Page 76 of Lion Conquers All
The approaching stranger’s mouth curved into a smile. “Mated, are we? That was very clever. Why are you escorting a human male if you already have a mate?”
“A human male? Mate? What the fuck are you talking about? Who are you? Ava, you said we were going to see Gretchen.”
“We are. This asshole is just making us pause a second. He’s not supposed to be in town.” Ava stepped to the side, carefully putting herself between the dragon and Gaven. She was the same size as the human male and she was a she-bear. She had a much better chance of fending off an attack than the human school teacher.
Ryder’s footsteps crunched closer and closer on the snow. He came and stood next to her, also blocking the dragon’s view of Gaven.
“I thought you said you didn’t know him.” Gaven tried to step around them both.
“Stay there.” Ava’s words came out like a growl.
“Why are you here? Why are you approaching my mate?” Ryder rolled his neck, popped a few vertebrae, and stared down the male like his gaze alone would melt the dragon into a puddle.
Ava knew he was hanging onto his human form for dear life. Her bear was pushing for control hard. She knew his wolf was doing the same. At least Ryder had gotten to shift during the search for the kids, she was still waiting for her turn to hunt next week. It’d been over two weeks since she shifted and her bear was becoming claustrophobic…or restless…or something else she didn’t have a name for.
“Look, I’m not trying to cause trouble. I’m looking for Col Li’Vhram. I need to speak with him. I’ve been wandering the town looking for anyone and finally caught your mate’s scent when I passed this parking lot.”
“Mate? Scent? What is—”
“Shut up, Gaven.” Ryder and Ava both growled at the human in sync.
“We can’t take you with us. We’re in the middle of a crisis, but if you’ll go wait at The Watering Hole, we’ll tell him you want to speak.” Ryder took a step forward. The other male was several inches taller, but they were pretty evenly matched on the outside looking in. Still, Ava knew better, and so did Ryder. If this guy decided to do something, it would take more than she and her mate to stop him. It would take another dragon.
“Not a problem. I didn’t mean to raise any alarms. I really did just come to speak with Col. I’ll wait at the bar.” He dipped his chin in a respectful nod to Ava and then to Ryder and then walked away.
That was it. He just left.
“Is something wrong?” Gaven’s tone was tense, and he’d taken a couple steps backward away from her and Ryder.
“Nothing’s wrong. That guy just should’ve called first. He startled me. It’s fine. Let’s go see Gretchen. I’m sure she’s waking up by now and looking for you.” Ava gestured to the truck.
“Those comments he made about you. What did he mean by them? Why did he call me a human and make it sound like you weren’t?” He backed up a couple more steps.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Dalmeckjust wasn’t a strong enough curse for the mess that damn fire-breathing asshole had created.
Ryder stepped in, completely aware she was about to bare her fangs and threaten the damn man if he didn’t get in the truck quietly and leave her the fuck alone. He nuzzled her neck and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “We’ll be right there. Will you go warm the truck up?”
Shechuffedout a harsh breath, and then left her mate to deal with the messy situation.
Ava got into the truck and started it, turned on the radio and closed her eyes. She listened to two songs before the doors of the truck opened. Ryder got in the front with her and Gaven climbed to the back seat.
“Ava, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stress you. I’ve just been at my wits end with Gretchen going missing and I took it out on you.” Gaven made eye contact with her through the rearview mirror.
She stared back at him without responding for what seemed like a long time but was probably only a few seconds. It was fine. She was fine. And she understood that he was edgy. His daughter had been missing for days during a blizzard.
“You are forgiven.” She broke eye contact, threw the truck into gear and headed out of the parking lot.
Hopefully he wasn’t hoping for more than that. She really didn’t have anything to say to anyone right now. She felt edgy herself and damn if she didn’t want to climb out of this truck right this second, shift into her bear, and go claw some trees and eat. Something.
Eating sounded amazing.
A deer. A caribou. A moose.
She licked her lips.
She wassodamnhungry.
Ryder reached over and put his hand on hers.
