Arabella looked at each of them in turn before replying, “Okay, the look on Melanie’s face alone has me worried. What’s wrong?”
Tristan rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. The rough, warm strokes gave her the courage to spit it out, “You’ve heard of the attacks today, but have you heard about the Dragon Knights claiming responsibility?”
Arabella glanced to Bram and he nodded. “She knows all about them now.”
Arabella looked back to Melanie. “Of course I know. Everybody knows, but what does that have to do with me?”
Mel sat up a little taller. “Everything. You’re part of the solution.”
Arabella frowned, her scar crinkling slightly in the process. “What the bloody hell are you talking about?” The dragonwoman looked around the room. “Someone tell me what the fuck is going on and quickly because I have shit to do.”
Tristan growled, “Watch your language, Arabella Kathleen MacLeod.”
Arabella rolled her eyes. “The world is falling apart and you’re worried about my language.” The dragonwoman’s brown eyes moved to Mel’s. “Tell me straight, Melanie, as you always do. I don’t like this beating-around-the-bush bullshit.”
With a deep breath, Mel knew her sister-in-law was right. “I need you to go on live TV and tell the world about what was done to you when you were attacked by the dragon hunters.”
Arabella blinked. “What?”
Mel’s voice was soft when she replied, “I know it’s a lot to ask, but there’s a plan behind it, Ara. Will you listen?”
Arabella shook her head and took three steps back. “Absolutely not. What happened to me is private.” Arabella looked to her brother. “Why would your mate even suggest it, Tristan? You, of all people, know how difficult it’s been to overcome that trauma. I don’t understand why you would ask this of me.”
~~~
Tristan was careful to keep his face neutral despite the protectiveness screaming for him to take care of his younger sister. “Every second of airtime the knights receive, the more people will start to believe them. The only way to counter their tactic is to give the public something to care about. The brutality of the hunters will earn us some desperately needed sympathy.”
Ara narrowed her eyes. “Sympathy? Do you really think I care about what the humans think? They not only did this to me, they killed our mother, Tristan. I’m not about to be used as a freak show for your plans.”
Melanie leaned forward, but Tristan gave his mate’s leg a squeeze to stop her. He continued, “You’re not a freak show, Ara, but a survivor. If there was any other way, we wouldn’t be asking you to do this. But the BBC interviews are in two hours and we need an answer.”
Before Arabella could reply, Bram jumped in. “Listen, Arabella MacLeod, your clan needs you. Hell, your family needs you. If you thought what happened to you was bad, what if that happened to your niece and nephew? Or, how about to your brother? Even me? Woul
d you want that?”
Even Tristan sat up taller and tapped his hand against his thigh at the dominance in Bram’s voice. Unsurprisingly, Arabella bowed to her clan leader too as she mumbled, “No.”
Bram raised an eyebrow. “Right, then you’re going to help us, along with Nikki, Charlie’s mate, and even wee Murray. It’s not just about you, Arabella, it’s about allowing the world to see what’s happened and hope like hell they will believe us. More importantly, that they’ll support us and turn against both the hunters and the knights. I want the same future as Melanie, where humans and dragon-shifters get along better than they do now. Only when humans may come or go as they please on our lands will we not have to rely on a barter system to ensure the survival of our race.”
As Bram and Arabella stared at each other, Tristan’s dragon peeked out. Arabella’s dragon is scared.
How in the hell can you know that?
I just do. Be careful with her.
I’m not about to coddle her. I did that for a decade and it hurt her in the long run.
Just remember to support her. She will need it.
Before he could decode his dragon’s cryptic words, Ara stood a little taller and raised her chin. “If I do this, then I want a guarantee I can be the first to foster with Clan Lochguard.”
Tristan blinked. “What? Where did this come from?”
His sister pierced him with a stare. “Finn invited me several months ago and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I want to go.”
Narrowing his eyes, Tristan growled, “What did the Scottish bastard say to you? I sure as hell hope you don’t fancy him, Arabella. He’s not right for you.”
Anger flashed in Arabella’s eyes. “How do you know what I bloody want? I’m not the same dragonwoman I was a year ago, Tristan. I need a change. Besides, I’ve always wanted to go to Scotland. Your mate’s memories with her family only made me want to go more.”