Her Dragon: An Urban Fantasy Romance (Silver Shifter Book 2) Read online

  A cold spear of fear shot through the heat encompassing me.

  My mate, the beast roared inside my head.

  I swung at the next vampire to approach me, and he ducked my fist before a woman tackled me to the floor.

  The red across my vision brightened, and then the roar wasn’t just inside my head anymore. It was outside it, too. It filled my ears until I thought they’d burst. The constant, incessant noise made my blood boil and heat explode from my skin.

  My world tilted and then blinked out for a second. The next thing I knew, I was looking down at a dozen vampires as I stood high above them.

  The ringing had dissipated. My chest rumbled, and heat blossomed in my throat. I was going to burn them all alive for daring to touch my mate. My roar shook the lobby, and the glass windows shattered into a thousand pieces, raining down around us.

  I lurched forward, the heat bursting forth. Fire bathed the lobby. Screams echoed all around me, and then there was only silence. Ash fell like snow, and not a vampire remained.

  There was no blood. There were no bodies. There was only ash.

  I turned, my body heavy and lumbering. My tail swung and cracked through a row of security gates, smashing them all to bits. By the time I faced where I’d last seen my mate, all I could find was a rough outline of a man beneath a layer of ash.

  My heart thudded, pounding way too hard in my chest.

  I need to go to him, I screamed at the beast who had control of my body.

  She rumbled, long and deep, lowering her head to sniff. Beyond the ash I smelled life, blood, and heat.

  Let me out, I insisted.

  My dragon rumbled one last time before the heat faded in a dizzying swirl of black. When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t sure how long had passed. Ash continued to fall, and sirens wailed outside.

  “Cash?” I blinked heavily. My entire body was heavy and weak. When memories of what had just happened flooded my mind, my heartbeat sped again. “Cash!”

  Somehow I pulled myself to my feet. I stood in the center of the lobby, my body having made a clean outline in the ash-like snow. I raced across the room as fast as my aching limbs would allow, only to collapse at Cash’s side.

  I dusted off his face and pulled his head onto my lap. “Cash?” Tears burned the back of my eyes. I didn’t have the strength to fight them. “Cash, wake up.”

  I brushed the ash from his cheeks and leaned down so my ear was over his mouth. I felt his breath on my cheek, and my heart stuttered. I sat back, a grateful sigh heaving from my lungs.

  “Thank heaven,” I muttered. I didn’t even know if I believed in a god, but whoever saved my Cash could have my faith.

  He coughed, lurching forward to expel whatever was in his lungs. I shifted him onto his side until the coughing fit ended, and he could lay his head back down on my lap.

  “Ari?” he asked, confusion furrowing his brow.

  “It’s me.” I smiled despite the tears burning tracks down my face. “Always gotta be the hero, huh?”

  Cash managed a weak smile, and I pulled him into my arms. He squeezed me as tight as he could in his injured state.

  “We should get out of here before more vampires come,” I said. I swiped at my eyes, trying to wipe the tears away. It didn’t feel proper for a wolf, or dragon, or whatever I was, to cry after a battle.

  “Right.” Cash sat up. I pulled his arm around my shoulders, and together we got him to his feet. It didn’t take long to make it across the lobby to the blown out windows. We picked our way over the glass and out into the blinding sunlight.

  I shielded my eyes with my hand and continued down the cement steps until half a dozens dragon shifters rushed up the steps. The Dragon Council launched question after question at us—so many it made me dizzy. Owen pushed through them, casting them all aside and tackling me in a huge bear hug.

  “You’re okay,” he said, his voice shaking with relief.

  “Cash is injured,” I mumbled through the pain constricting my lungs.

  Owen set me down and blinked in surprise. “You’re naked.” With a deep rumble, he whipped off his red plaid overshirt and slipped it onto my shoulders. I pushed my arms through and did up few buttons so I was covered. Then we made our way down to the nearest paramedic, which from the amber eyes and dark hair, I assumed was another dragon shifter.

  He helped Cash to the nearest ambulance and allowed him to sit in the open rear doors. When I saw who lay on the gurney inside, I gasped, my eyes flashing wide. Cash glanced over his shoulder and froze. His breathing grew more ragged than before, until I thought he might start hyperventilating. Virion’s form didn’t move, and I sensed no life or heat from the leader of the Dragon Council.

  “Cash,” I said. I sat down beside him and took his hands in mine. “I’m so sorry.”

  Cash didn’t even look at me. He stared in shock at Virion’s dead body. Now that I was paying attention, I could smell death from here.

  As the dragon alpha stared at the body of the head of his council, and I felt my heart crack for my mate.

  10

  Ariana

  The dragon paramedic wanted to take a look at Cash, though my mate kept insisting he was fine. While they squabbled, I turned to Owen. His clothes were streaked with dirt and dark splatters that looked suspiciously like blood.

  My heart seized, and I could barely get out a word. “Where’s Maximus?”

  “He’s coming around,” Owen said. “We were in the car when they attacked.”

  Just then, Maximus strode around the end of the ambulance. Jett followed him, his hands in his pockets and his usual cocky smile in place.

  Before I could say a word, Maximus grabbed me and kissed me hard, cupping my face between his hands as his mouth crashed into mine.

  “Isn’t she supposed to kiss you before you wake up?” Jett drawled.

  “What’s he talking about?” I asked Maximus through the kiss.

  Maximus slowly released me, a frown of concern creasing his brow as he checked me over. I lifted my hand, gently touching a huge, swollen lump on Maximus’s forehead. Blood had trickled sideways along both his temples, as if he’d bled while lying on his back.

  “The vamps knocked him clean out,” Owen said. “They got him before we even saw them coming.”

  “Sleeping Beauty here missed the whole fight,” Jett said, quaking with laughter. “He just woke up.”

  “I wasn’t sleeping,” Maximus growled, his frown growing thunderous as he glared at Jett. “It could have happened to anyone.”

  “Yeah, but it didn’t,” Jett said. “It happened to you. I’m going to have to buy you a fainting couch if this keeps happening.”

  “I was poisoned by silver last time,” Maximus said through clenched teeth.

  “Tragic,” Jett said.

  “Yeah, well, don’t expect sympathy from us if it happens to you,” I shot back.

  Jett flashed a smug smile. “That doesn’t happen to panthers.”

  “Funny,” I said, looking him up and down. “Vampire attacks don’t seem to happen to you, either. I don’t see a scratch on you.”

  “I had time to shift while they were knocking Maximus out.”

  “How convenient,” I said, my eyes narrowing. I wondered how hard he’d fought the vampires. Just when I’d started to think maybe he could get on board with the rest of us, he had to pull some shady shit and make me suspicious all over again.

  Before I could voice my suspicions, I felt a sense of calm descending, and a dozen cars came screeching to a halt. Maximus’s pack—our pack—spilled out. They ran over to where we stood. Even Shira showed no reservations about checking on me after she’d made sure Maximus was okay.

  “Fan out,” Maximus ordered the pack, turning to gesture at the building. “Get inside and make sure all the vampires are dead. If they aren’t, make it happen.”

  “What about the dragons?” I asked.

  “The ones who escaped are helping,” Owen said, watching the activity arou
nd the building.

  “If you come across anyone who’s not a vampire, bring them out,” Maximus said to the pack, taking my hand. I saw the flicker of distaste on Shira’s face, but she turned and headed into the building with the rest of the pack.

  “Thank you,” I said, squeezing Maximus’s hand. “It’s big of you to look out for the dragons, too.”

  “They’re your clan now, too,” he said. “I’ll take care of you and your people, even if they’re not mine.”

  Jett snorted. “All right, Jacob and Bella, save it for the bedroom. We’ve got bigger fish to fry just now.”

  “You’re right,” I said, turning to him. “Let’s talk about the vampire attack. The one you could have told us about all week, but you just warned us yesterday.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Just in time for you to ignore my warning and run off to see the Dragon Council, even though you’ve already seen them. There are two clans waiting to see your royal highness. Instead of making that your first priority, you’re wasting everyone’s time by coming back to a clan you’ve already visited just to keep your fuckboy happy. Not to mention you’re returning to the city when you know it’s not safe for you here.”

  I drew back, my eyebrows raised. “And why is that, Jett? Since you’ve got the inside scoop on all that goes on in the entire city of New York.”

  He grinned. “Not all of it.”

  “Ariana,” Owen said slowly. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying it’s a little convenient that Jett just warned us about this and now it’s happened.”

  “I think the words you’re looking for are thank you,” Jett said. “I warned you, didn’t I?”

  I gritted my teeth. “Thank you,” I said. “But what I want to know is how you found out about this? And why everyone else is all beat up, and you look like the vampires avoided you entirely.”

  “I’m hard to see in the shadows,” he said, flashing me an infuriating grin.

  “And I suppose you can also explain why the vampires knew to go straight for Maximus and knock him out, so he couldn’t warn me through our bond?”

  “They did go right for you,” Owen said to Maximus, a frown furrowing his brow.

  “Yeah,” Maximus said, narrowing his eyes at Jett.

  “Look, I keep my friends close and the enemy closer,” Jett said. “That doesn’t mean I’m the enemy.”

  I cocked an eyebrow. “The question is, are we your friends or your enemies?”

  “That’s up to you, pup,” he said. “Are you acting like a friend to the panther clan?”

  “Of course,” I said indignantly. “If you’ll call off your vampires for a day, maybe I’ll make it there.”

  “Seems it’s more important to you to appease a bunch of old relics than the alphas of the two clans you haven’t bothered to visit,” he said.

  “That’s not Ari’s fault,” Cash said, appearing from behind us. He had a bandage on his neck where one of the vampires had bitten him, and his clothes were in tatters, but he was looking better by the minute.

  “It’s absolutely Ari’s fault,” Jett said, glaring at Cash. “And yours.”

  “What?” I demanded. “I’ve been attacked like ten times since I learned I was the Silver Shifter. I’m not supposed to recover or take care of my mate?”

  “This bullshit visit was neither of those things,” Jett said, pointing a finger at me. “This visit was you getting a taste of dragon dick and running to do Cash’s bidding when it didn’t benefit anyone but the two of you.”

  The beast inside me snarled to get out, to rip the face off this self-righteous asshole.

  “That’s not true,” I said. “You guys all know that’s not true, don’t you? It has nothing to do with claiming my mates.” I turned to Maximus and Owen.

  “It would have been nice if you’d visited all four clans before coming back here,” Owen said, frowning up at the sky.

  “Seriously?” I asked. “Everyone said you were okay with this last night.”

  “No,” Jett said. “You and Cash said that’s what was happening whether the rest of us were on board or not. You bulldozed the objections, ignored my warning, and did it your way. And now you want to point fingers? I’m not the one to blame for this, Ariana. You are.”

  My brain was so clouded with anger I could barely find words. When I did, I couldn’t manage more than the old standby, “Fuck you, Jett.”

  “You know what?” he said. “This isn’t my mess to clean up. I’m out of here. Call me when you’re ready to visit panther territory.”

  With that, he turned and slipped off through the cars, disappearing before I had a chance to call after him. Not that I wanted to. I realized after he’d gone that he’d managed to weasel his way out of giving me any straight answers about his vampire involvement.

  11

  Ariana

  A couple of the dragon council members helped Cash upstairs. While the paramedics took care of him, I slipped off to take a quick shower. I hadn’t realized it until I saw a mirror, but I was covered head to toe in ash. I scrubbed off quickly, threw on a t-shirt that belonged to Cash, and dashed back to his room.

  The council members had left, but the paramedics were still fussing. One of them had bandaged Cash’s vampire bite. At least he was cared for and shouldn’t take long to heal.

  “Go on, I don’t need anything else,” Cash said, sounding almost cheerful as he shooed everyone from the room. I hovered in the doorway, unsure of whether I was included in his general dismissal.

  “Ari,” he said, giving me a pained smile and sinking onto the edge of the bed. “I should never have brought you here.”

  I stepped into the room, pulling the door closed behind me. “You better watch out or someone might hear the infallible Cash admitting he made a mistake.”

  Cash’s mouth quirked into a rueful smile. “A pretty fucking bad one.”

  “Hey,” I said, going to the bed and folding my leg under me so I could sit sideways and face him. I touched his arm. “It’s not your fault.”

  “It actually is,” he said with a sigh, running a hand through his lush black hair. “Jett was right. He warned us, and we didn’t listen.”

  “Fuck Jett,” I said. “He’s an asshole. And did you notice how he slipped away before he answered any of my questions? Where’s he always disappearing to, anyway?”

  Cash shrugged. “He’s a panther. They’re secretive. It’s in his nature.”

  “Kinda makes it hard to trust the guy,” I said. “Aren’t we supposed to be a team?”

  Cash gave me a funny look. “Who? The clans barely tolerate each other. That’s why we need the Silver Shifter. It’s been too long since we had one. The clans have fallen into…”

  He trailed off, wincing as he massaged his shoulder.

  “Chaos?” I asked.

  He snorted. “Did anything in Maximus’s pack look chaotic?”

  “True,” I said, smiling at the thought of Maximus tolerating anything close to chaos. Things hadn’t been exactly friendly since Shira and the pack accosted me in the lodge, but they were far from chaotic.

  “I was going to say the clans have fallen into some pretty bad relations with each other.”

  “And yet, you trust a guy who openly consorts with vampires?” I asked. “I know the Alphas get along a little better than their clans, but it’s not like you’re golfing with Jett every weekend. How well do you actually know the guy?”

  Cash frowned, a thoughtful frown creasing his brow as he gripped that same shoulder he’d been rubbing. “That’s a good point.”

  “Are you hurting?” I asked. “I can go and let you get some sleep.”

  “No,” he said, catching my hand. “Stay.”

  “You don’t want to be alone?”

  His lips twisted into an ironic smile. “I’ve spent enough time alone.”

  I’d gotten the picture he had plenty of women warming his bed when he wanted them. Dragons may not have had close-knit packs like
wolves, but I seriously doubted Cash was hurting for company.

  “Okay,” I said. “But you’re not fooling me with the lonely dragon act. I’ve seen how everyone fawns over you. Don’t pretend you spent your nights alone before I showed up.”

  Cash grinned. “I’m not pretending anything. I can’t help that I’m lovable.”

  “I’m sure you can’t,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  “Lucky for you, I don’t have a dozen aunts and cousins smothering me like Owen’s family would, so you don’t have to fight for my attention. I’m all yours.”

  His words were light, but I caught a note of bitterness in his voice. “Where is your family, anyway?” I asked, remembering the portraits lining his hallways.

  He shrugged. “They’re not really the hovering type.”

  “Do they live here?” I asked.

  “Not anymore,” he said. “But even when they did, they wouldn’t have stuck around after the doctor said I’d be okay. They weren’t the type to fuss over a few little vampire bites.”

  I took his hand, linking fingers through his. “What were they like?”

  “Typical dragon alphas,” he said.

  I gave him a look.

  He sighed. “What do you want me to say, Ari? Dragons are more solitary creatures than you wolves. We have a council to bring us together and makes decisions because otherwise we’d stay in our own little worlds. My parents were more interested in making sure I fit the mold of a proper dragon alpha than spending a lot of time with their kids. Virion was the closest thing I had to an affectionate parent. Is that the answer you’re looking for?”

  I tried to imagine anyone calling Virion warm and caring. I might have had a hard life, but at least I had good memories of my parents from childhood.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, squeezing his hand. I realized that even though we’d been alone together, our intimacy had been only physical. I’d seen the side of him that he showed everyone—the smirking rich guy who got whatever he wanted. Tonight, I was seeing another side of him.

  “It’s nothing to be sorry for,” he said, drawing his hand from mine to rub at his injured shoulder again. “But if you’re feeling really bad for me, you can stay and nurse me back to health. Want to be my candy striper for the night?” He flashed me that sexy grin that made my thighs quiver.