by Terra Wolf
Suddenly, I wasn’t sure if this was a rescue or if I was about to be kidnapped by creatures from the Black Lagoon.
As I thought this, I witnessed my attacker pull a dagger from inside his pant leg I hadn’t been aware he’d harbored. He lunged for the lizard-like man he’d been battling, but wasn’t able to stab him because the creature opened his mouth and fire propelled past his lips, singeing my attacker’s hand. He dropped his dagger and gripped his hand tightly against his chest as a slew of curse words pushed past his lips.
My heart hammered against my chest. Whatever the hell these things were, they could breathe fire!
“Jesus, what are you?” I asked the creature closest to me, claiming to be Silas.
At the sound of my voice, he continued to inch his way toward me again with his hands still high in the air. “We’re dragons, Casey. Me, Sebastian, and our sister Scarlet.” He crouched on his knees in front of me and locked his eerie eyes on mine. They were the same color of bronze I remembered them to be, but they were larger and wider.
A deep, ridiculous belly laugh floated past my lips.
While I knew this situation was no laughing matter, I couldn’t help myself. I’d officially cracked. The stress from being kidnapped combined with my injuries had finally taken a toll on me.
“This isn’t a joke,” the creature in front of me protested. “We really are dragons, Casey.”
I gained control over my laughter, but it didn’t mean I believed what I was seeing or being told. Why not, though? My mind questioned. Why couldn’t Sebastian and his siblings be dragons? I glanced at the scaly creature with large black wings still duking it out with my attacker and thought to myself that it might actually be possible.
“Sebastian?” I whispered.
The creature paused in his battle to glance at me and I knew everything was true. It was reflected in his eyes and in the remorseful expression stretched across his scaly face. His lips parted and I waited for him to say something, to confirm things even though I didn’t need him to, but the only thing that came out was a rush of air hissing past his lips.
The dagger I’d watched him singe from my kidnapper’s hand now protruded from his side.
“Casey,” he breathed as he crumpled to his knees, his eyes never leaving mine.
Blood pooled from his wound, forming a puddle on the floor for his knees to swim in. My chest constricted because it was Sebastian. I knew it was. I could tell from the way he’d said my name and the way he was looking at me. But it was more than that, it was a feeling also.
Sebastian was a dragon, and he was in front of me—dying.
I jerked at the shackle wrapped around my ankle, wishing I could get to him, but knowing it wasn’t possible. Metal glinted in the sunlight behind him, and I realized my attacker wasn’t finished with him yet. He had another knife. It was shorter than the first, but I knew it could be just as deadly.
A wave of nausea sloshed through me as my heart dropped to my toes. I could see the next few seconds span out before me and their horrible outcome.
“Sebastian!” My arms reached for him, but there was nothing I could do.
Silas bolted to Sebastian’s aid, but we all knew he wouldn’t reach him in time. The distance between them was too far, even for a creature of his nature.
The loud growl of a large cat rumbled through the air, and without warning, a black panther double the size of what I thought it should be raced through the open door. It pounced on my kidnapper before his blade could touch Sebastian. I watched as the beast and my attacker fell to the ground. Another deafening growl rippled through the air, mingling with my attacker’s screams as the beast’s claws sliced at him. The blade of the knife sliced through the panther’s center, but not before his large white fangs punctured the flesh of my kidnapper’s throat. I watched as the bastard kicked and squirmed to get free, but in the end, his attempts didn’t matter. The bite to his throat had been fatal.
I noticed when Silas made his way to Sebastian. My heart sputtered hard and fast inside my chest as I took in the scene before me. Tightness pinched at my chest. I blinked rapidly as the edges of my vision grew dark and stars danced across my sight, knowing what was about to happen. The room spun and before I could stop myself, I was pulled into the velvety embrace of darkness as I passed out.
Chapter 8
Sebastian
The dagger in my side hadn’t been a fatal blow, but it had hurt like a mother and blood loss was still an issue. Silas helped me remove it quickly and then we both parted ways, him rushing to Bobby’s aid and me to Casey’s side.
I pressed against my wound, hoping to stop the blood flow, as I kneeled down beside Casey. My eyes raked over her. The dress she’d worn on our date was tattered and dirty. Her hair was a mess. Blood and grime was smeared along her hands and arms. Bruises in the shape of fingers marked the beautiful skin along her neck. I nearly lost it at the sight of them.
What kind of sick fuck was this hunter?
“They’re dead,” Silas said from somewhere behind me.
I faced my brother, wondering for a split-second who he was talking about. I knew it wasn’t Casey because I could see her chest rise and fall. She was still alive. Thank God.
Silas was staring at Bobby and the hunter.
My heart dipped to my toes and it suddenly became hard to swallow. “No, Bobby can’t be. He just can’t…”
I left Casey’s side to check for myself. Silas must not have felt for his pulse right. It had to be there. Maybe it was just too faint for him to feel.
My hand swatted Silas out of my way. He took a couple steps back, giving me space. I dropped to my knees and released the pressure I’d been putting on my wound. Both hands were needed to assess Bobby. I could give a rat’s ass about the hunter, but Bobby I cared about.
He wasn’t just my employer, he was a friend. He’d given me a job that earned me a decent wage, allowed me to work on my car with his tools whenever I needed, and never gave me any shit like other bosses I’d had in the past.
Bobby was a good man.
My fingertips fell away from his neck, and I hung my head as emotion I didn’t know how to handle surged through me because he was dead.
Bobby was gone.
My skin rippled with heat as my inner dragon struggled to get free. Heavy emotion had never been his thing, meaning it had never been mine. My heartbeat pounded in my ears as my throat grew dry and the twitchy feeling to pulverize something or char it to bits simmered through my veins. My eyes snapped to the hunter lying close by and my vision tunneled, making his face the only thing visible.
Silas’s hand clamped on my shoulder. “No. He’s already gone. You have Bobby to thank for that. It’s a good thing you went to him and asked where Gideon’s was. We would never have been able to find Casey on our own.”
I wiped my nose with the back of my hand. Silas was right. Bobby had been the one to take down the hunter. He’d also been the one to save my life by giving his. The old man had followed me, even when I’d told him not to. Part of me wished he’d listened, while the other part was thankful he hadn’t. I might not be here otherwise. I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer for him along with an added thank you.
The idea that I’d have to be the one to tell Charlie and Dean he was gone plummeted through me. How the hell was I supposed to explain what happened here to humans? The faces of his daughters popped into my head next, and I realized explaining what happened to Charlie and Dean was the least of my worries. It would be his daughters that would break me.
Silas squeezed my shoulder once and then released. I opened my eyes to see him crouching on his knees beside the hunter. He started to rummage through the asshole’s pockets.
“What are you doing?”
“Searching for a cell phone.”
Anger boiled through me. “Why the hell do you need his cell phone?”
“Because, Sebastian, I need to find out if he was in contact with other hunters. We need to be prepa
red in case more are on the way.”
“Morgan.” Casey’s weak and groggy voice made its way to my ears. “He was talking to someone named Morgan before you came.”
“Ah, I found it.” Silas held a silver cell phone in the air.
I made my way across the old general store and back to Casey’s side. She maneuvered herself into a sitting position while holding the side of her head.
“You’re naked.” Her eyes had dipped to my package and seemed to settle there.
A crooked grin formed on my face as I situated myself beside her, keeping everything she was staring at on display. “After everything you’ve witnessed, that’s the first thing out of your mouth?”
“I’m trying not to think about everything else. I don’t want to black out again.”
“Gotcha.”
“Are they both—” She didn’t finish her sentence, and I didn’t blame her.
“Yeah, they are.”
“Did you know him well? The panther. I mean.”
“I did.” My words were strangled and full of emotion, making them sound thick. I cleared my throat.
Casey placed her hand on my forearm. “He saved your life. I saw it.”
“Bobby was a good man.” I nodded.
Silas paced back and forth, clutching the piece of shit hunter’s cell in his hands. My attention shifted to him fully, because thinking of Bobby and how he was no longer with us was too painful.
“What are you planning to do? You can’t call. They’ll know you aren’t him as soon as they hear your voice,” I snapped at Silas, needing a place to direct my anger.
“I know.” Silas’s thumbs flew across the screen, tapping out a message. “That’s why I’m sending a text telling them he found his sister’s remains and that the LeFroys have gone. That we’re no longer in Willow Vale.”
“Clever.” I grinned.
“So, what happens next? Do you breathe fire and char him to bits, dragon boy?” Casey asked with a little more spunk than I thought she would be able to muster.
“You seem to be accepting everything well.” I trailed my gaze over her face to judge if she was trying to hide her true reaction from me, and was pleased to find that she didn’t seem to be.
“I’m a paranormal fiction writer by day. What did you expect?” She pushed her side swept bangs away from her eyes and held my stare. “I always thought everything existed in real life anyway. People aren’t clever enough to make that crap up on their own. Somewhere along the line, someone had to run into something, whether it was a vampire, werewolf, or a freaking dragon.” Her lips formed into an adorable grin that set my soul on fire.
My insides tingled. Casey was okay with everything, including what I was, which meant more to me than she would ever know.
“And turning the bastard into ash might not be a bad idea. It worked well with his sister.” Casey seemed to flinch at my words and I realized how they must’ve sounded. “I’m joking!”
I wasn’t, but she didn’t need to know.
“First, we’re heading to my place to get some clothes to make sure you’re truly okay,” Silas insisted. “Then Sebastian and I will come back and handle the situation here. Although, charring the guy does seem like it would be an easy solution.” He arched an eyebrow and tossed Casey a smile.
“What about the other guy? Bobby?” she was quick to ask.
I swallowed hard before answering her. “I’ll have to contact his daughters.”
“We should go.” Silas placed a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s get her to Violet.”
“How are we planning to get there? Can you fly? Or are your wings only for show?” Casey wrapped her arms around her middle. It was clear the thought of flying in her current mental state, regardless of how well she thought she was processing everything, probably wasn’t the best idea.
“Sweetheart, nothing about me is only for show,” I muttered, hoping to get a laugh or smile out of her. When a small grin sprang onto her face and her cheeks flushed with a little color, success worked its way through me.
Silas jingled a set of keys. “No, we’re driving.”
“Where did you get those?” I asked.
“His pockets.”
“Nice.” I snatched them from his hand. “I’m driving.”
Chapter 9
Casey
Violet was sitting on the porch steps when we pulled up in the hunter’s truck. Her eyes were puffy and her face was covered in red blotches from crying. Once she realized it was us, she rushed down the steps.
“Casey! I’m so glad you’re okay!” She jerked my door open before I had a chance to touch the handle, and pulled me out of the truck. Her arms wrapped around me in one of the biggest bear hugs I’d ever received from her. “I was so scared. I didn’t know if I should call Mom or Dad and tell them what happened, or if I should give the guys time to get you first.”
“Well, I’m glad you decided to give the guys time instead of calling Mom and Dad right away. You know they would be on the first flight here, hovering and acting crazy.” I waved my hands around, doing my best impression of our mother when she was finicky.
Violet laughed. “Yeah, I’m glad too.” Her gaze traveled past me to where Sebastian and Silas were climbing out of the truck. The look on her face at the sight of them naked was hilarious. Her eyes bugged out and her mouth dropped open. “I forget every time. I swear.” She shook her head and instead of looking away, shielded her eyes with her hand. The fingers of her other hand interlaced with mine and she tugged me toward the house.
“You’ll get used to it,” Silas teased her. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
My sister laughed as she dropped my hand to swat his away. Her eyes shifted to mine as she reached for the knob on the front door. “Sorry, um. Why don’t you head upstairs and take a shower? Afterward, I’ll make some tea and we can sit and talk about what happened if you want.” She smoothed her hand along my arm in a soothing gesture.
“Sounds nice.” I pulled her into a hug. “And, I’m fine. I swear to you.”
“I know you are, that’s not why I’m upset.” She let out a shaky breath followed by a forced smile.
The guys walked past us and into the house without a word. I looked my sister in the eye while waiting for her to let me in on what was happening inside her head.
“Then what is it?” I asked, when she didn’t offer me anything right away.
“This happened because of me. You almost died because I kept you in the dark.”
“That’s not true.” I shook my head.
“It is. If I’d told you what Silas was, what his family was, and about the hunter, you wouldn’t have come to visit, which means you wouldn’t have been kidnapped.”
“But you would have.” I made sure I continued to look her directly in the eye. My point needed to be firmly made. “He thought I was you, Violet. I think because I wasn’t, that’s what saved me.”
“Still, I feel horrible for what happened to you.”
“Don’t. It wasn’t your fault. I mean it.” I pulled her into me for another hug.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you too.”
Violet pulled away and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. She flashed me a weak smile and exhaled a long breath. “Shower. I’m sure you could use a nice, long, hot shower. Go on upstairs. It’s the door to the left. Leave the door unlocked and I’ll set some clean clothes inside for you.”
“Thanks.” I stepped inside the house, leaving her on the porch to decompress her thoughts.
Once I reached the top of the stairs, I spotted the door to the bathroom easily. My hand reached for the knob just as Sebastian stepped out of a room down the hall. He was dressed in a pair of navy athletic shorts and a plain white t-shirt, looking as though he was about to go out for a jog.
“How are you feeling?” His words were simple enough, but there was something behind his expression that had me turning to face him full
y.
I swiped my bangs out of my eyes as I continued to study him, struggling to decipher a large amount of emotion swirling through the color of his eyes. “I’m okay. Exhausted, but okay.”
He paused in front of me and reached out to brush his hand along my arm. I leaned into his touch, enjoying the electric feel of it. “I’m sure you’re exhausted, you’ve been through a lot.”
“It has been a long day,” I muttered.
He pressed his lips against my forehead, giving me one of the sweetest kisses I’d ever received. “I’ll let you relax and get cleaned up. There are a few things I need to do, but I’ll be back soon.”
I nodded, knowing what it was he needed to do and feeling grateful he didn’t see the need to remind me. I didn’t think I could handle hearing the exact details again. The events of the last few hours were beginning to take a toll on me. I could feel myself unraveling as I stood in front of him.
“Okay.” The threat of oncoming tears pinched at my throat. I needed to get away from him before he saw me break.
Once he released me from his grip, I stepped into the bathroom. I waited until he started down the stairs before I closed the door. Leaning against it for support, I let the tears that had threatened to break free finally fall. They were silent but still wracked my body in their intensity. My nerves were raw. My skin too tight. And adrenaline still pumped through my veins.
I’d been kidnapped, tossed around, strangled, and shackled in place. I’d seen creatures I wrote about face-to-face. And somehow, I was still alive.
I pulled in a deep breath and released it toward the heavens. My feet shuffled across the smooth tiled floor, feeling as though they were made of dead weight. I didn’t need a shower, what I needed was a bath. A long, hot bath I could submerge myself in from head to toe and hide from my thoughts. That, and maybe a fifth of tequila all to myself.