Page 43 of Draven

I clenched my fists, feeling the heat of indignation rising within me.

"Draven's not here to defend himself. And I won't stand for anyone bad-mouthing him in my home," I said.

Tim stepped forward, his expression troubled.

"Tobias, we're just looking out for you. You need to see reason,” Tim began.

“Looking out for me?” I scoffed. “The only reason I’m on your radar is because I’m dating Draven. You don’t really give a damn about me.”

Without another word, I gestured towards the door, my message clear.

"It's time for you all to leave," I said, my voice unwavering.

Tim opened his mouth, but Bruce gripped his shoulder and shook his head.

"We'll leave, and I'm genuinely sorry to have intruded on your home, but your brother needed to know," Bruce said.

"Why? Tom doesn't have a say in who I date," I threw back.

I thought of Draven incinerating Justin's Lamborghini yesterday and reined in my anger.

"Is the mayor pressing charges?" I finally asked.

"He was going to, but I convinced him otherwise," Bruce said.

Was I supposed to thank him?

I found I couldn't open my mouth, because my relationship with Draven really wasn't anybody's business.

"Just so you know, Draven wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone," I said. "Justin pushed him to the breaking point. I doubt even you would keep your cool if Justin messed with you.”

Of course, Justin wouldn’t do such a thing to Bruce or any of his leopards.

Bruce was the leader of his pard and I knew he had some kind of deal with the mayor to keep Red Vine safe from other paranormal groups looking to claim this town as their territory.

I mean, deep down, I knew I couldn’t blame Bruce for being wary about Draven.

Bruce was just doing his job, looking after the town and his own people. He just needed to understand Draven wasn’t a threat, not really.

Bruce looked at me for a long moment.

"Yes, but I'm not capable of raining down fire or causing massive destruction,” he said.

Bruce’s words felt like a slap to his face, because maybe I was hedging the truth a little, even to myself.

Draven openly admitted he'd hurt people, but only because he was under the witch's binding curse.

Bruce didn't need to know that, however, because Draven's pain and his past were private.

He only shared it with me, because he trusted me without question. Bruce and Tim finally left, giving me some breathing space.

"Your boyfriend, he could really turn into a..." Tom began, and I almost forgot he was there.

I turned to him. "Yeah," I stated flatly.

"And you're absolutely certain he'll never hurt you?" Tom asked.

Huh, I expected an argument from him, for him to try to convince me to break it off with Draven.