by Becca Van
“Don’t you tell me to calm, down,” she snapped before meeting Randy’s, Russ’s, and Rex’s gazes again.
“Why would you let someone talk to your mate the way Ed did? Do you realize how much you’ve hurt her?” She stormed across to the door. “You men are such asses.” And then she was gone.
“She’s right you know,” Lance said in a calm voice. “Didn’t you feel the pain in her chest?”
Rex looked down at the hand rubbing his aching chest and slowly dropped it to his side. He hadn’t even realized what he was feeling weren’t his own emotions. And Bid was right. They were fucking assholes but he’d been just as shocked as everyone else at what Niki had said. He’d been totally speechless. Now that his brain was kicking back into gear he knew he and his pod brothers had screwed up big time.
The worse part about all this was he wasn’t sure how to fix it.
* * * *
Niki didn’t cry for long and once she was done she began searching for a way out. She walked down every damn corridor and opened every fucking door and still hadn’t found the exit. With a sigh she slid down the wall onto her ass. She remembered seeing a door near the back of the dining room and had a feeling that was the way out, but she wasn’t about to go back in there after her foolish blowup.
Light footsteps sounded and then Bid came into view. “Are you okay?” She sat down next to her on the floor.
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think they meant to hurt you. What you told them was kind of a shock.”
Niki snorted and then chuckled, which quickly turned to full-out laughter and she wondered if she was losing her mind. Belinda frowned at her and patted her on the shoulder. When she finally had her hysteria under wraps she wiped the tears from her face and sighed. “I think I’ve been in shock for the last month or so.”
“Why is that?” Bid asked.
“That’s when the dreams started.”
Belinda snorted. “You’re lucky. I was dreaming about them for six long months before I ever met them.”
“That sucks.”
“You have no idea.” Bid rolled her eyes.
“So you’re mated to Ed…”
“Yeah. Ed, Eli, and Erwin.”
“And the other guys are?”
“Aiden, Alex, and Andre.”
“Are they all dragon shifters?”
“Yep.”
“Can you point me to the exit?”
“Is that what you really want?” Bid asked. “Do you really want to leave?”
Niki drew in a deep breath and then sighed with resignation.
“That’s what I thought. Do you want to get some fresh air?”
“Yes! Please?”
Bid scrambled to her feet and offered her hand to Niki. She grabbed it and stood with the other woman’s help.
“Do you know where you are?”
“No.”
“Okay, I’ll give you a tour later so you won’t get lost, but it might take a while. This place is like a rabbit warren.” Bid moved a few steps down the hall and then stood facing the wall. She turned to look at her. “This is the hall to Lance’s apartment. I haven’t been into his rooms but apparently he has four bedrooms where all the other suites have five. Plus this is the corridor to the back door.”
“Aren’t we underground?” Niki asked, reaching out to place her fingertips on the painted rock walls.
“Yes.”
Niki shivered and looked up, glad that the rock roof was at least twenty feet high. If it had been lower she might have started to panic. She hated being in small enclosed spaces but the thought of having the roof cave in on top of them was more than a little unnerving.
“It’s safe,” Belinda said in reassurance as if she’d read her mind.
Niki nodded and then watched with curiosity was Bid ran her fingers along the white rock wall and pushed her finger on a raised bit of stone. A keypad slid out of the wall and she punched in a code. She gasped when a huge part of the wall seemed to slide away and she inhaled deeply as a fresh breeze wafted over her. The moon was high in the sky and she could see thousands of stars twinkling in the dark sky.
“Wow,” Niki whispered.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“Come on.” Belinda grabbed her hand and tugged her outside.
She glanced around the large rock ledge and then walked toward the edge. What scenery she could see was amazing, and she could hear the swish of leaves rustling in the breeze.
“When I have a touch of cabin fever I come out here. I love nature and it’s peaceful.”
“It certainly is.” Niki breathed deeply and smiled when she smelled pine and aspen trees. A bat shrieked and was answered by another.
“So what do you want to know?” Bid asked.
“Did you have anything to do with Mayor Core’s death?”
“I suppose indirectly I did.”
“You worked for him, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. He was such a prick. He was always angry but the last couple of days he went off the rails.”
“You think he was insane?”
“I know he was. Did you know he was a hunter?”
“One of the others said as much.”
Bid nodded. “Apparently hunters are bred to be greedy and power hungry. Their aim in life is to eradicate dragon shifters and rule the world. Wally got it into his head that I was supposed to be his woman.” She gulped and shivered with revulsion. “Nearly from the moment my mates found me Wally got even more aggressive and contumelious.
“Anyway the afternoon he fired me, he came to my home with plans of abducting me. Ed, Erwin, and Eli spirited me away here, but hunters have this ability to lock onto the heat or essence of a dragon and he found his way right here. I was actually outside and had no idea he was here until he grabbed me and held an obsidian-tipped spear to my throat.
“He dragged me to the cliff’s edge but my mates helped me get away and then they, Randy, Rex, and Russ, breathed dragon fire on him. He burned to ashes.”
Niki nodded, her mind racing. There was no way Belinda had been involved in the mayor’s death and although it went against her training she didn’t fault the men for saving her. As far as she was concerned Mayor Wallace Core’s death was because of self-defense and she wasn’t about to tell her boss, colleague, or anyone else what happened.
“Did you know the dead guy we found in his car outside of your house?”
Bid met her gaze head on and shook her head. “No. Ed saw Wally kill him though. Apparently he was another hunter.”
“What do you know about the hunters? And are there anymore in town?”
“I only know what I’ve told you. If there are more, I haven’t seen them, but I wouldn’t know if a man was hunter if I passed him in the street, and my guys aren’t exactly forthcoming with information.”
Niki sighed. “Sheriff Darrien Westly is a hunter.”
Belinda gasped and covered her mouth with horror. “Oh my god. You’re in danger. Shit! Do you think Darrien knows you’re a dragon shifter mate?”
Niki shrugged. Belinda was very easy to read. She had no idea how to conceal her thoughts or emotions.
“He does, doesn’t he?”
“He’s not the only one.”
“What? Who else knows about you?” Bid grabbed her hand again and began tugging her toward the door. “We have to go tell the others. The only way to keep you safe is if you tell them everything.”
“I know how to protect myself. I’m a cop.”
“But a hunter is way faster and stronger than anyone on Earth. And I don’t know if a bullet would stop them.”
“She’s right.”
Chapter Nine
Randy stalked toward Niki, frowning over the fact that she and Belinda were outside without protection or having let anyone know where they were going. If he and his pod brothers hadn’t already hurt her by screwing up, he would take her to task over that, but he held his tongue.
“If you ever need to talk, I’m here. Okay?” Bid touched her arm and when Niki nodded she headed back inside.
“How many times have I told you you’re not to leave the lair without one of us with you?” Ed asked angrily.
“Oh bite me.”
Rex and Russ chuckled but quickly sobered when they looked over at Niki.
“Why can’t bullets kill a hunter?” She finally met his gaze and some of the pain in Randy’s chest eased. He wasn’t sure she was ever going to talk to them again.
“They can and a bullet will injure them, but they have internal healing so if they are wounded they can fix themselves. But a shot to the head or heart will take them out.”
“Can you guys do that?”
“Yes.” Russ stopped at her side. “Although there is only one way to take out one of us.”
“And that is?”
Randy didn’t hesitate to answer. He wasn’t worried that she was mad enough to kill them. “Obsidian.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a hard glasslike volcanic rock,” Rex explained.
“How can that kill you if a bullet can’t?”
“We think it has something to do with the minerals in it. Obsidian is formed by rapid cooling lava and it retains crystal and mineral deposits,” Randy said.
“The only way it can kill us is by piercing the heart,” Russ stated.
“But a bullet can injure you. Right?”
“No, they bounce right off. No more than an annoyance, really.” Rex smiled.
“Niki, I want to apologize. We all do. We were in a state of shock to learn that you’d been visited by Lady Guinevere in your dreams. Yes, you had mentioned it before, but we didn't realize that you'd been shown everything. Plus, it’s really hard for us to think of that horrific time in our lives. We were just kids and we lost our parents.” Randy’s eyes showed his sadness over their loss even though it was so long ago.
“Sorry for not sticking up for you, love.” Rex stroked a hand over her hair.
“Me, too, darlin’,” Russ said sincerely.
“Do you forgive us?” Randy asked. “We never meant to hurt you.”
“Okay, and you didn’t hurt me.”
“Why are you lying?” Rex frowned.
“I’m—ˮ
“Don’t.” Russ held up his hand.
“We could feel your pain, baby,” Randy said.
“Damn it. Stop doing that.” She scowled and planted her hands on her hips.
“We can’t stop the process, Niki.” Rex clasped her hand. “As soon as we started dreaming of you and then met you in person the mating bond started forming.”
“But we’re not even mated.”
“No, we aren’t but we’re hoping to be.” Russ clasped her other hand.
“Who’s Lord Jerome?”
“Where did you hear his name?” Rex asked urgently.
“Uh…in a dream.”
“Did you see his face?” Rex squeezed her hand.
“Can you draw him?” Russ asked.
“You need to tell us everything you saw, Niki, but I think the others should hear it, too. Now let’s go back and eat dinner and you can tell us about your dream.” Randy stroked a finger down her face and bit back a groan of need. He loved feeling her soft, warm skin under his hands, but it would be way better if he had her under his body while he marked and mated her. First things first.
Instead of leading her back inside, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her. She was so fucking small he barely felt her weight, but he loved her honeysuckle scent combined with her natural feminine smell. His cock twitched and his mouth watered for a taste of her, but first he needed to make sure she was fed. He grinned when her stomach growled but then frowned when she pushed against his chest.
“Put me down. I can walk, damn it!”
“But I like the way you feel in my arms,” Randy said as he met her eyes.
Her gaze softened and his heart flipped over. She probably had no idea, but in that moment there was so much emotion in her eyes he could almost believe she was falling in love with him. Because she was his mate he had fallen head over heels for her the moment he dreamt about her but knew he shouldn’t tell her how he felt for her yet. He wasn’t sure she would believe him. A lot of human men told women lies to get into their pants and he knew that he, Rex, and Russ would need to earn her trust before any declarations were made and believed.
When he walked back into the kitchen he wasn’t surprised to see that all the others were still eating. They were big men and could down a shitload of food in one sitting. He gently lowered Niki back into her seat, picked up her plate of cold food, took it into the kitchen, and put it in the microwave. A couple of minutes later he placed the steaming hot food in front of her.
“Thank you.” She smiled at him and dug in. He and the others talked about everyday stuff while they ate and when she’d eaten half of the lasagna she sat back with a sigh and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
“Okay, so I dreamt that my boss, Sheriff Darrien, meeting with this Lord Jerome.” She paused to take a deep breath before continuing on. “I think they know I’m your mate, because they are planning to kidnap me.”
“Then you stay here,” Randy said in a firm voice and scrubbed a hand over his face.
“You can’t keep me locked up all the time.”
“It would be dangerous for you to be out and about,” Lance said.
“I have a job, bills to pay. I have a life and I’m not letting you all take that away from me. I’ve worked hard to get where I am.”
“You think we don’t know that?” Rex grumbled.
“They could end up killing you, darlin’,” Russ said in a calm voice but Randy knew he was far from calm. The muscle in his jaw ticked and his hands were in tight fists.
“What would happen if we…um…mated?”
All the breath left Randy’s lungs on a long exhale. As much as he wanted to have Niki as their mate, he wanted her to have decided for the right reasons. It was damn near impossible not to pick her up and run to their apartment, especially since his cock hadn’t stopped aching and his beast was pushing at him to do just that.
“Why?” he finally managed to ask.
“Why what?” Niki frowned and tilted her head.
God, she was so fucking beautiful and the sexiest woman he’d ever laid eyes on.
“Why do you want to be our mate?”
The silence in the room was palpable and even though the other guys weren’t looking at them, they were waiting for Niki’s answer, just as he, Rex, and Russ were. She didn’t answer, just shrugged her shoulders and looked down at the table. When he saw her face was turning pink, he realized he’d screwed up. Again.
Fuck! When will I learn to keep my mouth shut? Why is it that after nearly three centuries of living he felt like a fucking kid on his first date?
“Damn it, Randy. Did you have to ask her that in a room full of people?” Rex snarled his question.
He shook his head and shrugged, but inside he had a knot of anxiety in his gut and with every passing minute the ball grew bigger.
“Niki, did you know that they have an indoor heated pool?” Bid asked as she rose to her feet. “Why don’t I show you? Plus, there’s a huge spa.”
Randy didn’t have to look at Belinda to know she was glaring at him, but he kept his head down as Bid walked around the table, grabbed Niki’s hand, tugged her to her feet, and led her out of the room.
“Shit, Randy, that was stupid,” Lance said in a low, angry voice.
“I know it.”
“Why is it that when the most important woman in your life shows up, we screw it up?” Ed asked with a smirk.
“Because she is the most important person in your life,” Eli answered.
“Shit! What the hell are we going to do now?” Randy sighed.
“You fix it.” Lance scowled at all three of them and pointed his finger to each of them. “Stop thinking with your dicks a
nd start using your heads.”
“Fuck, Lance we’re trying but it’s so fucking hard walking around with a boner all the time as well as having our dragons pushing us to claim her.” Randy shoved his chair back and headed to the door.
“Give her a time to cool down. You embarrassed her.”
“Okay,” Randy hurried to the gym with his pod brothers on his heels. Maybe if he could exert some of his pent-up energy he might just be able to think straight.
* * * *
“Here.” Belinda shoved a bikini into Niki’s hands. “The bathroom’s there.”
Niki took the barely there swimsuit, entered the bathroom, and closed the door behind her. She hoped the top fit because Bid had more up top than Niki did. In fact the other woman was a few inches taller than her, too. She’d never let her lack of height bother her before but when she’d been surrounded by all those men she felt like a fucking kid.
She breathed in deeply and released the breath slowly. The silence in the dining room after Randy had asked her that stupid question about mating had been so pregnant and fraught with tension, she’d nearly picked up her knife from the plate to see if she could cut it. When her eyes had burned with humiliation, she’d lowered her head to hide the emotions. She hadn’t dared pick up the knife because she’d been scared that she would cut off Randy’s balls.
Niki was in a quandary. She just couldn’t get a handle on anything right now. Her emotions were all over the place and her body was aching with lust.
She glanced at herself in the mirror and the borrowed bikini. It was a nice deep purple color and fit perfectly.
“Are you ready?” Bid asked through the closed door.
“Yeah.” Niki opened the door. “Do you have a towel I can cover myself with?”
“Sure.” Bid hurried to the long cupboard in the corner of the bathroom she hadn’t seen and grabbed two towels.
“Thanks,” Niki said and wrapped the towel around her chest.
Belinda smiled and led the way out.
Niki couldn’t believe the size of the pool and spa, nor the fact that it was underground in a cavern. “How did they get this in here?”
