And I don’t even correct him with my name. I just smile to myself as I walk out.
Chapter 2
Griffin
“You’re the piece of shit,” Byron shouted, hands clenched at his sides.
“No, you’re the piece of shit,” Griffin yelled back, not proud of himself at all as he did so.
He knew he was being immature, but the gold dragon just brought that out in him.
“Ha! That the best you can do, asshole?” Byron was pacing with his fists on his hips now. The gold dragon was a pretty boy, and Griffin wondered what Anna thought of him.
Then he remembered Rainier’s advice about not getting overly jealous and calmed himself down.
Only a little while ago, he’d been a dragon in hell with no way out. He couldn’t be demanding now that the one woman who could help was wanted by all of them.
So as much as he hated the dragons in front of him, he would just try to get along.
“That’s rich,” Byron said, pacing back and forth. “You caused our big fight in the first place.” He jabbed a finger at Griffin. “You ruined the pairing ceremony.”
Nope. That was too much.
“That’s bullshit,” Griffin said. “We all ruined it. And there’s no point talking about it anymore, because we’re here in the Blur and nothing is going to change based on what happened so many years ago.”
“I have to agree,” Rainier said, stepping forward calmly. Griffin had come to depend on him for assurance, a calm logic that countered Griffin’s near instant aggression.
Griffin had even started to feel protective over the other dragon, though he was sure Rainier didn’t need it.
Perhaps Seth was right about Griffin. In the dungeon, he had said that Griffin had the hardest heart on the outside, but on the inside, it was really soft.
That made sense with how defensive he got sometimes.
So he turned his back on Byron, counting to ten, while Rainier continued to try to make peace in a low voice.
Rainier could look feminine with his silver hair in a ponytail and his soft sweaters, but his height and muscles still declared him a dragon. Plus, he had an innate confidence about himself that Griffin didn’t possess and sort of admired.
He also had no problem going toe to toe with Byron.
“I won’t sit and let you insult my partner,” Rainier said softly, looking up at Byron from only a couple inches below.
Byron smirked down at him. “Oh? You won’t? Because—”
They were all distracted by a screech from Van as he crouched on the ground, holding his head.
Griffin’s brows lowered as Byron cast him and Rainier a terse look and then crouched by his partner.
“Hey, Van,” Byron said, snapping his fingers a few times in front of Van’s vacant gaze. He was staring at nothing in particular, mouth open, eyes blindly terrified.
And then a moment later, he was fine. He blinked, his expression returning to normal, and stood, running a hand through his long black hair.
“What was that?” Griffin muttered to Van.
Griffin had never seen one of Van’s visions. The whole thing made him nervous.
Rainier glared at him. “Don’t try to make something up to get rid of us. It won’t work.”
Van quirked a look at him before turning back to Byron. Clearly, they were exchanging thoughts, but only amongst themselves.
Do something, Griffin thought to Rainier.
Let’s see how this plays out, Rainier thought back.
“Look,” Van said, cocking a hip so his long black trench coat fell away from his tall body. “I know my history with visions. Things were always muddled. I won’t say I haven’t lied, but that was partly to hide that I didn’t know which visions were real or not. I’ve gotten better at it. But honestly, the biggest difference has been Anna. Since she has been here, since I’ve used my vision to help her, they are becoming clearer.”
Griffin and Rainier just stared at him, speechless. Their entire lives, the purple dragon who was supposed to lead their group had been broken.
Van didn’t look very broken now.
Van gave them a smile. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Now, as to my vision, it’s similar to one I had already. Byron and I ran into a little trouble with Azrael last night.”
“The fuck?” Griffin asked. “Azrael? How did you—”
Rainier put out a hand, stopping Griffin. “Was it because of Anna?”
Van nodded. “His group picked her up. She was going to be used as a prize at one of his fight nights.”
Griffin let out a curse and tried not to pull all his hair out as he thought about what could have happened to Anna.
“We protected her,” Byron said, sounding smug. “The whole thing was a bit fun. I can see why you used to like fight nights, Griffin.”
Griffin wanted to launch at Byron and knock him unconscious for letting Anna even get in that situation, but he could feel Rainier watching him, waiting to see if he could hold back.
Griffin let out a huff and looked at the ground, praying for patience.
“Anyway,” Byron said. “You guys need to catch up, I guess. We told Anna we want her to choose, but you should know she’s had at least a taste of two dragons. Do your best, but you know you won’t be able to compete with us.”
Griffin felt a rock lodge in his throat at Byron’s words. “What do you mean?”
Byron sidled over to Van, putting an arm over his shoulder. “I mean we cooperate in all ways. Including the bedroom.”
Rainier’s eyes narrowed. “We could do better.”
Byron’s face fell slightly, but his ego recovered a second later, bringing back his cocky smile. “You can try.”
“We’re going into town,” Van said. “I’m going to clear things up with Azrael’s men. Let them know that they had something of ours in the first place.”
“Not that it’ll help,” Byron added. “But might as well see how big of a storm we’ve brought down on us.”
“Azrael,” Rainier said, tapping the side of his temple lightly. “Which one is that?”
Griffin glared at him. “We don’t need to talk about him. He won’t be our problem.” He smirked at Byron. “But we’ll make sure and mention to Anna when she is choosing that one of her options has a death fairy on their backs.”
Byron’s golden gaze darkened. “Do what you want. You won’t win against me. Besides, if you remind her of that, you’ll just remind her that I rescued her from dozens of men while risking my own life and that Van saved us both after.”
Van put up his hand, and everyone looked his way. They were used to him being the source of chaos, not the one stopping it. “It doesn’t matter. None of this matters compared to keeping Anna safe. And to do that, Byron and I need to get going.”
Byron let out a sigh, glaring at Griffin. “Fine. We’ll go.”
They both walked past Rainier and Griffin toward the edge of the property, getting ready to shift.
“Like I said,” Byron called out, walking backward away from them. “Do your best. You won’t beat me.”
And then with a sparkling veil, both he and Van were gone.
Rainier let out a sigh, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. A wisp of stray silver hair darted about his face. “Well, that was dramatic. I’m glad they seem willing to cooperate.”
Griffin’s hands fisted. “They still kidnapped her. I don’t trust them at all.”
“They left us alone with her,” Rainier said. “They are trying to make things up to us. They even left us their open house.”
Griffin shook his head. “I still don’t like it.”
“We have to work together,” Rainier said. “We just have to. Especially if someone like Azrael knows about Anna.”
“What do you mean?”
Rainier sighed. “I don’t know Azrael, but I have studied fairies in general. And I do know their feelings about dragon hearts.”
“I know,” Griffin said. “But we—”
�
�It can’t hurt to maintain good relations between all dragons, no matter who Anna chooses. You would still want to protect her, right?” Rainier asked, silver eyes gleaming in the sun.
Griffin hated that Rainier was always right. “Fine. Yes.” Though his heart felt like it would break at the thought of it, of course he would still be there for Anna, even if she chose someone else.
A bit of her love would be better than none of it.
But was Byron right? Could Griffin compete? The gold and purple dragons were usually leaders, and—
“No,” Rainier said. “You can’t think of it like that. You know Anna won’t. We’re as good as any of the dragons. We’re all different. No one is better than the other.”
“But Van is supposed to be the leader,” Griffin said. “Hell, he’s even acting like it now.”
“I know,” Rainier said, cocking his head pensively. “It’s odd.” He bounced his shoulders a couple times to relieve tension. “But regardless, right now we need to talk to Anna. Especially you. You have a lot of time to make up for.” His smile grew playful. “Did I mention I was sorry for locking you in the basement?”
“Yes,” Griffin muttered, still a little sore about it.
“Well, good,” Rainier said, eyeing the house. “Because based on what Byron and Van said, we’ll have to cooperate pretty well to compete with them.”
“You mean sex,” Griffin said, trying to picture how that would work at all. He’d been raised a normal double dragon, so he’d always imagined he would share a mate. Then he’d thought he’d get no mate at all, ever. Then he’d met Anna and wanted her all to himself.
And now, if that’s what it took, he was determined to pair with Rainier to mate her.
To be honest, if he was going to be in the world with a dragon heart, he would want another dragon always watching out for her anyway.
So even though it was awkward, Griffin straightened himself, trying to be adventurous about what they would have to do in the bedroom. “I’m willing.” He pressed his lips together. “But I’m in charge.”
Rainier snorted, waving a hand. “Fine, fine. Works for me. Just get in there and make things right with her.”
“I’m going,” Griffin retorted, heading toward the house, steeling himself for whatever she might say.
No matter what it was, he would hear her out. And then tell her he wanted her to be his for life and beyond.
Yeah, that should go well for him.
Chapter 3
I’m nervous as I head down the stairs for the front door because I’m not sure how much dragon fighting has happened while I was upstairs with Seth.
I reach for the door, just about to yank it open, when it swings forward on its own and I have to jump back to dodge.
“Whoa,” I say, and then green-checked flannel on the most beautiful chest ever fills my vision.
My eyes slowly move up to see Griffin gazing down at me, looking as nervous as I am.
He shuts the door and takes a quick step back, rubbing his neck. “Sorry about that. Didn’t hear you.”
“My bad,” I say nervously. And then silence falls between us.
My eyes take a moment to memorize Griffin. His auburn hair. Those blue-gray eyes. The small freckles. The hard jaw. The perfect lips.
The way he rolls his cuffs up to show off perfect arms. The way he doesn’t seem to realize he’s a gorgeous, tall dragon like any of the other dragons.
And then I watch his lips, thinking about what it was like for him to kiss me. I look to his hands, thinking about the way he touched my body, almost reverently. And I meet his eyes, remembering the way he stared at me as he licked my clit, making me—
He clears his throat, flushing, and I remember how cute I thought it was that this big man could get so embarrassed. “Can we go talk? Outside maybe?”
“Sure. Is Rainier still out there?”
Griffin nodded. “But he’s coming in soon. He’s just flying to make a perimeter check.”
“Where are Van and Byron?” I ask. “Did they go to town?”
“You already knew about that?” Griffin asks as I lead him to the door that opens to the back deck. It’s a little shadier back there but still surrounded by beautiful landscape.
“Yes,” I say carefully, not sure how much Van told him. “I think so. What did he tell you?”
“Van had a vision right there on the ground,” Griffin said.
“Oh,” I say. “I thought they were just going in to check on things.” I bite my lower lip, hoping Van and Byron aren’t in trouble. “Well, I guess I’ll hear about it when they get back.”
I open the door to the back deck, and Griffin follows me out, shutting the door behind him.
I sit down at the table, and he sits on the other side. When we’re like this, he’s almost at my eye level, which makes it easier to talk to him.
“So.” His auburn hair is sticking straight up, blowing in the wind slightly. It’s such a pretty combination of colors. Brown, auburn, copper. Even his eyelashes are dark red, a striking contrast to his eyes. “How has it been with Van and Byron? Have they treated you well?”
It’s my turn to blush. “More or less. I mean, they kidnapped me, but they haven’t hurt me at all. Van is kind of a scary person at first, but not when you get to know him.”
“Good to know,” Griffin says, but it feels like he’s still holding back.
The wind whistles by us as we sit silently. Then Griffin straightens up.
“I missed you,” he says. “We’ve been looking for you constantly. Seth promised us Van and Byron wouldn’t hurt you, which is the only reason I didn’t lose my goddamn mind.”
I chuckle. “I’m glad you didn’t.” I tentatively out put a hand to stroke his arm. “I’m sorry to worry you.”
It’s electric when I touch him. Seeing him, having these feelings reignited, it’s only more confusing.
He tenses slightly, eyes meeting mine. “I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you, Anna.”
“What do you mean?” I pull back my hand, sitting up. “It’s not your fault.”
“It is,” he says, putting his hand in his hair again. I want that to be me stroking it. Honestly, Griffin was the first dragon I met in the Blur, and I still feel most connected with him.
He was always saving me, even when he couldn’t admit it.
He saved me from the wolves. He saved me from the bears. He saved me from the vendor. He saved me from the kidnappers at the market on our way to Rainier.
“You’re too kind to me,” he says. “I kept insulting you. Threatening to sell you. To be honest, I didn’t know how to feel when you came into my life.” His hands are in front of him, and he’s rubbing them together slowly as he tries to compose his thoughts. “I’ve been too busy fighting everyone. I didn’t know how to feel, having someone to protect. It felt good, but in a way, I didn’t want it to. Like it was a constant reminder of what I couldn’t have.”
“I understand.”
“But it doesn’t matter,” he says, looking up at me, a muscle ticking in that hard jaw. “I should have been better to you. I should have told you from the moment I saw you that I wanted you. I should have let you know you were safe by my side.”
“It’s okay,” I say. “You did so much for me. You didn’t owe me anything.”
“That day in the hotel, it means a lot to me,” he says. “I want to continue from there. I want to claim you. But I know you’re considering other dragons, and I want you to know I’ll try to be fair.”
“Fair?”
He looks to the side. “Not beat up whoever you choose. Let you pick.”
“Wow.” I give him a teasing smile. “Not wanting to beat everyone up within a ten-mile radius. What’s gotten into you, Griffin?”
His blue-gray eyes are serious as they lock on mine. “You. You got into me. I had accepted that this place was going to be my home. I had gotten… comfortable. But then you came into my life and made me want more. And without you aroun
d, this place doesn’t feel like home.”
My throat is tight because I missed him so much too. I put a hand over his again, feeling the warmth. “I—”
“But I understand that other dragons feel that way too.” Griffin continues, his eyes darting away now. “So I’m going to try to be okay with it.” He peeks back up at me. “But I want you to choose me.”
I laugh. “I appreciate that. But why the change of heart about beating up the other dragons?” And why is he suddenly so much better at sharing his feelings instead of hiding behind a cruel wall?
“It’s Rainier,” Griffin says softly. “He convinced me to team up with him, mainly to find you. After all, it was my stupid fight that led to you being kidnapped.”
“It’s okay,” I say.
Griffin shakes his head. “No, it’s not. I’ve been selfish. I was so cruel to you in the dungeon.” His eyes are tortured as they meet mine. “I relive that every day. See the hurt in your eyes—”
“Honestly, I forgave you already,” I say. “I know you were stressed. You were trying to help and ended up in a dungeon.”
“Rainier and I go way back,” Griffin says, leaning back on the bench slightly. “We were supposed to be paired, but we always hated each other.”
“Why?”
“Mainly because we were raised to be so different,” Griffin says. “Besides, the family that raised me, the dad, he was too competitive about me being stronger than the other dragons. He was constantly putting me in fights, even when I was really young. With adults. With shifters. With anyone willing to beat on me.”
My eyes are wide with horror. “Why?”
“Because I needed to be strong,” Griffin says. “The villages that raise us, the oracle blesses them. I guess the more powerful the dragon, the more blessing. My ‘dad’ cursed the fact that he’d gotten the red dragon, but he said if I was supposed to be strong, he’d make me stronger than any other red dragon.”
I suck in my cheek. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“I didn’t get my powers very young,” Griffin says. “I got the durability that came with my dragon powers, but not the strength. For a lot of years, it was just beatdown after beatdown.” He takes a deep breath. “And if I lost a fight, I got another beatdown at home afterward.”
Soul of the Dragons: Bad Dragons Page 2