“Stay tuned for the hourly news update with John Smythe. This is Jane Hartley reporting from Clan Stonefire in the Lake District. Good evening.”
The screen switched to another program and Tristan moved to the door. He needed to check on his mate and his sister. Judging by Melanie’s face, she wasn’t happy about the whole thing and he wanted to calm her down before her temper got the best of her.
Chapter Nine
Melanie forced herself to smile and shake hands with Jane. As soon as she could extricate herself, Mel moved toward the far door.
She still couldn’t believe the bloody woman. Mel had barely said a few sentences the whole time. How was she supposed to make a passionate speech and sway hearts and minds if all she did was sit there?
Not paying attention to where she was going, she rammed into a hard chest. She was about to apologize when she saw it was her mate. “Tristan.”
Without a word, he engulfed her in his arms and hugged her close. The contact helped to ease her angry tension a fraction. Her mate’s voice rumbled in his chest. “You were brilliant, just as I thought you’d be.”
She looked up, glanced around, and whispered, “I barely did anything. She wouldn’t let me talk. The speech I rehearsed was all for nothing.”
One corner of Tristan’s mouth ticked up and she glared. Ignoring her glare, he said, “You did fine. The stories from the others were more powerful than anything else.”
She let out a deep breath. “I know, but I wish I could’ve done more. Still, Arabella was fantastic. She didn’t break down once. She’s come a long way from the first day I met her, Tristan. She’s ready to go to Lochguard.”
Her mate grunted. “We’ll talk about that later. For now, I want to get you home. There’s bound to be a response to what was said during the interview and we should be ready.”
Mel looked behind her, but Bram was talking with Evie and Arabella. Nikki and Hudson were already gone. “We should invite your sister.”
“I think she’s already going with Bram and Evie. Knowing my sister, she wants to make sure Bram puts in a call to Lochguard without delay.”
Sure enough, Arabella waved a hand at them, turned around, and left.
Tristan moved so that he was at her side with his arm around her shoulder. She sighed. “Do you think the dragon hunters, or even the newly reformed Dragon Knights, will retaliate now?”
As they maneuvered to the front door, Tristan squeezed her shoulder. “I don’t know, love. But if I know Kai, he’s already planning defensive and offensive strategies.”
“Is that why he was standing off to the side for awhile, inside the interview room, staring at the journalist? So he could gather information for his plans?”
“What are you talking about?”
Mel leaned a little more against her mate. “Well, he stood with his arms crossed and stared at Jane Hartley the entire time. Has the clan worked with her before?”
“Not to my knowledge. He was probably just keeping an eye on you. As much as we’d like to trust the BBC, not everyone will have pro-dragon views.”
“If you say so. Still…”
“Spit it out, Melanie.”
“Well, it was hard to see because of the bright lights shining on me, but I swear he was looking at Jane like he was starving.”
They were out in the open air now and Tristan stopped them to look down at her. “What?”
She tilted her head. “Yes, he looked like he’d been waiting his entire life for her and given the chance, he would’ve devoured her.”
Tristan shook his head. “Impossible. He met his mate a long time ago, but he couldn’t have her for some reason.”
“Do you know why not?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Have you met Kai? At times, he makes me look chatty.”
She smiled. “True.” She wrapped an arm around his back and gave a small push. Once they were walking again, she added, “I’ll still ask Bram about it, later. Provided, of course, we’re not under attack.”
At the mention of danger, they walked in silence.