Claim the Dragon

by A. C. Arthur

  “Doing my job,” she snapped back, her hand clenching the handle of the dagger tighter.

  Steele’s voice entered the conversation. “You’re never going to raise them, Temptra.”

  She opened her mouth wider, teeth seeming to elongate farther. “Don’t get in my way, Drakon. You’ll regret it if you do.”

  “We’ll kill all of you. We’ve done it before,” he said icily.

  “Then I’ll take this human with me first!” Temptra let loose a wild cry as she reached down to Cree’s throat.

  All Ravyn saw was red, draping the walls, covering the floor, on her hands, on Cree’s face. She screamed and raised the dagger, thinking of sliding it across Temptra’s throat. And in the next second she was behind the Dhampir, her arm around the woman’s chest, the tip of the dagger pointed at her jugular.

  “You die!” Ravyn whispered in her ear and was ready to jab the dagger into her neck, when Temptra only laughed.

  “Silly girl,” she said, seconds before vanishing.

  Ravyn stumbled forward, falling over Cree’s body. For a second she couldn’t believe what had just happened. Had it really been that easy? She looked up to see Cree’s face. His eyes were closed and his skin was pale. Pushing back, she called his name. “I’m here, Cree. I’m so sorry I got you into this. I’m here.” She was so busy talking that she wasn’t looking and so she felt it first.

  The cold stickiness of blood. With a gasp she pulled back to see that Cree was bleeding from his side. That’s what she’d seen before. His blood was oozing out onto the rock, dripping down the side and onto the floor.

  “No!” she screamed. “No! No! No!” Her screams grew louder as she tried to lift him up off the rock and everything around them started to move.

  * * *

  The walls of the tomb were shaking, the ground beneath them cracking. Dust kicked up until it was so thick Steele began to choke. He’d lost sight of Ravyn and the others. There were too many mummies, coming from every direction with teeth bared. They were the best diversion and Temptra was attempting to make her getaway, but he’d planned for something like this. He and the rest of the Drakon had known she wouldn’t go easily. He just needed to get to Ravyn first, that was his part in this, to keep Ravyn safe while his clan did the rest.

  And the only way he could do that was with the help of his beast.

  Letting go was always the easy part of shifting, but Steele didn’t want the beast to completely enter the scene, not just yet. He only needed its extra strength at this moment, so, with measured breaths he let go slowly, easily, pushing through the dust to clear a path toward his goal. She was carrying the boy, blood dripping onto the floor. He didn’t stop to wonder whose it was, just went to them.

  “We gotta get out of here, now, or this place is going to collapse on us.”

  “I won’t leave him. I will not leave him down here.”

  “Okay, baby. We’re taking him. We’re going. Now!” When he wrapped his arms around her it was the man shielding his woman, because in the next seconds the walls on both sides, shook, bending and crumbling to the ground.

  Above, dirt and concrete began to bury them. Steele held her tighter. He held both bodies against his chest and let go of everything else, until the beast ripped free and its mighty wings began to flutter, pushing through the dirt and the rock, bursting up through the ground with a mighty roar.

  * * *

  Dragons screeched throughout the sky, great winged beasts soaring above the cemetery in a circle of power that held Temptra captive.

  She’d dematerialized into the cemetery because she couldn’t go much farther. She wasn’t a full vampire and the witch’s power was nothing without her potions and spells. After setting Ravyn and Cree down beneath a small copse of trees, Steele’s beast took to the sky, immediately seeing the other bronze dragon coming up beneath it.

  Magnum. His brother never let him down.

  They circled an area where they saw a flash of red and knew it was her. Swooping down, Steele passed directly over her head. She reached up, scratching at the air with her nails, teeth bared as she growled at them. To the east, the sky was shifting from dusky gray to a faint blush.

  She was heading toward another tomb because she knew the sun was rising. They wouldn’t let her get there. While they could simply scorch her themselves, her death could be blamed on nature if the sun took her instead. But Steele wasn’t going to let that be any easier for her. He and Magnum continued to circle her, trapping her in an area that prevented her escape to a tomb. She fell to her knees and began digging those long nails into the dirt. She’d dig her own tomb.

  Without another thought, his beast opened its mouth, shooting a line of fire down to the earth. At the sight of his fury, Magnum’s beast released its fire as well until the entire area was engulfed in flames. Overhead Theo, Aiken and Reese circled, their wings fanning the fire so that it spread to the surrounding area, thick clouds of black smoke filling the sky.

  His beast roared with agony and victory, wings carrying it back away from the flames. She was gone. She had to be. And Ravyn was safe.

  Ravyn...

  He circled back to the trees where he’d left her, but she wasn’t there. Her, nor the boy she was protecting. That was a good and bad thing as the trees in that area were quickly licked by the flames he’d started. Ripping through the sky he looked for them, rage boiling as the fire in his gut begged for release. The fury of a dragon was not always able to be contained and Steele was skating a thin line between being mindful of the humans on this realm and just burning down the entire city of Burgess if he couldn’t find her.

  But all he could see were clouds of black smoke and more flames, glowing in victory as sweet torture gripped his soul.

  * * *

  As light slid farther into the sky and smoke hovered over much of Burgess, the Drakon flew higher, over the clouds to stay out of sight as they headed back to the Office.

  Steele touched ground and broke into a run, almost tearing the door off its hinges as he flew into the house and found his suite. He had no idea what he grabbed, just pushed his legs into pants, pulled a shirt over his head and stuffed his feet into shoes. He was soaring back through the rugged wall hallways, down the winding main staircase before his feet came to a screeching halt over the marble floor of the main entrance where Theo stood blocking his way.

  The emperor was also dressed, jeans and a button-front shirt that looked way too neat and orderly for them to have just landed.

  “Take a breath,” Theo told him. “And then come and sit with me.”

  “Bullshit! I’m going to find her. She wasn’t where I left her and we torched the damn place. I need to find her now!” Steele’s chest heaved, pain ripping through every part of his soul.

  Theo calmly reached out a hand to clap on Steele’s shoulder. “She’s fine. Shola remained in one of the trucks and Ziva didn’t shift. They saw when you brought her out of the rubble and got her out. Shola just sent me a message that they’re on their way to the hospital.”

  He couldn’t breathe. “She was bleeding, man. I saw all that blood.”

  “It wasn’t hers,” Theo said. “It was the guy’s and they’re going to make sure he gets whatever treatment he needs. You need to come with me now.”

  Steele didn’t want to go with Theo. He wanted to get into whatever truck was parked out front and get to that hospital, to hold her one more time. But he followed the emperor into the living room and dropped down onto the couch as if the weight of the world now rested on his shoulders. He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees and dropped his head.

  There was nothing but quiet now. No, that was wrong, his heart beat wildly, his beast searched for her, raging because it was here and not there. He closed his eyes tight.

  “I know what you’re feeling,” Theo said.

  “You can’t know.”r />
  The emperor gave a dry chuckle.

  “Trust me, man. I definitely know. Love’s a bitch and for a Drakon it’s a hot ball of fire-wrapped bitch.”

  Steele looked up to see that Theo had sat in one of the chairs across from the couch in the large living area.

  “Your case was different. Shola always knew who and what she was. She had a job and she set out to do it. The only thing that surprised her was that the man she was supposed to kill was a vampire,” Steele said dryly, recalling when Theo had fallen in love.

  Shit! Was he in love?

  Theo only shook his head. “Details don’t even matter, my man. Not the minute emotions get involved. You were in for this woman the moment you dreamed about her.”

  Steele narrowed his gaze. “How did you know? Did Magnum tell you?”

  “Nah. I am the emperor, remember. It’s my job to know what’s going on with my clan. And don’t forget my right-hand man’s a watcher.”

  Bleu. Of course, he would know. That guy always seemed to know everything.

  Steele fell back against the couch, lifting his hands to drag down his face. “I don’t know what’s going on. I feel so helpless. Just like I did before.”

  “When your sister died.”

  He dropped his hands to his sides. “Yeah, when Opal died. And before you say it, I know it wasn’t my fault. It was the order of things. My mother explained that once Opal’s beast had found its mate, her power would’ve multiplied. It would have been greater than any of us in the clan.” He sighed. “I didn’t want to believe it. I just knew it was a mistake and that I’d messed up. Even all these years later, I just knew. But dammit, man, she was my sister!”

  “I feel you, and if it were me, I would’ve punished myself too. But falling into the Abyss for twenty years was enough, Steele. You’ve done your penance for something you couldn’t control. Now, it’s time to live your life. To move on in Opal’s memory. To trust your beast’s selection for your mate,” Theo told him pointedly.

  That again. Steele hadn’t wanted to believe that part of being a Drakon was true. He’d certainly held a grudge against Theo for falling into that trap. But he couldn’t deny it any longer. He wanted Ravyn just as much as his beast always had.

  “I thought I’d saved Ravyn,” he said. “By giving the Reaper another soul, I thought I’d saved her from his grasp, but there was so much more I didn’t understand then.”

  “And now you’ve opened her eyes to who she really is. I’d say you did good here.”

  “Then why do I still feel like crap.”

  “Because you’re in love with her. And for all that love is supposed to be great and life-altering, in the beginning it mostly just sucks.”

  “But it’s better now? You and Shola seem happy.” He could say that now, whereas before he hadn’t wanted to think about what Theo and Shola had together. He hadn’t cared because that type of connection wasn’t for him.

  Now, everything was different.

  “We’re happy. We’ve both accepted who we are and what our purpose is together in this world and we’re content with that. You and Ravyn, you’ve got to settle into your personal place, figure out what it is you’re meant to do here and now, before you can find that happiness together. It’s important to know that part of yourself first before you can give it to someone else. I fought grasping who I was for a very long time, like a couple hundred years,” Theo joked. “But when it came down to figuring out if I could live without Shola, I knew that I had to become one with myself first in order to make her happy. In your case, you’ve got a lot of shit to get together and now, so does Ravyn. My advice to you would be to let the dust settle. Shola’s gonna keep a close eye on Ravyn from here on out so you’ll know she’s safe. But take some time to figure out who and what you really are, Steele. What you can live with and what you can’t. If you can offer her happiness or if your past will forever haunt you.”

  “In short, get your shit together, little bro, or you’re gonna lose that woman forever,” Magnum said from where he stood leaning against one of the columns at the entrance of the living room.

  Steele had known the minute he joined them because he’d felt his brother’s steady gaze, the one that had been like a wall ready to hold him up should he fall in the last eighty years. He loved Magnum for that. And he loved Theo for being not only their leader, but also a great friend.

  Even with all that surrounding him, Steele knew that was still something he had to deal with, because there would be no happiness for him if Ravyn wasn’t here. He still had to deal with the Reaper.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Two Days Later

  Ravyn lay down in her bed, the same as she had the two nights before. She pulled the sheet and the comforter that still held his scent up to her chin, holding it there tightly as she inhaled and exhaled like a woman with a full-blown addiction.

  Every memory, every touch, every kiss came flooding back and she closed her eyes to the warmth that filled her body. She held on to every word he’d ever said to her, whether it was bossy, or mean, or encouraging, they all circled around her heart eating away persistently at the shield she’d placed there long ago.

  And in the minutes that ticked by on the clock sitting on her nightstand, her lids grew heavier, staying closed longer each time she blinked. Her chest moved rhythmically with the beat of her heart even though there was a hollowness there that she’d been trying valiantly to push through. It ached so much the pain almost became unbearable but only in the dark of night when she was in this bed alone. Throughout the day she’d had so much to do, supplies to buy between her visits at the hospital. Cree was coming along. The bite at his side hadn’t been too deep and the doctors had stitched it up neatly without asking any questions. They did wonder a bit at the type of poison they’d found in his bloodstream, but had eventually chalked it up to a medical anomaly when neither Ravyn nor Shola offered any explanations. She could hardly tell the human doctor that the touch of a Dhampir carried a special type of poison, but was supremely grateful that the powerful antibiotics they’d pumped into Cree were working.

  Now, she just waited for the day they would release Cree to come home. His room had to be cleaned and prepped, maybe new paint and she’d see about getting him a real bedroom set. Nothing was too good for him.

  And nothing would replace the thoughts of Steele. Not for long anyway. On a sigh she rolled over onto her side, closing her eyes and vowing to keep them closed until morning when her music would click on to wake her—the same song that had awakened her the morning after Steele had been in her bed.

  But that wasn’t meant to be. Regardless of what or who she really was, her place was at Safeside, her purpose in life was to help the people she knew had been wronged by a system she had no faith would ever change. Just as Steele had his purpose as a Drakon Dream Reaper. There were things neither of them could change and first and foremost was the world they lived in. She wasn’t part of his preternatural world, even with her birthright. She had to stay at Safeside to keep it running because Cree wanted to do more, to be more and he deserved that opportunity.

  Her thoughts were like a whirlwind in her mind as she slipped into slumber, more than prepared for the rest.

  But, what seemed like seconds later, her eyes opened slowly and she looked around into the dark night. Outside. A chilly wind blew as she walked down the street, her boots making a muffled sound on the pavement. She wore black jeans and a turtleneck, a leather jacket and finger gloves on her hands. Where she was going, Ravyn had no idea.

  How she’d gotten here was also a bit baffling, until she saw him.

  He was leaning against a pole at the end of the street. A street that was very familiar to her now since it was the place where Temptra had taken Cree. The street where she’d pulled off the biggest robbery of her life and changed everything. His body was so buff the navy-blue jacket h
e wore was almost too tight against the muscled arms and broad chest. Jeans had never looked as good on any guy as they did on Steele, not tight, but fitting every part of his long, toned legs perfectly. Those sunglasses were back, even in the dark of night. The sight of them made her smile and walk a little faster.

  It had been two days since she’d seen him. That night in the cemetery was still fresh in her mind. After Steele had carried her and Cree to safety, she’d looked up to see him take his dragon form. Surprise had come soon after when she saw more of the winged beasts soaring through the sky and then the fiery arcs that came from their mouths that killed Temptra. It had all been so overwhelming, taking place as her best friend simultaneously almost bled to death in her arms.

  “I was wondering when I’d see you again,” she said the moment she was close enough for Steele to hear her.

  He didn’t move. Not to hug her, grab her shoulders and shake her for following him here, nothing.

  “You shouldn’t have come,” he said in that tone that said he was both angry and conflicted.

  “I didn’t have a choice.” That was true. One minute she’d decided to go to sleep and the next she was here. No choice was presented so she presumed none was to be made.

  “And neither does he.”

  This was a new voice, a cryptic-sounding one that had her leaning to the side to look past where Steele stood perfectly still.

  “I want you to leave,” Steele told her. “Now.”

  “It is of no consequence, Dream Drakon. I will get what I came for.”

  Steele turned quickly, opening his mouth to spew that vicious fire in the direction of the person or thing standing ten feet behind it.

  That person or thing that had arms shaped like guns and wore metal shoulder pads, a dark hood and shitkickers on his feet.