Page 50 of Hunted (Love and Revenge #5)

“How could you?!” Ruya shouted, her fury evident even to my deaf ears as she shoved past Robin to fling herself down at Josh’s side. “You fucking monster!” Her unseeing eyes crackled with rage, and her omega nature soured the air around us, making the alpha in me want to curl up and die.

I did my best to watch their faces so I could follow what was going on, even as everything in me wanted to focus solely on Josh. “Knock him out. Now.” Robin snapped at Sanka, ignoring Ruya’s fury and Josh’s sobs of pain, which seemed to be easing as Ruya’s touch poured healing into him.

Sanka stood over them, muttering a spell and casting powerful magic. Weaving a curse that would leave Josh essentially comatose, unable to sense anything around him.

When the spell was done and Josh lay, whole but unmoving and unseeing, on the ground before me, I finally remembered to breathe.

Robin was murmuring orders to everyone else, already crafting plans.

I still needed to try to tap into my naga magic and find my clan.

But my new mate bond told me I had bigger problems. I lurched forward just in time, wrapping my arms around Ruya as she finished with Josh and lunged to her feet, intent on attacking Robin.

“You heartless bitch!” Ruya yelled, putting every ounce of her strength into it.

My sweet, docile, gentle omega suddenly transformed into a writing ball of limbs and fury, fighting me tooth and nail to get free.

Her usually sensitive and calm aura churned and lashed out wildly, laced with the cold chill of banshee magic and angry witch.

“Ruya,” I soothed, curling my body around her and pressing my lips to her tangled silver hair. “Mate, calm yourself before you hurt someone.”

“Let me go! Let me go!” All of her being remained focused on Robin.

“He is not yours. Not yours to use like some tool to get what you want! I’ll fucking kill you, you selfish, traitorous, cold-hearted.

.. asshole .” Vines surged up from the earth, cracking the cement floor of the building, bursting from the dry ground, and twining their way toward Robin.

The thunder of hundreds of beating wings filled the air as a murmuration of birds swirled overhead, readying to dive.

Ruya’s magic had called them instantly from so far away. ...

My omega was more powerful than anyone knew. Her rage was a thing of wonder to behold.

Robin glanced at the furious omega I held in my arms, no expression on her face .

“I only did what was needed,” she said evenly, signing for my benefit.

She seemed unaffected. But I knew exactly how much our omega’s pain, and rage, and betrayal hurt—it was like a physical wound being torn open and ground in the dirt.

Robin turned away and Ruya stopped struggling in my arms, her aura coming back under her control as the vines stopped trying to crawl to Robin and the flock of birds dispersed. Apparently, the alphas weren’t the only ones around here who were constantly on the verge of cracking.

“I hate you,” Ruya hissed. I could tell from the way her lips moved and her chest rose and fell that it must have been barely a whisper. But I knew Robin heard her. I saw the way the dragon shifter’s shoulders hunched, before she shook off the blow, pretending to be made of ice.

“Ruya,” I said again, stroking my hand over her hair.

She didn’t mean it. She didn’t mean any of the poison that spewed from her pretty lips.

She was just hurting because Josh had been in pain—goddess knew I sympathized right now.

But I knew the dragon would take every word to heart.

And Ruya would regret her actions. I wanted to protect my mate from that pain.

She turned those furious unseeing eyes toward me, focusing on a spot somewhere near my shoulder. “And you.” Her expression was flat and cold as ice. “How could you just stand there and let her try to kill him? I thought you loved him.”

Her words grated at my soul .

I’d allowed it because I knew Robin was doing what she had to.

Because I was sure she wouldn’t really kill Josh, despite her harsh words and actions.

Because I trusted the dragon alpha, damn it.

And I knew Acacia would not have given in otherwise.

The only way to make her compliant was to make her believe that Robin was capable of being just as ruthless as Acacia.

And we needed her compliance. I wouldn’t endanger the naga clan.

But I also wasn’t going to leave Josh behind to suffer Acacia’s fury or be used for more of her sick whims. Josh would have agreed to the plan, if given the time. I knew him well enough to know that.

But I also knew Ruya wasn’t in any mood to hear any of that. “Let it go,” I said instead of trying to explain. “It’s over. I need to locate the clan. And I can’t do that and protect my omega from throwing herself at a dangerous predator in a rage.”

Ruya was stiff in my arms. “Of course,” she said after a beat. “More important things. There’s always more important things to worry about than Ruya’s weak little morals and feelings.”

I closed my eyes in a slow blink. When I opened them, Cicley was there.

His green gaze wasn’t judgmental or angry.

He just gave me a sad, sympathetic look before turning his focus on Ruya.

“Hey, Ru,” he said, signing as he spoke to her with his mind speak, including me in the conversation with the sensitivity and effectiveness of a perfect beta.

“Come with me? We’ll leave the alphas to deal with the weight of their ruthless decisions on their own.

Let’s go make sure Josh is comfortable.”

I let the faun draw my angry omega from my arms. Robin’s golden eyes met mine, more human than dragon now. “I’m sorry,” she signed without speaking, the apology just for me.

I nodded. “I know,” I replied in swift, curt gestures. “I get it.”

It hurt. My beast was pissed off and unsettled, and calling for blood.

My beta—my Josh—had been tortured. And my omega didn’t feel safe.

I wanted to punch the dragon princess in the throat.

Maybe wrap my tail around her and squeeze , break a few of her bones for Josh when he woke up, so he’d feel like I had at least made some attempt to avenge him.

But I did understand why Robin had done what she just did.

It was one of the major differences between me and the dragon.

We were equally matched in physical strength and magical prowess.

We were both capable alphas. But in this, she would always excel where I would always fail.

If I had been in her place, I never could have done what she just did.

Even if it was what had to be done. I would have frozen up.

Hesitated. She had destroyed her people’s trust in her, which was a wound I don’t think most alphas could willingly inflict on themselves.

But Robin would never hesitate to completely destroy herself to achieve whatever goal she had set out to achieve.

We would have it out over this, eventually. But for now, I knew the dragon princess would punish herself enough for both of us with her guilt and the knowledge that everyone around her thought she had a heart of pure ice. There were more urgent matters needing my attention.

Not to be outshined by Robin’s sheer bloody-minded determination, I turned away and headed off to work the magic granted by my royal blood—promising myself I would succeed, even if it took every ounce of magic in my body and soul to do it.

Plopping down cross-legged on the ragged patch of grass and weeds that had managed to grow in this place, I closed my eyes and called on my magic.

A breath in, out. My connection to the earth strengthened, and instead the guise of a man, I wore the form of a giant serpent.

The earth was my mother. It nourished me and sheltered me. It would lead me home...