“NOW!” Dai’s hands crooked into claws.
“Noooooo!” Morwenna howled, stretching her arms over her mother’s shoulder as she was carried away. “Dadda, dadda, daddaaaa!”
“I should go.” Ivy’s voice shook. “I should never have come.”
She took a step toward the door, but stopped dead as a vicious snarl ripped through Dai’s throat. His eyes were still a luminous green-gold, his shoulders heaving as he fought to control his dragon.
“Sorry,” he gasped, backing away. “Instinct. We’ll talk later, Hugh. But John’s right. Don’t ever bring her near my family again.”
That left Ash, and Rose, who’d just reappeared with a tray of drinks. She took one look at the three of them and sighed.
“Well, clearly that went well,” she said, putting the tray down on the table. “I’ve brought you a double Scotch, Hugh. Two, in fact. Sit down, have a drink, and give everyone a little while to cool off. They’ll come round eventually. They’re your friends, after all.”
Hugh took the proffered drink, tossing it back in one swallow. The burn of the whiskey did nothing to soothe the bitter anger tightening his throat.
“I thought they were,” he said.
Ivy fumbled for her gloves, pulling them back onto her hands. “I’ve ruined everything. This isn’t going to work, Hugh. Every shifter in the city is going to shun you, just like they do me.”
“Oh, sweetheart. Not every shifter.” Rose advanced on Ivy with open arms, her soft eyes filled with compassion. “Those silly lads can’t help being over-protective idiots when it comes to their mates, but I’m not afraid of—“
Ash’s hand slammed into the wall. Hugh hadn’t even seen him move. One second he’d been standing silently by the door; the next, he was between Ivy and Rose, his arm barring her way.
“No,” he said.
“Ash!” Rose shoved hard at his chest, with absolutely no effect. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Ash didn’t answer her. Wisps of smoke spiraled up from where his bare palm made contact with the wood paneling. He looked over his shoulder, at the white-faced Ivy.
“Leave,” he said to her.
“Ash!” Rose kicked the most powerful shifter in Europe in the ankle. “You’re not my mate, so don’t you dare start acting all possessive. This is my house, and I say who is welcome in it!”
Ash continued to ignore the furious swan shifter, his burning gaze fixed only on Ivy. He took his hand off the wall, leaving behind a blackened handprint scorched deep into the wood.
“I will help you if I can,” he said, his voice perfectly level. “But you will not come here again.”
Hugh reached for Ivy, grasping her gloved hand. With his other, he fumbled in his pocket, for the identification he always carried.
“Don’t worry.” He flung his firefighter badge at Ash’s feet as he pulled Ivy out the door. “We won’t.”
Chapter 14
Six unhappy cats trapped in carriers and crammed into the back of a small car were not shy about making their displeasure known. Ivy was grateful for the cacophony of feline complaints. It made conversation impossible during the long, uncomfortable journey.
Hugh drove with single-minded focus, his eyes fixed on the road ahead and his jaw tight with anger. He’d barely said a word since he’d tossed a grenade and walked away from the smoking ruins of his life. He hadn’t so much as glanced back as Brighton had disappeared behind them.
I destroy everything I touch. Ivy stared unseeing out the side window. She couldn’t look at Hugh’s grim, set profile without guilt churning in her gut. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t let him do this.
Why not? In contrast to her own black mood, her wyvern was positively jubilant. Good mate. Good plan. Old territory too dangerous. Find a new lair, where our treasures will be safe.
Her wyvern did have a point. They had to be safer out here in the middle of nowhere than they were in the heart of Gaze’s territory. Surely even his influence cou
ldn’t stretch across half of England.
They were hundreds of miles from Brighton by now, in the ridiculously pretty hills and forests of the Wye Valley. It felt like they’d travelled back about four hundred years in time, too. The meandering road was the only sign of the modern world. Even the few villages that they passed through were just teeny thatched cottages clustered around crumbling medieval churches. Ivy, who had spent all her life in big cities, couldn’t shake an impression that the entire landscape had been Photoshopped.
“At the risk of sounding like a cliché,” Hope said from the back seat. “Are we there yet?”