I stood up and checked the navigational system. We were still on course towards Moonscale Island new location off the coast of Cuba. Tropical weather and sunshine had my name written all over it.
“What happened? I’m still a ways off, but I can speed things up. Clarence talked me into the dragon sails with full scale charms.”
Tension twisted my insides and pulled my shoulder blades taunt. Rhett pulled me up by my bootstraps out of more than one bad decision. If he needed help, I’d be there. I should’ve already been there, but I needed to settle my affairs on the mainland. I couldn’t let everything go as easily as he did. I got rid of my apartment. Closed the business and hired a caretaker for our parents’ house. I hadn’t seen him since the feast to celebrate his hatchlings’ birth.
“Turn around.” Rhett said.
“Don’t tell me that damnable island moved again!” I grumbled.
“No, we need you to rescue someone in Cornwall. I usually wouldn’t ask, but this is important. Brendan’s not going to bed until he’s in your charge and the kids like to wake up at the tail crack of dawn.”
“Who?” I asked.
“A Moonscale dragon by mating. Brendan’s been on the phone with Clarence half the night. The guy married into the Moonscales and lost his mate awhile back. His parents are trying to make him marry some new guy and he’s not having it. Clarence says it’s not his business. So, Brendan decided to make it ours. He sent a letter via a box of chocolates. I figure the guy must be desperate.”
“Tell me what I’m dealing with.”
“Chocolate makers. That’s all we really know. Brendan’s on the phone trying to get a hold of Cinder, but he’s not answering. We have an address, though,” said Rhett.
“Don’t you think it might be a prank? I mean, who really sends a S.O.S. in a chocolate delivery?”
“A desperate man,” my wolf chuckled.
Cookie ran obvious circles around my feet as the boat started to turn.
“The death records check out. Sivan Moonscale died in a surprise attack at a ski resort in the Alps.”
“Sivan Moonscale?” My breath stuck in my throat.
This wasn’t the first I heard of his death. Carter’s kid true-mated to the guy awhile back. The kid came from a whirlwind romance that the omega’s parents quickly ended. He talked about stalking him online and through public records a lot. The kid’s carrier was from some well-to-do family who wanted to erase their child’s mistake. They stopped just short of egg smashing, but from how Carter spoke of his could-have-been in-laws, that surprised me.
“It’s not stalking. He was trying to make sure his hatchling was safe and well taken care of.” My wolf said.
“Give me Cinder’s address,” I sighed.
“I’ll text it to you.”
“Good.” I ended the call and headed to turn the boat around.
“Call Carter.” My wolf insisted.
“Nope. Not a chance in hell. If something goes wrong while we’re helping Cinder escape, I don’t want him anywhere near the damn house,” I said aloud. “They’ll blame him and given his history with Lars they might actually bring him up on kidnapping charges.”
Cookie looked up at me and wagged her tail.
“You neither. You can watch the boat while I play supervillain.”
“Superhero. You’re rescuing someone.” My wolf pointed out.
“I gave up on being a hero a long damn time ago. I’m kidnapping an omega and smuggling him to another territory. I’m a supervillain and if things go south, I want my henchman alive and outside of a prison cell. Carter’s scent will give him away in a moment of who he is. Besides, don’t you think they deserve a better reunion than that?”
“You can’t tell Cinder then.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” I laughed.
“What’s said in group stays in group.”
“Damn you!”
“You also can’t tell Carter about Cinder, because if you do and he loses his temper he might disclose where Cinder is and that’ll only cause trouble.”
“Double-dog damn you!”
Cookie whined.
“Not you, Cookie. I was talking to the mutt inside of me.”
“She’s more of a mutt than I am! She has one ear longer than the other and that stump on her rump is a poor excuse for a tail. I’m a proud pure wolf thank you very fucking much!”
“Tell that to our coyote great-great-great grandmother.”
Smooth blue sea stretched out in all directions. The compass as set east and the navigational system set for Cornwall’s fishing harbor. My phone vibrated again sending Cookie on a growling sprint around the main deck.
“Shush, girlie. Calm those teats. It’s a phone and it does that a lot. You’ll have to get used to them.”
Cookie sprinted to my side and slapped my leg with her furry paws until I scooped her up under one arm. My phone vibrated again. She growled lifting one lip like a half-drunk wolf.
RHETT: The irony of me sending you out to do something moronic hasn’t escaped me. Be careful out there.
ME: Don’t worry, baby brother. I got this. I’ve dealt with enough crazy that this should be a cinch. I don’t even have to figure out where I left the boat or my pants this time.
RHETT: Brendan’s finally went to bed. Clarence isn’t helpful. He won’t give us any new information. He’s your friend. Why don’t you call him?
ME: He’s not my friend. He’s my in-law because of you.
RHETT: CALL HIM!!
ME: Nope.
RHETT: ????
ME: Because if I do, he might realize I’m the crazy brother. Sure, Brendan probably annoyed him like a tick under a scale, but I’ve done a few jobs for Clarence. He knows my resume and I don’t want to tip him off to what I’m doing until I have the package safely at your house.
RHETT: You’re working for Clarence Moonscale??
ME: Nope. I’m not working for him. I just retrieved a few things for him from some elves. It was nothing. It paid well.
RHETT: You’re friends.
ME: I don’t have friends.
RHETT: Whatever you say, brother.
I didn’t text him back. Sure, I could play the ‘Clarence Moonscale you owe me a favor’ card, but I might need it more someday. Besides, how hard could it be to smuggle a dragon out of Cornwall?
Chapter Five
Cinder
“WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!” My dragon growled.
His thoughts echoed around my head and sent clouds of smoke shooting out my nose. I sniffed and sneezed out the soot left behind.
What happened?
“You fell asleep. Then I fell asleep. Your phone rang. I couldn’t wake you up.”
I turned to my side. My shoulder was stiff and achy from crashing into the door the night before. I rubbed it and tried moving it in a circle. Pain smacked the bone and I stopped. Using my other hand to scoot across the floor I snatched up my phone. I had sixty missed calls from an unknown number and a text message. I hadn’t received a text message since Sivan died.
“It’s from the prince!” I whispered.
Prince Brendan: I hope you’re alright. Rhett says you’re likely asleep, but your letter sounded so desperate. I hope we’re not too late. A boat will meet you at the Cornwall Fishing Harbor. The captain is a wolf by the name of Seth Warren. He’s my mate’s brother. The boat should arrive shortly before first light. Seth hopes to clear harbor before sunrise.
The next message was a photo of the man smiling at a feast. He sat to the right of Clarence Moonscale. The man looked friendly enough with his vivid blue eyes, but his association to the Moonscale Patriarch curdled my empty stomach like milk gone sour.
“He’s hot. Besides, a lot of people know Clarence. It doesn’t mean he’s a rat.”
Even if he is, this is our only chance out of here.
“He’s a wolf. If it’s a trap, I’ll eat him while you steal the boat.”
Deal.
A quick
glance out the window at the violet skies told me light would break through night’s hold on the world soon. I grabbed my overnight bag and stuffed it with everything I brought over. With my bag over my sore shoulder I opened the window and leapt out. My shoulder was out of commission, but my legs never failed me. I landed with a near silent thud on the grass. Then, I circled the house and entered through the workers’ entrance. I stuffed my pockets with all the candy that would fit. If all else failed I could sell the chocolates for some cash until I could withdraw money from Sivan’s account.
Above my head Dad and Augustus slept soundly. Augustus’s light snores rattled the windows like always, but neither of them stirred. Out of obligation, I started up the ovens and machines. The workers would arrive soon, and they could handle the rest. I didn’t want to cost Dad a day of business even if he was the biggest liar on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
I crept out of the house and brought out my wings. The stretching and contorting of flesh irritated my shoulder, but I couldn’t risk a full shift if the bones weren’t correctly aligned. High above the streets of my childhood neighborhood I was free for the first time since Sivan died.
Flying sent tiny bolts of pain through my shoulder and neck. Each zap reminded me of the price of freedom. I turned left where I should have turned right. Without thinking, my wings led me home. Inside, I grabbed a few photos of us together and a couple of Sivan’s old shirts that I always slept in. Later, when the dust settled, I’d have the house moved.
“Sivan, I’m not leaving you. I’m running away, though. Dad’s lost his mind. Father’s not my father. A prince agreed to help me. I think I finally know what you meant about Moonscale luck,” I said aloud. “I love you. Watch the house while I’m gone.”
Sivan wasn’t in the house. He didn’t linger behind as a ghost with unfinished business. Someone as brave and honorable as Sivan would never do that. My Alpha was either in the Other World or reborn by now. I was on my own but pretending he could hear me made leaving easier.
“It’s just another adventure,” my dragon said.
He didn’t believe what he said any more than I did, but we both nodded and locked the house up behind us.
“Juda, Frost, and all the ancestors who can hear me, please watch over my home until I can return. Guide my journey. Guide my wings. Bless my heart and aid my escape,” I whispered.
With one last look at the red door of my old home I took to the skies again. I stayed high enough to avoid being easily spotted. Birds gave me wide berth and geese broke their formations as I passed. We shared winged DNA, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t eat them if I were hungry enough and they knew it.
“I’m sky king!” I laughed to myself.
The sound was foreign to my tired ears. When was the last time I laughed? Had I forgotten the sound, because for so long it wasn’t a solo melody, but only half the song of my life? Sivan’s laughter echoed in my memories. He laughed with his whole body when he got going. I loved working him up until we both doubled over holding our sides at their seams still laughing.
The flight to the fishing harbor ended before I was ready. From my high vantage point, I scanned the horizon. No grand war ship marked its docks. There was a sizeable fishing ship equipped with a few upgrades. The man aboard leaned back against the ships navigational dashboard and watched the skies. He lifted his chin in acknowledgement when he saw me.
“A fishing boat is my grand escape plan?” I muttered to myself.
“Better than nothing,” my dragon sighed.
The man exited the boat and waited on the dock for me to land. Sighing, I made my descent. Up close and personal, Seth was handsome. His photo didn’t do justice to his strong jawline or the sexy five o’clock shadow he sported. He smelled honest, clean, and a bit like a dog. I reached out to shake his hand and something growled at me. I stumbled backwards. My feet caught in a net left behind by a careless fisherman. I kicked it aside and righted myself before looking at the man and his dog again.
“Don’t worry about her. That’s just Cookie. She’s hitching a ride to the island too,” Seth said.
A second later, a gray ball of curls appeared from behind his boots.
“My rescue team is a fisherman and a curly pillow?” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“She’s tougher than she looks. Cookie is her biker name.” Seth laughed and scooped up the dog.
Tucked under his arm, she fell silent and her lips laid flat out of their snarl. Seth reached his hand out. I never had time to shake it. A new scent wafted into the harbor. One I knew too well and came to loathe since our first meeting.
“Reggie’s here,” I growled under my breath.
Seth grabbed my arm and shoved Cookie into my other one. Then he shoved us both behind him. Cookie looked up at me as if she expected an answer for her sudden change of hands.
“I don’t know either. The wolf thinks he can fight a dragon.”
“I fought elves and won.”
“H.. how?” My voice cracked.
“I’m a lucky son of a bitch.”
My fingers trembled and the dog shook in my arms. Her lips curled into a snarl and I almost dropped her. She wasn’t growling at me. Her attention was focused on the two Alphas stomping towards each other. My heart pounded overpowering my thoughts. I looked over my shoulder at the sea. I was an awful swimmer, but I’d have better odds at sea than in the air. Everyone expected a dragon to fly away.
Chapter Six
Seth
“Be a peach and take Cookie down to the cabin for me. Blood makes her squeamish,” I told Cinder.
“Be a peach? What? Are you defecting to the American deep south? He’s a dragon not a dandelion.” My wolf growled.
“I think I should stay. You might need my help,” Cinder said.
“Suit yourself. Just don’t get in the way,” I told him.
I glanced at the dragon omega over my shoulder. He was as tall as me with a mane of chestnut hair ruffled from his flight. He gripped his bag and Cookie like a man about to jump out a plane without a parachute. He smelled like roses and steel tinged with fear.
“Stop that. He’s an omega in distress,” my wolf snarled.
The snarl was more for the approaching giant lizard. So, I didn’t take it personally.
“What’s his name again?” I asked Cinder over my shoulder.
“Reggie,” he whispered.
The weight of Stacy’s locket around my neck pressed against my flesh. The heart shaped from dragon gold held more than the tiniest version possible of our wedding photo. If Reggie stomped too hard, he’d find out how I beat the elves and was currently Clarence’s favorite non-dragon person.
Reggie approached stomping his way along the dragon made dock. The wood swayed under his weight. His short blonde hair was gelled to his skull as if a giant cat licked across the top of his head. His nostrils flared more with each step. He smelled like any other pissed off lizard I’d met.
“Good morning, Reg. How’s it going old chap?” I put on my best impression of Clarence’s posh accent.
“Sir, I’ll thank you to remove yourself and your,” he huffed and glanced at my ship, “vessel from the vicinity of my fiancé.”
“Me and my vessel are really loving it here. Thought I might take the wee dog for a stroll down Main Street. Pop in and buy my new friend some chocolates and maybe find him another dragon with some real balls. Might have to leave Cornwall to find that, though.”
Cinder huffed and failed to swallow a laugh.
“Why are you trying to piss off the dragon?” My wolf asked. “Why do you always do this? Can’t we do one thing the easy way?”
“Those are mighty big words coming from a wolf bedding a mutt.”
Cookie snarled.
“At least she enjoys my company. She didn’t send out an S.O.S. when I asked her to marry me. Wait. I heard that story somewhere. It was about some lousy chap named Reggie.”
The dragon narr
owed his eyes on me. I smirked and reached in my back pocket for a cigarette. I quit a few months after the twins were born to be a good role model. Now, I only reached for them now when something amused me. This bug-eyed lizard was more fun than I thought.
“I will call for the Moonscale enforcers if you do not hand over my fiancé. His parents will be along shortly to collect him. Surely, Augustus and Lars do not know that he is roaming the docks of Cornwall with such bad company.”
“I’m not sure what Augustus knows, but Lars knows more than you about certain topics.”
He arched a bemused brow and lowered it simultaneously. Did he know Augustus wasn’t Cinder’s real father?
“What the Aldreds know or do not know is no concern to riff-raff like you.”
“Riff-raff? What’s next? Are you going to call me a poopy head and run off to tattle to the teacher? Go ahead then. We’ll wait.” I crossed my arms.
“I’m not playing your games, mutt,” he growled.
“Things are getting serious now, aren’t they?” I smirked.
Even before Stacy died, I lived for the adrenaline rushes life threw my way. Climb the side of that mountain freestyle? Sign me the fuck up. Dive off a cliff no one else would dare to into unknown waters below? Check. Board a dinky boat to chase a hurricane around? Hell, that was how we really fell in love. Fight a dragon to thank my brother for all the favors he tossed my way over the years? Bring it on, lizard man!
“Do you know who you’re messing with? Cinder is a Moonscale Dragon. Keeping him away from his chosen mate is a crime against the whole flight!” Reggie growled and took a huge step forward.
His patent leather shoe bumped against the toe of my work boot. We both looked down. He huffed at the scuffs and wear my shoes suffered over the years.
“Cinder, this overgrown iguana your chosen mate?” I asked not taking my eyes off Reggie.
“No,” Cinder cringed as he spoke.
“Well, then I’m not breaking Moonscale laws, old chap.”
“You know I could kill you, right?”
“You know I could kill you, too?”
Saving Cinder Page 3