“How will you help me?” Zoa whispered.
“We’re going to go back to Kellen’s place,” Brian said. Declan could tell that he wanted to stand and start pacing, but to his credit, he stayed still.
“Why?” Zoa asked. “Isn’t that like going back into the lion’s den?”
“Sort of,” Declan agreed. “But it’s necessary.”
He didn’t say what they were going to do. They were going to kill Kellen. They were going to make sure that the asshole never hurt another shifter or another girl as long as he lived. They wouldn’t stand for it. Zoa seemed to know without him saying anything, though.
“You’re going to kill him,” her voice came out strong.
“Yes,” Brian agreed, nodding.
“We all think that’s for the best,” Christopher spoke up.
“And you?” Zoa turned to Declan. She nuzzled her cheek against his and then pulled back. She had a look of surprise on her face, as though she couldn’t believe she’d just done that. “Do you agree?”
“I agree,” Declan said tightly. His entire body suddenly felt like it was on fire. He was a dragon, so he always ran hot, but this was different. This time, he felt hot because of her. Zoa was having the craziest impact on him. When she was close to him, he felt needed and strong. He felt powerful. Perhaps strangest of all, he felt protective.
Of her.
“We need to stop him before he hurts anyone else,” Declan explained. He hoped that the explanation was good enough to show Zoa just how important she was to him. She was important to all of them. It didn’t matter that they’d just met. There was something very wonderful and very special about her. Declan had a feeling that his brothers both knew how he was feeling. That was why they’d rushed out into the wilderness to be by his side.
“I understand,” Zoa nodded.
“We’ll leave in the morning,” Christopher said. “That will give us plenty of time to strategize.”
“Strategize?”
“Yes,” Declan explained. “We’ll need to come up with a plan for how we want to infiltrate his place. He probably knows you’re missing by now.”
“Oh, he definitely knows,” she agreed.
“So, he’ll probably be on the lookout for you,” Declan continued. “We’ll need to make sure that we’re able to access the house without alerting any of his men to the fact that we’re coming.”
“You’ll be safe?” Zoa’s voice was a whisper, and Declan suddenly smelled the fact that she was nervous. Why was she nervous? Was all of that worry for him? He felt special, all of a sudden. The little human was concerned about the big, strong dragon man.
That was nice of her.
Declan wasn’t sure if anyone had worried about him before. Not like this. Oh, his mother had worried that he’d be late to dinner and his father had worried that Declan would make bad choices, but this was different. This was a deeply genuine, wildly kind gesture of concern, and the thought was both sobering and exciting to Declan.
“I’ll be safe,” he promised.
“Don’t worry,” Christopher grinned at Zoa. “I’ll take care of him.”
“As will I,” Brian agreed.
“Good,” Zoa smiled. “I’m glad you’ll both be with him to keep him safe.”
“In the meantime,” Declan turned back to Zoa. “We should get you some food.”
“Food?”
“Food.”
“I’m not hungry,” she whispered. “I don’t think I can eat.”
“What’s wrong?” Declan looked at her, surprised.