The Platinum Dragon's Mate - Zoe Chant Page 0,6
a matter of honor—he’d see it as enemies trying to worm their way into the clan’s good graces, so that they could strike later on. Sage could hear Jeremiah’s words as though he were there in the room with them: That’s what they do, like snakes in the grass, slither in and wait until you’re looking the other way, and then—
But Shiloh wasn’t Jeremiah. He was hotheaded and angry, but he wasn’t truly paranoid like their father. He still believed in integrity and honor and all of that.
“What about them?” One of his fingers stabbed towards Athena and Alaric. “They’ve turned on their own clan. You can’t tell me honor means anything to these Oak Ridge assholes, not if they’re seducing women away from their homes.”
“Hey.” Athena stalked forward and grabbed Shiloh’s pointing finger. “You know what true mates are? You ever heard of the concept before? You know better than to claim that someone can just reject their true mate out of hand. Believe me, I didn’t ask to be stuck in some kind of dumb Romeo and Juliet remake, either. That’s why I came back, you stupid jerk. I don’t want to betray anyone. I want to find a way to make this work.”
Shiloh’s face twisted. Sage could see the painful impasse in him.
Then Dr. MacAllister stepped forward again. “I want to make this work, too,” he said quietly. “Look at me treating this girl as—as a sign of good faith. I’m a doctor. My job isn’t fighting, it’s healing.”
There was a long pause. Sage held her breath.
Finally, Shiloh threw his hands in the air. “Fine. Do what you want.” He glared at Sage. “You always do anyway.”
He stalked out of the house, leaving Sage stung by the injustice of what he’d said. She bit her lip and turned back to Rhiannon, who’d slept peacefully through the whole fight, thank goodness for small mercies.
It’s not fair. I never get to do what I want. Ever.
Well, okay, so it wasn’t fair. She wasn’t a little kid anymore. She had a kid of her own, and it was her job to suck it up even when her big brother was being mean to her, and behave like a mature adult.
She sucked in a deep breath and looked up—and started. Dr. MacAllister was standing next to her again, looking down at Rhiannon with her.
“Thank you for standing with me on that,” he said softly. “I really do believe it’s the best thing for your daughter that I be here. And I promise you, I’m not looking for an in, or a way to sabotage your interests. I just want Rhiannon to be all right.”
His eyes were a clear, bright blue, and so achingly sincere, Sage thought she might lose herself in them.
“I believe you,” she managed, then tore her gaze away to look back and see who’d stayed behind when Shiloh left.
Athena, Alaric, and another man she didn’t recognize were still here. The unknown man stepped forward. “Haven’t introduced myself,” he said. “Sorry. I’m Santos, I’m from Oak Ridge, and I’m Athena’s mate.”
Athena’s mate. And Athena had said the same thing just a minute ago. Athena had gone to Oak Ridge and found her mate there?
Her first, slightly uncharitable reaction was, They must breed them pretty tough in Oak Ridge. She’d never met a man who could stand up to Athena for long.
This man didn’t look like it, though. Well, he looked big, certainly, but he also seemed...quiet. Maybe there was more to him than met the eye.
“Congratulations,” she said, and shifted her gaze to Athena. “Truly.”
“Thanks,” Athena said quietly. Then she squared her shoulders. “Now we just have to figure out how to make it work without our clans destroying each other.”
Sage took that in. “Well. That—will certainly be a project.”
“Do we have your support?” Athena asked.
Sage couldn’t remember the last time Athena had spoken to her so calmly and seriously. Normally, the two of them talked past each other more than to each other—Athena always preferred to be doing something active and interesting, and Sage had most of her energy taken up by a seven-year-old. Besides, Athena usually expressed an active disdain for anything too feminine, which was frustrating.
But now she was meeting Sage’s eyes with something like—hope? Need?
A wave of exhaustion passed through her at the idea of fighting this battle. There was no way they could win, could they? Even persuading Shiloh to accept the—alliance, or whatever they wanted, would be nearly impossible. Jeremiah...
“You’re not going to