“I believe in him. He has no family apart from the clan as a whole. He’ll do anything to protect us.”
His head Protector may only be thirty years old, but he acted far older on most days. Bram’s inner beast piped in. Zain is good. I never get a bad feeling from him. If Kai trusts him, we should too.
While not the most fact-based endorsement, he treasured his dragon’s intuition. “Right, then involve Zain, but slowly. Have him interrogate the dragon hunter and see what he can find. If he’s successful, then share a little more until you feel confident sharing everything. I also want him to keep us both updated every hour, even if it’s just with a text message saying he’s found nothing new.”
Kai nodded. “We have two hours before the clan gathers for the dinner in the great hall. It’s enough time for me to fill in Zain and have him start his interrogation.”
“Good. Once that’s set up, make sure to escort Evie, Melanie, and Samira to the great hall. I need to meet with Arabella right before the dinner starts, which means I can’t do it myself. I don’t want to take any chances with their safety. If anything were to happen to the three human females on my land, the human media would soon rustle up a witch hunt against us.”
The other male stood up. “Anything else?”
“Just be careful. Olivia is our main suspect for betrayal, but there could be other traitors in our midst. I’m not the only one with someone to protect.”
“I’ll do my job as I always do.”
Sometimes, Bram wished his head Protector would be a little more open and forthright, but that wasn’t Kai’s personality. Bram was one of the few people who knew Kai’s greatest secret, but it wasn’t Bram’s place to push on the matter. Well, at least until it caused his Protector to lose focus and put the clan in danger. So far, Kai hadn’t shown any of those symptoms.
He stood. “Of course you do, or I wouldn’t trust you with the safety of my future mate.”
Kai turned to go but then turned back around and said, “Is
she your true mate? Is that why you’ve claimed her so quickly?”
His dragon huffed. It’s none of his business. Evie is ours. That is all that matters.
Still not telling me your reasons?
Silence was his answer.
Rather than try to make his dragon talk, he said to Kai, “I don’t think she is, no. But she has knowledge to help our clan. Just like you do everything in your power to protect the clan, so do I.”
Kai looked unconvinced, but rather than argue, the male nodded and left Bram alone in his cottage.
~~~
Evie was waiting for Melanie Hall-MacLeod to bombard her with questions. Ever since she’d whisked Evie from Bram’s cottage, the woman had been pointing out houses and businesses and explaining them as if she were a tour guide. Despite her earlier behavior when Evie had still been just a DDA inspector, Mel wasn’t being as blunt as before.
However, ten seconds after she, Melanie, and Samira entered Mel’s house, she turned toward Evie and said, “Tell me what’s going on with Bram. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you the entire time we all were saying goodbye. His eyes even flashed to dragon slits once.”
As she looked from Mel to Samira and back again, Evie debated her options. These two women knew the ways of dragonmen well, and probably could already guess Bram’s attraction to her. Denying it would be a waste of time.
She also needed to convince Melanie to tell her more about this mysterious dragon exposé book of hers. The truth might win the other woman over. “He said I could tell you two and no others. Bram is taking me as his mate.”
Mel placed her hands on her hips. “Did you trick him? Or force him? You can’t be his true mate, so I’m trying to figure why he’d agree to that.”
Evie resisted blinking. That wasn’t the response she’d expected. Still, as much as she wanted to fit in with the two human women in the clan, she wasn’t about to take their crap.
Evie took a step toward Melanie. “I’m sure people questioned your relationship with Tristan in the beginning. I expected better of you, but you’re just as judgmental as the dragon-shifters I’ve dealt with over the last seven years. Without giving me a chance, you think you’ve figured it all out.”
Mel’s hands fell to her sides as she narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know how Skyhunter treated you, but my motives are true. Bram is my leader. I only want what is best for him.”
Evie clenched her fists at her sides. Resist the urge to tell her to fuck off and mind her own business. Remember, she wants to help the clan improve their image. Bram needs her help.
With a deep inhalation, she forced her temper down a notch. “He’s your leader, yes, but how well do you know him? I don’t need the mate-claim frenzy to entice the man to open up to me. He has more burdens than you can imagine. I can help with that.”
Samira stepped between them. “Melanie, you’re getting nearly as bad as Tristan when it comes to protectiveness.” She turned her deep brown gaze to Evie. “How about we get you ready for the dinner? I’m sure you have questions that need to be answered. You might not be a sacrifice, but not even your experience with the DDA will prepare you for mating a dragon-shifter.”
Taking another deep breath, Evie forced her tone to be more even. “I spent seven years with the Department of Dragon Affairs and a year before that in an intensive dragon-shifter study course. Seeing as I surprised Bram with some of my knowledge, I wouldn’t dismiss me just yet.”