by Aidy Award
Daxton held his hands out, fingers spread in a stance that was probably meant to show her he meant no harm. She wasn't buying it. "You, you stay away from me. And the children. I don't know how you talked your way in here, but you need to leave. Right now."
Max and Gal stared wide-eyed at her like she'd just told a little old lady to fuck off. "Jules. What are you doing? Dax is here to help. He's a Dragon Warrior."
Jules moved away again, sliding over the back of the couch to put it between her and the stupid dragon. "Like that's supposed to make me feel better. He's a dragon who knows Kung Fu, or Ninjitsu, or Ninjago. He's dangerous and either he leaves or I do. Didn't you see the way he was trying to hypnotize me or whatever? I'm telling you he isn't safe."
Dax tipped his head to the side acting all innocent. "Isn't Ninjago that Lego ninja cartoon? I hope I'm a better warrior than that."
"Don't you make jokes, you dinosaur in sheep's clothing."
He chuckled and man, it was a sensual sound. Dammit, why did evil villains have to be so damn hot? Spike, Loki, Gaston, the Joker, and now Dax. She needed to get her head examined. At least her body knew what it was doing. With every movement he made, she got further away from him and put lots of furniture blockades between the two of them. In fact, she was almost to the door and could make her escape.
Max turned into a blur and crossed the room, zipping up behind her and blocking her escape route. "Jules. This is not optional. I'm sorry if you are uncomfortable with the dragon. I swear on the moon in the sky he will do no harm to you. If we knew of another way to find out how to keep the children safe, we wouldn't put you through this."
The bile rolling around in her stomach jumped up to the back of her throat. She swallowed and swallowed again, pushing her fear down as much as she could. It didn't want to go. "Fine. You want me to work with a dragon that I'm sure is going to kill me, I will. For Tristan and Ellie."
How the hell she was going to do it without fainting dead away was the question of the century. Ignore her fight or flight response? Yeah, right. What if she didn't have to be in the same room with him? All he needed was some information. He didn't actually need her. "I'm going home now and I'll call him, or better yet, text him. Then he can go off and do his dragony thing."
Up until that point, Dax had stayed where he was, which was the only thing keeping her from pushing through Max's wall of muscles and out the door. Dax moved slowly around the blockade of furniture and toward her, speaking in a soothing lilt. "I understand you're scared, lass. I too swear, on the the First Dragon, that I will not harm you. I am only here to protect and serve. It will be hard to do that over the phone."
She wanted to believe him. She really did. Especially when he called her lass. Nobody had ever called her anything other than her name. The way he said that word made her think of ilicit and naughty historical romance novels. Her mind and body were sending such mixed signals that she didn't know which way was up. Her head said run, her body said stay and never leave his side.
What the heck was wrong with her? If she got eaten or kidnapped and hidden away in some hoard of jewels and gold in a cave in the middle of nowhere she was going to... what? It's not like she had any supernatural powers except that one scary-ass vision of getting chomped on by a black dragon.
Regular old humans could become ghosts when they died horrific deaths, right? Good. "I don't like it, but I will work with you if I have to. But I'm telling you right now, if you murder me, I will haunt your ass until the end of time."
"My ass, huh?" He raised one eyebrow and damn it, there was definitely a spark of interest in his eye that made her want to curl up in his arms. He knew it too. "Could be fun."
Her fingers itched to flip him off. Which was one-hundred percent rude. If he really was here to help like he and Max promised, she could try to be a little bit nice. She clenched her hands into fists to keep them from running astray. "What do I have to do?"
Max and Galyna breathed a sigh of relief at the same time and then looked to Daxton. He'd continued to move closer to her and she hadn't even noticed his stealthiness. She'd have to keep a close eye on him. He'd need to earn her trust.
"First off, I'd like to know what you are. I'm guessing some sort of fire witch by the way you lit up my soul shard." He patted his chest. That crystal glowed brightly enough that the red light came through the dark black material of his shirt.
"I'm not doing that. I don't have any special powers. I'm nothing special. Just an ordinary human." She should change her name to Jane, because she was plain.
Dax came another step closer so that she had to tilt her head up to look at him. "You're definitely not ordinary. That I know for sure. You can reveal yourself to me. We will keep your secrets."
That sounded so dirty.
"No, really. I'm no--"
The world around her flashed into a cloud of TV static and smoke. Oh God. Not again.
The scream stuck in her throat and wouldn't come out no matter how hard she tried. She was sure she was pushing air and fear out of her lungs through her vocal cords but the world was silent, even if her throat did feel raw. If she couldn't scream, then she would run. But to where and what if she ran directly into the Black Dragon again?
"This isn't real, it isn't real. Get a hold of yourself, Jules. You are not going to die." It sure felt like it, though. There was something dark and evil in this hazy vision world with her. Its empty soullessness permeated her skin and pricked at her brain like a voodoo doll at an acupuncture convention.
If she could just pay attention this time maybe should could give Dax something better to go on than a big black dragon tried to eat me and kidnap the Grimm babies. Big breath in, long slow breath out. She blinked a few times for good measure and then stared into the static around her to see what she could find.
A shape was forming not too far in front of her. It started out small, about the size of a basketball, but with each passing second it grew bigger. Wait, it wasn't getting bigger, it was getting closer. Eek. If ever there was a time to run it was right now.
No. Breathe. It's just a vision. She could do this. Jules bit her lip to keep herself focused and from letting the silent scream building up inside of her from coming out. The blobby shape became three, two smaller ones moving along side a bigger one that took on some color. Red. Something huge and red was charging toward her.
Her legs bounced and wiggled of their own accord. They were going to run whether she told them to or not. Just a few more seconds and the red thing would come into view. Strange lightbulb-sized bursts of light popped up in front of the thing.
Uh-oh. Those weren't light bulbs. Those were bursts of flames. They shot through the static and straight for her. Right behind the balls of fire, a big red dragon flew out of the darkness and charged at her, spewing flames and death.
"Duck, dear." A beautiful lilting voice filled the strange space she was in, coming from no direction and every which way at the same time.
Jules got control of her body and spun around looking for her new ally. "Who said that?"
"If you don't drop the the ground in the next half a second, your dragon is going to singe your hair. It's hard enough to shoot fireballs at the moving targets of those weird little Galla Demons that are after you without worrying about hitting your brown-dyed hair in the process. Do duck now or be prepared to spend quite a lot of time at the salon tomorrow. Although maybe you should make an appointment anyway and go back to your natural color. It suits you better."
The enormous red dragon opened its mouth and a long stream of fire shot right for her face. Jules did indeed duck. She covered her head with her arms and closed her eyes tight. The heat from the flames went right over the top of her head and the fast clickety-click of a clawed creature running past her filled her ears from both sides.
"Oi. Kids. I tell you. Such trouble makers." The woman's voice complained but she clearly thought whatever battle was happening over Jules head was more like a child's game of shenaniga
ns. "You can wake up now, Jules. We'll see you again soon."
The voice had faded upon those final words and Jules had no idea if that promise was a lifeline or a threat.
Doomed!
If Dax had known that Cage was sending him to his doom, he still would have come to Rogue, New York. Because the end of his days had come in the form a gorgeous round-bottomed human babysitter with whom he was already a little bit in love. And she was scared to death of him.
She claimed she was human, but there was no way. She just didn't want to reveal her true self in front of him or the wolves. All the signs pointed to her being a fire witch. No other woman would have been able to light up his soul shard. Except his mate, of course.
She couldn't be that. Red Dragons didn't have mates. The Wyverns of the other Wyrs had started a chain reaction among their dragon warriors when they themselves had found their mates. Jakob, the Green Dragon Wyvern, started it all with his pretty mate and wife, Ciara. Then all of sudden Green Dragon Warriors were finding mates all over the place. Like his friend Steele. Lucky bastard.
Steele's soul shard had lit up exactly like Dax's had when he'd met his mate Fleur. Now they were blissfully mated and having more sex than wild rabbits. That was how, after hundreds of years, the dragon warriors figured out how to find their mates again. Reportedly with a little help from the First Dragon and the White Witch. Since then, the Blue Dragons, the Gold Dragons, and even the Black Demon Dragons had gotten their ability to find their mates back.
Not the Red Dragons. They had to wait for their Wyvern, Maciej Cervony, to find his mate before any of them could. But Match was off hunting some demon woman from hell who'd tried to kill him. So they had to wait. Which meant while Dax's soul shard had lit up exactly like Steele's, Jules was not his mate.
Fine by him. He didn't need a mate. He hadn't even hit his Prime years yet. He still had a lot of fooling around and one-night stands ahead of him before he was ready to settle down and be tied to one woman. He certainly wouldn't mind getting to know every inch and curve of Jules. His cock agreed.
First, he had to get her to trust him.
No, first he had to figure out what in the world was happening to her. A second ago, right when he thought he was close to getting her to take that first step toward trusting him, she'd gone all stiff and her eyes had rolled back in her head. That was weird enough. Galyna explained her body was in the grip of a vision.
That he could handle. What sent him into protection mode and brought his own dragon straight up to the surface was her screams.
She screamed so long and hard that within seconds she was going hoarse. Dax grabbed Jules to him, not knowing what else to do. He couldn't see, hear, or feel the danger she did. He tried to pick her up, but her body was like a stone pillar. All he could do was hold her in his arms until the vision passed. He didn't even know if she could hear him, but he talked to her anyway. He knew from experience that having a task or a mission in the face of fear dulled the anxiety to a manageable level. "It's okay, lass. We're here, you're safe. It's only a vision. Try your best to look around and see what it wants to show you so you can tell us when you get back."
She'd took a few deep breaths then and her body relaxed a little. Thank the First Dragon. Maybe she could hear him. Soft and soothing was not his forte. He was a warrior, not a nanny. He had the worst bedside manner and probably sounded ridiculous. He was much better in bed than on the side of it. If it helped her get through this vision it didn't matter. "Good. That's it. I've got you."
He'd hold her as long as it took.
Maxsim was doing the same for his mate Galyna who looked like she was ready to climb the walls with her worry. "This is taking too long. She should be out of it by now. Something is wrong. Heli and Zara's visions only ever lasted a few seconds."
Dax didn't know anything about psychics but he agreed with Galyna when Jules's legs began to shake. "Is there any way we can pull her out?"
Galyna shook her head. "I don't know. I don't think so. I can call the girls to see if they know. What if she gets hurt again?"
Dax did not like the sound of that. "Hurt? I thought this was just a vision, how can she get hurt?"
"When she woke up from her other one, she had a bite mark on her neck and her arms had been clawed by something. She said it was a black dragon. She's only now healing because I had some of Fleur's magic dragon's breath balm."
A bite on her neck? By a dragon? Red fire swirled around the edges of Dax's vision.
It couldn't be. Was the Black Dragon trying to mark and claim Jules? Dax tipped his head to the side of Jules's neck and pushed her hair out of the way, dreading what he might see. If there was the black mark of a dragon there, he might just lose his cool.
He blew out a long breath he hadn't even realized he was holding when he saw nothing more than a bite mark. That was bad enough and he hated that she had to endure even the tiniest bit of pain from her vision. At least it wasn't the tattoo that came with being marked by a dragon. He couldn't imagine if anyone else's mark had been branded on her skin.
Not like he had a right to mark, claim, and mate her. But he didn't have to be happy about anyone else doing it either. Especially not something as evil as the Black Dragon.
Jules’s heart was beating so fast and hard he could feel it against his own chest. What the hell was happening in her vision? He'd always been happy with the amount of power he'd been given in life and his own dominion over fire, but right about now he sure as shit wished he was psychic in some shape or form. She gasped and then he wasn't sure if her knees gave out or she deliberately dropped to the floor, but within a second, they were both down on the ground. Jules curled her body into a tight ball and Dax did his best to encircle her with his own body.
"Shh, lass, shhh. Come back to us now. I'm here, I'll keep you safe, but you have to come back to us." She may want to haunt him if he killed her, but he would hunt down anything that actually hurt her, drown it in a river of fire and brimstone until it was so dead there was nothing left in this realm or the next.
"Red..." Jules eyes closed instead of being rolled back in her head and she mumbled. "Dragon. Red dragon."
Dax bowed his head slightly and found the crook of her neck with his lips. He pressed a small kiss there, ever so gently and slumped, letting the relief unlock his muscles. The vision appeared to be over now. He'd be perfectly happy if she never had another one ever again. That was progress if she was already asking for him. "I'm here, lass."
She snuggled into his arm, pressing her head against his shoulder. Her voice was quiet and sleepy, but not distressed any more. "Don't eat me."
He'd very much like to, but not in the way she meant at the moment. If she was his, he'd already have her-- better not to think about that right now. "I will make this promise as many times as you need to hear it. I will never harm you. You are mine to protect."
He hadn't meant to say that last part, but the words had rolled off his tongue anyway. To his own surprise, he did mean them. He'd never said the same about any other being in the world, much less an unclaimed woman. If any other dragons were around, they would be wondering if he'd found his mate.
Mates were the only women a dragon claimed like Dax just had. She wasn't his mate.
He didn't want one. He didn't need one. He couldn't even have one if he wanted a mate.
Not yet.
Her eyelids fluttered and her soft brown eyes stared up at him, all warm and trusting. "I am?"
He would protect her. Claim on her or not. Mate or not. "Yes, you are."
The tiniest of frowns turned the corners of her mouth down and a vee creased her forehead as she considered his words. "Then why were you attacking me a minute ago?"
"Is that what you saw in your vision?" He hoped her visions were not predictions of the future. He couldn't imagine what would lead him to attack her. Unless she wasn't being truthful with him and was hiding her true self.
"A red dragon charged me, shooting flames. It w
as so angry and I couldn't get out of its way fast enough. I'm a bit surprised I'm not fried to a crispy crunchy crust."
Galyna crossed over and knelt beside them. "Did you see the babies again?"
Jules blinked a few times and her eyes brightened. She was rousing from her drowsiness. "I'm not sure. I was mostly concentrating on the dragon shooting fireballs at me. I think they might have been running alongside of it. But maybe it was wolves. I don't know. That doesn't make any sense."
Max and Galyna glanced at each other and he tipped his head toward another part of the house. Galyna hurried toward what Dax assumed must be the children's room.
A lot about this vision was bothering Dax. "Are you sure it was me attacking you?"
Jules swallowed, but met his eyes. "Are there other red dragons?"
She really was a newb to the supernatural world if she didn't know that. Maybe she was human after all. That didn't explain why his soul shard was practically burning a hole in his chest with the fire inside. "Lots. The Red Dragon Wyr is the oldest of the clans and the most umm, prolific."
He couldn't imagine any Red Dragon Warrior attacking a human, especially a soft, beautiful woman like Jules. Demon wyrms and evil black witches, sure, but not an innocent. Dax did not like the implications of that train of thought.
"Yikes." Her words portrayed worry, but her demeanor didn't anymore.
Nor did her scent. She smelled of peaches and warm cozy blankets in front of a crackling fire. If a dragon had attacked her in her vision, wouldn't she be more nervous about being around him? Something else must have happened in there too.
"You need not fear any of them." Would she believe that? She'd been off the charts terrified a few minutes ago. She had been trying very hard to get away from him, grasping at any method to avoid working with him. This could be a trick. Especially if she was a black witch.
