Submerge (Apalala Clan Book 3)

by Dzintra Sullivan

  Ladon looked at Jo and saw that they had both finished before swimming closer to the girls. Doug’s face was a mixture of shock and awe, and he didn’t know if she would use the safe word or not yet.

  “Can you hear me?” Doug said as Ladon reached her, and he nodded. Sound traveled in water easily, and dragons had exceptional hearing. She raised her hand to his face, pausing for a second before placing her palm on his cheek, sighing silently as she felt the cool scales that covered his skin. “You’re incredibly beautiful,” she murmured.

  Ladon’s heart soared as his eyes dropped.

  “Drop those eyes, and I’ll kick your shin.” Placing her hand under his jaw that was more like a muzzle, she lifted his face to look at her. “Never drop those eyes again. You are the single most divine creature I’ve ever seen.”

  Jo swam up beside his brother, wiggling his head for attention. Doug looked at him and gasped in awe. “Wow! Amazing. You’re as black as a moonless night. I can’t get over how sublime and unique you both are. You are… dragons. Real dragons. Right here with me.”

  “I have seen them in dragon form, but seeing that change, wow… does it hurt?” She grimaced. “It looked like it hurt.”

  Both dragons shook their head from side to side. Ladon extended his dragon hand to Doug, and she immediately placed her hand in his. Watching the scaled talons close around hers, she was in awe.

  “Let’s go,” she said, and with a beat of their tails, Jo and Ladon had them flying through the water at a speed which caught them by surprise. Doug watched with wide-eyed wonder at the sea life they passed. Ladon dove, twisted, and turned through underground rocks and sunken boats.

  Doug looked at Ladon, a magnificent beast, gliding effortlessly through the water, and at that moment in time, she knew without a single doubt in her mind she was, and never would be, a hunter of dragons.

  Elyse sat on the rock’s edge with a towel wrapped around her shoulders. Kylee and Jo had left over an hour ago, yet she still sat there.

  “I didn’t scare you?” Ladon asked tentatively. He had wanted to ask straight away but was scared himself about her answer. She had been quiet since they returned.

  “Huh?” Doug looked at Ladon. “Sorry, was lost in thought. No, not at all.”

  “Not at all?”

  “Maybe a little at the start, but you asked me to trust you.” She smiled softly as she placed her hand on the back of his. She gave it a light squeeze before returning the hand to her lap. “So I did, and what you showed me was nothing short of phenomenal. I just don’t understand…” her voice drifted off.

  “Don’t understand what?” he asked.

  “Understand why on earth someone would ever want to hunt such magical creatures.” Doug shook her head, wiping a tear with the back of her hand as it rolled down her cheek. “I just don’t understand why my mother would… how she could…” She looked at Ladon, her eyes glistening with unshed tears at the travesties her parents must have committed.

  Ladon didn’t dare offer to hug her. His arms ached to wrap this small woman, his destined woman, holding her tight against him and not let anything or anyone ever cause her eyes to fill with tears again. However, he had made a promise not to complicate things for her until she asked differently.

  “Lots of good people make bad choices.”

  “I don’t know what this all means, Ladon.” She pulled back her hair to show him behind her ear. “See that? That’s a dragon hunter symbol.” She sat back. “That’s a symbol that means I am destined to take the lives of your people… your people.” She suddenly twisted and pulled back the hair from her other ear. “Look at that? Just when I thought it couldn’t get more complicated, that’s both the phoenix and bear hunter symbol.” Sitting back straight again, her face was creased with a building panic. “Why three? Why me? Ladon, I don’t want to kill anything.”

  “And you won’t,” he said calmly. “Let’s go see Wyvern. He might have some answers.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Ladon walked Doug into Wyvern’s room. She was still wrapped in a towel and barely holding back the tears.

  “What did you do, Ladon?” Wyvern jumped from his seat, grabbed the blanket from his sofa, replacing the wet towel with the thick warm blanket. “Did he hurt you?”

  “No, he’s a perfect gentleman,” Doug whispered. “I want to ask a question, and he thought you might have the answer.

  “Oh… okay… sure, hit me with it.” Wyvern motioned for them to sit, which they did as he took his chair at the computer wall.

  She took a deep breath and pulled her hair back off her face again, turning side to side so he could see the three separate markings. Wyvern couldn’t resist getting up and looking closer. “Can I take a photo?” She nodded, so he grabbed his phone and took pictures.

  Sitting back at the computer, he waited for the images to download. Within a few seconds, her symbols were all up on the computer screens surrounding him.

  “Why do I have three?” she asked quietly.

  Ladon’s hands fidgeted as he struggled not to touch her. Her pain was his pain. Every emotion running through her body right now was running through his, and he was a mess.

  “Funny you should ask that.” They all turned around to Volos standing at the door. “Wyvern and I have done some digging regarding it.”

  Wyvern nodded. “It’s fascinating because you seem to be the only hunter ever to have been given more than one species. There are no records anywhere of hunters with multiple marks.”

  “There are hunter records?”

  “There are records for everything if you know where to look.” Wyvern grinned with a wink. “You’re completely unique, which is what makes you so special… and dangerous.”

  “Dangerous? She isn’t dangerous,” Ladon suddenly said, aggression rippling over his words.

  “Ladon, the unknown is dangerous, and Doug has a pretty major unknown quantity right now. While I don’t believe she would intentionally hurt us…” Wyvern let his words drift off with the rest of the sentence.

  “I wouldn’t hurt any of you,” she whispered.

  “I know you wouldn’t, intentionally,” V said with a kind tone she hadn’t heard before. “However, I must keep the safety of the entire clan in focus.”

  “I’ll go.” Doug got up suddenly feeling like her soul was made of cement. “You’ve been incredibly kind to let me come here and spend some time finding out about the dragons. I am very grateful and understand about the safety.”

  “You can’t just kick her out?” Ladon said. “She isn’t dangerous, she poses no threat… she is my…” he stopped just short of saying mate and chose the word, “… friend.”

  “Ladon?” Doug placed her hand on his chest, and she smiled warmly at him. “He isn’t kicking me out, I am leaving. I came to accomplish something, and I have. Now it’s my time to go back to my home. I have more things than just this to sort out.”

  “I’m glad you understand, Doug.” V smiled for the first time since her arrival.

  “You should smile more, Volos, it suits you.”

  “I’ll remember that.”

  “Can I walk you home?” Ladon asked, and she nodded. “I don’t feel like you should be left alone with all this confusion. Maybe Kylee—”

  “I have a sofa if you want it?” she said to him.

  “Me?” Ladon’s head flipped around to her with the speed of a cracked whip.

  She shrugged with a soft smile. “It’s not the best sofa, but it’s okay.”

  Ladon looked at V, who nodded his approval. Looking back at Doug, he grinned and said, “Give me five to pack a bag?”

  When Ladon had gone, V spoke to directly to her, “Elyse, you have been told about the goddess and her gifts, yes?” Elyse nodded. “Please be gentle with his heart, okay?”

  “Of course, there is one more thing if I can ask you both to look into it for me?”

  “Yes?” V said. “Anything.”

  Elyse gave them a quick overview of how s
he was shot and didn’t retain even a scratch. She wanted them to look into what could cause that, and did it have any connection to the accident with her parents.

  “We will look into it. Thank you for trusting us with your secrets.” V nodded.

  Ladon appeared at the door, a bag hitched over his shoulder and a goofy grin on his face. “I haven’t had a sleepover in years. Better stop for popcorn on the way back to your place, I have my laptop, and I feel a Warcraft battle coming on.”

  “I’m happy to kick your butt again, Ladon.” Doug smiled as she looked back at V and Wyvern. “See you next time.” They nodded, and she left with Ladon.

  When they were sure the two had traveled out of listening distance, Wyvern looked at V. “Shot?”

  Volos looked at Wyvern and frowned. “She isn’t a hunter.”

  “But…?”

  “I don’t care who her parents were, she isn’t a hunter.”

  “Then what?”

  “No idea.” His head shook slowly. “But let’s find out before someone gets killed, okay?”

  Kylee had just left the office where she and Payton worked for the local university. Stopping at her favorite café, ordering a latte no sugar, she took a seat outside to make the most of the afternoon breeze that had picked up to blow away the stresses of her day.

  A few minutes after her mug was delivered, a man sat opposite her. Lowering the mug to the table, she raised her eyes, ready to rip this stranger apart for having the audacity to sit uninvited at her table. Her mouth opened but refused to cooperate with her brain as she recognized the stranger from a couple of days before.

  “Um…” Her brow creased. “Hi?”

  A simple nod of his head was his return conversation starter. The officer wasn’t in his uniform. Quite the opposite, in fact. He had on a pair of faded blue jeans and a simple black T-shirt. His hair was spiked, and he looked like any guy walking down the street who loved the gym because this guy was huge.

  “Can I help you?” Kylee asked with a tilt of her head.

  “Not sure yet,” he replied in the deepest voice she’d ever heard.

  Kylee sighed sharply. “Well, if you don’t mind, you’re obviously not on duty. I just got off work, and I’m not really looking for company right now, especially the type of company that left his handcuffs at home.”

  “Who says?”

  Kylee raised an eyebrow in mild interest before lowering it again. This was one can of worms right now she didn’t have time to open. “You’re not leaving…” she hinted.

  “What do you know about large birds in this area?”

  Kylee paused mid-mouthful, her eyes lifting to look into his. They were a blank gray color, the intensity in which he was watching her body language for a response made her feel uneasy. She swallowed hard on her mouthful of coffee, the lump uncomfortably traveling down her throat before she could speak. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” It was one thing to have the freedom to speak with Doug from V, but this situation right here with a police officer? Very, very different. That would actually risk her life with the clan.

  “Funny…” He waved at a waitress who came over. She looked at his chiseled jawline, the dark shadow of a perfectly trimmed beard, following the contours like a work of art. Kylee rolled her eyes as she could almost see the girl’s hormones soar as he stared at her. “Short black, no sugar, please,” he stated, and she flittered off on a cloud of sudden lust-fueled fantasies.

  “Do you always have that effect?”

  “Affect?”

  “Oh, come on… you can’t be that blind,” Kylee asked as she leaned back in her chair. He obviously wasn’t going anywhere, so she might as well have some fun with him. His eyes looked blankly at her causing her eyes to roll again. “Men are so dumb sometimes. That girl would have had your babies instantly, should you have given her a chance.”

  “Which girl?” His eyebrows dropped.

  “The waitress. Oh Lord, please tell me your married because if this is the style you rely on to get laid, your swimmers must be nothing but dust by now,” Kylee teased loudly.

  “You don’t think before you speak, do you?”

  “Quite the contrary. Actually, I think a lot. I just would rather be known for honesty than sugarcoating things. I am not a fucking bakery.”

  He sized her up as he sat in silence. The waitress came back and placed his coffee in front of him, took his money, and vanished without a single spoken word. “And yet, you say you know nothing about the large bird population around here.”

  “What about me makes you think I have any interest whatsoever in ornithology?” She grinned. If this guy thought she was your average female, he had another thing coming. She was highly educated with a masters in kickassery.

  He took a deep breath, sipping on his coffee. She could see him trying to form his next question about the birds. Kylee knew back in the station he picked up more than he was letting on. There was something about him that made her question his intentions. She hoped this was purely because he was an officer of the law, and by nature, she trusted few who wore badges. However, with him sitting there questioning her repeatedly about large birds, her suspicions of more were becoming more likely by the minute. “You just look like someone who has seen a few of the bigger species.”

  She snorted as she tipped her mug and swallowed the last of her coffee. Getting up, she flashed him the politest don’t-fuck-with-me smile. “Always a pleasure, Darlington.” She used his name informally to let him know not only did she remember him but didn’t care for his title. “Alas, I must be off. Please don’t follow me.”

  Kylee walked off without a second thought. She knew Doug was at work which meant Ladon should be within her zone. V had asked her to stop in and ask Ladon to report back to him. Kylee was going to security stand-in until he returned. As she was walking the pathway, she heard some steps behind her, reaching into her bag instinctively she heard him say suddenly,

  “If you mace me, there’s going to be trouble.”

  “Darlington?” Kylee turned with a look of shock on her face. “Firstly, mace? Don’t flatter yourself. I don’t need anything to lay you on your ass. Secondly, what the actual fuck? Did I ask you specifically not to follow me?”

  “Can’t help it if I just happen to be walking the same way you are, can I?”

  Kylee watched him for the smallest hint of a smile, anything to indicate he had any sense of humor at all in that massive, muscle-bound body of his. “What is it you want, Darlington?” Again, she used his name informally.

  He took a step closer to her, puffing up his chest as he did. Kylee was a reasonably tall woman at five feet ten inches, yet this man towered over her both in height and width. It would be completely understandable to be incredibly intimidated by this man, for anyone else except Kylee. She took a step closer to him. Her face a few inches from his chest, she kept her shoulders squared and looked up at him.

  “You’re not scared of me, are you?” He looked down at her, his voice low and gravelly.

  “Why should I be? Because you’re big? I’ve seen bigger. Because you’re intimidating? I’ve seen worse. Because you’re panty-wettin’ hot? Meh, I’ve seen hotter.” She shrugged with the last comment watching him flinch slightly. Overtly handsome men always flinched when you called them out on their need to be viewed as a hot commodity.

  “Tell me what you know,” he commanded.

  “What I know about birds?” Kylee thought for a second, completely immune to the posturing that this off-duty badge wearer was doing. “The majestic sea eagle I do believe is making a comeback. After being thought as instinct, the species is successfully being reintroduced and could be considered one of the UK’s biggest bird varieties with a wingspan of over eight feet.”

  “Enough,” he growled. “I have this feeling in my gut that you know exactly what I’m referring to, and my gut is never wrong.”

  “Could be a stomach tumor? Or simply a bad fish dish?” she offered.


  Leaning down further, his ear right beside hers, the heat of his breath prickled against her neck as he whispered for only her ears to hear, “I will only tolerate your disrespect so far, then this game will stop. I will bet my badge you know what I’m referring to, and this comes with a warning. If push comes to shove, you will lose more than your keys.” He moved back, his face an inch away from hers. To any passersby, they would look like they were about to kiss—not him threatening her life. “My people aren’t playing around anymore.”

  Her head tilted sharply to the side. “Your people?”

  The sharp intake of his breath showed he hadn’t meant to reveal that snippet of information. The regret of her having picked it up made his eye twitch. “Next time we talk, I hope you will have had a change of heart and be more revealing about your knowledge. It might just save your life.”

  “Revealing?” Kylee’s go-to was always humor in a high-pressure situation. “You just want to see my panties, don’t you?”

  “Till next time.”

  “Till then, Darlington.” Kylee wiggled her fingers as she spun and walked off. The confidence in her steps was as fake as her eyelash extensions.

  Ten minutes later, she walked into Doug’s bar and straight up to Ladon, who was sitting on the end stool babysitting a beer.

  “Hey, Kyl—” he stopped as he saw her face. “What’s happened?”