Single Red Dragon: A Dragon Shifter Fated Mates Novel (Space Dragons Seek Mates Book 2)

by Michelle Ziegler

  Did they spot Nyke? he asked.

  Deo stood quiet for a moment.

  Great, now Nyke wasn't talking to him. Son of a bitch.

  Deo, tell him I'm fine and he can talk to me.

  Nothing. Wonderful. Like shutting him out would help.

  What else was he going to do? He wasn't going back to sit with Kal. He wouldn't leave Lilly. He had nowhere else he would want to be.

  He stiffened at a faint sound in his head.

  Okay. I'm okay.

  The voice was weak, and so quiet, but it was her.

  Thank God.

  He could breathe again, although he didn't exactly remember not breathing.

  Fuck.

  Where are you?

  There was nothing for several heartbeats. Eadric hadn't noticed he was clenching his fists until a sharp pain pierced his palms. Great, he wasn't even keeping his dragon in check now. Studying his claws, he watched the cuts heal, and his hands turn back into his human form.

  Duty before pleasure. Only, that was easier said when it didn't feel like his soul was being ripped out.

  Finally, the faint resonance of her voice echoed through his mind.

  The lab's infirmary, for my ankle.

  He calmed a bit, okay. This was good. Probably.

  Is the antidote in that room?

  More dead space. Great. Son of a bitch. How was he supposed to remain calm? Every atom within him wanted to storm that cursed place.

  I don't know yet. Calm yourself, please. I can feel you.

  She could feel him? She could feel him? That was all she had to say? He was damn near dying waiting for her, and she tells him to calm down? What twisted world did he live in that his mate would tell him to calm down over worrying for her?

  Since when was he the irrational one?

  Since he found the balance to his life. Turns out it wasn't balance, it was a whole new insanity.

  Fuck duty.

  She was his life.

  Eadric took off, away from the dark magic, and shifted into his dragon mid stride. He pushed off into the sky, going high enough that he could no longer feel the dark magics of the area. Once there, he followed the invisible tether to his mate. He locked onto her and rode the currents over and over again. Waiting.

  He'd watch the lab, watch his prey. He wouldn't raid it yet, but the moment she had what they needed, he'd attacked. The moment she was in trouble, he'd attacked.

  Brother? Remember who you are.

  Eadric's dragon whipped his head around and glared at Deo's blueish hide.

  Do not cross me, brother. I am biding our time. I hang on by a thread.

  Deo silenced and banked right, taking to Eadric's flank. Nothing more needed to be said. He would remain near Eadric and help him, or if needed, destroy him. It was a bitch choice.

  Their magic camouflaged them into the alien Earth sky, allowing them to stalk the lab, giving Eadric more control.

  Eadric?

  His head perked up at the sound of her voice.

  Yes, mate?

  15

  Lilly swallowed the panic rising in her throat in an acid river. Yanking her wrist, the cuff bit into her skin. She was stuck. This was wrong. Something was wrong.

  She tried to hide what she could from Eadric, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could shield her concern.

  Pushing her magic down her arm, she tried to melt the handcuffs, but she was being stupid. Her father had developed certain things against her. It was just like the restraint he used to keep her from running away as he commanded her to stop the dragons.

  Why, though? She'd come back. She'd learned long, long ago that he was always up to something and she should have known.

  Everyone was a pawn.

  Well, fuck. This time it was her turn to use him. Only being strapped to a table said that maybe her plan wasn't working out as well as she'd hoped.

  Struggling against the restraint, they rattled against the metal rings.

  "Settle down."

  Lifting her head, she looked around, realizing that she wasn't alone.

  "Who are you?"

  The dark figure stood by the door and didn't come closer.

  "Your bodyguard. What does it look like?"

  Her what?

  "I don't need a bodyguard."

  She could hear the breath he released.

  "You've been with dragons for a few days. The boss thinks that means you need a bodyguard."

  What did that mean? She needed one because of the dragons?

  She yanked at the chain again. She concentrated all her magic to her hands, nothing.

  "Stop heating up the room, Lillyanna."

  This time she twisted herself to see her sister walking into the room.

  "Sister?"

  Studying her face, she knew it was her sister, but she looked more pale than usual. Tired.

  "It's me. Now stop struggling."

  She looked sick. What had happened?

  Lilly stopped struggling, but only because it was her sister.

  "What happened to you?" she asked, as her sister held out an electric thermometer and measured around her rather than her actual skin.

  "Nothing. Everything. Father."

  Lilly didn't understand. He never harmed Irene. She wasn't helpful.

  "What do you mean, Father?"

  Irene glanced at the door and leaned in closer.

  "I mean after you left, he took out his anger on everything and everyone. I don't need to bore you. Let's just get you back to health so that daddy-dearest's favorite child can fix things."

  Favorite? What was she talking about? Their father could have cared less for her, she'd been locked away her entire life.

  "Sister?"

  Irene wrote down her temperature and then went to her ankle that had a large icepack on it. Or well, it would have been ice if she didn't seem to radiate heat all the time.

  "Yes, Lillyanna. What?"

  The tone of her sister's voice annoyed. This wasn't like her. She was Lilly's only friend. Something was different.

  "What really happened to you?"

  Her sister put on thick gloves, the kind used by their guards who needed to clean up the mess after Lillyanna set fire to whatever her father deemed worthy, or rather unlucky.

  "Father happened to me. Experiments are not just reserved for those aliens and creatures he finds. I'm starting to think that he isn't following orders anymore. That maybe he's gone on his own. I don't know anymore."

  Clenching her teeth, Lilly yanked at the restraints again. They were leaving.

  "Lilly, please stop. I can feel your skin heating up and I can't examine you if you start me on fire."

  Lilly took in a breath. Give me strength.

  Of course he answered. She hadn't meant to call on Eadric, she just wanted help from greater powers.

  Lilly? Use mine.

  She wanted strength enough to break this damn chain.

  Are you all right, my Lilly?

  She nodded without thought.

  "Why are you nodding at me?" Irene asked.

  "Sorry. I was just thinking."

  This was one of those moments where everything she'd ever known might be wrong.

  Did she tell her sister about the dragons yet? She'd trusted her sister, but that was before her sister could use her. Sell her out. Everyone had a price. Only Lilly had never understood those words until now.

  "Right. Thinking." Her sister grew quiet again as she pulled a needle off the table next to her.

  This couldn't be happening. Her sister knew about her fear of needles.

  "What's the needle for? Why I am chained to the bed."

  Irene closed her eyes.

  "Father."

  Her heart thundered in her chest. There was nowhere for Lilly to go. She shrunk back, trying to get away from the one person she thought she could trust.

  I can feel your panic. Is everything all right, my fire?

  She didn't want to answer, she couldn't h
ide from someone in her head either. But was she all right? No. Her sister was doing what she was supposed to do, and that would not work if Lilly wanted to get out of here.

  "You can't. Why do you need the needle? I came back on my own."

  Irene nodded. "Yes. But Father trusts no one. If you came back on your own, only driven by the chip then you have nothing to hide. Right?"

  Lilly nodded, but now plans needed to change. She lowered her voice to barley above a whisper.

  "Are there cameras here?"

  Irene nodded and held up a finger, signally to hold a minute.

  She walked away, Lilly following her with her eyes as her sister turned on a machine that made a loud vibrating-gurgling sound.

  Irene came back over and nodded. She kept her head down, but stepped closer to Lilly. "If you whisper, no one can actually hear what you are saying. That and if we keep our faces turned this way, then the camera can't read our lips."

  Lilly nodded and made an effort to keep her voice low. "You can't take my blood, Irene. I don't know what will have changed, but I can't risk Father knowing anything about the dragons."

  Irene turned her body further to the side, playing with an IV bag hooked to a stand, but not running anywhere.

  Lilly swore her heart stopped waiting for her sister to say anything. Could she trust her? She wasn't sure what her sister was thinking right now.

  "And, you think your blood would be changed, why?"

  Lilly blushed at her sister's question. "What if I told you that they are waiting to rescue us once I have something?"

  Irene stopped fidgeting with the stand. The annoying sound of the machine starting to grate on her nerves already fraying at the ends.

  "So they have something on you? Are you they using you? Typical of all men. Nothing is ever free."

  What? No. How did she explain this to her sister. Something she could understand.

  "It's not like that. I'm choosing to help them. They are amazing and should never be something Father ever gets to control."

  Her sister watched her.

  "I have a feeling Father already thinks he has a way to control them."

  Lilly swallowed.

  "Irene, they are here for both of us. They will save us."

  Her sister stood still.

  "Lilly?"

  Still nothing.

  Lilly? Are you all right?

  She took a deep breath.

  "Irene, they need to know if you will help me, us. I told them I needed to come back for you. They are expecting you to be with me. I won't leave you behind."

  Finally, her sister turned her face to her. A small trail, the only evidence that a tear had escaped.

  "Father was right. The only reason they would come back, the only reason they would do something for you is if they got to you. You get kidnapped and get a dragon, while I get left behind here to be tortured."

  Lilly shook her head. That wasn't at all what had happened, or well it was. But it wasn't what she had wanted.

  "It's not like that, sister. I came back for you, and they will protect us."

  She watched as Irene put the needle down and grabbed something else. "Fine. What do they need?"

  A smile crossed her lips. Her sister was still in there.

  "The antidote to the poison. The one that he injected in that dragon shifter's mate."

  Irene nodded, biting her lip.

  "What?"

  Irene glanced up into the corner. Lilly didn't bother following. It was the camera, the one thing that could really screw with their plans right now. Irene was afraid, and rightly so. But, as long as it was just the two of them, they could do this. They could escape.

  "Lillyanna, it's in another lab. This is for treatments of our own. Can you wait here while I try to get it?"

  She nodded. "Are you not going to take my blood? Will you get in trouble?"

  Irene picked up a small glass vial.

  "I do need something."

  They both looked at the little innocent bit of medical equipment.

  After another moment, Irene laid the vial down and grabbed the needle again.

  "Do you trust me?"

  What else was Lilly going to be able to say? She extended her arm and prayed to whatever god or goddess would listen to her. She prayed that her sister was still there. Still the one who tried to do the right thing in the face of her father's evil.

  She nodded.

  Irene tied a band around her arm and motioned for Lilly to squeeze her hand open and closed.

  Lilly turned her head away. She couldn't watch this part.

  A small poke and she knew her sister had inserted the needle.

  A few seconds later, and the pressure of the band released. She held up the vial, a show no doubt for the camera.

  When it was full, she laid the vial down next to Lilly on the bed. It crossed her mind what an odd choice that was.

  Holding her breath this time, fearing she'd pass out if this wasn't overseen, she watched her sister hold up the second vial, but as she went to connect it, she dropped it. It shattered as the glass clashed against the tiled floor.

  "Whoops. Guess I need to go get another from the lab." She started to walk about and then turned to Lilly. In a low voice she said, "remember to not touch the vial of blood, too much heat will ruin the sample."

  Lilly cocked her head.

  What?

  Maybe it was a hint. If she took the vial in her hand, Irene wouldn't know. And maybe that was the point. Maybe she was trying to make it all look real?

  The vial of blood remained at her side. She reached out a finger and laid it against the glass. No way could the camera see what she was doing.

  Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the blood boil and quickly moved her finger away. Either way, that had to ruin things for her father without her sister having to pay. Maybe?

  The door opened again and in walked Irene, flanked by someone she didn't recognize, not that she saw many people around here.

  Irene's brow knit together. "This is another one of the doctors here, Lilly. Not sure you've ever met Father's second in command?"

  Her skin crawled just at the look of him. No. She'd never met him before.

  "Hi. Why are you here? I appreciate my father's concerns, but it's just my ankle. Irene can take care of me."

  He nodded. "I'm sure. But you were gone for several days and you don't appear to be showing signs of neglect. In fact, you look like you've been rather well taken care of. I would like to get some more information from you."

  Her sister frowned and came back over to her.

  She took Lilly's hand, holding it as she said, "he's Father's most trusted colleague. They just want to understand more about the aliens."

  A small vial slid into her hand, and her sister nodded.

  Eadric?

  Lilly reached for him with her mind. This wasn't looking good and now that she had both the antidote and her sister, it was time to get out.

  Yes, mate?

  She turned to the doctor. Not wanting him out of her sight. She noticed his hand move, something clasped in it. This is just getting better.

  As soon as I get detached, my sister and I are leaving. Come and get us.

  He said nothing, but that was fine. She needed to focus on the jerk doctor next to her. A wave of relief falling over her, well almost.

  "Doctor? Could you please remove this cuff? I'm sure you saw the bruises on my wrists already. This hurts."

  He practically slithered over. Yeah, he was one of her father's doctors all right. Something horribly wrong with him.

  "It is for your own safety. We wouldn't want you running off, now would we?"

  Odd comment, she thought.

  "Where exactly would I run? I've always done as Father has asked. I didn't choose to leave in the first place. I came back."

  Choose. Bah. You were chained to the floor, Eadric said.

  She gritted her teeth. She needed to focus and not have him interrupting. But h
e had a point.

  "Perhaps. Still, your chip isn't showing active. How did you get back here?"

  Tilting her head, she tried the innocent approach.

  Shit.

  Her stomach churned sour, even as she kept a straight face.

  "I simply followed it like I was supposed to. You know, the whole shooting burning pain? If the pain went away, I kept going. If it started again, I turned until it didn't. Maybe it broke?"

  The doctor nodded. "Perhaps. Would I be able to remove it?"

  She pulled back.

  "What? No." Lilly tried to control the nervous crack of her voice.

  "I mean, no, not right now. Could we just wait until I've had some rest?"

  The doctor's eyes flattened into slits.

  "I don't see how you are in a position to request anything, Lillyanna. You see, without that chip you're a threat."

  Glaring at him, she swallowed the toxic, albeit accurate, words that would do nothing but get her yelled at, or worse.

  I'm coming to get you. Mental images of Eadric running through the forest caught her off guard.

  No. Not yet. I need to get free. I can't meet you up top yet.

  He flashed an image of the bunker style entrance; he was right outside.

  I wait for your word. We all do.

  She let out a sigh.

  "What are you thinking of, child?" The words chiding rather than concerned.

  She tried to smile. "Nothing. Or rather, sleeping. I am a bit tired."

  He eyed her. "You can sleep here. In fact, you can sleep while I remove the chip."

  She was about to scream, when her sister's gloved hand reached out and rested against her arm.

  "Doctor? Could we not wait until we've run the blood samples? Perhaps just give her some time? She's been through a lot. She's never been out on her own, let alone among hostile aliens. You have to see how this might have caused her some trauma."

  Her eyes flew wide. Hostile aliens, her ass. She wanted to scream, but her sister's hand squeezed tighter. Fine. She needed to be quiet. Soon they'd be gone and never see this man or her father again. They could disappear and be safe.

  "Ah. Blood samples. Yes. Where are they?"

  She held up the one that Lilly had burned. It didn't exactly look the same, but her blood never really looked like her sister's, so maybe it wasn't strange. Lilly had grown up being a pin cushion. Luckily it also had saved her from some horrible experiments. Her father had a motto that if something, rather than someone, wasn't broken you didn't need to ruin it. Except their soul. He'd break her and anyone else to get what he needed.