by Katie Reus
Eventually they stopped moving, but he couldn’t convince himself to move off her. Not when she was wrapped so perfectly around him.
“Dagen,” she said softly, running her fingers down his back.
“What?”
“Nothing, just like saying your name.” Her voice was a little sleepy and a lot sexy.
Fuuuuck. Yeah, he was absolutely screwed if she decided to walk away. If she thought he wasn’t the one for her, there would never be another for him. He knew that bone deep. Keva was it for him.
Since he didn’t want to smother her, he rolled off her, but kept her close to him as they settled against the covers. She snuggled right up to him, and though he knew he should go get a washcloth and take care of her, he was going to hold her for just a little longer.
This was exactly where he wanted to be.
Chapter 15
Dagen looked at the run-down cabin, then at Conall. “This is it?” It seemed too easy that one of their sentinels had spotted the wolves entering a cabin not far from Petronilla territory.
“Looks like it.”
Not to mention it smelled like it. He could smell wolves in and around the area. “These are my kills.” He wasn’t asking either. Richard’s brother had hurt Keva, and Richard would have killed her.
The wolf had come after her for one purpose: to make her talk whether she wanted to or not. This wasn’t going to go down easy. Dagen knew that and accepted it. Unlike humans, he didn’t fight his primitive nature. And he would feel no guilt after he killed these wolves. He inhaled deeply. Definitely two wolves. These fools never should have been in this territory. They’d broken a basic shifter law and then when corrected hadn’t done anything to rectify the situation. They knew the punishment for that was death. They had no one to blame but themselves for this.
“Come out here now!” he shouted. There was no need to infiltrate the cabin—and walk into a possible trap—when the wolves would hear them. If they didn’t come out, Dagen would make them come out with a little fire. One of the sentinels had been circling the house, making sure no one left, so he knew they were still inside.
A few seconds later two wolves in human form strode outside, both naked. Yeah they were going to be shifting soon. They wanted to fight too. He could scent their rage, their hunger for battle.
Tension crackled in the air, Dagen’s dragon clawing just underneath the surface, ready to come out and play. He hadn’t had a good fight in a long time and he was ready for this. He’d do anything for Keva. That need to keep her safe was a driving force inside him.
“We just want to know what happened to my brother,” Richard snarled, looking between Conall and Dagen.
Conall stepped back, however, the action clear. Because an Alpha would never back down from any fight. It was clear that Conall was giving him the go-ahead to tear these wolves apart.
Dagen fought the urge to incinerate the enemy where they stood. “I think you know what happened to your brother. He’s dead, in case it’s not clear. And Keva had nothing to do with it. But if I had to guess his whereabouts, I’d say he’s rotting in Hell right about now for the way he treated her.”
Richard’s face transformed into a mask of rage as he half-shifted. “She’s just a human,” he spat. “She’s fucking food, prey—she doesn’t matter.”
Oh yeah, he was going to enjoy this. Dagen rolled his shoulders once, readying to undergo the change. There was nothing left to say—this wolf was dead. They both were. Suddenly, lightning fast, the wolf next to Richard grabbed a weapon from behind his back that he must’ve had strapped to his actual skin.
Puff. Puff.
Dagen scoffed as the darts found their mark, and ripped them out of his chest. He wasn’t susceptible to human drugs or poisons. But as he took a step forward, agony sliced through him. Whatever they’d shot him with burned through his blood and it fucking hurt.
His dragon fought back, burning the poison out of his system at a rapid speed, but he couldn’t shift. Fuck. That was just as well. He was lethal in any form.
Ignoring the burning sensation coursing through his veins, he let his claws out and raced at Richard, who’d now fully shifted. They clashed midair, Dagen slashing his claws into the belly of the giant animal.
The wolf snarled and tore into Dagen’s shoulder with his teeth as they crashed to the ground.
Dagen was vaguely aware of a sentinel from the sky incinerating the other wolf. He’d wanted to kill them both, but the real target was Richard. And he’d enjoy every second of it. It was rare he enjoyed a kill—or at least he didn’t revel in it, but this one he would.
Striking hard and fast, he sliced across the throat of the wolf with his claws. The poison was burning out of his body fast, his metabolism working overtime in tune with his adrenaline. He was aware of discomfort in his shoulder from the bite, but he was already healing.
The animal gurgled, but was already healing as it jumped to all fours. Dagen kicked out at him, slamming his boot against the animal’s muzzle.
The wolf jumped back, and Dagen ducked, swiveling to the left even as he twisted and slashed out again, raking his claws over the male’s face, blinding him in one eye. The male howled in agony.
Good.
They continued fighting, slashing and attacking over and over until Dagen could feel the poison fully out of his system. He could shift if he wanted to.
But no, he was going to take this guy down in human form. This wolf wasn’t worth the effort of the shift. Even as his dragon snarled in annoyance that he wasn’t going to get to play, Dagen stumbled and fell on his back, feigning injury, letting the wolf think he’d won.
As the wolf pounced on him, he brought up his claws, crisscrossing his hands to slash at the wolf’s neck. The male never saw it coming. By the time Dagen rolled to his feet, the wolf’s head was separate from his body, a few feet away on the grassy plain.
He wiped at the blood on his face, but it didn’t do much good. He was covered head to toe, the metallic scent filling the air.
“Good job,” Conall said as he approached, his hands shoved casually in his pockets. Then he looked upward and made a hand motion. A few seconds later one of the sentinels burned Richard’s body and head as well. “You feel any better?” he asked.
He nodded slowly. “Yeah…I kind of do. At least I can tell Keva the threat is gone.”
“Or you could just let her stay at your house for a while.” His Alpha lifted a shoulder.
Dagen shook his head. “No. No lies between us. And I don’t want her afraid for a second longer than she has to be. She needs to know the threat is gone.”
Conall slapped him once on his uninjured shoulder, though he was mostly healed anyway. “Spoken like a true mate. Good answer. We’ll get rid of anything they left in the cabin and I’m going to set up a meeting with their Alpha. I already know what he’s going to say, that they weren’t acting in the interests of the pack, blah, blah, blah.” He shook his head, his expression dark. “Guy shouldn’t be an Alpha if he can’t control his pack.”
“You going to start a war with them?”
Conall shrugged. “They’re not that big, and quite frankly not worth our time. But if you think they’re still a threat to Keva, we’ll fly in and destroy them this week.”
“I’ll talk to Keva.” Because he would do whatever it took to keep her safe. If that meant eliminating an entire pack of wolves, so be it.
Now it was time to get back to his woman. The woman he had completely and utterly fallen in love with.
Chapter 16
One week later
Keva smiled down at the beginning of her new project—a charm bracelet for now. She was creating an entire new line of sculptures and jewelry. She was calling it her Sentinel Series. And of course she was basing it on Dagen’s beautiful form.
It was weird, but for the first time in years she felt truly safe. Yes, she had settled in Conall’s territory years ago and had been under his protection, but it had always be
en in the back of her mind that her ex’s family was out there. She’d always been waiting for them to strike because they’d figured out what she’d done. Now that little voice of terror was gone.
She could finally live again—and start a life with Dagen. She was ready to be mated and was trying to figure out how to tell him. Though she figured if she simply showed up in his bed naked he’d get the idea. They’d been having nonstop sex ever since the first time she’d slept with him at his house. The last week had been insane and erotic and she couldn’t get enough of him.
At a whisper-soft rustling sound, she turned and took off her thick work gloves, tossing them on her worktable. Dagen’s clanmates had worked like crazy to get her workshop back in order, but they were done, so it wouldn’t be one of them.
And it was about an hour too early for Dagen to be here. He’d had some work stuff to deal with and she was getting back to normal. She had employees at her shop so now she could spend time doing what she loved most, creating.
She heard the rustling again and automatically reached for her pepper spray. She lived and worked out in the country, and since she knew about supernatural creatures, she always took extra precautions.
So when a wiry-looking male stepped into her shop, she went on alert, carefully palming the spray out of sight. “Who are you?” she demanded.
“I’m here to pay you back,” the male snarled, his eyes going pure wolf.
Shit. Her heart rate kicked up but she kept her expression neutral. He had to be related to Richard and Randall somehow, she realized, despite his rangy frame. He might be smaller but he had the same eyes and facial features. A cousin maybe. Didn’t matter. He shouldn’t be here and he was definitely a threat.
She would have one chance and one chance only to surprise him.
“You’re an idiot if you think you’ll get away with this,” she snapped. “Conall’s already spoken to your Alpha, dumbass.”
“You think I care about that? I’m going to make you pay for killing my brothers.”
Brothers? She knew her ex had had a much younger brother but she’d never met him. The guy had been a pup when she’d been with Randall.
“I didn’t kill them.” Striding toward him with a confidence she didn’t feel, she opened her mouth as if to say more, then snapped her hand up and sprayed, letting the full stream release right in his eyes. Pure silver.
He screamed as she temporarily blinded him—and then she ran. This was the only chance she would get.
Racing out of the workshop, she grabbed a cordless nail gun as she moved. She would only have a minute, maybe two, before he caught up to her.
Heart pounding, she sprinted across her yard. Blood rushed in her ears but she heard the growl behind her.
She swiveled, nail gun raised as a giant gray and brown wolf rushed at her. She raised it and fired. Ping. Ping. Ping. She hit the wolf right in his face.
He growled in rage and kept coming. She pulled the trigger over and over, right into his face and neck as he jumped at her. Crying out in pain, he slumped to the hard earth, blood everywhere.
But she wasn’t fooled. She knew how resilient shifters were. Instead of checking the animal, she sprinted into her house, not bothering to lock the door behind her. If he regained his strength, he’d just bust through it. She raced for her bedroom and grabbed her small pistol out of her bedside table drawer.
With trembling hands, she crept back out into the hallway. She couldn’t stay here, waiting for him to attack her, and she needed to get to her cell phone—which was in the workshop. Even if she wanted to try and barricade herself in her room, a door or wall was nothing for a shifter.
She didn’t hear anything so hopefully he was outside. Hopefully he was dead. And she felt absolutely no guilt for killing a psycho from Randall’s pack. Maybe they were all fucked up in the head. Because she knew without a doubt that all shifters were not like her ex. Most of them seemed normal—ish.
As she stepped into the kitchen, her breath caught in her throat.
Randall’s youngest brother stood there, his face covered in blood, dripping all over her kitchen floor. He was human now, and naked. He must have shifted to dislodge the nails.
“You’re going to pay for that,” he rasped out. Though blood trickled down his face, his eyes glowed a pure, evil amber.
She raised the gun. “Just leave now,” she snapped out. Even though she knew he wouldn’t simply leave, she would still give him a chance. Because he wouldn’t survive this. That much she knew. “Run away and never come back. Or I will kill you.” Her finger remained curved on the trigger. She would not be a victim ever again.
“You’re fucking hot, I’ll give you that. But you’re a dumb bitch if you think bullets will hurt me.” His claws popped out, long and wicked as he grinned, looking like a cartoon villain.
It was now or never. She pulled the trigger and didn’t stop, emptying the magazine into his chest.
His mouth opened in shock and horror as blood dripped down his chin.
“Not regular bullets, dumbass.” She’d gotten silver bullets specially made long ago because she’d figured a day like this would come. And she hadn’t planned to go down without a fight.
His knees hit the floor just as her kitchen door burst open, Dagen wild-eyed as he stormed inside. He took one look at her, gun in hand, then turned his lethal gaze on the dead wolf on the floor.
He simply let loose a stream of raging fire and incinerated the wolf—and burned a hole in the floor.
“Keva!” She was in his arms before she could blink, as he took the gun from her and scooped her up, holding her tight. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” she managed to get out as he held her so close she could barely breathe. She gently pushed at his chest. “You’re squishing me,” she muttered. Her heart was still racing out of control over everything that had happened, but now that Dagen was here she felt a little calmer.
Though she could tell it pained him to do so, he loosened his hold but not by much.
She looked up at him. “He was Randall’s younger brother. He was barely a teenager when I was with Randall, but apparently he’s as stupid as both his brothers.”
Dagen’s expression was dark. “There’s so much blood in the yard. I scented it as soon as I got back. I thought…” He pulled her tight again and she let him hold her hard this time, returning his embrace.
“I’m okay,” she murmured.
“I should have been here to protect you.” Utter agony filled his voice.
“I can protect myself—which is good because you can’t be with me 24/7.” And though she hated that she’d killed someone, she didn’t feel bad about it and it also gave her a sense of strength she hadn’t realized she needed. She’d been able to defend herself from a wolf shifter. All by myself.
He kissed the top of her head. “I love you so much. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Right back at you, big guy…” Then she tipped her head back to look into his face. “Wait a minute, did you say you love me?”
“Yes, I love you. And I probably shouldn’t tell you with a giant charred hole in your kitchen, but I do. You’re my mate, Keva.”
“I love you too!” The declaration came out as a shout.
His grin lit up his face and her heart.
“You owe me a new floor.”
Dagen let out an unexpected laugh. “I’ll buy you anything you want. But I’m moving in here. Or you’re moving in with me.”
“My workshop is here but your place has enough space to build one behind it.” Oh yeah, she was all in. One hundred percent.
“We’ll figure it out later. For now, let’s get out of here. I want you away from…this. I’ll send someone to clean up.”
That was fine with her. Looking away from the hole in her floor, she curled into him as he scooped her in his arms. As soon as this mess was taken care of, she wanted to mate with him, to be connected with him in every way possible. “You think…we could fly
out of here?” At one time in her life the thought of riding a dragon would have seemed ludicrous. Then just plain terrifying. Now, she wanted to see him in his dragon form more than anything.
He pulled back so he could look down at her. “You can ride on my back or I can hold you in my claws.”
“Back.” She didn’t even have to think about it. “Give me a couple minutes.” Moving faster than should have been possible, she changed into comfortable clothes and, ignoring the mess in her kitchen, met Dagen behind her house.
He’d already shifted so she got to see him in his beautiful glory. She was certain that there had never been another dragon as beautiful as him. Ever.
The silver, blues and lavenders were brilliant, shifting like a glittering waterfall. He took her breath away and made her want to cry tears of joy at the same time. Unsure of the logistics of all this, she paused next to him, trying to figure out how the heck to get on his back. He made a little chuffing sound and scooped her up with his wing in a sneaky move she didn’t see coming. Then she was sitting on him, and to her surprise, his scales were softer than she’d imagined. And so big. She was able to dig her hands into them and hold on, to feel secure that she wouldn’t fall off.
Then he was moving, lifting up so suddenly that she nearly yelped out loud. But she didn’t because she knew he would never let her fall. Or if she did, he’d catch her.
She did let out a yelp of surprise when he turned invisible. Well invisible-ish. He was there, and then in the next second, his body shimmered and all she saw was…nothing but the outline of him. And that was only because she was so close to him.
Her heart caught in her throat as they rose higher, higher into the air.
It was a good thing she wasn’t afraid of heights, she thought as she buried her face against him and inhaled. Wind whipped over her as he rose up, up, up, but soon he evened out, their path slow and steady as he headed east toward his clan’s land.
