Hadyn’s scowl matched Aimee’s. “And if you can’t?”
Dev cracked a wicked grin. “I’m tossing the dragon over my shoulder and running for the door. You gonna cover my retreat, kid?”
Sighing heavily, Samia pressed her gloved hands to her nose. “I wish he was joking with that threat. Instead, I have this awful vision in my head and an ulcer in my stomach.”
Dev kissed her cheek. “I promised you that living with me would never be boring.”
She let out a tired breath. “That you did. You are definitely a bear of your word.”
As they started to leave, Illarion stepped forward to go with them to the Omegrion.
“No!” Max roared, pushing him back toward his brothers. “Blaise, keep him here.”
The stunned look on Illarion’s face would have been hysterical if Max’s life didn’t hang in the balance. You can’t leave me out of this.
“I can and I will.”
Illarion shook his head in denial. He tried to step around Max, but Max wasn’t having any of that.
Max caught his brother and pushed him back again. “I mean it. You go and I’ll run.” He looked to Falcyn, then Blaise. “He’s not allowed to go. You have to keep him here. No matter what.”
A chill went down Seraphina’s spine. Illarion knew something about all this. Something Max didn’t want spoken out loud. And given what she knew about her mate, it would incriminate Illarion in the murder and free Max.
There was no other reason for him to act this way. To be so angry and insistent. No other reason to bar Illarion’s presence from the hearing. Not unless he was afraid his brother would speak up and condemn himself in order to protect Max from harm.
She met Illarion’s grief-stricken, tormented gaze and in that moment, she knew exactly what had happened. “You killed the prince, didn’t you? It wasn’t Maxis. It was you.”
“Sera,” Max growled. “Stay out of this.”
But she couldn’t. Not if it meant saving her mate. Releasing Max, she went to Illarion and forced him to meet her gaze. “Tell me what happened.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Max swallowed hard. “I bear the mark and I’m the Dragonbane, not Illarion. Leave him alone.” He glared at his brothers. “Do not let him leave here.”
And before she could say another word, Max vanished.
“No!” Yet it was too late. The irritating beast was already gone.
Terrified and shaking, she turned on Illarion. “Tell me the truth. What happened?”
It was an accident.
She met Acheron’s gaze. “We’ve got to get the others to listen. Somehow.”
Vane agreed. “Don’t worry, Sera. They can’t start the council yet. Four of the members are still here.”
She arched a brow at the number. “Four?”
“Me, Fury, Alain’s mate – Tanya, and Wren Tigarian behind you.”
Tanya Peltier she’d met while tending Max’s wound. Quiet and shy, the tall, dark-haired Katagari bear worked as one of the cooks in the kitchen of Peltier House who oversaw caring for the residents there, and not in the public Sanctuary bar. She made the menus for their children and families, and was the Ursulan Regis for the Katagaria branch since the death of the Peltier matriarch, Nicolette.
And while Tanya was mated to the eldest Peltier bearswain and had three sons with him, Seraphina couldn’t help noticing the way the bearswan’s face lit up whenever the lead singer of the Howlers came near her. Tanya positively glowed at Angel, who did his best to avoid being around her.
That too said a lot about their relationship, since Angel was extremely friendly and easygoing.
Not wanting to think about that, Seraphina turned to find the other council member, watching her from the back corner of the room. A part of the group and yet apart from them.
Like Max, Wren held that same disturbing aura of quiet predator that said he was eyeing you like prey. Sizing up your every movement to detect the weakness he was about to use to bring you down for a kill. The most disturbing thing was the way his eyes that changed color depending on the way the light hit them. They went from a light gray to a vibrant turquoise.
Highly disturbing.
Until he unleashed a friendly grin at her that made him appear boyish and shy, and around the same age as Hadyn. “Sorry. My wife Maggie is always getting on to me for making people uncomfortable. Although she seems to enjoy my doing it at her father’s cocktail parties. Sometimes she even puts me up to it, but it’s a bitch at the playground. I’ve sent three of my daughter’s playmate’s nannies in to therapy.”
Unsure what to think, she let out a nervous laugh.
He held his hand out to her. “Wren. Nice to meet you.”
She shook his hand and by the mark on his palm, she knew he was a rare tigard. His scent told her he was a Katagari snow leopard and tiger… What a peculiar mixture.
“Sera. Thank you for coming.”