Something growled. It was me. Or rather, my beast, which prowled restlessly beneath my skin. It was less concerned with what I’d sensed from Anna and more concerned about her obvious attraction to the Dragon. And to the damned Bellati, too.
At the end of that first run, all three of us had synced strides so perfectly—I’d only ever experienced that a few times with my pack, when we hunted. It had been an intense experience.
I’d thought it was a fluke at the time. But her fascination with the other two shifters had only grown. What did it mean here and now? I had no more claim on Anna than any of the Dires panting after her during that run.
My beast did not agree...
“We going to do this?”
The deep rumble came from behind me. I spun to find Talakai regarding me with those damned spooky metallic eyes.
“Do what?” I asked. What was the bleedin’ Dragon on about?
One dark brow rose. “We’ve been paired up.”
We had? I’d been so lost in my thoughts, I hadn’t even been paying attention.
“Distracted?” he asked.
“Yeah.” That was an understatement.
The Dragon’s second brow joined the first. “She’s no longer around.”
Just what I needed, a scaly smartass. But he was observant—I’d give him that. And maybe those crazy Dragon senses of his could help me out. So as we followed Cody and half the group out onto the back field, I moved closer to the big bloke, dropped my slang, and asked, “During that first run, before Darius went after Anna, did you sense anything from her?”
His eyes gleamed at me. For a moment, I wasn’t sure he’d answer. The guy wasn’t exactly Mr. Gab. But then he said, “She blasted Darius right before he attacked her.”
“You felt it too?”
He nodded. “Her energy spiked. A direct challenge. It drove him wild.” His lips twisted. “It was what I felt in the forest, too. It was why I landed.”
I regarded him in astonishment. His arrival on that forest path had certainly been well-timed. “Strewth, mate. I was right glad to see you,” I admitted through gritted teeth. “I couldn’t do a bloody thing.”
Talakai shrugged. “You’re Dire. Programmed to follow those rules.” His lips twitched. “Me, not so much. Besides, I hear you handed Aaron his butt.”
“Yeah, no worries. Until Darius came and blasted us, anyway.” I appreciated his acceptance of my inability to do piss all to help Anna, but it didn’t make me feel much better about it. “Between Aaron’s boofheaded bullragging and Darius’s berko alpha mojo, I’m not worth a brass razoo.”
The big Dragon halted and stared at me. “If we are going to converse, please speak Formal properly.”
I stared back. “You didn’t get any of that?”
“I got that Aaron was a bully and Darius a jerk, and that you feel useless.”
I snorted and resumed walking. “Then why are you berko?”
“What?” he matched my strides.
“You did just fine.”
“It is not a good idea,” his words had a hint of snark this time, “to piss off a Dragon.”
I grinned back at him. “You can take it out on my worthless Aussie hide, then.”
We followed Cody down the back steps. The other big Dragonshifter, Tyrez, guided Mari off to one side. I led Talakai to a bare spot of ground and faced him.
He didn’t oblige me by circling, or even moving at all. Rather, he stood there, with his eerie metallic eyes focused on me. Those orbs were impossible to read. Although the way he stood there made me wonder if he was a noob with hand-to-hand combat.
I was about to find out.
