"What are you doing here?" he asked Erik.
"Red has always been yours, I've just been keeping your spot warm."
"You can't just hand over a sept!" Wendell cried.
Silas had taken his seat again and tapped his knuckle on the table once more. "Actually, he can. All he needs is one of the other Sept leaders to approve the transfer of power, which I do, and the attendance of the full council. And, if I'm not mistaken," Silas made the exaggerated gesture to count out loud the dragons, "seven and eight. It seems we have the full council here now."
Between the grumbles and protests, Erik took no time in waiting and gripped Dacea's forearm while he mimicked the action on Erik. "I hereby transfer the kingship and all of its power to you, Dacea, the rightful ruler of Red. Do you accept?" It was the paraphrased version of the actual statement, but the meaning was still there. It would hold up if anyone tried to dispute it.
He glanced at Hailey who was frowning at him. Just yesterday they had been planning a life without crowns and obligations. She took a breath, resigning herself to more changes in their already unstable life and nodded at him. Sacrifices, as frustrating as they were, were part of life. "I do."
"Green seconds this transfer," Silas stated.
"Welcome back, Sir." Erik smiled as they released arms.
"Thank you."
"I'll be outside to let you finish up here." Erik nodded to Silas and Hailey and left the room.
Dacea took his seat again and to the already stunned faces of the Council, he kissed Hailey. "Hang in for a little while longer," he whispered for only her to hear. She squeezed his leg in acknowledgement.
"Now I believe I was saying how if you don't drop this mating between Katherine and I, then Red will no longer be allied with the Council."
Wendell recovered first with a clearing of his throat. "You cannot—"
"But I can." He cut in. "I am king again. Or did you already forget what just happened? I can grab Erik again if you would like an instant replay."
"If you go rogue then we will have no choice but to hunt and kill every Red dragon. Would you do that to your people all for a human Mate?"
He looked at Katherine who was surprisingly quiet. They had taken her show and turned it upside down. Dacea then looked to Hailey. She was without a doubt his Céile. Just under her shirt he could make out the outline of the ring. This was the woman he was fated to. He would do anything for her, even take his dragons rogue.
"Yes, I would," he responded with his eyes still locked on Hailey's. She gripped his hand.
One of the other Council members spoke up for the first time from the far end of the table. Dacea recognized him from years prior. The dragon was a Silver and looked to be one of the only sensible voices in the room. "Let's not rush into anything," he said trying to diffuse the bomb that was moments away from going off. "Why don't we meet again in one week? We will talk over the mating annulment and you can consider the consequences of disassociating Red for the Council."
Dacea nodded to the Silver. "Alright," he agreed. He wasn't going to hang around for Wendell or Katherine to dump something else in his lap, so he stood and pulled Hailey up with him. "We are going to take our leave."
"A word of advice," Hailey looked down the line of dragons. All eyes were glued to her, his own included. She reminded him of a pissed off cat. Quietly seething and plotting revenge as she watched through the bushes. "Listen to him." She pointed to the Silver. "He's the only rational one out of all of you."
They walked out together leaving Silas to deal with the Council. Before the door closed Dacea heard him say, "If Red goes, Green will go with them."
*****
Outside of the conference room, Erik waited for them. He explained as they walked how Silas had contacted him the night before and filled him in. Word had already spread about his official return and the celebrations had already begun. It seems Red had missed Dak. Hailey was going to need to learn to share after all. Dak belonged to the sept now.
When they got home, he hugged Hailey for a long time outside. She wasn't sure if he needed her strength or just her presence. Regardless, she held on to him just as tightly. They hadn't spoken at all since they left. Even as they came inside, he was quiet. She followed him up the stairs where he began to run a bath.
He had promised her a bath with bubbles and wine, and delivered on that promise. Hailey sunk down into the hot water. The wine was on its way, or she assumed so since he had run off after turning on the faucets. Her body was still tense from the meeting, but the heat helped. Nothing could have prepared her for the witch hunt they had just been a part of.
A lot more happened than either of them had expected. Dak was now back into power. A position she knew he would have been happy to not partake in again. Just yesterday he had been telling her all the things he wanted to do now that he was back and had no obligations.
Those dreams were gone now.
Maybe that's why he was so quiet; he was mourning the loss of the life he almost had. Not that they couldn't have a nice life with him ruling. Hailey was happy to live however, where ever was necessary to be with him. But with his newfound power, Dak was about to create a major rift between the septs and the Council.
And it was all for her.
She sank down and smiled into the bubbles. She was happy for the fact he chose her over Katherine. Moreover, he chose her over his sept. Lives would be lost and it was a horrible thing to be smiling over, but to know someone loved you that much was warming. She liked to think of it like a shot of whiskey. Once the burning liquid was swallowed it spread through her body with warm tendrils wrapping around every inch of her.
The door opened and Dak held two wine glasses and a bottle of wine. He picked her, she mused, but he didn't seem happy about it. His guard was still up as if the battle had not yet been won. Hailey sat up, bubbles covering her skin, and accepted the glass he poured for her. His own was left untouched on the counter.
"What's wrong?" she asked. He was beginning to worry her as he stood and stared at the wall. Dak moved his sad eyes to her and stole a glance at the ring that lay against her naked chest.
"I'm sorry."
Maybe she had jumped too fast onto the happy train. The way he looked at her was not something to celebrate. His eyes darkened with emotion and it gave her stomach a quiver.
"For what?" Hailey felt slightly sick.
"Mating Katherine, not following through with the annulment, letting her kidnap you, kissing her, hurting you, take your pick because I'm sorry for it all."
Wow, that was some serious guilt. "I wasn't even born for the first two. You didn't let her kidnap me. She did that all on her own." She took a sip of wine, "Yeah, you pretty much suck when it comes to the kissing thing." Hailey set her glass on the floor beside the tub and grabbed his hand with her wet one. He looked down as she entwined her fingers with his limply hung ones. "As far as hurting me, it was unintentional. I'm sure I've hurt you too, and if I haven't, I'm sure I will at some point."
She tugged his arm and brought him closer. He kneeled next to the tub and eyed her warily. She moved to the edge, sloshing water to the floor and his pants. There was a little divot that showed up in-between his eyebrows when he made that face. She kissed it then smoothed his worried brows with her hands.
"I love you, Ace. That means you're pretty much stuck with me." She moved her wet hands down his face and cupped his chin. He hadn't shaved that morning so a healthy amount of stubble prickled her water softened fingertips. "This is the part where you say, 'I love you too, Hailey,' and kiss me."
Dak smiled. Just a small twitch to start but slowly his cheeks curved upwards under her hands. He kissed her first. Their lips meeting with a demanding force. Hailey was half out of the tub, and he was half in by the time they parted.
She began to unbutton his wet shirt.
"Céile," her fingers paused. Hailey secretly loved when he called her that. It always filled her with delight. "What are you doing?"
"That was not your line. Do you need me to repeat it?" She took up unbuttoning his shirt again.
"I… You…" He frowned, his eye blazing with frustration. His hands laid over hers, stilling them from further progress. "There's nothing I can say, nothing that describes how grateful I am to have you. You gave me a body but kept my heart." His warm hands squeezed hers gently. "I love you, Céile." He moved to kiss her again. His mouth now spoke to her body instead of her mind.
Hailey's fingers began to unbutton again. "What are you doing?" he asked with a laugh.
"Well, I need a pillow and your chest happens to be the perfect combination of hard and soft. Besides, you're already wet." Thanks to her.
"Well in that case…" Dak shred his shirt and dropped his pants in a heap next to her clothes. She moved forward in the tub to give him room to step in behind her. After a gallon or so of water spilled over the edge and Hailey was settled in-between his legs, she laid her head back on his chest and allowed herself to enjoy the simple pleasure of a bath with her Mate.
Epilogue
Silas waited in Dacea's office. He had helped himself to a glass of whiskey and a look around the room. Darby had seen him to the room, the witch looked far from well with her ashen skin and cheeks that were beginning to sink in. She waited for the first ten minutes but when he clearly wasn't going to steal anything, she left.
It was another fifteen minutes before Dacea joined him. His hair was wet and his posture relaxed. He poured a glass for himself and sat at his desk across from Silas.
"Are we now in a truce?"
Silas swirled the golden liquid around the glass. "Seems like it."
Dacea nodded, lost in thought. "And you will take Green rouge if I take Red?"
"For Hailey, I will."
"Alright." He downed the glass of whiskey and set it empty on the desk. "We have a war to plan."
Scorch
Chapter One
The thumping of Hailey's heart echoed throughout her head as she ran. The only thought besides "run" was "run faster." The words consumed her, swallowed her every thought. In this moment, there was nothing besides moving forward and getting away, as far and as fast as possible. He was coming for her. She could feel him in every tingle that ran up her spine.
Following.
Tracking.
Hunting.
He could probably hear her heart thumping. It pounded so hard, the entire city of Philadelphia could hear it. She slipped into an empty guest room. Light from the hallway illuminated the room for a brief second before settling back into darkness. She plastered her head against the door, listening for the man on her heels.
It was useless. Between the sound of her pulse throbbing in her ears and her breath that she just couldn't seem to catch long enough, Hailey couldn't hear a thing. "Dammit," she cursed softly with a hand over her heart in an act to try to slow everything down. She didn't have time for this. He was closing in on her.
With her forehead still on the door she rolled her head to the side to assess the room. Her eyes had adjusted in the minute she stood in the dark room. There was a queen sized bed, dresser, chair, bookshelf and bathroom. This wouldn't do, she thought, there was nowhere to hide.
Hailey pressed her ear against the cold wood of the door once more. Silent. She waited. One beat. Two. On the third she threw open the door, simultaneously ditching her guest bedroom plan and molding a new one. Hailey moved swiftly down the hall, her bare feet not making a sound. For once her body moved gracefully. It was a dance. She being the ballerina, the squeaky floorboards posed as her partner. Hailey knew them well, as all partners should. Softly, like she was gliding, she continued her sprint down the hallway bypassing every squeak and creak of the floor that would give her away.
She turned the corner and reached for the door of the study, quietly she slipped inside. It was dark, well past midnight. Small slivers of moonlight filtered through the windows. Not that she needed it, Hailey knew this room intimately. More of a library than a study, the room held more books than she could read in her lifetime. She had spent so much time in it that it was a part of her now. She knew its secrets and tonight she would take advantage of that knowledge. The vast space was filled with tables, shelves and aisles, plenty of places to hide.
Her head whipped toward the door as she heard the distinct sound of boots. Hailey ran, weaving through the aisles; she backtracked and crisscrossed, jumped over chairs and crawled under tables. She needed her scent to be everywhere. Confusion was her only hope for escape.
The study door opened.
Hailey threw herself behind an armchair and peeked over the edge. His body was framed with the light from the hallway. Her breath caught at the sight. Just his silhouette could stop her hart. She held off the urge to run to him. Wrap her arms around him. Smother him with all the emotions threatening to smother her. But this was a game of cat and mouse, and the mouse didn't run into the jaws of the cat it was trying to hide from.
Dak took two steps into the room and the door closed, locking them in the darkness together. She could feel his eyes sweeping across the room searching her out. He growled. It pulsed off the walls, down her spine and into her toes. The vibrations tingled across her scalp and down her neck where a blush heated her cheeks. Hailey took a moment to enjoy the prickly sensations of the chase snaking through her body before sneaking down the aisle, going deeper into the room.
Her heart started to pound again. From her new hiding spot she could see the door but he had moved. Sneaky bastard. Dak was definitely a predator and at this moment she felt like his aroused prey. Hailey smiled and ran down the far end of the room across from the windows. She was doing good so far, didn't need her shadow to give her away now. Peeking around the corner of a bookshelf, she stole a glance around the room but she couldn't locate her dragon. Her stomach quaked in anticipation. Now if she could just figure out if it was because of the chase or the thrill of being caught.
Hailey weighed her options. Stay and wait him out? He might think she had snuck out if enough time passed. Or she could keep moving through the room. Two more steps backward, she'd wait here; maybe even get another glimpse of him before running again. Another step back and she hit the wall.
A hand wound around her waist and another covered her mouth as she let loose a scream. His breath was hot on her neck. The skin prickled everywhere he touched. She calmed almost immediately when his lips ran down her throat.
"Found you, Céile," Dak's heavy voice whispered in her ear. Lips closed over the pulse in her neck and sucked. She tossed her head back onto his shoulder, her moan muffled by the hand that still covered her mouth. "Again," he mumbled against her throat before releasing her and slipping back into the shadows.
Holy crap she was hot for him. Her hand rested on her chest willing her heart to calm down. This game needed to end now so they could get to the touching, licking and biting. "Dak?" Hailey took a few steps in the direction he went and ran straight into a chair. Shit! He messed her up, made her nothing more than a lustful klutz.
Dak stepped into a pool of moonlight, his amber eyes shining brightly in the darkness. It was one word that got her head back in the game, one word that had her giggling out of the study and down the hallway looking for a new hiding spot. His smirking smile and gruff voice only spoke one word.
"Run."
*****
She had started this game of hide and seek. After another long and drawn out meeting dealing with logistics and strategy on taking Red rogue, he had come home to a note taped on the front door "Find me." Dacea had growled with delight. He never knew what he was going to come home to, but this was something he deeply approved of.
Hailey was good at blending into the background and all but disappearing when she wanted to, but he knew her scent. After a day apart he would enjoy rubbing his own scent all over her until they became indistinguishable from each other.
The house was dark except for the kitchen where the night security crew lingered o
ver coffee. Dane, once a detective with the city of Philadelphia and now his head of security, informed him that they had been given very specific instructions to not leave the first floor and ignore any sounds coming from upstairs. She had threatened them with babysitting Boo and litter duty for a week. At some point Silas's cat became Hailey's cat and no one, save Hailey, was happy about the feline.
Dacea stalked until he caught a fresh line of her scent. It was new and wild with anticipation. He found her first in the study she had taken a shine to, but he and his dragon were having too much fun to end the game there. Out of the room she ran in a fit of laughter. He waited, giving her a head start and then followed her path. It was a serpentine down the hallway, in one room, out another, left side of the hall and then the right.
He sniffed the wall and inhaled the lingering notes of citrus. She had run her fingers along the wall as she ran. Dacea could picture her looking over her shoulder as five little lines of her fingers drug over the wall. She looked for him, never knowing when he'd show up for the capture.
Hailey had abandoned the second floor to go up. There were not as many rooms on the third floor. His bedroom and bathroom took up the left side, whereas the right held a private living room.
Hailey hesitated at the bedroom door but went right instead. She still didn't see all this as hers too, especially the bedroom, which was theirs. Instead she went to her own bed each night. Yes, it was on the property and he could see her house from his bedroom window, but he wanted her closer. Craved her proximity. Then again, he had been preoccupied lately and hadn't had time to dwell anything other than dragon politics.
He would give her tonight and any night or day she wanted after that.
Inside the room, she stood in front of the window, the fire cast a warm glow on her winter pale skin. Her heartbeat had calmed to a determined steady beat. After a moment his own settled in tune with the tempo she set. Hailey had found resolve somewhere between the two floors. She stood bare to him. Dacea let his eyes wander down the long curve of her spine. Puffy lines marred her back where the skin had stitched itself back together after being tortured by one of Silas's guards. She said it gave her texture, he said it showed her strength. Hailey didn't flinch anymore when he touched them, but he knew it was a conscious effort on her part.
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