by KD Jones
Chapter 21
Once again, they were led to a bogus hideout. Dyson had no lingering scent so if he had used this place it had been years. Rei wasn’t the only one frustrated.
“This is a total waste of time,” Drake muttered.
“Who tipped us off about this location?” Rei asked.
“We got a phone call tip from someone who wanted to remain anonymous but claimed they were in another clan. We didn’t have any reason to believe it wasn’t a real tip. Many want to stay off Dyson’s radar.”
Rei's phone rang. “Hello?”
“King Reichardt, it’s Markus. We have a problem. Your female is missing.”
“What?” He felt his heart stop beating for a moment.
“I was doing a security check when I noticed your female riding off on a horse by herself toward the east. I didn’t think anything of it; she had ridden the day before as well. When I went back to the ranch, Valorie was waiting for me on the porch. She told me that the baby was making her feel like something was wrong, that Gema was in danger.”
“They baby did?”
“Yes, Valorie is sure of it.”
The baby’s abilities were unusual but he would have to explore that later. “You said she went east?”
“I shifted and flew in that direction immediately but it had probably been at least ten minutes since I saw her last. I found the horse tied to a tree not far from the cliffs. There was no sign of your female but I did get a slight whiff of dragon shifter. It wasn’t one of ours.”
Rei growled loudly, almost roaring. “Have warriors shift and start scanning the area.”
“We are doing that now. There’s something else. Right before she went off, she received a call that Valorie said was supposed to be from her grandmother. When she hung up she said she wanted to take a walk. That’s when the baby starting sending warning signals to Valorie.”
“Stay there with your mate, Markus.” He hung up the phone.
“What’s happened?” Drake asked suspiciously.
“Dyson’s got Gema’s grandmother and evidently convinced Gema to leave the ranch. I need as many warriors available to come with me.”
“Where to?”
“We’re going back to Mexico,” Rei said.
“My King, you can’t fly.”
“The hell I can’t!” With fury he hadn’t felt in many years, his dragon burst forth despite the pain and forced the shift. No one took his mate from him.
*****
This time around, Gema refused to let herself pass out as the large dragon flew her over the ocean. He held her with his claws and wasn’t gentle about it. The claws had pierced her stomach right through her clothing. It wasn’t deep but she felt the wetness of her blood.
She recognized the landscapes and knew she was heading toward her grandmother’s cottage. If only there had been a way to let Rei know what was going on. He was going to be worried for her. Hell, she was worried for her and her grandmother. She was only human—no match for one dragon shifter, let alone multiple dragon shifters. Perhaps that would be her only chance of survival. If she didn’t challenge Dyson, made him think she was subdued and weak, she could look for the chance to get her and her grandmother to safety.
Her grandmother’s cottage should have been a welcoming sight. All she felt was worry and anxiety. She was also pissed as hell that someone would dare threaten her abuela.
The dragon landed hard on the ground next to the old station wagon that her grandmother drove around in. He released her then shifted to human form. She kept her eyes above waist level. Although the male was naked, she had no interest in looking.
“Go inside,” he ordered.
She walked up the steps to the small stoop and opened the door. Inside she immediately spotted her grandmother at the stove, cooking something. She rushed over to hug her.
“Oh my God! I was so worried about you.”
“Niña, you shouldn’t have come. These winged bastards are no good. Look at him sitting in my chair, naked as a jaybird. Repugnante cerdo!”
Gema turned to face the man who had caused her so much pain. He stood and she studied him. He was good looking, big and muscular like all the dragon shifters. His eyes were cold and calculating as they assessed her.
“I’m King Dyson. You are Gema Pope?”
“Yes.”
“I regret that we didn’t have a chance to spend time together.”
“I’m not.”
He frowned at her attitude. “I assure you, we will have plenty of time to get to know each other.”
“I’ll go with you if you let my grandmother go.”
“No, niña!”
“Shhh…” She tried to keep her grandmother behind her.
“Don’t you shhh me, child!”
Dyson growled. “Enough! I think we will keep your grandmother a little while longer. It will help make you amenable.”
Damn, he had her there. She couldn’t do anything if he held her grandmother’s life against her. Her grandmother wasn’t going to leave Gema on her own to deal with the danger. She should have thought about that. She had to have faith that Rei would find out she was missing and come for her.
Chapter 22
Rei shifted back to his human form as he and his warriors hid on a cliff overlooking the small cottage. “How many warriors do you count?” he asked Drake.
“Five males on the outside that I can see. I don’t know how many more are on the inside.”
“I can scent Gema and her grandmother.” He was relieved he didn’t scent death.
“We outnumber them three to one and the other clans are sending some of their warriors. We can take them easily.”
“Not yet. If we rush them, Gema and her grandmother could get hurt. They are the priority and will need to be rescued first. We need a distraction.”
Drake frowned. “What did you have in mind?”
Rei gave him a look, and Drake, knowing him better than anyone, knew what he planned to do.
“No, you’re not going to use yourself as bait.”
“It’s perfect. He hates me. He won’t let the others kill me because he wants to do it himself.”
“As your second, I can’t allow you to take such a risk. As your friend, I know that I won’t be able to hold you back when it comes to the safety of your mate. I would do the same if she was mine.”
“I’ll distract them in the front. Try to get them out the back. Get them to safety, that’s the top priority. Fly safe,” he told Drake.
“Don’t get killed,” Drake responded.
Rei shifted back into his dragon form, grateful that it was much quicker. He wasn’t at a hundred percent but he had everything to fight for waiting for him in that cottage. Gema was depending on him to save her and he would.
He knew the moment he was spotted by the warriors below. Growls erupted, and some of the warriors shifted into their dragons. Rei landed a few feet away from the cottage and shifted into human form.
“Dyson!” Rei yelled out.
A few seconds later Dyson strolled out of the cottage. “Look who’s here, the mighty King Reichardt. I knew you’d show up. I could smell you on the girl the moment she stepped in the cottage. She doesn’t have the scent of dragon so I suspect you chickened out on that.”
“I see that you can’t find a female of your own so you have to steal them.”
“Bastard. I’ll make you pay for that,” Dyson growled as he shifted into dragon form and shot a stream of fire toward Rei.
Rei shifted and took to the air, making Dyson and the other dragons chase after him. He took them as far from the cottage as he could to give his warriors time to rescue Gema.
*****
Gema heard Rei’s voice outside. Dyson left in a fury. She tried to follow but her grandmother grabbed her arm to stop her.
“You can’t go out there, niña. It’s too dangerous.”
“But Rei’s out there. I don’t want him to get hurt.”
“This
Rei, he is like the dragon man, right?”
“Yes, but he’s a good guy. The best, and I…love him.”
“All we can do is stay out of their way. Let your man deal with it.”
The door burst open so hard it came off its hinges. Her grandmother reacted with fast reflexes and grabbed the pan off the stove and swung it at the intruder’s head, making him fall backward and leaving a dent in the metal.
“Ouch!” Drake said, holding his hand to his forehead.
She was about to hit him again but Gema stopped her. “Hold up, Abuela. He’s a good guy.”
Her grandmother lowered the pan to her side. “He should know better than to sneak up on an old woman.”
Gema went over to Drake and placed a hand on his arm. “Are you terribly hurt?”
“My pride is the most damaged. Don’t tell anyone I got beat up by your grandmother.”
Gema laughed. “Your secret is safe with me.”
He stood up to his full height. “We need you two to get to safety.”
“Where’s Rei?” she asked as they followed Drake outside.
“He’s keeping Dyson and the others distracted.”
“Rei can’t handle all of them at one time!”
“Once we have you off, the rest of us will join him.” Drake picked two warriors to carry her and her grandmother on their backs. The other warriors would follow to provide security. She turned to her grandmother in concern.
“Abuela, we can take the station wagon…”
“Diablos, no! I’m going to ride me a dragon,” her grandmother announced as the other warriors helped her onto the dragon’s back.
Gema still wanted to find Rei. Drake motioned for her to climb on the dragon waiting. “The sooner we get you out of here, the sooner I can help Rei. Please, Gema.”
“Right. Tell him to hurry up and to come back to me safe and sound.”
“I will.”
It felt wrong leaving him but she knew she would only be a vulnerability to him right now. She prayed he would return to her. There were so many things she wanted to say. She hoped she would get that chance.
Chapter 23
He was outnumbered but all he had to do was keep them away long enough for Gema to be rescued. Two dragons flew at him while another came up below, trying to get his underbelly. He shot fire at the one below and dodged one of the dragons. He took the hit from the other dragon and swiped his claws at him.
The problem with fighting in dragon form was that it was vital to take your opponent to the ground or keep your distance. He had seen many warriors get distracted with trying to hit their opponents while in the air and end up losing their balance and falling to the ground themselves. Rei was not an amateur. He had had decades to perfect his fighting technique.
A dragon sonar call went out. It was Drake letting him know that Gema and her grandmother were safe. Dyson looked furious as he flew toward the cottage. His men flew with him and let out a stream of fire, completely encasing the small cottage.
Anger fueled Rei and he attacked using his claws. Drake and five other warriors joined the fight. He kept his eyes on Dyson. He dodged the dragons guarding Dyson by diving down then flipping his direction and shooting straight up under his enemy. He landed heavy swipes at Dyson’s underbelly and one of his wings. Dyson started to fall but two of his dragon warriors grabbed his wing and flew him away. He would have chased after them but he wanted to get to Gema to check on her. The injuries Dyson took were severe—not many would survive them.
After landing by the station wagon, he shifted into his human form and addressed his warriors. “We need to send trackers to follow them.”
Two warriors stepped forward. “We’ll go, My King.”
Drake dragged an unconscious male forward. “I captured one of Dyson’s warriors.”
“Tie him up and put him in the back of the station wagon. I’ll be right back.” Rei ran into the burning cottage. The structure was not well built and highly flammable. He looked around the room. There wasn’t much that hadn’t been destroyed but he grabbed picture frames and photo albums. The clothing would be no good. He would have to send Valorie to buy replacement items for them.
“Rei! The cottage is collapsing!” Drake was pulling him toward the door.
They both jumped through the doorframe when the roof caved in. He would have to tell Gema that her home had been destroyed. He remembered her telling him stories about growing up here. It was going to be devastating to her but he was determined he would make her life as good as he could.
*****
Gema paced the front porch. All kinds of images popped into her head about what might be happening. Was Rei okay? Was he injured? What was taking them so long?
Markus looked up into the late afternoon sky. “They’re coming.”
She glanced up but didn’t see anything at first. Then she saw small dots growing larger and larger the closer they came. Soon she identified large wings and then the colors of the dragons—green, gold, red, and blue. The blue dragon was Rei. This was the first time she had seen him in dragon form and he was beautiful.
Leaving the porch, she moved toward the open field and watched in amazement as the dragons landed then easily shifted into their naked human form. She didn’t care about the others; she only had eyes for her dragon.
Rei landed hard and she could swear she felt the ground shake a little. He was impressive: large with blue iridescent scales and his eyes were still blue but there was a gold ring on the outer rim. Those amazing eyes were solely focused on her.
“Hi,” she said, approaching him slowly. She had no fear of him, but she didn’t want to startle him in any way. One swipe with those claws and she could die. He snorted at her so she stopped walking.
He moved closer to her, almost hesitant as if he didn’t want to scare her. She knew in that moment that he was it for her.
Smiling, she held out her hand and touched his snout. “You are massive and beautiful.”
He nudged her hand when she lowered it, making her laugh. “I see. You just wanted me to stroke your ego.”
Rei snorted.
“Here’s a pair of pants for him,” Markus said from behind her.
She turned and he tossed them to her. When she turned back around she watched Rei shift back into his human form. He was safe, and gloriously naked. She took in every inch with admiration. She dropped the pants. Moving one step then two, she jumped into his waiting arms.
“Are you okay?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her tight against him.
“I’m fine. I was so worried about you.” She nuzzled his neck, taking in his manly scent.
“I’m better now that I know you’re safe. How about your grandmother? How is she dealing with all the dragon shifters?”
“She’s in the kitchen making enchiladas for everyone.”
He smiled. “I love enchiladas.” Then his expression turned serious. “The cottage is gone. Dyson set it aflame. I went inside to try to recover something.”
She pulled back to look him over. “Why would you do that? You could have burns on you.”
“I’m a dragon; fire doesn’t hurt me. I did get a few things. Drake is bringing what I recovered in the station wagon. It will be a few days before he gets here.”
“I guess we’ll just have to move in with my wealthy boyfriend.”
He smiled before he lowered his head to kiss her. When they pulled apart she felt a little dizzy.
“I love you, Gema.”
She caressed his cheek and pulled him close to her. “I love you, too, more than I ever thought I could love someone. If you are still interested, I would like to fully mate you…with the dragon fire.”
“You don’t have to.”
She leaned up on her toes. “I want to be yours, completely in every way.”
He kissed her again then bent down to pick her up and started walking toward the ranch house.
“Wait, you are not going to meet my abuela whi
le you’re naked.”
He chuckled while placing her back on the ground and going over to pick up the pants. “I want to make a good impression.”
“In that case, leave the pants,” she joked with him. He ignored her and put the pants on. Then he returned and picked her up again.
“I can walk.”
“I want to hold you as much as I possibly can.”
She couldn’t argue with that. Laying her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his neck, she felt safe and loved for the first time in her life. As he carried her, he sang to her the song she had taught him.
“If I were the king of the world…I’d make sweet love to you.”
She planned to show him just how much she loved him in return.
Epilogue
Three weeks later
No one had heard anything from Dyson in the past three weeks which could be good news, but it could also mean that since no body was found, the bastard could still be alive. Rei double the guards.
“You did this to me!” Valorie yelled from the down the hallway.
Valorie was in labor and had been for the past twelve hours. The doctor was called and Markus and Gema’s grandmother were in the bedroom, helping with the labor. Everyone else, including Gema, was waiting in the library, but they could hear what was going on, and almost wished they couldn’t.
“You’re doing great, Valorie,” Markus reassured her.
“I hate you!” Valorie yelled, then she broke into tears. “I don’t hate you, I love you.”
“The baby, she is coming!” her grandmother announced.
Everything got really quiet…then a baby cried. Everyone in the room broke out into cheers. Rei lifted Gema and spun her around in a circle. A successful breeding of the two species meant that there was hope for the Drakonians to keep their line going.
Rei didn’t let go of her but held her in his arms and looked into her eyes. “Maybe one day, when you’re ready, we could try for one or two of those.”
