by Becca Van
Yes there was much planning to do. But first he would need to contact Jerome. If he had his leader’s ear, his ruler would look on him favorably until he had a chance to take him out and take his place.
When the wind died, he opened his eyes to see that Reg was already hurrying back to his car. Wally spun on his heel and rushed after him. He and the other hunter broke into Belinda house and the stink of the dragons was stronger than ever.
“There were three,” Reg said as he moved from room to room.
“Yes.”
“Now that we’ve locked on to their heat signatures, they will be easier to track.” Reg turned to face Wally. He smiled cordially and nodded, but inside he was raging.
“Jerome needs to know that we’ve found dragon shifters.” Reginald looked at his cell phone and cursed. “I don’t have reception in here. I’ll have to go back outside.”
Wally nodded and followed him out. He couldn’t let the fucker tell Jerome about the dragons first. He needed to be the one to advise their leader.
Reg was so intent on looking at his cell phone to see when and if the reception would kick in, he didn’t take any notice of Wally as he walked up behind him. He sneered at the prick, reached out to grab hold of his head, and quickly twisted until his neck snapped. Reg was dead before he hit the ground.
Wally lifted him, shoved him into the back seat of his car before calmly walking back to his own vehicle. He didn’t need the help of the other hunters. He was so strong he taken out one of his own kind with ease.
He would go back to his temporary home, retrieve his obsidian-tipped weapons, and find the dragon shifters’ lair. He was going to take them out one by one and then he would go after Jerome.
After killing Reginald, he was filled with power and knew he was better than all of them. Better than the fucking dragons, better than his fellow hunters, and way better than the stupid humans.
Wallace Core was invincible and he was going to rule the world.
* * * *
Eli wanted to hang around to hear who he was calling and what he said, but getting their mate out of here was their priority.
He flapped his wings hard and took off, and Erwin joined him on his left. Normally he would have relished the wind brushing over his scales and the freedom he felt being in beast form in the air, but all he could think about was getting Bid home as quickly as possible. He wanted her in their apartment so they could begin teaching her about their kind, but most importantly to begin wooing her.
If the elders gone by were right, she would already be feeling an attraction to them and that attraction was only going to get stronger with every minute they spent together.
"The prick was definitely a hunter.” Ed spoke to him and Erwin using their mind connection.
“Do we need to come back to watch over our mates house?” Erwin asked.
Ed sighed. “No, it’s too dangerous. He already sensed my presence and he was calling in reinforcements.”
“Fuck! We can’t let her go back home,” Eli stated firmly.
“I know, but how do we convince her we’re not just making shit up?” Ed questioned.
“We’re going to have to show her our dragons,” Erwin said.
“And what do we do if she runs away screaming?” Eli asked as he banked to the right, dropped in height and slowed his speed.
“We’ll deal with that if and when we have to,” Erwin said. “Is there any way we can track that bastard?”
“My dragon has inhaled his scent. He will be able to smell him a mile off. Shit! His friend just pulled up.”
“Can’t you take them out?” Erwin asked.
“No, damn it. There is a human riding a bike along the road. I can’t unleash my dragon’s breath.”
“What are those men doing?” Eli carefully adjusted Bid in his front legs and was glad to see that she was still deeply asleep.
“Breaking in.”
“You could shift back to human form and knock them out,” Erwin suggested.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Remember what Lance said about how fast they are. What if their strength is equal to ours? I would be putting our whole lair in danger if I got caught.”
“You’re the strongest dragon there is, Ed. Besides Lance, of course. I’m sure you could beat them easily.” Eli glanced over at Erwin.
“That may be true, but it might not. I’m not willing to take any risks right now. We need more information on the hunters and their abilities before we can think of taking them on. Plus, we have a mate now. I want to be around for the next two thousand plus years or so to spend with her.”
“That’s if she accepts us.” Eli glanced about and used his enhanced sense of smell and sight to make sure the coast was clear before landing just outside the entrance to the lair. He once more adjusted Bid in his hold and pushed his dragon down to let his human emerge. Erwin landed next to him and breathed his dragon breath onto the large rock hiding the entrance to their home. The rock disappeared and he carried Belinda into the dark, cool tunnel.
Erwin transformed and followed behind.
“How far behind are you?” Erwin asked.
“Five minutes,” Ed answered.
“Do you want me to leave the entrance clear?”
“No, close it up. Our mate and lair needs to remain hidden.”
Eli smelled his lair brothers long before they came into sight. He wished right at this moment he didn’t have to go through the massive kitchen dining room where his comrades were. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his friends, but he was feeling really possessive and didn’t want them to see his woman. Until he, his dragon, and his flight brothers were able to claim Belinda, he had a feeling they were all going to feel jealous and a little aggressive.
The voices from the men in the kitchen waned before he even got into the room and he knew they’d smelled Belinda. He glanced at them but looked away and was halfway across the room before anyone reacted.
The scrape of a chair on the stone floor had him turning to look back over his shoulder and his dragon pushed to the surface ready to stop any of the others from getting too close to his woman. The snarl which was forming on his lips and in his throat waned when he saw that it was Lance, who was moving toward him. For some reason he was comfortable with the older male getting near his mate.
“Is she hurt? Is there anything I can do?” Lance asked as he stopped a few feet away and stared down at Belinda.
“No. She has a broken toe and took some painkillers. It seems our mate cannot take them without falling asleep,” Eli replied quietly.
“She is very beautiful. Why don’t you take her to your apartment and get her settled? Do you want me to save some food for her?”
“Hopefully she will be awake by dinner time, but if she isn’t then I think we should let her sleep.” Erwin stroked a finger down her flushed cheek.
Eli nodded his agreement and then hurried down the long yet surprisingly illuminated hallway. He was glad that he and his flight brothers’ apartment led off its own corridor like all of the other apartments, because he wasn’t sure how Bid was going to react when she woke up and found she was no longer in her own home. It would be embarrassing if she screamed at them because the other dragon shifters would definitely hear her. But that was something they would have to face when she did awake. Right now he needed to get her into a bed where she could sleep comfortably.
When Eli entered their rooms, he carried her to his bedroom and with Erwin’s help, got Bid settled beneath the covers. He had debated on whether to take her clothes off but quickly vetoed that idea, because he didn’t want to cop anymore hell from her than he suspected was already coming their way.
Erwin propped her left foot up on a pillow and Eli was pleased to see that the swelling was beginning to wane.
“Shit! We forgot her crutches.” Erwin fussed with the covers making sure Belinda was warm.
“Contact Ed and send him back for them.”
“I don’t t
hink that is a good idea.” Erwin sat on the side of the bed and brushed a strand of hair off of Bid’s face. “We don’t want those hunters to get a lock on our dragons.”
“She will put up a fuss.” Eli sighed with excited frustration. He had no problem carrying their mate everywhere she wanted to go. In fact he was looking forward to it, but suspected that she would feel like a burden. They would just have to convince her otherwise.
What he was really worried about was whether she would accept them as her mates. He didn’t know if he could continue on if she rejected them. His dragon wasn’t letting up on pushing him to claim her, and he knew his beast was only going to become more demanding.
His heart clenched painfully at the thought of her walking away from them. But what worried him more was the fact she was in danger from the hunters and they haven’t even mated yet.
How those assholes found her, he had no idea. Maybe they should have stayed and taken care of them, but their main priority had been keeping their woman safe. He and his flight brothers were going to have to tell her everything. Would she just laugh and think they were delusional?
Gods I hope not.
Chapter Six
Bid sighed as she woke. She was so warm and comfortable she didn’t want to move. The mattress was firm yet soft and the pillow beneath her head was perfect. She rolled to her side and blinked the sleep haze from her eyes. She frowned when she saw how high the ceiling was and knew she wasn’t in her own home.
And then she remembered that Ed, Eli, and Erwin had brought her to their house. She bolted upright when their earlier words echoed through her mind. How could she believe something as ludicrous as them being dragon shifters? Were they crazy? Maybe she was the loony one. After the weird couple of days she’d had, she would be in her rights to feel a little insane.
Well there was only one way to find out. She had to find them and talk to them some more. If she thought that they had a screw loose, she was out of here. Wherever here was.
Bid flung the covers aside and stood up carefully. Her toe was still quite painful but the swelling had eased some. Thank goodness. She glanced about the large cavernous room and although it should have been cold since it looked like she was in a cave. It wasn’t. She gasped when she saw how big the bed was and snickered. She had probably looked like a little kid sleeping in her parent’s king-size bed. That is, if they were still alive. Pain lanced her heart and tears burned her eyes as she thought of them, but she pushed her grief aside. She’d mourned them way too long and knew they wouldn’t want her to be unhappy.
When she saw another door, she hobbled her way over to it and sighed with relief when she saw the big en suite bathroom. After relieving herself and washing her hands and face, she limped her way out.
The hallway was long and wide and she made her way down to the other end. The closer she got, the louder the voices became and she paused to get herself together. She was going to give those three men hell for taking her from her home without permission.
Belinda knew she should be mad as hell for what they’d done, but for some reason she wasn’t. That didn’t mean she was going to let them dictate to her or do things without asking her. If she decided to leave, she wasn’t going to let them stop her. She was a grown woman and had been making decisions for herself a long time now.
She drew in a deep breath, pushed her shoulders back, her chin up, and entered the humungous state-of-the-art kitchen. All the chatter ceased, and before she could take another step, Ed was at her side and scooping her up into his arms.
She blinked with shock. He’d been sitting at the massive table with the other men only one moment ago. There was no way a human could have moved so far or so fast so quickly, and she gulped nervously.
“You shouldn’t be walking,” Ed reprimanded in a stern voice and carried her toward the table.
“Put me down.” Bid wiggled in his arms.
“No.”
Bid felt her face heating when she noticed that all ten men in the room were watching her. Ed sat down with her on his lap but she wasn’t comfortable being there when everyone was looking at her so she pushed up to her feet, pulled the free chair beside him out and sat in it.
“Belinda, these are our dragon brothers, but I’ll let them introduce themselves at a later date, because you won’t be able to keep everyone’s names straight if you’re told all at once. But the oldest of us is over there cooking our dinner. Lance DeLuca has been taking care of us for a long time.”
“Hi Belinda, welcome to our lair.” Lance turned to smile at her.
“Uh, thanks.”
“I’m Aiden Tittle,” the man next to Eli said.
“Hi,” she replied before turning to glare at Ed, Eli, and Erwin. “Can you tell me why I’m here and not at my home?”
“You were in danger,” Erwin said.
“What? How?”
“A hunter turned up at your place.”
“A what?”
“I’m Andre.” He winked at her. “There are a group of people who are intent on destroying our kind.”
“Why?”
“The only reason we can think of is because they want to rule all of mankind,” Lance said as he began to put dishes full of food on the table.
Belinda went to get up to help him, but Ed reached over and stopped her. “I want to help—ˮ
“Stay where you are.” Lance waved his hand. “I’ve got this and if I need any help I can ask one of the others.”
Belinda relaxed in her seat and looked across the table when one of the other men began to speak.
“I’m Alex. The hunters are more than the average human. They are faster, stronger, and have keen senses. From as far back as the archives tell, the hunters have always wanted to rule the people of Earth. They are evil and power hungry.”
“I’m Randy.” He smiled before continuing to tell the story. “We are the strongest living beings on the planet and hunters have been trying to eradicate us so they have supremacy.”
“But what for?”
“Why do any fanatics do what they do?” another man said. “I’m Rex. Dictators are always looking to kill off anyone stronger than they are. We don’t like it, but we will do everything we can to stop them.”
“So what? They’re just money-hungry control freaks?”
“I’m Russ, and yes, that pretty much sums up the hunters.”
“Why would they be after me? I’m not a dragon shifter.”
“No, but you’re our mate,” Erwin said. “The hunters know it would destroy us if they hurt or killed you.”
“How did these hunters find me? What did they look like? Do they look human? Or do they have distinguishing features or something to differentiate them from normal people?”
“They look as human as you and I do,” Eli said. “How those bastards were able to find you is a mystery. One we’ll have to look into.”
“So can you describe them to me?”
“The first hunter to turn up was around six feet, with blond hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in black slacks and a green shirt and quite muscular.”
A knot of dread filled the pit of her stomach and her breathing increased. Her stomach churned and perspiration beaded on her upper lip. She had a really bad feeling she knew who the hunter was, and although she didn’t want to ask the question on the tip of her tongue, she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
“Was the car a black SUV?”
“You know him?” Ed frowned at her and must have seen how upset she was because he reached over and took her hand in his. “Take a deep breath, honey. We won’t let this fucker get to you.”
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before doing so twice more. The last exhale was enough to help calm her breathing and racing heart.
“He sounds like my boss, Wallace Core.” She gave Lance a weak smile when he placed a glass of water in front of her and took a sip to ease her dry mouth and throat. “He was acting weird yesterday and this morning. He was really angr
y, swearing and yelling at me. I got sick of it and told him to fuck off. He fired me.”
“Do you have a photograph of him?” Aiden asked.
“No, but it’s on the City Hall website. He’s the mayor of Rock Springs.”
“Damn,” Lance said as he placed the last platter of food on the table before taking a seat. “He’s worked his way up into a position of power. What’s the bet other hunters are doing the same thing?”
“Shit.” Russ scrubbed a hand over his face. “What if they’ve infiltrated the senate?”
“Then we’ll have to find them and take them down,” Ed said in a hard cold voice, before turning to face her again. She was pleased he softened his tone when he spoke to her. “You can’t go home, Bid. It’s not safe.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. Even though she was scared and didn’t really want to end up face to face with Wally, especially knowing he was a hunter. But, she couldn’t let them tell her how to run her life.
“You can’t tell me what to do.”
Ed leaned forward until the tip of his nose was almost touching hers. “Yes, I can. You are our mate and it is our right and privilege to protect you.”
“And what if I don’t believe any of this. You do realize that what you’ve told me is impossible?”
Ed drew back with a sigh before looking at Erwin. “Show her.”
Erwin stood and moved away from the table toward the back stone wall.
“Watch him, sweetheart,” Ed said and squeezed her hand as if trying to offer comfort.
She looked up at Erwin and gasped when the outline of his body began to shimmer. It happened so fast she was glad she hadn’t blinked and that she was sitting down. Erwin was gone, and in his place was a dragon with brown-and-orange toned scales. It wasn’t as big as she’d imagined but it was way bigger than Erwin had been. The breath she’d only just got back under control escalated until she was panting and her heart was thundering in her chest and ears. She didn’t even realize she was trembling until Ed lifted her from her seat and plonked her back into his lap. And she was really cold, but sweating up a storm.