by Sophie Stern
What the hell?
What was going on?
Why was she acting like she was abused?
Why did she look like she was hiding...from him?
Then, a wave of nausea hit Declan as he realized what was happening. She wasn't wearing a servant's dress. She didn't look like a maid. She wasn't clean. She was dirty and her hair was matted. Her clothing was actually torn. He'd just been so preoccupied that he hadn't noticed it at first.
It was her.
She was the pet.
She was the creature that Kellen was trying to get security for.
Fuck.
Declan looked over his shoulder, but nobody was there. He wasn't an idiot. He knew that if Kellen was keeping a human hostage, he’d have security people carefully placed throughout the mansion. He hadn’t noticed anyone when he’d arrived, but he hadn’t been looking for anyone, had he? Nope. Declan had been fully focused on Kellen and landing this deal. Well, he’d screwed that up. It was time to get out.
Undoubtedly, there were security people, and they would have a sharp eye out when it came to this girl. Surely, they all knew she was here, and it definitely looked like she was trying to escape. She was scared and she was dirty. She was frail, too. Kellen probably hadn’t been feeding her enough, so she was weak. Her chances of escaping this hellhole on her own were slim.
Well, it was her lucky day.
Declan was going to help her.
"Come on," he said gruffly, and he lifted her up and tossed her over his shoulder. She didn't fight or yell or scream, but he scented her.
Fear.
She was still scared, afraid of the entire situation, but it was obvious that she was also wildly brave because she didn't fight him as he headed outside. He moved swiftly to the large basket he'd left outside with his belongings. He hadn't felt like chartering a boat just to get here, so he'd flown. He wasn't exactly keen on working naked or empty-handed, so he had packed the large basket with a change of clothing, as well as the technical stuff he needed to start the project.
Well, it was this girl's lucky day, because she was small enough to fit in his basket. It was three feet long with high sides. It looked like a dragon-sized picnic basket, and it was exactly what they needed right now.
"Get in," he said quickly, and his voice was low. She listened, climbing into the basket. The woman wiggled around, finding a comfortable space. At least, he hoped she would be comfortable.
The basket wasn’t really designed for transporting humans. It wasn't particularly spacious. It looked like the kind of thing you'd carry a baby in, but it was much bigger than a normal bassinet. It was just big enough for the girl, and Declan quickly slid his jacket off and draped it over her, covering her body. She was quiet and didn't move, which was good, because just as Declan started unbuttoning his shirt, a staff member came running out of Kellen's house.
"Mr. Monster, Mr. Monster!"
Declan looked up at the sniveling little servant man. Was this one of the people responsible for taking this girl? Declan could sense her fear rising, and he knew he had to keep her calm. She was going to be safe now.
No, he had no fucking plans for her. He didn't know what the hell they were going to do once they left, but right now, he just had to fucking leave before anything else happened. This woman deserved to be safe. Whoever she was, she deserved a damn chance to be safe.
Declan was a big dragon, and he was a strong one, but that didn't mean he was any match for Kellen's team. Who knew what kind of weapons the asshole had tucked away on his property? Kellen seemed like the kind of guy who would go crazy if someone crossed him. Declan was more than happy to steal a victim away from that dickhead, but he also didn’t feel like dying because he was outnumbered.
"What?" Declan snapped. He glared at the servant. What business did this guy have working for a jerkwad like Kellen? He found it slightly grating that someone like Kellen seemed to have no problem finding people who would not only work for him, but who would go to bat for him. Apparently, money really could buy just about anything you wanted.
"Mr. Brotella wants to know if you will be returning to finish the project at a later date."
"Fucking seriously?" Declan glared at him. "No."
The man pushed his glasses up the end of his nose, but they slid right back down. He opened his mouth as if to speak again, but he sputtered. Obviously, he didn’t know how to respond to Declan’s lack of decorum.
Declan didn’t care. He turned and yanked his shirt off. He tossed it into the basket. He tried to make it look casual, but really, he was trying to cover up every part of the girl. Soon Kellen and his little workers were going to notice she was missing. Declan didn't want to be here when they did. He pulled off his shoes and set those in the basket a little more carefully, followed by his pants.
The man was still standing there, and Declan turned to him. Declan narrowed his eyes, and he glared. How could he make it clear that this guy was not welcome? His presence was not needed, nor was it appreciated, like, at all.
"Want a closer look, asshole?"
The guy wasn't a shifter, and whether he was trying to be creepy or just make sure that Declan actually left, Declan wasn't sure. What he did know was that he didn't appreciate strangers of any gender staring at him when he was about to shift. Shifting was a process that Declan had perfected over his many years as a dragon. Still, he liked being left to change into his dragon form without feeling like he was under a microscope.
The guy started mumbling something, but Declan ignored him. He bent down to tuck his things a little more carefully into the basket. He pressed the jacket and shirt a little more snugly around his secret passenger.
"Hang on," he whispered quietly, so only the girl could hear him. "We're going to get you out of here."
The only sign that she heard him was the hasty way her breathing changed. Her heart started racing. Yeah, this was a girl in trouble, and he was all too happy to help.
So, he shifted.
Big, strong, and wild, he changed into his dragon form almost effortlessly. The servant man watched. His jaw dropped, but Declan just shook his head. Why were people so predictable? The guy obviously wanted to ask him about it, but Declan didn't have time. He grabbed the basket with his talons and leapt into the air.
Then he was off.
He couldn't speak to the woman in his dragon form. Honestly, he wasn't even sure what he would say. He had a little while to think about it, but one thing was for certain: he wasn't saying a damn thing until they were somewhere isolated. He wasn't going to take her back to Sapphire Island just yet. His home was a beautiful place, and she would be safe there, but they wouldn't be alone.
His brothers would show up sooner or later, and as much as he loved them, he wanted this woman to feel safe. Whatever Kellen had done to her had probably scarred her. Declan hated the idea that she’d been victimized by someone like Kellen. The guy was a real piece of work. He didn’t deserve to have someone as beautiful as this female with him.
So, Declan flew away from Kellen's home and the other houses that filled the tiny island, and he soared over the ocean. The scent of salt water filled his lungs, and Declan felt at home. He loved the way the ocean sounded. He loved the way it smelled.
Hell, he loved the way it felt.
Everything about the water was perfect to him.
Sometimes, he thought it was a pity he was a dragon and not a fish.
He couldn't peer down at the basket, but it still felt heavy. She hadn't fallen out or jumped out or anything like that. Good. He liked knowing she was sitting still in the basket. He liked knowing she was safe for him.
He didn't want anything to hurt this woman.
Not on his watch.
He flew in the direction of Sapphire Island but stopped a few isles over. The Chrysolite Isles were gorgeous, and almost every single one of the hundred or so isles had something special and unique about it. This one had waterfalls: lots and lots of waterfalls. To Declan's knowledge, nobody live
d on the island because there were simply too many waterfalls. There wasn't really a place where you could build a city unless you completely tore down and rebuilt the actual island.
He landed on the beach and set the basket down. Glancing around, he could spot three different waterfalls all within walking distance of the beach. It was insane how pretty this place was. He took a few steps back from the basket but didn't shift right away. He wanted to see what she was going to do first, and he didn't want to scare her just by shifting into his nude human form.
Who knew what the woman had been through?
If she'd been hurt by Kellen, maybe seeing a naked human man would be more terrifying than seeing a huge purple-and-silver dragon. Perhaps the idea that a man had stolen her away wouldn’t be entirely comforting. Then again, maybe she was too tired and hurt to care who had rescued her. Maybe she just cared that she’d been squirreled away.
He wasn't sure.
So, he sat, and he waited. Finally, he made a little growling noise because nothing happened. Still nothing. She didn’t come out of the basket. She didn’t make any indication at all that she was there or that she had heard him.
Was she hiding in fear?
Was she cowering in the basket?
Suddenly, his desire to be noble seemed to be completely overridden by the idea that perhaps she actually had fallen out of the basket. Could that have happened? Maybe he didn't even know that she'd fallen. He'd been distracted, after all. Fear filled his heart. What if he’d saved her only to lose her over the ocean?
He shifted to his human form and hurried to the basket. He knelt beside it and pulled his shirt and pants away from the basket, followed by his jacket, but...
She was there.
She was still there.
More importantly, she was asleep.
How the hell had this beautiful woman fallen asleep in what was the equivalent of a dragon-sized picnic basket?
He pulled his pants on and he slipped into the shirt, and then he sat there beside her, and he waited. What had this human been through? Who was she? And what was she going to do when she woke up?
Chapter 2
Zoa had been having the weirdest dream. She had been living at the creature's house. That's how she had come to think of Mr. Brotella: a creature. He wasn't exactly human, was he? No, she knew the truth about him. He was a snake. Not just figuratively, either: he was actually a total and complete snake.
Zoa had never seen a shifter in real life until she'd met him, and it had horrified her. For years, she'd believed that shifters were things of fairy tales. They were parts of nightmares. They were stories told to scare little kids into behaving. Be good, or the big, bad shifter will take you away.
Well, that's exactly what had happened.
Only, Zoa had been good.
She'd done everything she had supposed to, and still, she'd been stolen away by someone who was a total monster.
A freak.
And she hated him.
But the new guy...the guy working for the creature...he was different, and in her dream, he'd saved her. The dreams were always the same. She tried to escape, and then she was caught. She tried to escape, and Kellen Brotella hurt her.
This time was different, though. She'd been trying to escape for the millionth time, and he'd simply picked her up, carried her outside, and put her in a basket. Then he'd brought her away. She wasn't exactly sure how. Maybe he'd put her in a car or maybe he'd carried the basket to a nearby worksite.
All she knew was that Kellen Brotella was never going to hurt her again, and that was a damn good dream. Zoa didn’t want to wake up for real. She didn’t want her hazy dream state to leave her. Not this time. She’d been so close to freedom, even if it had been a dream, and she wanted more. She wanted the dream to last, to continue. She wanted a little more of that freedom.
She heard a noise like the ocean. Maybe she was falling back asleep. That must be it. Zoa curled into a tiny ball, wishing that the darkness would claim her again. When she was asleep, she could pretend that the world was fine. When she was sleeping, or when her eyes were closed, she could imagine she was anywhere else. Then she heard it again: that ocean-sort of sound. Zoa thought it sounded like waves crashing onto the beach.
Zoa opened her eyes.
The sun was shining on her face. It was mid-afternoon. Okay, that was all right, but how did she get outside? The creature was going to be pissed if she didn't hurry up and get back in the house. He had strict rules for Zoa. She wasn't allowed outdoors. Ever. Not by herself, and not with other people.
She was the ultimate house mouse, and she hated it, but she’d learned that resistance was futile when it came to her captor. He kept her locked up, out of sight and out of mind, and he did this for a reason. She couldn’t understand what the reason might be except that Zoa was his dark, dirty little secret. He didn’t want anyone to know she was there. He didn’t want anybody knowing she existed.
Before she'd been taken, Zoa had loved exploring the outdoors. In her town, she was always the first one to sign up for new races, and she had always run with her whole heart. Just a few months ago she’d run a 5K and she’d come in third place. She'd loved hiking and camping and playing. She’d liked swimming. She’d liked a lot of things.
Mr. Brotella had stolen all of that from her, and she despised him for it. He was the kind of monster her parents had always warned her about, and he’d taken her. Just like that. Just because he wanted to. There had been no rhyme or reason. She hadn’t done anything to him personally. He’d just chosen to take her, and then he had.
The sun warmed her face, and Zoa closed her eyes for just a moment, feeling its warmth. She couldn’t stay for long. She had to get back inside before he noticed she was out of her cage. If he found her before she got back to it, he was going to beat her. When that happened, she wasn't going to be so lucky to escape without stitches.
The last time Zoa had tried to escape, Kellen had beaten the hell out of her. She’d been sore for days, and it had hurt to move. She was fairly certain he’d broken one of her ribs. After he’d hurt her, he’d shifted into his snake form and wrapped his coiled body around her, tightening himself against her until she couldn’t breathe. It had scared her so badly that she hadn’t tried to escape for a few days.
Had she been with Brotella for days?
Weeks?
She didn’t even know anymore.
“Time to get inside,” she whispered to herself. Sometimes if she said things out loud, she found them easier to believe. It was a habit she’d picked up from her mother long ago. Mom always said that if you couldn’t find the self-motivation to get up and do something, sometimes telling yourself out loud could help.
Only, when Zoa sat up, she realized that she wasn't lying in the grass or sitting in the yard. She wasn’t at Kellen Brotella’s house at all. She was in a basket. It looked exactly like the one from her dream. Why did it look like the thing she’d been dreaming about? Then it hit her.
"It wasn't a dream," she whispered out loud, and she peered out of the basket to see him.
The man.
The man from Brotella's place.
Her rescuer.
"Are you okay?" The man asked in a deep voice. He was sitting about five feet away from her. His legs were crossed like he was meditating, and his eyes were closed. He didn't even open them, but somehow, he could tell she was looking at him.
She peered at him for a long time, taking him in. He was tall and muscular. A body builder? No, he was too lean for that. A runner? Too thick for that. So, what was his deal? He worked out a lot. He probably ate really cleanly, too. Was he a monster like Brotella? He couldn't be.
Could he?
Only, they were in the middle of a beach, she realized, and she didn't see a car or a motorcycle or anything that could have been used to get them here. There was no boat, either. So how had they gotten onto the beach? He must have been a shifter of some kind. She was dry, so she didn’t think he’d
dragged the basket through the water. He wasn’t a fish. He must be something with wings.
"Cat got your tongue?" The man asked. This time, he opened his eyes, and he stared at her. Somehow, it felt like he could see right into her soul. She didn't care about cliche that was. He was looking at her like he knew things about her she didn't even know about herself.
How was he doing that?
"How did we get here?" She whispered. She had to force herself to say the words. She could speak to him, she told herself. She could do it. After all, he'd taken her away from Brotella. He'd rescued her. He had to be a good guy.
Didn't he?
She knew that a guy like this could hurt her just like Brotella did. Maybe worse. He was bigger, she thought. He was taller than Kellen was, and his muscles looked thicker. He was fierce. This was the kind of guy who was powerful and strong. He probably had money, too. Did he use that to his advantage? Did he use his cash as a way to control people? That was Kellen’s secret weapon. This guy might be just as bad as him. Wouldn’t that be ironic? Wouldn’t it just be rich if Zoa had escaped from one monster and run right to another?
Only, this man’s eyes weren't the same. This guy had kind eyes, and she was very aware of the fact that he hadn't moved. He hadn't tried to touch her or force her down. He hadn't hit her or slapped her.
"I flew us here," he finally said.
"How? I don't see a plane."
He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
So that was it, huh? He was one of them. He was a creature, too. Only, maybe he wasn't one of the bad ones. That was stupid, she knew. They were all bad ones. There was no such thing as a "good" monster.
Not when it came to shifters.
"What do you want from me?" Zoa asked. The silence between them seemed to stretch on forever. She swallowed hard. She couldn't bear to think about what this guy was going to ask of her. Well, maybe he wouldn't ask her for anything. Maybe he would just take. Then what would she do?
She was at his mercy, she knew.
He could do anything, take anything. There was nothing she could do about any of it. If he wanted to lock her in a cage, he’d be able to do it. He could probably do it easily, she thought. Maybe he wanted something else, something sexual, and she wouldn’t be able to fight him on that, either.