Daire winced. “Again, my fault.”
Felicity shook her head. “No, it wasn’t. For goodness’ sake. Daire was shot three times in the chest.”
“Good,” Zane spit.
Felicity grabbed his arm. “Now you knock it off. My getting shot was no more Daire’s fault than was the polar bear mauling. And I assure you, I healed from both.”
Zane stilled. His gaze slowly moved from Daire to Felicity. “Mauling?”
She nodded, her cheeks rosy. “Yes. Before the helicopter accident but after I fought with a witch on the ice.”
Zane rocked back on his heels.
Daire could almost feel sorry for the guy. “As you can see, your mother is fine.”
Felicity lifted a shoulder. “You should also probably know that we mated.”
Tension roared through the hangar. Daire braced himself just in time to take the impact from Zane’s fist. Pain ripped through his skull. He stepped back and accepted the ringing in his ears. The demon hit hard. “That was one, demon, and it’s all you get.”
Zane smiled then. “The fuck it is.” He moved forward, and Daire settled his stance, more than prepared to go to the ground. He couldn’t really beat the crap out of Felicity’s kid, could he? And he sure as shit couldn’t lose the fight. So he’d have to contain Zane, and that wasn’t going to be fun and would probably put the demon and witch nations on another path to war.
“Stop it right now.” The crack of command in Felicity’s voice echoed throughout the entire building. “I mean it, Zane.”
Zane lowered his chin. “Mom? I’d like to speak with you alone. Outside.”
She clasped her hands together. “Excellent idea. Daire, I’ll be right back.”
“Absolutely not.” He stepped forward. Enough people in her life had forced her into boxes, and son or not, Daire wasn’t going to allow Zane to do the same thing.
Felicity smiled, winking an adorable dimple. “It’ll be okay. I promise. Please give me a moment with my son.” Turning, she led the way toward the opening outside.
Zane glared. “We’re not done here.”
Daire kept his expression blank. “It’s cold outside, and she doesn’t have a jacket. Find her one.”
Chapter 22
Felicity’s cheeks burned as she walked past all the soldiers outside. She probably shouldn’t have just blurted out the information about the mating, but her mind was spinning, and she’d just gone with it. The breeze slapped her face and rain sprinkled down, but she followed the metal hangar around another corner, her stockinged feet slapping the wet concrete. Trees covered the area past the concrete, silent in the breeze.
Zane followed right behind her.
She finally stopped and turned around.
For the moment, she could only gape. How was it possible the sweet boy who’d picked her flowers had grown into such a strong man? So big and dangerous looking. But his green eyes were soft nonetheless.
She smiled, her heart full. “How are Janie and Hope?”
He blinked. “Fine. Mom—”
“Fine?” She put her hands on her hips. “How are the girls, Zane?”
He shook his head, his dark hair spraying rainwater. “You just saw them a month ago at Hope’s first birthday party. They’re fine.”
Men. Even when you had known them their entire lives, they still didn’t know how to communicate. Felicity nodded. “Thank you. What would you like to discuss?”
His eyes widened. “Seriously?”
She bit back a grin. “Let’s just nip this in the bud now. You have an entire nation to worry about, and I can take care of myself.”
A vein in his neck filled. “Mom. I have no idea how Daire Dunne got you to go along with this ridiculous mission, but I promise I’ll take care of it. And him. You don’t need to stay mated.”
What a sweetheart. “I will decide whether or not I want to stay mated.”
“Ah, no.” Zane grasped her arm and tugged her closer to the building so the eaves shielded them from the rain. “I’ll take care of it.”