Since she'd ran the entire way and wasn't a runner in any way, shape, or form, she took a second to catch her breath before answering, "It's Alistair." A few more breaths. "He kissed me…true mate…doesn't want me."
Arabella appeared behind Finn, pushed him to the side, and took her hand. "Come in, Kiyana. Sit down and tell us what happened."
Kiyana didn't budge. She'd caught her breath enough to not have to gasp out words any more. "No, I can't. He told me to tell Finn. I think he needs help."
Finn and Arabella shared a looked before Finn met Kiyana's gaze again. "You come in and sit with Ara. I'll see to Alistair myself."
Arabella had managed to get her inside the cottage before Finn turned around and asked her point blank, "Did you want him?"
Tears threatened to fall again, but she held them back. She couldn't form the words, but merely nodded.
Finn grunted, looked at Arabella, and left.
Then Arabella looked at her with sympathetic eyes, and Kiyana couldn't keep it together. Tears tumbled down her cheeks and she lost all semblance of reason.
She had zero claim to Alistair Boyd, but it hurt. Damn it, it still hurt.
~~~
Alistair had resorted to curling on the ground with his eyes closed, trying to keep control of his body. No matter how often he tried to patch up his mental prison, it wasn't long before his dragon burst free.
Where is she? She is ours. I need to claim her. Over and over. Until she carries our young.
No. She is gone.
His dragon roared. Then I will take control. I will find her. She wants us, and I will claim her.
No. I can't.
His beast hissed. Your stupid vow. You've wasted three years of our life on that vow. You brought this on yourself, denying me. Now, I will take charge of our life. Kiyana should be ours, wants to be ours, and I will claim her.
His dragon tried to wrestle control of their mind, using every mental trick of force he could manage. The beast tried to expand his presence until Alistair would be trapped in a corner, but Alistair fought back.
Then his dragon roared on and on, trying to exhaust the human half who couldn't take such noise for long periods.
Alistair hummed to help block it out.
And so the battle continued until something pricked his arm. He opened his eyes to find Dr. Layla MacFie standing over him, a needle in her hand.
His dragon's voice grew weaker. No, no, no. Don't silence me. Kiyana is what we need. She should be our future. Don't lose someone else. The dragon's voice was barely a whisper. Don't let the past haunt you forever.
His mind fell blissfully quiet, and Alistair moved to slump against the wall. Layla's voice filled the room. "Your dragon will be silent for a few days, at most. Care to tell me what the bloody hell is going on?"
Finn's voice came from the doorway. "I'd like to know that, too. Especially since Kiyana showed upon my doorstep nearly in tears. What the fuc
k did you do, Alistair? Leading on a female isn't your style, so you'd better start talking."
Too exhausted to do anything but lean against the wall, Alistair remained on the floor.
Even without his dragon roaring and battling him every turn, it was difficult to make his brain work. It was probably more a result of exhaustion than the drugs Layla had used.
Finn squatted next to him, his voice full of steel. "If you kissed her, you were interested. And she admitted she was, too. So why the fuck did you send her away in tears? And none of the secretive bullshit you've been spouting for years now, either. It wasn't a top clan priority, so I let it lie. However, it's a priority now. Why did you turn away Kiyana Barnes?"
He'd kept his secret for years. Kept it from everyone he knew, hoping he could be the male Rachel had needed to fulfill a vow.
And here he was, years later, still no closer to the truth. His clan leader was furious, he'd hurt the one female he'd actually wanted for the first time in years, and he'd pissed off his dragon.
All for the sake of his vow.