Daxon POV
64
I pulled up to that too–perfect little house with Talon already pacing inside me. The porch light was still on, a soft yellow glow flickering like some kind of fake ass welcome sign. I wasn’t buying it. Not anymore.
I slammed the truck door shut harder than necessary and stalked up the steps, not bothering to knock. The second I stepped inside, Maria was already hovering like some anxious little bird, and Eron stood stiff in the doorway to the living room.
“Where’s Elowen?” Maria asked, voice too sweet, too tight. Her smile didn’t touch her eyes. “She didn’t come home last night. We were worried.” Eron snapped, “We’re worried. Her hair. Now another mate!”
Bull. Shit.
“She’s with me,” I said flatly, already moving toward the stairs. “She’s safe. Which is more than I can say about this damn house.”
Eron’s jaw clenched. “Now wait a minute, son. What’s that supposed to mean?”
I stopped halfway up the stairs and turned slowly, letting my alpha aura bleed into the room like smoke from a fire.
“I mean,” I growled, “that you two have been acting off as hell since the second she turned eighteen. I mean she nearly got killed today. I mean our wards failed and somehow the Aegis Protocol knew exactly where she’d be.”
Maria’s face went pale. “We..we’d never..”
“Cut the shit,” I snapped. “You were her guardians. You were supposed to protect her. Instead, you’ve kept secrets, downplayed everything, and now you’re suddenly really curious about her hair, her bond marks, and her new mate?”
Eron stepped forward. “We just want to understand what’s happening to her!”
“You don’t need to understand a damn thing,” I snarled. “Because she’s not your concern anymore. She’s mine now. And if I find out either of you had anything to do with the breach, or if you so much as breathe her name around the wrong people…”
I let the threat hang there, thick and heavy. My eyes shifted, just a flicker of gold, and both of them flinched.
Then I turned on my heel, stomped up to her room, and grabbed everything she owned. Clothes. Photos. That damn chest with her parents letters. Every scrap of her scent, every trace of her life here, I packed it with ruthless efficiency and shoved it into the truck.
When I came back down, Maria had tears in her eyes. I didn’t care. Eron looked like he wanted to throw a punch. I dared him to.
‘Goodbye,‘ I said, dead calm.
And then I was gone.
The truck is gunning down the road. Elowen’s scent in the passenger seat. My jaw is tight.
And a single promise burning in my chest like wildfire.
1/3
12:00 Mon, Sep 22
Chapter 24
No one touches what’s mine.
Elowen POV
I was still breathless.
64
Ashrian, Ash for short, was sprawled behind me in the oversized bed, fingers tangled lazily in my hair, his other hand tracing slow circles across my belly. My skin still tingled from where his fangs had pierced it, from where our bond had locked in tight, a silver fire pulsing beneath my ribs.
Lyssira was practically humming in my mind, her tail wagging like some smug little omega who just found the world’s juiciest steak.
“Told you he was ours,” she whispered.
We dragged ourselves into the ridiculously huge shower for a quick rinse, soft moans and gentle kisses stealing the time. He was different from Daxon. Sweet torture and reverence to Daxon’s feral heat..but gods, I craved them both in ways I didn’t know were possible.
I was just wrapping myself in a towel when I heard the front door open and slam shut. My heart stuttered.
Daxon.
“Baby, I’ll meet you in the room,” I whispered, stealing a quick kiss from Ash’s lips.
I rushed out just in time to see him walk in, arms full of my bags. His sharp gaze landed on me..and immediately dropped to the fading bite marks on my neck. His entire body went rigid.
“Hey,” I said, trying to sound calm, soft.
He didn’t answer. Just dropped my stuff with a grunt and stormed across the room, grabbing me by the waist and burying his face in my neck. I gasped as he inhaled deeply, then growled..growled..deep in his chest.
“You smell like him,” he rasped, voice raw. “Like blood and magic and… fuck.”
“Dazon,” I started, placing my hands on his chest.
“No,‘ he snapped gently, lifting his head, golden eyes flaring. “Mine. You’re mine too.”
And just like that, he bit me.
Right over the other mark. No hesitation. No apology. It was savage and dominant and so damn him, I nearly came again.
