Page 44 of Marked Dragon

We pulledup in front of the two-story robin-egg-blue house. My skin crawled. There were no strange vehicles in sight, and Drake wouldn’t risk flying here in dragon form, especially during the day. But there was no telling how far behind us he was or how Peter would react.

The only good thing was that my white Audi A4 was still in the driveway, in the cutout section to the left of the white garage.

Thorn opened the door and helped me out. “Just Everly and I will go in. That way, there will be fewer people to get situated if someone arrives.”

No one questioned him; the leader he was meant to be shone through, but I paused. “What about Eva?”

“She’ll recognize me. It’s fine.” Saphira nodded and gestured to the door. “We don’t have time to wait.”

I swallowed.Why don’t they go on? It’s not like we can fit Elliott and Peter in the car with us. We’ll take my Audi.I hated to do that, but if Drake showed up, I didn’t want all of us to get caught.

I’ll tell them. Go on inside and get them ready.

I turned and rushed to the door, bending to retrieve the key under the mat. I slipped it into the lock and opened the door, then jerked back, surprised at what I found.

Peter was pacing behind the black leather sofa, and Elliott sat on the couch in his normal spot. They turned their heads toward me as Peter scowled. His chestnut-brown eyes hardened, and his light brown hair was messy on top like he’d been running his hands through it, the gray on the sides adding to the troubled look. His brown suit jacket was thrown over the back of the couch.

He took a hurried step toward me, stabbing his finger at me. “Drake just called. He told me you’d be coming here. What the hell have you done?”

“Dad,” Elliott murmured. He looked identical to Eva; the only differences were that he was taller, and his hair was significantly shorter. “He’s not a good dude. He took Eva in the middle of the night.”

“Becauseshe”—he shook his finger again—“didn’t follow through.”

My submissive side wanted to placate him, but my dragon roared. We didn’t have time to waste. I lifted my chin. “Grab a few things, and let’s go. We have to get away before Drake gets here.”

Elliott jumped to his feet, but Peter lifted a hand and said, “We aren’t going anywhere. We’re going to hand you back to him and get Eva back.”

My body jolted as Thorn entered the house and stepped up beside me. He growled, “The hell you will.”

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

Unable to stop myself,I leaned on my mate. For the past six years, I’d had no one on my side when it came to dealing with my stepdad and siblings, but not anymore. My throat thickened as my love for Thorn overwhelmed me.

Peter’s nose wrinkled. “Who thehellare you?”

Slipping his arm around my waist, Thorn lifted his chin. “Her husband.”

Even though the wedding hadn’t been a joyous occasion, Ireallyliked hearing him say that word. It wasn’t as if he could throw the wordmatearound yet. Unfortunately, Elliott and Peter would be learning about the dragon world, soon enough.

“What?” Elliott gaped. His eyes were so wide I feared they might pop out of their sockets. His attention settled on me. “Is that true?”

I beamed, unable to keep a neutral expression. “It is.” I leaned my head against Thorn’s shoulder.

Peter took a menacing step forward. “You’ll have to annul it so we can get Eva back from Drake. You said you would take her place. Then you run off andmarryhim? I knew you were a piece of—”

“You better stop right there,” Thorn warned as he released me and marched over to Peter. He grabbed Peter by the collar of his button-down shirt and lifted him. “One insult thrown her way, and your life will be a lot worse than anything Drake can do to you. Do youunderstand?”

Sniffing, Peter blanched. “Yes.”

“Good,” Thorn snarled and dropped him. “We’ve got to leavenow.”

I glanced out the door, expecting Drake to be here, but found Brenton pulling out of the driveway and heading toward downtown. At least, that group would be out of harm’s way. We needed to be right behind them.

“Uh…” Elliott raced to the television and unplugged the gaming system.

Out ofallthe items he could focus on bringing, it would be that. I almost told him to forget it, but Eva could use a sense of normalcy and comfort. Playing games with her twin would give her some semblance of being back home.

“I should get stuff from my bedroom.” Peter headed toward me to climb up the stairs, which were in front of the door.

---