by Katie Reus
She smiled almost nervously at Victoria as she covered the distance between them, her steps almost tentative. “I thought I heard someone down here.”
“Just me.” She half-smiled, feeling nervous too. “There’s not much in the fridge. Just some champagne.” Because she’d polished off those strawberries.
“I’m okay, but thank you. Are you going to bed?”
“Ah, yeah, unless you need something?”
“No.” But the female shifted from foot to foot, clearly wanting to say something. Wearing a long-sleeved, silky, black pajama set with white trim and a matching black and white robe, the female looked put together even now.
“You sure?” She wasn’t going to force the issue but if Keelin was anxious, Victoria hoped she would open up. This was Drake’s family after all.
Keelin opened her mouth to respond but glass from the nearby window shattered in an explosion, shards flying everywhere as something bright and gleaming hurtled into the room.
Without thinking, Victoria threw herself at Keelin, tackling the petite female. Pain detonated in her right shoulder as they hit the floor and she rolled them behind the leather couch.
As she cried out from the onslaught of whatever had hit her, her wolf took over instantaneously, the shock of her shift brutal and jarring as her bones shifted and realigned, fur replacing skin.
Keelin let out a scream of rage as she jumped to her feet, breathing fire in her human form at something beyond the couch.
Victoria tried to jump up, to help, but her legs refused to work, her paws barely sliding against the hardwood floor. As darkness swept her under, the strange lethargic feeling spreading out from her shoulder to the rest of her body, the most horrifying screeching sound filled the air.
It reverberated through the house, shaking the windows as blackness completely claimed her.
Chapter Thirteen
At the sound of glass breaking and an ear-splitting scream downstairs, a vise tightened around Drake’s heart, squeezing all the breath from him as fear nearly paralyzed him.
Victoria.
Without pause he raced for the door but a ball of fire ripped through the wall of windows, blasting the glass inward.
His dragon took over without his conscious thought. He couldn’t let whoever was outside in. He had to keep his mate safe. Breathing fire to combat another attack, he raced toward the gaping hole, his body starting to shift as he ran. He managed to control the complete transformation until he burst out into the cold night air. Letting his animal loose, he snapped his wings out and dove over the back deck, rolling midair and diving straight for the thicket of trees below as a shot of flames erupted from his left.
A steady burst of panic rippled through him. He had to get back to Victoria.
Before he slammed into the tops of the trees he shifted directions, forcing his body into a glide. He gained momentum and shot toward the skies. Though it felt like an eternity, he estimated less than thirty seconds had passed as he whipped back around toward the cabin.
That previous burst of panic was now a full blown attack on his nervous system as he raced toward the cabin. The predator in him catalogued the carnage as he flew. The bottom window had been blasted out, just as the window in the master bedroom had been. Keelin fought with a male, both in human form, in the living room. A dragon he was certain was Conall was locked in a freefall high above the forest with a smaller shimmering yellowish-orange dragon. A third dragon of similar coloring was diving toward the open window where Keelin was.
Where was Victoria?
Fear raked against his insides, the unknown making him insane. Find and save Victoria. That was all the predator inside him was capable of focusing on.
On a burst of rage and the need to protect, Drake shot through the air faster than he’d ever flown. The biting wind rushed over him but he barely felt it as he made like an arrow toward the offending shifter diving for the cabin.
The animal turned toward him the moment before impact. There was nowhere to go.
Opening his jaw wide, Drake slammed into the other dragon, clamping his teeth down on the animal’s neck as he released fire once again, burning and biting right through the animal’s neck. As he rolled them over, his wing slammed against the house, taking off pieces of the roof as they tumbled to the back deck. The dragon screamed, the sound scraping over Drake’s senses until he ripped the head free, tossing it to the forest below before his body slammed against the wooden surface of the deck.
The other dragon’s body tumbled off the deck, ripping the railing free as it fell to the forest below. Not caring where the body landed, he shifted to his human form, the rush of the change invigorating him right before he raced into the living room to protect the females. Unable to avoid the glass, he stepped into the carnage, his heart pounding out of control as he searched for Victoria. He was vaguely aware of the glass slicing into his feet but it barely registered.
Keelin was on the ground, her clothes in tatters as Gabriel crouched next to her, a blade in one hand as he reached for Drake’s sister with his other. Where the hell had the Guardian come from? The front door had been kicked down so maybe he’d entered while Drake was fighting the other dragon. A headless male corpse lay a few feet away, blood everywhere, no doubt slaughtered by Gabriel. “Where’s—”
Rhea popped up from behind the couch, her expression grim.
“It’s Victoria,” the female said, those two words piercing him deeper than any blade or demon’s claws could ever manage.
No. No, no, no.
Unable to speak, he launched himself in that direction, more terrified than he’d ever been in Hell. Everything else funneled out around him as he found Victoria lying on the ground in wolf form, her clothes shredded around her unmoving body.
She was breathing, but she was too still. He sat next to her, gently stroking her head, but was too afraid to move her until he knew what had happened. She didn’t make a sound. “What happened?” he rasped out, his voice scratchy, as if he hadn’t used it in weeks.
He was vaguely aware of Conall entering the room, but didn’t take his focus off Victoria.
“Those were Veles dragons. They hate us, but they haven’t attacked like this in hundreds of years,” Conall said.
“One of them poisoned Victoria. She shoved me out of the way and got hit with that bastard’s dart.” Keelin’s voice broke on the last word.
Drake looked up, never taking his hand from Victoria’s head. “What kind of poison?”
Conall’s dragon was in his eyes as he looked at him, his rage clear. “It’s unique to their clan, taken from their teeth.”
“Like the poisonous dart frog?” Rhea asked, also crouching next to Victoria.
“Similar. Veles dragons remove their back teeth and grind them into a powder before mixing it into a liquid form. It’s incredibly deadly and must be treated soon.”
“How?” That was all that mattered to Drake. Because as soon as Victoria was well, he was going to destroy anyone who’d had a hand in her poisoning.
“Within twelve hours. She might have more time because she was protected with your dragon’s essence, but that’s…” He looked around at the others, as if thinking he’d said too much, but continued. Drake had no clue what his brother was talking about, but caught up fast when Conall continued. “That just protects her from dragon fire to an extent. It’s not a long-term thing in battle, but I’ll explain that to you later. We need to get her to our clan healer. She can remove the poison from Victoria’s system.”
“Where do your people live?” Gabriel asked, his expression tense, the fear he felt for Victoria’s safety palpable.
“Northern Montana. We could fly there in enough time, but it would be impossible to maintain our camouflage the entire time and the ride might not be safe for Victoria.”
“What’s the nearest airport to your land?” Gabriel snapped as he pulled out his phone.
As Gabriel and Conall talked, Drake had never felt so fucking
helpless in his life. He didn’t know how to help Victoria. Could literally do nothing for her. He was useless. “Tell me what to do.” He said it to them all, desperate to do something.
“Hold her, pull her into your lap. Touch is healing,” Keelin said quietly, standing near the edge of the couch, her body trembling as she wrapped her arms around herself.
Not needing to be told twice, he lifted Victoria’s body and pulled her close. In wolf form, she was all black, her fur the same color as her dark hair. She was beautiful but so very still. His throat clenched tight, adrenaline pumping through him overtime. He wanted to let his dragon free, to burn everything in his wake to the ground. The primal violent urge snapped him out of his thoughts. Victoria was all that mattered. Not vengeance. He couldn’t lose her.
“Why did they attack?” he demanded, not caring which of his siblings answered.
Gabriel had gone outside and was on his phone, hopefully getting a flight. Something Drake should be doing for her. God, he hated this helplessness, that he didn’t know how to do such simple things like make a flight reservation. He wrapped himself around her, trying to protect her, reach her with his embrace and his love. Hold on, sweetheart. Please hold on.
Conall answered. “All dragons are naturally wary of other clans but we do enough inter-clan matings that we keep the peace for the most part. When you disappeared, however, our mother was convinced their clan had something to do with it. She struck hard and viciously, taking out many of their warrior males. Our clans battled back and forth for about a decade until we had to call a truce or risk dying out. They have clearly not forgotten our blood feud.”
“How did they find Drake though?” Rhea asked.
“That’s a good question.” Conall looked murderous as he glanced at the dead male. When he looked over at Keelin, the scent of something burning lingered in the air, as if his brother was reining in his fire. “Did he hurt you?” he asked their sister, a note Drake had never heard before in his voice.
That was when Drake realized the way her clothes had been ripped. The pajama top she held together in front of her chest had been ripped down the front and her pants were gone. Nausea swelled inside him. He’d seen enough in Hell that he understood this. He cradled Victoria closer. “Keelin, did he…” He couldn’t finish. Everything had happened so fast, he’d never imagined she’d been sexually assaulted.
She shook her head, looking back and forth between Drake and Conall. “No. Gabriel and Rhea saved me.” Tears spilled down her cheeks and for the first time since he’d met her he realized how fragile she was, her smaller stature aside. “I’m sorry I didn’t protect her,” she whispered.
Before he could respond, Gabriel strode back into the room, his boots crunching over the glass. “Got a private plane that’ll take us about an hour out from your place. A direct flight. Can your clan meet us with a ride?” When Conall nodded, Gabriel continued. “Lyra’s called her former coven and they’re sending some vamps to clean this up. I don’t hear any sirens but that doesn’t mean some humans didn’t see that little light show.”
“We need to burn the bodies before we leave,” Conall said. “They’ll disintegrate if burned with dragon fire.”
Gabriel nodded once. “Then I’ll let you take care of that. Rhea and I will start packing up everything.” His gaze landed on Drake, his expression tight. “You just hold onto Victoria. She’s going to be okay.”
Throat tight, all Drake could do was nod and hold his future mate closer. He thought he’d been prepared for anything, but not this. Never this. It didn’t matter how many creatures he’d fought and killed in Hell or how many injuries he’d sustained. He’d never known true pain until now. Gently stroking her head, he held her closer but was careful not to squeeze too tight. Around him everyone was moving, cleaning up, removing the dead body and bringing all their bags downstairs, but he was barely aware of anything, even as he carried Victoria to the SUV.
All he cared about was saving her.
Chapter Fourteen
Conall glanced back at the shut door of the private cabin. Once they’d boarded the private plane, Drake had taken Victoria to the bedroom and shut everyone out. They might not be mated yet, but his brother was certainly feeling the mating hunger.
Conall hated that this shit had happened on his watch. He was supposed to bring Drake back, to protect his brother. Everyone had failed Drake before. He wouldn’t do it again. It didn’t matter that he’d been ten when Drake had gone missing. They were brothers. He should have known his brother wasn’t gone for good.
Facing forward in the plush leather seat, he found Gabriel watching him curiously. “What?” he asked the Guardian. Conall didn’t know much about wolf shifters and their pack dynamics. They didn’t keep their species as secretive as dragons, but shifters and vamps still locked things down pretty tight, the inter-species communication limited for the most part. Though he did know things must be changing since the Stavros Alpha had mated a vampire and they had a child together. That itself was hard to believe.
“You’re worried about your brother,” Gabriel said.
“Of course I am. I’m surprised you are.” Because that male wasn’t just concerned for Victoria, he cared about Drake too. Conall had seen the worry in his eyes on the drive to the private airport.
Gabriel’s dark eyebrows rose.
“I saw you fight in the ring,” he clarified.
The male just grunted. “Just stupid male bullshit. I needed to make sure he was serious about Victoria.”
Drake definitely was. That mating light he’d been putting off had been intense. Like the sun, for lack of a better analogy.
“Have your kind been healed from this poison?” Gabriel asked so quietly Conall almost didn’t hear him.
Conall nodded. “Been a while, but yeah. Our healer will have to extract it from her body.” And it would likely be painful but he didn’t think Victoria would mind if it saved her life. His gaze flicked up to the front of the plane where Rhea and Keelin sat talking quietly. His sister was normally wary of outsiders, but she seemed to have taken to Rhea quickly. Which was good.
He wasn’t sure why he even cared, but he did. That female made his heart pound out of control and they’d barely said two full sentences to each other.
“She’s single,” Gabriel said before standing and heading to the bathroom in the back.
Conall scrubbed a hand over his face. Shit. He was too damn obvious if this stranger noticed his interest in Rhea. It didn’t make sense either. His heart had been claimed by another female long ago. Until she’d left him to mate with another. Conall hadn’t thought he’d ever get over her. Hundreds of years later and no female had interested him for more than sex. Even that had gotten old long ago. His fist did well enough. That and fighting. So it didn’t make sense that a wolf shifter was drawing out this strange humming sensation in his chest.
Whenever she was near, his body flared to life. And now was the worst time in the world for him to be noticing a female. Drake deserved his full attention.
Glancing back at the closed door as if he could somehow see past the barrier, his hands balled into fists. Whoever had hurt Drake’s female would pay with their life.
When he sensed Keelin heading his way, he turned back around. His sister seemed better than she had at the cabin, but still shaken. She’d always been sheltered, even up until she’d gone into Protective Hibernation. So much of this was hard on her and he wished she’d listened to him and stayed back at their compound.
“This is a beautiful plane,” Keelin said as she sat in the seat Gabriel had vacated. She always made small talk when she felt out of sorts.
Conall nodded, his gaze straying to the front of the plane. “Yeah.” The pilot was human too, but he hadn’t batted an eye as Drake had carried a wolf onto the plane. And Conall was fairly certain their flight hadn’t been registered anywhere. The private airport they were flying into had been closed down about a year ago. He hadn’t questioned Gabriel th
ough because he didn’t give a shit if they broke a thousand human laws. He nearly snorted at the thought of humans and their stupid laws with their broken legal systems all over the world. Shifters and vamps might be more brutal in the way they executed justice but their crime rates were very low.
“So… Fia texted me.” Her words were like the equivalent of a nuclear bomb going off.
His head snapped around until he faced his sister. “When?”
“Before we got on the plane.”
He didn’t respond, not wanting to ask why the female had contacted Keelin. Fia, the female he’d been betrothed to mate, had left him for a royal member of the Devlin clan. Keelin had only discovered it once she’d come out of her Protective Hibernation but she’d remained friends with Fia. Conall had never said one way or another if he minded even though he hated the thought of his sister still in contact with Fia.
“She asked about Drake,” Keelin continued when Conall remained silent. “Said she’d heard from some clan members that he was back and wanted to know if she could come for a visit.”
A shot of pure surprise jolted through him. Fia hadn’t been to their land for hundreds of years. “Alone?”
Keelin’s eyes filled with an emotion that looked a lot like pity. “You know her mate would never let her go anywhere without him.”
“What did you say?” he bit out.
“Nothing. I didn’t have time to respond and I never would have invited her without your approval. I know she hurt you.” Oh yeah, that was definitely pity.
His jaw tightened.
Keelin continued. “It might be a good show of peace-keeping to invite their royal members for a visit, especially after the Veles attack. We’ll need all the support we can get if this isn’t an isolated incident.” His sister was one of the physically weakest dragons of their clan, but she made up for it with her wisdom. Something their mother had chosen to ignore for so long.