Ruthless Knight

by Liza Street

  “Hey, no,” Derrickson said loudly over the chainsaw. “You can’t do that, Collings!”

  “Shut up,” Grant said at a slightly lower volume, but still loud enough for the others to hear from the front of the truck.

  The chainsaw’s motor stopped, and Nolan started his shift. He’d spent so much time in his life rushing the change that he wasn’t sure how to delay it. But he wanted to keep the white glow for as long as possible, and that meant keeping himself between forms. He gritted his changing teeth and jaw against the pain of holding off the completion. He was half man, half beast, and nature wanted him to choose. Beast, or man.

  Two of Bronson’s guys appeared. Nolan couldn’t see them through the shining light surrounding him and Collins’s body, but he could hear them approach.

  “Hey, Wallen, we got another one!” one of the men shouted.

  “Probably trying to heal himself after Barr’s session with them,” one of the other guys said.

  He sounded so delighted about it, Nolan couldn’t wait to rake his claws across the man’s face. Let them try to survive dragon fire and see if it filled them with joy.

  “I’m coming with the tranqs,” another voice said. “Open ’er up and I’ll get the others out of the way.”

  The cage door opened, and Nolan completed the change, mentally stepping over the balance of half man, half beast—all the way into beast.

  He heard the metal clanging on the door, then the fwip sound of a dart gun. Derrickson and Grant dove out of the way, and the dart hit Nolan. He brushed it out of his thick fur before it could do any damage.

  The cage door was open. Nolan barreled forward and smacked the tranq gun from one of the men’s hands, then raked his paw over the guy’s face. One of his claws hooked on the man’s jugular and Nolan felt the satisfying sensation of tearing out the throat of his enemy.

  He roared and leaped at curly-haired Wallen, who stood at the front of the group.

  Derrickson and Grant spilled out of the cage after Nolan, fists swinging. One of Bronson’s men came around the side of the truck, lifting a now-running chainsaw. Derrickson, weaponless, ran straight for him. He dodged the chainsaw and tackled the man to the ground. The chainsaw went flying and smashed into a tree.

  Grant had gotten another guy in a headlock and was blocking his air.

  A roar came from the sky.

  Nolan growled and looked up, expecting to see Charles, or maybe Ponytail wearing the orange pelt. If the dragon came after them, they were fucked.

  But the scaled creature that came into sight was neither green nor orange—it was violet.

  Violet like Tamryn’s eyes.

  The dragon breathed fire into the sky, a show of strength, a warning.

  “Aw, shit,” Wallen said.

  Nolan backed away from him, but he didn’t need to, because the guy was already running. The dragon in the air swooped down low and blew fire at the guy. He screamed and dropped his gun, then fell to the ground, writhing.

  Flames erupted from the dragon’s mouth again and swallowed one of the other men. Nolan roared in encouragement. That was his mate up there, kicking ass.

  She spun in the sky, her lavender wings folded to give her more speed.

  Then, looking down at Nolan, Derrickson, and Grant, she screeched and flapped her great wings to climb higher.

  The two men stripped out of their clothes. Ethereal, colored light surrounded each of them, blue surrounding Derrickson, green around Grant. Moments later, dragons stood where the men had been. Derrickson had transformed into a sapphire-blue dragon, and Grant was a deep forest green. They roared up at the sky, then launched upward to join their queen.

  The three dragons coasted over the road as if searching for something. They made passes in turn, their heads tilted. Nolan backed into the trees. The dragons obviously had a purpose, and better that he didn’t get in the way of whatever they had in mind.

  Still in his bear form, he collected Grant’s and Derrickson’s clothes and took cover in the forest. He wasn’t sure how many of their captors survived. Wallen and Ponytail were dead, and good fuckin’ riddance.

  On Tamryn’s next pass over the road, she breathed fire over the black SUV that had been towing the cage. Nolan felt the heat of her fire against his face, but he stood his ground and waited to see what was next.

  The blue-scaled dragon, Derrickson, torched the truck that had been in front of the SUV.

  Nolan bellowed and stood up on his hind legs in triumph. Fuck yeah. The dragons were laying waste to their enemies.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Plumes of black smoke rose from the vehicles. Tamryn watched the flames with satisfaction. She turned in the sky and roared. Derrickson and Grant twirled after her. She had two dragon warriors on her side.

  Her mate was down on the ground, roaring back at them in victory. She wheeled around to greet him.

  A loud screech was the only warning she had before a light green dragon punched into her side. Charles. She hadn’t even seen him approach.

  Tumbling through the air, she struggled to get her wings out to catch her fall. Derrickson and Grant angled closer, but she wasn’t sure they could catch her. Charles came after her, but Derrickson darted between Tamryn and Charles. He shot a burst of fire and Charles had to rise up higher in the air to dodge it.

  Tamryn got her wings out and her descent slowed. Finally, she was able to change her orientation and flap to gain altitude. Her side ached where Charles had barreled into her. It was her first time flying, and here she was in the midst of a battle. She was hardly at an advantage here, even with her two warrior allies.

  Derrickson went down. From the way he held his wings, she could see he was conscious, at least. Charles looked as if he would follow and finish the attack, but Tamryn screeched in anger and gusted fire at Charles.

  Grant soared around to Charles’s back, and she could see the intent in Grant’s deep green eyes. She nodded and sent forth more fire at the same time Grant did. Charles angled away and spun faster than Tamryn could track. He went after Grant, who hadn’t had time to get out of the way. Charles’s flame scorched Grant’s tail and wing. Roaring in pain, Grant lost altitude.

  Tamryn watched in horror as Grant struggled to regain control over his wings. But he was unable to, and he fell, fast and hard, into the trees.

  Charles looped around and faced Tamryn. She soared to the side, hoping he would go for the same trick twice and barrel into her. This time, she would be ready.

  Instead of taking advantage of her exposed side, Charles soared higher. Leading her up? Why?

  She circled around at her same altitude, unwilling to fall for whatever his gambit might be. Turning slightly to the side, she tried to find him. Just how high had he gone?

  But there was no sign of him. Tamryn roared her frustration. She was out of her element. Her father had gone over the basics of dragon battles with her, but she’d been so young at the time, and flying through the air was far different from examining diagrams on candlelit parchment in his study.

  She looked up again, squinting against the sun, and listened to the air whooshing past her ears as she circled around.

  The sun—that was it. Charles had flown high toward the sun so as to momentarily blind her and render her at a disadvantage.

  Blinking quickly, she looked away. She wouldn’t become a victim to his trickery again. Instead, she would be ready to charge as soon as he came down to attack.

  Deep breaths. She’d thought meditation was pointless, but at the moment, it kept her from sheer panic. She was in the sky. She’d taken her dragon form. Another dragon—her former fiancé—was intent on killing her so someone else could wear her skin.

  Meditation and the thought of Nolan waiting below—those were the two things keeping her in the air, keeping her flying, keeping her fighting.

  She felt the air shift overhead, and she picked up speed, zooming away. Charles sped down, reaching the spot she’d been just a moment ago. She flip
ped around and breathed fire at him. He dodged her flame.

  His mouth opened and a blistering burst of fire shone across the sky, nearly hitting Tamryn. She wheeled out of its way and shot her own arrow of flame back at Charles. He whipped around, dodging once more, although his tail took some of her fire. He screeched in pain and outrage.

  How dare you hurt me, Tamryn, his roar seemed to say. How dare you become strong.

  She faced him down, glaring at him with all the hatred she felt at his betrayal.

  I dare, she said in her head as she flew toward him. I dare to become strong. I dare to destroy you.

  He shot toward her. All of her pain, heartache, and rage filled her lungs. Especially the rage. He’d delivered her and her mate into the hands of their enemies.

  As they grew closer and closer to each other, she could see his intent was just as strong, just as violent, as hers.

  But she had love on her side. She was here for more than money or land. She was here for her heart, for her mate.

  Charles was within the distance of her flame, and she within his. She spun one way, and he spun the other. Each of them blew fire at the other, and each of them dodged. Tamryn used her evasion to put her closer to Charles. Too intent on seeing Tamryn burn, Charles didn’t see her coming for his throat.

  There was more than one way to fight a dragon in the air, her father had taught her. Flames were the most common way. Teeth and claws were the other.

  With her jaw locked on Charles’s neck, Tamryn raked his belly with her hind legs. The two of them were going down, fast, but she wasn’t going to let go until she knew for certain that he would never harm her or her loved ones again. She spread her wings behind her, slowing their descent.

  Charles roared and she felt the vibration in her own mouth. She bit harder, heard the crack of bone, tasted the ashy flavor of his blood. His tail flailed behind him, whipping toward her. She flapped her wings and twisted her body to avoid it. He took advantage of her new position by reaching for her and clawing one of his forelegs over her chest.

  Pain was nothing. It would pass. Defeating Charles was something she had to do. She bit down harder on his throat. He struggled again before going limp.

  They were directly over the road where she’d set the vehicles on fire. Perfect. Letting go of him, she flapped her wings to stay in the air and watched him fall to the flames below.

  Only when his body didn’t move did Tamryn feel it was safe to go to the ground to shift back into her human form. There was a white polar bear down there, waiting for her.

  Roaring the joy of her victory, she catapulted herself to the forest floor and landed hard. Clumsy, but she didn’t mind. She’d have a lifetime to practice.

  As she landed, the polar bear was enveloped in a soft white light before a man stood in his place. He held out his arms to Tamryn and she let her human form return so that she could be embraced by her mate.

  She’d soared to the heavens today, but on the ground with Nolan was exactly where she wanted to be.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Nolan held his mate, his skin warm from the burning cars—and the burning dragon. Now that was a bonfire he could dance around.

  “You did it,” he said to Tamryn.

  “It was for you.” She lifted her head and kissed him full on the mouth.

  He wanted to haul her over his shoulder and carry her somewhere more private, but he knew they’d need to speak with the other dragons, so he curbed the impulse. It didn’t stop him from slipping her a little tongue, though. She gasped and tried to deepen the kiss, but he pulled back, grinning at her.

  “What?” Her eyes were wide and a little pout graced her lips.

  “Your friends are going to join us soon,” he said, taking her hand. “We’ll celebrate again in private.”

  She sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”

  Less than a minute later, Grant staggered toward them, holding his shoulder. Despite his injuries, he fell to his knees in front of Tamryn.

  “My Queen,” he said breathlessly.

  “Stand, please,” she said, smiling at him kindly. “Grant, I take it you’ve met my mate, Nolan Marks?”

  “Aye,” Grant said, slowly rising to his feet. “He’s a good warrior.”

  “Yes, he is,” Tamryn said, squeezing Nolan’s hand.

  Wind whooshed against the flames engulfing the cars, and a blue dragon approached them before landing on the road. Derrickson shifted into his human form and walked the remaining few feet to reach Tamryn, Nolan, and Grant.

  All four of them were naked as the day they were born. Nolan wasn’t crazy about all the nudity, especially with Tamryn here, but not a single untoward glance was cast in her direction. These warriors were well-disciplined—better disciplined than Nolan, who didn’t even try to curb his appreciative glances at his mate. He knew Tamryn wouldn’t mind if he looked. She was his, and he was hers.

  Derrickson fell to his knees as Grant had done. “Your Majesty, I am so very happy to see you again.”

  “I’m glad to see you, as well,” Tamryn said. “Have you seen any other warriors?”

  “Collings,” Derrickson said in a sad voice. “And Tyrne. They died with honor.”

  Tamryn looked down. When she looked up again, tears were in her eyes, but she blinked them away. “I’m grateful for their service. And yours, as well.”

  “If I may ask, Your Majesty,” Derrickson said, “what now? Do we travel back to England, reclaim your castle?”

  Tamryn shook her head. “It’s no longer ours; even if the castle still remains, the land has likely passed from hand to hand since we left. No, we’ll travel to Idaho, a territory south of here.” She turned to Nolan. “The Rock Creek Clan will take us, will they not? At least temporarily?”

  “We will,” Nolan said. Tamryn, of course, could remain there as Nolan’s mate. He wasn’t sure about the others. “Jameson will make the final decision, though. He’s the alpha.”

  “We can’t serve a queen and an alpha separately,” Grant said.

  Tamryn smiled. “I’m sure we can work something out.”

  “In the meantime,” Nolan said, “we should go back to our camp, get some clothes. Figure out our path home.”

  As much as he wanted to be in his cabin at the Ring of Fire, alone with his mate, their journey wouldn’t be over for quite some time—they still had to return to the US. Derrickson and Grant would need places to stay. He couldn’t see Jameson turning them away, but cabins would be running short now at the Ring of Fire. There were only nine cabins. Seven couples would live there, counting him and Tamryn. One of the cabins was Nina’s writing studio. He guessed she’d give it up temporarily so Derrickson and Grant could each have their own space, and then Erena could perhaps be persuaded to design and build some more cabins.

  The RCC was getting big. Nolan wouldn’t have thought it years ago when Jameson first recruited him. It had been small, a sanctuary for shifters who didn’t have a territory to call home.

  Letting in the dragons would fit with Jameson’s original mission.

  “Shall we fly back to our things?” Tamryn asked, her eyes shining. She looked like a kid with a new toy. Derrickson and Grant had eager grins on their faces, as well.

  “I guess so,” Nolan grumbled. “But I’m going with you.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said.

  Flying was much more enjoyable the second time. Nolan balanced on Tamryn’s back, unafraid. Canada had never looked so beautiful as it did with the crisp air blowing against his face and his arms outstretched to feel the wind.

  It was easy to soar through the air when he trusted the one holding him.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  A week after returning to the Rock Creek Clan, Tamryn woke to the sound of another person in her bedchamber. Nolan was fast asleep at her side, so he hadn’t woken her. Slowly, so as not to disturb her mate, she sat up and clutched the sheet to her naked breasts.

  Illary stood at th
e far end of the room. She was in the same grimy clothes she’d been wearing in the Canadian forest, and a smudge of dirt marred her cheek. Her deep brown eyes met Tamryn’s. “I’ve failed you, Your Majesty.”

  “Failed?” Tamryn whispered, climbing out of bed. She found her pajama pants and a t-shirt of Nolan’s that they’d thrown to the floor the previous night, and she quickly slipped them on.

  Illary bent her head. “Yes. Failed.”

  Tamryn ushered her out of the bedroom and into the small living room area where they could talk without disturbing Nolan. She loved Nolan’s little cabin. The decor was sparse, but comfortable. It made her feel warm and safe, like she was in a bear’s den.

  She’d feel safer if a certain witch didn’t keep randomly popping up.

  “Here, have a seat with me,” she said, perching on the sofa and patting the space next to her.

  Once Illary was sitting, she put her face in her hands. “I’m so very sorry, Your Majesty. Your people died because of me.”

  “Two fell at the hands of the skin-hunters,” Tamryn agreed. “But two others—three, counting me—survived and managed to shift into our dragon forms. Even now, Derrickson and Grant are sleeping in cabins of their own.”

  One of the other Rock Creek Clan members, Erena, was busily constructing an addition to Jameson and Nina’s cabin—the addition would provide an extra bedroom so baby Lucas would have his own room when he was older, as well as a separate office for Nina so she could continue writing romance novels and writing about romance novels. A “blog,” Tamryn had been told. Such a silly word.

  “I found two others,” Illary said. “Christopher Smith and Michael Gadwyn. They should be joining you soon. More are about, though.”

  “Can you find them as well?” Tamryn asked.

  Illary shook her head. “This is why I have failed you. I cannot find them, I cannot save them.”