“Those are your friends?” I ask as we walk on.
He shakes his head. “It’s my crew. My family.” He looks at me and smiles. “Our family.”
I can’t help but smile back.
It’s crazy how all of my stuff is on the other side of the country, but this small mountain town is starting to feel like home.
And I’m slowly starting to realize…
That I don’t want to leave.
Chapter Nine
Blake
Kimberly greets us with a smile when we walk into Carl’s diner.
“I heard that our fearless chief was walking around town with a hot brunette on his arm, but I didn’t believe it,” she says with a grin as she looks Lily over.
I squeeze Lily’s arm a little tighter, happy to be showing her off.
“I’m Kimberly, waitress extraordinaire and stunningly beautiful mate of our dear Westin. Welcome to the crew and to the restaurant.”
“Thank you,” Lily says with a blush in her cheeks.
Kimberly gives us the best seat in the house, which is a rundown faded yellow booth that should have been replaced decades ago.
“Do you take all your dates to this beautiful place?” she asks as she looks around with an amused grin.
“Just the ones I’m falling in love with,” I answer and her cheeks get a little darker.
I’d rather take her to a fancy five-star restaurant with the finest food and best champagne in the world, but there’s nothing like that in Blackcloud Point. And besides, once she tries Carl’s cooking, she won’t be complaining. The ugliest restaurants that have been around forever always have the best food.
I should be looking around for traces of our dragon friend—actually, I shouldn’t have even let my girl leave my house—but I keep getting distracted with her sparkling brown eyes and soft curves that are making my fingers tingle with the need to explore.
I was worried about the guys getting distracted by their girls, but I never thought it would be me who was unable to pay attention to any possible dangers.
“What do you guys want?” Kimberly says as she arrives at our booth. Her baby bump is just starting to show. “Some shitty waffles or the even shittier omelet?”
Lily looks at me and I just shrug. “Don’t listen to her. The food is not that bad.”
“Oh, yes it is,” Kimberly snaps back. “It’s horrible. It’s criminally bad. Carl should be in solitary confinement in the basement of a jail for the rest of his life for serving this mush.”
“Really?” Lily asks, staring up at her in horror.
Kimberly takes pity on her and laughs. “It’s not so bad actually. Best place in town.”
“It’s the only place in town,” I correct.
“Exactly.”
Lily orders some eggs and toast and I order the Hungry Man’s Breakfast, my usual.
We spend breakfast talking and falling in love. She’s amazing. Smart, funny, and very sharp. I can see how she rose so fast through the ranks of the FBI.
After we’ve eaten and Kimberly refills our coffees, Lily leans in close. “Did you really kill Aylwin and Reginald?”
I trust her now completely. “They attacked us so we defended ourselves and took their lives.”
“And Sperling?”
“He escaped.”
She looks nervous. “Do you have any idea how dangerous he is?”
“He wanted to hurt you,” I say. “That’s as dangerous as they come according to me.”
“If you see him again, I want you to call me right away.”
My eyes narrow on her. “If you see him again, I want you to call me right away.”
There’s no way I want my girl anywhere near that guy. It won’t happen.
“Anyway, he’s probably on the other side of the planet by now,” she says as she takes a sip of her coffee. “Let’s talk about happy stuff. For the first time in a long time, I don’t want to think about work.”
“Happy stuff, huh?” I ask as I pour some milk into my coffee. “Okay. How many kids do you want to have?”
Her eyes widen. “How many do you want?”
“At least ten.”
“Ten?” she says with a gasp. “I was thinking one.”
“Let’s meet in the middle. Five.”
She shakes her head, but I can tell she’s interested. “Five, eh? Then we’d better get started.”
I couldn’t agree more.
* * *
We’re making out in the parking lot and then she’s taking my hand and pulling me to my pickup truck.
“I just want to stay all day in bed with you,” she says as she ignores her ringing phone. “I haven’t taken a day off in years. He can figure it out himself.”
I kiss her hard on the lips and wrap my big arms around her, holding her possessively as my bear rumbles. “Then let’s go home.”
I can’t take my eyes off her as she gets into the truck. I love watching her. Every curve, every movement, it’s all just eye candy to me.
When we’re riding on the two-lane expressway, Lily’s hands start to explore my body and gets a little bolder as she looks up at me with mischievous eyes.
My cock hardens as her hand gets closer to it. “Your house is so far away,” she whines as she looks at my erection that’s straining against the inside of my jeans.” What can we do to pass the time until then?”
A groan falls from my mouth as she presses her palm against my raging cock and drags it up my shaft. If she does it again, I’m going to cum in my pants.
I’m trying to keep one eye on the road and one on her as she opens my belt and starts to unzip. She reaches into my pants and moans when she pulls out my throbbing cock.
It’s got sticky pre-cum leaking out already, but she cleans it up with her soft tongue, moaning as she drinks me down.
I squeeze the steering wheel and curse under my breath as she takes me all the way in, dragging her tongue down my shaft as her soft lips pucker around it.
I look ahead at the road as I focus on her warm mouth and what it’s doing to me. It feels incredible. She sounds like she’s enjoying it just as much as me with all of the little mewls and moans of pleasure she’s making.
“How does your man’s cock feel in your mouth?”
She moans and the hum it makes on my shaft nearly sets me off. Her fingers wrap around it with a firm grip and she starts jerking me off as she looks up at me. “Amazing,” she whispers.
I grin, knowing I’m the only one she’s been this intimate with. It fills me with pride and joy.
“Then, I better keep going.” She gives me a sexy smile and then drops her head back down, taking me all in with an eagerness that makes my heart do a little flip.
I’m distracted and in heaven with her lips wrapped around me when there’s a sudden crunching of metal over my head. The truck jerks to the side and I try to turn the steering wheel to keep straight, but it’s not working. Nothing is working. I hit the breaks but we don’t stop moving.
“What the hell?” I mutter as I look around, confused.
Lily wipes her lips as she pops up. “Oh my God!” she gasps as her wide eyes stare at the roof of the truck. I look up and see several long red talons pierced through the roof, gripping it. Deadly black nails are sunk into the fabric, tearing it as realization hits.
I slam my foot onto the gas but the engine just roars and the truck doesn’t move any faster.
“Blake!” Lily screams as she grips my forearm.
The truck starts rising.
The cars beside us disappear and get smaller as the red dragon carries my truck, and my mate, away.
Chapter Ten
Lily
I scream until my own ears hurt. The truck keeps swaying and jerking around violently as the dragon carries us through the mountains. We’re so fucking high up!
Every movement makes my stomach sink. It feels like I’m going to throat up.
The trees look like twigs and I think I just saw a cloud pas
s by my window.
Blake’s arms are wrapped protectively around me like he can save me from anything, but even he can’t save me from this. A fall from this high will flatten the truck, let alone me.
If Reginald wants us dead, we’re dead.
“I’m sorry,” Blake is whispering as he clutches onto me. “I’m so sorry, Lily. It’s my fault.”
“It’s not,” I say as I cup his jaw and kiss his temple. “It’s mine.”
“I should have been more vigilant,” he says, looking crushed. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
I pull his face up until he’s looking into my eyes. “Listen to me, Blake. I don’t regret a thing. This has been the best few hours of my life. If I had to choose between this and not meeting you, I choose this.”
He gives me what may be our last kiss on the lips and I’m melting into it when the truck suddenly starts free falling.
I yank my mouth away and resume my panicked screaming when I see the claws gone from the roof. Through the holes, I can see the red dragon getting smaller in the sky as we fall.
The truck hits the treetops and tumbles down the thick branches, snapping and cracking them as the truck begins to slow.
Finally, it stops.
“Are you okay?” Blake asks, only focused on me.
“I’m fine,” I say as I look forward and see the shattered windshield. The hood of the truck is pointing up, showing the clear blue sky between the thick snow-covered branches of the pine tree that we’re currently residing in.
“He tried to kill us,” I say. My voice is breathless and still in shock.
“No,” Blake says as he looks around with his jaw clenched tight. He looks pissed. “He would have dropped us from higher if he wanted to kill us. He’s out there. Waiting.”
I grab my gun and realize that my hand is shaking.
“It’s going to be okay,” he says when he sees me looking at it. “You’re my mate, Lily. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“But… it’s a dragon…”
“Who has got nothing on a polar bear protecting his mate. Come with me.”
He helps me out of the seat and then kicks the windshield out with his boot. The truck jerks down a few inches and I let out a panicked scream.
“I got you, Lily,” he says as he takes me and throws me over his hard round shoulder. “This is what I was made to do.”
I give myself over to him and let him carry me out of the truck. He grabs onto the tree and starts to climb down with shockingly good agility.
My legs are still shaking when he lowers me onto the ground. We’re high up in the mountains in the middle of a forest.
The sound of clapping has me turning and my eyes narrow on Reginald. He’s wearing pants and a shirt while leaning on a tree. The cold and snow don’t seem to bother him at all even though he’s barefoot.
Blake growls when he sees him. He steps in front of me and pulls me back with a protective arm.
“Leave her out of this,” Blake snarls. “Let her go.”
Sperling laughs. “I don’t think so. I’m here for her too.”
His bright green eyes lock onto mine and I suddenly feel vulnerable, even with Blake standing in front of me.
“What does the FBI know about me?” he asks.
Blake steps to the side, blocking my view of him. “Don’t you dare talk to her,” he hisses with a fury that surprises me. “This girl is mine.”
Sperling looks surprised by the intense reaction as well. Then, it dawns on him. “Oh, you’re mates. Lovely.”
My fingers grip the cold handle of my gun as I hide it behind Blake’s flexed back. My heart races as Sperling’s jade green eyes shine a little brighter.
“I’ll kill her first so you know the pain I felt when you took my brothers away.”
Blake lets out a snarl that doesn’t even sound human. His shoulders start growing and I step back as his whole frame swells and convulses violently. Long white hairs sprout from his skin and then with a loud tear, a full-grown polar bear bursts out of him.
Sperling doesn’t look impressed at all. Even when the bear stands up on his two hind legs and snarls at him.
“Come here, girl,” Sperling says to me, “and I’ll go easy on you.”
I draw my gun and point it right at his chest. “Shut the fuck up and put your hands in the air!”
He chuckles, but I’m not laughing.
“A gun?” he asks as he takes two steps forward. “Are you kidding me?”
“Don’t take another step!” I warn as I hold my finger over the trigger.
He brazenly keeps walking forward. “I’m a dragon shifter. I don’t listen to—”
The deafening boom of gunshots echoes through the mountains as I pull the trigger twice. The bullets slam into Sperling’s chest and he falls backward and lands on his ass.
I hold my breath as I wait for him to collapse, but he just gets up, looking even more pissed. The bullets fall to the ground along with my mouth. He’s bulletproof. But that’s impossible…
His eyes lock onto mine as he bares his teeth and cracks his knuckles. “You shot me. You fucking cu—”
Blake’s bear charges forward and slams into Sperling before he can finish. He flies back and the two of them start wrestling in the snow as I try to aim and get another shot to help him out. They’re too close and I can’t shoot again without the possibility of hitting Blake.
“Damn it,” I curse as I put the gun down and look for something to help out with. There’s nothing but a huge boulder beside me that’s way too heavy to lift. It comes up to my shoulders.
Sperling gets the edge and grabs the polar bear by the front leg. He swings him into a thick tree and the trunk snaps in half as my mate goes through it like a knife through hot butter.
I scream as the tree falls with a crack. Sperling spins and then launches Blake’s bear halfway across the forest. He disappears in a wave of breaking and swaying trees.
With Blake’s bear out of the way, he turns back to me and starts walking over. His body starts trembling as he walks.
My hands are shaking as I quickly check how many bullets I have left. One. Fucking great.
I try to click the cylinder back in, but it’s so cold and my fingers are so numb. It fumbles out of my hands and I drop it.
“No,” I gasp when it disappears into the deep snow at my feet.
I look up just in time to see Sperling explode into a huge red dragon.
I suddenly forget all about my gun. All about the cold. All about everything.
All I can focus on is the cold terror flowing through my veins and the horrifying sight of the giant dragon as he raises his head and stares down at me.
My heart is thrashing in my ears as he opens his mouth. His teeth are the length of my forearm and almost as thick.
“Oh, shit,” I whisper when I see the ball of fire building at the back of his throat. It doesn’t register in my broken brain what’s happening until the flames are rolling down his tongue and heading straight for me.
Then, it’s too late.
Chapter Eleven
Blake
My bear reluctantly gives in to my demand and he lets me back out.
Sperling is bigger, stronger, and faster. I’m not going to beat him with just brawn, even if I’m fighting for Lily’s life. I need to use my brains too.
My polar bear just got his ass kicked and took out a dozen trees in the process.
I quickly phase back into my human form and stumble back to the fight. I hear Lily scream and it gives me all the power I need to move on.
Ignoring the burning of my ribs, which are probably broken, I clenched my teeth and sprint through the snow.
I arrive just in time to see Sperling phase into his dragon as he approaches my girl. She’s my whole world and I’ll die if anything happens to her.
She looks terrified and it kills me that I’m not there to protect her. I run forward, leaping through the snow as the dragon opens his massive
jaws and is about to melt the only woman I love.
With everything I have, I rush forward as the fire comes surging out of his mouth. I dive and tackle her out of the way of the flames just in time, rolling us behind a huge boulder. The snow melts all around us and I hold my body on top of hers as the trees beside us go up in flames.
“Stay down,” I grunt as I grab onto the rock and try to lift it.
The thing is huge and would normally take three grizzly bear shifters to pick it up, but my crew is back home. I’m on my own so this polar bear shifter better have the power of three grizzly bear shifters or him and his mate will be toast.
With a savage grunt, I dig my fingers into it and use every muscle in my body to lift it up. The flames are still coming, flying past us in every direction and I’m about to throw away our only protection.
I think of Lily’s gorgeous smile as my back aches. I picture how good it felt to finally hold her hand as the flames wash over my shins and feet, scorching them. I imagine how good our lives will be if we’re together and all of that gives me the power I need.
I launch the rock with everything I have and it flies through the air like a rocket. There’s a crunch as it slams into the dragon’s open mouth and he falls back with a whimper.
The surge of fire stops and everything is eerily quiet except for the pounding in my ears and the crackling of the flames that are still licking up the sides of the trees, although the snow on the branches is putting most of it out.
The dragon’s red wings start flapping and I realize his jaw is broken and he’s trying to make a getaway.
“No, you don’t,” I hiss as I start sprinting toward him. There’s no way he’s escaping. I’m going to kill him here or I won’t ever be able to breathe again. I can’t let a threat to my mate exist. I can’t risk anything happening to Lily. Ever.
This ends now.
I leap onto his back and pin his wings together as he thrashes around under me. The lower half of his jaw is hanging down at a weird angle. I definitely snapped it with the boulder.
Pulled to the Alpha: Alphas in Heat Book Five Page 5