Understood.” He barreled his way through the door and kept on going.
Chapter 27
“That’s your well thought out plan?” She laughed some more. “You’ll kick them in the balls?”
“You have no idea how painful it is,” George said. “It doesn’t matter that these shifters are huge. Way stronger. Far more aggressive. None of that matters. They fall just as hard and as fast if their family jewels are broken. No!” He looked her in the eyes. “I will use my knees, my feet. Do whatever I need to do to ensure that Ice gets to me first.”
“I’ve never seen you like this. Whatever happened to being footloose and fancy-free?”
“I met the right guy.” George fake-swooned. He even clutched his chest and everything. “I’m so in love. So far gone, you have no idea.”
Meghan didn't answer. Instead, she chewed on her bottom lip.
“What about you, what’s going on with Tide? Do you have feelings for him now that the two of you have spent some time together ‒ and by time, I mean had sex, lots of sex?”
Meghan fiddled with a button on her blouse. She didn’t want to answer. “That’s not something I want to talk about right now.”
“Come on. You can tell me. Talking will make you feel better. Look, I know you’re not the type to fool around. I also know you’re not the type to fall in love easily. In fact, I don’t think you’ve ever really ever been in love. Until now that is.”
“You think I’m in love?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“I don’t know, I’m too afraid to let myself fall. Not for a guy like Tide. I’m afraid of being hurt.”
George nodded. “I can understand that, because—”
There was a knock at the door and Tide stuck his head around the jamb. “Can I borrow you for a few minutes?” He had a pleading look in his eyes.
“Sure.” They did need to talk and it wasn’t like she was getting much work done obsessing about him and trying to analyze what it all meant. She needed to ask him straight out.
“Hi, George,” Tide said.
George waved. “Hi, Tide. We were just talking about you.”
“Oh yes? All good I hope?” He smiled and out popped his dimples. She loved those damned dimples.
“Definitely,” George chuckled.
“I believe you and Ice are an item?”
George grinned so broadly it lit up his entire face. “Yes, but it’s not official yet.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll win you. He’s a strong male.”
George nodded, looking quite sedate for once. “I’m sure he will. And yes, he’s very strong, it’s one of the many things I love about him.”
Meghan walked over to Tide and they left together. They walked in silence. “Where are we going?” They were heading in the opposite direction to their apartments.
“Here we are.” Tide opened a door and waited for her to enter. “It’s my office.”
It was large and very similar to Torrent’s. There was a sitting area on one side and a desk on the other. The only thing it was missing was the big conference table. Instead, it had a small round table that could seat six people.
“Let’s go through here.” He gestured to the sitting area.
“You’re being so formal. Should I be worried?” Meghan folded her arms. She could feel herself frown.
“So, you’re not in love with me?” He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair which was a little overgrown and a lot mussed. His jaw was covered in stubble. In short, he was sexy as anything. She had a feeling he’d look good covered in mud, wearing a sack.
Then his question registered and her eyes widened. “In l-love … um …”
He half-smiled, rubbed a hand over his jaw, stubble catching. “I overheard the last part of your conversation with George. I’m sorry, it wasn’t on purpose.”
“Well then you heard the part about me being afraid too.”
“Yes, I did and you have nothing to be afraid about.” He closed the distance between them and took her hands in his.
“You were acting so weird this morning. I didn’t know what to make of it and I guess I was too afraid to ask.”
“You have nothing to be afraid of because I am completely, totally and utterly in love with you, Meghan. I couldn’t be more in love if I tried.”
“Oh.” She struggled to breathe. Her heart pounded inside her chest. “I believed you may have felt that way because of my ovulation cycle. I wasn’t sure if you would still feel the same way once I—”
“You were wrong.” He cupped her cheek.
“Good, I’m glad. You hardly looked at me this morning.” Why was she harping on about that? Maybe because her nerves were getting the better of her and in a big way. “I mean, it wasn’t the same between us. It suddenly felt so stilted and formal.”
Tide let go of her cheek. His eyes clouded. “I needed to speak with Torrent. I was focused. You said that you were afraid, well, so was I. I still am.” He let go of her and scrubbed a hand over his face.
He looked completely out of sorts. “It didn’t go well, did it?” There was a timid edge to her voice.
His eyes lifted to meet hers. “We have this age-old tradition. It’s called the hunt.” He huffed
out a breath just as Meghan gasped. His eyes narrowed. “You know of it?”
“Yes, I do. George explained hunt basics to me. He told me all about it because Ice is going to be expected to hunt him next week.” She narrowed her eyes. “Are you telling me that …?” She let the sentence die as his eyes clouded.
Tide nodded. “I have to hunt you. I have to win you before I can keep you.”
Meghan nodded. “What happens if you don’t win me? What happens if—”
“I will.”
“How can you say that? There are hundreds of unmated guys in the dragon lands. Hundreds, Tide.” Her voice was shrill. “This can’t be happening.”
“Hey.” He put an arm around her and pulled her close. “We’ve spoken about this. You need to have faith. Most of those males are silver. I am gold. I will win you. I will.” It sounded like he was trying to convince himself. Tide let her go and made a groaning noise. “You don’t have to do it. I would understand if you didn’t. It would fucking kill me if you didn’t, but the thing is …” His gaze drifted to the other side of the room before coming back to her. “If you decide to join the hunt, and I don’t win you, you will need to spend time with whomever …”
Anger coursed through her. “How many times do I need to tell you that I’m not interested in some other guy. I wouldn’t—”
“I know that. You would still need to spend the allotted two weeks with him before you could return home.”
“Home?” She frowned. “I wouldn’t want to go home.”
“That’s the thing. It doesn’t matter. You would have to go home. You would be forced to. If it happens that way, you would forfeit being paid out the rest of your contract. If you join the hunt, it would be a choice.”
Meghan nodded. “What if I chose not to take part at all?” She was almost too afraid to hear his answer.
Tide took a few moments before speaking. “You will be sent home. You will be paid out in full and will be able to pursue your dream of finding a cure for asthma.”
“What would happen between now and the hunt? Do I get to continue my work? I have immunotherapy sessions scheduled. I can’t just be replaced.”
"Yes, it would be business as usual." He paused, pulling in a breath. "Blaze and Torrent have already begun working on a replacement for you."
“It would be too late for Candy and Sky, for their babies.”
“There will be more children born. It would put a hold on things but …”
She felt her lip quiver. The question that had been at the forefront of her mind was on her tongue. “If I end up getting sent home, what would happen to us?” Meghan bit down on her lip and blinked a couple of times, holding back her well of emotions.
“There would be no us. The only way for that to happen would be if you were to risk everything.”
“That’s outrageous. Why can’t we just be together? Take time to explore …”
Tide shook his head. “It’s not the dragon way. The hunt is not until the end of next week.” He took her hands. “You have time to think it over. Know that I would understand if you couldn’t do it.”
“I think that it’s probably a good idea for me to … to think about it. I need to be really sure.” Her mind raced at a mile a minute.
Tide’s whole stance softened and he squeezed her hands. “It’s a major decision. I completely understand that you can’t just—”
“Yes!” She said the word so out of the blue and with such conviction that she gave herself a fright.
“You don’t look like you’re sure.” He cocked his head, really looking at her. “Are you shouting yes for an entirely different reason, or are you saying yes because you want to take a chance on us?”
Meghan shook her head. “Who am I kidding? There’s nothing to think about. I want to stay. I want to be with you. I’ve fallen in love with you too and I would never—”
Tide crushed her to his chest and kissed her. It was a kiss that was filled with so much promise of tomorrow. A kiss that could move mountains. It was a kiss that told her he planned on racing. Not just that, that he planned on winning. She prayed he could pull it off. Thing was, she didn’t care one bit about the money. If it came to it, she would make a plan. She would continue her asthma research one way or the other but losing Tide … The thought of that had her heart landing in her throat. Had her eyes filling with tears. Meghan quickly blinked them away. If she was honest with herself, she’d been in love with him for a while now. It had been hard to admit because she was afraid. It just seemed so cruel that they might still be kept apart, despite their feelings for one another.
“It’s going to be okay.” He must have seen all of her emotions written on her face because he cupped her cheek, his voice deep.
“I know it is.” She forced herself to smile. “I have faith in you. In us.”
Something flared in his eyes. Panic, fear … maybe? And then it was gone.
Chapter 28
The day of the hunt …
Tide had never been more fearful in his entire life. He was sick with worry. His stomach pulled tight and sweat beaded on his brow. He looked over the vast acres of land that lay before him and his gut churned with it. It had nothing to do with fear for himself but fear for her. His Meghan.
Thousands and thousands of miles of wilderness. Thousands of miles of streams, gullies, mountains and fields. Of forests and rivers. There were dangers out there. Wild animals. Meghan could fall and hurt herself. She could drown. He couldn’t think like that though. He needed to stay focused and positive. Tide was going to hunt his female and make her his and he’d do it quickly.
“Hello, hello.” Shale walked over to him. “It’s a great view isn’t it?”
"Amazing," he mumbled, not feeling much like talking, especially to a male like Shale. He certainly didn't give two shits about the view. All he saw was the danger. That and distance. With every minute that passed, Meghan was further and further away from him.
“So, you love her that much?” There was a smirk on his face. “I don’t think that I would be willing to do it.”
Tide didn’t say anything. Shale wouldn’t understand.
“Then again, she is something alright. Not just beautiful, but—”
Tide gripped the male by the throat. Shale made choking noises.
“Leave him.” Torrent seized Tide by the arm when he didn’t do as his brother said. Tide released the male, who grinned at him even though he was gasping for air and his face was red.
“Stay away from her,” Tide warned. “That goes for all of you. I’ll kill anyone who lays so much as a finger on her.”
“Maiming only, no killing,” Torrent recited the rules to him.
Fuck that. He was going to win his female and if by some small fucked up chance he didn't manage it, he would kill whoever dared touch her. Within minutes, the males went back to talking amongst themselves in groups and he was able to unclench his fists.
Torrent turned to him. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes.” Softly spoken.
“Be rational. You—”
“I’m sure.” A growl this time.
A bell sounded. It was five minutes till the start of the hunt. His heart just about beat its way out of his chest.
Torrent frowned. “I don’t know about this. It’s foolish. It’s …”
“Do it. Time is running out.”
Torrent clenched his jaw, he turned and nodded to someone. Tide followed his gaze to Blaze. The male was holding the contraption. It looked like a trap. That’s because it ultimately was a trap. A deadly looking thing. It was round and comprised of sharp stainless steel teeth that reminded him of the jaws of a shark. It was, in itself, a vicious contraption, capable of stopping a male in his tracks. What made it worse, was that it was attached to a ball and chain. Dragging that hunk of iron was going to be fun.
The trap was double spring-loaded. It took both Torrent and Blaze to pry the contraption open. Torrent slowly lifted his head, h
is gaze locked with Tide’s. The time to dig deep had come. There was a part of him that was happy it was almost over. The waiting had been tough. Lying to his female had been tougher still. There wasn’t much time. Soon the second bell would ring, signaling the start of the hunt.
He quickly made his way to the two males. Tide ripped his pants leg clean off and stepped into the trap. It was different from a conventional trap in that it didn’t have a trigger mechanism. No need since this was a choice. The two males lifted the device until the teeth were about mid-thigh, as was customary. His brother looked up at him, a grave expression on his face.
Tide gave a nod. He clenched his teeth, his nails biting into his palms.
“On three,” Blaze instructed. The male counted up.
One.
Two.
White hot pain. His stomach rolled, causing him to gag. Tide felt his blood running down his leg. Hot and coppery. It spattered on the ground beneath his feet. It took him a few seconds to realize that his eyes were closed. Tide forced them open. Torrent gripped his arm on the one side and Blaze on the other. “You okay?” Torrent asked.
“Never fucking better,” he growled, having to force the words through a haze of pain.
“Good luck,” Blaze said.
“Thank you.”
“No, I mean it. I said the same thing to Ice. We had no choice.”
“I understand.” His voice was thick with pain. His leg throbbed in time with his heart. Each beat like flames shooting through him.
Torrent bent down and picked up the iron ball. “I suggest you carry it for as long as you can. Give your leg a chance to heal some. No one can help you with your burden. You need to do this all on your own.”
“I know.” The bleeding had slowed some, but the pain was just as white hot. Sweat dripped off of him. The idea of moving was hideous. Tide pictured Meghan. Her beautiful green eyes, her smile, her laugh, fuck, even her frown. He loved everything about her. The way she sucked on her plump lower lip when she was in thought. The smattering of freckles across her nose. Her scent. Her.
The bell rang, pulling him out of his reverie. Torrent handed him the iron ball. It was heavier than it looked.
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