by Riley Storm
I need to make this alliance happen. We all need it, but Aaric needs it most of all so that he can relax and enjoy the company of his mate, as he should be allowed to.
After all, Jax was the only unmated one of the group. He should be focusing on the job at hand, taking up the burden, so that those with mates could look after what was truly most important to a dragon shifter: their family.
Aaric stiffened, and Jax wondered if somehow the other dragon was reading his thoughts. But he noticed a light play across Aaric’s eyes, and the fire dragon sat upright in alarm.
His head snapped around to the window behind Valla and Liz just in time to see a bright splash of light erupt in the distance before it was swallowed by a darkness devoid of all light. That wasn’t the shadows of the evening hour at all, but something else, something far more sinister.
“The Keep is under attack,” both he and Aaric said at the same time, shooting to their feet.
The women looked around nervously, Liz cradling little Melina to her chest. Valla squeezed his mate’s leg and kissed her on the head. “You’ll be safe in here,” he said, getting to his feet, his hair already turning white as he called to his powers.
Jax snarled angrily at the interruption to the peaceful evening and began moving toward the window even before Aaric.
“Close it after us,” he said, undoing the latch and pushing the huge swinging window outward. “Lock it.”
Then he leapt through and dropped two stories to the garden below. Plants were crushed under his descent, and more flattened as the other dragons stepped out the second-story window and appeared at his side.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake. Watch where you step!”
He turned to see Francis at a nearby window. Apparently, the steward had seen the flashes of light as well.
“Secure the Keep,” Jax snarled. “See to their mates.” His hand waved at the other dragons.
The normally sarcastic steward nodded sharply and turned on a dime, marching out of the nearby room with a purpose rarely seen in his step. He knew it was serious.
Light flared in Jax’s peripheral as Aaric’s hands sprang into flame, the dragons all drawing upon their powers.
As one, they broke out into a jog, clearing the rest of the garden, their long strides powered by superhuman muscles. The land raced by underneath, slowly blurring as they picked up speed, charging to the south end of the property, where the light continued to blossom as the vampires struck the Keep’s magical defenses.
Jax didn’t have to look left or right to know his brothers were preparing themselves for battle, the elements themselves coming to their call. It was the very nature of dragons to control these things, and they would use them to devastating effect against the vampires.
Jax did not call out. Not yet. His powers would be best used as a surprise.
They entered the treeline four abreast, terrifying figures out of the depths of human mythology as they raced to defend their Keep. Their home. For three of them, they were defending more than that. They were fighting for their love.
Jax would fight no less ferociously than his brothers, but knowing he would have no one to return to after the fight struck a pang in his heart. He was lonely, and right now he felt it more than ever.
The forest ended abruptly as the massive strides of the dragons covered ground faster than any human could imagine.
In front of them, light blossomed again as darkness struck the wards, a golden dome appearing momentarily where the shadows themselves tried to strike, then fading away until the next attack.
Jax now called upon his powers, and the very earth itself rose, lifting him into the air so he could see over the thick stone wall that surrounded the entire property, looking upon their enemy for the first time.
“It is not the child,” he said, speaking of the ancient vampire in child’s form that his brothers had encountered before. “But his control of the night is still formidable. I see a few dozen minor vampires arrayed around him as well. Waiting.”
He stared at the leader, a nondescript male, mid-thirties perhaps—though being a vampire, it was impossible to tell how old he truly was. Several centuries at least, Jax figured, given the constant attacks he was launching against the wards.
“It’s a probe,” he announced, confident he’d figured it out. “They don’t have the strength to break through.”
The vampire tilted his head just then, and the next blow that struck the dome shook it.
“Maybe he does. Eventually,” Jax corrected, still restraining his own power, even as Aaric’s flames jumped higher and Valla’s skin began to glow white in the night.
“Either way, they have come to us,” Aaric rumbled ominously. “We should teach them a lesson about the perils of doing so.”
Jax smiled, and the column of earth he stood upon melted back into the ground until it was smooth again, as if he’d never been there. “I agree,” he said nastily.
Another thunderous blow struck, and the dome flared into brighter relief against the night sky beyond. The wards on Drakon Keep were centuries old and would hold for some time, but they weren’t impervious to attack. Eventually, they would collapse, and the vampires would get in.
It was up to them to stop that from happening.
“Ready, my brothers?” Aaric asked, his entire body now covered in flame, burning away his clothing, leaving a naked avatar of fire.
The trio stalked forward, straight toward the wall. Jax reached down into the earth and called out to the stone. It rippled and flowed, and then parted for his brothers like water. Aaric led the way with a shield of fire spreading out to protect his brothers.
A shout went up from the vampires, and through the haze of fire, Jax saw them prepare to charge. Although he doubted any of them was strong enough to take a dragon one on one, there had to be thirty of them. That many would tear his brothers limb from limb if they got close enough.
Shadows swirled around several of the vampires. Nothing like what their leader was capable of, but enough to show they were a century old and beginning to learn to control the powers of dark.
Not content to let his brothers have all the fun, Jax darted through the hole in the stone wall as well, willing it to close behind him, the surface as smooth as before. Then he stopped, knelt, pressing one hand flat against the earth. A trench dropped out of the ground in front of the charging vampires, and the first ranks dropped into it unexpectedly, forming a pile.
Then the earth swallowed them up, cutting the numbers by a quarter.
Jax smiled and rose to his feet, the metal armor flowing out to cover his body once more as he stalked toward the remaining vampires, many of whom had ridden shadows across the trench like a magic carpet.
He greeted one as it descended with a mailed fist to the fast, caving in the young vampire’s skull. It wasn’t pleasant, the slaughter he and his brothers delivered that night, but these weren’t Thralls. They were full-fledged vampires. There was no saving them.
Flames rose and a ball of fire shot out to slam into a descending vampire, engulfing it in flames. The shrieks echoed out into the darkness for several seconds before the fire consumed the creature.
“Jax!” Valla bellowed, pointing across the distance.
Flexing, Jax twisted his arms violently, snapping the neck of his victim before following his brother’s shout. Downfield, the leader of the attack was backing away, getting ready to leave.
“No, you don’t,” Jax snarled, and yet again the ground responded to him. The older vampire sank in to his waist before the ground solidified around him.
Before it had even stopped, however, shadows swirled and darted downward, taking great gouges out of the earth as the vampire dug himself free with ease.
“We’ll take these,” Victor snarled, clenching his fist and yanking it back over his shoulder. A nearby vampire instantly withered and dropped as Victor ripped every ounce of water from his body at the same time, turning him into a deflated sack. “You get him.�
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Grinning evilly, Jax raced forward, the earth pushing against him as he ran, lending him incredible speed. The older vampire had just finished lifting himself free of the hole when Jax slammed into his side. The two went down, rolling over and over as they slammed blows into each other.
Metal fists connected with cold vampire flesh, while shadow-enhanced blows rained down on his head. Pain filled his brain, but Jax didn’t let up. Hauling back his head, he slammed it forward into the vampire’s nose. Bone broke and the creature hissed in pain.
Shadows engulfed Jax and lifted him from the ground, depriving him of his powers. The metal faded from his skin, leaving him vulnerable. Exposed. This vampire knew how to deal with an earth dragon.
“Not the first time I’ve killed one of your kind,” he hissed happily. “Without the earth, you are barely more than human.”
Jax nodded thoughtfully, one hand slipping into a pocket. “Yeah, you know, you’re right. But then, I’m never truly without the earth, now, am I?”
The vampire frowned, but Jax’s fingers closed around the lump of raw ore he kept on him at all times. It lengthened into a spike, and then refined itself into an ultra-thin, razor-sharp blade. He twisted, swinging the sword up and around, slicing through the shadows, dropping him back to the ground, where he landed with a bounce, his knees absorbing the fall easily.
Jax gestured and the earth rumbled. A moment later, two massive hands surged free of the ground and wrapped themselves around the vampire’s legs. He swung wildly, using the shadows to chip away, but he was outclassed now. Jax was mad, more at himself for nearly being trapped, but also at the vampire for threatening his brothers and their mates.
The earth elemental tore itself free from the ground, twenty-feet tall and possessed of more strength than the vampire could handle.
“You should have left my family alone,” Jax whispered, and a second later the elemental ripped the vampire in half.
The fight was over then. Between his three brothers, the other vampires were either dead or fleeing, barely a handful having made it out alive in the confusion.
“This was not meant to hurt us,” Aaric pronounced as they walked back through the opening in the stone, the ground behind them devoid of any sign of the battle as the earth swallowed up the bodies. “It was just a test. To see how we would respond.”
“And to let us know that they feel confident enough to attack us. That this was but a tiny fraction of their strength,” Jax pointed out, his thoughts turning outward, to the town itself.
To someone far more valuable than himself. He was going to have to get Sarah to safety, and soon.
And her grandmother. Though you cannot bring her here, she must be taken care of as well.
The vampires wouldn’t know of her. Yet. But it wouldn’t take much longer, he was certain of that.
Jax had a lot of work to do because now it was clearer than ever that the alliance of shifters was needed. And everyone was counting on him to make it happen.
It was going to be a busy few days ahead, that was for sure.
Chapter 19
“Are you carpooling to work today dear?”
Sarah frowned, her shirt halfway over her head. “No Grandma, why?” she called through the material.
She settled the shirt into place while she waited for a reply.
“Well, there’s a very nice car sitting at the end of the driveway. I think whoever is in it is going to come in here.”
“Like. How nice, Grandma?” she called, tugging on her pants and looking in the full-length mirror to confirm she looked workplace appropriate.
“Nicer than a Cadillac.”
Sarah sighed. That could mean anything from a Mercedes to some sort of exotic sports car. To her grandmother, Cadillacs were still the gold standard of fancy. Everything after that was ‘nicer than a Cadillac’ with no distinction.
“I’m coming,” she called, heading out into the hallway toward the front door, where she could peep through the little window on either side to see what it was.
But she didn’t have to, because she recognized the person getting out of the car before her brain even noticed what it was he was driving.
“It’s your boss,” her grandmother observed from the living room where she was peeking through the translucent drapes.
“You’re such a creep, G-Nance,” Sarah teased. “Spying on everyone who comes here.”
“The only person who has come by besides you is him,” her grandmother said. “Twice now, in fact, he’s come, and I don’t think he’s here to talk to me.”
Sarah frowned at the truth of the answer. She went for the door, trying to go outside and talk to him there, but by the time she got the lock undone, he was already knocking politely.
“Well, let him in,” her grandmother said when she didn’t immediately open it. “Be polite.”
That was the last thing Sarah wanted to do. The door shook again slightly as Jax knocked on it a second time.
“Sarah!” her grandmother hissed, not impressed with her lack of manners. “Open the door and see what he has to say.”
Open the door and talk to him. Right there. Where her grandmother could hear everything. Sarah hadn’t told her about anything, including the lunch date where he’d kissed her, or how she’d felt about that, or the way she’d reacted.
There was no escaping it though, she was trapped. Risking G-Nance’s wrath for being rude was not something she was prepared to do, so with a helpless sigh, Sarah pulled open the door.
“Hi.” Jax stood there after speaking and just waited.
“Hi.” She wasn’t about to make this easy on him.
“Thank you for opening the door and talking to me,” he said, his voice strong and clear.
She narrowed her eyes at him, knowing why he wasn’t mumbling. He knew her grandmother was there, and that for some unbelievable reason, her grandmother had taken a liking to him.
“You’re welcome.”
Jax winced at her less-than-happy tone, but he forged ahead. “First off, I want you to know I’m sorry for yesterday. For the way things went, at least. I’m not sorry for asking you out. But I am sorry for what I did, for my actions at the end. I let my desires guide my actions, instead of my brain.”
“Yeah. Wrong head,” she muttered sarcastically.
“It just means he thinks you’re pretty, dear. Don’t be such a bitch to him about that. You know men can’t always control their penises.” Her grandmother’s comments wafted in from the other room.
Sarah went beet red and Jax was forced to stifle a laugh, coughing abruptly into his elbow as he turned away, but not before she saw the massive smile on his face.
“Grandmother,” she said formally, tilting her head back and into the house. “Don’t use that sort of language.”
“Dear, how do you think your mother and uncles came around? Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I forget what it’s like to be lost in the passionate throes of a lovers’ embrace. Why—”
“No. Nope. Noooo,” Sarah shouted. “We are not having this talk right here and right now, Grandma. Not happening.”
To her relief, her grandmother just shrugged but didn’t say anything more. Breathing out her relief, Sarah turned her attention back to Jax, keeping her voice low.
“You’re just interested in me for physical fun,” she accused.
“That’s not true, and you know it,” Jax replied, this time keeping his voice low. “You’re judging me because of your past experiences, without giving me a fair shake. You kissed me back, Sarah. Don’t act like you feel nothing for me, because you’d be lying to yourself as well as me. I wasn’t right to kiss you like that, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something here. Do me the favor of at least not lying about that.”
She bit her lip, keeping her mouth shut. He was right, of course. The rest of the afternoon and evening Sarah had analyzed that moment over and over again. She’d come to realize her reaction had been one of fear. Not because
she thought Jax truly was another rich asshole come to hurt her, but because he was the opposite.
She’d reacted strongly because she didn’t want to let herself open up to him, to explore things with him. Now he was here calling her out on everything, and yet again she didn’t know how to respond to him.
“What is it you want, then?” she asked, throwing the onus back on him while she tried to gather her thoughts into some semblance of order. “Why are you here?”
“I’d like to do things right,” he said, drawing himself up to his full height. “If it’s alright by you, then I would like to take you on a proper date this afternoon. Not just having lunch but knowing that this is a date. No surprises.”
Sarah bit her lip even harder. She needed a reason, a reason to say no. Anything.
“She would love to,” her grandmother called, still eavesdropping.
Jax’s eyebrows went up with obvious hope, but Sarah wasn’t about to let her grandmother dictate her actions.
“I can’t,” she said, leaving off a reason, stalling for time.
“Why not?” Jax challenged immediately, not giving her any time to think.
“Because.” She frowned. “Because you’re my boss.”
“I could fire you?” Jax offered with a shrug. “If that would help make it easier for you.”
“I…” Sarah was caught off guard, not sure at all what to say. She was running out of reasons to say no, and Jax seemed to have the answers to all her objections.
“Although technically, I’m not actually your boss. Nobody in your department reports to me.”
“What? How did you get me a job in the first place then?” she wanted to know.
“I’m a Drakon. That lends itself a lot of pull around the Outreach Center,” he said. “If I say hire someone, they usually do. Just because I’m not officially in your chain of command, doesn’t mean I can’t get stuff done.”
“Just say yes already, dear. You’re shifting around so nervously it’s painful for both of us. Stop being scared.” Sarah stared straight ahead as her grandmother came over to the door, wishing the old woman would just disappear, or develop sudden and immediate laryngitis. Anything to stop the embarrassment.