He absentmindedly touched his ring again, and she wondered what that meant. “Anyway,” he said as he finished stacking the wolves, “this is a big enough issue that someone else has to get involved. It’s not what I’m supposed to be doing while I’m here ‘blending in.’”
She laughed. “I don’t think you can ever blend in.”
He gave her a flat look, his long jaw taut. “Thanks.”
She put her arm through his and walked him to the front of the alley to wait for whoever was picking them up. “So I guess I’m going to learn more about dragons after all, right?”
He nodded, looking unhappy about it. “Me as well. I mean, I’ve been somewhat apprised of what they are like now, but I’ve never met one. The oracle kept me on a rather tight leash. Literally.”
She glanced at the collar. Even with it on, when he’d been fighting, he’d looked like a wild animal. And he didn’t even fully have access to his dragon powers.
Who exactly was this man?
Still, she could only judge him by how he treated her, and that was well. Last night, she’d had the best sex of her life, and the tenderness and passion and strength he’d exhibited were things she could never forget in a million lifetimes.
She wanted him to be hers, but she also wanted to know just what was inside him.
Never in her wildest dreams had she thought such a hot man would just waltz into her life and be crazy about her. At times, it seemed almost too good to be true.
She wrapped one arm around her waist and wrapped the other around Zach.
After a few minutes, a van pulled up, and men in dark suits jumped out. They were tall and strong and had the wolves loaded in a matter of minutes, but instead of talking to them, they simply saluted and pulled off.
She looked at Zach questioningly, but he just waited, putting up a finger.
Then another car pulled up, a limo with dark windows, and he nodded. “That’ll be them. They’ll probably want to meet us before taking us home.”
She swallowed hard. “Dragons?”
He nodded. “Dragons.”
The door to the back opened, and a hand beckoned them in. Zach went first, crawling into the large car and then handing her in behind him. When she was seated in the well-lit, spacious side seat next to Zach, surrounded by cup holders with glasses with ice in them, she looked around.
The door shut, making it even easier to see, and she caught her breath as she saw the men across from her.
Even without being told, she would have guessed these were the dragons. There was just something about them, that cocky charisma, that mystery, reminding her of Zach.
Neither was quite as tall or as broad as him, but both were large enough to probably scare most people.
The shorter one, who was probably still 6’2”, was a little leaner, though still muscled, and had a face that could almost be called beautiful it was so handsome and striking. He had tanned skin and golden hair that waved to his shoulders, though it was shorter than Zach’s.
The other man, who was just an inch or two shorter than Zach at 6’5”, had severe, short, dark hair and ice-blue eyes, which were currently pinned on her and Zach.
“So you’re a gem dragon,” he said, glaring.
The man next to him leaned forward, reassuring his partner with a tap on the shoulder. “Draven, calm yourself.”
Draven sat back with a huff. “Ten wolves. He dropped ten wolves in our territory. Do you know what the fallout will be? How busy we already are?”
“Busy enough to bitch a lot?” Zach retorted sarcastically.
The golden-haired man let out a musical laugh. He was still muscular and charismatic in a masculine way, but his beauty really was something.
Even if Zach’s hard, chiseled face was the most perfect to her.
“Glad you find this funny, Ran,” Draven said, folding one leg over the other.
“I like him,” Ran said. “He’s the only dragon I’ve met who seems grumpier than you.”
“I have reason to be grumpy,” Zach said. “They were attacking my mate. In fact, since I’ve met her, all that seems to happen is humans and shifters attacking her.”
“Interesting,” Draven commented, looking her over in a way that made her curl back into the seat. It wasn’t that he was being disrespectful; it was just that his eyes were so very sharp and all-seeing.
“Who are you?” she asked. “You ordered us into your car. Shouldn’t you at last introduce yourselves?”
“Sure,” Ran said. “I’m Ran, and this is Draven. We’re the gold and black dragon pair of the dragons of New York. I don’t know how much you know, but dragons patrol in areas.” He looked at Zach. “How did they do it in your time?”
“Dragons didn’t patrol,” Zach said darkly. “We pillaged.”
“Ah, right,” Ran said lightly, leaning back in the seat.
“Awakened dragon,” Draven said. “What does that even mean?”
“What do you think it means?” Zach asked, growing more combative as the limo pulled onto the freeway.
“I don’t know,” Draven said. “Typically, it would imply you’ve had some sort of epiphany. But all I know is you were cryogenically frozen and then revived. Perhaps we should call you thawed dragon.” A small smile quirked his lips, and Erin squeezed Zach’s knee just in case.
“Or Grandpa,” Ran quipped, green eyes sparkling as he waited for a reaction from Zach, who just sat there unamused. “Since we were apparently genetically created from you.”
“Could be,” Zach said. “What are your powers?”
“He has shielding,” Ran said, pointing to Draven. “I have toxic fire.”
“He definitely got some of me,” Zach said, nodding to Draven. “You got some from emerald, you poor bastard.”
“Fascinating,” Ran said, leaning forward. He looked over at Draven. “What do you think? Safe to take home?”
Draven cocked his head and then slowly nodded. “He didn’t respond much to being provoked. From what I heard of the ancient dragons, they didn’t react well to being mocked.”
Ran nodded. “He seems to do okay, though.”
“Stop talking about me as if I’m not here,” Zach snapped. “And if you didn’t notice, I’m restrained.” He pointed to the collar, and Ran and Draven both stared at it, intrigued.
Then Draven shook his head. “I’m sorry, but that’s wrong.”
Zach let out a long breath and looked out the window. “I don’t know. I thought so, but there is enough violence in me that I’m beginning to think it’s not such a bad idea after all.”
“Should we not take him, then?” Ran asked.
“I told you. I can’t hurt anyone,” Zach said. “Not unless they attack or have bad motives toward a human.”
Ran’s eyes moved to Erin. “I’m sorry, my dear, what was your name?”
“Erin,” she replied.
“And you’re his mate?” Ran asked.
She glanced at Zach, who put a possessive arm around her. “He’d like me to be.”
“Do you think she’s a dragon heart?” Draven asked.
“Not sure,” Ran said. “He said she does get into trouble a lot, a sure sign of one.”
“Or she could just be stupid.”
“I’m not stupid!” She scoffed, offended. “I just don’t like leaving people in trouble or not helping someone who needs it.”
“Dragon heart,” Ran and Draven said in unison. She looked up at Zach, but he seemed just as confused as she was.
Draven leaned back. “Don’t worry about it.”
Ran smiled. “You’ll like Melissa, our mate. You two have something in common.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” she asked.
“Putting up with stubborn dragons,” he said.
She laughed, already starting to like Ran and his grumpy partner. She could see the benefits of having two such different men to take care of you.
But for her, leaning against Zach and feeling his warmth, his poss
essiveness, that was all she needed.
She let out a contented sigh and let Zach’s arms fall around her, trying to relax and prepare herself for wherever they were going.
12
Zach already hated the dragons across from him. What’s more, he hated himself for also liking them a little.
Despite their many differences, there was something vaguely familiar, that kind of dragon swagger unique to their species.
Yet they were also different, like a modern house cat compared to a feral lion.
Or maybe he just flattered himself to think so. They were probably very powerful, but he had to assure himself he still had something to offer to the world.
So they had split genetic powers in odd ways between dragons. He didn’t know what to make of that.
Did that make the black-haired, blue-eyed dragon across from him technically his descendent? He almost certainly had his DNA. They had only cryogenically frozen one of each gemstone dragon, and no one else had his shielding power.
They pulled up to a private drive that led to a beautiful old brownstone that was enclosed on all sides by land and heavy, iron-wrought gates.
Definitely a nice upgrade on the traditional cave. The limo pulled up a long, circular drive to the front of the house, and he was the first to step out, helping Erin behind him.
They stretched and looked around, enjoying the cool air, and then the dragons got out behind them.
He sort of wanted to see his dragon form next to theirs, see how it lined up size-wise.
Why he was already getting competitive, he didn’t know. But it was just odd to wake up and see others had supplanted him. Others who were made to be different from him.
Improved.
The thought rankled as he followed the men into the beautifully appointed home they shared with their mate.
His hand was in Erin’s as they walked, making him feel slightly calmed and less intimidated. He might not belong in this world like they did, but he belonged with her.
When the doors were shut behind them, a small, curvy woman with brown, creamy skin and dark curls stepped out of a nearby room to greet them, holding a toddler in her arms with white-blond hair.
“Rin! Come to Daddy!” Ran said, stepping forward with open arms as the tyke let out a squeak and vanished in a poof of white smoke. The next moment, there was a tiny whitish-silver dragon bobbing in the air away from them.
Draven sighed, and Ran took off after the little one, jumping after him in the air as the woman who’d been holding him joined them, putting her arm around Draven’s.
They all watched Ran attempt to catch his young as he stayed just out of reach. Rin was the tiniest, cutest, chubbiest little dragon Zach had ever seen, with tiny wings that could barely support him.
Rin perched on the bannister, holding on with his tail, and Ran looked up sternly. “If I have to come up there, you aren’t going flying with me for a week.”
The tiny dragon squeaked and jumped into Ran’s arms, poofing back to a toddler, and Ran gave him a hug and then took him off to a nearby room to get changed.
“How old is he?” Zach asked.
“About two,” the woman replied. “My name’s Melissa. Welcome to our home.” She smiled and held out a hand.
He shook it gently, almost afraid he could break it. But when he touched her, he felt dragon power flowing through her. He looked at Draven in surprise as he stepped back.
“Our mates are given a dragon power. It protects them as well as us,” Draven said in response to Zach’s shock. “It’s the same reason we work in pairs. Dragons are hunted in this world. We can watch each other’s backs.”
So would he and Erin be safe alone, then? He looked over at her, seeing hesitation on her face. Was she wondering the same thing?
Was it all a mistake to come back here and think the world was right for him? The world had moved on, selecting better traits and better dragons to protect it.
Maybe he shouldn’t have been awakened after all.
“Of course, they have to be a dragon heart, someone who is brave enough to risk everything for others, in order to be given power, but luckily, all the dragons in our region were able to find one,” Draven explained, pulling Melissa tight against him.
“Don’t you get jealous?” Erin said.
Draven shook his head. “Ran and I are one unit in a lot of ways. We each can offer things the other can’t. I like knowing there is always someone there to protect my mate.”
Zach pushed back a shudder at that. Who would watch out for Erin when he was out fighting? How was that supposed to work? The oracle hadn’t said anything about that.
Then again, she hadn’t expected him to go out and find a human mate. She’d just wanted him to go out and see people weren’t so bad.
In selecting Erin, was he keeping her from a dragon pair who could not only be twice the protection, but also give her unique powers of her own?
He twisted his ring nervously.
Ran came back into the room, holding Rin, who was dressed in a tee shirt and shorts and looking at them with ice-blue eyes just like Draven’s.
Ran handed him to Draven, and the big man seemed to melt as he walked off with his young to toss him in the air, making him giggle.
“And you don’t get weird about it at all?” Erin asked, watching them.
Ran shook his head. “Any dragon young is a gift from the universe. We don’t think of Rin as just his or mine or both. He is just a gift we all protect. Us and Melissa. A special being we get to raise to help the world in the future.”
Zach’s stomach twisted. They had it all figured out. With their perfect house and their perfect powers and their perfect mating setup.
And he was just a vagabond from another time, with not a thing in his pocket and an anger management issue that could come bursting out of him if his dragon were unleashed.
He swallowed back the bile working its way out of him and put an arm around Erin. “So what now?”
“Now we need to talk to you about the wolves and other shifter things,” Ran said. “Erin, do you want to go with Melissa and get something to eat? You’ve been through a lot.”
“I’d rather stay with Zach,” she said.
Ran sighed. “I’m afraid there are some things we need to talk about only with other shifters.”
“Anything you say to me you can say to her,” Zach said.
Ran raised a blond eyebrow. “If we have to erase her memory later, you know we can sometimes erase more than just what we’re intending, right? Why risk it?”
Zach sighed and squeezed her hand protectively. “I’ll be right back, sweetheart. You’ll be fine with Melissa.”
He let her go and turned to hide his wince at his own words as he followed Ran.
He’d called her sweetheart. Such a human term of endearment. And he’d meant it.
What was the world coming to? What was he becoming?
He was too fierce to fit into this world, too soft to fit into the old one…
“I’m trying to be polite and not read your mind, but the sheer look of panic on your face is making me want to,” Ran said, observing him curiously as he opened the door to an office.
They walked in and had just gotten seated when the door opened and Draven came in, flushed from his play with Rin. “Sorry,” he said. “Hope you haven’t been waiting.”
“No, you’re just on time,” Ran said, sitting behind a desk and pushing out a chair for Draven to join him.
For a moment, both dragons just looked at Zach in silence. Then Ran spoke. “So what are your powers? I know the original dragons didn’t work in pairs, so you must have been powerful.”
Zach touched his collar. “Am powerful.”
“So you say,” Draven said. “But how?”
“Why?” Zach asked. “Worried I’ll replace you?”
“Worried you’ll cause trouble,” Draven said. “If you’re on the right side, I’ll be glad if you’re powerful. We need all the help w
e can get.”
“You sound like the oracle,” Zach said dully. “But as I told her, I’m not sure what side I want to be on. Or if I want to be here at all.” He grimaced. “Well, that’s how I felt until I met Erin. Now I don’t know.”
“You seem to know,” Ran said.
“I know I want her,” Zach said. “I don’t know if I fit in her world.”
“Sounds like The Little Mermaid,” Draven said.
“The what?” Zach asked.
“Hans Christian Anderson,” Draven said. “You know, mythical creature becomes human to try to be with a human?”
“Haven’t heard that one.”
“You were probably asleep,” Draven said sardonically.
“How does it end?” Zach asked.
“Draven…” Ran warned.
Draven paused, biting his lip. “Well, the mermaid ends up having to choose between her lover’s life and her own and ends up jumping into the sea to turn into seafoam, leaving him to live his life.”
Zach scowled. “Oh. And what’s your point?”
“Nothing,” Draven said. “Look, it just came to mind when you talked about belonging in her world.” He ran a hand over his hair and rubbed his neck as he sank back in his chair.
“Look, I don’t know what to do with the situation any more than you do. The oracle did all of this without really telling anyone. I mean, we were aware you were out there somewhere, but we didn’t even know you were in our area until this thing with the wolves.”
Zach nodded. “I was supposed to blend in, stay low profile.”
“Nice job,” Ran said, grinning.
Zach felt like swatting at him, but looking at the other man’s smile, he couldn’t help finding him likable. He slumped in his own chair in defeat.
“So what do you know about these wolves?” Draven asked.
“Just that their brother was harassing Erin. Attacked her sexually.”
“Is she okay?” Draven asked.
“Of course. I was there,” Zach said.
“But your power is restrained,” Ran said.
“Not all the way.”
Ran exhaled. “So you took out ten wolves without any dragon power?”
“Just some of my strength and my diamond skin.”
Onyx Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 1) Page 9