Skyborn (Dragons & Druids #1)(56)

Logan pointed up to the sky. “He’s been looking out and reporting if anyone was coming near the back alley.”

“Reporting how?” I took a side glance at him.

Logan tapped his head. “I have a mental link to the pack. They can all talk into each others’ minds, but only when in animal form, and I can talk into their minds in my human form since shifting isn’t a great idea for me. Eva did it with magic,” he explained.

Wow. This whole time they had … what had they said about me that I didn’t know about?

Oh. Another thought struck me then. “My car!”

Logan sighed. “Gear will have to get it later and drive behind us.”

I scrambled to get my keys out of my clutch, but Logan laughed. “Gear doesn’t need that.”

Oh. Right.

With nothing left to say, I gave Logan a long look, staring at the strong features of his face. Mate. What a weird and freaky word, and yet … so right. From the moment I met him there had been this magnetic attraction that I kept trying to blame on the heat or every other thing but…

A thought struck me then. “Logan? Did you know that we were mates? I mean, before tonight?” The way he’d almost kissed me in my room that day … some of the things he’d said…

Logan gave me a sultry side glance, eyes half lidded. “From day one. Although I was in denial for a little bit. Might have been because you punched me in the face and nearly broke my ribs.” He winked, and then let his eyes shift back to the road. Oops. I didn’t even remember doing that.

Well, vaguely.

“You caged me,” I growled in defense.

His hand slipped into mine and a contented sigh escaped me. The adrenaline high of being on the run had worn me down and sleep was dragging at the corners of my mind. A soft sliding noise behind me forced my eyes to snap open, and a hand suddenly plopped a feisty mewing Mittens on my lap.

“She’s attacking Sophie,” Eva’s voice called out softly from behind me.

I rubbed Mittens between the ears. “Good girl.”

“I heard that,” Sophie growled, but I could hear her smile. We had reached some kind of bitchy mutual friendship that I was okay with. Besides, she had Ruben to obsess over now, so Logan was mine.

It was silent but I knew Eva was still looking at me. I could see her from my peripherals. The window was still down. I could barely look her in the eye. I felt too awful for betraying her and going to Jeanine.

“Sloane,” she said finally, “if I would have known you were going to run … that you would take the news that badly, I never would have told you.” I could hear guilt in her voice.

I turned to face her, tears welling in my eyes. “I know. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t handle knowing I was half monster. That I was living in a house full of people who hated what I was.” The car went eerily silent then and I was surprised at who chose to reply.

“You’re nothing like them,” Dom’s deep voice echoed throughout the car.

“Here, here!” Danny called out, and I heard the clinking of glasses.

I turned fully around, eyes wide, to see there was a disco light on in the limo and it was spinning, causing lights to dance across the faces of my clearly intoxicated friends. Each one had a shot glass in hand. “Are you guys getting drunk?” I asked, mystified.

“Operation: Save Sloane, was a success. We’re celebrating,” Keegan said. “Besides, with our metabolism, the buzz will be gone in less than an hour.”

I just laughed and Eva’s hand reached out and grasped my shoulder lightly. She leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “We’re going to see my friend now, honey. The druid I told you about. He’s the only one that can help you now.”

Logan didn’t seem to like that, because his grip on my hand tightened. I stared straight ahead as a lump of fear formed in my chest. Now that she mentioned it, I noticed we were driving away from Arizona and towards San Francisco. Holy shit, I was going to willingly meet and possibly train with a druid. Why else would they be bringing me to him if not to train with him?

‘Don’t worry. I’ll protect you,’ Logan spoke softly in my mind.

I whipped my head to the side and just stared at him. ‘We need to lay down some boundaries for the mind speak thing.’

He grinned. ‘Mind speak, I like that. Eva can make it so you don’t project so loudly. It happened with the whole pack at first. Dom is a closet Prince fan.’

I grinned. Good to know.

‘Just give me privacy until then, please,’ I told him.

He nodded. ‘Unless you try to run away again. Then I’m going to be all up in your mind.’

I smirked and leaned closer, laying my head on his shoulder. My dragon pulsed, sending warmth down my legs as I breathed in his scent.

‘I’m never leaving you again. I promise.’ My heart couldn’t take it if I did. It was the last thing I said to him before I fell asleep, with Mittens on my lap.



“Sloane!” Logan was shouting, shaking my shoulders. I jolted awake, looking around frantically. I had fallen asleep in the front seat of the limo, and now we were pulled over with the entire pack outside of the car. My side of the car’s door was open and Logan was leaning over me, shaking me.

“I’m awake! What’s wrong?” Then I saw it. Gear’s bird was lying in Nadine’s lap, his wing bent at an odd angle, nearly torn off.