However, I was still shocked when I stepped outside my office building, smelled the air to be sure there were no threats, and picked up the ever-so-faint smell of Sophia.
It wasn’t likely the Wolves in my employ had noticed, and thank goodness Nathan, my second in command, was still inside. He’s a lion shapeshifter and happens to be the alpha lion of the entire planet. Yeah, that makes him the Lion King. He’s taken a lot of shit over the title in recent decades, thanks to the movie.
I zeroed in on the scent and found Sophia still in swan form, in the wooded area across the street, high in a tree and several layers back. Being white in the woods in Tennessee made camouflage a bitch.
I was at once relieved and terrified. She was safe for the moment, and she’d somehow made it to me, remembering our conversation so many years ago. She’d come to me, trusted me, but now it fell to me to help keep her safe.
“Stay put,” I said, my voice aimed her direction but mostly under my breath, hoping she could hear. I got in my car, opened all the windows, and stopped in front of her, my face still looking out the windshield as I asked, “Can you make it in the window or should I open the door?”
I hoped we could do this fast, get her in through the back seat window and onto the floorboard so I could get us somewhere else. If any of the wolves saw her they’d have to report to their Alpha, who’d be obligated to report to the Swan King. To do otherwise would risk war between the Wolves and the Swans, which may not sound like much in their animal form, but the Swans were formidable politically. Plus, they were so closely allied with the Eagles, a slight to one was a slight to both, and the Eagles could be fucking scary en masse — even to me, one of the last three remaining Dragons.
Sophia made it into the back seat, and I rolled the windows up as I took off and told her to get in the floor.
“You have to be exhausted, Soph,” I said as I navigated the streets and kept an eye out for vehicles following us, as well as birds watching us with too much intelligence. “I’ll stop and buy some clothes for you and then we need to head out of town, but you can sleep while I drive.”
I heard noises from the backseat, felt a shift in air pressure, and smelled woman more than swan.
“You once told me you’d protect me. I know what I’m asking of you, but if you meant it, I need help.”
“We need to talk, so I know what your plans and wishes are, but if I’m satisfied you mean to make this escape permanent and fully understand what that means, then I’ll do what I can to help, Princess. For now, stay in the floorboard. I have a blanket in the trunk, I’ll get it for you when we stop, and I’ll go in and get you some things. I don’t know your exact size so I’ll get sweatpants and yoga pants, and some t-shirts, some basic toiletries and undergarments. Do you know what size shoe you wear?”
“Size four, but I can make do with a five narrow. My clothes are either size fourteen slim from the children’s department, or a size zero or one in ladies.”
I needed to get everything in one stop, so I went to a huge discount big box store and bought jeans, yoga pants, a pack of underwear, a few sports bras since I wasn’t about to ask her bra size for a regular one, some athletic shoes and waterproof hiking boots, socks, a toothbrush, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, hairbrush, blow dryer, and some pony tail holders. I also grabbed a backpack so she could get it all into the cave, and a ton of junk food and bottled water so we could eat in the car without needing to stop. As I neared the checkouts I remembered she felt the cold, so I went back and grabbed a lightweight jacket with a hood as well as a heavy winter coat. The hood reminded me we should probably hide her beautiful blonde hair, so I also grabbed a couple of dark colored hats.
I moved the sports bras, underwear, two t-shirts, a pair of yoga pants and a pair of jeans into one bag and settled it on the backseat as I got in. She was completely hidden under the blanket, but I smelled her and could hear her breathe, so I knew she was okay.
The rest of the bags landed in the passenger seat and I said, “I’m going to drive around behind this building and pull into the skating rink parking lot, where hopefully you can change without too much risk of being seen. Put the sports bra and shirt on first, then you can sit up and do the rest. How are you holding up?”
The plastic bag made crinkling noises from the back seat, and she said, “I’ve never had a pair of jeans before. Cool!”
I shook my head and smiled, remembering the toddler she’d been before her formal training had begun at three and her smiles could only happen when I got her away from the house. Princesses had responsibilities, and most of her governesses hadn’t approved of laughter, fun, or shenanigans of any sort.
I looked out the front window, watching for threats. I wanted to look into the rear view mirror to be sure nothing was behind us but I scanned the two side mirrors instead. Sophia was likely to be ultra-shy about her nude body, as she didn’t have the experience of a normal shifter, accustomed to coming back to human without clothes around others. She didn’t even have the experiences of a normal twenty-four year old. I’d been invited to her wedding, nearly three weeks away. So close to twenty-five, and still a virgin.
No matter how powerful I was, helping her hide from her father could very well be signing my death warrant. I’d have the Swans and Eagles against me for sure, and quite possibly every wolf aligned with the North American Alpha.
But there was no question I’d help her, and for two reasons. I kept telling myself it was because of my grandmother’s last words, instructions she tried to give me with her dying breath. “Aery, make alliances with the Swans, keep them close, make them trust you. The princesses may be the Dragons’ only hope.” I’d had no idea what she meant, but over the centuries I’d researched every library known to man. I even managed to get into the Vatican archives in the eleventh modern century, and found mention of an ancient Dragon King and Swan Princess married and ruling both species. Sons and daughters were mentioned, so I had hope of eventually having children. Maybe.
But I had to admit to myself it wasn’t entirely because of my grandmother’s last words. Sophia was special. Her smile, her laughter, the intelligence behind her eyes. The fact I believed I might be the only person in the world she could be herself with.
Yes, I’d be helping her even if I didn’t think she might be the only hope for my species.
Thinking of my grandmother took my mind back to the grief I felt when the European Knights’ huge purge took out all but two male shapeshifter Dragons who survived by sheer luck. Within forty years I’d closely aligned myself with the Swans, hoping against hope my grandmother’s words meant there was a chance for our species. My best friend and I survived by staying human almost all the time, only changing into our dragon form during terrible storms, when it was so dark no one was likely to see us, and when we wouldn’t block out the light of the stars or moon as we flew overhead. With all of the true Dragons dead, and only the two of us left, there was no hope for babies. We can’t breed with humans, and Dragons can only be born, not turned.
We later found a third Dragon shifter still alive — he’d been in on an island near Russia at the time of the purge, but unfortunately, he was also male.
By birthright, I was royalty. I’d been trained to one day take up the banner, and my two kin had no desire to fight me for the title, which didn’t mean much anyway when there were only three of us. However, the crown gave me respect amongst the other species’ Kings, and since I was the oldest of all but a handful of vampires, my knowledge and counsel was often sought.
Swan royalty lives a long time, and each King has ruled from two hundred to sixteen hundred years. Some were killed for the crown, others garnered enough love and respect to die of old age, or voluntarily hand it over to their sons when they knew it was time. I’ve personally taught the oldest Swan lore to the past seven kings, and had a hand in training the past four. And now, I’d taught the first Swan Princess I’ve ever known to exist without brothers.
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��d been in love before, many times, and recognized the signs. I loved her, and now she’d come to me for help. This was going to get complicated.
I called Nathan and told him, “I need to go off the grid to handle something. You’re in charge until I get back.”
“Tell me you aren’t helping her.”
I needed to walk a fine line between not lying to him while not giving him the truth. Nathan needed plausible deniability, and I needed to not break trust with my best friend. “I told the truth this morning, when they told me. I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t know this morning.”
I stayed quiet and he muttered “Fuck,” under his breath, and then said, “Okay. Be safe. See you on the other side.”
I turned my phone off, removed the battery, and slid it into a sleeve that would make sure no cell signals reached it. I pulled my emergency burner phone from the glove compartment, removed it from the sleeve, put the battery in, booted it, and opened the app that would allow me an encrypted conversation with the President of the Atlanta chapter of the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club.
Bud answered with, “Give me a second to step away from this crowd. Since you’re using the app I’m assuming you want privacy.”
“I do.”
Sophia whispered from the back seat, “They’ll be listening. Government contacts. Be careful, Aaron.”
“I know,” I told her, our gazes meeting in the rear view mirror as I moved the phone away from my mouth and covered the microphone. “It’s encrypted, safe to talk. I know what I’m doing.”
Two minutes later, Bud said, “Okay, I’m in my room with white noise going from one speaker and music in another. I’m guessing this has something to do with the missing Princess?”
“The royal family knows we’re close. They sent an Eagle to talk to me in person this morning, I’m sure needing to smell me when I heard the news. I knew nothing of it, passed the test, but now…” I hesitated, unwilling to give him more information than he needed. Bud might need to be able to honestly say he didn’t know where she was at some point, too.
“Point is, they’ll be watching my hacker, so I can’t task him with gathering and relaying information. I need one who can stay invisible.”
“Brain grew up in the pack and was once bound. You comfortable with him?”
I’d met Brain a number of times and knew he was a strong werewolf. I was also certain he’d obliterated the pack bonds and was now what most considered a lone wolf, though I knew better. The Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club was made up of the werewolves who couldn’t handle the totalitarian aspects of living under an alpha. They had a president who acted as alpha in many ways, but the club was run as a democracy and they weren’t metaphysically bound with no choice but to obey. Legally, they were considered lone wolves, but in reality they were closer than pack-wolves, in some ways.
“Yeah,” I told Bud. “I’m comfortable with him.”
“Fair warning — I know you’re calling in a marker with me to get him, but Brain’s gonna want his own marker from you to do this. He’ll probably offer to bring Duke along, which’ll give you two wolves at your back, but those two are planning to open a chapter in Chattanooga so be prepared for them to call in their favor sooner rather than later.”
“Not a problem. Lots of spies are in the air as well as on the ground, so it’ll be better if they’re on crotch rockets dressed like yuppies trying to be badass. Head them towards Franklin, North Carolina, and make sure I can get them with this app.”
“Brain’ll set it up so if you call me you’ll get him. If you need me he can patch you through.”
When I hung up, Sophia said, “I’m dressed, we should keep moving and not look like we’re hiding.”
I nodded, put the car into gear, and pulled out. “You’ve been missing nearly twenty hours, and I’m guessing it’s been almost two days since you slept.”
“I stopped above Macon for maybe an hour, it’s hard to judge time as a swan but I was exhausted and had to rest. I nodded off, but don’t think I slept more than twenty minutes.”
She’d made it all the way with only one stop? The first time she’d ever flown? I was impressed, but we’d talk about her strength and purpose — and what she was running from — later.
“Lie down, Soph, and get some sleep. We need to talk but it can wait.”
She shook her head, her tired gaze meeting mine in the rear view mirror. “I’ll lay down, but only so I can’t be seen. I have ten or fifteen minutes of talking in me before I crash, I think.”
“Okay, what’s your plan?”
She stretched out on the seat and told me, “I have five possible plans, depending on how much you’re willing to help, and whether what I feel for you is the same now that I’m an adult.”
I knew she’d hear my heart skip a beat, but I didn’t try to hide it. “What you feel for me?”
“I’ve had a crush on you since I was old enough to have those kinds of feelings, and before that, you were the only person in my life who let me truly be who I am. Maybe it isn’t real, in which case I just need help getting to the Hawks and offering my fealty, as well as knowledge of the inner workings of the Swans and Eagles.”
It wasn’t a bad plan. The Hawks were in a bit of a stalemate with the Eagles at the moment, and taking in the Princess would mean a shift back to active war but would also give them a chance to have the upper hand over the Eagles for the first time in centuries. I had to ask, though, “And if the Hawks turn you down?”
“Then I go to the Crows. They have larger numbers and there isn’t a doubt in my mind the King will jump at the chance to hurt my father by stealing his daughter.”
She was right, but… “How bad were things at home for this to be a better solution, Soph?”
I could smell her pain as well as hear it in her voice as she told me, “We don’t have time for that conversation right now. I’ll tell you, but later, okay?”
Nodding, I asked, “Okay, other plans? Tell me your best case scenario.”
“Oh, that’s the fantasy one, which would be plan number six, not listed with the other five because while it’s possible, it isn’t exactly probable.”
I smiled and said, “Let’s hear it, anyway. Indulge me.”
She sat up and once again met my gaze in the rearview mirror, her eyes resolute, her chin held high as she told me, “In that one, you decide you can’t live without me, take my virginity and make me yours. You’re some kind of bird species with power close enough to mine we can join our powers and become a ruling couple, and you either take over the Swans, or stand behind me and help me become Queen for real, so no one can ever own me again.”
I watched her in the mirror with respect. She’d told me this as Princess Sophia, her voice strong, not the least bit meek, and I owed her an honest response.
“I adored you as a toddler, and when it came time to teach you, my time with you was the highlight of my week. You are in my heart, Sophia, but I knew we could never be. With what you’re telling me now, I’m no longer seeing it as an impossibility, but we have hours and hours of conversation before we can make that decision. I care for you enough it’s probably safe to say I love you, though at this time it isn’t romantic love.” I shook my head. “When royalty is involved, love isn’t enough, though. You need to have strategy, Princess, and a way to convince the rest of the world to let you be.”
Sophia sighed and laid back down, and I knew she wasn’t far from sleep. Her voice was drowsy as she said, “I trust you to keep me safe until I’m rested and figure out what I need to do next. Thank you. I know the risk you’re taking.”
Sophia had been raised to be queen, and to never show emotion. I knew it’d taken every bit of courage in her to admit the things she’d told me, so I didn’t take her businesslike manner personally. She’d let me know she cared for me with words, if not tone. She wasn’t just here because of the promise I’d made, but because of the way she felt about me.
I gentled my
voice and hoped to soothe her as I said, “Sleep, Sophia. We should arrive at our destination in a little over two hours. A high ranking Eagle visited me this morning to give me the news of your escape but must’ve been convinced I knew nothing of it, otherwise they’d have been watching my office and captured you when you arrived. Still, it’s only a matter of time before someone puts together my absence with yours, at which point they’ll be searching for both of us — especially if it hasn’t rained by then and they pick up your scent in the woods. No one will expect me on these particular back roads, though. They’ll search all of my known safe houses first, so we have more than enough time to get where we’re going.”
“Who did you call for help?”
“Lone wolves. One is a super-genius with crazy hacking skills, because I need someone who can keep an eye on things for me in the virtual world while I handle the physical world.”
Her breathing evened out, and she was asleep.
Chapter Three
Sophia
I awoke to the sound of Aaron’s voice ordering two café mocha drinks, but I stayed where I was and didn’t say anything. I waited until the car was moving before I asked, “How close are we?”
“We’ll be meeting the wolves in a few minutes. I thought you might like a coffee, and since I don’t know how you like it, figured I’d get you a bit of a treat.”
He pulled up to a window, far enough he almost had to reach back to hand money to the woman, but it kept me from seeing her, or her from seeing more than a glimpse of me. He got the two drinks, pulled forward, and handed one to me as he said, “I have a brush and some ponytail holders up here, once the coffee wakes you.”
I took a sip of the coffee and my eyes went wide. I’d expected the normal bitter taste of coffee, but this was good.
His smile told me saw my surprise, and he chuckled. “Special treat, Soph. I’m going to enjoy introducing the big wide world to you.”
The Dragon King Page 2