Page 45 of Ancient Promises

Blowing out a breath, Eivross scrubbed a hand through his hair and shrugged. “I think so? I mean, I did the right thing and I have no regrets. He was never going to leave us alone, and he would have kept coming with more and more males until he destroyed me, and others.” He was grieving the loss of his brother, but not the brother that he’d killed tonight—the one from his childhood, before the need for power had corrupted him. That male hadn’t existed for a long time, though. The crazed dragon that Eivross threw into the path of the oncoming train had been evil all the way to the center of his being.

“What’s going to happen to the dragon nest?” Novak asked.

“I don’t know,” Eivross said. “Someone will most likely rise up and take over. But I’m not sure how they’ll know about Zihndyr’s death and the capture of his cronies.”

“The FSA will go to the nest and tell them,” Rehlik said. “With their alpha out of the picture, they’ll have to choose someone else to lead within a few days or risk being forced to join up with another nest or be exiled.”

Eivross wondered about Benatrice, and the others who’d been loyal to his father, and made a mental note to reach out and ensure they were safe. With his brother out of the picture, he could contact them without worrying about him retaliating.

Diem whined loudly and stood, shaking herself out.

“I think she’s ready to shift now,” Eivross said. He had a set of clothes tucked under his arm courtesy of Rehlik, who apparently always kept spare clothes in his vehicle for just such an emergency.

They walked away, ducking behind a row of units. She shifted and leaped into his arms with a sob. He held her tightly, his own eyes stinging with tears. Nothing had ever felt as good as holding his mate in his arms after such a terrifying night.

“I’m so sorry you were hurt,” he whispered hoarsely.

“I was so scared,” she said. She pushed back enough to look at him. “But so relieved you’re okay. Are you really okay?”

He nodded, kneading her back gently, his dragon trilling in relief that she was finally back to human so they could talk.

“I’ve got mixed emotions about it all, but mainly? I’m thankful you’re safe now and we don’t have to worry about my brother or the nest again.”

She leaned in and hugged him again, her arms around his neck and her body plastered to him. They stood in the shadows of the row of storage units for several minutes. He knew they would both need time to heal emotionally from what they’d endured, but they were together and safe and that’s what mattered.

She slipped from his arms and dressed in the clothing he’d been given.

“You know what’s weird?” she said as they walked to his storage unit so she could show him how she’d dented the door to keep the males inside. Which was the smartest thing he’d ever heard in his life.

“I can’t imagine just one thing being weird about tonight, but go ahead,” he said.

She chuckled. “That female showing up out of nowhere. I honestly don’t know if I would have been able to hold off the males for long. There were two of them who came after me, taunting me, and it was just a matter of time before the others got free of the unit.”

They stopped at the unit. The door was dented from where she’d thrown herself against it and bent it just enough to prevent it from opening fully. The Hunters had opened the door fully to take out the males, then put the door back down as far as it would go.

“Your stuff isn’t safe here,” she said. “Not with the door like that.”

He moved to the door and pressed his foot against the handle on the bottom slat. With a grunt, he forced the door down, the metal screeching until it stopped on the concrete.

“I think it’ll be okay for now,” he said. “I’ll call and have it delivered somewhere in town. I’ll just need a place to put everything.”

“Arely is going to move out,” she said. “I want to offer the spare bedroom for your books, but I’m not sure they’ll all fit.”

“I’ll make it work,” he said. He stared at the door to his treasure and then he turned to face her. “You’re my treasure, Diem. You’re the only person on the planet that I care about.”

She smiled. “You’re my treasure too.”

He kissed her gently and pulled her in close for another hug. He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of holding her. Especially not when he’d come so close to losing her.

“So I had an idea,” he said, putting his arm around her and walking her back toward the gate so she could give her statement to the Hunters.

“A sexy one, I hope? I’d like to put tonight behind us.”

“Oh, definitely,” he said with a chuckle. “But actually, I was thinking that I could help out at the school library. Maybe full time if they need it. And I could get a library science degree too.”

She stopped walking, and he looked down at her. Her eyes were wide.

“Really? You want to be the pack school’s librarian?”