47. Dublin

Dublin

Saved by Belfast House.

Even if I'd dared to mute my side of the bond again, I doubt I would've been able to mask my relief at reaching our destination.

"Let's just put a pin in this until after we've had breakfast," I suggested, bringing the car to an ultra-quiet stop.

"We already had breakfast," she pointed out with a hitched smile.

"Let's put a pin in this until after we've had second breakfast," I corrected.

She grinned. "Like the hobbits?"

"Smart, beautiful, and a Tolkien fan." I leaned across the armrest to kiss her on the cheek. "How did I get so lucky?"

"I'm not really," she admitted with an apologetic grimace. "I saw it on a list of‘Books Science Nerds Love,'and I'm a nerd, but it was so boring. I couldn't get through it. And I fell asleep, like, halfway through the first movie — wait, are youa science nerd?"

"Suppose I'm somewhat guilty as charged." I slung an arm around her neck and led her toward the door. "Double majored in hospitality and food science at University College Dublin. My top contributions during my time as the CEO of Norwolf Stout have been establishing our factory tour — which doubled our domestic merch sales — and the stout chocolate quote-unquote secret family recipe, which I developed with a team when I was a couple of years out of uni."

She scrunched her nose. "You have a degree in food science, but you don't know how to season porridge?"

"Correction. I don'tneedto season porridge — it's all just calories in and out to me. Honestly, I'm more interested in the chemistry and economics of making food than the taste of it."

On that point, I climbed out of the car to grab the Dunnes Grocery Store tote from the boot.

But instead of more ripples of amusement, I felt a wave of sadness crest over her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she answered, quickly averting her eyes.

"Don't tell me nothing. I can literally feel it now when you're lying to me." I tilted my head at her. "Is this about no longer being able to go to university yourself because of what happened yesterday?"

Her spike of surprise told me I'd hit the nail on the head. Still, she insisted, "I'm okay. Let's just go inside. It's cold."

She was right. It was dead cold, not to mention blowing an icy pellet-like sideways rain.

But her sadness tugged at my heart .

"This — becoming a mother doesn't have to be the end of your life, you know," I told her, closing the boot. "I've got the resources — a company with a proper paternity leave policy and more family wealth than I know what to do with. We can figure it all out when we get back to —"

I cut off when Wild suddenly came storming out of the Belfast House, his side of the four-way mate bond completely muted and his face a wrathful storm.

"Wild, what are you —"

I didn't get to finish that sentence either. Wild swung at me, a vicious body uppercut that slammed my stomach into my ribs.

What the hell?I wheezed, doubling over. Jayzus, he hit like a goddamn freight train.

Then he came at me again, fist raised.

"Wild! Don't!" My view of him was blocked by Naomi, arms outspread as she stepped between us. Her outrage on my behalf rippled down the mate bond. "What are you doing?"

"So that's how it's going to be?" Wild called out, ignoring her. "You're just going to let a pregnant she-wolf protect you from the punch you deserve?"

If I could talk, I would've explained I was still working on the breathing part. Next would come standing up — both literally and for myself. Until then, I made do with what I had: flipping him a two-finger salute while I coughed.

"Wild, c'mon, don't!"

Apparently, Wild had a better view of me than I did of him. Naomi had to shift to block him again when he tried to get around her with his fist raised.

"Get out of me way, Flower," he growled.

"No! I'm not letting you hit him because… why, exactly?" She shook her head. "Why are you so angry?"

"Why did you take her, Dublin?" he spat, eyes blazing. "Were you trying to make me lose my fuckin' mind?"

"My mate… our mate was hungry, and the town doesn't even think about waking up before ten," I answered on a pained wheeze. "So I drove her to Galway, bought her breakfast, groceries, and clothes that actually fit. Figured she'd had enough of my joggers and oversized tees."

"You couldn't have fed her here? There's plenty in the kitchen, and it's a mate's duty to —"

"Fuckin' hell, the way I won't miss your sanctimonious bullshit." I finally managed to straighten up, though pain still shot through my gut."She doesn't like my cooking. Thought it'd be nicer to take her somewhere proper where she could order what she wanted. Jayzus, don't you ever tire of being a complete nutter?"

Wild stared at me with unhinged anime villain eyes. "So, this morning you woke up and thought, ‘Yeah, today's a grand day to get murdered.'"

I snorted. "Aren't you a wee dote? Acting as if you were capable of doing anything that went against the prophecy. You do not tell me how to act with our mate. She is mine, too."

The Feral King raised his fist even higher. "Why ye fuckin' city —"

"Wild, please stop." Naomi scrambled back between us. "I'm sore, I'm tired, and I don't understand why you're reacting — why you'reoverreactinglike this."

Wild's feral gaze darted from her to me. His side of our bond stayed blocked, but I didn't need it to feel the rage rolling off him.

He pointed at me and snarled, "Fuck you, Dublin. And your entire snooty good-for-bollocks city line."

"Wild!" Naomi said again. "You can't just…"

He didn't give her a chance to finish. He stormed off, disappearing around the side of the house.

Leaving Naomi to stare after him, confusion radiating over her side of the mate bond.

"We thought you'd kipped off back to Dublin."

Naomi and I looked up to see Sea leaning against the open doorway of the Belfast House like he'd come to see the show but didn't want to get wet. Or involved.

"Jayzus Christ, Sea. Were you there the entire time, man? Why the hell didn't you say anything — or at least intervene before he…?"

Sea shrugged. "Next time, leave a note to tell us where you're going, City King."

"That doesn't make sense!" Naomi said before I could answer."If Wild was so angry about us leaving, why was he so upset when we came back?"

Sea and I exchanged a look over her head.

Naomi's eyes narrowed as she glanced between the two of us. "I'm guessing from the way both your bond lines have gone mute that this is yet another question I need to ask Wild."

"Or you could give him some time to cool off," Sea suggested with a diplomatic tilt of his head. "Come in out of the rain. Then we can —"

Sea didn't get to finish either.

"Where are you going?" he called after Naomi when she flipped the hood of her new parka up and blasted past him instead of taking him up on his suggestion.

"To finally get some answers!" she yelled over her shoulder before disappearing around the corner in the same direction as Wild.