Page 24 of Draco

“We have to go back.” I placed her on her feet, took her hand, and began leading her back toward the house. She followed, her thoughts a jumbled mess of worry and fear.

“What’s with you?” she asked, moving quickly to keep up with me. “You’re acting weird.”

We stepped into the road, and I shifted, grabbed her, and took off. I needed to get back before Wrath got there. Ignoring Luna’s protests and struggling, I flew as fast and hard as I dared with her. The wind picked up and seemed to give us a boost as we flew along, and I struggled against my rising panic. Wrath’s visit wouldn’t be good. I knew this. Leif wouldn’t have come to warn me if Wrath was making a social visit.

“Put me down, put me down, put me down!” Luna screamed at me at the top of her lungs, hitting my leg with every demand. Then she glanced down, and fear screamed through her and rolled off her. I could smell her fear, taste it,feelit. She clung to my leg, trembling in her sudden, mute terror.

I hadn’t spoken to Wrath since the clash between Stryker, Kat, and him. He’d had to give in to the blood oath—dragon marriage—between Stryker and Kat, and that had pissed him off. He wanted her dead. He wanted Stryker punished. But neither of those things had happened.

His anger and hatred seemed almost… personal.

I knew almost nothing of Wrath. While the other dragons were private, Wrath never spoke to anyone, ever. Not for any reason. He was business all the time, never giving away anything personal about his life.

“I’m sorry I ran away. I’m sorry, please don’t drop me.” She still clung to my leg, begging me not to kill her for being a pain in the ass, and I lowered her and carefully set her down before landing and shifting back.

“I’m not going to kill you. Listen, no matter what happens next, I need you to be careful.” I grabbed her shoulders, and she stared up at me, confusion painting her features. “If you mention anything that happened between us, if you give it away in any way, we’ll both die.”

I needed her to know I was serious. Giving her a little shake, I waited for her to respond. She nodded her head. “Okay. Okay. I’ll be quiet.”

Her mind, filled with terror, whispered to me.Why are you acting so strange?

I ignored the question, planted a kiss on her forehead, and led her inside. Once inside, I heard the whisper of warning, the presence of another mind. He was here. And he was here alone. Which meant that whatever happened, it was his word against mine.

After the clash over Stryker and Kat, I didn’t trust Wrath. His draconian views would leave us all weaker. His refusal to think new blood would help us didn’t bode well for the brotherhood. His dislike of humans, in general, wasn’t a good look for the face of our organization. Our whole mission was to help those that needed us. How could we do that when he saw humans as paychecks and weaklings to be babysat?

I sat on a chair, and Luna sat on the couch, staring out the window at the beautiful view like it was the last time she’d ever see the sunlight. Her mind echoed this fear, and I wanted to comfort her, but I needed her to take this seriously.

The front door opened, and I glanced at Wrath. Luna’s head whipped around, and she stared at him in fear. He sauntered in like he owned not just the house, but the very earth itself and we were just invading pests he wanted to squish underfoot.

“Luna.” He offered her his hand, and she hesitated, clearly unsure about letting him touch her. She decided against it and backed away from him, her gaze meeting mine for a quarter second before skipping back to him. Internally she begged me to keep her safe, and I promised myself I would. I could sense her distrust of him, and I was sure he could too. It practically oozed from her pores.

His hand lowered, his smile fading as his hand dropped back to his side. His dark brows slashed low over his furious eyes and he glanced at me. “Draco. We need to talk, brother.”

I wanted to spit at his feet. He was no brother of mine.

He must have noticed my disgust in my features because his stance shifted up to the balls of his feet in an unmistakable fighting posture.

I didn’t so much as blink but stayed carefully impassive from my spot. “What do you need, Wrath?”

He spread his hands at his sides. “Come on, is that any way to talk to your leader?”

“No, but you’re not my leader.” He’d been gifted an honor he didn’t deserve. An honor he’d dirtied and used to hurt rather than protect. He’d lost sight of our true goals, and so, I had no desire to follow him.

His features twisted in anger. “I am your leader. Allow me to remind you.” He stepped close to Luna, who shied away. I stared at him, aware of what he was doing. He was baiting me. He knew that, if I’d mated her, I’d be overly protective of her. And I was. But I knew he was no real threat to her, and thus, I had no concern for her safety.

“You mismanaged the training of Stryker.” The words weren’t a question, merely a statement of what he believed to be fact.

“How so?”

“You taught him to break the rules and find justifications for it.” Wrath’s blue-silver eyes, ringed in black, locked on me. His brows lowered, and I could feel his fury without even trying to touch his mind.

I shook my head. “I merely taught him to be intelligent and really understand the rules.” The jab landed, and Wrath’s fury overflowed.

“You ungrateful little…” He stopped, composing himself as I watched, wondering what was about to come. Perhaps antagonizing him wasn’t the best choice, but I’d only spoken the truth.

“You’ve also mismanaged this contract.” His gaze flicked to Luna, and she shrank back as far as she could from him. “You’re to be relieved of your duties, effective right now.”

The words hit me like a grenade to the chest. He couldn’t do this. Not without permission the written complaint of several other high-ranking officials. “Show me the documents.”

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