Page 54 of The Dragon's Gambit
“Sorry for causing you guys trouble,” Reiya said quietly.
“No, Reiya. You don’t apologize. This is about the dragons and their ways. You have nothing to apologize for. Nothing at all, my sweet fairy.” Lee kissed her forehead and looked down at his beautiful mate in adoration. She was perfect. The dragons and their issues were not her problem. They would deal with it.One way or another,he thought darkly.
Chapter 37 Best for Her
“Reiya ... your arm looks back to normal. Thank goodness,” Brody sighed a breath of relief when he saw her walk back out with her arm fully healed.
“I’m so happy you’re not in pain anymore. I couldn’t stand it. Can’t we just take her home now, where it’s ACTUALLY safe for her?” Chelsie glared at both Xander and Lee. This would not have happened if she was back in Elysia.
“Chels.” Reiya tilted her head, gazing pleadingly at her friend.
“She’s right. We need to do a better job at keeping you safe here,” Lee said with a chilling tone.
Oh damn.Reiya shot Chelsie an angry look. Chelsie immediately backed away, knowing she’d inadvertently made things worse for Reiya. “I’m safe. It was an accident, Lee. I’m fine. Don’t overreact now.”
“I’m not overreacting. This could have been avoided. In the future, we’ll make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.” Lee’s voice was threateningly quiet.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking Lee, but there’s nothing that needs to be changed. It was a simple accident. Please don’t go overboard now.” Reiya tugged on his arm, her eyes pleading with him.
“I don’t think I’m going overboard. I’m thinking keeping you inside the castle when we’re not around might be the best thing.” Lee said the words Reiya was afraid he was going to say.
Reiya sighed loudly, showing her frustration. The caged bird fluttered a little bit ... better clip her wings even though she’s already caged. “I don’t want to be locked up in here just because of an accident. That isn’t fair, Lee. Besides, how is the inside any safer? There are people who don’t like me here. Does it really matter whether I’m in or out?”
Lee narrowed his eyes. “Even if they don’t approve of you, no one would dare touch you. They know the consequences if they do.”
“Yeah, it’s called getting their ass kicked by Yogi and a kelpie,” Chelsie said with annoyance. As if they would let anyone touch her. What happened earlier was an accident. Nothing wouldhave gone too far. They were near her moments after the incident.
“Hmph. I’m not too confident about that. You weren’t able to prevent this,” Lee said with mild anger.
“You better not be questioning how I protect my sister!” Brody suddenly raised his voice and stepped forward toward Lee. He would tolerate a lot. He would not put up with someone questioning how well he looked after Reiya. No way. He was her guardian, and he would never let anything happen to her. Sure, an accident might happen at times, but in a life-or-death situation, he would give everything in order to protect her.
Xander watched as the agitated guardian squared off against the deity, and he immediately took a protective stance next to Leviathan. Reiya anxiously shifted her gaze between the two angry groups, Lee and Xander facing off against Chelsie and Brody. This was becoming a mess. She was upset with Lee too, but things were being taken to another level. Seeing them at odds like this hurt her heart. These people were all important to her, and now they seemed divided. She wanted to scream at all of them. No one was thinking about her right now, not entirely. They were all selfishly thinking about her, saying what THEY thought was best for her.
That was what everyone had always done. Was it best for her to be taken away from her pack? Was it best for her to be separated from Hunter and Chasen? No one had asked her. They just did it. The fact of the matter was that she needed them. Always. They said it was for the best, that it was to keep her safe, to keep the pack safe. The four of them weren’t asked how they felt about it. It was just what was best, so they had to accept it.
She knew she would leave the Black Ice Pack eventually, but she had thought it could be on her terms, like when she found her mate and chose to leave, or when she decided to move to Elysia. She was bitter about it, about being separated fromthem. And here it was, happening in front of her again, right now ... more people deciding things for her. Once again, she wasn’t getting a say. She knew she was letting her anger about being separated from Hunter and Chasen boil over now, but everything was compounding, forcing her to feel feelings that she had been trying her best to suppress.
She stomped her foot, sending whipping waves toward the group. Lee was able to block the waves from hitting everyone at the last second. All eyes turned and looked at the angry orbs staring back at them. She took in a deep, calming breath. She had to be strong. She had a job to do ... several, in fact. She couldn’t afford to lose control of her emotions. She would see Hunter and Chasen soon, and she would visit her pack again. She would bury her sadness once more. She looked between the four people in front of her, but she had no words for them. Whatever. They could just lock her up, if that was what they wanted. What she wanted had never mattered before, and it didn’t matter now. She turned abruptly and quietly walked away from them.
Brody watched her for a second and frowned. “She’s doing it again.” His eyes filled with sadness. “She’s trying to bury everything and act like everything’s fine. It hurts when she does this,” he said quietly.
“She doesn’t think we see it. Doesn’t she know we know her better than that? She’s been hurting for months now.” Chelsie’s voice was very soft. It was one of the rare times you could hear her gentleness.
“I know she’s upset about leaving her pack and your brothers. I wish I could give her what she wants. I know she’s hurting. Damn ... and we just made it worse. Us fighting ... hurt her.” Lee cursed at himself inwardly for hurting his mate.
“Well, you three are the assholes, because I didn’t know she was hurting.” Xander folded his arms and looked at the jerksin front of him. They were the ones who knew her the best. He dodged out of the way as Lee swung his hand around at him. “Hey, don’t be mad at me. You guys better go and fix this.”
Brody took off running down the hall after her. She was walking slowly, so she didn’t get far before he wrapped her into his large body. “Don’t shut me out, Reiya. It hurts more than anything else when you do that.” He finally decided to tell her that he knew she was hurting. He was hurting, too, but this was their reality. He watched her eyes widen as they looked back into his. “Of course I know.” He leaned his head into hers. “I’m your guardian. I can sense your feelings, remember? I’m like the non-mate mate.” Brody grinned at his horrible joke.
Reiya gave him a weak smile and hugged him back. “I’m just tired of feeling like I never have a say in anything. Someone else always decides what’s best for me. I guess I harbor some harsh feelings about it. I don’t want you to think it’s anything against you, though.”
“Me too, Reiya. Me too. But I have you and you have me. I’m sure it’s tough for Hunter and Chasen, too. It’s worse because it was so sudden, and we didn’t have time to mentally prepare. It was bound to happen eventually. As long as I have you close, I’ll always be home, though. Hunter and Chasen will continue to be there for us, and soon, we will be able to visit each other often. It only feels bad now because we can’t visit them.” Brody’s deep voice rang true for Reiya. He was right. At least she always had him, and he was hurting, too.
“Us fighting made you uncomfortable, didn’t it?” Reiya nodded. “You know that I would never seriously get into an all-out fight with them though, right? Unless they did something to you, then there’s no going back.” Brody chuckled. “We all have strong personalities, so we’re bound to clash and collide. Even you and I bump heads at times, but I think it makes us all closer in the end.”
“Are you giving me life lessons and all that?” Reiya giggled into his chest. She already knew everything he was saying. She was just having an emotional moment. Who the hell wouldn’t? Anyone who was put in her shoes would be on the emotional rollercoaster ride of their life. Her problem was that she suppressed her feelings until they bubbled over, only to be suppressed again. She just never wanted to bother anyone.
Since last night, though, a nagging uneasiness had been growing inside her. It wasn’t just about Lee. She could feel an eerie, encroaching presence. It was as if her body was instinctively trying to get farther away but couldn’t. She might be safe here, but if she embarked to find the Ocean’s Tear, she would have to leave the safety of the dragon kingdom. Not only was it dangerous to get the Ocean’s Tear, but she would also have to worry about the demons that were lurking out there. It was no wonder she was an emotional mess.
