But Tori was the strongest man he’d ever known. He didn’t need Baldewin to protect him or fight his battles for him. He roared again, but it was a sad, plaintive cry.
Tori’s shoulders slumped a little, and a half smile formed on his lips. “My crazy dragon. I know. You only want me to be safe and happy.”
Behind Tori, Verner seemed to figure out he wasn’t in danger of getting eaten and snickered softly. Tori spun around and planted his fist square in the man’s nose. Verner stumbled backward and landed on his ass on the cracked asphalt.
“And that’s for every mean, sick comment you’ve ever uttered to me!” Tori snarled, standing over the man. “My name is Tori Burkhard, and I am a mage of the Burkhard Clan. You will give me the respect that title holds. They are my clan and my family.” He pointed over his shoulder at Baldewin, his hands trembling slightly. “This is my dragon. He’s not stuck with me. He chose me because of who I am. And I chose him because he’s fucking amazing. You got that?”
Baldewin didn’t think about shifting. His only thought was he needed to hold Tori now. The next thing he knew, he was in his human form again, pulling his angry, beautiful mage into his arms.
“What the hell is going on here? How dare you threaten my clan!” Mathilda shouted.
“Your clan member just insulted not only one of my clan—we took Tori in as a Burkhard several days ago—but he also insulted Baldewin’s gefreogen,” Alric snapped in arctic tones. The king was clearly done with their shit. “You think this is shocking, do you not? But this is precisely why we need to sit and speak. You’ve made too many assumptions, Clan Leader. And those assumptions are costing you.”
Mathilda gasped and sputtered for a moment, her eyes darting around at the gathering of her clan, who were looking more confused by the second. The entire meeting was deteriorating, but before Alric or Rodrigo could calm things, Mathilda shook her head, her expression stubborn and mutinous.
“Get out of here. You’re not welcome in our village.” She turned and pointed at Tori. “You’re not welcome here either. Get out.”
Tori snorted as he rubbed his cheek against Baldewin’s chest. “I haven’t been welcome here since the day I was born.”
“Enough!” Alric snapped. “Ravi, give your keys to Baldewin.”
The wind dragon’s eyes widened in surprise, but he tossed the SUV keys to Baldewin without a word.
“Take your mage and go cool off for a while. The rest of us are leaving now.”
Baldewin gave a brief nod before bundling Tori off toward the SUV Ravi had driven. This was probably for the best. They all needed time to cool off, and Baldewin needed to apologize to Tori for losing his temper.
Baldewin revved the engine up before tearing out of the parking lot, going far faster than the speed limit dictated. Of all the things to say—no, he should have probably expected some homophobic remark. Tori had warned him often enough. But to even suggest that Baldewin would choose someone out of desperation was insulting. And to suggest that Tori was subpar was even more insulting.
Kilometers sped by. He wasn’t even sure where he was going, just following the single road as far as it would take him, or at least until he figured out what to say to Tori. He shot a look at Tori’s profile, but his mage was silent and still. Far too silent and still. It worried him. “That man is an asshole.”
“Verner? Oh yeah, always has been.” Tori’s tone turned mischievous. “I’m pretty sure he was conceived via anal sex. Only way to explain why he’s such an asshole.”
A surprised bark of laughter escaped Baldewin, and he relaxed a notch. Alright, Tori wasn’t as upset as he feared.
“I can’t believe you turned into a dragon. You looked like you were going to eat him.”
Baldewin blushed. “That was the plan.”
Tori cackled and shook his head. “I shouldn’t be laughing. You can’t go around eating mages and humans who insult me.”
“He deserves it.”
Tori sighed heavily before saying, “Why don’t you take the next left?”
He threw on the turn signal even as he questioned, “Why left?”
“Because it might be easier and safer for us to talk if we aren’t moving.”
Baldewin’s stomach sank like a stone. He’d thought with Tori’s laugh that he was forgiven, but that had been wishful thinking. Had he succeeded in pushing his mate away with his high-handed behavior?
The road wasn’t a road; it was a dirt turn off, worn from time and use. It curved a little around a softly rolling hill, and the bank of the river was right there. Putting the SUV into park, he turned off the engine and slumped in his seat, feeling as if his heart was breaking.