by Kimber White
I’d seen magic before. Since I was thirteen years old, I had a mage for a foster father. I’d seen shifters before today too. Wolves and bears and even a lion once. But, this was a dragon. It had to be a trick. I had to have lost my mind.
His shoulders contorted and he shook his head. My vision blurred and my breath caught as his magic swirled in the air. I lost time. Maybe just a few seconds. But I never really saw him shift. He was a dragon one moment, then a man the next. He’d been twenty feet away. Now, in the span of a heartbeat, he stood before me fastening the leather belt on his black dress pants. Then he reached for me, offering me his hand.
My eyes went up and up. He was beautiful. I could still see the last traces of fire swirling in his eyes. Then, they settled to a shining hazel...green, tinged with brown. The kind that changed with the light though his expression stayed intense and serious. He had dark hair, a true black, thick and straight. Full lips, strong jaw with a pointed chin and a long, straight nose.
“Shae.” One word. My name. He knew it. His deep, commanding voice sent little shockwaves of heat spearing through me.
I tried to swallow, but my tongue felt like sandpaper. I was frozen, rooted to the ground. Was this another spell? The moment I thought it, grief poured through me. A gut punch. Adrenaline had kept the pain away. Now, I doubled over from it.
“Shae,” he said again. “We need to get you inside. It’s not safe out here. Those wolves are still looking for you.”
He enunciated every word with crisp precision. I couldn’t place his accent. Not British, exactly. Just a little of the hard consonants of something Eastern European, maybe. God. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. Everything just turned upside down.
He came to me, sinking slowly until he squatted in front of me, putting us eye to eye. His eyes searched my face. “It’s going to be okay,” he said.
A laugh burst out of me. His eyes widened. He had to think I was getting hysterical. Maybe I was. I didn’t know anything anymore. He put a light hand on my shoulder, his fingers brushing the bare skin of my arm. I’d only worn a black t-shirt with the store logo on it. I couldn’t shift into scaled armor like this man could. Warmth spread through me at his touch, a slow, rising ache. A craving. I felt pulled to him.
Then, my hand was in his and he helped me to my feet. I put one in front of the other and let him lead me to a door. A tiny flash of light shot from his fingers as he turned the knob and we went inside.
We came to an elevator and stepped inside. He turned to me, giving me a grim smile. His fingers trembled though he held his hands to his sides. I realized mine were doing the same thing. God help me, I wanted to touch him. Just that brief brush of his skin settled something inside me at the same time it stoked something darker. God. What the hell was happening to me?
We went down just two floors. The elevator doors slid open to a large lounge area. Expensive white leather couches, a big screen television in one corner. The walls had floor to ceiling windows giving a spectacular view of the city from the south and west sides. The north and east windows faced the crystal blue expanse of Lake Michigan. Had I any breath left to take, the view alone would have done it.
I went to the south windows and pressed my hands to the glass, orienting myself.
“I know where we are,” I said, more to myself. After everything else that had happened. I have no idea why that mattered at that particular moment. I needed something real. Something familiar.
I turned to him. “This is the Brandhart Building. Why are we in the Brandhart Building?” It was one of the privately owned high-rises along Lake Shore Drive. I didn’t have the first clue who the Brandharts were. I just saw the name as a sponsor to a ton of different events downtown.
He took a few steps toward me, slow, methodical. Like he was some expert horse trainer walking up to a skittish colt. Shit. I guess that’s what I must have seemed to him.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Maybe I should have started with that. My name is Xander Brandhart. This is where I live. You’re safe here for now.”
That barking laugh popped out of me, unbidden. Safe. God. My knees felt weak again. Professor Marvin’s colorless face floated in front of me. I started to shake.
Xander moved so fast. One moment he was across the room. The next, he was at my side, guiding me gently to one of the leather couches. Again, his touch ignited some sort of pull inside me. I wanted to let him fold me into his arms. Crazy. I tore myself away and took the far end of the couch.
“We have to go back for him,” I stammered. “I can’t leave him like that. He could still be…”
Xander sank to the cushions beside me. He was careful not to touch me, holding his hands out, palms up. Shit. Whatever it was, he sensed what happened when he put his hands on me.
“Shae, Professor Marvin is dead. I’m so sorry. There was nothing either of us could do for him.”
I rocketed off the couch and started pacing. Swirling grief threatened to pull me back down. Professor Marvin was dead. Dead. No. No. No. No. No. No!
“Shae…”
“Why?” I screeched. “He’s just a harmless old man. There’s nothing of real value in that shop. He doesn’t have anything! He’s up to his ears in debt. Is that what those were? Some sort of awful shifter bill collectors?”
Xander took a breath. His eyes swirled with color, almost hypnotizing me. I blinked hard. I don’t know if he was doing it on purpose, but I felt a little dizzy around this man. The logical part of my brain told me this should raise a million red flags. It didn’t though. More than anything, sitting this close to him made me feel...safe. God, I really was losing it.
“Shae,” he said. “I know it’s a lot to take in. I’m a lot to take in. And you don’t know me. You have no reason to...but...for at least the next few minutes, I’m hoping you can trust me. I need you to think. Had you ever seen those wolves before?”
“What? No.”
“He had friends though, Professor Marvin. Acquaintances in the shifter world, no? How long did you work there? How long have you known him?”
My breath left me. With the next beat of my heart, the grief slammed into it once more. “I...he...was. We were family.”
“Your father?” Xander scowled. Deep lines creased his forehead. I don’t know why it mattered, but I tried to figure out how old he was. I think it was just my spinning brain trying to distract me or hold on to something solid and normal. There was no hint of silver in Xander’s hair. No real wrinkles around his eyes. He had the kind of face that could pass for thirty or forty easily. And yet, I had the strongest sense that he might be much, much older.
“Not my father,” I finally answered. My voice felt distant and hollow. How in the world could I explain what Professor Marvin was to me? I flicked my eyes up, meeting Xander’s.
“He wasn’t my father. Not my real one, anyway. He is...was...my foster father. We sort of found each other when I was thirteen years old. I ran away from a group home. Hid out in his store. Then...I don’t know...he kind of collected me.”
Xander went very still. He studied my face as if maybe he could read the truth in my eyes. It unsettled me a little. At the same time, that intoxicating warmth spread through me.
“I started doing his bookkeeping,” I said. “Every day for the first month, he threatened to kick me out. But, he didn’t. He let me stay. He got me out of the system and gave me a job.”
“He was a mage,” Xander said. Something about his tone made it both a question and a statement.
“Yes,” I answered.
“You said he collected you.”
I smiled. “It’s a thing he says. It’s who he is. Marvin’s a collector. Trinkets. Baubles. Odd bits of useless knowledge.”
“Was there anything recent? I mean, trinkets or baubles. Anything special he laid his hands on lately? Something he said was valuable or rare?”
My back went up. Xander kept his tone level, but that fire lit his eyes. “What were you doing there?” I aske
d, turning the tables on him. “What were you looking for?”
The question seemed to cause his own inner turmoil. He opened his mouth to answer, then clamped it shut. He’d just asked me to trust him for a few minutes. It appeared he wasn’t willing to do the same for me.
“The wolves didn’t show up until you did!” I rose from the couch and started pacing again. “So maybe you tell me what they were looking for. I told you, Marvin was just a harmless old man. He didn’t have anyone but me. We looked out for each other.”
Xander ran a hand across his mouth. “That’s not possible. He was a mage. They don’t generally live on their own. What was he doing out here? In Chicago. The closest coven is hundreds of miles away.”
Tears spilled down my cheeks. I tried to hold them back, but it was no use. Marvin was dead. He was well and truly dead.
“Circean,” Xander said, though it felt like he was talking more to himself. “Am I right? He was Circean?”
I threw up my hands. “What does it matter now? Marvin wasn’t part of a coven. Not anymore. They cast him out. I think his family was from Ohio or someplace. But, he hadn’t had any contact with them in over fifty years. He was alone until I came along. I was all he had. And he was…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. A sobbing hiccup burst out of me.
Xander rose and came to me. He stopped just short of touching me. I craned my neck to meet his eyes. The guy was huge, maybe a full foot taller than my five foot four.
“What did they want?” I said, my voice coming out as a choked whisper. “Why in the world would those wolves want to hurt him? They just bust into the shop already shifted and out for blood. I’ve seen plenty of shifters before, but not like that. Not a murderous pack. They never even asked him any questions. They just killed.”
Xander reached for me. I gasped as he touched my upper arm. It was just an instant, but his eyes sparked with fire. Touching me was doing something to him too.
I stepped out of his grasp and hugged my arms around me tight. I had to push my emotions aside. I had to think straight. “They would have killed me too.” I meant it as a question, but before I finished the sentence, I already knew the answer.
“I think so,” Xander said. “That was a full bloodlust. They were carrying out an Alpha’s command. I didn’t think it wise to stick around and wait for him.”
“And you don’t know what they were looking for? Why?”
Xander went very still. I couldn’t read his expression. Trust. It seemed we were still a long way from it. I wanted to scream at the sky and demand he take me home. Except, in one earth-shattering moment of grief and clarity, I realized there was no such place for me anymore.
There was a rumble of movement behind Xander. Strong, deep voices came from further down the hallway. Xander moved quickly, putting his body between me and the source of the sound.
Then, we weren’t alone anymore. Four men, just as tall and powerful looking as Xander filed in one by one. Each of their eyes blazed with the same fire. Like Xander, they were sharp and handsome with dark hair, well-muscled and imposing physiques. The truth of their nature slammed into me. Dragon shifters. They looked from me to Xander and back again. One of them stepped away from the bunch. Xander let out a warning growl and squared his shoulders, blocking me from their view.
“What the hell, Xander?” the man said.
Xander cleared his throat. “Gideon this is…” He ran a hand through his hair, let out a sigh then stepped to the side, exposing me to the hard gazes of the four other men.
“This is Shae,” he continued. “She...we...uh...we ran into a little spot of trouble in Lakeview.”
“Uh huh.” The one he called Gideon looked over his shoulder at the three other men.
“Shae,” Xander said, extending his hand toward them. “These are my brothers. Gideon, Finn, Loch, and Kian.”
Brothers. All five of them. I could barely process what he was saying. An hour ago, I thought dragons were extinct or merely a legend. Now, I appeared to be locked in a damn tower with five of them. And the only person in the world who would understand or even believe me was dead.
Chapter Three
Xander
Shae stood straight and defiant. Still, I could sense the turmoil inside of her. Hell, I’d been able to sense just about everything about her since the moment I laid eyes on her. I couldn’t fathom why. She was human. She had no magic of her own. And yet, I felt a magnetic pull toward her.
It had to be the mage. She said she’d lived with him since she was thirteen. What was she now? Nineteen, twenty? Maybe some of his magic had clung to her after all those years. He’d died in her arms. I didn’t know how it worked for witches. His blood stained her shirt and she had some of it in her hair.
Gideon came to my side. He extended a hand out to Shae. Such a simple gesture. It should have seemed normal. I’d just introduced her to him. He was being polite. A little awestruck, Shae seemed to go on autopilot. She stammered out a hello then let Gideon take her hand in his.
Fire scorched my insides. My vision blackened. A protective rage bubbled to the surface, so intense I nearly shifted right there.
Gideon and the others sensed my dragon stirring and closed ranks around me. Loch put a firm hand on my shoulder and drew me back. That was always his role. The peacemaker. Gideon was almost as somber and serious as I was. He shot me a quizzical eye, and slowly dropped Shae’s hand.
Finn stepped forward, smirking. He cracked some joke like he always did, then made a big show of shaking Shae’s hand next. Kian and Gideon made subtle movements placing themselves a little in front of me. If I made a move toward Finn, I knew they’d try to knock me on my ass.
“Well,” Gideon said, “now that we’ve got introductions out of the way, you mind if we borrow our brother for a few minutes, Shae?”
“What?” The color had drained from her face. Tiny beads of sweat formed on her upper lip.
“I’m sorry,” Loch said. “You’ve got to think we’re a bunch of rude assholes. I swear we’ve got better manners than this toward guests. Make yourself comfortable for a few minutes. There’s a full bar over there. Down that hallway you’ll find a bathroom...er...if you need it...and…”
“Finn!” I said. “I’ll make sure Shae has everything she needs.”
My brothers exchanged a look. Again, I felt like blasting their damn faces off. My dragon rumbled through me. A light hand on my arm sent calming warmth across my skin. Shae looked up at me. She wasn’t smiling, but some dark knowledge lit her eyes. I can’t explain it, but it felt like instinct drew her to me and settled the beast inside.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I could use a few minutes alone. It’s been…”
I turned to her, melting. God. Loch was right. I was a rude asshole. This girl had been traumatized in a way that would cut most people off at the knees. But here she stood, strong and trusting. The look in her eyes gutted me. More than anything, I wanted to scoop her in my arms again and whisk her across the skyline. The memory of her touch as she clung to my dragon still lingered over my skin. I wanted more. I wanted so much more.
“Of course,” I said, surprised I could form a coherent sentence. But, I had to check my dragon. My brothers were right. There were things we needed to discuss outside of Shae’s presence.
Kian had a hand on my back. I bristled, but tore myself away from Shae. She stood in the center of the room, hugging her arms around her. The door closed behind us and I followed my brothers down the hall. Every step I took away from Shae felt like a knife blade through my heart.
We went down twelve floors to the main conference room. We held Brandhart Enterprises board meetings here. Gideon went to the intercom in the center of the table and buzzed Marie, our receptionist downstairs. He told her about Shae and asked her to make sure she was taken care of.
“Of course, Mr. Brandhart,” Marie said, sounding a little shocked. It was no wonder. Marie had been with our family company for almost thirty years. Even she didn’
t know what we were, but she never questioned the magic that kept us from aging, at least to her human eyes.
I turned my back on my brothers and stared out at the Chicago skyline. Loch came to me first.
“Okay...so obviously things didn’t go as planned at the magic shop. I assume you have a good reason for bringing a human woman here?”
Gideon growled behind me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Loch put a hand up, gesturing for him to stay back. Good call, I thought.
“Wolves got there before I did,” I said. My dragon swirled inside of me. This was bad. I’d never felt so out of control like this. Usually my brothers and I could keep each other calm when the fire got too hot. Now, the only thing I wanted was to be near Shae.
“Wolves?” Finn leaned against the table. “How many? What did they say?”
“They didn’t say anything. They were feral. Red-eyed bloodlust. I didn’t see their Alpha, but my guess is he was a Tyrannous. They were sent there to kill. The old man who ran that shop was harmless. Mostly white magic. Novelties.”
Gideon paced at the end of the table. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair. His green eyes normally flashed like emeralds. His own dragon stirred and lit them with green flame. “A Tyrannous Alpha?” he asked. “Are you sure? We haven’t heard about any packs like this around here. I thought the trouble in Kentucky was taken care of.”
For decades, a ruthless Tyrannous Alpha wolf had controlled all the wolf shifters of Kentucky. But a year or so ago, there’d been an uprising and things were different there now. We hadn’t heard of any further trouble since then. That said, there were dozens of wolf shifters who’d been displaced, unable to assimilate into other packs. We feared it might someday cause problems.
“I just know what I saw. I had no choice but to bring Shae here. They killed the witch who ran the shop, then turned on her. I felt it. They had orders to kill her. If I hadn’t been there…”
Loch put a hand up. “We know. Nobody questions your judgment on that. If you say Shae needed your help, that’s enough for us. But Xander, what about the wolves? Did they see you? Do they know what you are?”