“You’re giving me motion sickness,” she said after a time. “What have you decided to do about the little human? Let Fergus kill her?”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do about her.” Dylan finally stopped and rested his broad fists on her kitchen counter. “Liam just spent an hour talking me out of taking her to Fergus, which means I disobey Fergus’s direct orders. Fuck.”
If only.
Glory knew damn well Liam hadn’t talked Dylan out of anything. If Dylan thought the girl should go to Fergus, nothing Liam could do would stop Dylan from taking her there.
“Why do you think Liam’s right?” she asked.
Dylan’s hard blue eyes sparked with anger, though he flicked his gaze away before his dominant rage could fix on her.
“What makes you think I agree with him?”
“Because if you didn’t, you’d have her ass in your truck and be hauling her down to San Antonio instead of standing in my kitchen with me.”
Dylan slammed his fists into the counter. “I know that. But Liam…” He straightened up and shook his head. Glory glanced quickly at the counter, but Dylan hadn’t dented it. This time.
“But Liam what?” she asked.
“He cares about her.” Dylan ran his hands through his hair, mussing it in a sexy way. “I’ve never seen him like this. I thought he wanted to protect her because Liam always protects the weak. But it’s more than that. Let’s say I’m surprised he’s letting her sleep alone tonight.”
“You think he’ll claim her?” Glory started brewing coffee to cover her nervousness, not to mention her rampaging horniness. “She’s human.”
Dylan leaned his backside against the counter and folded his arms. “You know how high the ratio of males to females is in Shiftertown. It’s doubtful Liam will ever mate with another Shifter.”
Glory poured fragrant ground coffee into her coffee-maker and closed the lid. “You’d let him take a human as mate?”
“Never in the old days, but those days are gone.” He looked exhausted, Dylan who’d lived so long and seen so much. “She seems robust, and she’s not afraid of us.”
Glory snorted. “If she’s not afraid of you, it’s because she doesn’t know any better. Though I agree, she’s got spunk.” She admired the way the human girl had said what she’d really thought, though Glory would never admit it. In Glory’s experience, most humans she encountered either avoided eye contact with her, pretended contempt, or simply ran away.
“Another reason I don’t think Liam will claim a Shifter woman is because he thinks too much about the good of the clan,” Dylan was saying. “He pushes potential mates on other Shifters rather than claiming them himself. I asked him why, once. He said that Shifters lower in the hierarchy have more time to breed and raise a family, and that’s what Shifters need most. Cubs, not testosterone contests.”
“How self-sacrificing of him.”
“I also think he’s never come across a female who stirs him. For sex, yes. As a mate, no. But this one…”
“This one he’s not likely to charitably pass down to the next mate-seeking Shifter. She’s human; she needs his protection. And Liam is a protector at heart.” Glory smiled. “Like his dad.”
Dylan finally looked straight at her. He’d been sliding his gaze from hers, trying not to pin her with his angry uncertainty, trying not to demand submission. What a sweetie. He must know that if he wanted Glory to go down on her knees, she’d happily oblige.
“It’s my job,” Dylan answered irritably.
“No, it’s you. You’re one big protecting hunk of male. The only reason Fergus leads your clan and not you is because he’s a ruthless bastard. You don’t challenge him, because you fear he’ll retaliate on the innocent, Connor in particular.”
Dylan’s expression went harder still, and it was all Glory could do to stay upright in her high-heeled shoes. His eyes were tinged with red, a sign that he was ready to lose it.
“You only met Fergus the once,” Dylan said, tight-lipped.
“Once was enough. I never want to see him again. People respect you, Dylan. They fear Fergus. There’s a difference.”
She started to turn away, but a steel-strong hand clamped her arm. “What are you trying to do, Glory? Sow insurrection in my clan?”
Glory looked at him in surprise. “Insurrection? Are you kidding? What for?”
Dylan’s grip softened, but Glory saw he had to make himself ease off. “Then why are you so interested in me challenging Fergus?”
“Because you’re a better man than he is. I’ve always thought that, and I’m not the only one.”
Dylan closed his eyes. He clenched his jaw, a muscle twitching. “The clan’s survival is more important than me confronting Fergus.”
“I know.” Glory dared to step closer to him, now that his a wful gaze was shielded. “If we start challenging and fighting one another like we did before the Collar, we’ll be dead within a few short years.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
“See, sometimes I listen when you talk.”
Dylan opened his eyes then, the red gone, the beautiful blue so deep it made her heart ache.
“Glory,” he said softly.
“Yes?”
“Shut it.”