Submerge (Apalala Clan Book 3)

by Dzintra Sullivan

  “Why the fuck are you being all smarmy?” Kylee asked with a creased brow. “Am I dying and no one’s told me?”

  Darlington scoffed from the back wall as Kylee called the dragon on his bullshit.

  Jo threw a dagger-fueled glance at the bear before returning to Kylee. “You’re not dying. I’m just being nice.”

  “Don’t. It looks like shit on you.” Kylee forced a grin past her pain.

  “Whatever,” Jo teased her with a dramatic frump of his hands. “Doug, I have instructions to bring you back with me.”

  “From?” Elyse asked, then rolled her eyes. “Ladon, right?”

  “No. V actually, but I’m sure Ladon would prefer it, too.”

  “Fine. But only because I have things I need to talk to him about as well. I’m no puppy dog to summon,” Elyse grumbled.

  “We know that.” Jo laughed. “We all know that.”

  Elyse looked at Kylee. “Back soon. I’ll bring cake and coffee next time.”

  Kylee nodded. “Stay safe, okay?” She grimaced as she moved on the bed.

  “Always.” Elyse left with Jo.

  Kylee looked over to Darlington, who pushed off the wall and walked to her bedside. “You have to go, too, right?”

  “I do.” He nodded. But, in my defense, I have been here for a few hours. I was, um… kinda… watching you sleep in a totally non-creepy way, of course.”

  “Yeah, not creepy at all.” Kylee chortled then grimaced.

  “Stop laughing. I don’t like… seeing you hurting.”

  “Stop watching me sleep, creepo,” she teased him as she waved her unbroken hand in the air for him to come around to. He followed as she took his hand in hers. Looking deeply into his eyes, she said with an open and naked soul, “Thank you for saving me.”

  “It wasn’t my pleasure to see you that way, but saving you was something I would do every time.” Darlington’s tone was softer than she had heard it before, and it made her smile warmly.

  “Go,” she said. “Go get him. I know you’re itching to.”

  “I am, but there may be a problem.”

  “That is?”

  “Did you know… um… that man isn’t a…”

  Kylee picked up what he meant. “Jo is a dragon. Yes, I know. Like you’re a bear, and I’m a normal, boring human.” Kylee sighed.

  “You couldn’t be more wrong about yourself, but I’ll discuss that another time,” he growled at her disrespecting herself. “Jo may have… um… poked the bear.”

  “You changed? In here?”

  Darlington shook his head. “No, well… not fully. Both our beasts surfaced a little as we argued. I guess like recognized like.”

  “If Jo knows, they will all know shortly.”

  “All?”

  “His brothers… Ladon, Vern, Tor, and the clan leader, Volos. They will be all going after Doug’s cousin now. I hope you play nice with others.”

  “Bears are solo hunters,” Darlington replied.

  “Not anymore.” She smiled softly. “Play nice, okay? They are like my family.”

  “No promises. Want me to come back and see you later?” Darlington asked tentatively.

  Kylee was hard to read, and it made him uneasy as to which way to jump with her. He just knew he felt compelled to see her as often as she would allow.

  “Please,” Kylee whispered as she squeezed his hand.

  He squeezed back before releasing her and leaving the room.

  “Dragons, hunters, and bears… oh, fucking my!” She laughed then grimaced again.

  “Stop being so pigheaded, V.” Vern slammed his hand palm first onto the large desk he was leaning on. His oldest brother and leader of the clan sat back staring at him as he tried to convince them they were traveling the wrong road. “Everything I have is pointing to him… and only him.”

  “There is the matter of evidence… the feather on the explosive device. The first-hand recall of seeing phoenix. These cannot be written off just because you think it’s all planted.”

  Elyse had heard enough. She dropped her bag on the floor loud enough to make everyone in the office jump. She’d been standing up in back, leaning on the wall next to Ladon. His hand went out to stop her walking forward but quickly retreated when the look she flashed him threatened to rip it off. Elyse walked forward confidently. “So, what you’re saying is, to see is to make it real?”

  “Of course.” V nodded.

  She looked at Vern who had picked up on her intentions. “May I?”

  “I think he needs to be enlightened,” Vern said as he raised his hands out, palms forward as if to give her freedom to go forth.

  “For the record, I think it’s wrong. Does anyone else,” Ladon said. “But you’re not asking me.”

  Elyse looked back to him. “You’re right. I’m not asking you.” She turned back to V. “It has to be him for true understanding.”

  “Understanding of what?” V asked cautiously.

  “This…” Elyse placed her hands on the desk, leaning slightly forward, and stared into Volos’ eyes without blinking. He went to look away and break the contact, but she wouldn’t let him. He held his eyes tight as she planted an image for him to see.

  “What’s she doing?” Payton asked nervously from where she stood to the side of her mate’s desk.

  “Shhh…” Vern hushed her. “Watch, it’s phenomenal.”

  Suddenly, V jumped up, his chair tipped back with the quick motion. His blade was drawn from the sheath he had strapped to his chest, and he was poised in full attack mode. The blue of his scales scattered up his neck as the dragon fought to get free for battle.

  The brothers all jumped to match him, their dragons recognizing the energy of a serious threat and reacted the same.

  “Enough, Doug,” Ladon’s voice growled, partly from the fact his dragon was also ripping at him to spring free, and partly because he thought the point had been clearly made.

  Elyse broke the stare with a few fast blinks. She looked around at the people in the room, who were all currently staring at her with utter disbelief. “Don’t always believe what you see. It would be a mistake, especially in this case.”

  Volos glared at her while his eyes flicked around his brothers’ faces. He saw the same mix of battle-ready energy and confusion that he had. His chest pumped rapidly as he looked back to Elyse. “You did that?” She nodded. “How?”

  “Call it a gift from my mother. Thing is, and why I felt forced to make you actually experience how real it feels, is that what Vern is saying is possible. I’ll even go so far as to say it’s probable.”

  “That was so real…” V mumbled as he continued to look around. His dragon not ready to settle yet from being bombarded with such a tangible vision.

  “Right?” Elyse said. “So, tell me now, how it’s not possible that my cousin, who is a family link and could easily have this ability, be the puppet master for this entire performance?” Her hands were on her hips as she swung them to the side with a confidence that she was on the right path. “If you don’t start listening, the encore will be deadly.”

  “What did you see that caused that reaction?” Tor asked as he struggled to calm his dragon. “We nearly all went beast mode just off your reaction.”

  V walked back as he picked up his chair from where it had flown to the back wall. Bringing it back to his desk, he sat and visibly took a large breath and exhaled. “I saw phoenix. This room was filled with birds, ready to attack…” He rubbed his eyes with a shake of his head. “It was so real. I could feel their energy. I could see the movement of their feathers as they pushed forward. I could damn well smell them. I could see the hatred flicker in their eyes.” V looked at Elyse. “Point proven. Please don’t do that to me again.”

  “I’m sorry I had to do it at all, but you wouldn’t listen.”

  V nodded and looked to Vern. “I’m listening now.”

  Vern took calming breaths as his dragon, who had responded like the others, was being put back
on his chain. “How I see it…” he consulted the folder of notes he had before him confirming the name Kylee had reported to the police, “… Toby had carefully structured this whole scenario. I think his first attack on Doug was back with her parents. Was it his first kill?” He shrugged. “I don’t know. I would, however, hazard a guess and say no. This level of vengeance feeds for a lifetime. Obviously, his fixation is on Doug, and he’s showing that he will dispose of anyone to get to her.”

  Volos breathed heavily. “Then all the time we spent looking and guarding against the impending phoenix attack was wasted?”

  “What’s the best way to move forward than to distract your enemy.”

  “Okay,” Ladon spoke from the back. “What made us the enemy?”

  “This is where I’m merely speculating,” Vern said as he crossed his arms. “However, I think Toby has been here before we even arrived. I think he’s been waiting and hoping that Doug would either return to where she spent her childhood or come out of hiding.”

  “I wasn’t hiding,” Elyse said.

  “If he were waiting for Elyse to surface and not Doug, then you were hiding, albeit accidentally. That nickname may have, in fact, saved your life,” Ladon added.

  “Exactly.” Vern nodded at his brother’s clarification.

  “This doesn’t explain why we are enemies?” V asked again. “If you want me to believe that a hunter has been setting a trap for us instead of the phoenix, there has to be more evidence. The timeline isn’t right for it to be blamed on Doug.”

  “Unless he was hunting us, and Doug popped up and gave him the opportunity to make the hunt twice as fun,” Tor said with a look of contemplation.

  “That would make sense if he were working for the hunters, but you said you think he’s rogue,” V said to Vern.

  “I reached out and contacted a ‘friend’ I have. I wanted to see what the reaction was if I dropped his name. The reaction was short and sharp. After his charges, the society banned him from ever hunting with them again.”

  Volos looked up. “Charged for what?”

  “Treason. He was also suspected of having a hand in his parents’ death, but nothing they could do would make the charges stick. He is not welcome amongst any hunter societies worldwide.”

  “Then why is he hunting now?” Payton asked.

  “For the love of the kill,” Tor answered. “You’re simply a bonus,” she said while looking at Doug.

  “All right. Let’s say I am on board with this. What’s next? How do we bring a hunter out of hiding who’s capable of implanting images in our heads?”

  There was a long silence while they contemplated the question that V had asked.

  “You give him what he wants,” Elyse said suddenly.

  “Which is?” V asked.

  “Me.”

  “You?”

  “Think about it. Sure, he wants to hunt dragons, but he can control that urge and wait. What, or in this case who, is the one thing that will make him impulsive? Me. He will come for me. He won’t be able to stop himself.”

  “Like bait?” V said as he rubbed his chin.

  “No fucking way. No. Straight up, no.” Ladon looked at V. “Don’t even think about it. Did you hear what he did to Kylee? And Kylee isn’t exactly defenseless.” Walking up to the desk, he reiterated, “No, V. Fucking just no.”

  “It would work, Ladon,” Vern said with a cautious tone. He knew this would work, but also knew what it would do to Ladon to know his mate was being used as bait for a madman.

  Ladon flipped to look at his brother. “I don’t give a flying fucknugget if it would work. It’s just no. She is my mate, and I say fucking no.” His breathing sped up while he watched V’s face seriously consider this madness.

  Volos looked at Elyse and nodded. “It would work. I think you’re correct. You are the ultimate prize for him. You are the one thing he won’t be able to resist. However, as Ladon is showing clearly, although a little more caveman than I like to conduct myself…” he looked at his brother then back to Elyse, “… this is extremely dangerous. We can’t be sure of what he’s really capable of using his gift.”

  “I can’t see how that even matters.” Elyse shrugged.

  “How can it not matter?” Ladon exclaimed loudly.

  “Because…” she turned to look up at him, “... he will come for me either way. This way, I’m the one dictating the terms, not sitting back and waiting for him to strike.”

  “Makes sense.” V nodded. “I like it. Let’s do it.”

  “I. Fucking. Said. No!” Ladon’s words raged loudly as they ripped from his throat. “There is nothing you can say that will make me allow my mate to put her life on the line. None. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Understand?” He spun to look at V, his dragon scales skating close to the surface of his skin. “I will take you out before I let this happen.”

  Elyse placed her hand on Ladon’s arm while gently turning him to look at her. She placed her hands in his, entwining her fingers with his. She felt his rage and opened herself up to him, taking it with her as she looked into his eyes. Her lips started to move as she spoke under her breath. His body became more relaxed as he listened to her. Not letting go of his hands, she lowered her eyes with guilt hanging heavily on her shoulders. She couldn’t break the connection until his brothers understood why.

  V looked at Elyse, and she said with a heavy shrug, “I’m sorry.” Her voice dragging the sudden guilt she felt at having smoothed Ladon’s thoughts artificially. “I need to do this.” She looked at V. “You know I have to. There is no other way. He is coming to kill me, Volos. He is coming to kill me.”

  “I know. It’s just…” V hesitated.

  “It had to be done,” Tor announced firmly. “I can’t say Ladon is going to agree. However, he wasn’t going to back down. I will back Doug on this one.”

  V nodded. “Jo? Vern?”

  Jo shrugged. “I’m cool. Can she teach me to do it?”

  “Ladon will kill us, but I understand the why,” Vern said.

  “I hate myself for doing it, and I will accept his wrath all alone,” Elyse said. “It’s only light, don’t worry. It will only last as long as I need to get into position. I will need him at full charge when this goes down.” Elyse let go of Ladon’s hands and smiled. “You okay?” she asked him.

  Ladon nodded. “Sure am. Is the plan sorted yet?”

  “Not yet.” She smiled sheepishly. “Want to help plan it?”

  Jo watched Ladon nod like a trained puppy. Seeing a woman do that was both incredibly erotic as well as horrifying. He was very happy that she wasn’t his mate. He watched the brothers all circle around Volos’ desk as they discussed the best plan of attack. It looked so cohesive, like a true family.

  Time to fuck this shit up, Jo thought to himself.

  “Hey, V?” Volos looked up as did the rest of the gang. “You know Darlington?”

  “The cop?” Vern said.

  “Yep. He’s a bear shifter.” Jo sat back down and watched the fireworks amp up.

  “Bullshit, Jo! We don’t have time for your games,” Tor said.

  “It’s true, I saw it,” Elyse said quietly.

  “I knew something was off with that guy. Seriously, how can a human be that big?” Vern laughed to himself. “A bear? Wow! Awesome. How did that snippet of info come out?”

  “It was a slight disagreement over Kylee’s bedside.”

  “They were having a territorial pissing competition.” Elyse smirked. “I think the bear might be a tad besotted with our Kylee.”

  “Over my dead body,” Jo scoffed.

  “Things are looking up already.” Tor grinned as he teased his brother who flipped him the bird in answer.

  “Hello, Jenna?”

  The silence stares from all in the room as they all suddenly realized Elyse had called Jenna on her cell phone. Volos mouthed ‘what the fuck?’ to her, to which she merely turned her back on him and continued, “Jenna? It’s Elyse… you came, and… oh, y
ou remember me?”

  Tor snorted as he watched the phone call unfold, and V flustered around trying to give her the prompts to say. Elyse kept turning her back to him as he walked around her.

  “Tell Toby I want to meet him…

  “Yeah…

  “No.”

  She turned again on V’s advances causing Tor to laugh louder.

  “No, not there. Aberdeen Cliffs.

  “Yes.”

  Volos started to shake his head and hold up a piece of paper with words written on it. Tor broke into fits of laughter at this weird dance he was performing. He was like a bee trying to find the right spot to land on a flower.

  She turned again on him.

  “Tomorrow? Sunrise? Yes. I’m Looking forward to meeting my cousin finally.” Elyse pressed end on the call and looked to V as she exhaled her held breath.

  “What was that? Didn’t you see me giving you directions?” V said flustered.

  “We all saw it. Funniest shit I’ve seen all day.” Tor laughed harder.

  “It has to be this way. Otherwise, he will see it coming. I don’t even want to know what you’ve planned. You heard where I’ll be tomorrow morning and with who. How you choose to back me up, I need to be unaware, so I can keep him thinking it’s just me. He needs to believe I’m entirely alone,” Elyse justified her actions.

  “I understand,” V said. “You understand how incredibly dangerous this is, right?”

  “I do.”

  “Do you really?” V confirmed.

  “Maybe it’s you who doesn’t know who you’re dealing with?” Elyse smiled softly as she reached out and squeezed Ladon’s hand. “I’ll see you later, okay?” Ladon nodded, and she left the cave. She knew where the small boat was, and she was on her way within minutes back to the mainland. She opened her cell and redialed the number.

  “Plans changed. Tell Toby he has forty-five minutes to be there and to come alone. This is between him and me.” She pressed end without waiting for a response from Jenna.

  She had either made the best or the worst decision of her life.

  Elyse’s confident smile hid an underlying nervous energy.

  He had tried to kill her twice and failed.