Ancient Protector

by Katie Reus

  “It’s not really an emergency, I guess,” she said as they entered the kitchen. She felt weird telling King about Lachlan even though she wasn’t doing anything wrong. But some part of her almost felt like she was betraying the big dragon. That was stupid though—he was an Alpha and he should’ve announced himself in this territory. That was like Alpha rules 101.

  King nodded at the male and female wolf once and they headed out the back door. Loud rambunctious laughter from her own people trailed inside as the door opened then shut.

  She sat at the countertop. “A dragon named Lachlan is in New Orleans. I don’t know much about him except that he’s Scottish and he helped us escape from Wales six weeks ago.” Oh, and that he was sexy as fuck. But she kept that little tidbit to herself.

  “How do you know he’s here?”

  “He came to see me a couple hours ago. He’s said he’s here to see me, but…I know I needed to let you know that another Alpha is in your territory. And he’s not an Alpha like me. He is a full-on Alpha dragon who runs a huge territory in Scotland.”

  King simply nodded, his expression not betraying anything. For all she knew he was already aware of Lachlan’s presence. “I know the name. We have allies in common. I’ll find him.”

  “I have his phone number.”

  King gave her a ghost of a smile. “All right, just text it to me. I’ll reach out to him and see what’s going on.” He’d started to say something else when she heard the side door to the kitchen open and shut. Turning, she smiled to see her sister walking inside.

  Aurora’s long, dark hair was down today and she had on a loose, Grecian-style dress. At least she’d moved on from paint-splattered yoga pants and T-shirts that needed to be burned.

  Star turned back to King, ready to introduce them, and paused when she realized that King was staring at Aurora. His expression had fully relaxed, his eyes a little bit wider than normal and his lips parted ever so slightly.

  She’d never seen the Alpha looking so intent. He almost looked younger in that moment, as if he was inadvertently showing a different side of himself. It was impossible to tell how old supernaturals were just by the way they looked, but King wore a whole lot of years of battle and cynicism around him like a cloak. If she had to guess, he was a couple hundred years old. He’d have to be, to hold on to a territory like this. But right now as he stared at Aurora, he looked like a young man in his twenties.

  She turned back to her sister to find Aurora watching him guardedly, her violet eyes slightly narrowed.

  “Aurora, this is King. Officially.” Star had already told her sister about the Alpha, obviously.

  King moved around the island in a few quick steps. “It’s nice to meet you.” He held out his hand, all civility and politeness.

  Okay, Star had never actually seen him act like this either.

  Aurora tentatively took his hand and shook it once before wrapping her arms back around herself. Then she looked at Star. “I’m feeling kind of tired. Too much stimulation outside.” Again with the half-smile. “I’m going to head upstairs, maybe work on some drawings.”

  Star hoped she was serious about the drawings. “If we’re too loud, let me know.”

  She laughed lightly and shot another quick, curious look at King. “I can’t hear anything up there. It’s fine.”

  King watched her sister leave, staring blatantly before Star cleared her throat.

  The wolf met her gaze and once again he was the hard-faced, cynical Alpha.

  “The dragon, Lachlan, helped us get away in Wales. He killed a couple of the dragons who held my sister captive.” Star wasn’t sure why she was telling King that—okay, more lies. She knew exactly why she was telling this wolf.

  King’s eyes flashed pure wolf for a long moment. Then he blinked once, as if clearing his head. “You never told me why she was held captive.”

  “No, I didn’t.” And she sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him now. It hadn’t been a sexual thing, the only silver lining. At least that’s what Aurora had said. And Star believed her. No, that monster had wanted her blood, practically draining her over and over until she was near death. And he’d made it impossible for her to escape the iron-lined room.

  Star bit down hard, trying not to let the rage swell up inside her. If she did, her beast would take over and she would forget all about her promise of control and head back to the UK and burn Oscar’s entire compound to the ground. And she wouldn’t stop there. She would destroy any of his clanmates involved in taking her sister, any who had known about it and condoned it.

  “Send me the details you have on the Alpha who took her.” His growled words surprised Star.

  She blinked. “Okay. Why?”

  “If he comes after her again, I need to know more about anyone intentionally invading my territory.”

  “Of course.” She’d given him some details about Oscar already, but only the basics, including his picture. But her whole crew had compiled a lot of info on the asshole over the last year. “Thanks for stopping by tonight.”

  “I appreciate the heads-up about the dragon. Oh, I talked to Cynara earlier. She said you were going to do a few charity shows. I think that’s great.”

  “She seems to think it’s a good idea, and I trust her judgment.”

  “The people in the city need entertainment. They need something else in their lives right now other than just rebuilding.”

  “Is there anything else we can do to help?” They’d all pitched in, in various areas around the city, but she wanted to offer up more help anyway. “I met a human named Avery who said she’s in charge of an area close to here. If she needs any help, all of us will help out.”

  “I’m going to take you up on your offer of help soon. Right now we’re working on the most crucial areas and getting the most vulnerable set up. I’ve got trained construction crews handling that and I trust them. I’m also currently in meetings with a coven of witches about more rebuilding efforts as well.”

  “That sounds like a whole lot of logistics to figure out.” And it had only been six weeks since The Fall. She thought he seemed to be doing a pretty damn good job. At least from what she could see. But she knew there would be infighting because that was just the way things went.

  “It really is.” For just a moment, the male looked positively exhausted, but then his strong mask fell back in place.

  “Hey, I appreciate the running water.” Thankfully not everything had been destroyed, and they had things like electricity and water and functioning grocery stores. Those were the kinds of things that would keep humans from rioting. Unfortunately so many people had been displaced, so they were currently rebuilding homes that had been destroyed and figuring out living situations for people who had been visiting during The Fall and were unable to go home—because theirs had been destroyed.

  “You and me both.” He gave her a ghost of a smile.

  Chapter 11

  Cody leaned against the giant oak tree in human form, his ball cap pulled low.

  “What are you doing here?” Lachlan asked from his perch high above his younger brother. In human form, Lachlan was naked and camouflaged a few stories up in the tree.

  Cody started peeling a mandarin orange, the bright, citrusy scent carrying on the evening air. “Just wondering how long you’re going to hang out here stalking Star.”

  As long as he damn well pleased. And he wasn’t stalking. “Away wi’ ye.”

  “King just stopped by her mansion,” Cody said conversationally.

  No shite. He had a perfect visual of the entrance to Star’s mansion. Though the only reason his visual was so good was because of his dragon eyesight and the tree’s height.

  “What are you doing watching her place like a fucking weirdo?”

  Lachlan didn’t respond.

  “You’re acting irrational,” his brother continued. “The fact that we’re here at all is daft. We should be home looking after our own.”

  “I didnae ask you to com
e.” In fact he’d ordered his brother to stay at the castle, helping watch over their people as they adjusted to the new world.

  Of course, for his people it wasn’t very hard. His home hadn’t been damaged and his lands were already self-sufficient. But the humans and the surrounding towns were struggling, so of course his clan had reached out and were helping humans get on their feet as they restructured all facets of their new lives. Besides, he had to establish his dominion over his territory. So yes, his brother was correct. The truth was, he should not be here.

  But at the crux of it, he couldn’t stay away from Star. When she’d left the UK, he’d planned to follow her immediately, but the world had descended into chaos and fire. And on top of that, it had taken five long weeks for him to discover where she was. And that had only happened by chance, through a conversation with an old warrior friend who lived in New Orleans.

  It had taken almost another entire week to get things ready before he could come here. And he wasn’t leaving without his mate.

  “I just dinnae understand why you’re acting this way over pussy.” There was a hint of challenge in his brother’s tone.

  Lachlan’s fingers clenched around a branch above him, severing it completely. It fell to the ground, nearly hitting Cody in the head. Lachlan was only sorry that it didn’t. “Speak of her like that again and I’ll shove that branch through your chest.” His words were a savage growl.

  “Come on, just admit why you’re really here.” It was impossible to see his brother’s expression, but his tone was smug.

  “Go fuck yerself.” His brother knew why he was here, he wasn’t going to spell it out. His whole being chafed at the idea of answering to anyone, let alone his youngest brother.

  “She’s not a dragon.” Cody’s tone shifted ever so slightly, sounding serious for the first time in ages.

  “I’m well aware.” Why were they continuing this incessant conversation?

  “The clan might not accept an outsider as an Alpha Laird’s mate.”

  There it was. He’d been waiting on the pushback, and in truth was surprised it had taken Cody so long. “Then the clan will have to live without me.” When he’d come out of Hibernation, the male who had been Alpha for far too long had immediately descended into Hibernation, glad to be able to go to sleep. His people had been more than happy to see him again, ready for his rising. But he would leave if they did not accept his female.

  There was a long moment of silence, then Cody shoved away from the tree. “I’m going to scout out the city. I have my mobile on me.”

  Lachlan didn’t bother responding. Instead he scanned the yard where Star’s bandmates and friends roamed freely in animal form. Two snow leopards were out getting exercise and the tiger twins were patrolling the wall. The lone male of the group, a lion, was licking his paws. Times had certainly changed, according to Cody who’d been awake for a solid decade.

  Lachlan hadn’t been awake long enough for the outing of supernaturals to seem odd to him. Before he’d gone into Hibernation thousands of years ago, supernaturals and humans had lived together. Apparently that had been forgotten long ago and not recorded in history. Which didn’t surprise him, considering how garbled the history books and texts seemed to be today.

  As he watched the patrolling tigers, he frowned at the small gaps in their security. They needed to tighten things up, especially if Oscar decided to hunt them down. From his own research after the battle at the airport, Lachlan had discovered that Oscar had taken someone from Star’s crew—though Oscar hadn’t realized it, or he’d never have let her and her band into his territory.

  Yesterday when Lachlan had seen the interaction between Star and the one named Aurora, he’d realized they were sisters even though none of his research had revealed that. It had been in the subtle way Star had placed her body in front of Aurora’s. And there was a clear familial resemblance—now that Star’s hair wasn’t colored, it was easy to see that her natural, chestnut brown was the same shade as Aurora’s.

  Aurora looked undernourished. If she’d been in captivity, that was no surprise. Whereas Star’s body was toned and lean, making her appear taller than what he guessed was five feet, six inches. Their eyes had a similar hue as well, with Star’s violet ones a shade paler than Aurora’s. They were definitely sisters.

  If things had not been so chaotic since The Fall, he would have gone to war with Oscar. And he still would for what the male had done—taking a female and holding her against her will? Sending his clanmates to the airport and almost killing Star? That was a crime punishable by death. He didn’t even care why the male had done it. There was no reason good enough.

  But Lachlan would not strike at Oscar until the time was right. And his only focus now was keeping Star safe—and convincing her that he was a worthy dragon. To be fair, Oscar might come after him, regardless, since Lachlan had killed three of his dragons at that airport.

  When his mobile phone buzzed on the branch next to him, he glanced at it. He didn’t recognize the phone number. He thought of ignoring it but answered on the chance that it was Star. “Yes.”

  “Is this Lachlan?”

  He frowned at the unfamiliar male voice. “Who is this?”

  “This is King, and you’re in my territory. I should not be calling you. You should have come to me first.”

  Yes, he was well aware of that. What he’d done was disrespectful. “I’m after my mate.” That was pretty much the only exception for which another Alpha would accept his rudeness.

  A long sigh followed. “Be at my compound in one hour. Don’t be late.” The line ended and Lachlan realized the male hadn’t told him where he lived.

  Of course Lachlan already knew King’s main compound, something the other Alpha clearly assumed.

  Gathering his clothes from their cache, he quickly dressed then let his camouflage fall before he climbed down the tree. He sent off a text to Cody and his other warriors and headed to King’s compound.

  The last thing he wanted was strife with someone who could definitely be a powerful ally. And the male had given Star and her people a place of solace. For that, Lachlan found that he liked the powerful wolf.

  * * *

  Lachlan strode through the open gates into a lush courtyard full of colorful flowers and plants. The fountain in the middle depicted two naked women entwined together holding a jug as water poured from it into the basin.

  “Your man will stay here,” the petite female wolf told Lachlan, no room for argument in her voice.

  He simply nodded at Teague—the warrior he’d brought with him for this meeting. He was in another Alpha’s domain, and he would respect the rules. Besides, it was not as if he couldn’t take care of himself. If he needed backup for this meeting, he didn’t deserve to be Alpha Laird.

  Quietly he followed the female, striding across the courtyard where two wolves were lounging.

  One lifted her head to look at him and the other didn’t bother to see who the new company was.

  On the other side of the courtyard, the female pushed open an ornately carved, Mediterranean-style door. Inside, King was sitting in a cafeteria of sorts—Lachlan thought that was the right word.

  But the big space was empty save for King and a male Lachlan recognized immediately.

  “Reaper!” Surprise and another emotion filled him at the sight of the other ancient. It was good to see someone from long past.

  King remained sitting where he was, his gaze on Lachlan. “So, this is the Lachlan you know,” he said mildly to Reaper.

  “Indeed it is.” Reaper stood to meet him and pulled him into a tight hug, slamming his meaty fist into Lachlan’s back once. Lachlan did the same.

  “It has been a long time, my friend. I’m surprised to see you here.” Reaper was a formidable and ancient warrior—to find him living in a wolf’s territory was interesting.

  “My mate is here.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “The Dragon of War has mated?”

  “The Dra
gon of War?” There was the slightest hint of amusement in King’s voice as he stood.

  Lachlan held out a hand for the wolf. He’d done enough research on the other Alpha to know that he was a good leader who only wanted the best for his city. Lachlan approved. For so long humans had put their weakest and greediest in power. It was time the world was run by those who actually cared about all beings—who cared about the greater good, not their own selfish interests.

  “Indeed. I once saw Reaper destroy an entire army of Akkadian demons and then use their charred bones to—”

  “That’s enough of that,” Reaper said, clearing his throat.

  “I’m sure I would like to hear more later.” King’s tone was mild, but Lachlan saw the interest in the other male’s expression.

  “Now, tell me exactly why you didn’t announce your presence before arriving in my city.” The wolf was in the male’s eyes, the deadly predator making himself known.

  “Like I said, I am after my mate.” And the truth was, if he’d announced himself, and King had refused him entrance, he would have come anyway. As Cody said, it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

  “And who exactly is your mate?” There was a bite to King’s words now as he watched Lachlan very carefully. A predator watching prey.

  Lachlan was no one’s prey. His dragon rippled under the surface as he stepped forward, forcing down the growl in his throat. “Her name is Star.”

  Just like that, all the tension in the other male’s body eased, as if he’d been expecting a different answer and was glad of this one. “Does she know she’s your mate?”

  “Gods, no.” That wasn’t the kind of thing you just came out and told a female who was not a dragon. Dragons recognized their other half—not always, but he was listening to his dragon on this. Once, so very long ago, he’d met a female he was convinced was his other half. An ache in his chest flared up and he absently rubbed it. Thinking of the long-dead human who had stolen his heart would do him no good now and he needed to accept it. He also needed to know more about Star, more about why her sister had landed on Oscar’s radar. And he had a feeling it had to do with whatever species the females were.