“One of the guards attacked Ffion,” the male who had just joined us said quietly in a deliciously rich, smooth voice. “I disposed of him.”
Oh, Glendower would be furious when he got home and found his precious gold dragon gone and a dead guard. The thought almost made me smile.
“Fine,” the Alpha replied in a bored voice. “We’ll deal with the fallout later.”
I fell still as we turned a corner and a group appeared huddled in the middle of the path. A female sat draped over a large male's lap on the ground, wearing a male’s top that was absorbing blood from her back. Three other males stood surrounding her, guarding her. Fae, I realized, noticing their pointed ears. Not fae I'd ever seen before — they didn’t work here and weren’t part of Glendower’s mating circle.
“Did they find her?” the female sighed, sounding exhausted.
“They did,” the Alpha replied in that low, rumbling voice that I felt over every inch of my skin.
“Put. Me. Down,” I gritted out, glaring up at him. I didn’t need to be cradled like a child in front of others. He gave me that tender look again that I felt deep in the recesses of my bones and hitched me higher against his chest. Aggravating male.
The familiar whoosh of heavy wings cutting through the air caught my attention, and I looked up to see a red fire dragon circling overhead of us. My red fire dragon, I knew it without any doubt. My fifth mate was alive and well. Gods, I would never get away from here.
“I’m Fi,” the fae female said, now standing with her mate’s support. Her attention was solely on me. If the four possessive males boxing me in or the fire-breathing dragon overhead intimidated her, she didn’t let it show. “I was a prisoner here too until a couple of months ago. I’m an empath. I could feel your emotions sometimes.”
Ah, this must be the uncooperative fae that was giving Glendower a hard time. It seemed he’d been right to worry. I liked her immediately.
“My name is Shira.”
"Shira," four of my mates sighed in unison like they'd never heard anything more beautiful in their lives. I glared at the Alpha since I couldn’t see far enough to glare at the others too. Logically, I realized that they weren’t deliberately trying to make this harder on me, but that’s what they were doing.
I didn’t want to leave them, but I had to. There were things I needed to do — promises I needed to fulfill.
“Are you happy to go with them?” Fi asked kindly, not sparing my mates a glance. “Because you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“She’s coming with us,” the Alpha growled, his fingers flexing against my body.
“Assume nothing — mate or otherwise,” I retorted. “I don’t know you.” Though... they would undoubtedly live on dragon territory, perhaps close to where I needed to go. Perhaps they would be kind enough to give me some food first, too. That would be helpful.
I looked at the blood-soaked fae female standing in front of us. “I suspect that this whole thing won’t be without repercussions, you’ve probably got enough going on without worrying about me. As presumptuous as these five are, I’m sure I’ll be safe with them. If not, I’ll dismember them with my talons.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” Fi giggled as the males, both dragon and fae, winced. It was an empty threat, I had no talons, and no idea how to shift now the initial urge had disappeared. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to.
I didn’t trust any dragon, not even my own.
Another fae appeared at that moment, interrupting us. I assumed he was friendly since no one seemed surprised to see him. They did appear to be surprised by the two sickly looking fae children he had in his arms. My gut twisted uncomfortably. A pale, thin male fae followed them, stumbling like he hadn’t walked in a long time.
Had Glendower been keeping children here too? I’d never given the idea of other prisoners much thought until Glendower had mentioned one escaping. I never saw or heard anything from my cave that made me think I wasn’t the only one.
The male fae and the children looked like they’d been kept in far worse conditions than I had. My dress was tattered, but they wore rags. I was thin from lack of food, but they were gaunt. Weak.
“Is that everyone?” Fi asked nervously, her gaze running over the newly freed fae.
“There was a centaur, but he bolted as soon as we broke the shackles,” one of my mates confirmed from somewhere behind the Alpha, speaking in that smooth, rich voice again. The sound gave me goosebumps over my arms and legs. Ridiculous.
“Why did you free us?” the suspicious-looking male fae asked, keeping a measured distance between him and the group.
“I was fortunate enough to have someone come to my rescue,” Fi responded, observing him like she was trying to understand him. “I could hardly rest knowing there were others still here.”
“What are you going to do with us?” he asked flatly.
“Nothing,” one of Fi’s mates with blue-black hair and bright blue eyes interjected. “You’re free to go. If you want to get revenge on the assholes who kept you here, find Enfys Owen at the Council. He’s working with us.” There was something much bigger happening here than an escaped prisoner on the loose. Glendower was getting his comeuppance.
Around the Alpha’s enormous frame, I could just make out the male fae’s nod before he backed into the trees and disappeared into the shadows.
“We should get out of here,” another of Fi’s mates suggested quietly, his silver eyes darting around the surrounding paths. “We’ve lingered far too long already.”
“We’ll be in touch regarding your meeting with a dragon representative,” the Alpha said impatiently. “We took care of the fae who attacked you. He won’t be a problem anymore.”
He said it so casually like they went around killing on a daily basis. These males weren’t afraid to get their hands bloody if the occasion called for it. My stomach fluttered strangely at the thought.
Before I could reflect too deeply on it, the sound of wings snapping out cut through the quiet around us and I was launched into the air, secure in the Alpha’s arms. His enormous black wings beat loudly around us, drowning out my surprised scream.
How difficult would it have been to give me some warning? Gods. I hadn’t flown in years.
I needed to explain to them I had something important to do and we could spend some time together later. They probably wouldn’t like it, but they were my mates. Surely, if there was something I needed to do, they would be supportive of that?
It was impossible to talk while we were flying, though. The loud whoosh of the wind and the heavy thudding beat of flapping wings was deafening. I didn't want to allow myself to get too comfortable in the Alpha's arms since I'd have to leave soon, but I let myself indulge for a few moments as I felt the hot sun on my face and the breeze lifting my chunks of matted hair. It had been so long since I had been outside, I'd forgotten how it felt.
The smell was incredible. For so long, all I’d smelled was damp earth and waste. The outside world smelled of flowers and trees, wild animals, and nearby villages. And my mates, oh my. They smelled like they’d been created just for me.