Her Dragon: An Urban Fantasy Romance (Silver Shifter Book 2) Page 4

  Shira narrowed her eyes at me when I didn’t deny it. “You’re our Alpha’s mate.”

  A chorus of growls that sounded a lot like agreement echoed around me.

  “I am,” I agreed quickly. I took a deep breath. I’d have liked Maximus to be here for this, but he was where he needed to be. I had to prove that I could handle the pack in his absence. I took a deep breath before speaking. “But I’m not only his.”

  The growls around me turned feral, and my wolf’s desperate attempts at escape grew more grating. I fisted my hands and urged her to settle. Wolfing out wouldn’t do me any good right now.

  “What are you playing at?” Shira asked.

  I squeezed my hands tighter, trying to hold onto my rationale. “Nothing. I don’t fully understand it yet, either. Maximus and I wanted to explain this to you together, but—”

  “Our Alpha is not on board with whatever this is!”

  “It’s a work in progress.”

  “You’re supposed to be our Alpha’s mate, and yet you sullied yourself with a dragon,” Shira continued, spitting out the word dragon like a curse. She began stalking back and forth in front of me like the hunter she was.

  My eyes darted up to meet Cash’s, but his face was grim. His cocky smile was nowhere to be seen. “Listen, Shira…” I looked around at the rest of the pack. “All of you. We don’t know exactly what’s going on yet, but we think it’s part of my Silver Shifter ability.”

  A scoff came from a man whose name I couldn’t remember. “You’re just being greedy.”

  “This isn’t a situation that requires a harem,” Shira snapped.

  I blinked in surprise. “Have there been situations that did?”

  Maximus’s second-in-command narrowed her eyes. “A long time ago. Sometimes, after war, clan numbers would dwindle. In order to rejuvenate the pack, women might take several mates. But our pack is strong.”

  “Well, this isn’t exactly like that,” I admitted. “But we’re hoping it’ll help unite the clans.”

  Shira unleashed a fierce snarl and stepped closer. Fire raged in her brown eyes. “An interspecies harem? That’s just wrong. Disgusting. I don’t know how Maximus can even look at you.”

  I took a step back, my eyes wide and heart racing. My wolf snarled as heat pushed through my body. Warmth encased me and I struggled to take a breath.

  “Excuse me?” I said through gritted teeth.

  How dare she talk about me as if she knew what was best for the clans? How dare she insinuate Maximus should be disgusted by me? There was nothing wrong with me, and this bitch was about to find that out. I bared my teeth and reached forward to grab her without thinking.

  “Stop!” Maximus bellowed from the top of the steps.

  I froze mid-lunge, my lungs constricting with the overwhelming heat pushing through my limbs, threatening to unleash the fiery beast roaring inside of me.

  Maximus thudded down the steps until he stood between us. He laid his hands on my shoulders and squeezed, his eyes cool and filled with concern. “Ariana, you need to calm down. Now.”

  I nodded, swallowing hard, and dropped my gaze, my wolf acknowledging his dominance. I knew he was right, but somehow it was easier with him there touching me. I mimicked his breathing, timing mine with the rise and fall of his chest. When the heat began to dissipate, Maximus placed a kiss on my forehead before turning to face his second-in-command.

  “Mind telling me what the hell is going on here?” he asked.

  Shira retreated a step, but she didn’t back down, not with half the pack flooding the first floor of our home.

  “I’ve had enough of this game you’re playing,” Shira said. She crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin slightly, but not quite as high as she had when she challenged me.

  “What game?” Maximus narrowed his eyes and looked down his nose at her. Suddenly, he wasn’t just my caring mate, but my Alpha, too. The look he gave Shira made me want to slink away with my tail between my legs.

  “You’re allowing this… thing to go on under your own roof.” Shira gestured between me and my mates. “I can feel how much you hate this. Why are you allowing it to continue?”

  I winced. Did Maximus really hate it that much?

  My mate growled and stepped closer to Shira, forcing her to cower back a step. “What I do is best for the pack and best for all the clans. Do not question me again, Shira.”

  Shira met his glare with cold eyes. “Fine, but I can’t live under the same roof as her as long as this is going on.” She nodded at me, making me want to tackle her, or at least throw her out.

  Maximus stiffened, clearly surprised. “So be it.”

  Shira gave him one last look before she turned on her heels and motioned for the other wolves to follow. She stalked out of the lodge, taking the pack with her.

  Once the door slammed behind them, Maximus’s shoulders relaxed, and he glanced awkwardly between me and my other mates. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I knew Shira was upset, but I didn’t think she’d be so...volatile.”

  I nodded as Cash and Owen approached slowly, both darting cautious glances at the door.

  Jett snorted. “All the clans will be upset about it. How did you not expect it?”

  Maximus growled until I put a hand on his arm. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him, kissing the crown of my head quickly before he released me.

  “You really think this is how the other clans will react?” I asked, turning to Jett.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Are you really that naive, or are you trying to be cute?”

  I narrowed my eyes.

  Before we could get into another fight, Owen stepped into my line of sight. “Not all the clans will react like that.”

  “And we don’t exactly need to tell them yet, now do we?” Cash said.

  “You have a point there,” I said.

  “If we’re going to do this, we’ll need to keep it quiet and let the clans get to know Ariana before we tell them,” Maximus said. He still didn’t sound happy about the situation.

  A grin flashed across my face. “So does that mean we’re going?”

  Maximus sighed. “I guess it does.”

  I threw my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “I knew you’d come around.” Maximus rolled his eyes as I dropped back down to my feet.

  “Really? Because I had my doubts,” Cash chuckled.

  “It doesn’t matter now,” Owen said, unable to restrain his goofy smile. “We head to bear territory tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said, crossing to wrap an arm around my bear mate’s waist. He pulled me tight against his chest, making me want to sink into his hold and maybe stay there a while, just wrapped up in his arms. I sighed and looked around at my four men. Uniting the clans wouldn’t be easy, but right now there was no one I’d rather battle vampires with.

  6

  Ariana

  I was curled up on the couch with Maximus when a bolt of warning flashed through the pack bond. I stiffened at the same time as Maximus. My heartbeat sped, and I slowly leaned up from where I’d been wrapped around his chest.

  “Ari?” Owen raised an eyebrow. He sat on the long sofa with Cash and Jett while Maximus and I occupied the loveseat.

  Someone flicked off the TV, which had been playing a comedy show about people working in an office. It was very mundane, but incredibly amusing to see the situations they got themselves into.

  “Are you alright?” Owen asked.

  “Something’s wrong,” Maximus answered. He shot to his feet, his hazel eyes blazing as he raced to the window.

  The rest of us were on our feet in an instant, rushing to join Maximus. The yard looked just as it had that morning when I’d sipped coffee by the open window, the breeze on my face. The grass was pristine, aside from the upheaval of earth where I’d crashed into the lawn as a dragon. Four cars were parked out front, each one belonging to one of my mates.

  Everything seemed still and qui
et. Even the trees barely swayed in the breeze. Still, alarm bells were going off in my head, and my wolf was growling to come out. Someone who shouldn’t be here was on pack land.

  “I don’t see anything,” Cash said. “What’s going on, Maximus?”

  “Someone’s coming,” Maximus said. He turned around and ushered us away from the window.

  “Who?” Jett asked. “Or are you just going to keep us in suspense?”

  My heart pounded harder as Maximus met my gaze. I couldn’t feel or hear as much as he could through the pack bond, but from the look he was giving me, I already knew.

  “It’s them, isn’t it?” I asked, my voice nearly a whisper. I could barely hear my own words over my pounding heart. Dizziness caught me, and I stiffened my legs to remain standing.

  “We don’t know that,” Maximus growled.

  “What the hell is going on?” Cash demanded.

  Maximus’s eyes flashed molten gold. He was angry—really angry. “A warlock has trespassed on pack land.”

  Owen took a step closer to me, wrapping an arm around my waist and supporting my weight when my legs turned into noodles. “The warlock who imprisoned Ari?” he asked, voice cold as ice. I’d never heard Owen sound so dangerous before. He wasn’t just my big, sweet bear, though. He was Alpha of his clan for a reason. I might be about to find out why.

  “We can’t be certain,” Maximus gritted out.

  Images of the cages where I’d been kept for years flashed before my eyes. Darkness, blood and dirt. The pain of hunger and of claws ripping through my fur. I blinked to erase the images, but they pushed forward harder until they were all I could see. My breathing sped up, and suddenly the world felt too small and my skin too tight.

  Maximus laid a hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently until I met his eyes. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Ari.”

  I nodded mutely. He held my gaze until my breathing evened out, and the black speckling the edges of my vision receded. Still, cold dread pooled in my stomach. I couldn’t remember ever being so cold. Goosebumps ran across my arms and I shivered involuntarily. “Maybe it’s not him,” I reasoned. “Maybe it’s someone else.”

  I hoped and prayed it was. I’d take another damn vampire attack over my former owner coming for me.

  Three raps on the front door made us all freeze. I stared at the door, my eyes wide. I could see it now: Dante waltzing in, stunning everyone with a blast of magic and taking me away. It wouldn’t be difficult—not for a warlock. As long as he got to me before one of my mates attacked, he’d be able to teleport us both to another location, far away from my mates’ reach. I’d never see them again. I’d be all alone in the world, with no one but my wolf and my dragon.

  Yeah, fuck that.

  Maximus stormed over to the door and wrenched it open.

  “Good afternoon,” said a chipper British voice. The man beamed at Maximus and dipped his head politely. He was an older gentleman with pale, wrinkled skin and gray hair. “My name is Nevil. I’m an associate of Dante Ryse, the warlock who owns that shifter.”

  When Nevil nodded in my direction, Maximus snarled, and my mates closed around me. Even Jett stepped in front of me, making my eyes widen in shock.

  “Ariana doesn’t belong to anyone but herself,” Maximus snapped. He slammed a hand on the doorframe to block Nevil’s entry. I flinched, and Owen squeezed me tighter to his side, circling his massive arms around me.

  “Au contraire, I have the documentation to prove it.” Nevil fished out a sheet of folded paper from inside his suit jacket and displayed it in front of Maximus.

  Maximus grabbed the paper from Nevil and shredded it with several quick flicks of his fingers. “You have nothing.”

  Nevil chuckled and shook his head like Maximus was acting a fool. He reached inside his jacket once more and pulled out a second piece of paper. “I can make infinite copies, Alpha Maximus.”

  Maximus twitched and rumbled a growl. “I don’t care what that piece of paper says. You can’t own a person.”

  “Not according to this law.” Nevil tilted his head, eyeing Maximus like prey. It unnerved me to see someone other than a shifter do that. Who was this guy? “Now if you’ll step aside, I’ll take Dante’s property and be on my way.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I snapped. Now that I’d gotten my head back, heat flared inside me. “I don’t belong to you or anyone else.”

  Nevil’s gaze slid to me. His eyes were dark green, but his pupils were so dilated they almost looked black. “You certainly do, dearie.”

  Maximus growled and took a step forward, forcing Nevil to step back. “Get out of my territory before I kill you, warlock.”

  “Ooh, the puppies are threatening me now.” Nevil threw his head back and laughed. “If you don’t hand over the girl, there will be consequences.”

  I stiffened. “I’d rather die than go back to that place.”

  Again, Nevil’s slimy gaze returned to meet mine. “You might just get your wish, dearie.”

  A round of snarls rose from my mates.

  “Leave,” Maximus said. His entire body quivered with rage. I could feel the temperature rising in the room. Maximus must be close to shifting, and scales were forming on Cash’s skin.

  Nevil sighed dramatically. “Have it your way.” He flashed a smile before meeting my gaze. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, dearie.”

  The warlock took a step away from the house, and before anyone could react, he was gone.

  My body began to relax the second the smell of magic left the air. I leaned against Owen, who cooed soft reassurances in my ear.

  I always knew this would happen. Dante wasn’t just going to let his prized fighter go. If he somehow found out I was a dragon, too, that’d only increase my worth in his eyes. Still, I’d hoped he’d leave me to this life with my mates. It might be dangerous and full of unexpected turns, but I was free. Now that Dante was back, I had no idea what else he’d throw at us. Would he send hoards of vampires to attack us at the lodge? Or would he wait until the opportune moment to seize me?

  My skin crawled at the very thought. I’d rather throw myself off a skyscraper than return to Dante’s clutches.

  “Ariana?” Maximus stood in front of me.

  I blinked out of my thoughts and met his gaze. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his forehead was creased with worry. He opened his arms, and Owen gently released me. Maximus folded me into his embrace, holding me tightly.

  “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered against the top of my head. He kissed my hair and squeezed before letting me go.

  “Who did that asshole say he was working for?” Jett asked.

  “Dante Ryse,” I said.

  Jett met my eyes. Something unfamiliar swirled within them. His throat bobbed with a swallow, and then he looked away. A wall shot up, and he blocked me out again. Just when I’d thought he might start to care.

  “I’ll look into it,” Jett said gruffly. He stepped into the kitchen, his phone already at his ear.

  “Everything will be fine, Ari,” Cash said. He smiled half-heartedly and took my hand in his. His skin was hot like fire, but it felt good against mine.

  I had no answers, so I just nodded. I hoped they were right.

  7

  Cash

  In the safe space of wolf territory, it was all too tempting to forget the trouble brewing in the city. Out in the country I could shift and fly without the dangers of being spotted by humans. Usually, the closest I came to flying was driving fast in one of my cars. But out here, I could soar above the trees, a freedom I rarely had in the city. I envied Maximus and his pack for their isolation, though I’d never trade my luxury penthouse for his rustic cabin. The minimalist lifestyle didn’t suit a dragon.

  Despite the joy I took in swooping and diving as I flew, I had to keep vigilant as I watched for anything out of the ordinary. Owen, Jett, and I took shifts along with the wolves, monitoring for invasions or signs of Nevil’s creepy ass
. But I saw nothing more unusual than a couple teenage wolves sneaking off to hook up in the woods while the adults thought they were patrolling. I made sure to patrol the area they had left open until they were done with their little tryst. It had been a long, long time since I’d been a teenager, but I remembered what it was like.

  I was still smiling to myself about it when I got back to Maximus’s lodge. Shira was coming out the door with an armload of clothes when I shifted in the yard. She looked at me like I was personally responsible for Ariana’s ability to shift into a dragon.

  I saluted her as I walked inside.

  I grabbed a folded set of clothes from where I’d left them next to the door and slipped them on quickly. As I buttoned my shirt, I took in the aromas of frying onions, garlic, and meat wafting from the kitchen. My stomach roared, and I smiled as I strolled in into the room.

  Maximus stood at the counter slicing colorful bell peppers. Flying around most of the afternoon had taken it out of me, and my stomach growled again. I withheld my sigh as I flopped down in a chair.

  “I forgot you liked to cook,” I said. “That’s cute. Maybe I’ll get you an apron for Christmas this year.”

  “Yeah, I cook,” Maximus said, throwing the peppers in the pan and giving them a stir. “I also get myself dressed, tie my own shoes, and pick up after myself.”

  “Sounds like a tough life,” I said, leaning back and crossing my arms behind my head.

  “Not every man is an overgrown toddler with a servant to wait on them instead of their mommy,” Maximus growled.

  My quick temper flared at the dig, but I tamped down my dragon’s tendency to react now and think later. After all, Maximus didn’t know shit about my childhood. “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it,” I said. “Though if you’re going to get a maid, I suggest one of those services that send the sexy ones in skimpy outfits. You could obviously benefit from it.”

  Suddenly all I could picture was Ariana in one of those outfits, and my temper wasn’t the only thing rising.