by Riley Storm
This man was a gryphon shifter, one of the rarest of all shifters. He had not expected to encounter one such as this upon his arrival. Perhaps luck was on his side after all.
“Yes. This enemy threatens us all,” he said, stepping closer to the gate. “They have been moving in secret, their power growing, for centuries. A threat we once fought against as allies.”
“The mages?” the gryphon shifter asked. “They have been dealt with. I was there, at the final battle.”
“As was I,” Jax said. “I fought to keep the earth from erupting and killing us all. But it is not the mages we face. This is an older enemy. The older enemy. One we had thought extinct.”
“It sounds like you’re speaking about vampires,” the man scoffed, his brilliant hair bouncing in the spring daylight, catching and reflecting the sun’s rays in a cascading flow. “But we know that is nonsense. They are extinct. Nothing. Our ancestors killed them all.”
“Not all,” Jax said heavily. “My brothers have fought them. Have been fighting them for a year and a half now.”
“Why have we not heard any of this?” the man demanded angrily. “You would keep such a secret from us? What does House Draconis hope to gain? More power? More gold? You probably caused this, and now that you cannot stop it, you come to us for help!” The shifter threw back his head and laughed. “I think not. Leave, and do not come back.”
Jax did the opposite. He stepped closer to the gate. The bright blue eyes focused on him like laser beams.
“We had hoped to deal with the problem on our own,” he said, wondering in truth why Aaric and the others hadn’t informed the other Houses. It was a good question. “But they are stronger than anticipated. Their numbers are growing. We must act soon before it’s too late.”
“House Draconis, in all its might, cannot defeat these creatures?” the man asked with disdain dripping from his voice.
“The magic has not brought House Draconis back,” Jax admitted quietly. “There are but four of us. We are too few.”
For a moment, he thought that this last admission would work. That he was winning the man over to his cause, that perhaps he would be allowed inside, to speak to the rest of House Raptere, to speak before their King.
“You expect me to believe such nonsense?” came the scoffed reply. “Go away. Leave us alone. We have no use for you.”
Jax stiffened at the dismissal. “No,” he growled, and the ground rumbled in agreement.
The gryphon shifter went still, but his eyes bore into Jax like daggers. “Leave.” The single word was spoken hard, cold, and filled with power.
“I must speak to your King. To your assembled Court,” he pushed angrily. “This is not a matter of small consequence. We are all threatened. They have come here to rule us.”
The gryphon shifter stared at him in amazement for a second, before breaking out into hearty laughter. “Oh, oh that is rich. I take it back. You aren’t like the rest of your kind. You have a sense of humor!”
Jax charged the gate. The metal fence bowed inward under his impact, then snapped, blowing open. The gryphon shifter slipped backward, avoiding the wild swing of the gate, and then came forward, reversing his direction in the blink of an eye.
Around him, Jax heard a cacophony of bird calls, and tall, slender naked men dropped from the trees as they resumed their human form and charged at him, anger plastered on their faces.
“You must be made to see the truth!” he shouted, aware he’d screwed up irreparably. His impatience and lack of complete focus on the issue at hand had let his emotions get the better of him.
Reaching down to the earth, he called it to him. It heaved and bucked, throwing the approaching reinforcements to the ground. He and the gryphon shifter closed. Jax led with a flurry of blows, but none of them landed.
Fuck, he’s fast.
The gryphon shifter had evaded all of them. Jax had but a moment to marvel at his speed before the Raptere went on the attack. One, two, five punches connected with Jax’s face, chest and stomach, driving him back. They didn’t have the sheer power of a dragon’s strength, but they were stronger than anything any of the other Houses could hit him with.
Jax shook them off as best he could, managing to block the next one. His fingers tightened and he jabbed his blocking arm forward, catching his opponent by surprise as his blade-like hand drove hard into his ribs. One of them popped, but nothing more. The gryphon shifter grimaced, but he didn’t slow down or stop.
Tiring of the games, Jax called to his ally, the earth. It opened up under the man and swallowed him to the waist. The earth dragon walked by, a casual gesture doing the same to the reinforcements.
“I did not wish for it to end this way,” he said, his voice carrying easily as he looked over his shoulder. “But I must be allowed to speak to your King.”
A voice came from in front of him. “And what makes you think I wish to speak to you?”
Jax hesitated for a moment before facing the speaker. “King Tarryl,” he said, dipping his head low and holding it for several moments out of respect. “It is urgent that I—”
“Enough.” The commanding voice swept over him and across the land behind him. “Free my people.”
“Of course,” Jax said quietly, commanding the earth to release the others.
“Now take your tales and go. You and your kin are not welcome here. We have no need of your ghost tales.” The King of House Raptere snorted. “Vampires indeed. My father was there, you know. At the Battle of Rome. They were very thorough. Do not dishonor yourself any further by tainting his claim.”
Jax opened his mouth to speak, but a faint yet bright glow of pure light around the outline of the Raptere King convinced him that perhaps it was not the best of ideas.
After all, not many who tangled with a Phoenix lived to tell the tale.
It’s fine. You don’t need them anyway. Convince the others to join together, and Raptere will come then.
“Very well,” Jax said instead, dipping his head again and taking his leave, heading back through the gate.
So far, he was doing a great job. His brothers would be proud of him and his efforts.
So you’re a little rusty. You can still get the job done. Just don’t screw up again.
He would need to give his full attention to the next House he visited. There could be no distractions, especially not any that stood about five-five and wore thick-rimmed glasses hiding a pair of beautiful green eyes.
Definitely none of those…
Chapter 7
This is a bad idea.
Sarah couldn’t shake the thought, even as she pulled into the parking lot. On the horizon the sky was bright, the sun having already emerged over the trees and casting its rays upon the new morning. She squinted behind her sunglasses as she pulled into a spot that faced directly at the glowing ball.
“Remember, you aren’t doing this for yourself. This is for Grandma. She needs the support, and you owe her one after how she took you in. Just remember that, and you’ll be fine.” She gripped the steering wheel tight. “Besides, you probably won’t even see him. You’ll be in the basement behind a computer, just the way you like it, and he’ll be in his fancy office, doing whatever it is he pretends to do to appear important. That’s all. No big deal. You can do this, Sarah!”
The pep talk didn’t help much. Her mood was still apprehensive and slightly irritated at how life had forced her into the situation. Sarah didn’t want to take the job, but the lack of income and the need to pay the bills meant she had to take it. A job offered to her by Jax Drakon, another rich snob who once again had gotten his way. She hated that her circumstances meant she’d given him what he’d wanted, namely her, as an employee.
That’s all he’s getting from me, I swear it. No more.
Buoyed by her defiance, she left the car behind and strode into the entrance. This time, her confidence didn’t waver. Sarah had been knocked down, but she wasn’t about to stay there. She was going to take this
job, and she was going to milk it for every dollar she could. It wasn’t much, but it would be her way of sticking it to Jax and his rich family.
The same overly-enthusiastic face was behind the reception desk in the lobby again. Smiling, Sarah walked over to him.
“Hi, I’m Sarah Mingott, I know this might sound weird, but apparently I’m working here now?” she said, not really sure what else to say. Jax hadn’t exactly given her any other details, so she assumed he had worked it out with people.
“Of course, yes. Mrs. Mingott, Jax told me all about you.”
“Just Miss,” she corrected politely, wondering if that was an honest mistake, or an attempt to fish for information from Jax—she doubted the gentleman behind the counter would make such a mistake on purpose.
“Right, my apologies. Here is your welcome package.”
He grabbed a thick envelope that had been sitting on the desk right next to him. It was labeled with her name. Sarah frowned at that. Not only had she been expected, but she was clearly important enough to have the letter cluttering up his workspace so it was immediately available upon her arrival. She didn’t like that. It meant Jax was taking too much of an interest in her.
“You’re going to want to go back into the elevator on the left,” the receptionist said, twisting in his chair and pointing at the back of the lobby. “Then you want floor C. You’ll need to swipe this to get it to work.” He added a keycard to the top of the envelope.
“What do I do when I’m up there?” she asked, looking past him, then up the lobby to where the ceiling ended. How far up was floor C? Why wasn’t she on the lower floors?
“Uh, I don’t know.” He seemed flustered, giving her a helpless shrug. “That’s all I was told, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said, giving him a tight smile. “Thank you for your help.”
Hefting the envelope and keycard, she headed off across the lobby, a sinking sensation filling her stomach as she entered the elevator and swiped the keycard before pressing the button labeled ‘Floor C’.
It was the third from the top.
“What the hell are you up to, Jax?” she muttered to herself as the doors closed with a pleasant chime. “What game are you playing now?”
The elevator whisked her upward, depositing her on ‘C’ just a few seconds later, with barley any sensation of movement. Sarah stepped out, and the feeling in her stomach only grew worse. The furnishings were elaborate up here. Finely decorated wooden panels on the walls, swooping gold curves lining the hallway, guiding her to the end where a female sat behind a desk made of what appeared to be real wood, not the pressboard crap bought from most stores.
“Hi,” she said tentatively. “I’m Sarah Mingott. I was told to report here?”
The woman looked up only once before she spoke, giving her a slow once-over. Whatever she saw, she didn’t seem all that impressed. She nodded once. “Yes. You’re to go right in,” she said, pointing over her shoulder at a set of double doors.
She dismissed Sarah from her mind then, bending back over the computer, typing away.
Instead of standing there and asking more uncomfortable questions, Sarah lifted her chin and walked around the desk. “Have a great day,” she said with over-the-top sweetness and pushed open one of the doors before the receptionist could respond.
Then she stopped short.
“What the hell is this?” she asked as Jax looked up from behind an even larger, more expensive-looking desk than the one out in the hallway. “Why am I up here in your office?”
If he thought she was that easy, that he could give her a job and she would just come to his office in the morning and service him, then he was in for a rude surprise.
“Sarah,” Jax said excitedly, getting to his feet and coming around the desk. “So good to see you.” He glanced at the clock. “And right on time too, excellent. I like that.”
“I’m a good employee,” she said stiffly, staring up into his face as he came closer. Why did he have to be so easy on the eyes?
He stopped two paces away from her. A moment later, a sweet yet rugged aroma tickled her nose. And he smells so good. This isn’t fair.
“I had no doubt that you would be. That’s why I chose you for the job,” he said, breaking into that easy, slightly lopsided grin that she knew would be absolutely devastating in the right circumstances.
“Yeah. Like you chose Veronica out there?” she said wryly, stepping around Jax and looking his office over.
“Veronica?” he asked, puzzled.
“Never mind,” she said. “Why am I here? Where’s my desk? When can I get logged in and to work on whatever it is that you need me for?”
“The desk is still on its way,” Jax said. “But I was thinking it would go nicely over in this corner.” He swung his arm to indicate a mostly empty corner of the office. There was a small table and three stiff-backed chairs against the wall as if it was meant to be a waiting area. It would be easily cleaned out. Except for one problem.
She eyed him suspiciously. “And the rest of the team? Where are their desks? Who is the supervisor? Why would I have a desk in your office?” she finished stiffly, not liking where things were going at all.
“Shouldn’t any assistant be close to her boss?” Jax asked, his thick eyebrows coming together as he frowned.
“Assistant?” she scoffed, her initial suspicions having been proven correct. He had other ideas for her besides code monkey. “I didn’t apply to be your assistant, Jax. I’m here to code, to do network administration stuff. Things that I’m good at, that I have skill at. I’m not going to be your personal gopher.”
Jax’s frown deepened, his forehead wrinkling as he crossed his arms. “I don’t understand. This is a better job. More money. I thought you would be happy?”
She bit back the hot retort that immediately came to mind, about not wanting his charity. Sarah had to tiptoe here to a certain degree, ensuring she kept a job, without taking this job.
“I don’t want any handouts, Jax. I’m not looking for charity,” she said gently. “I just want a job that I can do, that I enjoy, that I got because I’m good at it. Not because you decided to take pity on me. I’m not that type of person. Can you understand that?”
By this point, Jax was flustered, looking around the office, then down at his shoes. “Do you have a problem with me?” he asked abruptly, changing the topic. “Because I feel like you have this hate-on for me when you don’t even know me. Did I do something to you?”
Sarah winced. “No. I do not hate you, Jax. Not personally at least. I’m just happy to be behind a computer, doing the things I went to school for, that I’ve kept training toward. That’s the job I want.”
“I see.” He obviously wasn’t buying her excuse completely, having heard the hesitation in her voice.
The truth was, she didn’t hate him. Sarah had no opinion on Jax Drakon specifically. Rich men in positions of power over her? That was a different story entirely, especially when they took an unwanted interest in her. And when they looked so good, and smelled so good, and made her knees wobbly and her—
Stop it. Stop that right now. Jax is no different, just because he’s attractive. He knows that, and he’ll use it to get any advantage he can. Remember that! Don’t fall for his trap. Don’t.
“Is there a job like that for me here or not, Jax?” she asked with a sudden surge of confidence. Maybe she could use his apparent interest in her to get what she wanted.
“Um. I’ll see,” he said, turning swiftly and pacing back behind his desk. “Sit. Let me see what I can do.”
The last thing Sarah wanted to do was spend more time in his office, in close proximity to Jax, but she didn’t see how she had much of a choice in the matter. After all, if he got her the job she truly wanted, then it would be a small price to pay.
So she walked over to his desk and sat in the plush chair opposite, keeping her spine straight and not letting herself relax.
Relaxing
around Jax would be very, very bad. Simply put, Sarah didn’t trust herself around him.
Not one bit.
Chapter 8
Jax didn’t want her to go.
Unfortunately, he just didn’t see a way to keep her around, to get her to stay. Whatever it was that she had an issue with, he could tell she wasn’t going to accept the position as his assistant. That much she’d made clear to him in fairly stark terms.
If only you could tell me what it is that has you so up in arms about me.
Jax was positive they had never met. He’d only recently completed his training and lessons on the new, modern world. Much had changed since he’d entered the deep sleep of dragons, and it had taken some time to get used to the changes, especially the massive advances in technology.
Because of this, he could recollect most of the past two and a half weeks, and all the people he’d met throughout it. Until he’d seen her in the lobby two days ago, he had never encountered her before. There was simply no way he would forget a face as beautiful as hers.
Even now as he typed away at his computer, pretending to be looking for somewhere for her to go, he stole surreptitious glances past the screen, admiring the soft lines of her face, and wishing for the hundredth time that she wouldn’t hide behind those glasses. She was beautiful, and he felt the world should get to see it.
“How’s the search going?” she asked after a few minutes.
Jax looked up, flashing his brightest smile at her. “Just talking to a few department heads,” he lied. “Trying to figure out where you would fit best here at the Drakon Outreach Center.”
“I see.”
She didn’t believe him, and she was making it clear.
Too bad.
It wasn’t just Jax who felt the need to have her around. Ever since she’d walked in smelling of lilac and summer freshness, his dragon had been going crazy, acting up inside him, desperately trying to get him to move closer to her.
There was something about this woman, something important. He doubted it was simply a physical need. Rarely had his dragon acted up simply because he needed sex. If that was all it was, he could have walked out of his office and had Jessie, his receptionist, on her desk. She wanted him and wanted him badly enough that he could smell her pheromones every time he walked by.
