Heartsridge Shifters: Owen (The Protectors Book 1)

by Olivia Arran

  “Yes.” Her answer came out on a breath, as if all the air had been squeezed out of her body.

  Flashing her a small smile, I turned to leave, placing my body between the two warring sides.

  “Wait. You can’t leave! We’ve only just found you again.”

  Bree gritted her teeth, her jaw working back and forth, but kept walking.

  “Lucky, who is this man?” Sylvia was persistent, I had to give her that.

  Bree stopped, turned around, stepping into my body as if we were joined at the hip. “He’s my husband.”

  “Your what?” Gareth barked out, his brow wrinkling.

  A sneer painted Bree’s face in anger, but her eyes were clouded with so much pain, it darkened her eyes to a swirling storm cloud of green. “Yes. I’m married now, which means you can’t just give me away to any man you fancy anymore. Or sell me, is that what you did? I never could figure it out.”

  What. The. Fuck. Only Bree’s hand clamping down on my chest prevented me from striding over there and tearing into them, her fingers spreading and pressing over my heart. But my growl was heard loud and clear.

  “What— We didn’t—” Again, it looked like genuine confusion and shock. They were grade A actors, that’s for sure.

  “Sure you didn’t. You really think that I wanted to mate with a man twenty years older than me? That I’d spoken less than five words to in my entire life?”

  Sylvia took a step forward, but Bree stopped her with a sweep of her hand. A hand tipped with claws.

  “Fine,” Bree spat out, “We’ll do this here, shall we? Just so I never have to see you again.” She held out her hand, raising her fingers as if ticking off a list. “First of all, you trained me as council enforcer, then to take over your position when you retire.”

  My eyes widened. Well. Holy shit.

  “Secondly, you then forbade me from fighting or training, trying to make me into a good little obedient woman. Third, you then arranged for me to mate with a man I didn’t love.”

  The Skyjades opened their mouths, but Bree beat them to it, her voice carrying the weight of her hurt, “Without even asking me.” Her hand dropped, her shoulders slumping for the first time since the confrontation had begun, and that’s what stabbed me in the chest. Seeing her defeat. Her intense pain radiating in every move that she took. “You just arranged it all and expected me to go along with it.” She took a step forward, jolting to a stop as if pulled by invisible strings. “You took the life I enjoyed from me and reduced me to nothing but an object to be bartered.” She cursed, her chest rising. “I trusted you.”

  And they’d failed her.

  Her laugh was bitter, a sound I never wanted to hear come out of her mouth again. I silently swore it wouldn’t, not so long as my heart was still beating, pumping blood through my veins. “Oh, and fourth, you’re not even my real parents, so what right did you have to give me away? Huh?”

  I let her pull me away with her. Shit, I’d follow this woman anywhere. Away from Heartsridge. My pack. My family. I’d follow her anywhere, even if all I was good for was standing in front of her, so I could shield her from any blows that came her way.

  “It’s over, you’re okay.”

  Her hand squeezed mine, acknowledging my words, but she didn’t speak. Just kept on walking.

  “Wait! We didn’t know,” came from behind us.

  “Bullshit,” Bree muttered, shaking her head, as if to dislodge the lies. She didn’t look at me, her eyes blinking as she chewed her bottom lip. Then she sighed, her voice barely above a whisper, “Take me home, Owen.”

  “Anything for you, sugar.”

  I still wasn’t sure why the council had turned up. Carter had sent a message about them visiting to lay groundwork for something, and that they would be returning soon, but honestly? I didn’t care. My sole focus was the woman who hadn’t moved an inch from our bed since lying down on it over four hours ago. Hands tucked under her chin and knees pulled up to her chest, she was an island isolated by her emotions which churned under her skin and leaked out of her stormy eyes.

  And all I could do was sit next to her, waiting for her to come back to me. But I had plenty to think about. Fuck. My brain was working on overload at the moment, trying to process the influx of new information and connect it with the woman I knew lying next to me. I made myself go through it logically, point by point.

  Trust. She found it hard. Obviously, she had good reasons and, damn, there were a lot of them. Too many to count.

  Men. I didn’t even want to touch that one; just the thought of another man putting his filthy hands on her… But, yeah, now I knew why she was averse to commitment.

  Strength. If she’d been a man, I would have said they’d emasculated her. They’d forced her into a role she didn’t want, taking something away from her that she was obviously born to do.

  The lack of female dragon shifters. Now, this one was tricky for me to wrap my head around. Was it the reason they’d stripped Bree of her dreams or was it not connected at all? Was the man she’d been promised to influential? Rich? What did her parents get out of this?

  “I can hear you thinking from over here.” Bree’s voice was hoarse.

  I forced a chuckle. “That’s because I’m clinging to you like a barnacle.”

  “Or a leech.”

  “But there’s no sucking going on…”

  She rolled onto her back, shoving me over a bit. “One track mind.” She scowled, but it didn’t have any heat. She looked broken. Empty. And it fucking killed me.

  “Bree—”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” The soft plea was accompanied by eyes silently begging me. Her walls were going back up, brick by brick, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

  I made myself nod once and she relaxed, her eyes fluttering shut as she made to roll away from me again.

  Nope. Not happening. I grabbed for the idea that had flitted through my mind and jumped with it. “Hey, so it turns out you’re a little more qualified than I’d been led to believe.”

  She halted mid roll, squinting at me.

  Progress… “And, you know, I was thinking about promoting you.”

  She blinked. “Huh?”

  Time to go all in. “So, get your cute ass out of bed. We’ve got work to do.” Giving her a slap on the previously mentioned ass, I rolled off the bed and stretched, waving her to get a move on.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” She might be grumbling, but at least she was now sitting and not stewing.

  I rubbed my jaw, narrowing my eyes. “And here I was thinking you were a woman of your word.”

  “Hey, screw you, wolf.” She was pissed now, but at least she was out of bed, shaking her finger at me.

  Grabbing her finger, I kissed it. “I will. Later. For now, we have work to do.” Giving her hand a tug, I half dragged, half cajoled her out of the bedroom, leading her downstairs and into my office. Pulling out the chair from behind my desk, I performed a low, sweeping bow. “Sit.”

  She scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m not a dog, you are.”

  “Your words cut deep.”

  “Not deep enough. You’re still smirking at me.”

  “I can continue to smirk at you while you’re sitting in the chair.”

  With a humph, she flopped down. “Happy now?”

  “I will be when you’ve dealt with this.” I dragged over a stack of papers and dumped them in front of her.

  “What am I, your secretary now?”

  Bracing my hands on the desk, I shook my head, slow enough that the message would be received loud and clear. “No. You’re the joint alpha of this pack and we’ve got a shit ton of work to get through today.”

  Then I straightened, waiting for her response and holding my breath.

  She stared at the documents, then back at me. “But—What?”

  “Eloquent as always, sugar.” I strode toward the door. “Don’t forget to inform the relevant parties on
ce you’ve made your decisions.”

  “You’re not staying? You don’t want to check everything?”

  I paused with a frown. “Why? Do you need your hand held?”

  “No.” The first stirrings of excitement simmered in her eyes.

  “Then I’ll leave you to it. I’ll deal with the other half of the list and we’ll meet back here for dinner?”

  She looked up from the papers, which she was already scanning. “Sure,” she replied, but it was absentminded.

  Mission Distract Bree accomplished. I let the door close behind me, my exhalation noisy in the corridor as I waited for the panic to grip me at the sudden loss of control.

  But it didn’t.

  It fucking didn’t.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Briana

  I set the phone back in its cradle, setting the necessary paperwork aside with a satisfied smile. Once we’d gotten over the hurdle of the supplier not knowing how to handle speaking to me—a woman—we’d gotten along just fine. That’s after we’d measured dicks and I’d assured him that mine was much bigger. Of course, I was referring to my dragon’s tail, but the point was made and he’d shut up.

  Picking up the next piece of paper, I scanned it. Another dispute, this time over whose job it was to maintain the chicken coop. Huh. I hadn’t even known we had chickens and I’d been the cook for a short while. Well, I learned something new every day, like where the whole chickens had appeared from.

  “Ready for dinner?”

  I looked up, seeing Owen’s broad frame filling the doorway, a soft smile playing on his lips. His dark hair was tamed for once, slicked back away from his face in a way that drew attention to his eyes. Stubble lined his jaw, already a full shadow despite shaving this morning, hinting at the testosterone that flooded his body. Dressed in dark jeans and a white button up shirt that was rolled up to his elbows to showcase his spectacularly corded forearms, he looked good enough to eat.

  And very sharp.

  Too sharp for dinner with the pack.

  “Where are we going?” I glanced down at myself, unable to remember what I’d put on that morning. It seemed like a long time ago. Yep, just as I’d suspected—jeans and a t-shirt. Nothing fancy.

  He strode over to the desk, strong thighs flexing and eating up the distance. “You look perfect.”

  I rolled my eyes at him and he chuckled. “It’s a surprise then?”

  “Yep.” He seemed mighty pleased with himself, with his hands in his pockets as he rocked back onto his heels.

  “Let me go change my top.” And run a brush through my hair. What was it with men thinking that a woman would be perfectly okay with going out on a date without any prep time? Idiots, the lot of them. I’d have to train my husband better.

  Ten minutes later, with a sparkly top on and my new mascara working its magic, I was following him out of the house and over to his truck. Hugging my jacket tighter, I hopped in, waving my hands over the heater once the engine was running and ignoring his amused grin. “What?” Okay. I ignored it for about two seconds.

  “I thought dragons ran hot.”

  “I’m drying my nails,” I replied with a straight face. Dragons might run hot, but we liked to be hot, too. Cold was for losers. I was thinking about hibernating once the snow arrived. Hey, it worked for bears—real ones, not shifters, but whatever.

  He shifted in his seat, flexing his hand on the wheel as he steered. “How’d it go today, any problems?”

  “Fine and no questions.” I’d wondered when the not so subtle questioning would start.

  “Good. Just let me know if you come across anything you need help with. And give me a shout when you’ve finished and want more work.” He chuckled when I raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s never ending.”

  I waited for the punchline, but he remained silent, flicking on the radio and humming softly. “That’s it? No big inquisition?”

  “Would you prefer that?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “No. I just thought…”

  His eyes slid to mine. “What?”

  “I thought you’d have more of a problem with this.” I spread my arms out, indicating myself. “Letting me help you.”

  His eyes slid away, like they had earlier today. “I thought I would too,” he said softly, so I had to strain to hear. “My father taught me that relying on someone was a trait of weakness and not one an alpha should possess.” Strain bit into his voice as he gripped the steering wheel hard enough to turn his knuckles white.

  Instinct had me asking, “How did he teach you?”

  He rolled his head from side to side. “He was fond of the belt.”

  “He beat you?”

  Owen didn’t look at me when he answered, his voice even despite the rage he must feel, “Not just me, my brother too.”

  “I didn’t know you have a brother.”

  His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “I don’t. Not anymore. Josh died when he was nine.”

  I grabbed his knee, lost for words but desperately wanting to do something to let him know I was there for him.

  He pulled the truck over and put it in park, but I didn’t look around, didn’t care where we were. “Owen, I’m so sorry.”

  “My father taught me never to rely on anyone, that a man is measured by his actions, in his strength of leadership, and by his ability to stand alone in the face of hard decisions.”

  I wrinkled my nose, giving his knee a squeeze. “It sounds like your father is an asshole, sorry.”

  “My father made the decision to not stop the beating until it was too late, because he wanted Josh to be strong. To fear no one. To be a real man. Every time Josh made a mistake it was like he was somehow less in my old man’s eyes. Not good enough to be an alpha’s son.”

  “Yep, asshole.” My words might have been awkward, but emotion poured out of me and I hoped that he could feel it. The shock, horror, and sadness.

  Owen let his head fall back against the seat, as if trying to shield his face from me. “Do you remember when you asked if I’d ever had to make a decision that would change my life forever?”

  I nodded mutely.

  He slapped the steering wheel, his face scrunching up as if fighting to get the words out. “I made a decision, but it was too late for Josh. I was too fucking late.” He grunted, turning to me, shadows dancing over his face and accentuating the harsh line of his jaw, the curl of his lip. “But my father died when Josh was nine, too. He was sick in the head, but I didn’t see it until it was too late. By the time I did what needed to be done, it was too fucking late for Josh.”

  My heart bled for him; I could feel it seeping into my gut at the thought of what he went through. “How old were you?”

  He scowled, then shook his head. “I was fourteen.”

  Unsnapping my seatbelt, I crawled over the seat and straddled him, ignoring the steering wheel that dug into my back and put my arms around him. “You shouldn’t have had to do what you did, but I’m proud of you,” I whispered against his neck, hugging him with everything I had. “You’re a good man, Owen Robson.” I felt physically sick at the thought of the abuse he’d endured. What he’d been forced to do.

  He hugged me, his nose pressed tight against my skin. “Until I met you, I didn’t even realize he still had a hold over me. Then, when I knew, I tried to fight it. But it was like I couldn’t figure out how to unravel the shit he beat into me.” He sounded so strained, as if it had been a physical battle and he was exhausted.

  “But you let me in, wolf. You won. You beat that son of a bitch.” I immediately regretted my choice of words, but there was no taking them back, so I just hugged him a little tighter.

  “Fuck. I did, didn’t I?” He sounded shocked. “Because of you. You needed me, so I let you in.”

  “Yes, you let me in.” I nipped at his lips, feathering his mouth with kisses, moving along his jaw and loving the scratch of stubble abrading my skin. “You let me in and I’m not going anywhere.” My words came f
rom my gut. Today didn’t matter, my parents didn’t matter, it was all in the past. Somewhere along the way, I’d already made my choice. I’d already given my heart to this man. Or maybe he’d stolen it when I wasn’t looking, with his gorgeous smile and his innate kindness. It didn’t matter. He wouldn’t lie to me or try to control me, because he never had.

  He’d given me everything without asking for anything in return, treated me like I was precious to him without clipping my wings. He’d listened to me, cared for me, and made me laugh.

  He also set my skin on fire with a single touch.

  I kissed him, putting all the words I couldn’t say into my lips, moving against him until he groaned into my mouth, his hands shoving at my top until he met bare skin. “Shit, Bree,” he growled, pulling me closer and deepening the kiss, his tongue sweeping in and owning my mouth, leaving me breathless and clinging to him.

  I wrenched away, staring at his flushed face. “Ask me again. The big question. The one I was so scared of, but want to give you an answer to more than anything right now.”

  A moment passed and then his eyes widened. “Lucky Briana Robson, you are already my wife, but will you be my mate?” His voice was husky, but there wasn’t any fear. Just hope.

  We’d know each other for months and he’d stuck around, waiting for me, so I didn’t even waste a second before saying, “Yes.” We stared at each other, as if trying to absorb this moment. Then we clashed together, fingers digging into skin as we tried to get even closer, teeth nipping and biting, air merging, desperate after waiting for so long. Why had I waited so long? All my reasons had vanished, and I wasn’t willing to wait a moment longer. “Now, Owen,” I gasped against his lips. “Make me yours.”

  He did a double take, then took a second moment to make sure I was really serious, before a slow, sexy smile curved his lips. “Here?” he asked, rolling his hips and grinding his very hard, and very impressive bulge against me. “In the truck? It isn’t quite the way I’d imagined it happening.”

  I leaned back as far as the steering wheel would allow as his fingers tugged my top down, his mouth trailing wet kisses over my collarbones. I had a quick look around. Forest. No one around. Secluded enough. Yep, check, check, check. “On the truck, against a tree, in a bush—hell, I don’t care.” And I really didn’t. I would claim this man as mine under the same sky I flew in as a dragon.