44. Forty-four

forty-four

They didn't seem inclined to explain to Kendal, so I did. "They brought a dragon."

Her head fell back against my bicep and she scanned the skies before her face scrunched up. "I can't believe I missed seeing a fucking dragon."

Everyone laughed. Instinctively, I scanned the sky as well, even though I knew the sleek black supernatural had left after we breached the door. Even had we gone through the loading doors, he wouldn't have been able to fit inside.

I didn't wait for the others as I made my way back through the woods to where the shifters left their vehicles. My brothers would help wrangle the surviving men.

I set her gently in the back of the SUV and ran my hands down her limbs. The scrape on her shin looked bad, but she assured me she was fine. I'd still have Quin look at it when we got home.

Her hand tilted my face up and she smiled. "I'm okay, Drym. I knew you would come for me, but I was so scared you wouldn't get my message."

"We knew it was a trap, but the scratching on my arm slowed me enough to not barrel inside without thought or reason." I leaned into her touch. "You cleared the fog."

She ran her hands down my neck and chest. "And now it's over."

My ears flattened against my skull. "No. The scientist who created us still lives. As do many of the others under his command. Willis may have been the military and political front-man, but the research that created us is still out there."

Her smile dropped and my heart broke that I caused it to disappear.

"But those are problems for another day."

She looked up as she ran her hands along the sides of my face, up my forehead, and cupped my ears, gently urging them forward. "Let's go home. I have a surprise for you."

Her eyes went wide. "Oh no, the cupcakes!"

She searched for something over my shoulder.

"We need to go back to the store and get the car I drove."

It took a minute for me to realize she wasn't talking to me. The others had arrived—or at least some of them had. I turned until I could see it was the shifter named Behemoth. He grunted at Kendal, but didn't speak.

Ghost stepped from behind him and bowed low. "I will be happy to drive you. Don't mind my friend here. He only speaks when his mate is nearby."

The big bear shifter punched the wolf in the arm. The other man rubbed at it, but his grin didn't falter.

"The others are still wrapping up, but we can take this one and drive you into town." Ghost waved at the vehicle I'd set Kendal inside.

The bear shifter grunted. "Stay."

"Right. You stay here and help drive the others back."

Driving was a skill we weren't capable of. It was hard enough to get comfortable riding in the back of these large vehicles, but our legs just weren't designed for operating one. And as I demonstrated with my run to this warehouse on the edge of town, we didn't really need them. We were just as fast on all fours, and we could maneuver through woods instead of being restricted to roads.

Kendal backed up as I folded myself next to her on the seat. I buried my nose in her hair and breathed as the adrenaline left me. I pulled her into my lap and she wound her arms around my neck. I didn't think I could ever get her close enough.

She didn't deserve to be bound to a monster like me. I vowed to make every moment of her life the best I could. It would take time to feel secure, for the feeling that she could be ripped away from me at any moment to lessen. That she might come to her senses and leave me.

I knew that feeling would never go away.

"I love you." My words were inadequate to describe the burning feeling in my chest.

"I love you, too." She leaned back suddenly and scanned my chest and arms and an adorable wrinkle appeared between her brows.

"What's wrong?"

"You're clean."

My head tilted to the side. "What?"

"You aren't covered in blood and gore."

I chuckled. "I knew I wouldn't be able to wait to hold you. Given there wasn't a lake nearby, I thought it best to skirt around my brothers and make my way to where you were being held."

She buried her face in my chest. "Smart beast."

Ghost pulled into the store parking lot and stopped next to the SUV Kendal had been driving. She stared out the window.

"I can't believe it's still here. I dropped my purse with the keys. I thought for sure someone would have stolen it."

Ghost turned in the seat to look at us. "Someone in the store saw you get kidnapped. They called 911, who called us when the registration for the car came back to Supe Sec. River went to the station and sorted everything out." He leaned back and handed a key to Kendal. "I brought the spare."

Ghost parked on the passenger side of the other SUV, which made it easy for me to slip from one to the other after Kendal unlocked the door. She closed the door behind me and I heard her thanking Ghost before he sped off.

When she was behind the wheel she leaned into the back seat and reappeared with a small box.

"These are for you."

She was practically vibrating with excitement as I carefully opened the flaps. I managed to pull out a plastic bag holding dozens of… something.

"What are they?" I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but I honestly had no clue what I held.

She took the bag from me and removed one of the things. Then she took my hand in hers and slipped it over the claw of my index finger. I looked from it to her and back again. She rolled her eyes at me and drew my claw down the side of her cheek.

I tried to pull back before I tore her flesh but she was too fast.

"You… aren't hurt."

"Nope!" She shook the bag at me. "These are silicone claw covers. I had a friend make them for you." She looked off into the distance before focusing back on me. "He can make them for the others, if they want them. These are just basic black, but he said he can do just about every color of the rainbow. They aren't permanent, but they dull the points of your claws so you can't hurt me. I mean, you still have to be careful, since your claws can rip through just about anything, but you won't have to be as careful as you were."

My jaw hung open. "I can touch you without fear?"

She nodded.

I shoved my hands at her. "Put the rest on."

She laughed at me, but set about covering each of my claws and I couldn't stop the grin that spread across my face.