Dragon: The Clan Legacy Series

by J. S. Striker

  Sophia opened the door.

  With the protection spell still up, he had no way of entering at the moment, so she let herself stare at the male creature standing in front of her and tried not to react.

  He was tall – taller than she'd remembered when she met him at night, and radiating such masculine virility that it made her mouth go dry. Tanned forearms were visible through the white shirt he wore, and she could see bruises still in the process of healing. His black hair was a mess, even more so than before.

  Dark-green eyes scrutinized her back, down to her toes, lingering at her stomach, then trailing up until he met her gaze.

  “I know how to heal you,” he said quietly.

  Her breasts tingled in unwanted response at the sound of his voice turning low, and she crossed her arms defensively. Working for a vampire and getting the hots for a shifter.

  What was wrong with her?

  Shaking her head, deciding to take the chance, she dropped the protection spell and waited until he stepped in. Once he was, she took an inward, calming breath and said the first thing that came to mind.

  “Food first.”

  A slow, almost feral smirk appeared on his mouth. She tried not to look.

  “Fine.”

  *****

  It turned out he already ate. Sophia was ravenous, and she concentrated on filling up her stomach first. Three eggs, multiple bacon slices, and a huge glass of fresh orange juice did the trick, and pretty soon her stomach was sighing in contentment.

  Breakfast food while it was dark outside. Awesome.

  He watched her the whole time with the intensity of a predator who was trying to sit still, and was beginning to be impatient about it. Refusing to be intimidated, she looked him in the eye and opened her mouth.

  “I don't know your name.”

  The statement startled her enough to blink.

  “Sophia,” she replied.

  “Thank you for saving my life, Sophia,” he said shortly.

  The sincerity of the statement threw her off-guard. Warily, she nodded and stood up to keep some distance between them.

  He stood up as well, a singular movement that stretched out muscles and made her think of casual grace and power.

  “My name’s Robbie.”

  “I know,” she blurted out, making a move for the living room. “You mentioned that you can heal me—”

  The movement was too fast for her to catch. In an instant he was in front of her, hands pulling up her top and settling on her abdominal area. The warmth of his hands felt like a slow burn, and she tried to pull away. He didn’t let her.

  Sophia glared. “Excuse me, but what are you—”

  An icy sensation filled the area he touched, followed by a hot, tingling jolt. Shocked, she looked down – and found the purple spots were gone.

  Instead of looking smug, Robbie looked disturbed – a reaction further emphasized by the growing frown on his face. Abruptly, he removed his hands as if burned.

  “Can you heal me?” he asked gruffly. “Just put your hands on the bruises.” He lifted his shirt, and she gulped at the sight of his hard stomach.

  Hesitantly, Sophia placed a hand there, tracing. His stomach clenched, but his expression remained passive. She spread her palm on the area.

  A few seconds later, his bruises began to fade until they were completely gone.

  “What kind of magic is this?”

  “The kind that happens when you feed me with your blood.”

  The accusing statement had her abruptly removing her hand. Calmly, she met his suddenly temperamental gaze.

  “I thought you were thanking me for saving you.”

  “Not like this. Where are the bear and rogue?”

  The swift change of topic had her confused. “I took care of them.”

  “I suggest you tell me where they are—”

  Sophia lifted her chin. “I said I took care of them. That’s all you need to know.”

  He scoffed. “I bet your vampire friends have them, then.”

  The way he said vampire indicated how much he loathed them. Great. She had an angry alpha shifter – hell, leader – in her living room who hated vampires and suspected she worked with them. Which was true.

  Not really liking the disadvantage of her situation, Sophia picked up the fire poker again – a movement Robbie noticed as he narrowed his eyes at her.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, damn it,” he growled.

  “Then leave,” she hissed.

  Silence.

  Then with a disturbed look, Robbie nodded and stalked off, closing the front door loudly as he did so.

  It was only after five minutes and he was completely gone that Sophia finally allowed herself to breathe.

  *****

  She was taking care of the dishes when she felt it – that disturbing feeling that someone was with her, even when there was no sight or sound to prove so. It couldn’t be Robbie, because the man was too polite for his own good. He would pound at the door if he wanted to come back in – unless there was a completely different side of his leader side that required stealth.

  Her gut instincts were telling her that this wasn’t him at all.

  The hair at the back of her neck stood up on end. Carefully, she set down the dishes and backed away from the kitchen, her mind already looking for the nearest weapon. How could someone be inside when—

  It hit her like a ton of bricks. She hadn’t put the protective spell back on.

  Cursing under her breath, Sophia turned around and made a run for the living room.

  “Good evening, Sophia.”

  Earlier, Robbie in her living room made her edgy, but still somewhat safe.

  Killian in her living room made her blood run cold.

  The vampire was standing right beside her sofa – a tall, slender man with pale skin and cool, dark eyes. His blond hair was swept back in a ponytail, and the long coat that he wore reeked of elegance. He gave her a slow, charming smile.

  As the second in line and not really her boss, Sophia never got to interact with him much except when she was summoned to their meetings. But she did witness one of the operations he handled, wherein he put out all his charm to his companion during a dinner conversation – right before he tore off the man’s head from his body and eliminated all the bodyguards cold-bloodedly. She’d been the witch assigned to muffle passerby from the smell and the sound.

  The dead man was a threat, John had said.

  Sophia remembered vomiting the moment she got home, the sight overwhelming.

  The smile he gave her now was similar to that scenario.

  Trying to keep her hand from shaking, Sophia gave him a polite nod.

  “Killian. You’re…here.”

  He inclined his head, a graceful movement.

  “I noticed that your apartment was…open. So I decided to enter.”

  As an old and powerful vampire, Killian didn’t need any invitation to enter any house he wanted. The pleasant tone of his voice set off warning bells in her head, and ruthlessly, she tried not to panic as she gave him an equally pleasant smile.

  “Would you like some wine?”

  “No wine. I just came to deliver the news that you’re going to die.”

  Just like that, the pleasantries were gone. Sophia tried to still her beating heart.

  “You’re going to kill me?”

  Killian smiled wider. He should have looked handsome when he did – instead, she found herself frozen in place as he said the next words in fluid tones.

  “Not me. Them.”

  A breeze came to her left, where a vampire she didn’t recognize appeared. Another one to her right. Sophia stared straight ahead, locking eyes with their leader.

  “John’s not going to like this,” she whispered.

  “Then I’m just going to have to tell him that you’re allying with the shifters. Oh, and I killed your bartender friend. Very grateful he let me use his phone to track you. Convenient how technology makes even
private numbers trackable, don’t you think?”

  The panic set in at the thought of Ted, helpless.

  Then Killian was gone in a flash, and the two vampires beside her let their fangs out. The thought that she was going to die ripped to pieces flashed in her mind.

  Not without a fight.

  Even as the thought came, the first vampire was already leaping for her throat.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Something was wrong.

  Robbie couldn't pinpoint it, because the foremost emotion running through him was frustration – frustration at how he'd handled the situation earlier and how things weren't working the way they were supposed to for him. He was only supposed to be in New York to check things out – a simple thing that would take a short time, and then he could return to the place he was more comfortable in.

  Instead, he had a woman's blood in his system and the beginning of a process that he'd never asked for.

  The city was making him antsy, and he just wanted to go back to the one place that calmed him down.

  But life had other plans.

  The niggling feeling grew as he was almost to the front door of her apartment building, ready to leave.

  A chill ran down the back of his neck.

  The thought popped up that he should go back up and check with her just to make sure she was doing okay…

  The attack happened before he could anticipate it.

  A swift slash on his chest tore his shirt down the front, and sharp nails sank on his shoulder. Pain erupted. It didn't get much grip, and he used that advantage to grab the creature by the throat and crush the neck using sheer strength.

  The rogue vampire fell on the floor with a loud thud, head twisted at an odd angle.

  With a curse, Robbie ran upstairs.

  The second floor hallway was empty, but the third had two rogues crawling up the ceiling. A third was trying to get in through Sophia's door. Their odor hit his nostrils and made his temper rise.

  “Hey, assholes. Over here.”

  They already noticed him before he could finish his sentence, and the nearest one swiveled red eyes in his direction. It crawled on the ceiling, jaws opening as it shed skin on the floor. Long fangs protruded as it hissed and lunged.

  Now he was ready. He shifted partially, claws coming out as he bared his own sharp teeth. Said teeth ripped at the vampire attacking him, tearing the place where the head should be before he kicked it off.

  One.

  The second one leapt over the dead body of the first, aiming for his legs. It bit madly, but could not penetrate his scale. He growled and launched his body at it, tearing limbs apart.

  Two.

  The third one noticed him too late. He bashed the head in, crushing it’s skull.

  Three.

  Then Robbie was at her door, almost tearing it open.

  A single glance showed Sophia inside, fighting off a vampire with her fire poker and what seemed to be spells. It wasn't rogue. Another vampire was on the floor, its chest charred. Sophia's neck was bleeding, and her top was soaked with blood.

  His temper snapped.

  The growl became a roar as he lunged inside and went for the vampire, who had snatched the poker and had his arms raised, aiming for her spine. The vampire saw him, but too late – a snap, a crack, and it was down before it could react.

  Then he turned to Sophia, his predator senses still on a roll. Honey eyes met his, shock in them.

  The beast inside him eased back. Slowly, he shifted back to his human form, the adrenaline still running in his veins and the beast screaming at him to turn back and kill.

  Sophia lowered her hands, the sparks in them already weakening. She lifted her chin at him in anger.

  “I could have handled that,” she protested, voice steady.

  Her legs wobbled.

  “Like hell,” he growled.

  “You've just made it worse,” she muttered, looking at the dead vampires at her feet.

  “If I wasn't here, you'd be dead.”

  “If you weren't here, I'd be kicking vampire ass...”

  Her sentence – said in a very defensive tone – never did get finished as her eyelids fluttered before she was toppling over to the floor.

  He stopped her fall and picked her up, frowning down at how light she felt. On alert, his sensitive ears picked out the sound of footsteps. Then, a scream.

  He inwardly groaned. Neighbors.

  Before they could peek at the open door and cause an even bigger mess of the situation, he was already escaping through the bedroom window with the unconscious woman in his arms.

  *****

  “You shouldn't have brought her here.”

  Dylan's face was stern and disapproving as he stared at the unconscious form being tended to by Annie before he called Robbie outside the recovery room – where he continued giving the other his said stern look. At the side, Jack was there and quietly watching the scene with a neutral expression, a far cry from his usual outgoing one.

  Robbie chose to ignore the statement, going straight to the first priority at hand.

  “We left some vampires behind. Rogue and non-rogue. Might require some cleanup.”

  “Jack,” Dylan said sharply.

  Jack inclined his head, suddenly on alert. “Got it.”

  Then he left, and Robbie knew he was off to do some damage control. One part of him wanted the jaguar shifter to succeed in covering up the gruesome scene, because this was the kind of messy exposure they didn't need. Another part of him wanted Jack to be too late, because then people would know exactly what kind of dangerous assholes vampires really were and would coup a rage protest.

  How lovely for them that would be.

  The rational part of him argued that shifters would get exposed, too.

  Hell, he needed to stop thinking altogether. Shaking his head, Robbie turned to Dylan and eyed the leader steadily.

  “There was no other place I could bring her in. And those damn vampires would be coming back, for sure, to finish what they started.”

  Dylan suddenly looked grim. “Did you see any leader involved in the attack?”

  Robbie shook his head. “No.”

  But he would bet his ass there was a higher up in charge of this. If Sophia worked directly for a powerful vampire, there was no way she would be attacked just like that without anyone dictating it. Robbie had been careful to keep his tracks covered enough so that no one would choose to look.

  Meaning whoever looked had been just actively waiting for his or her chance to jump her.

  “We'll talk more later,” Dylan intoned. It wasn't a question. “Right now, let me go deal with Hans and the rest of the leaders. News travel fast.”

  “You mean gossip. I'll tell them what's needed if it comes to that.”

  “Very well.”

  After Dylan went off to settle things, Robbie stayed outside the recovery room for a few minutes before realizing he positively reeked. It wasn't just his own scent either, but the smell of the blood of those creatures he'd just killed. He wrinkled his nose and decided it was time to get things in order first.

  First was the hot shower – a cleansing that did his sore muscles more good than he'd expected and removed all unpleasant scents from his body. Once he toweled and saw that his bruises were now healing the way they should – a normal process after that first contact with her – he got clean clothes and headed down to the resident kitchen to catch some food. He could have just ordered it up to his room, but he didn't feel like waiting.

  One of the chefs, a human they've known for years named Radley, took note of his hungry expression and went about to get some food. He was given a tray filled with roasted steak and potatoes, some pancakes, and a slice of banana cake. Red wine filled a tall wine glass, and his mouth watered.

  “When the visitor wakes up, take her the same meal, but replace the wine with juice.”

  Radley nodded his head. “Of course, Mr. Sebastian.”

  “Robbie. And t
hank you, Radley.”

  He stopped by the recovery room again, instructing Annie – who was still slightly miffed at his earlier escape – to let him know once Sophia was awake.

  Then he took his tray to his room, ate everything quickly, and got some rest.

  *****

  The meeting took place at four in the morning, with only three people present – Dylan, Robbie and Sophia, headed by the former. Sophia had woken up an hour earlier, was now full and fresh from the shower and very reluctant to join in.

  Dylan started it off by introducing himself – not necessary, since she obviously knew who he was already.

  “You shouldn't have brought me here,” were the first words out of her mouth, directed at Robbie.

  Considering it was the first thing out of Dylan's mouth earlier, too, Robbie was in no mood for it.

  “Your house isn't safe. I would never have left you alone.”

  “I would have been perfectly fine,” she muttered stubbornly – a statement that tested his still-not-settled temper.

  “Yes, fine. With a poker stick through your chest or down your spine. Totally fine.”

  She clamped her mouth and said nothing, opting to glare at him instead. The glare disappeared when she turned her gaze to Dylan, who was eyeing the whole exchange in what looked like thoughtful silence. Of course, looks were deceiving when it came to the man, who was the best at poker faces when needed.

  Sophia matched his poker face with ease, and it was as if the earlier agitated woman hadn't existed.

  “I swear on my life that I will not tell anyone anything about your headquarters. And my healing of one of your leaders is done. Please let me go home.”

  The words were said in the tone of a diplomat, polite and careful, and it made Robbie see exactly how she fit in with the bloodthirsty creatures. Vampires, after all, loved fear and panic more than anything else.

  Since the question wasn't directed at him, Robbie settled for crossing his arms and growling softly.

  Dylan waited as calmly, as a still river as silence filled the room. Then he firmly shook his head.

  “I would love for you to go home, Miss Sophia...?”

  “Gray,” she supplied promptly. “But please, call me Sophia.”