Page 81 of To Match A Dragon's Fire

“That is not my name,” I spoke quietly, but we were in a cave so it echoed anyway.

“Fine,” Tony hissed, losing the mask I’d known was there. “If you don’t get me out of here,Ember, I’ll make sure this whole damn town knows just how pathetic you are. You’re sleeping with this mutant thing? They’ll make your life a living hell.”

“Can’t you be more creative? You’ve already done that once.” I handed Kieran back the ledger. The taste of bile was bitter on my tongue.

“Don’t leave me here!” Tony shouted as I turned to walk away.

Kieran fell in step beside me. “Can I end his life or do you want the honor?”

I looked up at him, seeing the absolute seriousness on his face. He was ready to kill to defend me.

A deranged giggle slipped from my lips. This was a fairy tale all right. A dark and twisted one where the monster was better than some of the humans I knew.

“Just let him go.” I breathed out a heavy sigh, trying to get my anger back under control.

He didn’t deserve any of my emotions. I preferred to save them for someone who really mattered.

“If that’s what you want.” Kieran touched the side of my face, smiling down at me with a warmth that melted the ice trying to claw at my heart.

Everything about him wrapped me in a cocoon of safety and I wanted to burrow into it.

But not here.

“You always were such a bitch!” Tony screamed again.

I tore my eyes from Kieran’s intense gaze, sparing a glance at my ex-husband. “I was going to ask him to release you, but maybe you can hang out there for a few more minutes.”

And with that, I walked away.

The sound of a fist making contact with bone and the rattle of chains bounced off the cavern walls.

Then blissful silence, followed by a predator’s roar, followed me as I went deeper into the darkened depths of the earth.

24

Kieran

Mine

Like a queen, she spared the idiot’s life.

But I was no king.

The only thing stopping me from swallowing the human sheriff whole was the newness of the growing mate bond. I wasn’t sure how long it would be for her to forgive me if I took matters into my own hands on her behalf.

Breaking his nose and knocking him out cold was the least I could do to soothe my beast.

I unhooked his chains because Ember wanted me to, but I’d sworn vengeance if he so much as ever looked her way again before he’d crumbled under the pressure of my fist.

Only time would tell if he’d heed my warning—time we were quickly running out of.

My heart beat wildly as I followed Ember’s steps through the cave. The silence and stillness of the earth mocked me, reminding me of the grave Ember would one day be buried in.

With any luck, I’d be right beside her.

That thought gave me a measure of peace.

This situation was a reminder of her fragility. If she’d been a dragon, she’d have eaten her gift without remorse. Her strength was tempered by her heart.

---