by Jill Haven
“Bout three more hours.”
“You’ve seen a lot of the world, right?”
“A bit.” Bishop’s jaw tensed and he looked away from me, straight out of the window.
“Tell me about where you come from?” I asked Ten, who perked up and smiled over his shoulder at me. Bishop let out a cantankerous snort, but he refused to have a real conversation with me, and I refused to be bored for three more hours.
“Well, I came to America about two hundred years ago? I think.” Ten prattled on, and I’d heard some of the same things from Uncle Vince over the years. The trials of boat travel. How America was this great place without dragon hunters, so at first, no one was being very careful about where they shifted, but the humans caught on a few places, so they had to actually start following the Exposure Laws.
Bishop glared at Ten and I snickered behind my hand. When he slid over and threw his arm around my shoulder, almost defiantly, I relaxed against him. Having him touch me was amazing. The part inside me that always felt weirdly like I was overflowing with too much energy when he was around suddenly quieted down. Something seemed to pass between us.
“You didn’t ask me to do this,” I said. “Very low brow of you.”
“Do you want to slap me, like an omega from the middle ages?” The way he said that, so dry and like he didn’t believe I could actually hurt him, irritated something in me, and I swung for his cheek. He had my hand snagged in his fist faster than I could blink, maybe faster than I’d ever seen anyone move in my whole life.
“Whoa.” I knew I should be scared. That much power? That much strength? He could kill me without thinking twice, but his strong grip around my wrist made me think of him moving me around, made me think of how he’d held me last night, strong, but tender, and made me feel so good. I gasped at the memory, and Ace and Ten groaned from the front seat.
“If he’s going to keep doing that, I’m renting a car to drive home,” Ace said.
“Doing what?” I feigned innocence, but removed my wrist from Bishop’s grip and willed my body to calm down. I didn’t mean to make anyone uncomfortable.
We stopped off at a small shop along the highway for sandwiches. Ten went inside and brought everyone out food while we sat at a picnic table under a weeping willow tree. I didn’t have much appetite right now, so I only took a few bites of my sandwich. The unfamiliar meat, whatever it was, coupled with all the time in the van, wasn’t doing me any favors. I wrapped my food up and put it back in the bag.
“You’re done already?” Bishop asked.
“Yes. It’s heavy eating.” I shrugged a shoulder.
“Come with me.” He walked away from where Ace and Ten sat, disregarding the chill in the air to eat heartily, to a nearby field.
I followed him because I didn’t seem to be able to do anything else, connected to him by a string I couldn’t see, and happier when I was near him.
“Now, hit me.”
“Excuse me?”
“We may be walking into something dangerous on this trip. You need to be able to land at least one punch.”
“You’re kidding.” I rubbed my hands on the legs of my pants to remove a build-up of sweat that had somehow found its way there.
“No.”
I eyed him up. “You want me to swing at you. You stopped me too easily before. How could I ever land a punch?”
“You’re not slow, Evan, you telegraph your movements. You’ve been training with Redcaps your entire life.”
“Not really, not the way the others train.”
“If you were to do to a human what you did to me, you would have succeeded.”
I blinked at him. “You think?” I stood up a little taller and he laughed.
“Hit me.”
Moving close to him, I balled up my right fist and swung. It was particularly pitiful how easily he put out one hand and snagged my fist.
“You have to be crafty if you’re up against a dragon, and keep in mind that someone like yourself is not ever going to be attacking a dragon head-on, face-to-face, with the intentions to… incapacitate. You’re trying to give yourself a chance to get away. Don’t do this gentleman’s boxing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Kick in the knee!” Ace called.
“He’s got a sensitive spot on the side, near his lower ribs. Knock him there,” Ten added for good measure. They laughed together.
“I’m not doing that,” I sniffed.
Bishop smiled at me and mixed my head up again. “Then connect with me.”
“I’m trying,” I grumbled under my breath, and I swear he heard me because the tops of his ears pinked up. I swung my fists, over and over, until my shirt stuck to me with sweat and my face felt like a furnace from physical exertion. Every time, he either grabbed my hand or moved out of my way. We weaved a strange dance through the high, brown grass.
“Damn,” I said, and bent to rest my hands on my legs while I panted. I glanced up at him and glared. He didn’t even look like he’d been on a casual stroll. I would have believed he just rose after a lengthy and quiet bought of meditation. “Don’t we need to get back on the road?”
“I suppose.” We started back toward Ace and Ten together, and they’d already taken care of their trash. “Now you won’t have the energy to ask me questions.”
I kicked at his ankle and missed, and he chuckled, a deep, rich sound that sent tingles through my belly. For a second fury roared through me and sent my guts boiling, but he turned enough to catch my eye and laughed harder.
Hearing him sound so happy was too much for me to hold onto my anger. I found myself smiling along with him as we got back into the van, and happily sat quietly all the way to our destination.
9
Bishop
Joints cracked and tendons popped as Ace, Ten and I stretched outside the van, while Evan wandered over to a low fence where a dozen cows munched on verdant grass.
“Damn. This part of the country is more peaceful than I remembered. Not a bad little get-away, huh?” Ace massaged his shoulder and looked around at the open fields and thick woods opposite the small farm. We were outside Peddleton, a small, secluded town in northern Georgia, and the sunset-drenched farmhouse in front of us was the only structure we’d seen for miles.
“Not a get-away. We’re working.” I grumbled and kept my eye on Evan as he reached out a hand for a cow to sniff then jumped back when its wet nose touched his skin.
“And technically, we’re trespassing on the southeast region’s territory,” Ten added.
“Not if we don’t get caught.”
I grabbed a short sword from the of the van, strapped it to my side, and offered a weapon to Ace. He scratched his head and gave me a look.
“Uh, maybe we could approach the omega with a more peaceful appearance? Don’t want to put him on the back foot.”
Too late.
“Hey. What are y’all doing out here after hours?” A thick southern accent broke out of a handsome omega in dirty denim jeans who sauntered around the side of the shed, shielding his eyes from the low sun with one hand. The other was wrapped around the handle of a pitchfork, like some kind of southern gothic cliché. A honey-sweet scent carried in on the breeze and caught in my throat but did little for me compared to Evan’s baby-powder and lilac sweetness.
“Holy fuck.” Ace sniffed at the air and moaned.
This must have been Beau. And he did not look happy to see us.
I kept my eyes on the omega but whistled to get Evan’s attention. He pranced over to us with dainty strides through the long grass, a sexy sheen on his forehead and cheeks from the humid air. But the appeal tempered when he wiped cow slobber off his hand onto his pants.
“Oh!” He was about to introduce himself to the omega who was studying us cautiously, but I pulled him to my side with a firm grip on his shoulder. He fell in line and leaned into me so gently that I would have barely noticed it if it weren’t for the spark of heat that washed between us.
The omega craned his neck to look behind me at Ace and Ten who I prayed were not wielding any weapons. “You don’t look like you’re here to pick up the crate of broccoli out back.”
“Beau Moore?”
“What’s it to you?”
“We’re of your kind.” I took a gamble that he knew what that would mean, and it was confirmed when he opened his mouth in shock, and immediately shut it again. I took a step forward, and he took one back. “I’m Bishop Cane. We’re here to talk about your—”
“Thanks, but no thanks. Y’all get along now. The roads get dangerous after dark.”
“We’ve driven a long way to talk to you…”
He lowered his voice and shook his head. “I’m telling you, and ain’t going to repeat myself. I don’t mess with dragons. Now I’d appreciate it if all y’all would get off my private property.” Anger flared in his eyes and his fingers twitched near his hip. I had a feeling that he was packing far more than just a pitchfork.
Ten stepped forward with a bright smile that almost made up for his startling scarred face. “We’re just hoping to have a quick chat about your family lineage—”
“Nope.” He put his hand on his hip, and Ten held up his open palms in surrender.
I didn’t do well with subtle negotiations. Fists, brutal tactics, and direct force were what I knew how to do with precision, but I was experienced enough to know that none of them would be effective here. I worried that Carlisle had sent the wrong team on a mission that was meant to win over hearts and minds. Our aim was to get the Divine Omega on our side, not to kidnap him. Or to get ourselves shot.
I nodded at Beau, and his knuckles whitened as he gripped his pitchfork tighter and started to peel back his jacket with his other hand. With a frustrated grunt, I motioned to the team that we should retreat to the van. We could check into a hotel and reconsider our tactics. We’d made contact; that would be success enough for today.
Ten hurried to the van and slammed the driver’s side door as he slid into the seat, but Ace didn’t budge, and neither did Evan. I urged the omega toward the van, but he dug his heels into the ground then stumbled forward, managed to slip out of my grasp and took hurried steps toward Beau. Anger shot over the farmer’s face and he pulled back his jacket, revealing a pistol in a holster by his side. I lunged and grabbed at Evan’s shoulder, and he stumbled back against me.
“Are those your cows?” Evan asked with a rush of naive excitement in his voice.
Beau’s jaw was clenched and his scent was marred with a slight bitter tinge. His cheeks reddened and his hand quivered above his pistol. He was mad. Real mad, and his eyes were set on Ace.
“Let it be, Evan.”
But again, he tried to rush forward out of my grasp, and I yanked him back with more force that elicited a short whine from him. Beau’s eyes snapped onto him, and anger flared in my stomach. The thought of Evan taking a bullet flashed through my mind and just about knocked me to my knees.
“I said, let it be.” My growl came out harsher than I wanted, and Evan winced. But I didn’t want him anywhere near anyone who was packing heat. This was my mission and he needed to fall in line. I could defend him in an instant’s notice, of course I could and of course I would, but the last thing I needed was him getting injured in any way.
“Go.” I shoved him between the shoulders, and he sulked off into the van, while Beau raised his chin. But his gaze was straight over my shoulder and fixed on Ace.
“You too,” I bit at Ace, and pointed to the van. He did a double-take and snapped out of his trance, lowered his head, and hurried into the vehicle. I nodded respectfully to Beau and got us the hell out of there.
Twenty minutes of thick silence passed as we drove through Peddleton, where there was no sign of a hotel, and made our way toward Helen, a historical tourist town with a rich vineyard industry. I hoped to drown the anger that was raging through me with at least two bottles of wine before dinner.
“That went well, he seemed to like us,” Ten chirped with sarcastic optimism.
Ace sighed, uncharacteristically forlornly, and stared out the window.
“We’ll revisit tomorrow.”
“I don’t think that’s going to work, boss.” Ten glanced at me in the rear vision mirror. “Beau seemed quite certain he wanted nothing to do with us. Maybe we can try the next one on the list, then swing back around and check in on Beau again at a later date.”
I grunted. It was becoming clear that there was a detour we should make first.
Evan scooted closer to me in the back of the van and laid his hand on my knee. But even his gentle touch couldn’t break through the anger that was burning in my belly; instead, it fueled the frustration that tightened my throat.
“You didn’t listen to me. You were going to get yourself killed.”
“Huh? I just wanted to know if they were his cows—”
“Of course they’re his cows.”
“Well, I thought they might have names. He might have warmed up to us if you had let me bond with him over his companion animals.”
“Companion animals? What do you think he does with them?” I stared at him, and he shrugged. “He’s a farmer, Evan. They’re cattle, not pets. He sends them to the abattoir.”
Evan flinched and his bottom lip trembled. “Those cows?”
“Those very cows.”
Tears threatened his eyes. He snatched his hand away and stared out of the window with his back to me. An ache scorched through my chest, and I bit the inside of my cheek to steel myself against the urge to embrace him. It was clear that he needed less coddling from me, not more. And I needed to distance myself as much as possible if I had any hope of relaying the decision I’d made.
“You could have gotten yourself killed,” I repeated without emotion. Facts were what were important now. “I have made a decision.”
He kept the back of his head turned to me as he stared out the window, sitting stock-still. I waited for an invitation to disclose more, but he didn’t make a peep. I cleared my throat, and still he ignored me. With a deep breath in my belly, I spoke loudly so that he would undoubtedly hear me. “If I can’t train you at all, if you won’t take any sort of orders from me in a situation like the one we just faced, then you can’t be in the field with us. It’s too dangerous to put you in the line of danger since you can’t defend yourself, and you won’t listen to me when I tell you”
“I wasn’t in any danger. He is a Divine Omega like me, isn’t he? He might have been a threat to you, but he was never going to hurt me. I could have spoken to him if you’d let me—”
“If I’d let you what? Take a bullet?”
Ten and Ace were frozen in silence in the front seats. Evan still refused to look at me, and simply shook his head. His long tresses swayed, and I felt a clenching in my guts as I imagined his hair matted, red and sticky with his blood from a gunshot that I could have but failed to prevent. “It doesn’t matter now. We’re going back to West Virginia tomorrow and I’m taking you home.”
Evan spun around and glared at me with venom flashing in his eyes. “Home?”
“Your uncle is desperate to find you and he won’t stop looking until you’re back. And being on the road with us is too dangerous. You belong in the stronghold—”
“You can’t.” His delivery was snappy, but his voice quavered with emotion.
“I’m sorry, Evan. I have to.”
Tears flooded his eyes and trickled down his cheeks, and his perfectly formed bottom lip quivered as he stared at me, but not even the smallest sound escaped from his throat. Like claws ripping through flesh, my chest felt like it was being torn open by his gaze and the only way I could stop it was to tell him that I took it all back, I was an idiot, I was talking nonsense, of course he should be free and of course he could stay with us…
But I turned away and watched as the darkening woods rushed by, ignoring the burning pain around my sternum and the gnawing sadness in my gut. At least I knew that E
van would be safe in the confines of Vince’s stronghold. It had been designed to keep him in, but more to keep trouble out. That was certainly more than I could offer. He’d be relatively safe there. He might be miserable and at the mercy of Vince’s whims, and my heart may never recover from sending him back, especially if his uncle arranged a mating with another alpha… But even if Evan was taken by someone else, at least he would be alive.
It had been stupid of me to bring him out into the modern world, and stupider still to involve him in my life. Everything I occupied myself with on a daily basis was dangerous, especially to a weak and spoiled omega, and I would never forgive myself if my greedy desire to have him by my side resulted in his death. I should have realized earlier that this would never work. I had just hoped so badly that it would.
10
Evan
Helen was a picture-perfect town that made me feel somewhat at home with its quaint architecture and Bavarian mountain-style lodges. Not exactly the same ambiance as the stronghold with its vast grounds and sprawling stone structures, but this pleasant little place was closer in appearance to the Redcaps’ stronghold than either Bishop’s “house” and Ace’s apartment had been.
Yet, I couldn’t enjoy the pleasant scenery one bit. I could barely breathe. Was Bishop really going to send me back into my uncle’s clutches with no thought or concern for what I wanted? He surely didn’t care for me the way I cared for him, that much was clear now. I had fooled myself into thinking that he valued me… that he’d wanted me. Worse than the rejection was the feeling that I was an imbecile for thinking as much, and the embarrassment of it swelled up around my throat and threatened to make me sob. Had Ace and Ten known that this was what Bishop was going to do all along? Were they in on it? They certainly hadn’t acted surprised at Bishop’s blatant rejection of me as we parked at the hotel.
“This place look good?” Ten asked from the front seat.
“It’s very… Bavarian,” Ace said as he looked up at the chalet with blue shutters over recessed windows and decorative trim painted in gold.