by Aidy Award
It hadn't happened. Not a single wolf had even sniffed her way. She wanted to be dissapointed. Somehow, she wasn't. The Troikas still welcomed her into their lives. Not for long if she didn't get her rear in gear and figure out how to find and keep those children safe. Maybe Heli or Zara could help her figure out how to control her visions, use them instead of the visions using her.
That's what it felt like. It was as if some outside power was pushing into her head and forcing her to see and experience the darker side of the world.
Except for Dax. She'd been afraid of him both when she met him in person and in her vision. She'd been wrong about him both times. A strange connection to him pulled the fear out of her and replaced it with something in between comfort and excitement.
That sounded stupid even to her, but that's what it was. She'd never been so alive as when they'd been flying through the air fighting demons together. She also knew that when she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. Weird since she'd only known him a couple of hours.
The desire to keep him safe whipped through her like a warm spring zephyr. They were both in a lot of trouble now, even though everyone knew it wasn't really their fault. Dax had told her to stay put when Zara called him into the kitchen. Lame. Either the Tzarina was going to give him useful information or murder him with cookies.
Zara's icy voice floated to Jules's ears before she made it into the kitchen. "Then you're out of here and I don't ever want to see you in pack lands again. Do I make myself clear?"
Uh-oh. Jules didn't like the thought of Dax being forced to leave. Nope. Not at all. She didn't know why, but he needed to stay in Rogue. Like a really long time. Like forever.
"Yes, my lady." Dax sounded suitably chastised but still respectful and not like he was kowtowing to Zara.
Jules understood all the wolves anger, but she wouldn't stand for it to be directed at Dax when he'd done nothing but work to protect them all. She rounded the corner into the kitchen, put her hands on her hips in her best Wonder Woman power pose and looked Zara dead in the eye. "No. Don't go blaming Dax for any of this and thinking you can kick him out. He's already protected us all from super creepy demon lizard men and was knocked out by some kind of drug or spell for his trouble. Who knows what might have happened if he hadn't been here."
Zara raised her finger to halt Jules's speech, but there was no stopping her now. "I know you're the Tzarina and what you say goes, but your anger is misdirected and I'm here to tell you it will do more harm than good to make Dax the bad guy when we all know he's the one who is going to help us save the kids and defeat this threat.”
Jules had seen any and all of the women here tonight shift into their wolf forms before. It was a common occurrence in Rogue. So she recognized the signs of Zara's wolf being close to the surface and ready to lash out at her. She had come off a little strong, telling the most powerful woman she knew to shove off, but she wasn't wrong and if ever she was going to prove she was worthy of being more than just a human, it was now.
She lifted her chin and held her arms straight at her side. It took all her confidence to maintain eye contact with Zara's wolf. They were officially in a stare-down.
Uncomfortable.
Zara relented first, narrowing her eyes and then glancing between Dax and Jules. "You're right, Jules. I apologize. I can't say I'm not still mad at your dragon, so I'm telling you now, it would go a long way if you two were to go find those babes."
Your dragon. Someone else had said that to her recently. She couldn't quite get a grasp on who, though. Seemed silly, he wasn't hers at all. He was a sexy wild thing and shouldn't ever be tied down.
Well. Except maybe in bed.
Jules’s eyes went wide and she had to keep herself from gasping out loud. She had not just thought that. Not once in her entire life had she even considered something so dirty. Zara was a known clairvoyant and Dax had spoken into her mind earlier. She was going to die if either of them heard what had just gone on in her mind.
Neither of them even flinched. Wait. Did Dax have a new sparkle to his eye? No. That must just be the lights in the kitchen. Okay, phew. No one, especially Hotty McHottsalot needed to know her mind was in the gutter when there were way more important things to be worried about. Jules pulled her mind back up into the light and cleared her throat. "I'm ready to do anything I can to help find the children. I wanted to ask you, Zara, if you might help me focus the visions I'm having. Maybe they could give us a clue, and if I have another one I'd like to be able to focus on what's happening better."
"I'm not sure I can help or not, but it's worth a try. Is there anything specific that brings them on?" Zara relaxed a little now that she had something she could do.
"Oh, umm. I think maybe, uh..." Jules cheeks went all hot. Her chest did too. She'd like to blame the heater in the house, but she full well knew it was because of her answer. Suck it up, peanut butter cup. "I think physical contact with Dax might help."
Dax didn't say a word. His eyebrows did the talking for him. They were saying "Oh, really? Then come on over here." He simply held out a hand for hers and didn't make it sexual at all.
Too bad.
Ack.
What was wrong with her?
"Yes, this is good. It helps to have some sort of anchor to your body." Zara's face flushed a little. "If you feel yourself losing control, squeeze his hand. Better yet, Dax, I'd like you to rhythmically squeeze Jules's hand. That will give her something to connect her to the here and now. Trust me."
"No problem." Dax gently and slowly opened and closed his hand around Jules. "How's that?"
Squeak. Simply thinking about touching him had already sent her mind into dirty-town. The way he paused at the tightest part of the grip on her, released her hand quickly, then squeezed it again had all her girly parts on overdrive. She couldn't help but equate this movement to the way he would--
"Jules, are you all right? Is there a vision coming on? Your eyes are all glazed over and you're breathing hard." Zara tipped her head to the side and studied Jules's every reaction. It was like being watched in a very intimate moment.
"I'm fine." The high pitch to her voice betrayed that lie. "What's next?"
Zara grinned at her, all too knowingly. "Let the vision flow through you."
"Hmm. I don't exactly know how to do that. It's not like I can control them. I think someone else, whoever is behind all of this, is pushing them at me."
"Lass, that doesn't make sense. Whoever has planned this abduction wouldn't want you to see them."
"Right. Yeah. But I still think someone else is putting these things in my head." Jules barely finished the last syllable of her sentence before a hurricane slammed into her body and she was sucked into another world in her mind. Wind was blowing through her hair and she couldn't breathe. Her heart beat so hard she could feel it in her limbs. Especially her arms. Her right arm and hand especially.
Actually that pulse, pulse, pulse worked for her. It gave her something to focus on instead of the gale force winds blowing up her nose and down her throat. With each beat, the wind died down a notch and she could make out some shapes. Trees. Big pine trees and little shrubs and brush were blowing past her.
That wasn't right. She was moving past the trees, and the ground. This must be the reserve. She wasn't sure because the scenery went by so fast, but it was the closest woody area and she had the sense they weren't far from home.
Was she flying? No. Running. Only she wasn't the one running. Jules stared down and saw furry legs and paws beneath her. A wolf. Oh, and another one. And one more creature whose claws bore long sharp talons drifted over the ground along with the wolves.
A dragon. It wasn't running along with them, it was flying, but low enough to the ground it was almost level with the wolves. Jules couldn't seem to turn her head to see the dragon's body or face and the night hid the color of the scales so close to the ground. Was it red? Was this dragon Dax?
> With each step the wolves’ paws took, they grew, and grew, and grew. Then there were no more steps to take and the wolves skidded to a stop in the stones and pebbles at the water’s edge. The dragon kept flying out over the water, skimming its talons along the crests of waves. She understood that some dragons actually liked the water and waited to see if this one dove in. Instead it circled back around and roared at her and the wolves. It blew a long stream of red hot fire over their heads, just like Dax had in her last vision.
Thank God for the beating of her heart grounding her or she'd be scared to death right now. That wasn't entirely right. It was more than just her heart. Something or someone else was keeping her from floating away, helping her stay in the vision.
A voice popped into her head. It was neither male nor female, high or low, soft or loud. I need them.
"Who are you? Why do you need them and what are you doing with the children?" Of course she didn't get an answer. The being, maybe it was a dragon, maybe it wasn't, didn't feel malevolent. It must be, though. Who stole children out of their homes when they were sleeping? It was ridiculous to think that this being didn't mean them any harm. "You need to let them go and leave us all alone."
The being turned its red eyes glowing eyes on Jules and the fire there burned so hot it was white. You are not yet lost, yet you are not found. I'll see you again soon and then you will be gone.
A wave of heat poured over Jules and the last thing she heard was the yips and yowls of the wolves at the beach. Her eyes burned and she didn't want to open them. Her heart raced, faster than the beating she'd thought was her heart. She grounded herself back in her body, consciously this time and soon she recognized the rhythmic squeezing of her hand.
Dax. He'd been with her all along. Thank God. "I'm here."
She heard long exhale of breath, the sound of several people relieved and breathing again. She didn't know who else had seen her get that vision, and the only way to find out was to finally open her eyes. When she did, Dax's amber eyes with the glowing red fire banked behind them pulled her all the way into the here and now.
He searched her face, checking to make sure she was okay, never once stopping his rhythmic pulses of his hand around hers. Jules squeezed his hand and held it tight. "I'm okay. I know where they are."
Gal squatted down beside Dax and grabbed Jules's leg. The streaks of tears tracks belied her extreme worry. "Where? Are they okay?"
"They're at the beach. I think they are okay. Whatever has taken them isn't hurting them."
Gal spun and burst into her wolf form, letting her clothes fall to the ground. She took off out of the kitchen and they all heard her howl from outside as she bolted into the night toward the beach.
Heli and Zara exchanged looks. Zara nodded and addressed Jules and Dax. "We'll grab the truck and bring the in-case-of-shifting emergency bags. Can you two get there on your own?"
Dax stood and pulled Jules up with him. "I'll fly us there. We'll be there before the rest of you and can scout the area. Jules can call you if there's trouble that we can't handle."
She shouldn't like the idea of flying into battle quite so much. She looked to Heli and Zara. "Do you have some sort of weapon I can use? I felt a bit defenseless last time."
Heli thought for a second. "I've got my tranq gun in the car, but I'd like to keep that. Gal didn't want firearms in the house with the kids. I think there's a baseball bat in the hall closet though."
Better than nothing. She didn't know how to use a gun very well anyway. Only what she'd seen in movies. "That will do. We'll see you there."
The four of them moved out quickly and before the ladies were in their truck, Dax was already in his dragon form and they were lifting off into the sky. "That way. Go through the reserve, I think that's where we were running before. Maybe we can catch some clues along the way to what or where the creature that took them is hiding."
Smart, lass. Dax banked and Jules closed her eyes for just a moment reveling in the wind whipping through her hair.
She really should have tried flying, or skydiving, or even wind surfing before. Moving so fast, riding the wind felt so right. For now, soaring through the air with a baseball bat at the ready was good enough. Maybe when this was all over she would ask Dax to take her up into the clouds and sunshine.
We’ve got company. Dax dipped his head and she spotted three huge wolves sprinting into the edge of the reserve and another smaller one leading the pack.
“That’s the Troikas and Gal.” She could tell they were going all out, top speed, and she and Dax would overtake them in another second. His flying speed was at least twice the wolves’ ground speed and she didn’t think he was going as fast as he could.
Jules would feel good about getting to the children first. Even though they all recognized it wasn’t her fault they’d been kidnapped, she wanted to be the one to return the little tykes to their worried parents. This was the only family she knew and every time she thought about letting them down nausea rolled through her stomach.
Them I recognize. It’s the demon horde racing them I’m worried about. Look in the shadows at the edge of the trees. Dax demonstrated where he wanted her to look by shooting a stream of flame into the underbrush. His aim was so precise that the plant life didn’t even singe, but the demon wyrm hiding there erupted into flame and turned into a pile of ash.
Crap. Either they raced ahead and found the kids, making sure they were safe from the being, or they stayed and defended the wolf pack from the rear. Jules was fully prepared to give up the victory of being able to return the kids safely. But what if the being was some sort of dragon bent on harming the kids or the wolves?
The pack had helped defend against the Black Dragon once before, but they had mostly fought the demons, not the dragon himself. The other dragons who’d come to town had done that. The pack could full well get there and be killed. She and Dax had to help save them.
The wolves below didn’t slow but the one in back, she thought it was Niko, dropped back and howled. He stalked into the dark woods and they heard crazy squawks and growls then an explosion of ash like a mini volcano.
“Oh good. He got them.” They could speed ahead and fight the real battle.
Not even close. There were a good dozen more forming a circle around Niko. He lunged and bit at them, but they used their wings to jump out of his reach. Several shot small flames, more like fiery spittle, at the wolf, singing his fur. Dax swooped down and skimmed so close to the ground Jules could reach her hand out and pick the blades of grass if she wanted.
She did not. She wanted to kick some demon ass back to where they’d come from. God, she hoped that Max, Kosta and Gal would be okay and could save the babies. “Get in close to that group, I’m going to—“
Dax spit a large ball of flame at them and they exploded.
“Hey. No fair. I was going to knock their blocks off.”
Sorry, lass. You can have that one. A chuckle rumbled through his belly above her head and the vibrations were like a giant purr. Or a giant vibrator.
Jules rolled her eyes at herself and then repositioned so she could hold the bat with both hands. Dax flew in close to a demon hot on Niko’s tail and at the last second pulled up so the bastard’s head was right in the sweet spot. She swung and connected so hard its head detached from its body and went flying, turning into oily streaks of demon remains in the air.
Niko yipped a thanks and went off to tear into another group, while Dax circled around. Home run, my sweet.
“Those things don’t seem that hard to kill. We’ll eviscerate them in no time. Yay, us.”
You’re right, they die easily. Their greatest strength is their sheer number. Dax flapped his wings hard, gaining a little altitude and pointed her in the direction of the beach. The path between them, the wolves, and the children was so thick with demons it looked like the night sky and earth had been inverted.
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, a hundred demons.”
They were all going to die.
Batter Up
A hundred and fifty-two demon wryms, one alpha wolf, one dragon, and one human. Didn't sound like a very good equation to Dax. What it equaled was a big ole shit storm. Either the wolves he was sent to help were fucked, or he and Jules were.
"Dax. Oh my God. We can't fight that many demons, can we? You don't happen to have some other super duper power you haven't shown me yet, do you?"
No, lass. Fire, flight, and fury are my only weapons. We are in a lot of trouble, as are your friends. I'm open to suggestions if you've got any bright ideas besides throwing your baseball bat at them.
"Yikes. I only see two choices. Either we stay and Alamo our asses or we grab Niko and get ahead of them. He's at your three o'clock."
He didn't know what Alamo-ing meant, but it didn't sound good. She was right, though. It was stay and fight, or retreat and live to fight another day, and or another hour. A huge battle was coming regardless.
While Jules had done a great job at keeping his flying right in their last battle against these bastards, there was no way he could actually put her into danger fighting them. Especially not against odds like this. He needed to get her to safety and come up with a plan to stem the tide of demons coming at the wolf pack.
All on his own. He'd always been a part of a team. He and Steele had fought a group off here before, but the wolves had ended up saving the day. Steele had almost lost his life. If he'd called Cage, or even Steele, when he knew something was wrong, he'd at least have some backup. Now he was one dragon against the end of the world. Because if anything happened to Jules....
Damn it. Why and how he was so invested in her was frustrating the shit out of the warrior part of him. He wasn't even in his Prime. He shouldn't be feeling this way about any woman. It wasn't like he even wanted to settle down if he could. The reminder that Red Dragon Warriors didn't get mates was tattooed on his freaking soul. And he certainly shouldn't be thinking about it at a time like this. Seriously, his heart, and if he was honest, his dick needed to get out of this conversation.
