Dragon Star (A Shifter Football League Novel)

by Aurora Reid

  “I'm not mad at you.”

  “Then why are you leaving?”

  He took steps toward her. She held her hand up for him to stop.

  “Jae's been hurt. He needs me right now. I'm sorry.”

  Cass began to move again, heading toward her car. She was only five paces away when he shouted, “No.”

  His dragon had almost come out again. Nico didn't want to do that. The last thing he wanted to do was to scare her again; she needed to know how serious he was, how much she meant to him.

  Cass tilted her head toward him as if asking him what he could possibly say to her. She lifted her eyebrows, waiting for it.

  Nico didn't have anything planned. It all came spilling out of him. From his heart.

  “I’m sorry about what I said to you. I didn’t mean to lose it. And I don’t want to make excuses for my dragon, how it has bonded with my gold isn’t healthy. It was wrong of me. I’m sorry.”

  “A man apologizing. Wow. That’s not something I hear every day.” She kicked a clump of snow. “But it doesn’t change anything.”

  “Jae doesn't care about you.”

  “I know,” she said. “He only cares about keeping me. He only cares about himself.”

  “Then why are you going?” He would do anything to win her over. “Leave him and stay with me.”

  “Stay here? I can't. I'm sorry, I can't.”

  Why was she so afraid?

  “I'll protect you. I'll keep you safe.”

  “Why?”

  “I know what I want, and I want you.”

  A tear ran down her cheek. She wiped it, smiled at him painfully, and then sniffled. “I've got to go. I'm sorry.”

  Cass hurried to the car. When she got in, she kept her head down. Nico decided he wouldn't push it. He had laid it all out on the line for her. It wasn't like him to get in between a relationship, but if the girl was as special as Cass and the boyfriend as terrible as Jae, then it felt right to him, it felt just.

  The car started, then pulled out of his driveway. It headed down the mountainside, vanishing from view while Nico wondered if that would be the last he ever saw of her.

  He walked back to his house. Once inside, it should've been comfort that met him, instead there was a loneliness in his heart that he'd never experienced before.

  Cass wasn't saying “No” because she didn't want to stay. She was only saying “No” because of Jae, and he knew it. It didn't take shifter powers to understand.

  The more he thought about it, the more the walls of his home seemed to close in on him. He couldn’t sit and wait.

  He needed to speak to Jae. It probably wasn’t going to be a friendly chat.

  He ran outside and transformed into his giant silver dragon. After taking off, his huge home seemed small once again, like a piece to a mini train set.

  Dragons could reach comparable speeds to jets. He knew that he would end up arriving before Cass, which was fine with him. It would let him talk to Jae alone.

  By the time he was back it was late afternoon in California. He was exhausted but still pushed on.

  He knew Jae sometimes stayed in a mansion on the top of one of the highest mountains, only because he'd seen him flying there once.

  Nico wasn't used to seeing dragons flying about, at least in a very long time. Seeing Jae's red dragon in the sky, he understood why others were so intimidated.

  His home came into view. Tall walls made the place resemble a compound. There was a huge drive way too where Nico landed, more like a parking lot for a superstore.

  Jae walked outside wearing a polo shirt, khakis, and some loafers, like he'd just walked off the golf course. He stepped closer with no fear for the beast in front of him and clapped.

  “That's impressive. It's not every day I get to see another dragon. Now will you please transform so that we can talk about why you've decided it's okay to fly past my walls?”

  Nico snorted before he shifted back to human.

  As soon as he was back in human form, Jae's expression turned to disgust.

  “Why are you here?”

  “It’s about Cass.”

  “Cass is none of your business,” he snapped. His pupils changed, threatening to shift. Nico let his own flash. He wasn’t afraid to shift either.

  A fight wasn't a good idea, however.

  Shifters fighting one another was prohibited in most of the United States. Especially if those shifters could cause major collateral damage. The people of the United States didn't want to see dragons fighting over their neatly cut lawns, but on television? Give them a football and let them go. Even then, they weren’t allowed to shift on the field—it would be too messy.

  “She's certainly not your business. You don't own her.”

  Jae stepped closer. His lips twisted into a menacing snarl. “Then who does?”

  Nico didn't know what to say to that. Cass was a human being. While she wasn't owned by anyone, Nico would certainly like to make her his—not in exactly the same assholish way that Jae had.

  “Let her go. She's terrified of you. I can only imagine what you've done to cause it. She's a tough girl.”

  “Go, and don't speak to me about this again.” Jae pointed outside of the walls. “You should know better than to intrude on a dragon's property.”

  “Let her go. I'm not going to say it nicely again.”

  “And I'm not going to tell you to leave nicely again.” His fingernails stretched, his veins popping. Before Nico could decide whether to try to calm him down or not, it was too late.

  They were going to fight. And if they were fighting for Cass, it was going to be a fight to the death.

  Coach wasn’t going to be pleased.

  “What gives you the right?” Jae hollered. He kept repeating it as his chest puffed up. He beat it, and then he wailed like a banshee as he transformed into his dragon.

  After Jae’s tail shot out from his body, Nico transformed as well.

  He was looking eye level with another dragon—its sharp, golden eyes threatening him. Its crimson scale armor snaking its way back and forth with its tail.

  Jae roared again, which should've signaled the start of the duel, except he had a better idea. A blast of fire rocketed right at Nico.

  He slipped to the right. The stream of fire narrowly missed him, instead striking Jae's mansion walls and with the force of it, blasting it open and sending fiery chunks of concrete into the air.

  Nico took his shot; he flew headfirst toward Jae after his miss. As he almost collided head on, he spun his tail around, crashing into the other dragon's chest and sending him tumbling. Jae’s back struck his roof before he righted himself.

  His mansion would need new roofing. Nico smirked while he watched it crumble.

  They were both in the air now, flying higher, keeping each other in their sights. Nico decided to give him a taste of his own medicine, firing off a blue-tinted stream of flame.

  But it never hit him. Too far away. Nico ducked the next fire blast from Jae while attempting to get closer. He took a nose dive and made the red dragon give chase.

  Come chase me, dragon dick.

  Halfway down, he spun back and spewed fire.

  Jae was quicker than he imagined and swooped out of the way, firing again, making Nico spin back before he reached the ground.

  The fireball hit the intersection below them, blowing apart asphalt and toppling streetlights. Fires reached high into the sky beneath them, smoke covering the battle. Nico knew he would avoid firing at the ground; he couldn't stop to worry about what Jae would do.

  He continued his attack, fighting for Cass, to free her and yes, to take her as his own, if she were to accept it. In his heart, he knew she was made for him and he for her, so when he flew right at the red dragon, he felt no fear, only sheer determination as he spiraled, narrowly missing blast after blast that Jae shot his way.

  The old rope a dope technique. Jae was on the ropes now from spewing so much fire.

  Nico ramm
ed into him, tearing into his chest with his claws, trying to carry him forward. The momentum shot them both higher into the air. Jae latched on with his teeth and began to pull in the other direction. They twisted out of the sky, landing onto another street, this time, Nico rolling into an active construction zone.

  Concrete crashed all around him. A large chunk struck him in the back. He knew even if he made it out alive he would be feeling that one.

  He was lucky that he had landed in an empty construction lot. It could’ve been an office building.

  If this continued, their luck might run out.

  Jae roared desperately, She’s Mine!

  Mine!

  Nico soared away from the site as another stream of fire melted the cement. The stream followed him up in the air. All around them, Nico could hear sirens and screaming.

  It had been a long time since the citizens of this country had seen two dragons flying together. Tonight, they would learn why.

  The screeching of jets was heard in the far off distance. Still, neither would stop. Jae and Nico clashed, meeting in the center again after dodging fire. Claws dug into hot flesh, blood pouring from Jae's wounds as Nico could also feel stabbing pain.

  “For Cass,” he roared, and bit into his shoulder, but Jae at the same time whipped his tail around.

  That tail whipping around smacked him alongside his head. They both broke away, fluttering in the air like one-winged moths at night with no lights in sight.

  Then the screeching grew too loud to ignore. Jae would be the first to realize this as he looked straight into their oncoming path.

  There were plenty of shifter groups on watch to take down rogue shifters. This would be the United States military called in, because these were dragons. Two projectiles exploded near Jae, smoke billowing out from the impact.

  No explosion. They must’ve guessed who these dragons were—only the two most famous players in their city—otherwise they would’ve been lethal rounds. Football fans were nuts, they’d do anything to save their chances at a championship. At least Nico could hold onto that fact as he spun around to be met with the next round of projectile fire.

  The gas exploded around him and smothered him in a thick cloud. That misguided flying he'd done before because of Jae's tail smack was nothing compared to this. This was a fall, a tumble through the air and then he landed, choking, in a parking lot. Car sirens blared as he came out of it.

  Nico transformed back to human. Once transformed, he spit out the acrid fumes, blinked the irritant out, and then held his hands up.

  Choppers flew in next after the jets. One hovered near the parking lot as men with guns dropped down.

  “Keep your hands up,” they shouted.

  Nico nodded with stinging tears flooding down his cheeks.

  Enough was enough, if they kept fighting, they would be declaring war on the whole city.

  Did he miss his chance? He was sure that Jae wouldn't stop. Only death would stop him. It seemed Nico had made it worse for Cass.

  “Do you have any idea how much shit you're in?” one of the men said as he grabbed the back of his head, shoved him to the ground, and pushed his knee into his back.

  Nico wasn't making it any easier for himself, either.

  8

  They were jailed in the California Shifter Supermax. Constructed on an artificial island that resembled Alcatraz, it was the biggest and highest security shifter jail in the United States.

  They were also let out on the same day.

  Nico hobbled into the waiting room. He wore some baggy, ill-fitting jeans, a teal t-shirt advertising Ramon’s Pizza Kitchen, and a pair of Nike’s that looked like they were from the 90s. It was the only clothing they had for him since he'd arrived naked from shifting.

  Cass sat, hands clasped and fidgeting, in the waiting room. Probably because Jae would be getting released at the same time as him. A man could hope that a beautiful woman like her would be waiting for him.

  His hopes soared. He foolishly thought that he should go over there and kiss her.

  She stood with her purse clutched to her side. Defiant. Like she was at the front line. “What you did was nice, but stupid, Seinfeld.”

  “Seinfeld?”

  Oh, right. He looked down at his jeans and white sneakers.

  “You're not here to go home with me then, are you?” he asked. “I should take you back myself.”

  “You won't. You're already in enough trouble.”

  “My own Helen of Troy. Perhaps you underestimate the ends that I'd go for you.” It hurt when she said nothing. “It's your choice.”

  “I can't handle it right now.” She tilted her head, like she couldn't stand to look at him. Like he didn't belong. And that's how he felt right now. Pretty low.

  Because he should've killed Jae. Ended him, so that Cass would be safe and in his arms. She would be forced to go with Jae, because she didn't want a battle between two dragons to break out again. Nico blamed Jae for the casualties—twelve injured and one was killed by, he was sure of it, one of Jae's fire blasts. He wasn’t convinced that Jae wouldn’t kill again.

  They had the money to get the best lawyers and they had the fame too. Most Americans, also the biggest politicians, loved the game. They didn't want to see their favorite shifter go to jail when they had a chance at the championship. When they had a lot of money to bet.

  There still might be criminal charges. Nico wasn't worried about it strangely. If need be, he would cast aside his citizenry and go live in the middle of nowhere, maybe Antarctica, that might suit him better.

  “You can't fight him again, and you can't be with me again. Just forget me.”

  Nico wasn’t budging. Time spent in jail had only made him want to see her more.

  “I'm in love with him, you know?”

  He smirked confidently. “You're a terrible liar.”

  “I know,” she said, kicking her feet, “but you still can't, not after what happened. Now go. Please.”

  “I'll leave, but don't beg me not to care about you. Never do that.”

  “Go, Nico, and don’t try to contact me for a long time.”

  She straightened, bringing her chin up high. “Actually, don’t contact me. I’ll contact you. And I’m not sure when that’ll be. So just go now, just go.”

  So that was it? That was goodbye?

  Her coldness trailed after him. Once he was outside, he shifted into his dragon and took off for the distant mountains where he would be alone, away from that ice queen.

  After a long flight back, he wasn't in a better mood. The isolated mansion called to him. Now it looked different when her positive energy was gone. It was just him again.

  This was all that he had, so he'd have to make it work. These were the treasures that he'd collected over his life—not very big by dragon standards, but he had plenty more years to live. Maybe one day he would have a hoard that would make the dragons of old jealous.

  He stumbled toward his gold room on his crutches. There were bandages, sore wounds that were slow to heal all over his body from the fight. His damned ankle acted up again. Every time he put pressure on it, a sharp pain would drive through him like a stake.

  Once inside the gold room, he shut the door. Iron locks slammed into place.

  “Home, sweet home,” he said. The treasures were all still there as far as he could tell. A massive undertaking of counting every piece would have to be done that night.

  In light of the brilliant radiance around him, he dropped his crutches.

  One step, good. The second, also good. But then he realized what he was doing and the ankle simply didn't work. Pain dragged him down next as Nico crashed into the sea of coins. A few gold bars crashed down around him too.

  There he remained for a minute to catch his breath. His progress was lost. It was all lost now. He pushed himself up and jumped on one foot, then put the other foot down, only to be rewarded with the same bursting pain riding his spinal column to his brain, knocking him on h
is ass.

  Wincing, sucking in air through his teeth, he pushed himself back and leaned against the pile of gold bars.

  He shouted out his rage, the room shaking, gold spilling before him as outside the mountain quaked.

  Nico shut his eyes. He went to sleep there that night. This was all he had. He should've known it from the beginning, should've known it would be foolish to try to assimilate with the others. They only brought pain, and more pain.

  Had he learned nothing from those murdered? At least he of all people should listen to the ghosts of his parents and their friends—the older dragons, hunted down and ostracized.

  The next day he went outside in the early morning. The open skies, the panoramic view in the back of his home of the rushing lake with the surrounding wilderness simply wouldn't do.

  Eventually, they would all come to get him. They wouldn't leave him alone; the fans, the stalkers, the agents, and then the others who would want to take what he had, or kill him because they were jealous. His dragon told him they would all be upon him soon.

  He could usually control his dragon fairly well. Ever since Cass entered his life that had all been flipped upside down.

  In the early morning he set upon his task, constructing a wall that would rival Jae's. As his dragon, he flew around the area, picking up the biggest stones and dropping them nearby. The more precise tasks he transformed back to human in order to complete.

  Heat from his dragon breath solidified the construction.

  His days went like this. He would create his wall in the morning, and then in the evening, he would return to his gold room where he would sit and think and shine and count and marvel at all that was around him. When he stayed in there, he felt better. When he was outside and constructing the wall, his dragon warned him not to stay out too late.

  Days all rolled into one. Soon, he lost track of time. His hoard didn’t grow by much, but he still counted it daily.

  Would the season be starting soon? Nico hadn't looked at a calendar, didn't think he wanted to. His heart still ached for Cass. That was something that couldn't be fixed. She'd asked him to stay out of her life—that's what he intended to do.