Page 18 of Ancient Promises

It hurt like hell right now to be rejected by her mate, but in the end, she was a survivor and she was going to move on without him.

Like her favorite fantasy novel series, she was definitely a badass babe who wasn’t going to fall into a weepy puddle because her mate didn’t want her. She was going to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and mend them herself.

And she wasn’t going to tell her dad, either.

Because it would be just like him to come to Cider Falls to defend her honor.

She’d defend herownhonor, thank you very much.

And Eivross could take a hike.

Chapter Eight

Three hellishly long days later, Eivross was standing guard at the bookstore during the day when a panel truck finally pulled to a stop in front of the building. His dragon was constantly furious, pushing him to claim the beautiful female just inside, but he refused.

Didn’t his dragon understand that Zihndyr would always be a threat, no matter how much time had passed? Eivross didn’t trust his brother as far as he could throw him. Zihndyr held grudges like it was his life’s mission, and it would be just like him to come after Eivross and anyone he held dear just to fuck with him for messing up his plans to take out the other dragon nest.

He briefly wondered if Zihndyr had gone through with his plan or had shelved it, but it was highly likely that the plan had continued on and Eivross’s departure hadn’t put a halt to anything. When they were younger, they’d been in line at an ice cream truck, and Zihndyr had exclaimed how he’d wanted a particular ice cream bar covered with pink and white crumbs. The boy in front of them had requested one, and when he and his brother reached the front line, they were told it had been the last one.

Zihndyr had stalked over to the boy, small claws erupting from his fingertips in his rage, and attacked, ripping the frozen treat from his hand and slashing him repeatedly. But he hadn’t stopped there. He’d gone after the boy again and again, furious that he’d been denied what he saw as rightfully his. The boy’s family had to leave the nest in order to get any peace and let their child heal, because even back then, Zihndyr had been so uncontrollable that their father couldn’t change his behavior.

Little had changed in the years since. Most likely at this point, Zihndyr had found a new second-in-command and attacked the other nest, stealing that female from her father and forcing her into a mating.

His stomach hurt just thinking about it.

But he wouldn’t have been able to stop it, just delay it a while. Because once his brother set his eyes on something, he got it, one way or another.

“Hi there,” one of the males said as he got out of the panel truck. “You’re the new guy? I’m Jair, and this is my dad, Veron. We’re here to put the door on.”

“I’m Eivross,” he said, rocking back on his heels. “That’s excellent news. I’ll let Diem know.”

Just saying her name made his dragon purr.

Foolish creature. He could only love her from afar, never in reality. No matter how much her scent made him weak in the knees, or how much he longed to hear her cries of pleasure.

“It’ll take us a few hours,” Veron said.

“Of course.”

Eivross ducked into the store and found Diem lugging a box that looked heavy across the room. He rushed over and took it from her, smiling internally at the way her beast purred when their hands brushed.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, irritated.

“Helping you.” He stared down at her, cataloging her lush, petite frame and the way her eyes were banked with heat, like she was constantly turned on and hated every second of it. “Where does this go?”

She let out an annoyed sigh. “On the counter.”

He carried the box over and set it down. “What’s it for?”

Instead of answering his question, she asked another one. “Why are you in here?”

She elbowed him out of the way. He was seriously amused by her behavior, but also saddened. She shouldn’t be annoyed with him; she should feel safe and cared for. But he couldn’t explain that to her without admitting he wasn’t sure he could keep her safe from his brother, and that he’d rather her be mad at him than dead.

“The males showed up with your new door.”

Her brows rose. “Oh really? That’s awesome. It means you get to leave.”

Hard pass. He’d always patrol her home and make sure she was safe from afar. “When they’re finished.”

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