by Rinelle Grey
So instead she burst into tears and let Hayrian hug her.
Damrian appeared in the doorway behind Hayrian. He took one look at Morian and put his arms around both of them. Rowan appeared behind him and joined in the group hug.
For a brief moment, Morian felt safe, protected in the arms of her brothers. She hadn’t felt that way since she was a child. She didn’t even resent the fact that they were protecting her. Right now, the world seemed so horrible and disappointing that she would rather be shielded from it.
“If that bastard hurt you, I’ll deal with him,” Damrian said fiercely.
That statement brought Morian back down to earth. She pulled out of her brothers’ arms, and glared at all of them. “You are all to leave Finn alone, do you hear me?”
Her three brothers exchanged glances, and Morian almost didn’t need her life dragon intuition to know they weren’t convinced. Yeah, that was why their protectiveness irritated her. They didn’t even seem to care what she wanted.
“I told you he was no good from the start,” Damrian insisted. “And I told him that if he hurt you, he’d be answering to us. He made his choice.”
Hayrian nodded. “I warned him too. He only has himself to blame.”
Rowan nodded agreement. It didn’t matter that he’d never met Finn. “If he’s upset you, he’ll answer to us,” he said just as firmly.
None of them got it. Morian wasn’t angry at Finn. Sad and disappointed, yes, but not angry. If she was angry at anyone, it was at that Trima dragon, the one who had scared Finn so much she wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to get over it. It was just one more reason for her to hate the Trima leader. As if she needed any more.
How different might it have been if Finn had met Rian clan first? If he’d met her first? Maybe she would have had the chance to show him how wonderful dragons were.
But right now, her brothers stepping in would only make things worse.
So she forced away her tears, put her hands on her hips, and said firmly, “Finn didn’t hurt me. At least not intentionally.”
That didn’t dim the anger on her brothers’ faces any.
“Did you find out if he’s here to expose us?” Hayrian asked privately into her mind.
“No,” Morian said firmly, “and I’m not even sure he is. He had another story. One that was definitely credible.”
Hayrian raised an eyebrow. “Have you considered the possibility he’s playing you?”
Of course she’d considered it. Did he really think she was stupid enough not to?
Silly question. Of course he did. They all did. They thought she was a little kid who wasn’t capable of anything. Well, she’d show them.
Somehow.
Right now, she just needed to buy some time. “You told me I had twenty-four hours,” she reminded Hayrian. “That still gives me lots of time. I’ll figure it out. Just keep your word.”
Out loud she said, “I told you, stay away from Finn. He hasn’t hurt me, but if any of you hurt him, you’ll be answering to me. And trust me, you don’t want to make me angry.” She glared at all of them to emphasize her point.
Damrian and Hayrian looked like they might argue, but Rowan only stared at her, his expression thoughtful. “You really care about him, don’t you, Mora?”
For some reason, his comment brought her near tears again. But she swallowed them down and nodded. “I do,” she said simply.
Rowan turned to Damrian and Hayrian. “Keep your distance. This one is Mora’s to sort out.”
The two dragons both looked mutinous, but they nodded, though reluctantly.
Rowan might be a human, but he was their elder by at least ten years. All of them listened to him.
They’d leave Finn alone, for now at least. But if it turned out he was investigating them, Morian suspected all bets were off.
Maybe it would be better if she didn’t find out.
But no matter how much she suspected that, Morian just couldn’t let it go. She had to know. Had to have an answer, one way or another.
Even if she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to like what she found out.
Chapter 14
Finn paced up and down the room, his heart aching. If he didn’t do something to fix things, and fast, he was going to lose her. And the only thing he was certain of right now was that he didn’t want that.
He just wasn’t sure how to prevent it. He didn’t even really know what was going wrong.
He’d thought everything was over when her brother had blurted out that he was a police officer, but that hadn’t been it. She’d been suspicious, yes, but it wasn’t until he’d been talking to her later, when he’d told her about his experience with the dragon, that she’d been really upset.
And he couldn’t figure out why. Was it because he’d been involved with arresting a dragon? Was that enough to make her dislike him?
Was she more heavily involved with the dragons than he’d thought? Her whole family’s involvement indicated that. Perhaps it didn’t even matter that she couldn’t be sure he was investigating her. She couldn’t risk him finding out, couldn’t risk him telling someone.
Except the police already knew she was involved. She had to know that. She’d shown her licence to the officer guarding the lair. Really, it was a small jump from there to Finn being here undercover.
The more he thought about it, the more certain he was that she’d guessed the truth.
That still led him back to the fact that he didn’t know how to make it right.
There was one thing he was certain of though. He couldn’t, in all conscience, continue this investigation. He’d have to call his supervisor and bow out.
Before he could reconsider, Finn picked up his phone and dialled. While he waited for the phone to connect and then to be transferred to the right department, he began to have his doubts.
What was he going to say? How was he going to get out of this without revealing the truth—that he’d fallen for Mora?
And if he somehow managed to do that, what would happen then? They’d send someone else. Someone who didn’t care about Mora. Someone who might just find something serious enough to get her into trouble.
That thought scared him more than never speaking to her again.
“Detective Inspector Williams here. Do you have something?”
The inspector answered at just the same time as someone started knocking loudly on the door.
The two events threw Finn’s brain into chaos, and for a moment, he stood there, not sure which to deal with first.
“I… uh… there’s someone at the door. I have to go. I’ll call you back.” Then he hung up on the inspector. That was going to get him into trouble later, but right now, Finn was more concerned about what was happening here.
“Coming,” he called out, pausing to tuck the phone out of sight in his suitcase before opening the door.
His heart beat a little faster when he saw Mora standing there, even though she was glaring at him. Maybe he hadn’t completely screwed everything up.
“Hey,” he said quietly and stepped aside for her to come in.
She didn’t respond, but she did come in.
Finn closed the door behind her, then turned to look at her.
She was glaring at him, her arms crossed. “So,” she said flatly. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re really here?”
Finn’s heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?” he asked, stalling for time, his brain working overtime.
Yeah, she’d guessed, but she was still playing her cards close to her chest. In order for her to actually convince him she knew what he was up to, she’d have to admit she was up to something too. And he desperately wanted to know what it was.
Not for the investigation. He knew he couldn’t turn her in at this point no matter what her reasons were. No, he wanted to know for himself.
Because he was pretty sure the only way to get her to forgive him for his secret was to point out she had one of her own, one nearly as big as h
is, maybe even bigger.
“Stop playing games,” Mora said flatly. “You deliberately didn’t tell me you were a police officer. Why?”
“We both have secrets,” Finn said softly. “You’re keeping some pretty big ones of your own, aren’t you?”
“And the only way you could know about them is if you’re here investigating the resort,” Mora said flatly.
“So you admit you have secrets?” That was close, but not close enough for Finn.
“Everyone has secrets.”
They stood there, staring at each other, neither one ready to be the first to talk. Finn’s heart ached. Was there no way out of this? No way to know the truth? No way to find his way back to where she cared about him?
Well, there was one way. And since he was out of other options, he might as well give it a shot.
Even though his heart was pounding, Finn took a deep breath and admitted the truth. “Everything I’ve told you is true, all of it. But yes, I left out the fact that I’m here undercover. I’m not investigating the resort though. I’m investigating you. The police simply want to know why you’re involved with the dragons, nothing more.”
Mora’s eyes widened at his words. Finn wasn’t sure if that was because he’d admitted the truth or because she was surprised by it.
His analytical mind kept trying to ferret out what was going on. She’d said investigating the resort. So this was bigger than just her. How? What? He was missing something.
“That’s all this is to you, an investigation?” Mora demanded. “And everything you’ve done here, pretending to care about me, that was all about finding out why I was at the dragon lair?” Her voice shook on the last word, and Finn saw a tear glisten in the corner of her eye.
“No,” he said immediately. “I came here to do a job, but to be honest, I stopped caring about that a long time ago. I care about you, Mora. That’s why I’m telling you this. I’ll probably lose my job over it, but I don’t even care about that anymore. I know I’ve messed things up, and that there’s probably no way you’ll ever forgive me, but I have to try.”
Her eyes widened again, and she stared at him, her face haunted. “I’m not sure you really want me to forgive you.”
What on earth was she talking about? Why would he not want her to forgive him?
The answer hit him like a freight train, but his mind refused to believe it. It couldn’t be true. He couldn’t have missed something that big, could he? He desperately tried to deny it, even though deep down he knew he should have guessed a long time ago.
“What do you mean?” he asked, hoping against hope she’d have some other explanation, some other reason. One that he might just be able to live with.
“Was the bit about you freaking out over meeting the dragon leader true?” Mora asked instead.
Unfortunately her words didn’t assuage his fears any. “Um… yeah, that bit was true.”
She winced. “Then you probably don’t want to hear what I have to say. And I probably shouldn’t say it anyway. My secrets are just as dangerous to me and those around me as you being here is. Maybe we should just go our separate ways while we still can.”
Finn’s heart started to pound, and the sound of blood rushed in his ears. It had to be true. He felt the panic rising, and he tried to push it away. He managed just enough to demand, “Tell me.” He had to know the truth one way or another.
She stared at him for a moment, her eyes looking into his as though searching for whether he truly wanted to know.
Perhaps, deep down, she wanted to know as much as he did. Finn felt the connection between them stronger than ever, but for the first time it sent a chill up his spine.
He’d heard the stories. Dragon mates were tied together by some kind of magic. There were whispers they somehow lured their mates in with magic, and then used them to further the dragon clan’s needs.
After seeing the look in that dragon leader’s eyes, Finn had believed it.
But now, he wasn’t so sure.
Mora wasn’t like that, was she?
“I’m not just involved with the dragon clan,” she said softly. “I am part of the dragon clan.”
He’d known it before she’d said it, but that didn’t stop it sending his heart racing so hard it made his chest hurt, which in turn made it hard to breathe. For a moment, Finn thought he might pass out.
It was happening all over again, the panic, the fear.
But this wasn’t some strange dragon clan leader whose motivations he didn’t understand. This was Mora, the woman he’d hung out with for the last couple of days, the woman he’d kissed, the woman he’d nearly made love with.
If he had, would he now be mated to her and under her spell?
Was he under her spell somehow anyway?
That made no sense at all. Finn was pretty sure that if he were under a dragon’s spell, he wouldn’t be freaking out, would he?
For some reason, that bit of logic, no matter how crazy it was, calmed him a little.
The fact Mora was staring at him with a mixture of concern and hopefulness calmed him a little more. For a moment, he thought he just might be able to do this. He might be able to accept that she was a dragon and not have everything collapse around him.
But then her eyes did that dragon thing, her pupils narrowing into slits, and Finn’s heartrate skyrocketed again. When they whirled, just like the dragon clan leader’s eyes had, Finn just couldn’t cope. His panic hit the roof, and he stumbled back.
“I can’t do this,” he panted. “I just… I can’t…” He held up his hands as though he somehow thought he could hold her off. As if that would work with a dragon. If she wanted to attack him, there would be nothing he could do to stop her.
The only thing stopping him from turning into a melting, screeching ball of panic was the fact that she hadn’t. She hadn’t even tried to follow him. She just stood there, staring at him, her face a mixture of heartbreak and pain.
“I won’t hurt you, Finn. I love you.” Her voice was anguished. This time she did take a step towards him, holding out her hand entreatingly.
He wanted to respond. Those were the words he’d longed to hear. They still caused his heart to beat a little faster. But now he wasn’t sure if it was love or fear. He couldn’t push past that terror to find out.
“Please… I need some time. Alone,” he choked out.
The pain on her face hurt.
But he didn’t know what else to do.
Chapter 15
Morian could feel Finn’s terror as surely as if it were her own. It bled out of him, seeping into everything around her, threatening to overwhelm her.
If it felt like that to her, how must he be feeling?
She desperately wanted to help him. She could use her life magic to soothe his fear, to take the edge off it, even take it away completely.
But that would be manipulating him, changing his emotions and feelings to suit herself.
What right did she have to do that?
Suddenly, she understood her parents’ warning about her magic. Suddenly her abilities seemed far too powerful, far too dangerous.
She might love him, but that didn’t give her the right to control him.
He’d asked her to leave. And that was what she needed to do, no matter how much it hurt.
“I’m sorry, Finn,” she said. Then she turned and fled out the door, not wanting to face it anymore, not wanting to know the man she loved was afraid of who she really was.
She practically ran all the way back to the house, bursting through the door…
And coming face to face with all three of her brothers.
It was as if they’d been expecting her. All three of them were just standing around in the living room, staring at her, their faces concerned.
She really did not feel like explaining any of this to them right now. They wouldn’t understand. How could they? Their mates had all accepted who they were. They all loved them and wanted to be with them.
&nbs
p; Trust her to pick the one who had a dragon phobia.
“Are you all right?” Rowan asked softly.
“Did he upset you again?” Damrian demanded, his hands clenching into fists. “I’ll show him…”
Only Hayrian was quiet, but Morian could hear his question as clearly as if he’d spoken the words, ‘Is he a danger to us?’
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said, throwing her hands up in the air as if she could ward them off.
She should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. “I’ll go get the answer from him then,” Damrian said, and he started towards the door.
“No,” Morian said firmly. She glared at all three of them. “Leave him alone. He’s terrified of dragons. And I won’t have you three freaking him out.”
“You told him about us?” Damrian demanded.
“Are you sure that was a good idea, considering?” Hayrian asked. Morian suspected his agreement to keep their secret wasn’t going to last much longer.
“I’m not a dragon,” Rowan said reasonably. “Maybe I should talk to him.”
“No,” Morian said again firmly. No to all of them, all their ideas, all their interference. “I just want to be left alone, okay? And leave Finn alone too. You’re the last thing he needs right now, any of you.” She glared at all of them to be sure.
“You don’t expect us to just sit around and do nothing do you?” Damrian said.
“That’s exactly what I expect.”
Hayrian was staring at her. “I don’t think we can do that, Mora. This isn’t just about you anymore, is it?”
Why? Why couldn’t he just leave her alone for a few hours, give her heart time to grieve? To give her time to accept this wasn’t going to work.
She looked at them, all staring at her, their faces a picture of concern and worry. They were doing it again. When were they going to realise she was an adult, and this was her choice?
Irritation rose, mingling with her pain over Finn, and blossomed into anger.
“I don’t need your help,” she shouted. “I’m not a kid, and this is my problem. I’ll deal with it the way I want. And you can all just stay out of it.”
