Page 59 of Dangerous Heat

Fingers brushed against my hips and I relaxed back more against his chest. I told myself it was to play up the picture of us being together, but it wasn’t that. He was comfortable. Caspian had the right idea, cuddling up to his wide chest all the time. “And the Omega is just… free to come and go as she pleases?”

“The Omega,” I said, drawing his attention back to me, “is notproperty. Nolan realized it was cruel to contain me if my Alphas were free to wander.”

A bit more antagonistic than I’d been going for, but I couldn’t help myself. I hated being treated as an object. It was why I’d hidden my designation for years. The man snorted, rolling his eyes. “That’s a load of shit. You’ve switched personalities three times in this conversation, which tells me you’re telling lies.”

I sighed. Not being a Beta had thrown me off. “Fine. Technically, we don’t know if we’re allowed to be wandering, but there wasn’t a guard on the door. We’re trying to find Nolan.”

“And are they going to be working for him or was that a lie too?”

“Oh, we’re all going to be working for him. Dream team, myself included.”

Fingers stiffening around my hips, Emmett pulled me closer to him protectively. The fallen angel looked me up and down, before nodding. “I could see it. You carry yourself like a predator.”

“So do you,” I said.

“You flatter me.”

A moment later a flash of magic pulled my attention, and a shielding spell flew from my lips. Less than a second after it formed, I felt the reverberation of magic pounding against it. Sky appeared, wand in hand, and the barrage stopped.

He was a large man and more scarred than the angel was, but his face wasn’t as badly affected. Only his jawline had scarring, flowing down his neck and under the tunic he was wearing. Both arms were scarred, and I imagined they carried down his chest and possibly onto his legs as well. Unlike the fallen angel, his hair was short and blond, a little scruffy.

Emmett had me off his lap and was in front of me in an instant, growl rumbling from deep in his chest. “What was that?” he asked.

I placed a hand in the centre of his back, but stepped around him. He grabbed me and tried to push me behind him again, but I didn’t go. We were still protected by my magic, and it had been a test more than anything else. The angel smirked and slung an arm around Sky’s shoulders. “We wanted to see if she’s as good as she is cocky. She’s definitely not bad.”

“Quite the compliment,” I said dryly.

“Well, we haven’t gone head to head yet. I can’t say you’re good until that happens.”

I wanted to rise to his challenge, but I was still weak from feeding Cas. Plus, being on the verge of going into heat weakened me. They’d have to wait and see if I was good in a fight. “We’ll arrange a fight the next time we’re all in the same place. I’m sure Shan would love to try to take you out.”

He’d see the angel being fallen as a betrayal, of course, even though he didn’t work for the AEA in any capacity anymore. To ‘fall’ and control darkness instead of light, an angel had to swear fealty to one of the Zemterran Dukes. The Zemterran Dukes weren’t stand-up citizens.

“Is Shan the angel?” he asked, intrigued.

“Yes.”

“I’ll fight him any day. I’m Altair, by the way. And this is Sky, obviously. We’re one of the best teams Nolan has. Probablythebest, but I’m trying not to be too cocky.”

“You’re doing a great job of not being cocky so far,” I said with a snort.

As we continued to chat with no signs of further attacks, Em relaxed. His grip on me softened, no longer trying to push me back behind him. It became a gentle hold, stroking my arm.

“If you’re going to let us go on our way, we’re looking for Nolan,” I said. “And my familiar. Orange cat. Fluffy. Seen him around?”

Sky perked up, but didn’t speak. He hadn’t said a word and I wasn’t certain he was able to speak. The scars on his throat may have messed up his vocal cords. “Your familiar wanders on his own? Sky’s crow Hans follows him around like a lost puppy. Usually invisible like the man himself.”

“My familiar isn’t what you would call normal.”

“None of you people are normal, are you? This is the most fun I’ve had Earth-side in a long damn time.”

“Glad we could amuse you. I’m going to assume you haven’t seen my familiar?”

“Not at all. Best of luck finding him, though. I don’t think any of the other assassins would have boiled him alive. Unless Jacklyn is here, but I’m fairly certain she’s in Apilion on assignment at the moment.”

Rolling my eyes, I used Em’s grip on my arm to lead him toward the door. I wasn’t worried about Oswald being harmed. He was my familiar. I would know if he was in any kind of distress. “I’ll tell Ozzy to steer clear of Jacklyn when she’s back,” I said. “Nice meeting you.”

“The pleasure was all ours. We’ll see you around, little Omega.”

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