He wasn’t sure whether his unicorn would ever forgive him for that. He wasn’t sure whether he would ever forgive himself.
But he’d had no choice. He’d looked into those amazing, vibrant green eyes, and recognized the terrible loneliness hidden behind her aggressive manner. If he’d given her even the slightest hint of encouragement, she would have put her heart into his hands.
And sooner or later…he would have destroyed her.
Better for her to hate him. The way she’d carried herself, the squared set of those strong shoulders and the line of her beautiful, stubborn mouth—he could tell that she was ferociously independent. She?
?d take his betrayal and use it to armor her soul, so that he’d never be able to hurt her again.
He just wished there was some way he could armor himself against the memory of her heart-piercing eyes.
“Is there something amiss, shield-brother?” John asked from the other side of the table. All six firefighters of Alpha Team had gathered for their customary Sunday evening drink. “You are unusually quiet tonight.”
“Just a headache.” Though in truth, at the moment the customary pain was much less than usual.
Normally, sitting in the busy pub gave him a screaming migraine. The Full Moon was the only pub in Brighton which catered exclusively to shifters. The place was always packed with people hoping to encounter their one true mate, or at least a one-night stand.
With his unicorn shunning him, however, the repulsive mix of lust and desire in the air just gave him a dull ache behind his temples. Even the close proximity of his mated colleagues wasn’t sparking the usual pounding agony.
“Just a headache?” Griff shot him a sidelong look, eyebrows drawing together a little. “You sure that’s all it is?”
Hugh silently cursed himself. It was bloody inconvenient having a colleague who could detect lies. The last thing he needed was to be scrutinized by the griffin shifter’s uncannily perceptive stare.
“Well, it was an eventful day,” he said, which certainly was true. He pushed aside his barely-touched beer. “I’m tired. Think I’ll head home early.”
“Not so fast.” Dai leaned back against the wall, blocking his escape route. “You still haven’t explained what all that was about today, with the wyvern. You always said that if you ever met her in person, you’d blister her ears for the trouble she’s caused you. What happened? Why did you leap to her defense like that?”
Hugh scowled at the dragon shifter. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, I do,” Chase said, putting his drink down. There was an angry glint in the pegasus shifter’s usually laughing black eyes. “From what Dai and John said, you caught her red-handed. What were you thinking, letting her slip away like that? She should be behind bars, not running around loose.”
“Ivy’s not a bad person,” Griff said. “The poor lass has had a tough life, that’s all.”
“So have lots of people.” Chase’s lip curled in disgust. “And yet somehow, most of them manage to survive without resorting to becoming assassins-for-hire.”
Dai sighed. “And now I’m sorry I asked. Do you two really have to have this argument yet again?”
“Apparently,” Griff said. “Since Chase is still being an enormous cock on the subject.”
“I’m not the one who keeps insisting we should all make friends with a vicious criminal!” Chase slammed his fist down onto the table, making the pint glasses rattle. “Damn it, Griff, she tried to murder my mate!”
“No, that was your cousin.” Griff folded his arms across his chest, meeting the pegasus shifter’s glare without flinching. “He’s the one who stabbed Connie with wyvern venom. Ivy never wanted to harm anyone. She’s not responsible for what he did with the poisons he forced her to make.”
Normally, this would have been the point where Hugh leaped in with some cutting remark. He’d always been on Chase’s side in this argument.
But that had been…before.
“The sword is innocent of the hand that wields it, true,” John said in his deep, resonant voice. “But a person is more than a weapon. She should not have allowed herself to be used so.”
“She was desperate, John,” Griff said. “And Chase’s cousin was threatening to hurt her little sister if Ivy didn’t comply with his demands. What was Ivy supposed to do?”
John shook his head, his long indigo dreadlocks shifting over his massive shoulders. “Dishonor is dishonor, no matter the circumstances. I admire your compassion, oath-brother, but you debase yourself by associating with such a creature.”
“She’s not a creature!”
Heads turned at neighboring tables. Hugh realized that he’d half-risen, fists clenched.
“Gentlemen.” Fire Commander Ash’s voice was as quiet as always, but held an unmistakable note of command. “I will not have you disturbing the peace of Rose’s establishment.”