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Viking didn’t even blink. I, however, hissed, “You have got to be joking.” Viking’s arm wrapped around me like a lock.

“Airport,” he said again, voice low at my ear. “Passport.”

I glared at him, and hated myself for the part of me that shivered at the sound of his certainty, at the fact that deep down I was relieved that he didn’t give me an option.

Chapter 8

The airport wasn’t like the ones humans fought through with cheap luggage and screaming children. This was quiet and private. We didn’t queue or wait, or need to show passports to bored staff behind glass.

We walked through a separate entrance while my men cleared the way ahead of us, changelings moving like shadows. Draugr didn’t speak, as he didn’t need to, his presence always did the talking for him.

And Bryn…

Bryn walked beside me with her shoulders tight and her expression furious, like anger was the only thing keeping her grounded. I didn’t like that she was upset, but I liked that she had fire, that she didn’t fold, that she didn’t cower simply because the world had changed shape around her. She was mine, and she was strong.

The jet waited on the tarmac, sleek and black, lights reflecting off its body like it had been carved out of night itself. It wasn’t just a plane, it was ours. Dragic property, a moving fortress disguised as luxury.

Bryn stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at it like she was weighing whether she could sprint across the runway and make it over the fence.

She couldn’t.

I tightened my hand around hers, not harsh, but firm. Reminding her without words. She let me lead her up. Inside, the jet smelled like clean leather and faint cedar, soft lighting glowed along the ceiling. Cream-coloured seats lined the cabin, wide enough that humans could sleep sideways if they wanted to. A dark wood table sat in the centre, already set with water, wine, and food that looked too expensive to touch.

At the back was a door leading to a private room with a bed. Bryn glanced at it and then quickly looked away like she’d been burned. Good, let her remember, let her feel what the bond did to us both.

I guided her to one of the seats near the window, placed her there, then crouched in front of her. She stiffened instantly, eyes flashing. “What are you doing?”

“Buckling you in.”

“I’m not a child.”

“No,” I murmured, fingers sliding the belt around her waist with deliberate calm. “You’re my mate.”

Her breath caught, I felt it, saw it, and that made my hunger stir again, pleased and impatient. When the belt clicked into place, I didn’t move away immediately. I rested my hands on either side of her thighs, close enough to remind her exactly how easily I could take control of her again.

Bryn’s eyes narrowed. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what.”

“Like you’re thinking about putting me on that bed.”

I leaned in closer, voice rough. “I am thinking about it.”

Her cheeks flushed before she looked away sharply, pretending she wasn’t affected. But her pulse betrayed her.

Then a voice slid into the cabin like silk. “Welcome aboard.” A woman approached. Air hostess. She was tall, polished, with perfect hair and perfect smile, eyes that lingered too long on my chest and then slid lower like she was tasting me with her gaze.

I didn’t care as humans liked to flirt. Humans usually stared. It was something I didn’t pay attention to, but Bryn’s entire body went rigid at the hostess’s attention of me.

“Would you like anything before take-off, Mr Dragic?” Her tone made the title sound like a private invitation. I didn’t answer because I didn’t need anything, but Bryn did.

“What he wants,” Bryn snapped sharply, “is for you to stop gawking at him like that.”

The hostess blinked as the cabin went quiet. I see Draugr’s mouth twitch like he was fighting a laugh. I turned my head slowly back toward Bryn surprised to see that she was glaring now, eyes flashing with possessive heat that hit my instincts like gasoline on flame.

She kept going, voice tight. “If I can’t have friends, if I can’t go anywhere, if I can’t even TALK to anyone without you threatening to kill them, then it’s unfair that you can have any woman you want throwing herself at you.”

The hostess froze, suddenly unsure whether she should exist. My chest went still, but then something shifted inside me. Shock. Not because she was angry, I expected that but shock because she was jealous.