by Sophie Stern
“Hey,” Christopher said, looking at her carefully all of a sudden. “What are you thinking about?”
“Stupid stuff. I’m always thinking about stupid stuff,” Zoa whispered.
“You know, there’s something you might not realize about dragons.”
“What’s that?”
“We don’t like it when the women we love talk bad about themselves.”
“I’m not the woman you love.”
“No, but my brother likes you an awful lot, and he’s going to hear about this.” Christopher chuckled, shaking his head. “He’s going to want to spank you.”
Zoa’s jaw dropped. Was Christopher being serious? It kind of sounded like he was planning to nark on her. Christopher was a little snitch. What gave him the right to go running to Declan to tell him that she’d talked poorly about herself? Nothing. He didn’t have that right.
Only, if Christopher was going to snitch, then maybe it meant that Declan actually cared about her. Christopher said that dragons don’t like when the women they love talk badly about themselves. Did Declan love her? It was a bit soon for that, she thought. Then again, Declan was literally on his way to kill the shifter who had hurt her. It seemed like she had a lot to learn about dragons.
“I won’t speak negatively about myself again,” she told Christopher. Hopefully that would be enough to sate this dragon man. He didn’t need to tell Declan what had happened, and Declan didn’t need to give her a spanking. What was that all about?
“Good,” Christopher nodded. That was that, then. Declan didn’t need to know. Only, Christopher didn’t look like that was that. He looked like he was still planning to tell on her. Zoa needed to clarify what was happening, and quickly.
“You don’t have to tell Declan what I said.”
“I’m going to tell him, sugar.”
“Hmm,” Zoa crossed her arms over her chest. How could she convince him not to? This wasn’t going her way at all. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”
Christopher only laughed and shook his head.
“It’s necessary.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re his mate.”
“His what?”
“You’re his mate. Didn’t he tell you?” Christopher seemed surprised by the fact that Zoa didn’t know what he was talking about. Then he rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t know,” Christopher muttered. “What an idiot.”
“Hey! That’s my mate you’re talking about!” She slapped him gently on the shoulder. She still didn’t know what he had meant by “mate,” though. Was that a dragon’s way of saying “lover” or “girlfriend”? Then again, Christopher had said Declan didn’t realize that’s who Zoa was, so it must have been something a little more serious.
“You’re right,” Christopher laughed. “Sorry.”
“Christopher?”
“Yep?”
“What’s a dragon’s mate?”
“He should have this talk with you, Zoa. It shouldn’t be me.”
“He’s not here, though, is he? Declan is off putting his life in mortal peril, and I’m here.” Zoa gestured wildly around the treehouse.
She felt helpless.
Weak.
Scared.
She felt afraid that something was going to happen to Declan, and there was nothing she could do about it. How could she make Christopher understand that? Declan had been nothing but kind to Zoa. If something happened to him today, she didn’t think that she would ever be able to forgive herself. She just couldn’t.
“I’m just sitting around trying not to think about the danger he could be in,” she said. That much, at least, was true. She knew Declan could handle himself. She knew it. He was a big, strong dragon man. He was wise and clever and wild and wonderful.
Kellen was an asshole, though, and he was the type of guy who didn’t hold back. There was a part of Zoa that feared Kellen had done something terrible, like laid a trap for Declan. What if Declan and Brian were walking right into it? Then they’d die, and she’d never get to find out what a dragon’s mate was or what it was that made her feel like Declan was the most important creature in the entire universe.
“Please,” she said, pleading with Christopher.
“Well,” Christopher shifted uncomfortably on the couch. He was obviously not used to having this kind of talk, but apparently, it was one they needed to have. “It’s kind of a legend.”
“What is?”
“True mates. It’s like the human’s idea of finding your one, true love.”
“So, dragons have like...folklore?”
Wasn’t that interesting? Humans believed in true love, and dragons believed in it, too. Dragons believed in a lot of things, apparently.
It was strange to Zoa that she’d only recently learned that shifters existed. Until she’d been captured by Kellen, the world had made perfect sense to her. She was human, and to her knowledge, everyone else around her was, too. Now she knew that there were not only people who could shapeshift, but that these creatures had their own legends and their own culture. That was kind of wonderful to her.
“Pretty much,” Christopher said. He nodded, as though that was the end of it.
“Well, what did you mean when you said I was Declan’s mate? Am I his one true love? Why do you think that?”
Zoa tried not to panic. She tried very, very hard not to panic. Panicking and worrying never helped anyone. Zoa knew that. Still, she couldn’t stop the anxious feeling that was welling up inside of her.
If she was Declan’s true love, how would they know?
Without knowing anything else about the situation or the legend, she did know that the way she felt about him was very different from the way she’d felt about other people she’d been with. Zoa had figured, to a certain extent, that it was simply her trauma manifesting itself with extreme feelings and emotions.
“Declan looks at you like you’re a special prize to be cherished,” Christopher said slowly. He was being very deliberate with his words, and Zoa appreciated that. Christopher obviously knew that what he was saying was important to her. “When he called us to him, Brian and I both knew that whatever it was he needed us for was urgent.”
“How did you know?”
“Because Declan doesn’t ask for help,” Christopher said.
“Never?”
“Never,” he reiterated. “Declan is independent. We all are. We all work together, and we need each other, yes, but Declan has always focused on doing his own thing. He likes working independently as much as possible. He’s the one who likes to go do installations, like the one he was doing at Kellen’s place.”
“He’s very kind,” Zoa found herself whispering.
“Yes,” Christopher agreed. “Declan has a good heart.”
Zoa sat back against the couch. She closed her eyes for a moment and thought about everything that Christopher had just said. Was he right? Was Declan her one, true mate? Could dragons fall in love with human mates? Or was that type of thing going to cause problems? And what if they had kids?
“Stop.”
“Excuse me?”
“I can practically feel you thinking,” Christopher said. “Stop.”
“Well, excuse me,” she snapped. Zoa was irritated. Whose business was it that she was thinking?
Seriously.
Christopher had some nerve. She knew she had a lot to learn about dragons, and honestly, Christopher wasn’t doing anything wrong. It was just that Zoa was in sort of an overwhelming situation, and Christopher complaining about her thinking too much wasn’t really helping her.
“Look, Declan likes you,” Christopher softened his tone. “He cares about you. Brian and I both think it’s very obvious that you’re the one he’s meant to be with, but it’s always hardest for the person involved to see that, isn’t it?”
He was right, Zoa thought. Most of the time, people struggled to see what was right in front of them. Whenever someone fell in love, their perception of the situati
on became skewed. It was hard. It was always easier to spot the faults or perks in someone else’s relationship than in your own.
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
“I’ve known my brother a lot of time. He’s a good dragon. He’ll figure it out.”
Zoa wondered if Christopher was right. Did she want him to be? Somehow, the idea of being Declan’s mate didn’t scare her as much as she felt like it should have. She had this idea that she should be horrified, but she wasn’t. Why wasn’t she scared? He was a huge, incredible creature, and she was just...
Well, she was just herself.
Chapter 9
Declan and Brian landed in the forest and approached Kellen’s place from the South. Declan knew they needed to time things perfectly. They had to proceed with utmost caution if they wanted to do this thing, and oh, he wanted to do this thing.
They took their time approaching, careful not to reveal themselves. Neither one of them knew what they were walking into. For all they knew, they could have been approaching a bomb. They could have been dealing with a trap or an army of shifters just lying in wait.
“Do you think he’ll be there?” Brian whispered as they walked through the forest. His voice was quiet.
“He’d better be,” Declan muttered. He wanted the honor of slaying the man who had hurt Zoa.
They were careful as they made their way from the cover of the trees and into the open area where the mansion stood. Correction: where the mansion had once stood. As soon as they exited the forest, they knew that they had gotten there too late. Declan’s heart fell as he surveyed the space in front of them. He’d messed up. They’d been too slow.
“Uh, brother?” Brian turned to Declan. Then he gestured to the empty space ahead of them. “Wasn’t there supposed to be a house of some sort here?” Yes, there was supposed to be. It had stood there just the day before.
“There was a house of some sort here,” Declan muttered, stepping forward. He stared at the empty space. Well, it wasn’t really empty, so much as it was completely filled with rubble and boards and trash. It looked like someone had taken a long, flat surface and just pushed down until the entire mansion had squished into the ground.
The house was gone.
The roof was gone, the garages were gone, and the porch was gone. The outbuildings were gone. The grass, the flowers, and the gardens were gone, too. The earth was destroyed. All that remained was a hefty pile of rubble and broken dreams.
“Looks like someone blew it up,” Brian pointed out.
“Looks like someone blew it up,” Declan agreed.
There wasn’t much of a point in exploring the space at all. They wouldn’t get any clues from walking around the broken beams of wood or the sad remains of what should have been there. Declan knew he wasn’t crazy. A day ago, there had been a wonderful house here. It had been gorgeous, and despite the fact that it provided shelter to a villain, the house didn’t deserve to be blown up.
He might have been in security and tech, but Declan had a soft spot in his heart for good architecture. The house Kellen hid away in had definitely been filled with good architecture. The paintings had been lovely, as had the tapestries and even the carpets. Had Kellen saved anything from his home? Or had he just blown it up and run off in a desperate attempt to escape?
“We should get out of here,” Brian said.
“Yeah,” Declan nodded. He wasn’t sure exactly what had transpired after he’d left, but Kellen had obviously gotten wind of the fact that someone had taken Zoa, and he’d gone out of his way to cover his tracks.
It really wouldn’t be difficult to deduce that Declan was the one who had shuttled Zoa to safety. He was likely the only stranger on the estate before it had been blown up. Even if Kellen hadn’t seen Declan and Zoa together, the calculations were simple. Kellen might be a jackass, but he also wasn’t an idiot. He’d gotten where he was in life by being shrewd and conniving.
“Declan,” Brian suddenly said. He was standing close to some damaged planks. “Declan, come here.”
The tone of his brother’s voice was unnerving. Declan knew that whatever his brother was going to show him wouldn’t be pleasant. It would be grim, horrible. Still, Declan couldn’t stop himself from walking over to where Brian stood staring down at the remains of the home.
There was a hand. It was still attached to an arm, which stretched out from beneath a wooden beam. Declan didn’t need to get any closer to know that the owner of the hand was dead. They’d perished in the explosion, and Kellen hadn’t cared. The asshole who owned the mansion had not only destroyed the house, but everyone inside of it, too.
Declan shouldn’t have expected anything less.
“He killed someone,” Brian pointed out.
“His staff,” Declan muttered, pissed. “He didn’t leave them alive.”
Somehow, that was sickening to Declan. He didn’t blame himself, although he probably should have. It was very likely that the people who worked for Kellen were just as trapped as Zoa had been.
Maybe he should have tried to save them.
Maybe he should have fought harder to get everyone out and not just the woman of his dreams.
The fact that Declan’s gesture of rescuing Zoa had resulted in their deaths wasn’t his fault, but he suddenly felt disgusted and anxious as he looked at the remnants. Declan thought he might be sick. If he hadn’t rescued Zoa, Kellen might still have killed everyone. He wasn’t exactly a stable person. Declan would never know, though. Maybe losing Zoa had pushed him over the edge.
“We should go,” Declan finally said. He couldn’t stand there and beat himself up. Correction: he absolutely could. He just knew that he shouldn’t. If Kellen had already cleared out of the mansion, then he was probably already on his way to Zoa. There was no doubt in Declan’s mind that Kellen was going to be hunting her. Declan had assumed they had more time, but he was wrong.
“You think he knows,” Brian looked at him carefully.
“I think he knows.”
“How? Our offices are carefully guarded.”
“It wouldn’t take much to get someone to tell him I live off by myself,” Declan said through gritted teeth.
It wasn’t a secret around the office that Declan was a bit of a recluse. In some ways, that was a good thing. It meant that people would leave him alone. In moments like this, however, it was horrible. Everyone knew that Declan lived off in the woods by himself, and if everyone knew it, then maybe someone would tell Kellen.
Kellen knew exactly where Declan’s place of work was, after all. He’d hired Declan to do an installation. He understood that the security firm Declan was a part of was a big deal. He knew where the offices were, and he had already proven to be both cunning and persuasive. In Declan’s mind, that was a deadly combination.
“You might be right,” Brian sighed, shaking his head. “Christopher is strong, though. He won’t let anything happen.”
“She’s not his responsibility,” Declan balled his hands into fists.
“And she’s yours?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s my-”
What?
What was she?
Could he say it? Could he admit this to himself? He knew that his brother was egging him on. Brian knew perfectly well what he was doing. He wanted Declan to admit that Zoa was his mate. Was Declan ready for that?
“She’s your what?” Brian asked. He actually had the balls to look amused, and that just pissed Declan off even more.
“Shut up,” Declan said. Then he shifted into his dragon form and leapt into the air. He didn’t bother backtracking through the forest. If Kellen had left spies or cameras to alert him to any visitors, then they’d already been spotted. Being sneaky would do nothing but waste time now.
So, he flew. He soared above the trees, and he pushed himself higher into the sky. Declan was pissed. How could he have been so ignorant? Somehow, he’d actually thought that simply flying out to Kell
en’s hideaway would be enough. He’d really expected that showing up would be it. He had imagined that he would walk into the mansion, shift his hand into a giant dragon leg with sharp talons attached, and slice Kellen’s head off.
That was how he’d imagined it going.
The actual execution of Declan’s plan was less than stellar. It had been disappointing, to say the least. Then there was the fact that Kellen hadn’t even been there. Declan glared as he flew. No, he couldn’t speak out loud in his dragon form, but if he could have, he would have screamed. He heard the sound of wings flapping and looked over to see his brother beside him.
Although Declan, Brian, and Christopher were not identical triplets, they were identical dragons. It was a phenomenon that had both delighted and bothered all of them. As children, they had craved uniqueness and individuality. As adults, they were more pleased to have something that bound them together.
When they neared the treehouse, Declan slowed. He forced himself to scan the trees for any sign of strange behavior from the wildlife there. He looked for any sort of disturbance that might indicate someone was hiding in the darkness or that they had bothered the animals who lived in the woods.
Were the tree branches bent?
Were they damaged?
Were any of the wolves or squirrels or rabbits agitated?
If someone had sneaked into the forest, he wanted to know. He was surprised to discover that nothing had happened, though. Everything looked the same as he flew over the tops of the trees. As he neared the treehouse and slowed, he was caught off-guard by how it all looked exactly the same.
Nothing had been around the treehouse since they’d left, and Christopher and Zoa hadn’t wandered outside.
“They’re still here,” Brian said, shifting back.
Declan shifted, too, and nodded.
“I checked the trees,” he said.
“Me too,” Brian agreed. “Everything looked normal, except for-”
But Declan didn’t stick around to hear what Brian had to say. He was too anxious, all of a sudden. Instead of listening, Declan went barreling up the stairs to the trapdoor. He heard Christopher and Zoa laughing, but they both stopped when he entered, popping up through the entrance. He was back. Finally, he was back.