“I kept checking behind us,” Brian told his brothers and Zoa. He crossed his arms over his chest. “And I didn’t see anything until we were almost back. It was clever, really. A light blue dragon was flying behind us.”
“Light blue?”
“Light blue,” Brian nodded. “It blended almost perfectly with the sky.”
“He’s got a dragon?” Zoa squeaked out.
Declan looked at his brothers. They all knew what this meant. There was going to be a fight, and it was going to be a nasty one. Worst of all, it was going to be a fight for Zoa. She was the one that Kellen wanted, and Declan had a feeling he’d do anything to get his pet back.
“He might have one dragon,” Declan said, “but he’s still no match for us. Don’t you worry, Zoa. We’re going to keep you safe.”
They had to.
She was his mate.
Chapter 10
Zoa wasn’t an idiot. She knew that if Kellen reached the treehouse, he’d attack. She wasn’t worried about him dropping a bomb or planting explosives. No matter how he’d gotten rid of the mansion, he wouldn’t be doing that here. Why not? Because Zoa was here, and Kellen really, really wanted Zoa. She had her suspicions that Kellen would try to kill Declan. Kellen was an asshole, and guys like him wanted more than to reclaim their prize.
They wanted payback.
Well, Zoa wasn’t okay with that. She wasn’t going to just sit back and let Kellen come and attack the man she loved. Fuck.
Had she really just thought that? It must be that mating thing Christopher was talking about. She didn’t know if the mating bond went both ways. Like, a dragon could have a mate, but could a human? She didn’t know, but it wasn’t the time to ask questions. It was the time for action.
“I don’t want him to hurt you,” she said to Declan. That was what she was worried about the most. She couldn’t let someone like Kellen hurt her lover. Declan was too good and too kind. He needed to be protected.
“I’m a good fighter.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“He won’t be able to get close to me.”
“Kellen is smarter than he looks,” she said. Perhaps that had been her biggest problem. She’d underestimated Kellen. Now she worried that Declan was doing the same thing. This was the man who had manufactured an incredibly elaborate plan just to kidnap her. It had worked, and he’d gotten her. Kellen might be cruel and crappy, but he wasn’t dumb. After all, that was why he’d hired Declan’s office. He’d wanted a safe way to lock her up and keep her hidden.
“I’m not a tame dragon, love,” Declan whispered, lowering his voice. “Contrary to what you may think, I only play nice in the bedroom.”
Zoa blushed. She wouldn’t have called what they’d done “playing nice.” If anything, she thought they’d played pretty damn dirty. Maybe she had more to learn about dragons than she thought.
“How much time do we have?” Zoa asked.
Declan reached for his tablet, which was sitting on the kitchen counter. He pressed a button and opened up an app she didn’t recognize. Then he started pointing.
“I have security cameras surrounding this entire place,” he said.
“It’s a genius system,” Christopher commented.
“There are also alarms linked to it throughout the woods,” Brian added. “Declan doesn’t play games when it comes to protecting his home.”
“Yeah, or his mate,” Christopher muttered.
“If Kellen approaches, we’ll know right away.”
“What if he flies?” Zoa asked. That was how Declan, Christopher, and Brian had gotten around. They’d flown. What if Kellen did the same thing? If he flew to access this place, would the alarms still sound? Kellen had a dragon in his midst, after all. He could go for a ride.
“There are cameras in the tops of the trees that surround my house,” Declan told her. “Don’t worry, princess. We’ll be safe.”
At least, they would until Kellen arrived. What then, though? Kellen had destroyed his beautiful mansion. Now he was coming for this place, too, and it was just as lovely. The first floor of the treehouse had paintings that lined the walls, and they were obviously very expensive and hard to acquire. Each one had a little metal plaque beneath it that listed the name of the artist, as well as the date Declan had purchased it. The couches were lovely, and the family portraits were lovely, and the design was lovely.