Internally, she berated herself for asking such a stupid question. Of course, they were hurting. Blisters were breaking out on his skin.
He grimaced. “A bit,” was his evasive answer. “I’ll be fine.”
She’d seen birds with broken wings that looked more fine than him. But she could tell he didn’t want her to pry.
“Alright,” Octavia sighed. She wouldn’t push if he didn’t want her to.
Though their longhouse was quiet, others were nearby. If she focused, she could hear the hushed conversations. It wasn’t eavesdropping as much as… paying attention to her surroundings.
“Did you hear about the merfolk? They…”
“The Spirits of the Woods are…”
“… Thelrena herself would never trust her Earth Elves to…”
And below those normal conversations were whispers that normal human ears wouldn’t be able to hear. But Octavia wasn’t a lady, nor was she human, and her hearing was far from normal.
“Did you see them?” someone asked.
She imagined that furtive glances were shot in the direction of the longhouse.
“I heard they were…”
And even quieter, “The handsome one is a witch. That’s why the Alpha insisted they wear the prohiberis.”
A tittering laugh. “He’s a looker, isn’t he? If I weren’t mated to Tor, I would take him back to my longhouse and…”
Octavia turned her head, her cheeks flaming as she rubbed her temples. She didn’t need to overhear some random werewolf’s plans about Flynn. She wasn’t his keeper, and he could do whatever he wanted… even if the thought made her stomach twist.
Octavia told herself that her discomfort had everything to do with the prohiberis cuffs on her wrist and nothing to do with jealousy. She had no claim on Flynn. He could do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted. They were both adults and fully capable of making their own decisions.
That’s what she told herself.
The dragon wanted the witch.Octaviawanted the witch. She’d tried to ignore it, but it was becoming an inevitable truth. She didn’t like him much, but she was drawn to him. It was becoming more difficult each day to remember why she wasn’t acting on her desire.
She could think of several reasons why they should be together.
First, they were both Mature. Not only that, but Flynn was incredibly attractive. While Octavia would never claim to bethe most beautiful dragon in Firefall, she certainly wasn’t ugly. Additionally, she didn’t have a husband or mate to speak of.
But maybe…
Oh gods. Did Flynn already have a partner? Octavia would never involve herself with another woman’s man. She didn’t do things like that.
Suddenly, finding out if Flynn had a witch back home became the most important thing on the dragon shifter’s mind. Octavia turned, intent on asking Flynn if he had a partner when her nostrils flared.
Copper filled the air.
All thoughts of kissing and other more pleasant activities vanished from her mind. She gasped, “Oh, my gods! Flynn, you’re bleeding.”
Crimson dripped from his wounds onto the dirt below their feet.
Flynn slowly looked over at Octavia, his face as pale as snow.
“Am I?” He sounded dazed, and he wobbled on the log. “How odd. I hadn’t even noticed.”
How could he have not noticed? Blood was pooling beneath them.
She stood, her plate tumbling to the ground.