Chapter Thirteen
Kai forced himself to walk, not rush, out of the guest cottage. He desperately wanted to stay and spend another hour — another day, or even better, a year — wrapped around Tessa, but his mind spun with what he’d seen. If that birthmark was what he thought, it changed everything. Everything.
He speed-walked up the path, swatting low-hanging branches and palm fronds out of the way. He nearly swatted Boone, too, when the wolf came sauntering along, sniffing deeply and blocking Kai’s way.
“Ooh, la la. Someone feels better, I see.” The wolf had the good sense to dodge Kai’s arm and step aside before he was bowled over, though. “What’s the hurry?”
“Have you seen Silas?”
Boone laughed. “Never seen a man in such a hurry to leave his mate for a grouch like Silas.”
Kai stopped in his tracks and spun. “What did you just say?”
Boone shrugged. “Come on, we all know Silas is a grouch, so—”
“Not that part.”
Boone cracked into a wry grin. “Ah. The part about your mate.”
“How the hell do you know that?”
“It’s obvious, man. Your eyes glow every time you look at her. Not the angry glow. The glow Silas used to have when…” Boone trailed off, and they stood in awkward silence, eyeing the path up to Silas’s house. “Anyway,” Boone continued a second later. “It was obvious the second you brought Tessa here. Don’t tell me you’re still kidding yourself about that, are you?”
Kai took a deep breath. No, he wasn’t kidding himself anymore. Tessa was his destined mate. And yes, his soul had told him as much the moment they’d met, but he’d been trying to deny the attraction for her own good.
“Like you’d be any different,” he scowled at Boone.
The wolf shifter laughed out loud. “Me, I’d know my mate the second I met her. Except, of course, I never will.” For a moment, his jaunty tone broke and his eyes dimmed. But then he grinned, playing the jokester again. Good old Boone, master of hiding from emotions he didn’t want to face. “So, you and Tessa finally—”
Kai cut him off with a growl. “I need to talk to Silas. Right now.”
“Yeah, well. Good luck convincing him, man.”
Kai clenched his teeth and strode up the steep path toward Silas’s place. Like his, it stood high on a rocky cliff overlooking the sea. But while Kai’s place was all clean angles and open space, Silas’s house was all arches and curves. The house belonged to the owner of the estate, who’d had the place built by some up-and-coming architect specializing in open-design masterpieces made entirely of bamboo — as in, three-story treehouse style, a cross between the Sydney Opera House and something out of the Jungle Book. Since the reclusive estate owner was never around, Silas lived in one wing.
A stream gurgled, paralleling the path Kai followed as his stomach knotted with emotions. He’d never really believed he’d find a mate, and damn, he was practically bumping into things out of sheer joy. Joy and terror, because what if something happened to Tessa? Or worse, what if she rejected him?
Mate loves us, his dragon assured him. She knows who we are.
He clenched his fists. Would that change when he confronted her with the truth? Could she handle finding out who — and what — she really was?
The last few steps, he took two at a time, climbing briskly until he stepped onto the lowest patio of the place. No need to call out for Silas, because his cousin was already there, arms crossed, scowling.
Kai folded his arms and scowled back, hiding his instinctive gulp.
“I tell you to learn more about that human, and you disappear with her for most of yesterday. I tell you to investigate her background, and instead, you go flying all night, and nearly get yourself killed.” Silas started pacing around Kai. “I tell you to—” He came to an abrupt halt by Kai’s shoulder and sniffed. “You smell like her. Damn it, what have you done?”
Kai gritted his teeth. It had to be crystal clear what he’d done. He hadn’t showered after leaving Tessa — and even a shower probably wouldn’t have washed off the scent of sex. Not after the way he’d marked her body as his. All that nuzzling was instinctive, as his inner dragon marked Tessa as off-limits to any other man.
“Listen, Silas—”
“No, you listen to me,” Silas barked. “We agreed to help because Ella asked us. We agreed to keep Tessa safe — but not for any longer than necessary. You know the rules. Damn it, you helped make those rules. No humans.”
“What’s more important — some rule or destiny?”
“Destiny?” Silas’s voice filled with scorn. “You think she’s your mate?”
“I know she is.”
Silas stepped closer, his eyes blazing. “The stories we were raised with were a bunch of lies. Destiny isn’t benevolent, Kai. Destiny is cruel, playing games with our hearts. With our souls.” His voice filled with the anger and pain he usually kept simmering beneath the surface.
“What happened to you wasn’t a trick of destiny, Si—”
His cousin shoved him and prowled closer. “This isn’t about me. It’s about you. Destiny fucked with your parents. Now it’s fucking with you. You know the risks of taking a human mate.”
“She’s not human. Not entirely,” Kai cut in.
Silas jerked to a halt. “What?”
“You were right about why Morgan wants her.”
“She’s a fire maiden? How can you be sure?”
Kai shook his head. “Not just a fire maiden. She’s part dragon. She carries the brand, Silas. The brand of the Baird Clan.”
Silas went still at the mention of the legendary dragon clan. “Are you sure?”
Kai nodded slowly. “It’s just like the stories say.” He made a butterfly shape with his fingers. “This big. Right here, on her back.” He motioned over his own shoulder.
“A descendant of the house of Baird,” Silas whispered. “You’re absolutely sure?”
Kai nodded, and for a moment, the only sound was that of the wind whispering through the trees.
Silas studied him from head to toe. “Could just be a birthmark.”
Kai scoffed.
“All right, if she’s a fire maiden — and not just any fire maiden, but one descended from the house of Baird — every dragon ought to be after her. Desperately.”
Kai tilted his head. What was Silas getting at?
“I didn’t feel a thing,” Silas said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Kai snorted. “You haven’t felt a thing for years. Ever since Moira—”
Silas cut him off. “Don’t.”
Kai didn’t know exactly what had happened between Silas and the dragon female he’d been betrothed to. Only that it had ended badly. But, damn it, he had to get the truth into his cousin’s thick head. “You still love Moira, don’t you?”
Silas’s eyes swirled red, and a growl rose from his throat.
Kai went on nonetheless. “Fine. Keep pretending whatever happened didn’t happen and that it didn’t affect you. But don’t let it keep me from claiming my mate.”
“Moira has nothing to do with this.”
Kai went on, undeterred. “You still love Moira.”
“Of course, I still—” Silas started, then cut himself off, aware of what he’d just admitted.
Kai pressed on. “That kept you from being attracted to Tessa. But I noticed her from the very start.”
Silas stepped forward. “Fine. So you’re attracted to Tessa. Like I said, destiny plays games. Morgan wants her, too. Does that make her his fated mate?”
Kai looked at his feet. Shit. Was his interest in Tessa purely physical?
No! his dragon roared, giving him a thousand other reasons to love Tessa. Reasons Kai struggled to put into words.
“I’d never force her. I’d never lock her up,” he started.
Silas shrugged, unconvinced.
“I feel her moods. Even from a distance.”
Silas huffed. “I swear, when that woman gets mad, everyone on Maui can feel it.”
Kai felt his face contort in something between a grin and a scowl. Tessa sure did have a temper — deeply buried, but when it was ignited…
Very dragon-like, his inner beast hummed.
“Can you feel it when she’s happy?” he asked Silas. “Do you want to make her happy? Do you go to sleep wondering what you can do to make her smile the next morning, or how many times you can make her smile?”
Silas raised his eyebrows. A long, thoughtful moment later, he nodded softly. “Maybe you really do love her.”
Hearing someone else say it made Kai pause. Wow. Did he really mean all those things? He thought back over the past few days and decided, yes. Absolutely. Yes, he did.
“Tessa may have dragon blood, but I love her for her. She’s my destined mate.”
His shoulders lifted as if a weight had been taken from him. A weight he’d put there himself and only now shed.
Silas pursed his lips. “Well, if she does have dragon blood, it’s no wonder Morgan wanted her.”
Kai growled. “He’s not getting her.”
Silas gave a curt nod. “You’re right. We can’t let him have her. We need her.”
Kai stepped forward, glowering. “Quit that. Tessa’s not a thing, Silas. She’s a woman. Her own person.”
“I know that. You know that. But Morgan sees her as a treasure — the kind of treasure he would kill for. Morgan, and enemies far more powerful than him.”
Kai showed his teeth. “Let them try to take her.”
Silas made a face. “They already did. Twice.”
Kai winced. Morgan had already locked Tessa up in Phoenix. If Ella hadn’t rescued her, Tessa would still be Morgan’s prisoner. The thought made Kai sick. He would have gone on with his life not even knowing his destined mate was out there — not knowing she needed his help. And Christ, Tessa would be living in hell. Morgan would force himself on her and—
Kai swallowed hard and forced the horrifying images away. No way would he allow anything to happen to Tessa. No way.
“Last night shows that he’s moving in,” Silas muttered.
“Let him move in,” Kai snarled. “I’ll kill him the way I killed those no-good scouts of his.”
Silas threw up his hands. “What if Morgan comes with double the help? Trained warriors, not a couple of scouts. Are you going to take on a whole army by yourself?”
Kai worked his jaw. Yes, he’d take on a whole army if he had to. But Silas was right. If he was outnumbered by stronger foes, one little mistake could cost him everything. It would cost Tessa everything, too.
“By myself, huh?” He glowered at his cousin. His whole life, he’d been taught that he had to stick to what little family he had. Silas had said it a hundred times. Was Silas really going to leave him on his own now?
Silas thumped Kai’s shoulder. “I’m with you, you idiot. Of course, I’m with you. But even the two of us — plus the others — may not be enough.”
“You really think Morgan has that much power? He’s rich, but he’s not Drax.”
Silas grimaced. “No, he isn’t. You’d better hope Drax doesn’t know about Tessa.”
Kai scraped the flagstone underfoot, making a low, screeching sound.
“I’ll kill Drax, too.”
Silas’s hand tightened on his shoulder. “No one wants to kill Drax more than me. But we’re not ready to take him on, Kai. Not yet.”
“So if Drax comes after Tessa, we let her go?” He glared at Silas, letting the fury show in his eyes.
Silas stretched to his full height, reminding Kai who was the bigger man — and dragon — if only by a hair.
“If it’s Drax, we have bigger problems than one woman.”
“My mate,” Kai growled. “My mate. You should know what that feels like, Silas. If it were Moira—”
“Don’t.” Silas cut him off with a low, murderous growl. “Don’t.”
Kai hardly cared. If rubbing that old wound with salt was what it took to convince Silas, so be it. All he cared about was protecting Tessa.
“I can’t let her go. I won’t let her go. If it were your mate, you’d feel the same.”
“If it were my mate…” Silas broke off with a pained huff, glaring at Kai.
The air practically crackled with tension as the two men glowered at each other. Then a bird rustled through the trees, and Silas shook his head. “We need to think this through.” He took a deep breath and fell into one of his thoughtful silences.
Kai started pacing around the patio, cursing Morgan. If the dragon really was allied with Drax… Part of him simply wanted to hope Morgan was acting alone, but no good soldier operated on hope. He needed a plan.
“Does Tessa know?” Silas’s voice sliced into the tense silence.
“Know what?”
Silas waved his hands in exasperation. “Know that you’re mates.”
Kai wrung his hands together. “We only just…”
Silas scoffed. “You only just fucked her, and you’re convinced—”
Time stopped, and everything in Kai’s vision went red. Everything around him became a blurry rush. There was a roaring sound, a crash, a slam, and—
Time ticked into motion again, and, shit, he realized he’d just flung Silas back against the stone retaining wall and grabbed him by the throat. Kai’s dragon teeth were extending, and his eyes burned — a sure sign they were glowing in rage.
“Do. Not. Say. That. About. My. Mate.” He growled each word into Silas’s face, absolutely, positively ready to take his cousin on.
Silas’s eyes sparked and his body tensed under Kai’s firm hold. But a second later, the orange hue faded to yellow, and Silas nodded once.
“You mean it. She is your mate.”
“Of course, I mean it.” Kai pushed away.
Of course, we mean it, his dragon grumbled inside.
Silas scowled and glanced at his watch. “I have to catch a flight to Oahu to see if I can track down the dragon who got away. You, meanwhile, think carefully. Think it through. I mean, without leapfrogging to whatever damn happily-ever-after your dragon wants to skip ahead to.”
Right on cue, Kai’s dragon sighed, picturing curling up around Tessa. Tessa with a sleepy, green-eyed baby in her arms.
Kai stood perfectly still before he was bowled over by the onslaught of emotion that image aroused in him.
“Even if she does have dragon blood, she doesn’t know what it means to be mates,” Silas said. “She doesn’t know what it means for her. What she’s risking. Or did you explain?” Silas arched a doubtful eyebrow.
Kai kicked the ground. No, he hadn’t explained. He hadn’t had a chance.
“Didn’t think so,” Silas muttered. “You need to claim her as soon as you can. Make her your mate so no one else can take her.”
Kai looked at the sky. Sure. He’d run right back to Tessa and say, I need to screw you again right now. And when we’re done, I need to bite your neck and breathe fire into the wound. But don’t worry — I hear it feels great. And that way you’ll be stuck with me forever, and no other dragon can take you away.
Dragons mated for life, and when one partner died, the other followed shortly after. Even if Morgan killed Kai, he couldn’t force Tessa to bond with him — not once she’d given herself to another man.
But he didn’t want Tessa to have to mate with him. He wanted her to want it as desperately as he did. To dream about it. To make the occasion the beautiful memory it deserved to be — not a business arrangement, a do-or-die.
He could just see Silas butting in and trying to explain to Tessa. I need you to mate with Kai. For your own good. Oh, and dragon numbers are down, so please bear as many offspring as you can.
Yeah, right. He could see her reaction already — Tessa with both hands on her hips, lips in a tight, angry line. No way was he going to convince her to mate with him that quickly. He needed time to win her over. To answer her questions. To put her at ease.
But, shit. He didn’t have time. The enemy was already closing in, plotting to take Tessa away.