Page 69 of Daughter of Garnet

Maybe this will be short.

"I'm not going to sit here and let you trash Cliff, so if that's your plan, you can leave. I know Cliff better than you think."

Warren stalks across the room and glares down at me. At one point, the way he leers over me might have made me nervous, but my dragon is writhing beneath my skin, ready to jump in and protect me if I need it.

"I'm not going anywhere."

The tone of his voice is unlike anything I've heard from him before.

"Why the sudden change, Warren? Why is it now, after all this time, that you're concerned about who I'm with? And don't say it's because we're inevitable or whatever."

He huffs, white-blond hair puffing away from his face. "You've changed since we got here."

I gesture up and down his body. "So have you. You're being a real dick."

"That's not what I mean. You look different. You're acting different."

I wish I trusted him enough to tell him that he's right, a lot has changed, but I don't. Warren used to be my confidant in everything, and now I'm not sure if he will be. What's to stop him from taking that secret from me and holding it over my head to control me?

A year ago, hell, three months ago, this wouldn't have even been a thought in my mind, but now it's all but certain.

Warren and mine's relationship may never recover from my designation.

Was it always going to end this way? If I were a Beta, a true Beta, would we be falling in love instead of apart?

It doesn't do any good to dwell on that, because that isn't an option. This is the life I've been given, and I can't go back.

Would I turn back the clock and be just a Beta if I could?

Would I still have my relationship with Cliff and Cameron?

"This is what I mean!" Warren's voice jolts me out of my thoughts. "You act like you don't give a shit when I'm around."

"Do you ever consider I'm dealing with bigger things than you, Warren?"

"What could you possibly have going on?" He scoffs and holds up his hand, ticking off his fingers. "Hooking up with my roommate? Fucking the Alpha Aide? Flirting with Viv's brother? Oh yes, you are so busy."

I've given Warren a lot of grace, but it's run out. I'm on my feet, pushing his chest and making him stumble toward the door. "You don't know shit about me anymore. Get out of here. Leave me the hell alone."

He grabs me by the wrists, his handsome face twisted into something grotesque. "If everyone else can get in your pants, why not me, huh? Don't pretend that you've never thought about it."

Of course I have thought about it, but whatever Warren it was that I fantasized about in the past, it is not this man in front of me.

"Let me go, Warren."

Did I ever know this man? How can the boy who kissed my scraped knee be the one who's looking at me as if I am his next meal?

His long, bony fingers tighten around my wrist, almost to the point of pain. "You're mine, Zoe. Always meant to be mine, always will be mine."

"Childhood promises aren't real, Warren! Our mothers wanting us together isn't enough to build a relationship on." My head is spinning, my skin growing hot, and I feel myself losing grip on my dragon. "You need to let me go now."

My words only make his fingers tighten, and I swear I can feel my bones rub against one another. The manic gleam in his eyes is enough to trigger my fight-or-flight response, and my dragon has decided she's done letting me run the show. My teeth sharpen into points, and I can feel the skin on my wrists growing thick and hotter, as if my scales are starting to burst to the surface.

Warren looks down at his hands, then back at me, genuine fear on his face.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" He drops me and stumbles backward. "You– Your teeth."

My dragon gave up control as soon as he took his hands off me, and I'm grateful for her assistance, but now I have to do damage control with Warren to keep my secret under wraps.