Page 23 of Draven

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I fought to contain the rising panic threatening to consume me.

Taking deep breaths, I thought once more of Tobias’ smile, the press of his lips against mine, and miraculously, the panic subsided.

"I take it she's looking for her lost pet dragon?" I bitterly asked.

Zane told me he was looking for a way to erase Belladonna's mark completely from my chest, but so far, his search yielded no results.

"I'm surprised you're taking this news well," Zane said. "But we can't risk Belladonna finding you again and reactivating the binding curse. You need to come home."

Sky Stead wasn't home, I wanted to argue. Home was, or used to be the mountain and the lonely cabin where I was born and raised.

But that place had been tainted, the day Belladonna entered my home and put that binding curse on me.

I had no home...but Tobias could be my new home, my new reason for living, even if he didn't know how much he meant to me.

"I can't leave," I said.

Even to my ears, I knew I sounded like a whiny child, but simply imagining Tobias' devastated face when he realized I was gone... it felt like a silver bullet to the chest.

"Draven, you just met this guy what? Yesterday? He can't become that important to you so quickly," Zane said.

"I'm staying," I said firmly. "Besides, Raven Port is a couple of thousand miles away from Red Vine. I'll be fine. I'll keep my guard up at all times."

I knew Zane would argue, so I continued pleading my case.

"Zane, I need time to figure things out, to see if this thing with Tobias will lead somewhere. What did you feel when you first met Otis?" I asked.

I knew bringing up Zane's mate was a cheap shot, but I needed to convince my lead alpha how important Tobias was—will be—to me.

Zane expelled a long sigh. "Alright, Draven. It's clear emotions are driving you right now, not logic," he said.

I didn’t argue because he was right.

“I’m sending Doyle to tail Belladonna,” Zane decided. “I’ll update you.”

Doyle was Zane’s uncle, a member of the pack. From what little I knew about him, Doyle hated black witches as much as I did.

“Tell Doyle to keep his guard up at all times,” I said.

Zane grunted in agreement. “Will do. Stay in touch and be careful yourself.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

TOBIAS

The sheriffnever once glanced up from his notepad, his eyes distant.

I knew he wasn't really paying attention to me, just nodding along as I explained what happened to my car.

He moved his pen absently across the paper, leaving idle doodles in its wake.

It was clear to me that I was just another item on his to-do list, another report to file away and forget about.

“That’s everything,” I said, feeling deflated.

The sheriff finally looked up from his doodles, offering me a polite nod.

"Thanks for coming in, Tobias. We'll look into it and give you a call if there's any update," he said, his voice lacking any real conviction.