by Bethany Shaw
He yanked the door shut and reset the lock before going back out into the garage. Grace’s sweet, vanilla and cinnamon scent still wafted in the air. His cock hardened, straining against his jeans. He’d had the random woman over the years to sate his needs, but he hadn’t craved a woman since Alannah.
Guilt charged through him. It had been many centuries since his wife’s death, but it didn’t stop the shame he felt for looking at another woman.
He shook his head and smashed his palm over the button to close the garage. Forget working on the car for the night. He needed to clear his head.
Daire slipped under the door, careful not to trip the sensors as he exited. He looked around the back alley. No one was in sight. Closing his eyes, he called upon his dragon.
His arm tingled where the beast rested. Heat swept over him as his bones snapped and popped. They realigned, lengthening with him as he took on his new form. When he opened his eyes, the alley looked different—sharper, clearer.
He stretched his wings, flapping them up and down a few times before soaring into the sky so fast that no one would be able to see the giant black dragon joining the darkening night clouds.
Chapter Two
Daire soared through the sky, his eyes surveying the ground below for signs of movement. The lycanthrope hid somewhere in the woods by the lake. Their stench was all over the entire town, but strongest in the trees. He just had to figure out where they were before the full moon came and they could shift into wolves. If they could change, they’d draw out the humans and infect them with their venom. A bite from a lycanthrope did one of two things: changed the human into a lycanthrope or poisoned them, sending the victim into an early grave.
Movement from the water caught his attention. There was only one thing that could move fast enough to ripple the water that way. He tucked his wings in and dove to the shore, landing in the sand. His talons sank into the gritty ground. He closed his eyes and called the dragon back, changing into his human form. He went to the dock and lifted a board, pulling out the metal box he kept hidden there. Since he couldn’t land in the apartment parking lot without causing a scene, he kept a few pairs of clothes stored on the shore just out of sight. Daire dressed before grabbing another pair and waiting at the water’s edge.
Ethney popped her head up from the water before shooting up to walk across the water. The mermaid sauntered toward him. Water dripped from her mahogany-colored hair and rolled down her tanned flesh. The instant she stepped onto dry land, the water evaporated.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, handing her the clothes.
She took them and slipped the shirt on first before shoving the pants back at him. They probably wouldn’t have fit her slim waist anyway. “Astraea thought you could use some help. The situation here is worse than we feared. She might send Aric, too. What have you found out?”
“They appear to be in these woods, though I haven’t found them yet. I’ve taken residence at the Lakeview Apartments. They’re about half a mile that way.” He pointed in their general direction. “I’ve acquired a job and have been listening, but no other leads.”
“Well, if it’s anything like Port Townsend they’ll stay underground until the full moon.”
“I heard about that. I’m sorry.” Thirty-six humans had lost their lives when the lycanthrope had changed on the full moon and tore through the tiny town.
Ethney hugged herself as she looked away. “Yeah, well, we’re going to get them this time. I’m not going to let them harm anyone else.”
“Come on; you can stay with me. I’ll show you the information I’ve gathered so far.” He motioned for her to follow him while he led the way through the woods. “Were you able to get any ID’s on them in Washington?”
“A few. They turned some people, too. My guess is there are fifty of them in the group now, assuming they all stayed together,” Ethney said as she joined him. “Do you have a computer? I have all the information I’ve gathered saved to my cloud account.”
“Yeah. Fifty?” They might need more than just Aric for that many lycanthrope. He’d thought it unusual to have an assignment so close to the water with him being in the air, but if it was this bad, they would need all the help they could get. The three of them were strong and nearly invincible, but the humans around them weren’t. One bite and the human would either perish or be cursed.
“Unfortunately, I should have asked for backup. Those people...it’s on my head.”
“We all make mistakes, Ethney. It’s not your fault. You did the best you could.”
She sighed. “You ever feel like your heart isn’t in it anymore? That you just want to be done? I knew we were signing up for eternity, but I never knew it’d be this long.”
He understood what she meant. He’d served as a guardian for centuries now. Time was endless.
Daire glanced up at the sky, wondering if the goddess that had created them was looking down on them at this moment. She only showed her face when she needed to hand out orders. All he saw were the stars. If he stared hard enough, he could find his constellation, Aquarius, shimmering in the darkness. February was the month of his birth, and thanks to the goddess Astraea who controlled the zodiac and stars and his connection to the air sign, he could take the form of a dragon. Like the zodiac, there were twelve guardians—each with the ability to take control of an animal based on their sign. He’d chosen a dragon.
His mind drifted to Ethney’s question. “Sometimes, but then I remember why I signed up for this. Astraea kept her word. I’ll keep mine.”
“For how long? You’ve been a guardian longer than anyone.”
It was true. Daire was the first guardian Astraea had made to aid in her battle against the lycanthrope. He’d made one request in exchange for his servitude, and the goddess had honored it. No matter how many centuries ago that was, he wouldn’t forget his promise, or what the goddess had done for him.
“As long as I need to. No one should ever know the agony of holding their child and wife’s bodies in their arms.” After all these years, he would never forget that moment, the way his heart had torn in utter agony, or the way their broken bodies had fallen on the ground, bloodied and disfigured.
Ethney opened her mouth to say something, but only shook her head. She stuck her arm out to stop him. He paused, sniffing. A faint coppery scent permeated the air. Blood.
He met Ethney’s gaze. She gestured with her hands. He nodded, taking a few steps away from her, creeping to his right while she went the other direction.
Footfalls pounded against the ground. Someone gasped as they sprinted toward him.
Daire ducked down, hiding behind a thick tree trunk, letting his prey draw nearer. He peeked around. A man stumbled over the dead leaves that blanketed the ground, heading directly for Daire.
Daire drew in a breath. Lycanthrope. This one wasn’t too smart. Surely, the beast could smell him by now. It seemed undeterred as it continued toward him. He waited until the man was close enough for him to tackle.
Daire launched himself at the runner and dragged him to the ground, pinning him beneath his weight and shoving his forearm against the lycanthrope’s throat.
“Please! Please! You have to help me. Don’t let them take me back.” The man writhed, thrashing back and forth.
A twig snapped a few hundred yards away. Daire whirled around while keeping his grip. Someone darted away from him, leaping over a log like only an animal could. Ethney sprinted after him. Her speed was in the water, not on the land. She’d never catch the beast, and he didn’t want to let the one beneath him go. His team needed answers. This dumb lycanthrope was going to give them to him whether he wanted to or not.
“How many of you are there?” he asked.
The man shook his head. “I...I don’t know. Please don’t let them take me back. I can’t go back there. Please.” He trembled as he began to cry.
Daire crinkled his nose, sniffing. The man had gone and soiled himself. He ground his teeth and
took another whiff of him. The guy was a newly turned lycanthrope, judging by his scent, minus the piss. He hadn’t even completed a change yet. His eyes scanned over him. He wasn’t a man, but more a boy, probably not even eighteen. Shit. The kid had been turned at the last full moon. It was true that not all lycanthrope went crazy with the thirst to infect, but those were few and far between. This kid’s fear was real enough for Daire to ease his arm off his throat.
Footsteps padded toward him again. “It’s me,” Ethney called before he could see her. “Bastards got away. What’s the deal with him?”
“Looks like he was running from them. Let’s get him back to my place, clean him up and we’ll see what he knows.”
“He’s been bitten. We should end him now.”
“Please, no,” the kid said. Tears rolled down his dirt-smeared face in large rivulets. “I don’t want to die. Please.”
Daire got off him and brushed himself off. Great. Now he smelled like piss, too. “Get up. No one’s killing anyone.” Yet, he finished in his head. The night was still young.
The boy looked between the two of them for a moment before struggling to his feet. Long, jagged cuts ran along his wrists, probably from restraints. Blood beaded at the surface of them. He grunted as he stood, swaying and stumbling before catching himself on a tree trunk. The kid groaned and mumbled a few expletives.
“Hello, is someone out there?” a female voice called.
Daire froze at the familiar voice. It was Grace. Her sultry voice had been ingrained in his head since their meeting earlier this evening. What was she doing? He turned toward the sound. The dumpsters to the apartments were on the other side of the pine trees. Lycanthrope had been so close to all these people. Damn. He needed to find them before someone got hurt.
The kid groaned again and began coughing.
“Is someone there? Are you hurt?” Grace asked again, sounding like she was getting closer.
If she found them, she would have questions—questions he couldn’t answer. There weren’t many rules, but keeping their presence a secret from the humans was one of them.
“Shut up,” Ethney hissed, smacking the kid on the arm.
“Get him to my apartment. 22A. It’s unlocked.” Daire didn’t wait for Ethney to say anything before squeezing his way through the pine needles and out by the dumpster. “Hey. Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” A grin slipped over his face as he came face to face with her. “Hi, Grace.” He stopped a few feet away from her, hoping she wouldn’t smell the piss on his sweats. Human noses weren’t as sensitive, thank goodness.
Grace took a step back. Her mouth popped open. “Oh. Hi. I didn’t think we’d run into each other again.” Her eyes fell to his feet, which were bare.
He shifted on the blacktop, aware of her staring. It was January. There wasn’t snow on the ground, but it was chilly enough for the ground to have a thin layer of frost. If he weren’t a dragon shifter with the ability to control his body temperature, he’d probably be suffering from frostbite.
“Where are your shoes?” she asked with a frown. “Is everything okay? I thought I heard something in the trees.”
“Oh...uh...yeah.” He pointed over his shoulder. “My cat ran out when my roommate came home. I didn’t want her to freeze with the wind chill tonight, but I think I only scared her more.” It was a lame excuse, but he hoped it was believable.
“Oh.” She pushed her glasses back up on her nose. “I’m sorry. I hope you find her.”
“Me too. Crazy cat.”
She smiled. “Yeah. So, I’ll see you later then.”
She turned to leave. Daire should have let her walk away, but he couldn’t. There was something about her that made him want to keep talking to her.
“How’d your car run on the way home?”
Grace turned back to him. “Great. Thanks.”
He jogged to catch up with her, telling himself that he wanted to make sure she got back to her apartment without incident and so Ethney would have time to drag their new friend into his, but that wasn’t the case. It was true that he was fairly social, but this was more than just a chat. He wanted to know more about her. This stunning woman was bewitching him.
“If you have any other problems, let me know. I’d be happy to help. I’m down in 22A.” He pointed in the direction of his apartment.
“Really? I think you’re just below me then. I’m in 22B. I’m surprised we haven’t run into each other before now.”
He nodded. If he didn’t keep such weird hours, they might have.
“I didn’t catch your name,” she said as they came to a stop at the stairs that led up to her apartment.
“Daire.” He stuck his hand out to her.
“Daire? That’s a cool name,” she replied while slipping her cool, soft hand into his.
Part of him wanted to pull her closer to feel more of her, but that was dangerous. He was working, and Grace Tyler was one of the people he needed to protect. But what better way to protect her than to immerse himself in her life? No. He couldn’t let the job get personal. Once the lycanthrope problem had been taken care of, he’d be on his way to a new city. It wouldn’t be fair to Grace to start something he couldn’t finish.
“So, is that a family name?” Grace asked, drawing him from his thoughts.
“It was my grandfather’s.” A long time ago in another life. The name had been common when he was born.
“Cool. I’m named after my grandmother. I used to hate how old-fashioned -Grace sounded, but now, I don’t know, I like it a lot more now that I’m an adult,” she said. “Anyway, I’m probably keeping you from finding your cat.” She wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her palms up and down her arms.
His eyes followed her movements. She wasn’t wearing a jacket either, only a thin, worn University of Michigan sweater. She must be freezing.
“I’m hoping if I give her a minute she’ll come back out this way on her own.”
“I hope so.” She took a step up. “I guess I’ll see you around.” She gave him a goofy smile and wave before taking the steps two at a time.
His eyes followed her movements until she was safely inside her apartment. He turned back to the parking lot. Ethney was dragging the poor kid by his arm.
“She seems nice,” she said as she passed by him.
He went ahead of her and opened the door for her to escort the kid in.
“And cute,” she added.
“What did you find out from our new friend?” he asked, ignoring her as he shut the door.
“His name is Kevin. The kid claims to be sixteen. He’s one of the missing from the Port Townsend attack. He claims they’ve been holding him against his will and he escaped the first chance he got,” Ethney said with a roll of her eyes.
“You don’t believe him?” Daire asked.
Ethney shoved the kid toward the bathroom. “He might not be nuts yet, but once the full moon comes, I bet you five bucks he goes crazy.”
“I’m going to turn into one of those...things, aren’t I?” Kevin asked. His bottom lip trembled.
“Yep!” Ethney said, popping the p.
“You have to help me. Please.” Kevin looked at them, his eyes wide. He reached out and grabbed Daire’s arm. “Please don’t let them take me again. I don’t want to be a monster.”
“Before we do anything, let’s get you cleaned up.” Daire pointed down the hall. “Last door on your left. I’ll set a pair of clothes in there. Now that they were inside, the putrid smell of piss was even worse. He needed a shower and a change, too.
Kevin didn’t need to be told twice. He hurried down the hall and disappeared into the tiny bathroom.
“He might be sane now, but I don’t think he’ll stay that way. The change...It makes them lose their mind,” Ethney said, with a shake of her head.
“I know.” It was a shame, too. Kevin seemed like an okay kid. What happened to him wasn’t his fault. “That doesn’t mean we can’t get information out of him, though.”
“Agreed.”
Daire grabbed a pair of sweats and a tee from the drawer in his room. “These are for him. I’m going to get cleaned up. Keep an eye on him.”
Ethney took the clothes and walked down the hall. Daire went to his en suite bathroom and stripped before turning on the hot water. He should be thinking about all the questions to ask the kid, but instead, his mind kept drifting to the woman whose apartment was right above his.
Grace Tyler was a distraction. For the first time in centuries, his mind refused to focus on the job. While he couldn’t die, the humans that lived here could. Protecting them was his job, and he refused to fail.
Chapter Three
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come over and help, Mom?” Grace asked as she maneuvered her car down the drive leading to her apartment. She turned the knob on the defrost to bump it up again to keep the fog from completely inhibiting her view.
“It’s Friday night. I’m sure you have plans, sweetheart,” her mom protested.
“I guess if you call Netflix and pizza plans.”
“Oh, sweetheart. You’re young. Go out and enjoy yourself. I’ll figure out how to enter the information online myself,” her mom said.
“It’s really no trouble for me to come over,” she said.
“Nope. I got it figured out already on my own. Why aren’t you going out with any of your girlfriends?” her mom asked, changing the subject.
Grace licked her lips as her heart squeezed in her chest. If there was one thing her divorce and hardship had taught her, it was who her real friends were. The bad news was that she had none. Every single one of her friends pretended she didn’t exist now that she couldn't make it to mommy play dates, or put Caden in sports, or drive around a car that was less than ten years old. She didn’t tell her mom that. “I guess I could ask. But most of them are still happily married.” And not up to their eyeballs in debt. Getting divorced was not for the poor. She could’ve bought herself a decent new car for as much as that cost.
“You do that, sweetie. You’re thirty-two and should be out there enjoying life.”