Dragon's Ward (2 page)

“Sounds like fun,” Cadoc said, a painfully hopeful note filtering into his voice. It had been some time since he and his
guizu
, or his nobles, had shared a woman. They had been searching for their Phoenix, the one that would complete their quartet and help them rule the dragonkin. Until they had their Phoenix, no new dragons would be born to his nest. When the need had gotten too high, and possibly dangerous, they’d stopped. They couldn’t keep trying. Every time they attempted to bond with a woman, they found themselves driving her nearly insane. They weren’t lucky enough like the werewolves, or wereleopards, to gain their mate and know her through scent alone. For dragonkin royalty, the woman would have to be strong enough to suppress their animal sides and roll it into her own form, the Phoenix. When she released their powers back to them, the four of them would be as one, complete, and so would the nest.

It saddened him that he would have to disabuse Cadoc of the notion that the woman he heard could be their potential mate. They’d lived long enough without a Phoenix, and their nest could only grow smaller with each death. They may live for centuries, but they were not immortal, just much harder to kill.

“Not that type of help, Kylin,” Stefan said then, choosing to use Cadoc’s title to signal things were serious, and to remind them of their pact to not try again for a Phoenix until they found another dragonkin strong enough to take them all on.

“I will be there in under an hour. Wait for me.” Stefan disconnected the call, sure that Cadoc would be there soon enough. He didn’t want to hear the disappointment anymore than necessary. He called another number, shaking off his own feeling of loss, and waited for Nero to answer.

“
Zhu
,” Nero answered after four rings. Nero was never one to wake up easily.

“I will need you, Gui.” Stefan could hear Nero sigh over the phone.

“How have you gotten yourself into trouble, my friend?” Where Cadoc may be Stefan’s sword to bear, Nero was his conscience in all things. He would need the both to determine what would be done with the woman. He may lead the dragonkin, but he listened to his council.

“It is not I that is in trouble. Cadoc is on the way already,” he said as he looked down at the woman on his couch. She was curled around his arm, and he hadn’t made a move to get away from her. His thumb made lazy circles on the top of her hand, as if he were memorizing the touch of her flesh. He hadn’t realized he’d been doing it, or the effect it had on his body until now. He was still rock hard, his breath beginning to come in thick pants. He closed his eyes, feeling his dragon swirl within him, eager to try and find his Phoenix again, no matter the risk. His human side pushed that need back. This woman needed his help, not his passion.

“I will be there.” Nero hung up then and Stefan sighed. Somehow he knew this was going to be a long night.

“What happened?” Her voice was smooth like silk, and as sultry as summer heat. He felt it go through him all the way to his toes. He struggled to breathe through the sudden flare of fire through his blood. He felt like he was burning with fever, like some switch had been flipped. He didn’t care about her problems, or her fear, any longer. All he wanted was to taste her. All he wanted to do was lift her over him, feel her skin to skin, and sink his cock so deep inside of her, she would no longer know what it felt like to not have him within her.

Something must have shown in his face because she sat up quickly, crab crawling backward to the opposite side of the couch. It was the fear that stopped him. Her eyes looked as if she would fight to the death if he touched her now. He took a deep breath, trying to push the desire, the need down. He should not have wanted her. He should not have felt this heat. She was human. He could smell it. She would not survive mating with the three of them. He knew that. He knew better than to even entertain it for a second. He shook his head, counting in his head until he calmed down. He was nearly there when a knock sounded at his door. He didn’t move. The woman in front of him was too spooked for that. He just called out.

“Come in.” Nero and Cadoc stepped through the door and froze. They scented the air and turned, in freeze-frame movements, toward the cowering woman on the couch. Cadoc’s tongue slipped between his lips, tasting the air. The movement meant he was losing himself to his inner beast as well.

If she could huddle tighter to the coach, she did. She whimpered, but another scent filled the air. Thick, spicy, and drench in sweetness, her desire coiled around them all. Even terrified her desire called to them, signaled that she sensed their need and wanted to answer it, even she didn’t understand what was going on. She couldn’t know what her body was saying, couldn’t understand how precarious this moment was. They couldn’t take her. She wouldn’t be able to stand it. This had to stop, and it had to stop now.

“Please,” she whispered, mouth going slack, eyes heavy-lidded, and fingers curling into the pillows under her. He wasn’t sure what she was asking for. He couldn’t tell if she wanted them to stop, or to touch her.

“Stefan,” Nero and Cadoc growled in unison and Stefan stood as slowly as he could, watching her eyes widen and fear finally outweigh the need. In the face of her fear, his need calmed, and he could breathe easier.

“Be calm, you will come to no harm here. You caught us unaware. You are safe with us,” Stefan said as softly as he could. Her eyes jumped to his face and he wasn’t sure who exactly he was trying to convince.

Chapter Three

Brook didn’t know what she feared more, the three massive men in front of her, or the inexplicable need to mount them. The one she saw turn into a dragon was standing in front of her and she realized that she had been right, he toward over her, nearly seven feet tall. Up close she could see his face in priceless clarity. His eyes were blue like a crayon, so blue they didn’t look real. His nose was strong and narrow, above full lips. His top lip was slightly fuller than the lower one. His jaw saved him from being pretty. It was too square to be anything but sexy. Black jeans that hung a little loose and a charcoal sweater was all he wore, his bare feet making no sound on the floor. He was breathtaking from afar, and was earth-shattering up close.

The men behind him were not much more than an inch or two shorter than him. The man to the left, who’d snaked out his tongue in an oddly serpentine way, wore his hair shaggy. The thick mop of curls on his head was darker than midnight, but shinny under the light. His face was chiseled, angular in a way that almost made him look severe, but just fell short of it. His eyes were honey-colored, if that were even possible. He was all contrasts with the dark hair, light eyes, strong jaw, but flush, full lips, tall and lean, but roped with muscle that she could see bunched as he froze, watching her. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed with his hair mousy and his navy sweats rumpled. He was just as mouthwatering as the first guy she’d seen, despite the fashion faux pas.

The man to the right was different from the other two. His shape was more slender, his face smoother, more of an artist than the model. He wore his brown hair in a ponytail, green eyes watching her with more wonder than hard-edged desire. He was almost pretty, his slim hands graceful at his sides. He wore black slacks and a white button-up shirt with a trench coat over it. He swept back one side of the jacket to rest his hand on the small of his back, an oddly Old World gesture, as he bowed slightly to her. Amazing. He was amazing.

Desire coiled through her again and she pushed herself further into the pillows around her. She shouldn’t be feeling this, couldn’t trust her emotions, and with the flair of desire, fear came hurdling back through her. She heard what sounded like the small whimper of a puppy and was chagrined when she realized that it coming from her and not some four-legged animal. She nipped her lip, refusing to show so much fear before these men. She’d come for help, thought she would find it here. Somewhere inside, past the fear, she felt she had made the right decision. If she didn’t get help, she was dead anyway. She tried to speak. When it didn’t work the first time, she cleared her throat and tried again.

“Who are you?” She was happy to find out that her voice didn’t sound at terrified as she felt. The big man in front spoke.

“I am Stefan. These are my friends, Cadoc and Nero.” She thought for a moment on his hesitation before he pointed at the dark-haired man first and then the brown-haired man when he said their names. His voice was like hot chocolate on a cold night, thick, sweet, and oh so right.

“What are you called?” Stefan asked, his accent hard to place but she would swear he sounded Scottish or something.

“Brook.” She forced herself to uncurl her fingers from the pillow under her. She was stronger than this. She had been running for enough years to depend on her strength. She didn’t know why she had failed in the face of these men, but she knew she was better than this. She wasn’t alive because she was a terrified puppy.

“I need your help,” she forced herself to say. She had seen his secret. She’d seen him change from dragon to human. She’d have never dreamed that shape-shifters existed, and she knew that he would want to keep it a secret. She wouldn’t want him to be hurt, but to save herself, she’d threatened with whatever she had to. If that meant that she would expose him, then she would, no matter the twinge of her conscience.

“I thought that you might. These men can help me help you, if you’ll tell me what is wrong.”

She thought about it for a moment. Could she trust them? Would they think she was crazy and turn her away? Better yet, could she hope to threaten to expose this man if he didn’t help her and make it out of here? She hadn’t thought about that when she’d come to him but she should have. He could be as desperate as she to stay safe. She swallowed when she realized she really hadn’t thought her plan through and the small flame of hope that had blossomed in her chest may have blinded her to more danger. She fidgeted, watching these men watch her. They were so still in front of her it was like they were not breathing. They seemed content to wait for her to make her decision and answer Stefan’s question.

She’d try it. She could be dead today, or dead tomorrow, but at least she was going to try.

“For the last two years I’ve been stalked by a man who wants me to be his bride. He keeps closing in and I know, one day very soon, he’s going to catch me. I’m so tired. So very tired, and I’m never safe.” She lowered her face, her dark hair covering her face as she said her next words.

“After I saw you…change, I thought that you could help me.”

“Define change,” Cadoc said, his voice like the low rumble of thunder. She shuddered, reacting on some level that she didn’t quite want to examine. She shook her head, somehow not wanting to say in front of everyone exactly what she had seen. These men may be his friends, but that didn’t mean that they knew his secret.

“Define change,” Cadoc said again, and this time he was closer. When she peered through the strands of her hair, he was looming above her. He’d been so quiet she’d never heard him move. He was just suddenly there. She gasped, fighting to keep her place on the couch and not give into the need to scramble away. She was
not
weak.

“That’s his business,” she growled back, surprised enough to sit back, wide-eyed, with a hand over her mouth.

“I suppose it is good she wants to defend you.” Nero spoke now, his voice lighter, more tenor than bass. He watched her as if he was studying her. “However, my girl, explain what you meant. It’s important.”

She shook her head stubbornly, looking to Stefan, her eyes pleading. She wanted help but couldn’t fight the urge to not tell his secret. She had never been so torn before. She didn’t even know this man. He should have meant nothing to her. Why was she protecting him? She shook her head again, trying to clear the cobwebs. She needed help. She had to push through. She couldn’t afford to back down now just because she’d seen a pretty face, okay three pretty faces.

“She saw me in my true form,” Stefan said then, stealing the air form her sails, and the need for secrecy apparently.

“Yes. I saw him melt from a golden dragon into a man,” she whispered looking at him.

“Did you say gold?” Cadoc said, and something in all the men had gone still. Brook felt like she was missing something.

“Yes,” she answered, frowning. “I saw him from my window. I thought he could help me.”

“She saw the gold,
zhu
,” Nero whispered, some inner light shining through his eyes. Brook definitely felt like she was missing something, something important. But she knew the word they’d used. Why would they be using the Mandarin word for lord, while talking to Stefan?

“It matters not,” Stefan returned.

“But,
zhu
,” Cadoc began, eyes still on her.

“Kylin,” Stefan said, eyes swinging toward Cadoc with a warning in them.

“Kylin? As in the mythological animal with a dragon face and claws, a wolf’s body, an ox’s tail tipped with fire, and almost humanlike hair acting as its mane?” Brook asked, jaw dropping. She’d studied East Asian Studies in college as her second major. The role of the Kylin, Tortoise, Dragon, and Phoenix were set in the times of dynasty throughout Chinese culture. But these men seemed out of place in that world.

“Remarkable,” Nero said then, his gaze turning back to wonder.

“How do you know that?” Stefan asked.

“Studied East Asia in college, before,” she stopped, thoughts of Roach encroaching in on her momentary happiness of thinking about her life before he had come along.

“Be calm, Brook. We will help you against this man. We shall always be there,” Stefan said in a soft voice.

“We don’t have a choice,” Nero said then.

“We can do no other,” Cadoc affirmed.

Somehow, to the depths of her soul, Brook knew that this was about more than just Roach. They had acquiesced too easily with very little details. It made her wonder. Had she just been saved by three angels, or had she invited in the devil?