16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Cyrus

" W hat?!" Finley's panic is palpable, but it's not as strong as the hurt I saw on her face when I stepped away from her. It's for her own good, but she doesn't know that, and I don't know how to make her understand without telling her what I am, what her sister and Midas are.

And they don't want her to find out, not like this.

So I'm stuck.

Shackled between duty and desire, caught between my mate and my responsibility to my brother. Add to that the worry that someone might find out what we just did and… yeah, I'm fucked.

I can't let them kick me out of the horde. It's not just for my sake, it's for hers. Once I tell her everything, it's my greatest hope that she'll want to mate with me, become a dragon, and that can never happen if we don't have a horde.

"Jess isn't due for another three weeks." Finley's voice is quiet, worried.

The need to offer her comfort is too strong to ignore. Despite my concerns, I put my hand on her shoulder, a casual enough touch, entirely appropriate under the circumstances, or at least that's what I tell myself.

Finley dips her shoulder away from me and steps back.

It's like a claw to my heart. Jethro looks at me, and I silently plead with my friend to save his questions for when we can speak in private.

"I'm sure Jeslyn is fine," I say.

Her due date was actually yesterday. She only told her sister it was later so that she wouldn't worry about their "babymoon."

Jethro steps inside and puts his arm around Finley's shoulders, guiding her into the living room. "Midas has the best doctors money can buy. She's in excellent hands."

Finley sighs and leans against Jethro. It hurts to see someone else giving her the comfort I want to offer, but seeing her relax, even slightly, eases something in my chest.

"Okay… alright…" Finley seems to gather her thoughts after the shock of the unexpected news. She sits down on the couch, pulls out her phone, and starts typing something. "This is fine. I'll just get a ticket on the first flight out."

Jethro and I share another look.

"Finley." I sit next to her, but she pointedly keeps her face to the screen, frantically searching flights to Northern California, where she thinks Midas and Jeslyn are.

"Midas said they don't want anyone flying out. They're fine. Jeslyn is doing great." Jethro sits on Finley's other side, flashing a quick glance at me that immediately lets me know he's downplaying this. I don't know exactly what's going on with the labor, but Jeslyn is most definitely not doing great. They just don't want Finley to know that.

My friend rubs Finley's back in soothing circles. "They just want you to know what's going on." His gaze shifts to me again. "And to pray to the goddess for a safe delivery."

"I'll pray to whatever the hell you want," Finley says. "But I'm not staying here when my sister is in labor on the other side of the country." She stands up. "I'm going to pack. I expect one of you to drive me to the airport. There aren't any flights available, but I know I can get on standby if I just show up and annoy someone enough."

We both try to argue against her going, but she's undeterred. It's irritating as hell, but it's also captivating. Her passion. Her loyalty to her sister. Her fire. It all makes me love her even more.

Fuck. I love her.

It shouldn't be surprising. She's my mate. I knew I would love her. I knew it was growing with each day we spent together, but I didn't realize until this moment that I'm already there.

I love her more than anything or anyone in the world.

While I'm internally glowing with the realization, she skirts past me and up the stairs.

"What are we going to do about that?" Jethro says, still looking after her.

I've already got my phone in my hand, calling Midas. If I know anything about Finley, there's only one person who can talk her out of getting on a plane, and it's Jeslyn. I just have to hope she's not in too much pain to talk to her sister.

"I doubt he'll pick up. He barely barked out a few words when he called me. They were already on their way to the goddess's hot springs. They won't get any service that deep in the High Temple."

Jethro is right. The phone goes immediately to voicemail.

"How bad is it, really?" I ask quietly with my eye on the stairs .

Jethro sighs and sinks back onto the couch. "The baby is currently in dragon form." He looks down at his hands. "The priests think it might be possible for Jeslyn to shift too, since the baby can. They think trying will give her a better chance than just doing nothing and hoping the baby shifts before heavy labor begins, but…"

He doesn't need to finish. I drop my head against the back of the couch and look up at the ceiling. Somewhere up there, Finley is packing. Worried about her sister. Hurting because of me.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on between you two?" There's the slightest bit of playfulness back in Jethro's voice.

I want to deny there's anything going on, but I can't. I'm so tired of keeping this secret. "She's my mate."

He tilts his head. "She's not twenty-three yet."

"Yeah, well, apparently, things don't work the same when your mate is human. I've known since she was seventeen."

He whistles. "You've known that long and haven't done anything? You're a stronger man than me. I barely lasted forty-eight hours."

"You…?" I study my friend. "And Sora?"

His chin bobs. "Doesn't matter. She rejected me. "

I place a hand on his shoulder and squeeze. "Don't give up yet."

"Oh, I don't plan to." His grin is back in full force.

Finley chooses that moment to appear at the top of the stairs. "Who's taking me? I'd prefer Jethro, but I'll settle for either of you as long as I get to my sister."

Jethro leans into my shoulder and whispers, "I think we both have our work cut out for us."

Finley's closed off expression makes it clear he's right. I've shoved her right back into that armor she wears, the belief she's not enough and needs to guard against anything that might hurt her.

Two days before her birthday, and I screwed everything up.

Jethro steps up, saving me with a lie. "We just talked to Midas. And he was adamant that no one come. They want it to be just the two of them during the labor and for those first few days. The midwife recommended it or something. You know how people are when it comes to babies. Everyone's got their opinions."

"But I'm her sister." Finley sniffles with glossy eyes. "I couldn't be there when they got married, and now I can't be there when their kid is born? Seriously? "

"It's gonna be okay." I cross the room and wrap my arms around her, but she fights, pushing me away. No longer worried about the audience, since Jethro knows, I just hold tighter. Why didn't I just tell everyone the moment I knew she was mine? I should have shouted it from the rooftops. I should have gotten the priests to change the law.

In my pride, I wanted to prove to my brother that I wasn't the same impulsive hothead that I was when I was younger. I could be patient and controlled like he is. I could earn his trust back by keeping my distance from Finley until she was legal. How wrong I was!

Finley finally subdues, sinking into my embrace and crying into my shoulder. Hope soars through me like a dragon taking flight for the first time. But all too soon, she pulls away, hardening herself. "Did they say what hospital they're at?"

"No," Jethro gently answers. "In fact, Midas said they were on a day trip when it happened, so they aren't even where they were staying originally."

My friend is much quicker on his feet than I am, and a better liar, too.

"Let me guess, he didn't say where."

Jethro shakes his head and Finley glares. She picks up her suitcase, turns away from us, and marches to the door. Both Jethro and I rush to cut her off .

"You can't—"

"Stay away from me, Cyrus." She turns on me, gaze flashing with anger. "I'm not going to the airport. I'm going to Sora's for the night." She holds her suitcase against her chest like a wall separating the two of us. "I'll be back in the morning."

"At least let someone drive you."

She doesn't pause to answer, and before the door is shut, I'm shifting to dragon form intent on following and protecting her, but Jethro blocks my path to the balcony. "Give her space, Cyrus."

Unable to talk to my friend while shifted, I change back. "I just need…"

"I know." Tight wrinkles form in the corners of his mouth, a subtle sign that he understands. "Your brother needs you, too. You should be with him in case the worst happens."

My eyes swing to the door. The pain of Finley's departure is a weight on my chest, stopping up my breath. But I have to at least try to honor her request for space. No matter how much I hate it. And Jethro's right. Midas needs me.

I look back at my oldest friend. "Go with her. Make sure she gets there safe… please."

"I will happily play bodyguard for the night." Jethro bows with a wide smile.

"I'm sure." I can't hide the bite of jealousy that he'll get to be around his mate tonight, and I won't. "Keep your hands off Finley."

"Not a problem," he says as he jogs for the door.

I shift, flying into the sky with a roar no human will hear, but it will bring every dragon in the area to the Temple of Gold. Our Ra and Ra'a need our prayers.