by R. E. Butler
The light-haired male, who had been more willing to stay back, snapped his teeth at her. “It’s time. Give in.”
“Never,” Deci said as her stomach tightened and sweat dripped down her neck. “I’ll kill you if you touch me.”
They glanced at each other for a long moment, and then turned their attention back to her. Stalking forward, their eyes dark with intent, she knew the drug had weakened her enough that she had lost what little strength she’d had. They would overpower and rape her. She had no hope left.
She closed her eyes. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the males drew near, the heat of their bodies and the scents of their arousal filled the air around her. She slashed out with her free hand in another attempt to keep them away.
The floor shook, and the sound of something roaring made her open her eyes. The males stopped moving and looked over their shoulders as shouts of alarm and the scent of burning flesh filled the air.
There was a loud thud that caused the room to tremble. Turning toward the door with snarls, the males growled, and Deci scooted back as far as the chain would allow. Something heavy struck the door. It burst open, and smoke billowed into the room. It took only a heartbeat for Deci to recognize the dragon who reached a clawed hand into the room and screeched in anger. Tosh!
Sagging in relief, she shouted as loudly as she could, “I’m chained! Help!”
“Are you insane?” the blond-haired male said over his shoulder. “Listen to the screams of people dying out there.”
“He’s my mate,” she said, grasping the chain and rattling it, her strength renewed as hope filled her.
The clawed hand slipped away, and a moment later, Tosh raced into the room. She was so relieved that she started to cry, great, heaving sobs that made it hard to breathe. The males wasted no time in rushing out the open door. Tosh moved to her, kneeling at her side and cupping her face.
“Sweetheart,” he said, his voice tipping to a growl. His nostrils flared, and his eyes flashed to the bright green of his beast. She knew he could scent her arousal from the breeding drug.
“Hurts,” she whispered.
The green in his eyes disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. He inspected the chain and shackles.
“How did you find me?”
“A phone tracking app for my uncle,” he said. He looked at her for a long moment and then said, “Don’t be afraid.”
Before she could respond, his body morphed. Glossy green translucent scales appeared on his skin, and his eyes turned that same bright green. Wings sprouted from his back, and claws and fangs emerged. He looked like a scaly angel. With a simple tug, he broke the chain, scattering links on the concrete.
Returning to his fully human form, he lifted her into his arms as he stood. His skin was cool to the touch and felt good against her overheated flesh. Carrying her through the broken door, he said, “Close your eyes, Deci. I don’t want you to see this.”
Following his direction, she closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. He moved swiftly, and the motion rocked her soothingly. She might have been able to sleep if she weren’t aroused to the point of pain and desperate for her mate.
“Why don’t I feel you?” she asked, curling her fingers into his hair.
“I think it’s whatever they did to you. I can smell the chemicals on you. You smell turned on, but it’s not natural.”
“What?”
“When you’re turned on, you smell extra sweet, like your natural sugar and snow scent is enhanced. Right now, you smell turned on, but the sweetness isn’t quite the same. It’s like fake sugar.”
“I want to go home,” she whispered.
“I’ll get you there, sweetheart,” he said.
She lifted her head when Tosh growled and she felt his skin change. She watched as his skin took on the appearance of scales and dark green wings emerged from his back. Tightening his hold on her, Tosh flew them up to the ground floor through the elevator shaft. He hurried out of the building as a cool breeze stroked her skin.
Tosh set her gently on the ground. “I’m going to shift completely and fly us back to the nest.”
He snarled suddenly and pushed her behind his back as he spun to face the sound of running feet. She peeked around him and saw his guards. Tosh straightened but kept her behind him.
Zixin removed his shirt. “The princess can wear my shirt.”
Tosh snagged the dark shirt out of the air when Zixin tossed it to them. He handed it to her, and she slipped it on, grateful to be clothed.
“I need to get Deci to our healer. I trapped her abductors in a room in the basement. My uncle is among them. Bring them to the sacred grove, and I’ll meet you there. I’m not sure if there are others being held captive here. Set them free first, grab whatever information you can from any computers, and then set this fucking building on fire.”
“Will do,” Wei said.
As Deci forced her aching fingers to work to button the shirt, she looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was setting.
She gasped. “Oh no! We’ll be too late for the ceremony, and you won’t be crowned.”
Tosh shook his head, turning to face her. “The timing doesn’t matter. First, you’ll see a healer, and then when you’re ready, we’ll have our mating and crowning ceremonies.”
“But the laws,” she said.
“Am I the leader of the nest or what?” he asked, his lip curving up into an almost smile.
She felt tears sting her eyes again, followed by a wave of arousal that made her groan and double over. Tosh snarled and she felt the air move. She looked up to see him shift into his dragon form. In mere moments, a large dragon stood before her with wings stretched out as he shook himself from snout to tail. He snorted and smoke billowed from his nostrils.
Deci’s whole body ached. She didn’t think she’d be able to climb onto his back and hold on. To her surprise, Tosh lifted her into his arms and cradled her against his scaly chest.
Zixin chuckled. “You didn’t think he wanted you to ride on his back did you? That’s for little ones when they’re playing, not for treasured mates. We always hold our mates close to our hearts.”
With a flap of his wings, Tosh lifted from the ground. The air whooshed around them, but she was protected in his arms. Closing her eyes, she tried not to think about how much her body hurt and how turned on she was. She knew it was artificial, but that didn’t change the need that coursed through her veins. A growl rumbled in Tosh’s chest, and it sounded a lot like a purr.
Settling into his hold, she pushed aside her growing arousal as much as she could, and concentrated on the calming presence of her mate. Even though she couldn’t feel her connection to Tosh or to her beast, she knew it was just a matter of time before everything would be back to normal.
Or at least…she hoped.
Chapter 11
Tosh cut through the air as swiftly as he could, cradling Deci close to his chest and shielding her from the cool air. He knew the way home without looking down. His beast was attuned to the nest, and he could get there with his eyes closed if the need arose.
He’d found it hard to concentrate at first when he saw Deci in the room, chained to the floor. Her skin was flushed dark pink, and the scent of her arousal was like a pulsing thing, demanding his attention. He knew it was from whatever chemical had been forced on her, but it didn’t stop his base reaction. His mate was in heat, and the feral part of him was consumed with tending to her needs.
Forcing away the thoughts of her heat, he concentrated on what would come later that evening when he sought vengeance for Deci’s kidnapping and abuse. He trusted his guards to secure the prisoners and bring them to the nest’s hunting grounds. His uncle must have been instrumental in Deci’s kidnapping; otherwise he wouldn’t have been in the warehouse in the first place. Although he couldn’t quote the laws verbatim, arranging for the kidnapping of the future queen on the day of her coronation was worthy of the most severe punishment.
; As the nest’s territory, where he’d met his mate only days earlier, came into view, resolve slid through him. Regardless of the emotional toll of what would come later, he would see justice for his mate and ensure that whoever was behind the warehouse would be punished and see that the drug used on her was never used on another person again.
Circling over their home, Tosh lowered slowly until he hovered just in front of the balcony off the master bedroom. He set Deci on her feet on the balcony and ensured she was holding onto the rail before he gripped the rail with one clawed hand and shifted, hauling himself onto the balcony. She swayed on her feet, and he picked her up again. She groaned softly, arching against him, and the sweet scent of her surrounded him.
He opened the door and carried her inside, leaving it open to help cool the room since she was so feverish. He laid her on the bed, and she curled into a ball, her eyes glowing as her lips parted.
“I don’t know what’s happening to me,” she whispered.
He climbed next to her, trying not to jostle her too much. She seemed to be in tremendous pain. She shivered and her hands clenched into tight fists.
“I know, love. It will be okay. We’ll get through this together.”
“Your uncle,” she protested.
“Is being handled until you’re safe.”
There was a knock at the door, and Tosh knew it was the healer. One of the guards had called Gen to make sure the healer was waiting for them to return.
After pulling a blanket over her bare legs, he kissed her forehead and then called, “Enter.”
The healer, Donal, had been part of the nest for as long as Tosh could remember. He’d helped deliver countless babies, cured illnesses, and healed injuries.
“Sire?” Donal said.
“She was dosed with something, more than once. She smells like she’s in heat, but there’s an artificial odor to it.”
Donal put a satchel on the bed and opened it. “Are you still connected to her?”
“I can’t feel our connection. It just disappeared suddenly.”
He leaned over, clicking a penlight and shining it in her eyes. “Do you feel your beast, my lady?”
“No,” she rasped.
He straightened. “I’ve heard rumblings in the healing community about doctors attempting to replicate the heat cycle of some shifters.”
Tosh frowned. “Why?”
“A variety of reasons. For one, if there was a drug that could artificially bring a heat cycle, then a female’s ability to be impregnated could occur at any time, not only during their natural cycles. That would allow someone to control a cycle, to force a female to become pregnant. The drugs can also be used to make a female who is infertile feel as if she’s in heat, or in the case of a female who could become pregnant at any time – such as a Wiccan – to force her to become so aroused she wouldn’t care who she had sex with.”
Deci groaned and doubled over, causing a wave of her delicious scent to wash over Tosh. He snarled at Donal, and Donal took two large steps back to put distance between himself and Deci.
Tosh scrubbed a hand over his face and took Deci’s hand in his. “I’m sorry. I know you want to help her, but it’s hard for me to see you near her when she smells as she does.”
“I understand. There are only two ways to deal with this, sire. One is to have sex with her until she becomes pregnant. The breeding drugs I’ve heard of are designed to keep the female in a high state of arousal until she’s impregnated. I caution, however, that there is some discussion in the scientific communities whether creatures such as bear shifters, who are only naturally fertile twice per year, are at risk of injury or death to the female or the baby by forcing them to conceive artificially.”
The idea of Deci carrying his child was appealing, but not so much that he was willing to risk her life
“The other way?”
“Bring in Dae.”
Dae was a dragon in the nest whose family line had healing abilities far beyond what Donal could do. He had once healed a Wiccan who was near death.
Lifting Deci into his arms, Tosh said, “Tell Dae to meet me in the sky.”
As he strode to the balcony, he kissed Deci on the forehead. “My dragon, Dae, is going to heal you. I’ll put you in his arms, and he’ll breathe his power into you. It will heal what’s been done to you.”
She blinked wide eyes at him, pain and pleasure twining in her gaze. “I’m scared.”
His heart clenched tightly. “My fierce mate? I don’t believe it.”
She forced out a chuckle as tears leaked from her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one who’s sorry I couldn’t keep you safe. I’ll ensure nothing like this ever happens to you again.”
He didn’t put her down before shifting. Instead, he held her close and let his dragon free, his body bulking as the shift took over.
The sun had set, and the sky was dark. He lifted into the air and rose above the treetops, heading over the woods to where their people met during their ceremonies. Tonight he should have been watching her become his official mate and the queen of the nest, but instead, he was worrying about her and trying to keep his dragon from going on a killing rampage.
There was a loud shriek, and Tosh stilled his flight, hovering over the trees and turning in the air to watch Dae in his dark red dragon form, flying swiftly toward him. Dae hovered before Tosh, his eyes blazing and smoke billowing from his nostrils. His arms extended, and Tosh transferred his mate to Dae’s arms. She whimpered, and his heart threatened to tear in half. Dae nodded his head and flapped his wings, soaring upward with Deci. He disappeared into the dark sky, and Tosh waited, watching in the darkness as Dae did what he did best – healed the injured.
Gen and Liu joined Tosh above the trees, hovering with him as Dae worked his brand of dragon magic on Deci. Tosh was grateful to them for their support.
Above them, Deci screamed in pain, and a ruby glow shone for a brief moment before there was a shower of red sparks. Tosh felt the connection to Deci snap into place inside him. He roared in happiness, knowing that Dae’s healing had fixed whatever the breeding drug had done to the mating connection between him and Deci. On either side of him, Gen and Liu lifted their heads with a joyous roar.
Dae appeared before them, and Deci leaped through the air into Tosh’s arms. “He fixed me! I can feel my bear and you,” she said, her voice strong and clear as she hugged her arms around his neck. Tosh let out a purring trill, and Deci laughed.
Dae bowed his head, and Tosh returned the gesture, dismissing the male to rest. Healing the way Dae could took a tremendous amount of energy. Diving for the woods, Tosh held tightly to his mate as she squealed in surprise and then laughed as he ducked expertly underneath the canopy of trees and headed for the center of the woods to the sacred grove. Behind him, Gen and Liu followed closely.
Tosh landed in the clearing that was illuminated with torches. The dirt was covered with flower petals in preparation for the mating and crowning ceremony, but that wasn’t why he was there now. Tied up to trees at the edge of the clearing were Tosh’s uncle, three dragon males, and three humans in lab coats. His guards stood near them, faces stony as they waited for Tosh’s instructions.
Deci eased from his grasp and Tosh returned to his human form.
Dai brought a pair of trousers to Tosh and said with a low voice, “We found two of the dragon males outside of the warehouse in a van. We’d scented them inside the spa, so we know they were part of the kidnapping. Yuon, Ge, and the four humans were in the room where you locked them up. One of the humans tried to escape and was killed in the process. There were two wolf shifters who were heavily drugged. They were from Virginia and didn’t know how long they’d been in the warehouse.” He looked at Deci. “They were pretty much out of their minds. We dropped them off at the supernatural hospital on the way back here so they could be helped.”
“I know they couldn’t really help themselves. It doesn’t
make what happened any easier to deal with, though. My mate saved the day, riding in like a knight in shining armor to rescue me,” Deci said.
Tosh dismissed Dai and turned Deci to face him. Behind him, he heard Gen and Liu shift into their human forms. “I want you to go back to the house and rest.”
“What? Why are you sending me home?”
“Because you don’t need to see what happens next.”
She wrapped her hands around his forearms. “As the future queen, I should be part of this.”
He opened his mouth to tell her that it was his job to protect and shield her, but he realized that she was right. She was the future queen, and more than that, she deserved to see what happened to those who had harmed her.
“As you wish,” he said, kissing her gently. “Stay with Gen and Liu.”
“Wait, are my guards okay? Where’s Alli?”
“I’m right here, babe,” the angel said, striding into the clearing with a red-headed female and a vampire. Tosh knew immediately that it was Brone and his beloved mate Arissa.
“Your guards were drugged and are with Donal. They’ll recover,” Gen said.
“Who are your friends?” Deci asked as she hugged Alli tightly.
“This is the amazing Arissa and her kickass mate, Brone,” Alli said, beaming with pride.
Tosh joined Deci and shook Brone’s hand. “Why did Alli bring you?” Tosh asked.
Arissa cleared her throat. “When Alli woke up from being drugged in the spa and told me what had happened to Deci, I asked your dragons to send whatever intel they found at the warehouse to the coven because we’ve got some really amazing computer geniuses. It turns out that those assholes over there have been kidnapping shifters and experimenting on them for a while, but no one ever knew where their location was.”
Brone said, “We will take the humans with us. They’ll tell all they know, or they will suffer greatly.”
Tosh heard the grumble from his people, who wanted to hold the humans accountable for what had been done to Deci. But he knew that if he just killed the humans, there might be other labs with other shifters held captive and drugged, and they would never find them.