Page 34 of The Dragon's Stone Hearted Mate
“Where’s he going?” I shouted at Cutter.
“He’ll be back,” the lion said, pulling his fingers out of my ears. “I have to go! I can’t be here when he comes back! He’ll tell the others!”
“Run, Cutter!” I shouted as the urgency on his scent tickled the air around us. “Run and hide! We’ll find you when it’s all said and done!”
He didn’t need to be told twice. He sprinted away and disappeared into the closely growing trees. I sighed. I spent so much time alone before turning back into flesh but now I hated the sensation the silence made when it swirled around inside my ears. I glanced at the sky, but it was empty except for wispy clouds drifting along. There was nothing left for me to do except wait for the bird and my would’ve been brother-in-law to return.
Chapter Seventeen
Morvan
I glanced around the kitchen, but Teal wasn’t there. Crilus stood at the black stone grill frying bacon, eggs, and potatoes. They smelled delicious but I couldn’t even think about food right now. Rage pulsated through my scales as I gripped the edge of a metal table and tried my best not to bend it. I wasn’t in danger. Not the sort of danger most people would worry about if someone told them that they’d avoided a hitman at least once before. I wasn’t worried about pain. Fighting didn’t concern me. When I wasn’t busy fighting against the encroachment of urban life into natural places, I killed assholes. No, the danger that pulsated behind my ears was that of losing myself to the rage that I’d ridden like a wave for so long. Everyone falls off their board eventually and you swim or drown.
The back door swung open, carrying in the familiar scent of Teal. I kept my eyes trained on the steely metallic table and breathed. My dragon paced his inner sanctum, wing muscles tight, ready to fly straight into my ribs and push his way out of me. Torvan had it coming after all. He got off easy – one little stab and he was gone in minutes.
Big, muscly arms wrapped around my middle. Teal. Of course, it was fucking Teal. Any other alpha I’d have slammed my heel into their shin for hugging me like that. Only Teal had always been soft in the ways that counted. He tried to nurture everyone around him like a mother wolf in the wild. He rubbed his forehead against my shoulder, and I let out a long, deep breath, as he brushed against Rho’s claiming bite still lingering on my skin.
“Focus on him, friend,” Teal whispered. “Torvan is already dead. Pummeling him won’t make him talk but it might slow the process down.”
“Lots of things can slow the process down. I don’t know what the process is, but I think being held at gunpoint might really slow it down,” a new voice said, and I swore under my breath. “That’s it, Teal. Back up right nice and slow. If you try anything, I’ll shoot the elf. He’s not going to survive a head shot. You might. Morvan probably would if his skull is any where as thick as his brother’s. We’re all just going to hang out until we get our money. If we don’t have it by sundown I’ll shoot the elf as collateral damage, and we’ll start all over again.”
“Fucking Georgie!”my dragon swore into my thoughts.
I glanced over at Crilus who was still cooking as if he couldn’t be concerned with the bear-man brandishing the gun. Teal stepped away from me, no sign of tension in his muscles.
“Bears probably taste good extra crispy, right?”my dragon asked inside my thoughts.“Nice toasty bear with a side of eggs. Perfect meal. Maybe I’ll feed him to fucking Torvan piece by piece and bit by bit and see if he remembers him then.”
“Are you hungry?” Crilus asked a second later and Teal responded in the positive.
“What do you two not understand about this?” he asked. “This isn’t a joke. This isn’t some fun little game. These bullets explode.”
“Have you had breakfast?” Crilus asked the bear.
“What the fuck?” the bear asked, his eyes darting from Crilus to Teal and finally to me. “What the fuck is this?”
“Bacon, eggs, and potatoes. You must be feeling a bit famished if you don’t recognize them,” Crilus said. “So, do you want a plate or not?”
“No, I want my bloody money!” The bear roared.
“I’ve never heard of a dish called that. Have you, Teal?” Crilus asked.
The door purred in the front of the restaurant, and I started to turn to go out but the bear put the barrel of his gun to my chest. I met his gaze and arched a brow at him. I wasn’t sure why Crilus and Teal were so damn cocky, but I followed suit.
“Brother, we have his back up!” Indigo’s voice reached my ears.
“I think this one pissed himself, Teal! You didn’t tell me I’d get peed on when I came to help!” Cobalt’s voice joined in a second later.
“If they’re hurt, I swear I’ll kill all of you,” the bear swore at us. “All of you!”
“Chill your teats,” Crilus rolled his eyes. “They’re not dead yet. They won’t be dead unless you don’t put your goddamn gun down. Put it down nice and easy and I won’t tell my friends to fucking kill yours.”
Cobalt came into view first pushing a man ahead of him who smelled like fox piss. His nose was scrunched up but he had a taloned grip on the man’s upper arms. Indigo came in with a man who smelled like an omega bear. The tips of his claws were already in the man’s belly.
“I’d put it down,” Indigo said. “I haven’t slept in over a week. My kid is colicky. I’m so fucking tired. You wouldn’t want my hand to slip, would you? Surely, you don’t want to be down a true-mate. I mean, if I had to choose between ill-gotten gains and my Ambry, I’d choose the man every time. Though, I wouldn’t try to hold two dragons and an elf at gun point. That seems like a really dumb way to die.”
I’d never been so happy to see Teal’s brothers in my life. One bear with a semi-automatic weapon we could’ve handled. Three would’ve been harder.
The bear sat his gun down on the floor, but the brothers didn’t release their prisoners. Instead, Teal bent down and picked the gun up. He turned it over in his hands examining it before putting it in my hands. I wasn’t a stranger to guns. I took a class on disassembling them in case I ever needed the skill in the field.
