His dragon snarled. No time for sadness. We will find them and punish them. We must protect our clan and retrieve the young.
A hand touched his arm, and he looked over to see worry etched into Evie’s face. “Tell me what happened and how I can help.”
“I need you to go with Liam, Mel, and Samira to Mel and Tristan’s house while I go to investigate another attack.”
“I will, but first, tell me very quickly what’s going on. If it’s related to the dragon hunters, I might be able to help.”
His dragon urged him. Tell her.
Needing the anchor of her body, he put an arm around her. Some of his anger faded at the touch, which helped to clear his mind.
He leaned into her ear and whispered, “A human female broke into Quinn and Vivian’s cottage and stole wee Murray. Vivian assumes the human was a dragon hunter. If that turns out to be the case, do you know of anything that will knock out a dragon-shifter to the point they are in a coma? Most human-made drugs are useless against our metabolism.”
“Murray’s gone?”
Thinking about the little spirited baby boy in the hands of his enemies only increased his blood pressure and fueled his angry. He should’ve increased security around the lad earlier. Apparently, one experienced and well-trained Protector wasn’t enough anymore.
With herculean effort, he pushed his fury aside. He’d channel it later and use it on the hunter arseholes. “Yes, they took him. I will do whatever it takes to get him back, but for right now, I need you to concentrate, Evie. Do you know of anything I could use to help Quinn? In a minute, I’m going to have to make an announcement to the clan about the attack. If there’s any sort of good news or hope I can pass on, I’ll use it.”
Evie bit her thumbnail for a second and then widened her eyes. “I don’t know if it’s what you’re looking for, but I’ve heard rumors about some of the latest weapons developed by the dragon hunters. Believe it or not, one rumor talks about using one of the oldest methods to incapacitate a dragon-shifter. The concoction had been lost for centuries, but a historian recently discovered it and made it public.”
Fucking fantastic. “Spit it out, lass.”
“A delicate mixture of ground periwinkle flower and mandrake root will knock out a dragon-shifter in seconds. Not only that, it prevents them from shifting for days. Something to do with a hormone imbalance. Historians and scientists decided the mixture was probably responsible for so many English knights slaying your kind in the past.”
“So, in the twenty-first century, the hunters have fallen back on technology from the Middle Ages?”
Evie poked his chest. “Sometimes relics are useful. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to mate you.”
“Fair point. Is there an old fashioned cure to go along with it?”
His female shook her head. “Not that I know of. But if it’s just a hormone imbalance, I’m sure Dr. Sid can fix it.”
He took one last deep breath of Evie’s scent to calm both man and beast before releasing his hold on her. “I’ll pass on your words to Sid.” Standing up, he ran a finger down Evie’s soft cheek. “Thank you, Evie.”
She nodded. “I’ll try to think of anything else that might help you while I’m with Melanie. Just make sure to keep me in the loop.” She took one of his hands and squeezed. “Now, go take care of our clan.”
Staring down into Evie’s dark blue eyes, a sense of rightness settled over him. It was hard to believe it’d only been a few days since he’d met his female. Now, the thought of anyone else being by his side seemed impossible. She was turning out to be exactly what he needed in a mate.
With one last squeeze of her hand, he released it and turned toward the clan. A quick look confirmed Vivian had called Kai and his Protector had left to set things in motion.
His mind a bit more at ease knowing that, he clapped his hands and whistled as loud as he could.
The music died down and he easily spotted Finn in the crowd. As soon as their eyes met, the Scottish leader’s demeanor tensed.
But he’d talk with Finn later. His first priority was to warn the clan.
Sweeping his eyes across the crowd, he willed his voice to be strong. “I’m ending tonight’s festivities. There’s been another attack, and I want everyone to go home and be alert, just in case more invaders are on the way. I already have our Protectors taking care of things.”
Murmurs of “What happened?” and “Was anyone hurt?” filled the room. Raising a hand over his head, the noise died down and he continued. “I will give more details as time goes on. For now, if anyone sees a strange human or Neil Westhaven, I want you to contact me immediately. Also, thanks to Evie Marshall, we have information about a new possible threat from the dragon hunters. She is part of the clan and may be the key to our winning the fight against the hunter arseholes. While I look into this newest threat, I can’t always be by her side. I want you to treat her as my mate, because she soon will be.”
r /> He hadn’t intended to make that announcement, but with the oncoming chaos the next few days were sure to bring, his clan needed to know. Especially if he went on a mission and Evie was left on her own.
Judging by the whispers and looks darting to Evie behind him, he needed to end this now or he’d never be able to leave. Mustering every bit of dominance he possessed, he said, “Now, go home and prepare in case of an attack. You’ll receive further instructions shortly.”
Bram looked back to Finn for a second, hoping the leader would understand the need to come back up to the front, then turned from the crowd to signal he was done. Evie was already on her feet and moved to his side. “You shouldn’t have credited anything to me. They’re just rumors.”
“Most rumors have a grain of truth to them.”