Fangs, Flames, and Allure_A Reverse Harem Romance

by Zara Zenia

  Katie stutters and glances at Brent as if she’s waiting for him to answer and come up with a plan for her. I can’t believe it. He’s gotten to her. She must be brainwashed by the atrocious dragon.

  “Uh—yeah.” Katie chuckles after a brief pause when it becomes apparent that Brent isn’t going to make her decisions for her on the spot. I have to give him an internal praise for this.

  Katie nods with more enthusiasm. “Yes. I need to get back to campus.”

  “Okay good.” I beam at her answer. “I can take you. I mean—it’s no trouble for me.” I laugh like a ridiculous giddy teenager in love, even though that’s the furthest thing from reality.

  Katie glances at Brent once again. What is going on between them? Whatever it is, I need to find a way to stomp it out, like a fire before it spreads.

  I’m just relieved that Katie is back on solid ground and seems to be unscathed. She stands before me, beautiful and blonde and seemingly in high spirits.

  “Sure.” Katie keeps her eyes on Brent as she responds to me. Brent is looking at the ground with a sullen expression ruling his features.

  “Sure?” I ask because I need clarification. “You want me to walk you back to campus?”

  Now Katie finally looks at me. “Yeah. That would be great actually.”

  Her eyes are sad, wounded. They flash with determination though, and then she’s back to the same strong and independent Katie that I’m growing fonder of by the day.

  “Great.” I smile and look at Carl who nods with approval. He’s just as eager to get Katie away from these fire breathing animals as I am.

  “You can take my car,” Brent proclaims.

  I spin around to stare at him with alarm. “Really?”

  I can’t believe he’d offer something so significant, especially to a blood thirsty vampire like myself. I hate the way he refers to us as blood suckers as I sarcastically envision him calling me one in the next breath.

  Brent approaches Katie with a wild hunger glazing over his green, glowing eyes. He places a hand gently on her shoulder and cups it there while the room waits for something to happen or fireworks to ignite from above the ceiling.

  “I just want you to be safe.” He addresses Katie in an adoring tone. I have no idea what might have happened between them on the trip, but I’m not entirely certain I ever want to find out either.

  “I’ll be safe with Roger.” Katie flicks her eyes to me. “I trust him.”

  Ken makes a cynical chortle in the background.

  I return his reaction with an icy glare of my own aimed directly at him. “I won’t hurt her.”

  “You better not,” Brent warns as he glowers at me.

  “I know what’s at stake here,” I tell him forcefully. “That’s why I think it’s best to bring her back to school,” I advise. “She needs time to rest and digest all the information that’s been thrown at her over the last twenty-four hours. She’s only human, after all.”

  I don’t mean her to take offense by my statement, and as I carefully glance her way, I can tell that my feedback isn’t met with annoyance.

  “Agreed.” Brent nods his head curtly. “She will go back to school, and you will take her in my car so that she gets there safely and quickly.”

  “Agreed.” I mirror Brent’s reaction with a simple nod as we make a verbal pact. “Katie is the important one in this situation. Keeping her safe is the only mission I have to accomplish,” I vow.

  “That’s a good boy,” Ken states as he chastises me with a pounded fist to my shoulder.

  “Ouch,” I say and rub the wounded area.

  Ken glances at me with a grin and raised eyebrows as if to gesture visually that he’s sorry, but that patronizing vampires is just the name of his game.

  “Let’s go,” I propose to Katie. “It’s getting late.” It’s just an excuse. I need to get as far away from these dragons as I possibly can. Widening the gap between us is dire, before I explode from frustration and mutual animosity. Even as I turn to walk out of the den, I can feel Ken’s smirk burning a hole in the back of my head.

  I help Katie climb into the trickily maneuvered vehicle and then walk around, somehow managing to get in myself.

  “What the hell?” I stare at the complicated panels in front of me. “This spacey looking car is not like one I’m used to.” I chuckle apologetically and shrug to Katie.

  “I think you press this green one in the middle to engage the engine.” She points to a glowing button.

  “Alright,” I say. “I might as well give it a shot.” It’s not as if Brent is going to give me any tips, but at least he’s agreeable to let me take the car in the first place.

  “Before we get moving, I need to tell you something,” Katie mentions with a grave expression.

  “What is it?” I stare at her.

  “We need to be patient,” Katie says with a wise glimmer in her eyes. “I think I understand why you guys had to search for me.”

  “You do?” I raise an eyebrow with surprise.

  Katie nods with pride. Her eyes flash with determination and her cheeks brighten with enlightenment.

  It’s the first time I notice she has a spackling of tiny freckles skirting across the bridge of her nose. She looks adorable as she grins. “Yes. I’m beginning to discover my true purpose in life.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Katie

  I’m still trying to wager the situation and the vampires and dragons inadvertently placed in my life due to something that I can only gander as sheer fate. Glancing out the window of the car, I notice as a blanket of late afternoon fog begins to skirt through the trees, hugging the ground. Wet dew collects in little beads on the ocean of leaves scattering around us.

  I come to a revelation. I managed to calm Ken and Carl during the spark of their intense argument. If I hadn’t walked in at exactly that moment, I can’t even imagine how fiery their backlash would have been for one another. It could have ended in extreme violence, or even death.

  A tranquil confidence pours through my veins like a rush of adrenaline. Reminiscent of when you are on a roller coaster and climbing to the top, right before you go over the curve and into oblivion.

  My eyes drift over to Roger. His brow is furrowed in concentration. His tongue is poking out from his lips as he attempts to study the display of complicated buttons on the control panel. I appreciate what he’s trying to do for me.

  He is like Brent in that capacity, even though they are really like polar opposites. They have one very unique quality in common. Their need to protect me. No, scratch that. They don’t need to protect me. They want to protect me. There’s a very decidable difference between the two.

  Even though I slept with Brent while we were hurtling through space on a disk shaped shuttle, I still am in awe of how kind Roger has been through this entire ordeal. The way he looks at me. His protective mannerisms. None of it is lost on me. I need to find a way to thank him too.

  “It’s funny.” I stare out the windshield. My expression is dreamy as my lips spread into a smile of wonderment.

  Roger glances over at me and eyes display his confusion. “Am I doing it wrong?” he innocently asks.

  He must be automatically assuming that I’m referring to the comical situation of his difficulty in launching the car down the forest path.

  I lick my lips and run a hand through my blonde hair. “It’s just…weird.”

  “Can you elaborate?” Roger extends a hand in my direction.

  “When I came back into the vampire den,” I begin. “There was a heated argument going on between Carl and Ken.”

  “They are always at each other’s throats.” Roger rolls his eyes. “Each of them trying to prove which one of them is the superior male…or even race for that matter.”

  I mentally wonder why Roger doesn’t exhibit the same character traits, nor Brent for that matter. There’s something more pressing in the front of my mind though, and that was the reaction the guys had when I moved i
nto the room.

  It was almost as if I had some kind of calming effect over them, something unexplainable but an aura or presence that entranced them in a way to calm down and not take it to the next level of clawing each other’s eyes out.

  They still had the same loathing for each other, but they halted their argument in order to size me up in a non-threatening kind of way.

  “Did you notice?” I quiz Roger. He stops trying to put the car into gear for a moment while he studies me.

  “What?” he asks.

  “How they stopped fighting when I came into the den.”

  Roger glances through the window reflectively and then a lightbulb switches on and brightens his features.

  “You know what? Now that you mention it, I think I did catch something like that. Nobody is dead, so it must be true.” He chuckles at his own lighthearted attempt at a subtle joke.

  “I can’t believe you guys thought Brent kidnapped me all for himself, never to return.” I laugh and give Roger a playful smirk.

  He grins, appeasing me. “Don’t tell me there weren’t times when you didn’t think the exact same thing.”

  I mull over this idea and shrug. “I don’t know why, but I feel safe around you guys, like I belong or something.”

  Roger’s eyes narrow in on me as if he’s stirring up an idea in his mind. “What were you talking about before, when we first got in the car?”

  “You mean when I said I think I know the answer to why you guys chose me?” He doesn’t have to say the words, I already know what’s going through his mind.

  “Yes.” He nods and inspects me with a curious stare.

  “I think you guys need me,” I say. I’m trying to be as humble as humanly possible. I’m simply stringing along to the tune of my raw, core emotions.

  “That much is obvious.” Roger nods and his eyes flash with agreement.

  My heart flips in my chest as I digest the magnitude of how important I am in this little puzzle. Roger has earned my trust by now, but I need more information. I meet his gaze so that I am cognizant that I have his full attention.

  “What were you guys arguing about when Brent and I walked in?” My voice is a whisper.

  Roger glances out the window again, hesitant.

  I can’t allow him to get distracted. “Roger.” I place a gentle hand on his shoulder.

  He stares at my hand and then into my eyes. “Yeah?” His voice croaks.

  “Please, you must tell me.” I’m persistent, but not aggressive.

  “It’s complicated.” Roger scratches his head awkwardly.

  “I need to be able to fully trust you guys, if I am going to be able to help you,” I remind him.

  “I know.” Roger flicks his eyes down to his lap, becoming reserved again.

  “Carl was visibly annoyed,” I say.

  “That’s just Carl.” Roger cackles, but I give him an irritated look and he immediately clamps his mouth shut, looking sheepish. “Sorry, I mean…it’s true.”

  “I realize that Carl can be brazen, but there must have been some reason why Ken got a rise out of him…” I trail off, coaxing Roger on. It’s like pulling teeth but I must exercise patience to get to the finish line.

  “It’s not difficult. Ken knows how to press everybody’s buttons,” Roger grumbles.

  “Yeah.” I nod in agreement. He seems to have the opposite personality of his older brother.

  “We need to get back,” Roger says abruptly, pressing the green button forcefully. The discussion is over, for now.

  “Fine.” I cross my arms and take a deep breath. I can’t allow this snag to throw me of my game. I’m going to allow Roger to take off, speeding down the path.

  We ride in silence for a while. I shut my eyes to rest them and lean my head back against the seat. After a few minutes, I open them again as I notice that the car has stopped. I turn my head to glance over at Roger. He’s staring straight ahead.

  His mouth drops as his jaw all but unhinges. He grips the steering wheel and his knuckles whiten. Then, he reflexively pulls his arms back as if he’s hugging his body defensively.

  “Roger?” I eye him wearily. “What’s…wrong with you?”

  He mumbles. His lips are moving but no words or sound come out. He points a shaky, almost translucent finger up to the sky.

  I’m almost afraid to trail his finger to what frightening thing might be in his vision outside, but I know I have to discover the source of his terror.

  Hovering above us is a magnificent but horrifyingly grimacing dragon. Its slit eyes are green and threatening. Its nostrils flare in anger. It’s mighty, yellow wings are longer than city block, flapping in the wind. Its tail is like a sharp dagger, thrashing behind its body.

  It’s blocking our path and flying directly above our car. We aren’t’ going anywhere, with this beast in the way.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Katie

  “I’m not afraid.” I chant the words as they bellow like an echo out of my throat.

  Roger glances at me as if I’m crazy. “What are you talking about?”

  “I don’t know.” I keep my eyes on the dragon. My burning stare penetrates the dragon as my gaze meets it’s green, slotted eyes. “But this dragon will not harm me,” I say defiantly.

  “You’re damn right it won’t harm you,” Roger yells. “That’s because I’m going to kill it and suck the blood straight from its scaly, thick neck.”

  I glance over at Roger with horror. “You absolutely cannot do that.” I surprise myself at the command.

  “I’m thirsty,” Roger growls. “There is a dragon hovering above me. I can’t just let it go.”

  “You have to let it go,” I demand again more vehemently.

  “What is your problem?” Roger’s paranoid and hungry expression is vicious as he darts a glance between the dragon and me.

  “Nothing,” I shout defensively. “I understand you need to drink in order to survive as a vampire, but I am supposed to protect you both.”

  “No, I am supposed to protect you,” Roger counters. “And a great way to start would be to kill this thing in the air and suck it dry.”

  I shake my head, denying his irrational argument. I shift my weight to the door and place my hand on the handle.

  “Katie!” Roger’s voice is a warning that slices through me.

  “What?” I flash him a look of annoyance. I don’t know where the line was crossed, but Roger and I are clashing with our boundaries and primal desires.

  “You can’t get out of the car.” He flicks his eyes up at the dragon and nervously licks his lips.

  “You can’t tell me what to do,” I state defiantly. I push the door handle, but it doesn’t open. Roger swiftly presses the lock button to suffocate my efforts.

  “Hey!” I cry. “Why are you locking me in here?”

  “To protect you, remember?” Roger gives me a lecturing look.

  “I don’t need your protection,” I retort with annoyance.

  “I want that dragon. I need to suck the vile thing dry.” Roger is bordering whining.

  He shoots a menacing glance up at the dragon who responds by billowing a cloud of smoke from its nostrils.

  “Is that supposed to scare me?” Roger roars and pounds the side of the window with his balled up fist.

  “Roger!” I panic. “Don’t engage it or give it an excuse to scorch us to a crisp.”

  “I’m not afraid of the damned beast either,” Roger states.

  “Maybe we can reason with it?” I ration.

  I must speak to soon. The dragon opens its wide mouth full of razor sharp teeth. Its tongue is black and menacing. Its throat is a black abyss of no return.

  In an instant, I scream, and Roger jumps as the dragon sends a breath of fire out of its mouth, burning the trees surrounding us. The branches and leaves go up in a fiery display of flames of orange and amber. The sky glows with the mark of the dragon’s fury. The dragon’s eyes blaze with wildness.

 
; “If I don’t kill this thing,” Roger says as if the dragon is a disgusting animal that must be obliterated with his teeth, “then it’s going to kill us. Is that really what you want?”

  “It’s not going to harm us,” I affirm again.

  Roger shakes his head and moves to his own driver side door to open it. “No!” I exclaim and pull him back by the elbow. He jerks his arm away. “Katie, you are messing with a power that’s bigger than yourself.”

  Roger licks his lips and hungrily eyes the dragon as if he’s ready to dive into a four course meal. His expression is one of a vampire who is incredibly famished. I understand his mental torture, but I have to stunt disaster before it tailspins out of control. There’s enough wars brewing right now, we don’t need to add another to the table.

  While he’s distracted from staring at the dragon he desperately wants to devour as his next meal, I whisk myself out of the car in one swoop before Roger has a chance to stop me.

  “Get back in the car!” Roger demands, but his tone is protective, not aggressive.

  I plant my feet to the ground as if I’m a tree burying roots implanted into the soil. The breeze brushes against my cheek. I stare up at the dragon, who’s sizing me up. Its wings make a terrifying flapping sound and it growls, snorting another plume of smoke out of its enormous, black nostrils.

  “Go home,” I order the beast and point to the sky.

  I can see Roger staring at me, dumbfounded and still in the car.

  “You heard me,” I shout to the dragon again. “Go home.”

  I’m relaxed, calm, as I reprimand the dragon. The dragon circles the car, flying above us, but its demeanor changes. It’s no longer life threatening as it breezily swirls through the air, gliding with ease.

  I take my eyes off the animal to glance at Roger. He’s stepping out of the car and peering up at the dragon in awe and amazement. There is a beautiful silence enveloping the three of us. Roger and I staring up at the dragon and the dragon glancing down at us with curiosity.

  Roger dares to speak. “How are you pacifying it like that?” He points to the dragon whose eyes are enchanted as if someone or something is serenading it with a satisfying lullaby.