Page 14 of Guardian's Dilemma

On the other hand, the first thing every single dragon at the castle would do is fly down here to double-check that theridirewas dead. It’s what I would do. So there was zero chance of faking his death.

It left me with the worst choice: my clan or my mate.

It wasn’t fair. I couldn’t leave my clan vulnerable because they were my clan and they’d raised me and I owed them a debt of gratitude. Some of them I even liked and they didn’t deserve to be killed byridire.

My heart began to beat faster and I felt the first prickle of sweat forming on the base of my back. If theridirecame here, they’d kill every last Somerville. Old Aunt Isabella who only spoke in Italian and pretended she didn’t understand English because four hundred years ago, she’d been mated into our clan without any say in it and she liked to pretend she was still adjusting. Rhod, the good little minion who did his duty and never complained about how boring it was ordering stationary and posting letters. Alfie.

The thought of someone hurting Alfie made me feel physically sick. It warred with the pain inside me. It wasn’t just that he was an innocent and, if there was one person in the whole castle who deserved to be protected, it was him, it was that he was our greatest treasure.

I looked at my mate, who was standing still, watching me closely. I suddenly realised – as though it hadn’t been obvious from the start – that he was there to kill me. To kill my clan.

This man who was the most perfect being I’d ever seen in my life and who Fate had sent to me as a gift – he was going to murder my family.

I couldn’t take it in.

My body began to react, though. The panic was working through me as I realised we’d been down here for, what, ten minutes? Was that time enough for otherridireto get into our territory?

I pointed at the bed. No, I wasn’t thinking of seeing him laying on it, spread out. It was that it was the biggest piece of furniture in the room, a huge four-poster thing that had definitely not been my choice but was, in this instance, going to be useful. The bed was heavy. If I tied my mate to it, he wouldn’t get away. If I tied him to a chair or something, he’d easily break that while my back was turned and then he might find a weapon and then he—

“Sit,” I said.

He backed onto the bed and I didn’t need to think about the fact that he would be getting his scent all over it.

“Are any more of you coming?”

I waited but he didn’t answer, so I tried again.

“When will they get here?”

He wasn’t even glaring at me. His face was a mask of disdain and I didn’t like it. My dragon wanted to push him down and make him look at us with- with love.

I couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t bear these feelings, this uncertainty. Everything in my life had been ordered and controlled since I could remember.

“Hands up,” I said. “I’m going to tie you to the bedpost.”

Alarm rang through his scent but his face stayed impassive. I understood. He didn’t want to be tied up, especially not by a dragon. It would leave him vulnerable. On the other hand, I wasn’t going to have him wandering around while I wasn’t there to keep my eye on him.

I waited and, slowly, he raised his hands. I grabbed a tie from my rack and wound it round his wrists, trying not to feel his skin as I did so. I didn’t look at him at all because that would have put ideas in my head and I needed to stay focused.

When I was done and I was sure his wrists were locked there but the binding wasn’t too tight, I backed away.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Where are you going?”

It was the first time he’d voluntarily spoken to me and a shiver of joy joined the pain and the confusion rippling through me.

“I’m going to check on my treasure,” I said, and I left. Behind me, I heard him snort with disgust.

I moved quickly through the vault, keeping my senses open for any movement or sound or scent that was out of place. I didn’t think any moreridirewere there because they wouldn’t have stood by and let me capture my mate if they were, but I didn’t want to get sloppy now.

Once outside, I stripped, shifted and took to the air in a burst of power, barely remembering to grab my bundle of clothes on the way. I flew straight for the castle.

Annoyingly, I couldn’t conceal myself as I approached it from the air because there were no edges for me to stick to, no shadows I could lurk in. Circling round the back, I landed just behind the garage where the collection of gleaming cars was kept. I dressed and hurried to the back door.

As soon as I was inside, I pulled my power to me and shimmered into the corners of the rooms. I wasn’t exactly hiding in darkness, since it was mid-afternoon and the sun was streaming in, it was just that people’s eyes didn’t catch on me. I slipped through the castle, heading for Alfie’s room.

On the first floor, I came across one of my clan, Conley. He was about my age and one of the better fighters of the clan, but only because he was vicious and enjoyed the sight of blood. I thoughtIliked fighting but Conley was something else.

---