Scorched Hearts (Dragons of Ember Brooke Book 1)

by Victoria Zak

  Bex took her cellphone out of her lab coat pocket turning on the flashlight app. She shined the light into the corner where she heard the voice come from. “Who’s there?”

  Footsteps echoed behind her. Before she could turn around, a cloth was pressed against her mouth and nose. She struggled, frantically grabbing at her attacker’s hand, fighting to break free. Gasping for air, she inhaled the sweet smell permeating the cloth. It consumed her, dragging her down into a black bottomless pit. She clawed and fought to stay awake. Limb-by-limb, she surrendered to the void.

  Tap, tap, tap, thumped inside Bex’s head like someone was drumming on her brain. She blinked her eyes open. White tiled flooring came in and out of focus. Her head slummed over, she couldn’t lift it. Again, she heard the tapping. Where am I?

  The fog was beginning to lift and she finally had just enough energy to open her eyes again. This time, she realized she wasn’t alone. A man wearing a tweed jacket came into view. She blinked again, desperately trying to keep her eyes open longer. The man was standing in front of a computer with his back turned to her. “Professor?” she slurred.

  He turned around and walked over. She could smell coffee and stale cigarettes on his breath as he leaned in and said, “Bex, are you awake?”

  It was hard, but she focused on his face. “Dr. V., what’s going on?” She tried to lift her arm, but couldn’t. Then she tried to shift her legs, nothing happened.

  Panic set in as she looked around the room. She was still in the lab, and…she looked down at her arms to see why she couldn’t move…she was tied to a chair? There’s nothing like being tied down and apparently drugged to send a she-dragon into oh shit territory. Like a cat trapped in a cage, she thrashed against the restraints and screamed.

  “Shhh,” Dr. Valstrath placed his shaking hand over her mouth. “Please, don’t move. You’ll hurt yourself.”

  Bex’s eyes widened as she looked at her arm and saw an IV line connected. She followed the path of the tubing with her gaze and found that she was connected to a bag sitting in a centrifuge rocking back and forth. A wave of crimson sloshed inside.

  “I’ll remove my hand if you’ll allow me to explain.”

  Bex nodded, regaining her senses. She wasn’t going to find out anything if she didn’t play along.

  “Good girl.”

  Bex inhaled a shaky breath as she kept her gaze on the professor who was nervously pacing in front of her. “I can’t, it’s too risky. But she must know,” he mumbled, then argued with himself.

  “Please, tell me what you’re going to do with me. Are you going to kill me?” Bex chocked out.

  Slowly, he turned and faced her. “I’m not going to kill you, child. I need you to stay alive.” He shoved his hands through his peppered hair. “Bah, what kind of a father would I be?” He mumbled under his breath.

  “What did you say?” Bex pulled on the restraints.

  He stared off into the distance as if he recalled a memory. “Not a very good one I’m afraid.”

  “Stop talking in riddles and tell me why I’m here and why a professor would drug and kidnap his assistant.”

  “Do you know why you’re the only she-dragon in the institute?”

  “I don’t know, luck of the draw?”

  The professor chuckled and shook his finger at Bex. “I like your wit. Reminds me of your mother.”

  “My mother? You don’t know her.”

  “Oh, I do. Did.” He shook his head in frustration. “Damn the gods. Bex, I’m your father.”

  Bex’s heart sank into the pit of her stomach. She didn’t know what to say or believe. Was this some kind of sick joke?

  “Your mother was a human. We were madly in love until one day she found out I was a dragon. She left without telling me she was pregnant with you. I didn’t even know she’d put you up for adoption until you found me.” He crouched down and held her hand. “I knew it was you the moment you walked into my office. A dragon knows his kin.”

  “This is crazy. I don’t believe you.”

  The centrifuge came to a stop, drawing his attention away from the conversation. “It’s done.” He clamped off the line and gently pulled the IV out of her arm replacing it with a cotton ball and tape. “You have no idea how happy you’ve made me.” He walked to the centrifuge and took the bag of blood out. “This…” He held the bag up, presenting it like a prized possession. “Is the missing element I need to make your anti-shift serum everlasting.”

  What the…How in the…This situation was getting crazier by the second. He knew what she had been up to all along?

  He returned to where he’d been typing on the laptop. Hopefully, he was researching psychiatric wards, because the man was nuttier than a fruitcake.

  “You don’t believe me?” he asked.

  Bex glared at him.

  “Once I found out what you were doing. And Bex, sweetheart, you should be careful and cover your tracks better, especially when using the institute’s computers and resources.”

  Gee, thanks for the fatherly advice.

  “I must say, job well done. I’ve spent my career searching for ways to stop the shift. The missing piece was right in front me. It was you, a mated she-dragon.” He walked over to the laptop and shut it down, then grabbed a cooler from under the table and stuffed the bag inside. “You see, once a female has taken a mate, there’s a certain hormone they produce. And that, my dear, was all I needed to make the serum permanent.”

  “So, the shift is altered forever? You’ll stay human?

  “Yes,” he said dryly.

  “Why, why are you doing this?”

  He paused. “There was a time I’d do anything to get your mother back. I thought if I could become human, she’d take me back.” He cleared his throat and continued to pack up. “But now, I’m in too deep. There’s no going back.”

  “Going back?”

  “I’ve told you too much as is.”

  He turned around and studied her for a moment which scared her to death. Who knew what was spinning around in that web of crazy inside of his head. She just wanted to make it out of here alive. He tapped his chin, deep in thought. “Why take a little, when you can take the whole thing? Yes,” he said as if he had an epiphany, “they would be pleased.”

  “Who’s they?” She began to panic as she saw an evil gleam in his eyes.

  “How about we go on a long overdue father and daughter trip? An adventure, if you will.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  From inside his jacket pocket, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at her. “You’ll love it. The lords will treat you like a queen.” He untied her hands, then bent down and freed her feet.

  Professor Nut Job didn’t see a size seven and a half foot coming his way; Bex kicked him in the face. He fell backward onto the table, breaking it in half.

  Bex ran like her life depended on it, across the lab to the door, knocking over chairs or anything that would slow him down. Her shaking hands fumbled with the doorknob. She looked over her shoulder, praying she still had the upper hand, but the professor was already behind her with the gun buried in her ribs and blood dripping from his nose.

  “I’ll give you that one for me being a shitty father. Don’t test me again, cupcake,” he seethed in her ear. “Make daddy proud and walk to the car like a good girl.”

  12

  Thane followed Bex’s scent all the way to the institute and parked outside. Suffering from last night’s whiskey binge, he opened a bottle of aspirin. He popped four in his mouth, then downed a bottle of water. The inside of his head felt like a rock concert playing inside. A reminder of why he left getting drunk to Stone and Jensen.

  Many times during the long drive over, he’d rehearsed what he was going to say to Bex, but nothing was good enough. Finally, he threw the script away deciding he’d speak from the heart. He was willing to make changes in his life so they could be together. All Bex had to say was yes, and that she accepted him as her mate.
<
br />   Giving himself one last glance in the rearview mirror, Thane raked his fingers through his hair and exhaled a nervous breath. He hoped Stone was right. If she turned him away a second time, there wouldn’t be a third attempt, the pain would be unbearable.

  Thane stepped out of the car and was greeted by a gut-wrenching scream. Instantly, fear rippled down his spine. It was Bex… she was in trouble, he could feel it.

  He took off running and entered the building like a raging bull. Not wanting to wait for the elevator, he took the stairs. Taking two at a time, he reached the third floor and kicked the door open. Thane strode down the hall, hot on Bex’s trail, sniffing out her lab. He swung the door open. “Bex!”

  He rushed in. Holy hell, the lab had been ransacked. Overturned chairs were scattered, and it looked as if there had been a struggle. This wasn’t good. “Bex!”

  Thane strode further inside and he rounded the corner, then slipped. Gaining his balance, he looked down and noticed several drops of blood on the floor. He kneeled and swiped his finger through the blood, then smelled it. By the mercy of the holy elders, it was Bex’s blood.

  The urge to find her rushed through his veins, awakening his dragon. The shift was coming on. Black claws extended from his fingers. His bones ached, the ache he felt right before they cracked and broke from the shift. He was going airborne.

  Tires screeched from the parking lot. Bex. Thane raced to the window just in time to see a silver Toyota fishtail out into the street. If his dragon senses were right, Bex was in that car.

  Without hesitation, Thane rammed his shoulder into the glass and shattered it. Glass rained down like crystals falling from the sky. He took a few steps back, preparing for his departure. Running full speed toward the window, he dived out in a perfect swan dive.

  Soaring to the ground, Thane unleashed the green beast. His massive wings brushed the asphalt, kicking dirt up as he swooped across the parking lot to gain altitude. In no time, he was flying high, his gaze fixed on the silver Toyota.

  He followed them onto the highway. Fuck, six lanes of traffic and one enormous dragon. This wasn’t going to end well. He had to think this through, because his mate was inside that car and he couldn’t risk her life when he was supposed to be saving it.

  It didn’t take him long to catch up. He was so close he could see the oh shit look on the drivers face through the rearview mirror. Bex was in the back seat. She turned around and looked out the back window. Her eyes grew wide as soon as she saw him. She mouthed his name as if she couldn’t believe he was right behind her. He couldn’t blame her for being surprised. It’s not every day you see a dragon out your back window.

  The car jerked to the right, throwing Bex up against the door like a ragdoll and slamming her head against the window. The bastard was going to pay for that. The urge to blow fire and brimstone on this asshole coursed through his veins.

  All of a sudden, the car came to a screeching halt. Thane couldn’t put the brakes on fast enough as he tried to avoid hitting it and flew head-over-ass over the Toyota. He tumbled to the ground. The force of the fall cracked the blacktop, leaving a web of trenches spanning into oncoming traffic. Cars screeched and swerved all around him, the drivers slamming on their brakes and beeping their horns.

  Thane stood, shaking off the mental fog as a semi-truck skidded to a halt, inches from his body. The driver made eye contact, and Thane greeted him with a snarl. Scared to death like he’d just met Godzilla, the driver reached over and locked the door. Damn right, Thane didn’t have time to deal with that.

  Back on the hunt, Thane searched the wreckage for Bex. His blood boiled as he saw the Toyota drive across the median and speed off into oncoming traffic. Mother fucker. In two long strides, Thane was airborne again and flying toward Bex. Like a raptor catching its prey, he swooped down, sinking his black claws through the roof of the car. The steel frame creaked as he pumped his wings faster, lifting it off the road. Now, let the bastard try to escape.

  There was a cliff up ahead which looked safe enough to make a landing on and dispose of a body, because whoever had hurt his Bex was going to pay with his life. Thane felt movement inside the car, and as if the situation couldn’t get any worse, the car rocked back and forth causing one of his claws to slip. Bex screamed. Shit, he wished Bex would just shift. It would be a lot easier.

  The driver’s door swung open and a man jumped out and spiraled toward the earth. Before Thane had a chance to react, the man morphed into a silver dragon and flew away. Thane couldn’t believe what he just saw. The car creaked, bringing his attention back to Bex. Hold on, baby.

  Thane circled the cliff, slowing down before the landing. He hovered above the ground and released the car. He expected to see Bex bolt from her mangled prison, but she didn’t. Slowly, he bent his horned head down and looked inside. Bex was huddled in a ball in the backseat. “Is it over?” her voice shook.

  “Yes, baby, it’s over.”

  Bex looked out the window, finding Thane had shifted back to his human form. He opened the door and grabbed her hand as she stepped out and into his arms. “I’m so sorry…I should have never left you.”

  “Shh, I should have ripped the engine out of your car so you couldn’t leave.” He felt a slight laugh against his chest. He took a step back and cupped her face. “Are you hurt?”

  She shook her head.

  “What happened?”

  “You won’t believe me.”

  “I just saw a man jump out of that car in midair and shift into a dragon. There’s nothing you can say that can top that.”

  Bex smiled. “I guess you’re right. Well, that man is Dr. Lars Valstrath. He’s the professor I worked for. Somehow, he found out what I was doing with the anti-shift serum. Basically, without me knowing, he wanted me to perfect it for his own use.”

  “Why? We already know it doesn’t work.”

  “Now it does, permanently.”

  “What?”

  “I know, it gets crazier. He said the missing piece to completing the serum was a hormone in mated she-dragons. He drugged me and collected my blood. He’s going to complete the serum.”

  “Christ.” Thane shoved his hands through his hair. What in the hell was going on? Dr. Lars Valstrath, the name sounded familiar.

  “You want to hear something crazier?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t have a good feeling about this at all.”

  “He claims to be my birthfather. He said my mom left him as soon as she found out that he was dragon. This was the reason he wanted to make the serum, so he would stay human and my mother would love him again. Personally, I call bullshit on the whole story. The man is insane.”

  “But why did he kidnap you? Where was he taking you?”

  Bex paused in thought. “He mentioned something about the lords. I don’t know. He was mumbling.”

  “The lords?” Thane was instantly shaken.

  “I think so.”

  Not wanting to frighten Bex more, Thane dropped the subject. If his suspicions were right, trouble was brewing. He needed to call Stone and tell him everything. “Let’s take you home. You’ve been through hell.”

  “If home is your place, I’ll go.” Bex wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. He held her tight. His mate was safe, but there was a dark cloud that threatened their happiness, the happiness of all Dragonkine. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t the last he’d see of the crazy doc.

  “Promise me one thing.” He kissed the top of her head.

  “What?”

  “First thing, I teach you how to shift.”

  Bex looked up at him and grinned. “Promise.”

  Epilogue

  Turquoise ocean waves rippled onto the shoreline, lapping at Bex’s toes. Soaking up the sunshine was a dream come true. She still couldn’t believe she was lounging on a Hawaiian beach with Thane. Stone had offered them the use of his vacation home complete with a private beach for as long as they wanted to stay. It was beyo
nd generous on his part, but Bex knew the reason why he’d done it.

  With a madman on the loose, Thane had been adamant about her safety. They flew to Maui to lay low while Stone and Jensen investigated the incident at the research institute. After her abduction, the dean had shut down the lab. It wasn’t like she wanted to go back, not after what had happened. But it was sad to see her accomplishments flushed down the toilet.

  There was a part of her that wanted to believe she’d found her dad, the little girl inside her wanted it to be true. The fact was she really didn’t know what to believe. All she knew was how she felt right now. Every fiber of her being knew she was right where she belonged, right here with Thane.

  Not being tied down to her research was a good thing. It gave her time to reevaluate her priorities, to spend quality time with Thane, and plan for their future together. She couldn’t wait to introduce him to her parents. She’d even kept her promise and learned how to fly. Thane was an excellent instructor with mind-blowing ways to encourage her to overcome her fears. Once she got the hang of it, he took her up into the Haleakāla Mountains. From the sky, the view below was breathtaking. Lush rainforest and lava fields mixed together, creating a piece of heaven on Earth. The island’s beauty inspired them and they made love behind a secluded waterfall.

  Overcome by the memory, she glanced at Thane who was sitting next to her as he took Stone’s call. It was their weekly update chat, and by the sound of it, there was still no progress in the case. It never failed, every time she looked at him her heart melted. His wet, dark hair glistened from their recent dip in the ocean. Her gaze followed the path of one of the droplets as it rolled down his abdomen and disappeared into the waistband of his swim trunks. She felt his fiery gaze before they looked at each other. And there it was, that primal attraction. Her dragon purred just thinking about him between her legs, licking and sucking her to ecstasy.

  Turned on, she mouthed the words, get off the phone and reached over and tugged the waistband of his suit.