by Sky Winters
“Your mate?” asked Jessie.
“Ah, that’s right,” said Jonas.
“Sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to rush you.”
“No,” he said. “It’s fine. The others and me are too guarded about this information, as though we’re hoping that by not talking about it, we can pretend that it didn’t happen.”
Jessie said nothing as they walked, waiting for Jonas to go on.
“We knew her for years,” he said, “but her parents, knowing that she was an omega, kept her guarded from the rest of shifter society. But each of us had our eye on her, despite the vastly different worlds we all lived in. Each of us burned for her, but there seemed to be no way to determine which of us should have her. Between the three of us there were major differences. But there was one commonality – we’d all seen our fair share of fighting over the years, and none of us wanted to go through it again. So, we talked, and agreed to all claim her.
“We told her parents and they were shocked at first, of course. Multiple alphas claiming a single omega was a very old tradition. But once we made out case and told him that this meant we could all look out for her and make sure she was safe, as well as provide for her, he came around.” Jonas took in a deep breath, knowing he was now about to get to the hard part.
“Things were good for a time. We protected and provided for her, just like we’d promised. And finally, after we’d all claimed her, she became pregnant with triplets. It was the happiest day of all our lives when we found out the news. Well, maybe happiest until the day the girls were born.
“A year went by after the girls were born, and all of us were convinced that we’d made it work, that we were going to have a happy family in spite of the violence of the shifter world. But then, one day, our mate was caught in a freak accident.”
“What...what kind of accident?”
“A fight broke out between dragon clans, at a local club, of all things. Some war that had been brewing came to a head, and she was caught in the middle of it. Killed like it was nothing, in a fight that she wasn’t even a part of. The dragon fire brought down the building around her.”
A look of realization flashed on Jessie’s face.
“She was killed by dragon fire?” she asked. “So, that’s why....”
“That’s right,” said Jonas. “It took us months to even think about attempting to return to normalcy after what happened. And when we did, we realized that our old jobs just seemed so...small. It wasn’t just shifters who died in the fire – many humans were killed as well. So, we decided to retire from our businesses. Samuel turned over his CEO position, I sold the galleries, and Rick handed off the reins of his biker gang.
“We decided to become firefighters. That way, we could actually make a difference, keep the city safe. Dragons are suited for the job, actually – we’re impervious to normal fire, and we’re strong as hell. Seemed like a natural fit.”
Jessie said nothing for a time, and Jonas could tell that she was taking in everything that he’d told her.
“Wow,” she said. “I had no idea.”
“We like to keep our issues to ourselves,” he said. “Between the girls and our jobs, we’ve got plenty to worry about. We all miss her like crazy, but we’ve done our mourning.”
Jonas felt Jessie squeeze his arm tight and pull him close. She was a kind woman, he realized, full of empathy and consideration. Part of him was mad that he and the rest of the men had brought her into the shifter world, exposing her to the dangers of it.
But he swore he’d keep her safe.
They continued on, now finding themselves down a dark and deserted street, no other pedestrians around.
Then, two figures appeared at the end of the sidewalk, their bodies shrouded in shadows.
Jonas’ stomach tightened – something was wrong, and he knew it.
And he knew there was no hiding.
CHAPTER 16
JESSIE
“What’s going on?” asked Jessie, her voice edged with fear. “Who are they?”
Jonas held up a hand, commanding Jessie to stay silent. Jessie looked around her and saw that the buildings that lined the streets were all either lots under construction or warehouses – no residents to see what was happening.
“Jonas!” called out one of the men.
“Stay close to me,” said Jonas. “And listen for me to give the word to run.”
“What’s happening?” Jessie asked again.
“I don’t know,” said Jonas. “But I’m going to keep you safe – don’t worry.”
The response sent a wave of fear running through Jessie, as if he had confirmed that they were in danger.
The two men drew closer, and Jessie could see their faces. One was skinny and tall, with a shaved head and bird-like features, and the other the same height and ruggedly handsome. She could tell, right away, by the way they carried themselves, that they were shifters. And she could tell by their scent that they were dragons.
She felt her blood run cold.
Jonas stepped forward.
“Who the hell are you two? And what do you want?”
“Jonas Stern, right?” said the man with the shaved head.
“Who the fuck is asking?”
There was a hard edge to Jonas’ voice that Jessie was struck by. He was angry and ready for a fight.
“You don’t need to worry about that,” said the second man. “But we’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”
“You two better step the fuck away right now,” said Jonas. “Or you’re not going to like what happens.”
The men scoffed and glanced at one another.
“Two of us, one of you,” said the shaved-head man. “Not much of a fight. So, I’ll give it to you straight – we’re here for the omega. Give her over, and you can walk your ass out of here.”
“You’re out of your fucking mind if you think I’m going to do that,” said Jonas. “Now, I’ll say it again – get the fuck out of our way.”
“You have no idea who the fuck you’re messing with,” said the man with the shaved head. “Powerful dragons have got their eyes on you.”
The second man spoke, “You want to do this the hard way and that’s going to be the beginning of some serious shit for your little clan over in Brooklyn. We’ll kill you, take her, and then move right on to the rest of your family.”
Jonas let out a growl, and Jessie realized that if there was any hope for this conflict being resolved peacefully it was gone at the mention of Jonas’ family.
“You’ve fucked up bad,” said Jonas. “I was thinking of letting you both go with a beating, but you just screwed your chances of that happening.”
The men regarded each other again.
“Fine,” said the shaved-head man. “You’ve made your decision. Now you’ve got to live with it. Too bad for you, you won’t have much time to do that.”
Jonas turned to Jessie and spoke in a harsh tone.
“When I shift, I want you to take cover and don’t come out. Got it?”
Jessie nodded, still gripped with fear.
“Now!” said Jonas.
He closed his eyes and shifted. Slowly, his body changed from its human form to that of a tall dragon with deep blue scales. The other men shifted into pale green dragons – their color signifying their beta status.
Jessie didn’t stick around. She could’ve shifted, but an omega getting in the middle of a fight between two betas and an alpha would likely do more harm than good.
So, she ran and took cover just as the fight broke out. Once she was hidden safely behind a nearby dumpster, Jessie watched the fight.
A roar boomed down the street. Jonas, in his glorious blue form, stomped toward the green on the right. He reared back and shot out a white-hot jet of flame, the beta attempting to dodge. But he wasn’t quick enough to avoid having one of his wings singed off, the burned thing falling to the ground with a thud.
The smell of burning filled the air, and Jessie’s heart began
to race.
Jonas moved quickly, taking advantage of the chaos. He clawed at the wounded green, carving a deep gash into his chest, deep red dragon’s blood gushing from the wound. The dragon roared and stumbled backward, falling to the ground.
Jessie felt helpless and weak. She knew that two betas were no match for a powerful alpha like Jonas, but that didn’t mean one of them couldn’t get in a lucky strike.
Jonas moved in for the kill, raising his foot and stomping on the next of the wounded beta and ending his life. Jessie winced at the impact, knowing that he was now dead.
One left.
She expected the other beta to go after Jonas, to try to make a desperate attempt to overwhelm him. But that’s not what happened. Instead, the beta sniffed the air, as if searching for something. Then, rearing back, he stormed past Jonas, knocking him hard.
Jessie realized, to her horror, that the dragon was making a dash for her. Her eyes went wide as she watched the beta come closer and closer, his feet stomping and a look of wild anger on his reptilian face.
Jonas recovered his balance for just long enough to turn his attention to Jessie and let out a booming roar – one that she immediately knew meant “run!”
And that’s what she did. She turned on her heels and raced down the street toward the next block, panting and gasping, her heart feeling as though it was going to burst out of her chest.
Just when she felt the beta was about to catch up with her, the snorts of breath from his nostrils hot on her back, she turned. She expected the worst, for the beta to be on top of her, ready for the kill. But instead, Jonas was right there behind him.
With a thrust of his claws, Jonas pierced the back of the beta, the dragon going spear-straight with pain. But this time, Jessie didn’t stick around to see how the fight was going to turn out. She turned the corner and hurried away from the fight, tears hot in her eyes.
She stopped at the nearest set of stairs, trying to catch her breath, the sound of the battle around the corner now faded. But before she could compose herself, she spotted another figure standing in the darkness.
One that was watching her. One that struck her as very, very familiar. Jessie knew that she should’ve hid or run or anything else. But instead, she made her way over toward the man watching from the shadows.
She sniffed the air, trying to determine if this was another dragon. But she didn’t smell anything. Instead, she smelled the distinct scent of human.
“Who is it?” she called out. “Who’s there? I can see you!”
But the man simply stood still, as if waiting for her. Jessie continued to make her way across the street until she could see more and more of who the man was.
Then the light finally receded and she could make out the face of who was watching her.
It was Boyd – her ex.
“B-Boyd?” she said softly.
“Jessie!” he hissed. “Come here!”
Part of her knew that this could’ve only meant trouble. But she was so shocked to see him that she couldn’t help but keep walking forward until she was standing in the shadows with him.
As soon as she was close enough to touch him her hands shot out toward his body. Sure enough, it was him and he was real.
“Boyd?” she asked. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Jess,” he said, his face in an expression of intensity. “I don’t have much time, but I need to talk to you.”
“What?” she said. “You need to....talk?”
“I...I know everything,” he said. “The man who I was in debt to, I thought he was just some gangster, some mafia guy. But...I learned the truth. He was a dragon. It sounded so fucking crazy, but that’s what he was. And he knew about you, knew that you were one of them.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. But before she could think for too long about it, a howl of inhuman pain exploded from the other street. It didn’t sound like Jonas, and likely meant the fight was over and won.
“You know about all this?” she asked.
He nodded.
“About shifters and dragons and everything,” he said. “I know it all. And I’m here to warn you.”
“Warn me about what?”
“Those three men you’re with – those dragons – they’re not what they seem. They’re not protecting you and they’re not as kind as you think they are.”
“What?”
“I have to go,” he said. “But we need to talk. I have my old number – find some way to get in touch with me. Your life depends on it.”
Then he opened his arms and pulled Jess into a tight hug, one that struck her as strange.
“Please be in touch,” he said. “You have no idea how much danger you’re in.”
He looked her over one last time before turning and running down the street and out of sight.
Jessie was left stunned.
But before she could think the matter over for too much longer, she heard the sound of footsteps coming toward her.
It was Jonas.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” said Jessie. “I’m fine.”
But when she looked over Jonas, she saw that he wasn’t fine. There was a long gash down his face, dark with blood.
“You’re hurt,” she said.
“I’m fine,” he told her. “I’ll be fine.”
“We need to get you home now,” she said.
Taking Jonas by the hand, she ran with him to the nearest busy street and flagged down a taxi. Soon, they were in the back and on their way to Brooklyn.
And all she could think about were Boyd’s words.
CHAPTER 17
JONAS
The wound on Jonas’ face burned during the ride back. His heart began to slow down, but adrenaline still pumped through his veins.
Soon, they were back at the apartment, the place quiet and dark.
“Damnit,” he said.
He knew that it was as a bad idea to take Jessie out after what had happened with Rick and the wolf shifters. But he’d figured it was a one-off thing, and that it wouldn’t do anyone any good to keep Jessie hidden away from the world.
But now, he realized that there was something much more going on. He cursed himself for thinking that he could just have an omega like her out in the open without attracting attention from powerful alphas.
One thing was for certain – an alpha had his eyes on Jessie, and was more than fine with killing anyone who stood in his way.
“Come here,” said Jessie, coming from the bathroom with a medical kit. “Sit down on the couch.”
Jonas didn’t want her doting on him. He was a proud alpha, and preferred to take his suffering in silence.
“I’ll be fine,” he said. “It’s just a flesh wound. Dragons heal quickly – it’ll be gone by the time morning gets here.”
“True,” said Jessie. “But that doesn’t mean the claws of another dragon can’t cause infection. My...mom passed from something similar to that. Thinking you’re invincible just because you’re a dragon.”
He knew she was right, but that didn’t mean he wanted the help.
“Come on,” she said. “Plenty of dragons have died from much less because they think nothing can hurt them. You’ve already done enough for me, now let me take care of you.”
“Fine,” said Jonas.
More than anything, he was mad at himself for getting hurt. Two betas should’ve been nothing for him to handle.
But he got distracted. Knowing that they were there to hurt Jessie made him lose his cool. Just the thought of them hurting her had been enough to send him into a blind rage. And that rage made him sloppy.
It was all taken care of now. The betas were dead, and their bodies disposed of. All that mattered now was getting to the bottom of whoever had hired them to take Jessie.
“Here,” she said. “Let me just....”
She doused a clean cloth with alcohol and brought it to the wound on Jonas’ face. As soon as the cloth touc
hed his skin a horrible burning feeling coursed through him.
“Shit!” he hissed.
“Sorry, sorry!” said Jessie.
But the pain faded quickly, and Jonas let out a soft chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” asked Jessie.
“Nothing,” he said. “Just always think it’s funny how even being dragons putting alcohol on cuts still burns like hell.”
Jessie smiled, dabbing the wound again.
“That should do it,” she said. “Doesn’t look too bad.”
“Thanks,” said Jonas.
“Of course,” said Jessie.
As he watched her put away the supplies, he considered how good it felt to be taken care of by an omega. Alphas and omegas needed one another, despite how proud alphas could be, and how they hated feeling helpless.
And it didn’t hurt that Jessie was likely the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen in his life. She still wore that skin-tight dress, her cleavage tantalizingly on display.
“I need a drink,” he said. “How about you?”
“Yeah,” she said. “After all that, a drink sounds nice.”
Jonas hopped up, the wound still stinging from the alcohol. He went into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of vodka and two glasses and went back into the living room. Once back on the couch, he poured them both a small drink, knocking back his right away before pouring himself another.
“Fuck,” he said. “Can’t believe this shit happened.”
“Why?” asked Jessie, her glass in her hands. “Why would whoever did that risk an attack out in the open like that?”
“Because you’re an omega, and to an alpha dragon, there’s nothing more valuable than an unclaimed omega. They’ll hire every mercenary shifter in this city to get you.”
Jessie looked down, and Jonas could tell that there was something on her mind, something beyond fear from what happened.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “You look like you’ve got something on your mind.”
Jessie shook her head.
“It’s nothing,” she said.
