by Cecilia Lane
Andon dove straight into her and they crashed into the side of another warehouse. Glass shattered around them and dust covered them both. Annika was the first to push off from the ground and she rounded on Andon.
The larger dragon was slow to prepare for the attack. Her claws slashed into the underside of his neck and shoulders, tearing scales away from his body. The copper scent of blood filled her nose.
Andon jerked himself out of her grasp before she could turn flames or fangs on him. He shook his wings and tried to lift into the air but they were useless. One hung limply at his side. There was no place to go.
Annika struck, dragging herself over him. Her jaws closed around his throat and shook until life left her enemy.
Her sides heaved with each panting breath. She craned her neck upward and found Gio on the edge of the roof. His eyes glowed in the night.
Tell me where he is, Gio. I guarantee Andon isn’t the only dragon in the sky tonight.
“The complex between here and DC. Same place we went with you.”
She lifted into the air without another word.
The flight was much quicker than the drive. She kept her eye on the interstate leading out of Baltimore. The complex was nestled between the two cities and just off the main road.
You don’t need to go alone.
The gentle voice in her head almost made her falter. She pumped her wings and steadied herself.
Jaya dropped out of the clouds next to her. She swung her head to eye the other dragon then turned her attention to the road below and adjusted her path.
He fights Mariko tonight, she thought to Jaya.
Then we keep our idiot Prince alive.
They flew in impatient silence. Annika didn’t know what to expect. She tried to lock away all her emotions. It wouldn’t do to worry until she took stock of the situation. She didn’t know how many men he brought with him. She didn’t know how many Mariko called hers.
She couldn’t let Eoghan go into battle alone. She couldn’t live with herself if he died. And if he lived, she might just kill him herself for making her worry.
They found chaos when they arrived. Bodies littered the ground. Both sides had planned for slaughter and it was what they received.
Annika hovered and spotted Eoghan near the center of the maze of containers. He looked like some mad angel. Huge wings unfurled at his side and he shouted orders to the men and women around him, some still in their human forms and some in their animal skins. Snarling werewolves were his honor guard, snapping and tearing into any enemy who came too close.
An entire stack of containers had fallen to the side and some broken doors spilled contents onto the ground. He was trapped with the containers at his back and two groups attacking from the sides. They were surrounded and they were outnumbered but Eoghan wouldn’t give up. He would die fighting.
Why won’t he take on his full form? Jaya thought at her.
Lightning flashed around Annika and barely missed searing her wings. She snapped her wings together and dodged another barrage. There, on one stack, someone wielded the elements and directed them at the newcomers. They must have had orders to take down any dragon in the sky but the ones on their side.
Eoghan’s half-shifted state made more sense.
Jaya swooped low and knocked a wing into the powyr user. The woman flailed and fell off the stacks and Jaya rose back into the air before the other dragons could attack her or defend their wytch.
The stacks of shipping containers made it difficult for the dragons to get at the shifters on the ground. Skirmishes were taking place all over the complex. Groups ran down the lanes and dove around the corners just as a dragon flew through and lit the pathway on fire.
But as Annika watched, the dragons changed tactics. They flew at each other, breathing fire as they went and lighting the stack up on two sides. The shifters trapped between didn’t stand a chance, Eoghan or Mariko’s forces alike. Their pained screams turned to deadly silence.
We need to take them out.
Annika thought her agreement at Jaya. They wheeled higher into the sky and prepared to attack.
Annika dove toward the dragon below and sank her claws into its back. The beast screamed and tried to turn its head around to hit her with flames but they were too tangled. She snapped at the wings beating to keep them aloft, tearing into flesh and bone as they hurtled toward the earth.
At the last second, she whipped open her wings and let loose the dragon in her grasp. Her enemy slammed into the ground and didn’t move.
Nearby, a second body crashed into the pavement. Jaya balanced on top and delivered a final blow.
The madness on the ground was nearly deafening, even on the edges of the battle. With the dragons out of the air, the fight resumed between the shifters. Growls and hisses joined with snarls and howls. Bullets pinged and ricocheted off the metal containers.
Go to him, Jaya ordered.
They lifted off the ground and swung over the stacks. The collapsed side gave them room to land but barely enough space to maneuver.
Annika landed behind one group that attacked Eoghan and his dwindling force. She slashed with claws and knocked some out of the way but soon she and Jaya became huge targets. She roared at the first bite to her legs and shook a cat off her wing as it tried to claw its way up her body.
Pain laced through her side and Annika spun as much as she could manage in the tight space. Mariko lined up another shot.
Eoghan launched into the air, his focus completely on Mariko. They rolled with one another until he kicked her savagely away from him. Her features changed as she reached into the Wyrd. Her fingers lengthened and thickened into claws.
A booming crash startled Mariko and she and Eoghan both turned to see what had caused the noise. The door on a tipped over container fell open, looking like a lolling tongue. Two barrels rolled out, one leaking fluid as it turned.
Beyond them, Annika saw someone climbing to the top of a stack. She recognized the powyr user Jaya had knocked to the ground.
She leapt into the air but it was too late.
Static rolled uneasily over her scales just as a new round of lightning crashed down on the ground. Mariko was hit and thrown backwards. Another blinding lance landed near the leaking barrel. A line of flame flashed to life and led straight into the open container.
The container burst into flame. A thick bellow of fire blew out the open door and Eoghan disappeared inside.
Everyone on their feet fell to the ground with the force of the blast. Even in the air, she felt the wind blistering her scales and she wavered to keep aloft.
Her heart broke into a thousand pieces. She was so close to having her life back and so close to making a life with Eoghan. She searched desperately for any sign that Eoghan made it out alive and found none.
As quick as the explosion, he was gone.
The container landed with a crash. Smoke billowed out from both sides. Movement caught her eye and she didn’t dare to hope.
Against the smoke, wings unfurled and a body as large as a house rose above the flames.
Relief flooded through her. She roared into the night.
Eoghan balanced on the nearest stack and answered her cry with one declaring his victory.
She and Jaya perched on another stack. Some of Eoghan’s men not caught in the blast were the first to arrive and urge others to their feet. Mob men were quickly sorted from Yakuza that just didn’t have any fight left in them without dragons at their back. The living dragged the bodies with them.
Annika split her focus between Eoghan and those below. Then, she spied a curious and infuriating sight.
Lenore tried to scoot away from the Yakuza and rejoin Eoghan’s ranks.
Annika pounced. Everyone around Lenore scattered.
She pinned Lenore to the ground. The woman stole everything from her and when that failed, she tried it again. Her blood would taste wonderful on her tongue. The scent of fear rolled off the woman like an intoxicating
perfume.
Ann.
She hissed and turned her head, ready to chomp on whoever tried to stop her exacting her revenge.
Yer not a killer.
She poisoned me.
She snapped her jaws in front of Lenore’s cringing face. Her tail lashed from side to side. She was a killer. She was trained for it. If anyone deserved to be eaten, it was Lenore.
She will be dealt with. Come.
He lifted into the air and hovered to make sure she let Lenore loose. She did, reluctantly, and followed him into the sky. She turned and verified that Lenore was sorted back into the losing side. Then, and only then, did she wheel around and trail after Eoghan.
15
Annika let her connection fade as soon as Eoghan landed on the terrace. Her body shrank and contracted. Scales retreated and her skin reappeared. The last of her wings drew back into her body as her bare feet touched the cold tiles.
Eoghan stared at her. His body was coated in soot and sweat. He was beautiful and vicious all at once.
“You’ve seen me, now. All of it,” she said and lowered her eyes.
She wasn’t just some girl running away from her pain like he’d been led to believe. She was a trained fighter. She could watch and learn just as easily as tear the wings from the backs of her enemies. And she wasn’t above getting revenge.
His fingers caught her chin and forced her to look at him. His eyes were a cold, clear blue and heating by the second. “Ay. And ya saw me.”
A little bit crazy and a huge set of balls. Nearly everything he did was caused by his need to protect those around him. Including her. Maybe especially her.
He pressed in the keycode to unlock the door. She knew the numbers would be Maura’s birthday. It was a safe choice for a door that needed wings to reach.
It felt wonderful to stretch her memory and pull those numbers from her head.
“Do you still keep a robe in there?” She asked softly. It was a comfort he insisted on keeping for her from the moment he added clothes to the weapons he already had hidden there. Right then, she wanted the thin armor cloth would give her.
He flicked his eyes to her and drew out a fluffy black robe along with jeans for himself. “Added it back when I brought ya here tae detox.”
She wrapped it around her body and cinched the belt closed, ignoring the aches in her limbs. It’d been a year since she used the muscles needed to fly. A year since she used the inner strength to change her shape. Longer, still, since she needed to fight.
“You’re still bleeding.” She cautiously reached forward and traced her fingers just above the cuts along his chest. How deep had they been to still be there after a shift? Her stomach turned to think of him injured.
He looked down at his chest. “I’ve had worse.”
“You should shift again. If you’re too tired for that, just reach into the Wyrd. The trickle should be enough to heal these.”
“I’m not a child.” He snapped. “I had a year tae learn without ya here.”
Annika flinched. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t disappear in yer head.” He caught her wrist in his hands when she tried to pull away. His thumb ran over her lower lip. “Say what ya have tae say.”
She paused for a single second before the floodgates opened. They nearly died several times over since she stepped foot in Baltimore. She resisted him because she didn’t know her own mind. In doing so, she missed out on making full use of their time together.
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen the way it did. I should have left the moment I suspected you were going into Heat. I compromised us both.” The apology might as well start from the beginning and with her worst transgression. Every lie she told him after that moment weighed on her.
“I wasn’t entirely ignorant. I grew up around shifters. I had an idea of what was happening.” He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I wanted ya the moment I saw ya.”
“And now?” She held her breath.
His lips pressed against the soft spot just below her ear. “I want ya more than ever before. Come upstairs. We’ll clean the fight from our skin and have it out over yer spying.”
He released her then and she trudged upstairs after him. Dread settled into her stomach but there was a spark of hope, too. He hadn’t immediately tossed her over the side of his building or sank claws into her flesh. Talk. If talk was the price he demanded to keep him in her life, then she would gladly pay.
He led her into the large bathroom of his room—their room—and turned the knob on the shower stall. His jeans dropped to the floor and he turned to her. Thick fingers unwound the knot on her robe and pushed the fluffy fabric off her shoulders.
Then he opened the stall door and pulled her in after him.
Water ran over them and swirled at their feet with streaks of red and black. She didn’t know how long they stood holding each other but the water was clear by the time Eoghan spoke again.
“I’ll go with ya if yer determined tae leave.”
She blinked, unsure if she heard the words or simply imagined them. “Hmm?”
“Just thinking about something I heard recently. I can’t blame the shark for hunting when I’ve baited the waters with innocent lives. I can’t protect my sisters if I’m the one putting them in danger. They—you—wouldn’t be targets if I did something more honest with my life.”
She pressed her palms against his chest and eyed him. She licked her lips. She didn’t want to discourage the idea—she loved the thought of making a life with him—but she wanted him armed with all the possible consequences.
“If you are who I think you are, you might not be able to leave Patomas. The barrier around the islands only allows for those who can’t shift and half-blooded dragons to leave.”
“Ay. But it’s no sure thing that yer right. The girls deserve more than this rough life and the bairns should grow up peaceful. Besides, Gio needs a promotion and there’s nothing higher up than me. Best to step out of the way before he gets any ideas in his head.” He tugged her back into his chest and rested his chin on the top of her head. “I should clear out of town for a spell. There might possibly be some federal charges for all the damage we caused tonight. I can’t imagine the fight went unnoticed.”
She snorted. “My parents will be so pleased that I brought home a felon.”
“Is that any way tae speak of yer prince?”
“So, you believe me?”
“No. I’m the son of poor wolves and those stolen boys were killed long ago. Life isn’t a fairy tale and I’m not fit tae rule any one.”
“You did it here. I think the only difference is your current bunch is more honest than politicians.” Annika pushed away again. She scrunched her nose and eyed him suspiciously. “Just like that, everything’s forgiven?”
“No.” He shook his head. “But all I could think about in the middle of the fight wasn’t seeing yer face again. That would have killed me more than taking a bullet tae the heart or having Mariko’s claws in me.”
She walked fingers up his chest. “All I could think about was killing you for making me worry.”
Eoghan’s laugh was short lived and his eyes turned serious again. “There’s a lot tae talk about. A lot. But ya were just doing yer job. Neither of us expected what happened tae happen.”
“I didn’t know how to explain.”
“Ya didn’t ask for Lenore tae drug ya and send ya on yer way. Shite happens. Ya weren’t trying tae hurt me.” He traced her jawline with a finger. “I should have trusted ya and not thrown ya tae Mariko.”
He pressed his palms to her cheeks and tilted her face. “I can’t lose ya again, Ann. If that means following ya back to yer stupid Dragon Court, I’ll go. Yer mine.”
Her back aligned with the shower wall. Eoghan slipped down her body. His hands slid over her breasts, pinching and rolling her hard nipples between his fingers. She pressed her face into her shoulder and muffled a cry of pleasure.
One hand slipped lower. He caressed her skin, starting at her foot and slowly moving up her thighs. Annika tried to keep her breath normal but he knew. He knew what he did to her. He could hear her heart racing in her chest, hear her breath ragged in her throat, smell the arousal dripping from her body.
Her back arched at the first flick of his tongue against her clit. He took as much as he gave, roughly suckling on her sensitive bud and growling with appreciation at the taste on his lips. Heat seared her veins and coiled in her belly.
More.
She wasn’t sure if he read her mind or if she screamed the word but he was there to meet her needs. Thick fingers speared through her pussy, angling, seeking, finding the spot that would send her careening into her release.
“That’s it. Come for me. Need tae feel ya,” Eoghan ordered.
Heat spread through her and the desperate, growing pressure tightened around his delicious invasion. In and out, he fucked her with fingers that knew exactly how to play her body. He licked her again, swiping his tongue hard against her clit.
His free hand reached up and palmed her breast. Quick fingers flicked her nipple in time with the flick of his tongue on her clit. He sucked and pinched. A hard swipe paired with a rough knead.
Her legs shook as the first waves of pleasure crashed over her. He pressed on, wringing every bit of ecstasy from her body until she shook with it. Then, and only then, did he slowly ease his ministrations.
He pulled his fingers from her body and locked eyes with her. She bit her lip and groaned when he licked his fingers clean. His roguish smile never fell.
Done with teasing her, he rolled to his feet and fiddled with the knobs to shut the water off. They stepped from the shower and he pulled a towel around their bodies. She was wrapped tightly against him and could feel every hard inch of his chest and his cock. Heat radiated from him and she couldn’t be sure if it was the warmth of the shower or the furnace of his desire.
He walked her backwards and into the bedroom, pulling her into his lap as he sat on the edge of the bed. He pressed his lips against the hollow of her throat and licked a line to her ear.