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Her mouth falls open. I step back and make myself let go of her. If I keep my hands on her, we aren’t leaving the room. “Now, are you going to get dressed so we can go home, or do I need to help you?”

She slides off the exam bed. I watch her brown skin disappear inch by inch as she yanks on the scrubs with all the cute brat attitude she likes to give me.

That’s fine. I’ll be fucking the attitude out of her as soon as we complete the mate bond.

16

AYA

Ezra doesn’t set me down until we’re back at the cabin. He says nothing on the flight home. The only sound is the steady beat of his wings. I keep trying to talk to him, but he stares straight ahead with smoke curling from his nostrils and his arms locked around me. Even with the lake still on my skin, I can smell his anger.

When we land, he carries me inside and kicks the door shut. The frame is still shaking when he sets me on my feet.

I plant my hands on my hips. “Oh, so you’re going to be a grumpy grouch all day now, huh?”

Ezra glares at me. “I’m not arguing with you, Aya.” He keeps his voice even. I can still hear the tension under it. “I’ve told you multiple times that I refuse to be without you. I don’t understand what you’re not getting.”

Heat pours off him when he steps in close. I don’t dare move.

“Twice, Aya.” He shoves his shaking fingers up in my face. “I’ve almost lost you twice. What is wrong with just wanting to love you?”

I fall quiet at that. My anger is gone, but what’s left underneath stings worse. I can’t meet his eyes. I stare at my feet instead. My wolf lies down without a sound. He’s right, and she knows it as well as I do.

“I’m sorry, Ezra,” I say. “I should have listened to you.” I grab his arm. His arm is tense under my hand. “But will you listen to me? The Mer people. They weren’t going to hurt me. In fact⁠—”

“I’ll be in my office working.” He eases out of my grip. “I need to give Amari the adjustments to the floor plans for the planetarium in a few days.”

“But the Mer people know your bloodline,” I try again.

“I don’t care, Aya.” He walks around me toward his office. “I don’t care where you go in this cabin,” he says without turning around, “but you better stay. Don’t make me come after you. I’m feral enough.”

He closes the door behind him instead of slamming it, and somehow that’s worse. I stand there and glare after him.

I’m tempted to leave just to piss him off even more. I think better of it after he bangs what sounds like a pencil case down on his desk. I can smell his frustration from here. I’d swear he’s tracking mine too.

I go upstairs to our room and peel off the scrubs. They hit the bathroom tile in a heap. After I shower the lake off me, I braid my hair back tighter than it needs to be. I have to keep my hands busy so I don’t march into his office to finish the fight. That’s a trick I got from my mother, who taught me to stay in motion instead of sitting in my feelings.

When I’m dressed, I head back down to the kitchen to wash up and dig through the fridge. I find some meat and frown at it. I’m tired of eating processed food. My wolf is sick of it too. She wants fresh kill from a real hunt. My mouth waters at the thought.

Ezra’s office door opens. I ignore him when he comes into the kitchen and posts up beside me. His scent is calmer now, with a little smoke left in it.

“I was rough with you,” he says.

I side-eye him. Is he apologizing? “I should have listened to you instead of stressing you out. I know how long you waited for me.” I study the floor. “And what I did to you last night.”

He wraps his arm around my waist from behind and pulls me back against him. I brace my hands on the counter.

He puts his mouth to my shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

I turn to face him and loop my arms around his neck. “Will you listen to me now?”

He lowers his head. “Can you give me a day or two to calm down before we talk about the Mer people?”

I want to argue, but he looks up at me. When I catch the fear from the lake still souring his scent under the smoke, I hold my tongue.

He grips my waist. “When you went underwater, I knew nothing. My dragon⁠—”

“All right, Ezra.” I slide my hand down over his pounding heart. “I’ll drop it. I get it. I shouldn’t have scared your dragon like that.” When he rests his forehead on mine, I add, “And I’m not going to curse you out for what you said about burning House of Zorah.”