Page 49 of The Soul of the Dragon

The imp screamed and ran as I turned to face Isaac as he shifted back to man, a grim expression across his face, his body glistening with sweat amidst dirt and what looked like blood streaked across his muscles.

“What did I miss?” he asked.

ChapterTwenty

Isaac

“That doesn’t even make sense.” Listening to Kitra recount what the sprite had told her while I dressed had pushed every hot button I had. And since they’d already been pushed once today, my sanity felt stretched thinner than ever. “If your mother made some kind of deal with the Imps then why are they working with the King?”

She shrugged. “You’d have to ask Ensley. If you’d stop scaring her off with your angry dragon breath maybe she would answer more of our questions.”

A sound resembling a chuckle escaped me before I could stop it. While this was no time for laughing, Kitra had managed to pull one from me anyways.“She should grow a spine. It’s not as if I’ve tried all that hard to really hurt her.”

“You threw her in a fire. Have you already forgotten?”

I rolled my eyes. “One she could easily get out of. And besides, she was annoying me and thus had it coming.”

“What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you acting like such a brute all of a sudden? Am I finally seeing the real you?”

Her question stung, because yes, sometimes I copped an attitude, and said things I sometimes regretted. And I wasn’t always one hundred percent rational. But generally only when provoked. In the past I had the luxury of disappearing for a few days to pull my head together, but here, there was no such thing. Time seemed to be of the essence and finding the amulet couldn’t wait.

“There’s nothing sudden about my behavior. You just haven’t been paying enough attention. You’ve been seeing me through mating heat colored glasses, and it’s warped your perception.”

She opened her mouth to deny it, but we both knew it would be a lie. After last night, her predicament and mine were clear. And chasing down a few King’s guards who enjoyed terrorizing people so I could burn them to a pile of ash and bones had done nothing to ease the burn of rage inside me.

Or the need to claim her. It was starting to consume me.

“I get that there’s something unexplainable pulling us together, but I’m not ready to concede to the idea of mating heat or anything else you’ve suggested.”

I shrugged, refusing to argue with her over this. Time would tell and she would see for herself.

“We should get going before the King’s guard pulls themselves back together and make another run at us. There is no telling what his pet dragon will do when he recovers from the poison.”

“Are we going to follow Ensley? Do you even trust her?”

I shrugged again. “Not really, but what choice do I have? Besides, we’ll know soon enough. If we fly when it gets dark, we can be there in no time. Unless you prefer walking the entire way.”

I watched the shudder work down her body, and while I wasn’t sure if it came from the idea of walking or flying with me again, I got the impression she would still do whatever I asked. Not because I’d compelled her, but because her stubborn willfulness would prevent her from backing down from a challenge.

“What will we do until then?” she asked.

“That’s a loaded question, my little beast. I do have some ideas though, if you’d like to hear them.” I stepped forward and cupped her chin and lifted it until our gazes met. “But first, how are you feeling?”

Her eyes darkened before my eyes and her heart rate accelerated, making it impossible for me to resist pressing my hand to her chest above her heart so that I could feel it beat under my finger tips as it pounded in my ears.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I was falling into the depths of her gaze and the emotions being shared there. It didn’t take words for me to know how confused, aroused, annoyed, and hurt she was.

It was all right there for me to see.

“I’m fine,” she whispered on a shaky breath, making me smile.

I pressed my face closer to hers until our lips were only an inch apart. Her panting breaths washed over me, going straight to my cock. At this point I didn’t know why I continued to delay the inevitable. I was an Alpha and she an omega.

There was no way I would give her up to another. Omegas were too special and rare. Although I still had trouble wrapping my head around a fae omega and what that meant logistically. It wouldn’t be long before I would have to return home and leave her behind.

But I also wasn’t going to take her like this. Not the first time. That would be a memory to build a lifetime on. And for what felt like the first time in my life, or at least a very long time, I kind of cared about someone other than myself.

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