“It’s fine, I’m fine, he just startled me,” I responded lamely.
“You don’t sneak off!” Benedict roared, sending everyone in earshot quickly finding something else to do. Kieran looked angry at me for the first time that I could recall. They both ignored Thad, now that they knew he wasn’t a threat.
“This is why you should never run off without telling one of us! We had no idea where you were! We thought you were being kidnapped!”
Kieran’s disappointment hurt the most, and I would have preferred Benedict screaming at me over the quiet, saddened eyes.
I looked back to apologize to Thad, but he was shaking, visibly fighting some invisible force as his body contorted and twisted. A pained sound left his mouth, and he stumbled backwards.
“Excuse me,” he grunted out, and disappeared into his tent. I whirled on my mates.
“You’re just angry because I was with another male, aren’t you?”
Kieran’s brow furrowed, but I knew by the gleam in Benedict’s eyes I was spot on. He lowered his voice, mindful of nearby ears.
“I don’t trust him. Something about him seems off.”
I glared at him. “Why don’t you just smell him then? Or am I a special case?”
Kieran put a hand lightly on my shoulder, pleading.
“You know you’re a special case. It’s our duty to protect yiu. If we fail in that, we fail our entire species.”
When he said it like that, it just made me feel worse.
“I am not an errant child, so stop treating me like one.”
Kieran took a deep breath.
“We know. Just...please understand where we’re coming from. You are literally the future of our entire race.”
It always came down to that, didn’t it?
“Come,” Benedict nudged me with his wings. “It’s time to get some sleep.”
Reluctantly I followed them back to the main camp, and further on as we went past it.
“I secured this area for us. They loaned us a tent, but I moved it away for further privacy.”
Kieran gestured about one hundred yards away from the camp, down a side tunnel. The tent was in no worse or better condition than the others, but it was larger. A few blankets were scattered on the ground, as well as three small bowls.
“Let’s rest.”
I had no complaints as Benedict laid me inside the tent, then sat up against the wall outside. Kieran laid down behind me on the blankets, gesturing for me to come with him. The bottom half of his body hung outside of the tent, his upper half facing the other direction to monitor the other tunnel.
“Aren’t you going to sleep?” I asked them both. Benedict looked away, settling further into the wall and facing outwards.
“We will sleep in shifts. It’s wise to leave nothing to chance,” Kieran answered instead, hooking his arm around my waist and pulling me in close. I inhaled the scent of him; cedarwood and understanding. My eyes grew heavy, and I quickly fell asleep to the rhythm of his beating heart.
Seventeen
Iwoke up abruptly, cold in the lingering dampness of the tunnels. I sat up, and spotted Kieran propped up against the far wall, asleep. Benedict was propped up on my other side, facing the opposite direction. He was also asleep.
I scoffed, imagining them arguing over who was to stand guard and who should sleep, and not able to agree on anything, only for both to succumb. Well, now no one was keeping watch.
Looking down the darkened corridor, I stretched carefully as I touched the sigil I knew lurked underneath my chest. The night lit up with my enhanced vision, allowing me to see much further down the passage than I could with my human eyes. When I saw a figure standing just out of reach of where I could see, I nearly screeched with a distress call. Instead, my hands fisted in the blankets around me. The figure stood and stared, and I saw it was Thad. He motioned with his hands for me to join him. I cast an eye warily over my two bodyguards—should I wake them?
It would be easy to be angry at how they treated me; like a child who couldn’t make decisions. At the same time, I wanted their trust. If I woke them, I had no doubts Thad would be walking back to his tent with a bloody face. I resolved to meet with him in the corridor, where I could easily scream for help. I wouldn’t go any further with him without telling one of the mates. That sounded reasonable, didn’t it?
I carefully padded over to him, careful not to click my claws too loudly on the stone floor. Thad looked unnerved by my draken form, licking his lips nervously.
“What?” I bit out.
“I just...I wanted to see you. Maybe ask some more questions.”
My wings twitched in irritation. He couldn’t have done this earlier?
“Here I am.”
“You’re annoyed with your...mates.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t see how that’s relevant to anyone other than myself and them.”
He leaned in, close enough that his scent filled my nose. Leather, and something else. Something familiar. Then his hands were on my waist, his nose buried in my hair. I tried to pull away, but he pushed my body into the stone wall, using his greater weight to his advantage. His head tilted and he kissed me, and for a split second I kissed him back. He tasted like danger and darkness, like Benedict but with a darker edge underneath. What was it about him that I found so intriguing? It was infuriating to not be able to put a finger on it. Then I remember who I was, who he was—not my mate!
“Thad, get off!”
He ignored me, moving down to my neck.
“NOW!” I growled, knowing I could easily skewer him, but reluctant to hurt him. When he continued to ignore me, I buried my dagger into his thigh without a second thought. He grunted, a released me.
“Back away, or with one chirp you’ll
