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KINGSTON
My mother walked awayfrom her presentation without a word of explanation to the people near her. She stalked over to me and her eyes flashed menacingly.
The rest of the people who had been listening to her came over to me, too. The other four men advanced from the side to join them.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Kingston?” my mother snapped. “You know better than to bring outsiders here.”
“I know,” I began, “but these two……”
She leveled Riley with a death glare. “This is the traitor’s daughter, isn’t it—the outsider.”
“You don’t call her that, Mother.” I turned to Riley. “This is my mother, Samira Heller. She hates you and your mother because my dad married outside the Clan……”
“Outsiders aren’t welcome here,” Barrett interjected. He was one of the four that had been in the living area. “No one outside our Clan has ever set foot inside our stronghold. You could be censured for this, Kingston. You know that.”
I straightened up and faced down my family. “This boy is my son Connor. He’s a member of our Clan and that entitles him to the Clan’s protection. The Danes have been attacking him and his mother for being my son and heir. He has as much right to be here as any of you do.”
My mother walked over to the boy, cupped his chin, and stared down deep into his eyes. “He has the signs, but that doesn’t mean we have to accepther.” She wrinkled her nose at Riley.
“We should throw her out,” Karim suggested.
“She never should have been allowed through the door to being with,” Willow growled. “You could lose your position as our leader for betraying the Clan like this, Kingston.”
“You were the ones who begged me to come back and lead you,” I countered. “I never asked for any of this and I’m not asking you to accept Riley now. You’ll accept her and defend her with your lives…..and I better not hear any of you calling her or her mother traitors or outsiders.”
“She can’t be under the Clan’s protection,” Barrett pointed out. “You can’t use the Clan to protect an outsider. You don’t have that authority.”
“She isn’t under the Clan’s protection,” I replied. “She’s under my protection. Any of you that don’t accept her and make her welcome here can take your chances with me.”
I let my eyes skim the group. I’d never stood up to them like this before. I never thought I ever would, but Riley meant something different to me. I would defend her with my life.
I thought I had to leave her behind when became Clan leader. Leaving her like that broke me. I wasn’t about to let it happen a second time—not after what I went through to find her.
She was the mother of my child and Connor needed her, but I needed her, too. I knew that now. I needed her more than I ever realized. I didn’t find out until I lost her and found her again. Losing her again would be worse than death.
I leveled each of my relatives with a hard stare. None of them would come out against me. They couldn’t. I was the strongest one here and they all knew it. That’s why they wanted me as their leader.
Riley still didn’t know about us being dragons. She didn’t know the “outsiders” they didn’t want around were humans. None of the Clan spilled the secret and neither did I, but she would have to find out eventually.
Connor would become a dragon soon. I should tell her before that happened. I should find a way to ease her into it. God only knew how I would do that.
None of the Clan said anything to my challenge. That settled it, so I turned to Riley. “Come with me. I’ll show you where you can stay.”
10
RILEY
I glancedover my shoulder as I walked away from Kingston’s family. “Are you okay? They look really pissed.”
“We have taboos against outsiders,” he replied. “Mixing and marrying with outsiders is strictly forbidden. You and me having a child together is bad enough. Bringing you here breaks our biggest rule.”
“Maybe we should…..”
“No,” he snapped. “You’re staying here. That’s all settled.”
“Will they cause you trouble for keeping me here?”
“No, they won’t cause any trouble.”
