Aaron glowered as he lifted a lip from a pointed canine. “Fucking bitch,” he growled.
“Hey, boss. Now that she’s here, do we still have to save her for Darius?” The Dire who’d spoken had his gaze focused on my breasts. “He won’t be back for a bit. And she’s even tastier smelling than she was in the forest.”
I glared at him. Too bad Alex and Neil hadn’t done more than escort them out of the academy realm. And it more or less confirmed that Darius had intended to nab me along with the twins.
The Dire seated closest to us was almost panting, his mouth hanging open and eyes flaring. “She smells delicious.”
Every gaze at the table was focused on me, and a few looked on the verge of wolfing out.
“Steady,” coached the voice in my ear.
Aaron pulled me closer to him. “Always knew you were stupid. Coming after us alone might be convenient for us, but it wasn’t bright. It’ll be fun, though. At least until Darius gets back.”
My heart pounded, but I gave my best human impression of a snarl. “Who said I was alone?”
His eyes narrowed.
“What do you want to do?” one Dire asked Aaron, but his gaze remained focused on me. “Suddenly, I’m bored of drinking while we wait. Is she lying?”
Aaron considered me. “She’s stupid enough to come alone. At best, she might have her wimpy Aussie friend with her. Nothing we can’t handle.”
Bastards. I ground my teeth. The growling through the comm was almost constant now, and I envisioned Sebastian sitting on Matt. I couldn’t hold them back much longer. Time to go fishing.
As they all started to rise, I asked, “What did you do with the twins?”
Aaron’s hand tightened on my arm. “They’re long gone. And thanks to them, we’ll be rolling in it for a long time. Enough to set our pack up for the foreseeable future.”
“You monster,” I hissed. “Who did you sell them to?”
He chuckled, long and low. “Don’t care. Darius handled the details.”
“And where is your fearless leader?”
“He went with the Dragons to Eras,” Aaron said, but his voice had developed an edge.
“Left you here to take the fall, did he?” I sneered at him, but confirmation that Dragons were involved froze my heart.
His eyes ignited as he dragged me through the bar. “He’s escorting our merchandise to their new owner, and will bring back the final installment we’re owed.”
“Excellent,” purred the voice in my ear.
“Why are Dragons interested in Sabre babies?” I pressed.
But it appeared that Aaron finally received a rare moment of comprehension. “That’s a lot of questions for a party gal.” He reached out and yanked my hood back, growling when he spotted the comm on my right ear. He plucked it off, almost taking skin with it.
“We’re not afraid of you, Pup,” Aaron spoke into it, before tossing it into a dark corner. Then the Dire leaned close to my ear. “Let’s find us a nice, dark alley, shall we? And we’ll show you what real men can do.”
So much for the comm, but he’d ignored the crystal-infused cuff on my left ear. I noticed he still wore his, too.
He’d almost guaranteed the arrival of my rescuers, but we weren’t heading for the front door. And our progress was being hampered by bar patrons taking an interest in me. Not, sadly, in the fact he had an iron grip on my arm.
They crowded close.
I braced for the commotion that indicated the arrival of my rescuers, but nothing happened. Aaron growled as he shoved his way through bar patrons, hauling me deeper into the shadows.
My mind raced—did the back door open into the alley? Were Matt and Sebastian waiting there instead of coming in the front? Fifteen Dires against an expert cage fighter and a Bellati—I lacked the necessary experience as to how that might play out.
I tried to shut off my brain. I needed my inner warrior, and she seemed to surface almost on instinct. So I took a deep breath and cleared my mind as he shoved me through the crowd.
