by Katie Reus
Finn rolled his eyes. “You’re not leaving. Unless you want to of course.” Drake shook his head and Victoria let out a relieved sigh, which he felt straight to his core. Without looking at her, he bent to retrieve his clothes. As he dressed, Finn continued. “I’m guessing you don’t, but I have to ask. Do you know that dragon?”
“No. It was male. That’s all I’m sure of. And he didn’t attack me, but that means nothing. He could be getting reinforcements. My instinct says otherwise. I don’t think the male was an enemy.”
Finn was silent for a long moment as he watched him. “Victoria could see you and the other dragon when the rest of us couldn’t.”
Now it was Drake’s turn to be confused. His gaze snapped to hers. Still clutching the blade at her side, she watched him almost nervously. He didn’t like to see that look in her eyes. He wanted the hunger from before back. “You saw me when I was camouflaged?”
She nodded. “Yes. When you flew high and started that freefall thing, a blue and white dragon appeared out of nowhere. No one else could see you or him but me until you two collided. Then everyone saw.”
“Have you done something to Victoria?” Finn asked quietly.
Offended by the question, Drake instantly bared his teeth, knowing it was a dominating gesture to make to an Alpha, but all his primal instincts flared to the surface. “I would never hurt her,” he growled.
Gabriel and Lyra instantly took a step forward, blades and claws unsheathed in the blink of an eye.
Finn’s lips pulled into a hard line as he took a step forward and waved them both back. His claws remained sheathed and he seemed more exasperated by Drake’s display than anything. “I know that. Everyone in this fucking mansion knows that. I mean… I don’t know. Fuck. I don’t know anything about dragons. I just wanted to know if you’d given her the ability to see you.”
The flicker of another memory shoved at him, stronger than anything else had so far. It was the blade. Something about it. But he didn’t want to tell the others and he wasn’t sure why. “Not intentionally.” Which wasn’t a lie.
As he turned to look at Victoria he was aware of Gabriel sheathing his weapons and Lyra wrapping an arm around Finn’s waist. But he didn’t care about any of them right now. He just cared about Victoria.
“Are you angry at me?” he asked, hating the audience, but he never wanted there to be any misunderstandings between him and Victoria.
The other three quickly made themselves scarce, moving to the other side of the roof. They would still be able to hear, but Drake liked having the illusion of privacy with her.
“Of course not but if you wanted to go with that dragon—”
“I will not go anywhere without you,” he barked, the words coming out harsher than he’d intended. “Unless you wish me to.” And it would kill him if she sent him away. It would be like losing his other half.
Her expression immediately softening, she gently laid the blade he’d made her on the ground before straightening and stepping closer to him. She reached out as if she wanted to touch him, but hesitated. Which flayed him. He wanted her hands all over him. “I don’t want you to leave, but now you know there are others like you out there. And I’ll help you find them.”
He nodded, pulling her into his arms, all his tension leaving him when she willingly wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder. “Thank you.” The truth was, he wanted to know more about dragons, but not if it cost him Victoria.
He would give up everything for her.
He wasn’t sure how long they stood there holding each other, but eventually Finn made his way over to them. Though everything in Drake resisted, he let Victoria go. Turning toward the Alpha, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She stepped into his embrace, her long lithe body fitting against him perfectly. As he held her he knew he needed to figure things out faster regarding his life because he would not be able to restrain himself much longer. Her scent drove him to the brink of control and knowing she wanted him, to kiss and touch him, tempted him to forget what he’d told her earlier. But he couldn’t. Not when she deserved more than what he had to offer.
“I’m going to increase the patrol tonight. If you’d like to stay on, I’d appreciate it.”
Technically the Alpha could have ordered him to, but Drake had noticed Finn liked to ask and only make demands when necessary. It was one of the reasons he was a good Alpha.
“I’ll monitor from the roof,” Drake answered.
“Me too,” Victoria said almost immediately.
Drake started to protest but Finn nodded. “Fine. I’ll leave radios with both of you. Your shift ends at daybreak. No arguments from either of you,” he added, looking pointedly at Victoria when she started to say something.
Once the Alpha had left, Victoria turned in Drake’s arms. “I’m going to grab my laptop but I’ll be right back. I want to do some more research while we’re up here.”
He nodded. “Okay.” Deep down he knew he should tell her to remain in the house where she’d be more protected just in case but the most selfish part of him, the part that had been alone for so fucking long, wanted to be near her as much as he could. When she started to leave he clutched on to her hips and pulled her tight against him.
Leaning down, he ran his nose along the column of her neck and along her jaw before returning to nuzzle behind her ear. When she shuddered in his arms, her fingers trailing up his chest to his shoulders, it took restraint he didn’t know he had to step back and let her go.
Chapter Six
Victoria hurried down the stairs of the mansion, her laptop bag slung over her shoulder. It was almost seven o’clock in the morning, only a few hours after the late patrol shift she’d been on with Drake and she should be sleeping but was too keyed up.
When Finn had ordered them to switch out for the day shift Drake had told her he’d be taking a shower then getting some sleep. She’d jumped at the chance to sneak away from the mansion for a little bit without anyone’s knowledge, even if the thought of joining him in the shower would be a lot more fun. Not that he’d actually invited her but still.
Over the past few hours she’d gotten a lot of research in on dragons but she still hadn’t come up with a concrete lead on how to hunt down another living dragon. All she wanted was to talk to one. Just like the last four months, she’d ended up with more questions than answers. The addition of a blue and white dragon to her searches hadn’t increased her feedback much. She’d found mentions of the word Moana and dragons of that description but they’d been obscure and buried deep in search engines. Nothing on any of the supernatural forums she frequented. But it was better than nothing, she supposed.
The lack of results was driving her crazy. Especially since Drake might be able to find his family.
And she knew he’d go all protective male if she told him where she was going now. Which was why she wasn’t telling him or anyone in the pack.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs she ran into Rhea, one of the most beautiful women Victoria had ever known. Her father had been black and her mother Greek, giving her pretty much the most gorgeous skin tone ever, all glowing and dewy looking year round. As if she’d just come from a pampered day at the spa. Which was something Rhea would never do. She’d kick you in the teeth if you even suggested she partake in something so feminine. Her short, corkscrew curls were wild this morning, bouncing everywhere as she walked.
The female smiled and paused on the bottom stair, her bright amber eyes mirroring the warmth of her smile. “Hey, V. What are you doing up so early? I thought you’d have crashed by now.”
“I’m heading to the kitchen.” Which was not a lie so her packmate wouldn’t scent anything off in Victoria’s statement. That was the tricky thing about being around supernaturals who could smell your lies. She was heading to the kitchen, but not for food as she hoped Rhea would assume. She was going to the kitchen, then accessing one of the backdoors so she could sneak out and take one of
the pack vehicles for her errand.
Rhea’s warrior gaze flicked to Victoria’s laptop bag that had a bright sticker on it that read ‘She Wolf’, but she just nodded. “Okay. I’m about to grab some shuteye. See ya later.”
Victoria hurried away after that and didn’t stop to chat with the few packmates she passed in the mansion. She was on a mission and no one was stopping her.
Unless of course Rhea narced her out to Finn or Gabriel. Even though Victoria and Rhea looked as if they were the same age, the female was as old as Finn and could be overprotective. Gah, sometimes she hated that she was one of the babies of the pack. It didn’t matter that she was a full grown, mature shifter female, they all treated her so delicately sometimes. Or tried to. She understood and on her most primal level she was incredibly grateful she had such a loving pack. Not everyone was so lucky to have such a solid family. Hell, look at Drake. Still, a little independence was a necessity.
As she steered down the long driveway in one of the pack SUVs, she gritted her teeth when she spotted Solon lingering near the gate. “That little traitor,” Victoria muttered, knowing Rhea had probably radioed her freaking bestie, Solon.
She rolled down her window, breathing in the chilly morning air, and slowed at the gate. She pressed the button on her gate control to open it, but didn’t pull through, instead waiting for Solon to jog over to her window. She didn’t have to stop for him, but she also knew that if she acted secretive, Solon would track her just to be obnoxious. So she played dumb.
“Hey, V. Where’re you off to this early?” He ran a hand over his dark skull trim.
“Errands.”
He lifted a dark eyebrow. “Care to elaborate?”
She mirrored him, arching her eyebrows. “Only if you care to elaborate about what happened with those three half-demon females you left Bo’s club with the other night.”
To her amusement, his cheeks flushed crimson. “Fucking shifter gossips.” He cleared his throat. “Come on, don’t hold out. What are you up to?”
It was obvious he was trying to be all casual with his question, but she didn’t buy it. “I told you, errands.” When he didn’t respond, she sighed over-dramatically. “Someone has a birthday coming up. Don’t tell me you forgot.” Victoria resisted the urge to smile at Solon’s anxious expression. She wasn’t lying because a lot of packmates had a birthday coming up so there was no metallic scent associated with a lie rolling off her. There was practically a birthday a week they celebrated—not like their pack needed an excuse to party. But she intentionally made it sound like she was shopping for a present. And Solon was clearly buying it.
“Shit. Who?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Uh uh. I’m not your mom or your mate. You need to remember that stuff on your own.”
“Damn it, Victoria. Who is it? Am I going to get reamed out for forgetting a birthday? Shit, is it Vega’s birthday?”
Laughing, she rolled up the window and zoomed out the gate, pressing the button to close it as she cleared it. Cruising down the street, she glanced in the rearview mirror. No one was following her. As soon as Solon told Rhea about the conversation, the female would know exactly what Victoria had done, but by then it would be too late. Gabriel hadn’t even been at the mansion this morning, off on some mission or task for Finn, so she wasn’t worried about him tracking her either. No wonder Vega was feeling so smothered lately. Victoria had almost forgotten how annoying it was to have to sneak out.
Less than ten minutes later, Victoria steered into the parking lot of Bo’s club. It didn’t matter that it was after seven in the morning and most normal humans would be getting ready for work. Bo’s club didn’t cater to humans and the parking lot was packed. As she’d expected for a Saturday morning.
She’d tried calling the half-demon but he hadn’t answered his cell phone or his office phone. Since he practically lived at the club it was a good bet he’d be there. Besides, she didn’t know where the male actually lived. No one did. Not even Finn.
Gravel crunched under her heeled boots as she strode across the makeshift parking lot. The ‘nightclub’ was a nondescript warehouse that did a good job of camouflaging its true purpose. It was located near a local marina and looked like a huge storage warehouse similar to all the others in the area that housed RVs, boats and other things. Inside, however, was a different story.
When she reached the plain, white door it opened and a broad-shouldered male about the same height as her stood back to let her in. She guessed he was a ghoul because of the dark red ring around his irises. “Bo’s occupied,” he said in a surprisingly deep voice.
She blinked. “How’d you know I’m here to see him?” Muted music pumped into the oversized space from hidden speakers. Supernatural beings had sensitized hearing so there would be no blasting of music, thankfully.
“You’re part of the Stavros pack and you’re Drake’s female. I don’t think you’re here to party by yourself.”
She wasn’t sure how to respond to the part about being Drake’s female, but she sure as hell liked the sound of that. “How long is Bo going to be occupied?”
The male sighed. “I’ll get him even though it’ll get me a punch in the nuts.” He nodded in the direction of one of the bars. “Grab a seat. He’ll be out in a minute or so.”
Doing as he said, she took the only empty seat at the nearest bar and scanned around the giant dance floor. Along the opposite wall there were roped-off booths with heavy curtains. Some closed, some drawn back. There was also a red door to the right of the booths and she knew from gossip that beyond the room, BDSM things took place. All consensual of course, otherwise Finn would have killed Bo long ago. She’d never understood why anyone would be in to bondage, but now the thought of maybe light stuff with Drake could be kind of hot.
Her entire body heated up at the thought of him binding her wrists above her head as he dipped his head between her legs… She forced herself to shut that thought down, but she was going to go back to that little fantasy later.
She watched as the ghoul security guard disappeared behind the red door and half-smiled. So that’s what Bo was ‘occupied’ with. Nice.
When she turned back around toward the bar she saw that the male on her left had scooted away, giving her a wide berth. She was about to sniff herself to see if she’d forgotten to put on deodorant when she recognized him from the array of faces from the fight the night before. No male was going to hit on her or mess with her after Drake’s dominant display. The thought made her smile.
She avoided places like this anyway, but having an extra barrier between her and annoying males was a huge plus right now. The female bartender set a bill in front of a customer then made her way to Victoria.
She guessed the purple-eyed female was a half-demon and that those weren’t contacts. Her long hair was pulled up into a tight ponytail, the shocking purple waves trailing down her back and around her shoulders. She gave Victoria a curious look as she approached. “You’re Drake’s female?”
Did everyone go to those damn fights? “Who wants to know?” she snapped, wondering if this was one of the sign-toting groupies. Victoria had never been remotely jealous of anyone. She’d always figured it was part of her healer makeup, but the thought of any female going after Drake made her wolf go crazy to the point she had to rein in her beast so she wouldn’t shift. That hadn’t happened to her since she was a cub too young to control herself.
The half-demon grinned, revealing a toothpaste commercial smile and two sharp canines. Or maybe fangs. Maybe she was half-demon, half-vamp. “What are you drinking? On the house for the female who landed that delicious male.”
“Oh, uh, orange juice.” All the ragey-jealousy dissipated at the friendliness from the female.
Nodding, the bartender poured the drink and slid it over to Victoria, moving on to the next customer. Even if she wasn’t being charged, Victoria left a tip and turned around to find Bo exiting the red door, a scowl on his handsome face.
To
day his hair was green, matching his eyes. His button-down shirt was open revealing fingernail scratches along the ripped eight pack of his café-au-lait skin. As he reached her, he put his hands on his hips. “Am I going to get fried to a crisp for talking to you?”
Victoria was surprised that he was being open about knowing what Drake was. “No, but I’d like just a few moments of your time.”
“You alone?”
“Yes.”
“Fine. Come on.” He started buttoning his shirt so she slid off the barstool, leaving her drink where it was.
She fell in step with him and followed him when he opened a white door that led to a quiet hallway. When the door shut behind them she couldn’t hear anything from the outside club. Talk about serious insulation.
At the end of the hallway he opened the last door into what was clearly his office. Big, masculine furniture filled it but she didn’t focus on any of that. “You know what Drake is,” she said as she made herself at home, sitting in the chair across from the big wood desk.
“I know he’s a dragon.” Bo sat in his chair on the other side of the desk and leaned back. “They’re very territorial, Victoria.” His words almost sounded like a warning.
She snorted. “No kidding.” So were wolf shifters. To the nth degree. It was biology, plain and simple. They were part beast and didn’t fight their animal side. They couldn’t.
“More than other shifters.” His expression was serious, intent. “Just be careful if you commit. It’s for life in more ways than one.”
She frowned. “What does that mean?” And how the hell did Bo know so much about dragons?
Bo’s head tilted to the side a fraction. “You talk to your male about that. Why are you here?”
“I’m here to talk about freaking dragons. And clearly I came to the right place.” She wanted to kick herself for not coming earlier instead of using him as a last ditch effort. “Drake doesn’t know…” Crap, how much could she say? “We’re having a hard time finding others like Drake.” That was safe enough.