Page 2 of Hunted (Love and Revenge #5)

Robin

T he stone walls had to be in danger of melting.

They weren’t damaged visibly—not yet. But I could feel the tension in the air, like static pressed against the inside of my skull.

The old bones of The Fox whispered beneath their enchantments, absorbing my aura and reverberating it back in pulses I couldn’t ignore.

The training room, deep underground and double-warded for destruction, was the only place that could hold me right now.

Sanka had woven so much magic in here it hummed like a living thing as it flared to life to keep me from burning the place down.

Even all that strong demon-blooded sorcerer magic was strained. Drawing in a slow, deep breath, I tried to calm my mind.

I gripped the iron practice blade tighter and threw it across the room, spinning it toward the far target.

It struck the wall three inches off center and embedded itself into the stone.

A spiderweb of molten light spread from the impact point, veins of red and gold running through the old warded stone like stress fractures.

Not good. But Sanka could fix it. The protections were probably due for a tune-up anyway.

I rotated my shoulders, ignoring the pop, and brushed a stray lock hair back from my aching forehead.

The pounding in my head hadn’t stopped for two days straight.

It pulsed in rhythm with my heartbeat, a reminder that my magic—my dragon’s magic—was no longer content to be chained in the shadows and stuffed under my ribcage.

It craved wholeness. It wanted out. Wanted to hunt down the missing part of our soul.

And soon, it would burst out of me whether I gave permission or not.

A dragon shifter was not meant to be separated from their magic past their coming of age. I was missing a part of me. One I needed to keep me whole.

I wasn’t sure exactly what would happen if I crossed that threshold into full maturity without my missing magic—I had been robbed of the community of other dragon shifters who might have taught me more—but I could read and research. I knew it wouldn’t be good .

My fingers ached. My skin itched. I could taste smoke every time I opened my mouth.

It was embarrassing. An alpha and a leader should have more control than this.

I had lived without my birthright for nearly seventy years.

I could last a little longer. Long enough to rip the fucking emperor to shreds and dismember the entire corrupt syndicate along with him.

The first time I’d lost control in this room, I’d melted a couple practice dummies. The second, I’d blacked out for four hours and woken up on the cold stone floor in partial shift, teeth too long, eyes golden and slitted.

There wouldn’t be a third time. My magic was unstable, but I was still in control, not my beast. I clung to that inner control with a white-knuckled grip.

I just had to learn new ways let off steam, and to suppress my urges.

Hone my willpower. Now was not the time to fall apart.

Not when I was so close to achieving all my goals.

I drew in a slow breath. Counted to five. Exhaled.

It seemed to work for a moment. Then the pressure behind my eyes spiked like a hot nail driven between my temples.

“Fuck,” I hissed.

I staggered back, bracing myself on the low bench by the weapons rack. Literal sparks danced across my vision. They curled off my skin and drifted toward the ceiling, dancing away like fireflies.

I bit down on a scream.

I had to geta handle on this. I couldn’t lose control again.

Not now. Not when the court was this fragile, when the alliance with Acacia hung like a sword over all of our necks, when Josh was breaking down one heartbeat at a time and Ruya’s eyes never quite stopped flicking toward me like she could see me.

Like she knew how close I was to falling apart.

I lifted my chin and squared my shoulders. I was Dame Robin fucking Nicola, princess of the rebel court and downfall of the syndicate. I would not succumb to such ridiculous weakness.

My body spasmed. Magic surged under my skin like molten lava. A blast of heat shot outward in all directions—no flame, not yet, but close—and the ward-stones hummed in warning from their places at the far corners of The Fox. If I didn’t get it under control—

“Robin?” Yukio’s voice, muffled through the reinforced door. “Having fun in there, Princess?”

“Yes. But it’s a private party,” I gritted out. “Get lost.”

The door burst open anyway, of course.

Yukio ducked inside, flanked by Sanka, both already glowing faintly with prepped magic. Martina was right behind them. Yukio’s icy aura chilled the air instantly. Martina’s aura, full of alpha strength, but non-threatening, bolstered mine like a steadying hand.

I hated it. But it worked.

“Get out,” I snapped, jerking the hem of my stretchy, stylish workout shirt straight, re-adjusting my high ponytail, and squaring my shoulders.

“No,” Yukio said flatly. “You’re about to melt the floor again.”

“I said—”

“You’re not fine,” Martina interrupted, stepping closer. “Don’t even say it. Your aura is unstable, and you’re too pissed off to be training right now. You should know better, alpha .”

I turned to face her, one brow raised, and a pulse of alpha power aimed her way for her blatant insubordination. She didn’t flinch.

Good. I’d hardly respect her if she cowered. But still. Everyone standing up to me all the time was getting very tiresome.

“You want to take a swing at me?” she asked. “Maybe take some of that anger out on a single unlucky sparring partner, rather than the whole damned house?”

I bared my teeth. She was really pushing it. It was almost like she wanted to be put in her place. And oh, how we’d enjoy that. My inner dragon purred with the thought of fighting and fucking the chupacabra shifter right here on the singed workout mats.

“Go ahead,” Martina said. “Hit me. At least if you accidentally kill me with your loss of control maybe that will snap you out of it before you bring the whole house down and endanger everyone else.”

That stopped me. Just long enough for the flames at the edge of my vision to flicker and die. For my human brain to take over from the lizard. My entire purpose as an alpha was to protect my court. And yet I was a danger to them.

And it wasn’t just them. All of my plans, all of my goals.

The revenge I had worked so hard for all my life—it was more than a personal vendetta, though that was enough.

I had to bring the emperor and the syndicate down so they’d stop using, abusing, and murdering anyone who didn’t fall in line.

It wasn’t just my court depending on me—my omega, betas, and gammas.

The fate of every outcast, unprotected, unaligned paranorm in the city also depended on my success.

I collapsed onto the bench, arms shaking, breath ragged.

Magic still crackled under my skin like a warning.

I could feel it pulsing in my wrists, at the base of my spine, in the space just behind my eyes.

The dragon wanted out. My beast side was tired of playing games and being denied, tired of allowing injustice.

Yukio crouched in front of me and pressed a cold hand to my knee. “I’m going to bring your body temperature down a little,” he said softly. His gentle tone of voice told me just how concerned he really was. “Don’t fight me like a stubborn ass.”

I didn’t have the heart to muster a flippant reply. I nodded once, feeling like an utter failure.

A wave of frost shuddered through the room, creeping along the stone floor and curling up the walls, putting out a few minor smolders in the process.

The magic curled gently through my aura and across my overheated skin, just shy of too cold.

The pressure behind my eyes eased, slightly.

The headache backed off a notch as the internal fires receded. For now.

“Better?” he asked.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, flipping the long tail of my hair back over my shoulder. “But I always enjoy the touch of your ice magic on my skin, Yuki darling.” I winked.

Martina snorted. She dropped onto the bench beside me and handed me a chilled water bottle. I took it, twisted the cap off with fingers that were perfectly steady and didn’t shake or fumble at all, thank you very much , and drank.

Sanka circled the room, using his sorcery skills to reinforce the wards on the training room.

He was a beta. Normally he’d be the one over here fussing and driving me mad with his concern.

But this time, he kept his distance. He knew me well enough to know that there was a limit to my tolerance for coddling.

The silence that followed was heavy. They all just sat with me—not pressing, not judging, just... holding space.

And I hated—absolutely loathed —that I needed that. “I should be stronger than this,” I said quietly.

“You are strong, Alpha,” Yukio said dryly. “Stupidly strong. Do you know any other alpha who could operate in this state nearly half as well as you have?” He raised a dark brow, giving me a wry look. “But even you have limits, Princess.”

I closed my eyes.

Footsteps padded softly down the hall. A light knock.

“Go away,” I snapped immediately. The door creaked open anyway.

No one fucking listened to me anymore. What happened to my authority? The awe over the glory of my stunning presence? Was I going to have to eat one of them to remind them who and what I was?

Cicely stepped inside, barefoot and silent, golden curls tumbled and wild as always.

He didn’t speak. He never needed to. He just knew what I was feeling, thanks to his fae gifts.

His aura brushed mine—cool, curious, and grounding.

Ruya’s beta had come to tend to her unhinged alpha, like a good little pet.

He looked at me, then down at the scorched floor, then back up again with one eyebrow raised.

“I’m fine ,” I said. Again. Was everyone deaf?