by Sammie Joyce
As the dragons did their solo flame displays, Rose took a moment to take stock of her dragons. She couldn’t just hear their thoughts; she could feel their emotions. She’d learned to block them out, for the most part, as feeling the emotions of four different people could be overwhelming. When she concentrated, though, she could tell what they were feeling.
They frequently did similar check-ins with her. When emotions were heightened, Rose found them more difficult to block out, but she was learning. It was also possible for the dragons to block themselves off from her, but none of them did. All five of them agreed they were better off when they were on the same page.
Mace was content with watching the competition, glad he had held his own against his brothers in the final round. Asher looked proudly around at the dragons and witches, impressed with how they were cooperating with each other.
Jagger’s thoughts were dwelling on the feeling of Rose on his lap. She grinned and wriggled her ass a little.
You naught little creature, he teased. If you’re not careful, I’ll have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you straight to bed.
That doesn’t sound half bad.
Yes, it does, Asher spoke up. We need to be here to support everyone.
Rose wriggled harder. She could feel Asher mentally rolling his eyes, struggling between urging them to stop and coming over to kiss her.
Gavin kept his eyes on the competing dragons and witches, watching sourly. He seemed in an even worse mood than usual.
What’s up? Rose asked him.
Nothing.
Don’t be like that. Come on, tell me. She made the subtle shift so that they were communicating privately, where none of the other brothers could overhear. It had taken her a bit of practice to get it right, but it had been worth it.
I’m fine.
You don’t sound fine.
Gavin didn’t respond. Rose disentangled herself from Jagger and went over to where Gavin was standing slightly apart from the others. She came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder.
“Talk to me.”
Gavin didn’t respond, but he put his hands over hers, some of the tension going out of his shoulders. They stood like that in comfortable silence. Rose may not have known what was bothering him, but she wasn’t afraid of his dark moods.
Annabelle and Dane set a new record at fifty feet with their pairing in the fire shooting.
Asher beckoned Rose over. He was probably thinking along the same lines as her.
She joined him and Maria. Asher was just explaining to Maria that Annabelle and Dane were a couple. If Maria was surprised, she hid it well.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Rose took Asher’s hand, but her gaze was on Annabelle and Dane.
“Definitely.” Asher explained for Maria’s benefit. “We know that the four of us are stronger with Rose, and she with us. What if a romantic connection between partners makes their magic more powerful?”
“It’s worth looking into. Of course, I can’t very well ask people to announce their relationships. People—both witches and dragons—are still a little uncomfortable with the merge, even though they accept that it’s necessary. I’m sure that’s why Annabelle and Dane haven’t made themselves public; they want to avoid unnecessary judgment.”
“Annabelle may want that, but Dane obviously isn’t worried.” Asher glanced around, fully aware that every dragon on the lawn could hear him, even though he was speaking in a low voice.
Maria frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Dragon hearing, remember? Let’s just say that Dane made a comment to Annabelle that made it all too obvious to anyone in hearing range that they are together.”
“I’ll have to remind Annabelle. It’s easy to forget, sometimes, just how much better dragon hearing is than ours.” Rose knew that all too well—she’d received no small amount of teasing from Jagger on the issue. Kissing him generally worked to shut him up.
“I’ll encourage the witches to tell me privately if they’re in a relationship with any of the dragons. Maybe they’ll be okay with doing it if I promise not to spread the information around.”
“I’ll do the same with the dragons. We should also track close friendships between witches and dragons, and the corresponding power—there may be a similar effect for any kind of emotional connection.”
Maria and Asher were engrossed in the discussion, but Rose’s attention was caught by Gavin and Jagger.
On the outside, it just looked like they were engaged in cheerful banter, but she could feel that Gavin was seething under the surface. She hurried over.
“It’s not cheating if no one gets caught!” Jagger insisted, mirth dancing in his eyes.
“You just want to make yourself seem bigger and better than you are in front of Rose! Insecure much, brother?”
“Ha, I’m not the one who can’t go an hour without her without becoming a grumpy, hibernating bear.”
Jagger was joking, of course, as he always was, but it seemed he’d struck a nerve. Gavin did tend to become touchy and aggressive—it had always been like that. He softened around Rose, though, so she made sure to check on him often. It was hardly a chore, taking care of someone she loved. Gavin did the same for her.
He wasn’t impressed with Jagger’s comment, though. “Maybe she’s just escaping the clan idiot who can’t even take himself seriously!”
“Alright, guys, I think that’s enough for now. Gavin, I could use a drink. Do you mind?”
Usually, Gavin wouldn’t hesitate to do anything for her, but now he was glaring at Jagger.
“We all need some laughter around here with your sour face to look at.”
Rose rolled her eyes. Sometimes, she really wished Jagger knew when to let a joke go.
Gavin lunged for his brother, knocking him to the ground. At first taken aback, Jagger quickly caught on, punching Gavin in the middle. Gavin seemed like a man possessed. He grabbed Jagger by the throat, slamming his head against the ground.
The two of them getting into tussles wasn’t uncommon, but this was something else. They never really hurt each other. This time was different. Gavin looked like he was going to kill Jagger.
“Stop it, stop it!” Rose grabbed Gavin’s arm, trying to pull him away, but she wasn’t nearly strong enough.
She could feel Jagger struggling. His air was being cut off and he was starting to panic. She realized what was going to happen a second before it did.
Rose leapt aside just in time. Mace was there and threw himself on top of her.
Jagger exploded into his dragon form, way too close to Gavin, Rose, and Mace to be safe.
His spiked tail swept around and would have impaled Rose if Mace hadn’t been on top of her. He managed to deflect some of the blow with his arm, but grunted in pain as a spike caused a deep gash in his forearm.
Rose was barely aware of that; all of her concentration was focused on Gavin.
He was impaled through his torso and legs on three of Jagger’s back spikes. His blood was running down Jagger’s scales.
STOP!
Asher’s command had Jagger and Mace freezing in place. Gavin seemed to be unconscious.
Rose scrambled out from under Mace and pulled herself onto Jagger’s back. Asher was right beside her. Together, they lifted Gavin off and laid him on the ground.
Jagger shifted back to his human form. He was unhurt, but his face was white and he looked like he was about to faint. Mace quickly went to his side, putting a supporting arm around him and speaking words of comfort.
Rose fell to her knees beside Gavin, pressing her hands to his bleeding torso. He was barely breathing. She realized that she was screaming, but forced herself to stop. She had to heal him. She’d only learned basic healing spells so far, which wouldn’t be nearly enough, but she had to try.
Someone was dragging her away. Rose shrieked and struggled until she realized it was Asher. Maria had already taken her pla
ce at Gavin’s side.
“Let Maria handle it.” Asher hauled her further away, giving Maria space as she worked over Gavin. “She’s the healer, she is better suited to this job.”
Logic finally filtered into Rose’s brain. She let herself go limp in Asher’s grasp as she stopped fighting. Terror for Gavin snatched at her breath. What if he didn’t make it?
Chapter Two
Asher handed her over to Mace, who was pressing a hand to his bleeding shoulder. He put his other arm around her. “He’ll be okay, Rose. Maria will help him.”
Elaine hurried over. “I can take care of that, Mace.”
Mace didn’t hesitate, moving his hand and letting her poke and prod his shoulder. Rose didn’t recognize the incantation Elaine used; it was a more advanced healing spell than the simple one she knew.
Within moments, Mace’s wound was closed up.
“Thanks, Elaine.”
“No problem. I’ll go help Maria.”
Rose couldn’t see anything except Gavin’s feet with the two witches kneeling next to him. She was so focused on him that she didn’t see anything else until a roaring noise had her gaze jerking from Gavin to Jagger.
Asher was hauling him away from his brother while Jagger struggled with all his might.
Rose hurried forward, taking one of Jagger’s hands. “Jagger, it’s okay. Maria and Elaine are working on him. Give them space; they can’t concentrate as well with you there.”
Jagger’s knees collapsed. Rose went to the ground with him. “Hey, it’s okay.” She cradled his face in both of her hands.
“What have I done?”
“It wasn’t your fault. I don’t know what got into Gavin, but anyone would have panicked in your situation.”
Jagger nodded, but Rose could tell he didn’t believe her. He looked up at Mace. “Thank you for protecting her from me.”
“Like Rose said, it wasn’t your fault.”
Asher was standing over Gavin, his eyes following everything the healers did. After a few minutes that seemed to last an eternity, they stepped back.
Maria came over. “He’s going to be fine.”
Rose’s heart started beating again.
“He’s lost a lot of blood, so he’ll need rest, but he won’t have any permanent damage.” Maria squeezed Rose’s arm in sympathy before hurrying off. The rest of the coven needed managing. Rose knew she should help, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave Gavin’s side.
“Dane!”
He hurried over at her call. “What can I do, Rose?”
“Can you manage the dragons? You’re Asher’s second-in-command, right?”
“That’s right. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. You just focus on your mates.” He cast a dark glance at Gavin and Jagger. Rose didn’t bother trying to defend them. There were more important things to deal with right now.
She knelt down next to Asher by Gavin. He was still unconscious, but he was breathing easily and his heartbeat felt strong when Rose pressed her fingers into his wrist.
“Let’s get him inside.”
“Agreed.” Asher picked Gavin up and started carrying him through to the basement where the five of them stayed. It had originally been the dragons’ place of confinement, but it was comfortable and homey, and they’d decided to stay there.
Mace and Jagger followed. Jagger got a wash cloth and undressed Gavin, cleaning the blood off him before putting him in clean clothes.
“I think it should be just Rose and me when he wakes up.” Asher pulled a blanket over Gavin, then sat down in a chair, prepared to wait.
“No, I should be here. I need to apologize.” Jagger looked wretched. Rose put an arm around him, offering her wordless support.
“We will call you when he’s awake, but we don’t want him getting upset the moment he wakes up. Don’t worry, you’ll have time to talk, but it’s Gavin who should be apologizing.”
“Asher is right, Jagger. You go help Mace get cleaned up.”
Mace was, of course, perfectly capable of cleaning himself up, but he seemed to understand Rose’s purpose. Jagger needed something to do right now, someone to help.
“Come on, brother, my shoulder is still a bit stiff. I could use some help getting a clean shirt on.”
When the two of them had left, Rose perched on the edge of the bed, waiting for Gavin to wake.
It didn’t take long. Maybe ten minutes later, his eyelids flickered.
“Hey, Gavin,” Rose said softly.
Gavin tried to sit up, but moaned and fell back. Rose knew that magical healing could do a lot, but if the injury was severe, the pain could linger for some time afterward. “What happened?”
“You got into a fight with Jagger. You were hurt. Maria healed you, but she said you’ll need rest.”
Gavin groaned. “I’m an idiot. Where is he?”
“He’s outside.” Asher stepped forward. “Care to explain yourself, Gavin?”
Rose thought that this was not the best time to mete out discipline, but she kept her thoughts to herself. Asher had been leading this clan for a long time before she stepped in as co-leader. This was a situation she had no experience in, so she ceded to his judgment.
“I don’t… it’s all blurry.”
“Let me refresh your memory. You were talking to Jagger. He was joking around, as usual, and you decided to take something he said personally. You attacked him. You were strangling him, and he panicked. He shifted and you were hurt. Now, care to explain yourself?”
Gavin pushed himself up on his elbows. It looked like it took a lot of effort. “I have to apologize.”
Jagger burst into the room, no doubt drawn by Gavin’s thoughts. Asher didn’t look happy, but he allowed it.
“I’m so sorry!” Both Gavin and Jagger spoke at once. Though they looked different in their human forms, their expressions of remorse were identical.
“It’s not your fault, brother,” Gavin said quickly, before Jagger could get anything else out. “I almost got myself killed; it’s not on you.”
“I should have controlled myself better. If I hadn’t panicked—”
“Then I might well have killed you, and then where would we be?”
The two of them hugged, then Jagger carefully laid Gavin back on the bed. “You get some rest.”
“I will.”
At a look from Asher, Jagger left. Asher turned back to Gavin. “Now you listen here. I don’t care what your reasons were or how angry you were. Your behavior was unacceptable. You were hurt, Mace was hurt, and Mace was the only reason Rose wasn’t hurt too. You have a mate now, brother. If I see you put her life in danger like that again, you will be leaving this clan for an extended period, and you won’t be allowed back until you have your head together. Am I understood?”
“Understood, sir.”
“That’s all I have to say, then.” Without another word, Asher left. Rose could understand his anger, but she couldn’t bring herself to berate Gavin too, not with him looking so guilty already. He flinched as she looked at him, clearly expecting a reprimand from her too.
“You really worried me,” she said quietly.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Do you mean that, Gavin?”
“Of course I do. You know I do.”
“Then tell me what happened.”
“It’s like Asher said. I lost control of my temper. I put everyone around me in danger, you included.”
“I know that, but what I mean is, why did you lose it like that? You’ve fought with Jagger before, but this was something different.”
Gavin hesitated. “I don’t think you’ll understand.”
“Try me.”
He took a deep breath. “My father shared my mother with a number of other dragons. It’s just how we work—it always has been. I’m not sure I’m cut out for it, though. I don’t know if I can share you. I hate how you’re always laughing with Jagger, or sharing looks with Asher, or babying Mace. It drives me mad that they get t
o touch you, and that I can’t have you to myself. I feel left out when you spend time with them.”
Rose hadn’t picked up anything like this in his thoughts. Gavin must have been trying very hard to hide it from her, as it was clearly eating him up inside. Rose’s first reaction was indignation. She loved Gavin just as much as she loved Jagger, Mace, and Asher. She wasn’t leaving him out! She would never do that.
She clamped her mouth shut. She may not have thought she was leaving Gavin out, but that was how he felt. It had taken him a lot to tell her, probably because he also knew that she wasn’t really showing preference to his brothers over him. Whether she was or wasn’t didn’t really matter, though.
If Gavin felt like she wasn’t spending enough time with him, then she needed to adjust. He always took such good care of her. If she said she wanted the moon, he’d find a way to get it for her. He wasn’t asking for the moon. He just wanted some quality time with his mate.
“Hey.” She put a hand under his chin, getting him to look at her. Gavin looked like he was expecting her to condemn him for his struggles, and it was heartbreaking for her to see.
“Gavin, listen to me. You do have to share me; that much can’t be avoided. I love your brothers just as much as I love you. But that doesn’t mean your struggle is invalid, and it doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help.”
“How can I ask for help? I can’t ask them to leave you—you are theirs too, I know, no matter how much I might wish otherwise.”
“So maybe you need more alone time with me than them. I know we mostly spend time together as a group, but if that doesn’t work for you, we can do stuff individually too.”
“They won’t be happy if I hog you.”
“I’m not saying I need to spend more time with you than with any of them, just that maybe some of the time I do spend with you should be with you alone. You’re all different people with different needs. They will understand that; I’ll make sure of it.”
