Fire of Betrayal

by Demi Dumond

  “Wait,” Bree said, the angry look on her face melting away to concern. “You’re telling me that they’re going to be able to change and you guys can’t?”

  “Yes.”

  “Shit. That doesn’t sound like a very fair fight,” she said, throwing her tee shirt on and crossing the room. “Don’t do it, Logan!”

  “It’s too late. The wolves are already on their way. My men will hold their ground, and they’ll be slaughtered without me.”

  “What about you?” She asked.

  “Well, you helped with that, Bree. What you delivered to us this morning were weapons. We’ll use the weapons to defend ourselves and hold them off since we can’t shift.”

  “Weapons.” She said, sitting on the couch in order to slip her shoes back on. “That makes sense now. Last-minute delivery, lots of cash, extra perks, in and out operation.”

  I grabbed an extra motorcycle vest and a pair of jeans out of a drawer in the back and threw them on.

  Bree was amazing. I was a dragon shifter and a motorcycle gang leader. I expected a much bigger learning curve for her. I thought I’d have to hide who I was and what I did, possibly for years, but somehow even though we had just met I felt like I could tell her anything.

  And that was sexy as hell, but now I had a bigger problem. How to protect her. I didn’t think she was quite ready to hear that she was my mate, but I was going to have to do something to show her how much she meant to me.

  “Look, Bree,” I said, brushing her blond hair back from her face, “I know this is going to sound crazy because I just met you today, but I love you. I feel an amazing connection to you, and I want to keep you safe no matter what. I’m okay if I die, but not you. Do you understand? That’s why I want you to stay here.”

  Bree winced and took a step back from me. “That’s very noble of you, Logan,” Bree said, “but not a chance. I’m going with you. I’m not staying here by myself.”

  “This is the only place I can guarantee your safety,” I said. “I can’t lose you.”

  Her expression darkened. “You’ll lose me if you abandon me here. You brought me up here, you take me back.”

  I didn’t want to take her with me, but if I didn’t, I was afraid she would never trust me again.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Bree

  I could see the worry and indecision on his face, and it worried me. There was absolutely no way I was going to let him leave me trapped up here. I had to think of something fast.

  “Anyway, I’ve got good news for you.” I told him.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “I know how to handle guns. Maybe I can help.”

  I wanted to get out of this cave, but I wasn’t lying. I really did know how to handle guns. And there was no way I was going to tell him I love him, dragon or no.

  But that didn’t mean I didn’t feel anything for him. And it certainly didn’t mean that I wanted him to get killed fighting wolves.

  Everything was so confusing. I had been through a lot today without being able to process any of it. What I wouldn’t give for a hot bath and a few hours alone to figure things out.

  The only thing I knew for sure right now was that I wasn’t going to stay trapped up in this stupid bird’s nest by myself while Logan went and got himself killed. I had to admit, though, he was pretty brave.

  The attraction was undeniable, and stronger than I’d ever experienced. But I’d been attracted to hot, cocky guys before. Guys who had smiled at me right up until they framed me for their crimes and ran away like cowards leaving me to rot in jail. Well, not again.

  “Okay, Logan,” I said. “I’m going with you, like it or not. You ready? As far as changing into the dragon goes, how does the whole thing work? And, um, you might as well take those pants back off because I saw what changing into the dragon did to them last time.”

  “Okay,” he said. “If that’s what you want, I’ll take you back to the city. And if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were hitting on me,” he said with a wink. Then he shucked his jeans to my delight. The man was confident, I had to give him that. “It’s okay,” he said, “I have more at the shop.”

  “I wasn’t worried,” I answered.

  He walked toward the opening of the cave and stood perilously close to the edge. Then he beckoned for me to join him.

  I walked slowly toward the opening. “Um, maybe this isn’t the best time to tell you this, but I do not like heights.”

  “Good to know,” he said. “How are you with fire?”

  “Fire’s fine.” I said, smirking.

  If we were going to leave, it had better happen soon, because him standing there au naturelle was making me hot for him again.

  “I’ll shift into my dragon, then you can climb on. Then I’ll get us back as close as I can to the motorcycle shop before I have to shift back.”

  “Okay,” I said, trying not to look out over the ledge. “But I was far more chill about it before because I was either unconscious or I thought it was all a bad dream. I won’t be held accountable for any screaming that I do.”

  “Screaming would be bad.” He answered.

  “Fine, I’ll do my best to be quiet,” I said. “I guess riding a dragon could be fun.”

  Another message chimed on his phone. He checked it and his face turned serious again. “You ready?” He asked as he turned away from me and knelt down again.

  “Yes,” I answered. I watched in fascination as he changed again right in front of my eyes. If I didn’t know what was going on, I would have been sure I was on some kind of acid trip.

  His body rippled outward and expanded. Powerful wings extended out of his shoulders and soon he turned to look at me with his dragon face.

  With his head, he made a gesture toward his back and let out a low growl that filled the cave with a deep, reverberating echo.

  I took a deep breath, climbed aboard, and held on for dear life as he crawled to the edge and then fell over into the void.

  My stomach did a flip and I clutched him even tighter until he extended his wings gracefully. Suddenly we weren’t falling anymore, we were soaring.

  After a few seconds, we stabilized, and I risked a peek in front of us. We were moving fast and low, buzzing the tops of remote cabins and old abandoned factories. The world looked very different from up here.

  There was no way I could keep the huge smile off of my face as I felt the rush of the earth below me and the wind whipping through my hair. I could get used to this.

  Then the landscape changed, and everything became more urban and more familiar. We were getting close.

  Logan slowed down, looking for a place to land. I buried my head in his neck and waited for us to land.

  Bracing myself, I expected a bumpy landing, or at least a thud, but Logan coasted to a perfect stop that could only be described as a light hop into a deserted alley before depositing me gently on the ground.

  His momentum carried him forward, though, and he crashed noisily into several trash cans. We both held our breath for a moment and waited until everything quieted down.

  “Smooth,” I said.

  “I know,” he said, turning to me with those serious, luminous brown eyes. “At least I’m human again. I can’t risk being seen in my dragon form.”

  “I don’t know,” I teased, “you can’t risk being seen as a dragon, but you can risk being seen running around with that thing hanging out?” I pointed at his giant, visible cock.

  He grinned for a moment, but it quickly disappeared into a worried frown. He crossed to me, leaned down and kissed me tenderly. Then he broke it off and stared into my eyes. I felt a connection to him, something I had never felt before.

  “Now you stay here. I don’t want you getting hurt. Please, Bree.” Then he took off running.

  Then he was gone, streaking down the city streets toward the motorcycle shop.

  I blinked a few times, in disbelief. “Seriously?” I asked. “You’re worried about my safet
y, so you ditch me in a dark alley in an iffy part of town?” Despite the sarcasm, I knew he was trying to protect me, I could see it in his eyes.

  I knew that the situation he was walking into was serious. What was I supposed to do? Hang out at a local coffee shop waiting to see if he lived or died? Maybe I could help somehow. I swallowed when I realized the truth, that I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I didn’t at least try.

  I tapped the address to the motorcycle shop into my phone. It was only five minutes away on foot. Maybe I really was crazy to be doing this, but it was happening.

  I got my bearings and took off at a run following the map. It wasn’t long before I got close enough to the motorcycle shop to take a look. I knelt down out of sight behind a dirty brick wall. Everything looked normal right now. Abnormally quiet, but still normal. Was Logan just screwing with me?

  In fact, I couldn’t see anybody. There were no guys in motorcycle jackets fixing bikes, and no crazy wolf people running around terrorizing anyone. There were no people around and no noise at all. So not normal. It should have made me feel better, but it didn’t. The quiet in this case was creepy and definitely not good.

  I thought about calling out to Logan, but it felt like a bad idea. The silence was suffocating. I had been in enough scrapes to know the calm before the storm when I felt it, and this was it.

  I crouched down further to avoid being seen. Not long afterward, motorcycles roared down the street past me with an ominous rumble. A lot of motorcycles. For a second, I hoped that Logan and his crew weren’t home, maybe they reconsidered and cleared out, but I knew better.

  Logan and his men heard the motorcycles approach. They came out of the office and waited. They just stood there, right out in the open, waiting to be attacked. What were they doing?

  That would be a fine plan if they changed into dragons, but Logan said they wouldn’t. Was it a bluff? I hoped I was wrong, that I heard the plan wrong as the parade of motorcycles entered the lot and the wolf guys got off of their bikes.

  As they got off of their bikes and prepared to fight the dragons, I caught a glimpse of the leather vests they were wearing. Theirs had an image of a howling wolf on the back with blood dripping from its teeth. Nice. Well, at least it would be easy to figure out whose team they were on.

  I stayed in my spot, watching the scene unfold. The wolves had weapons on them, but I didn’t see the dragons holding any of the guns I had brought them. What was the problem?

  Logan said they needed them and that without them they would be in trouble. Something wasn’t adding up. At least Logan had found some pants.

  The other dragons had taken the weapons I brought into the little office in the back. If I snuck back there right now while the guys were still in the beginning stages of their pissing contest, maybe nobody would notice me. I had to figure out what the hell was going on and if something was wrong.

  My first steps moving around the perimeter of the building were very slow and very quiet. My heart was hammering in my chest. The last thing I wanted to do was draw attention to myself. The pissing contest phase of the fight didn’t last long. I wasn’t even to the back door of the motorcycle shop yet when the sound of gunfire erupted.

  Shit. The loud pops echoed through the alleyways. I covered my ears and ran faster. It was a good thing I did, too, because soon the gunshot sounds were replaced with snarls and growls and the unmistakable noises of hand to hand combat.

  The sounds of weapons fire were bad, or at least I thought so until I heard the snarls, screams, and growling noises that came afterward. Hang in there, Logan.

  I remembered Logan turning into a dragon earlier, and now I could hear snarls and growling. Was he really fighting wolves right here in the city? I got the feeling that if I could see what was going on right now, I’d never go through with helping him, so I did the only thing I could. I kept going.

  Finally, I made it to the back door. It was locked. I scavenged around the alleyway for a brick, and then used it as a universal lock pick.

  There was an explosion of sound and broken glass. I cringed and my stomach knotted up. Someone probably heard that. I stopped and knelt down for a moment to listen and look around, but it didn’t sound like anybody was coming my way. I went inside.

  Once inside, I crawled over behind the counter where the boxes that I had delivered were stacked. The lids were on them, but the wooden boxes had been unsealed. I opened the one on top. It was filled with metal bed frame parts.

  Shit. Shit. Shit. Moving that box aside, I checked another and another, all with the same result. No guns.

  Suddenly it became clear why Logan didn’t want me in this fight. He knew they were going to lose. But why would they hold their ground in a losing fight? Stupid, noble men.

  I risked another glance out the window. The dragons as men were having a hard time holding off the man-sized wolves that were snarling and attacking. The wolves. The minute I saw them the hair on the back of my neck stood on end and a prickle of fear gnawed inside my bones.

  I watched in both horror and fascination. The wolves were massive, at least four feet high. Nothing could have prepared me for the snarling teeth and the bloody fur that I was seeing in action.

  My stomach clenched as I watched the dragon men outside trying to hold their own against the wild, lightning-fast foes. The men were all bleeding, they weren’t going to be able to hold out much longer. A sadness washed over me at the thought of losing Logan to the brutes out there.

  I heard Logan yell out, and panic washed over me. I risked standing up a little higher so I could see better. When I located him, he was fighting off three of the wolves at the same time and they had him pinned down. One of the wolves dove in and bit into his arm, tearing the flesh.

  I ducked back down, fighting back tears. I couldn’t watch any more. I had to think of something fast.

  Well, the new guns didn’t work out, but maybe there were some other weapons around here. There had to be. I crawled around into the other rooms in search of closets and hidden storage places under the tile floor.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Logan

  As soon as I heard the clattering of glass behind the shop, I caught her scent. That’s when I knew my worst nightmare had come true.

  Bree followed me. On some level I knew she would, but this wasn’t her fight. It wasn’t going to be a good fight either, and I wanted her to live no matter what happened to me.

  The only thing I could think of that was worse than not finding my mate was finding her and then getting her killed. I had dropped her off at a distance to keep her safe, but I underestimated her, and now she was here.

  And if I could smell her, then the wolves could too. To them, she’d smell like a loose end, a human who knew too much. I cursed that damned arms dealer for selling us out. Betrayer.

  If any of us survived this battle, we’d get him next. He would have to know that and must have bet his money and his life on the wolves. And right now, that seemed like a safe bet, but only because we couldn’t shift. They had us at a huge disadvantage.

  The wolves got off of their bikes and fired their semi-automatics at us. I whistled and we pulled out our small arms in response to the barrage. Then, when we were out of ammo, they shifted.

  Everything turned into a blur of fur and blood and screams. I fought two at a time. One ripped into my calf. Pain ripped through my leg and I screamed. Then I felt the sticky, wet blood dripping down my leg. It only drove the wolves into more of a frenzy.

  Another wolf jumped in and went for my throat. I grabbed him by the neck and threw him down. He yelped loudly and then whined, but the maneuver had cost me too much time.

  After wrestling the one away from my throat, another one got a grip on my arm, pulling me down and holding me for the others to attack. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that my men weren’t doing any better than I was.

  “Plan B, boys,” I yelled. I was hoping to tire them out a little before Plan B. Wolf shifters we
re technically allowed to shift, but they couldn’t stay that was for too long or a civilian might see them. Even though supernatural creatures were accepted in Diablo Falls, bloody ravenous wolf shifters running down city streets attacking humans was still frowned upon. Our only hope was to attract some attention.

  I punched the wolves closest to me and they backed off a few feet, circling. Then I pulled a detonator out of my pocket. The dynamite we planted was going to cause a lot of damage to the parking lot, but it was going to attract just the amount of attention we needed. Maybe it would even take out a few wolves in the process. If we were lucky.

  Glancing over toward the office, I tried to make eye contact with Bree. I needed to warn her to get away, far away, as fast as she could, but I couldn’t see her. I couldn’t fight my way over to her either, there were at least four wolves between me and the shop.

  Then the worst possible thing happened. One of the wolves caught me staring into the shop. He turned to investigate. “No!” I yelled. “Bree, get out of there now!”

  I was out of time. I pressed the button and waited for the explosion.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Bree

  It took longer than I expected, but I finally found the hidden floor space. Unfortunately, it held only one shotgun and a couple of boxes of shells.

  You’ve got to be kidding me. What kind of motorcycle unit is this? I ransacked the whole place and only came up with one shotgun? Still, it was all there was, so I pulled it out and loaded it. Then I put the extra shells into my pocket.

  I crawled back into the front office, careful to stay out of sight. Somebody yelled and it sounded like Logan, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

  I frowned. That can’t be good. I knocked over a large chair to give me some cover. Then there was a loud explosion. I jumped at the unexpected blast and dropped the shotgun. Shit.