“I saw him go down,” Nora said vehemently. She squinted at the name on his uniform. “Officer Smith, I'm not lying. Why would I incriminate myself? I killed a man! I did what I had to do, to save the old lady!”
“Y-you killed a man?” the younger officer stammered.
“I...don't know. It wasn't a man.” Nora took a deep breath. Oh, what the heck. “It was more of a snake.”
“A snake.” Officer Smith's bushy brows shot up. “You killed a snake with your bare hands, Miss Garcia?”
“With a broken bottle,” Nora said through clenched teeth. “Look, I'm telling you what happened here. Two...males were attacking an elderly lady. They were going to kill her in that alley. They would have killed me too, but I managed to stab one of them in the neck and run out. Then when I was trying to get away from that s—” She swallowed and amended quickly, “...that shit, another guy came and they started fighting. I escaped. So did the old lady.”
“The old lady escaped?” Officer Smith sucked in a breath. He started chewing his lip nervously under his mustache.
Odd, Nora thought as she eyed the cop suspiciously. Officer Smith looked kinda worried and troubled by the news. Shouldn't he be relieved instead? An innocent old lady had gotten away. That was good. But from the look on his face, Officer Smith obviously didn't think so.
The night couldn't get any more freakish.
Oh, but she was wrong.
“Good evening, officers,” a deep, commanding male voice boomed behind them.
Nora recognized the voice immediately. She spun round and saw that handsome, silver-eyed Damn Slayor.
But up close, he was even more handsome. He was downright gorgeous. He was very tall, head and shoulders above the two officers, and he had broad, powerful shoulders and sharp, chiseled features.
Despite his height and his brawny physique, his grin was boyish and a little shy. Nora thought he was in his early thirties at most. But that was before she looked into his eyes. The man looked young, but his eyes told a different story. His eyes were shrewd and wary, and he noticed everything with one glance. Those were eyes that saw beneath the mere surface and appearance of things, eyes that had seen too much violence and destruction.
And those eyes weren't silver any more.
His eyes were a mesmerizing shade of lilac. When he smiled at her, she caught tiny flecks of silver winking from the depths of his stunning, lilac eyes.
“You!” she squawked. “Officers, it's him! He's the one. He fought the snake!”
Rounding on him, she snarled, “Tell 'em! Tell them what you saw, what you fought. Tell these police officers about that goddamn snake, that Damn Slayor!”
CHAPTER TEN
“I don't know about snakes M'am,” Edriq answered, trying to look as innocent and innocuous as possible. “But I thought I heard some noise when I passed this street earlier.”
“Noise! It was more than just noise. You…!” The woman gaped at him. Then her eyes narrowed and he could hear her knuckles cracking as she balled her fists. The woman wasn't stupid. She knew what he was doing right away.
He was trying to poke holes in her story. She looked really pretty when she was angry, but Edriq was careful to take a step back. He didn't want to get socked in the jaw.
“You were here earlier?” the younger officer asked. “What is your name, sir?”
“Edriq Haeken. I was taking a walk round the block and I passed this street.” It was the truth. He just didn't tell them the reason for his walk.
“According to Miss Garcia, a crime took place right here. Did you hear or see anything unusual, sir?”
“Hmm.” Edriq cocked his head. “I might have...”
The younger officer immediately whipped out his notepad.
“I think I might have seen some large—rats,” Edriq said in all seriousness. He planted his hands on his hips and went on indignantly, “It's a disgrace. Having rats running willy-nilly all over the place. Some of them are this huge!” He placed his hands about two feet apart to indicate just how monstrous these rodents were.
“And they had tails this long!” He spread his arms wide and shuddered. “Those rats could kill someone, you know.” Edriq huffed and glowered at the officers. “So what are you going to do about it?”
“Us?” Officer Smith looked flabbergasted.
“Yes. You. You're the police. It's your job to take care of our problems. And we have a huge rat problem, officers.”
Edriq glanced at the lovely Miss Garcia. She wasn't looking at him. “I don't know why you're doing this,” she mumbled.
Squaring her shoulders, she pushed Edriq out of her way and marched up to the two cops.
“Officers,” she began. “I am very sure I saw...”
“A snake,” Officer Smith deadpanned. “You killed a snake. Or was it a rat—with a long, snake-like tail?”
“I showed you the alley...”
“And there was nothing, Miss Garcia,” Officer Smith finished impatiently. “We went into the alley with you and we saw no body, no blood, no broken bottle. Just a dumpster, and there's nothing in the dumpster either. We checked, at your request,” he said pointedly, wrinkling his nose.
She shook her head slowly. “You don't believe me,” she said in an angry whisper.
“M'am, you can come down to the station and make a statement, if you want,” the young officer said gently.
She shrugged. “What's the point? You're not going to do anything. There's no one to arrest, no leads to follow, no evidence to collect...there's nothing to do.” Her eyes widened suddenly. “The old lady,” she said. “Can you check on her? That's the least you can do. Make sure she's safe.”
“What old lady?” Officer Smith gulped.
“Do you know where she lives, Miss Garcia?”
Her shoulders slumped. “No,” she sighed.
“Is there anything else we can do for you, M'am?”
“I don't think so,” she said unhappily.
Edriq nodded as the officers tipped their hats at them and walked away.
Once they were left alone, she whirled round to face him. “Why. Why did you lie to the cops.”
Edriq took a sharp breath. What could he tell her?
“Who are you, Edriq Haeken. What are you. And what did you kill,” she snapped, biting off each word.
Edriq gazed at her for a long while, resisting the urge to touch her, to smooth her matted hair away from her flushed, scowling face and tell her that everything was okay and she was safe. But he didn't want to lie to her. He would never lie to this woman. Ever.
Beneath her anger, he saw her fear and confusion. “What's your name?” Edriq asked softly.
“Huh?” She blinked, completely taken aback.
“You know my name. It's only fair that I know yours.”
She narrowed those perceptive, steely brown eyes at him. “If I tell you my name, will you answer my questions?”
“Yes.”
“Nora. My name is Nora Garcia,” she said, looking him straight in the eye. “Now. Answer the questions, Damn Slayor.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“There's a Blazing Beans outlet across the street that's open twenty-four hours,” Edriq said. “We'll talk there. I don't want you standing in the cold, in the open, in plain sight of those damn Slayors.”
Nora opened her mouth. She wanted answers now. Right now. Right here. She wasn't going to have her head messed with, again. Tonight had been too weird. Unfortunately, in the presence of this very hot, handsome and strangely protective man, her head seemed to have taken a much needed vacation. And with her brain temporarily out of the picture, her raging hormones had gleefully jumped into the driver's seat.
Nora swallowed. “I...”
“And I'm not a Damn Slayor. I'm not a cold-blooded, murderous snake.” His voice was flat but she detected a quick flash of anger and contempt in his eyes.
Those Damn Slayors were vile, contemptib
le creatures. She knew that already. They had been trying to kill a sweet, little old lady. What kind of sick fucks were they?
“So what are you?” Nora scowled. To her astonishment, Edriq smiled and nonchalantly took her hand. Gently he tucked it into the crook of his arm and strolled across the road.
They entered the Blazing Beans coffee shop and several of the staff greeted Edriq. Edriq grinned and exchanged some friendly banter as he walked her to a corner booth.
“You're like a VIP here. Come here often?” Nora asked as she slid into the small, cozy booth.
“Not that often,” Edriq replied with a lopsided smile. After a pause, he said, “My brother, Zul, is the Managing Director of Blazing Beans.”
Nora's brows lifted. “Your brother...”
Edriq shrugged. “Zul's not related to me by blood. But he's my blood brother. Know what I mean?”
She nodded and cast him a sidelong glance. Blazing Beans was a very successful coffee chain. They had outlets all over the city. If his brother was the Managing Director, then Edriq probably held some high managerial position in the Blazing Beans corporate hierarchy. No wonder he knew all the staff here. He had the bearing of someone in authority, a leader and a fighter. She bet he was a formidable opponent in the boardroom. He could be the CFO, CIO or COO. Or maybe even the CEO.
Nora huffed. She wasn't going to be sidetracked. It didn't matter if he was a high-flying, mega-successful business person and how many letters he had before or after his name. Edriq Haeken had lied to the cops. People who lied to the cops usually had something to hide.
“I'll get us some coffee. What would you like?” Edriq asked smoothly.
“Blazing Black. No sugar,” Nora answered without thinking. She always picked up two Blazing Blacks on her way to work. One for her, one for Mario. Mario would bring cupcakes and muffins, freshly baked by his fiancee, Julia. They would always have a quick bite and just relax with each other before their shift started.
Edriq grinned, recognizing a Blazing Beans fan. “Excellent choice.” He slid out of the booth and headed to the counter. “Be right back.”
Nora was turning her hands over in front of her when Edriq came back with the coffee.
“The blood,” she muttered. “All gone. Blood doesn't evaporate. I should know.”
Edriq pushed the large cup of aromatic black coffee in front of her. She wrapped her hands around the cup and stared at the pitch black brew, a muscle working in her jaw.
“Black,” she said at last. She snapped her eyes up. “Those Damn Slayors had black blood. They're not...human.”
Edriq nodded slowly and stirred his coffee.
Nora tuned out all the noise and movement in the cafe. She watched the man sitting opposite her intently, searching his handsome, deceptively human features. His hands were large and calloused, and she glimpsed holsters under his leather jacket. His intense, silver-flecked lilac eyes held her gaze unwaveringly.
Holding her breath, Nora leaned forward and said, “Neither are you, Edriq Haeken.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Edriq saw the challenge in Nora's eyes. She was daring him to deny it, deny the truth and lie to her face. The same way he had so effortlessly lied to those human cops.
“You're right, Nora,” he answered. “I'm a Dracan.”
She continued eyeing him until she was satisfied that he had spoken the truth. She continued leaning forward. She wasn't afraid of him.
Edriq hid a smile. He liked that. Very much.
He wanted her to come closer, a lot closer.
Her brows creased. “Dracan,” she began slowly. “Is that your religion, race or...”
“That is what I am,” Edriq replied. “I came to Earth from Draca, many, many years ago. Almost seven human decades ago in fact. Draca is one of the continents on the planet Korra. The other continent is Syndor. Most of the Syndorians are drafted into the Syndor army at a young age. The soldiers of the Syndor army are called Slayors. Or Damn Slayors, if you will.”
Nora's throat moved but other than that, she held herself absolutely still. “Go on,” she said tightly.
“The Dracans are a dragon-shifting, peace-loving people. We kept to our lands and never caused offense to the Syndorians. Yet the Syndorians attacked and invaded Draca. The Slayors outnumbered our soldiers and they massacred our civilians. Our king ordered us to gather the surviving civilians and get them to safety. We were to get them away from Korra. There was nothing left for us on Korra. Our people, our lands, our lives were completely destroyed. King Rykor ordered us to take as many civilians as we could and search for a safe haven.”
Edriq paused and finished his coffee in two gulps. “Thirteen ships took off from Korra, and the Slayors shot twelve down. Only one ship escaped and crash landed on Earth.”
Nora blinked and shook her head slowly. “You're telling me that there are dragons living among us.”
“Only three soldiers were assigned to each ship. The rest of the Dracans on board were civilians. Rohan, Zul and I are the only three weredragon warriors left now. Rohan was the Crown Prince of Draca, so he's our king now. After we got the survivors out, Rohan incinerated the smoldering wreckage of our ship. We found a city and our people tried their best to rebuild their lives. We were on an alien planet and we had to try our best to blend in. Our people stopped shifting and their dragons grew dormant. Most of the Dracans can no longer shift now.”
“But you can,” Nora said breathlessly. It wasn't a question.
Edriq had to smile. The woman seemed to know him even before he could tell her more about himself.
“Yes. So can Rohan and Zul. We are not civilians. We are Draca's Dragons, soldiers of the Draca army. We need our dragons to fight and keep our people safe. Because we held on to our dragons, our life spans remained the same as when we were on Draca. We don't age as quickly and we live longer than the humans on Earth.”
Nora took a sip of her cold coffee in silence. “And I thought the Damn Slayors were members of some underground crime gang,” she mumbled with a short, brittle laugh.
“The Slayors are not gangsters,” Edriq said grimly. “They are the brutal, savage soldiers of the Syndor army. They've been hardened by their harsh training, and if they show any sign of weakness or emotion, they are destroyed.”
Nora shuddered. “And they can shift into snakes.”
“Yes. It takes discipline and iron will to retain your shifting abilities on Earth. It was stressful, physically and mentally, to adjust quickly to the atmosphere on Earth. To hold on to our shifting abilities took extra effort and energy. But the Slayors are soldiers, tough, cold and merciless. They found us, and they'll do everything to wipe out the surviving Dracans.”
Nora chewed her lip as she nodded to herself. “That little old lady...” she began. “She's a Dracan.”
“Yes. One of the civilians on that ship with us.”
“I thought she was human.”
“If I'm not wrong, I think her dragon has been asleep for a long time, more than half a century now,” Edriq said, quirking a smile. “And she probably has a human husband, human children and grandchildren.”
When her eyes and mouth rounded, he went on levelly, “Many Dracans have found human mates and settled into simple, peaceful, productive lives. Some of the people you work with may be Dracans, or descendants of Dracans.”
He leaned forward and looked deep into her eyes. “Dracans are very sexually compatible with humans.”
“Oh.” Nora blinked and swallowed, acutely aware of the blush blooming across her cheeks. “Oh.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Nora looked down, suddenly unable to meet the heat and intensity of Edriq's gaze. No man had ever looked at her like this before. There was desire in his eyes, but also a fierce, raw want and yearning.
She didn't know what to feel. Flattered? Frightened? Or perhaps she shouldn't be feeling anything at all.
Edriq was a stranger. There was n
o reason she should feel anything for a stranger.
Yet…
He wasn't a stranger. She felt as if she'd known him for a long time, from the beginning of time. Even though he had spoken calmly, she could feel his deep pain and anger as he told her about the atrocities suffered by his people.
She knew he had told her the truth. She believed him, with every fiber of her being.
And she had been right about him. Edriq was a leader, a fighter, a protector. Together with his brothers, he'd led his people to a strange new planet and defended them against their enemies. He protected not just the Dracans, but their human mates, families and friends.
She had saved a Dracan's life tonight. Maybe in the course of her work as a paramedic, she had saved many more Dracans and their families. Maybe some of the Dracans had saved her too, like that brave elderly Dracan woman. She had urged Nora to run and save herself. She wasn't afraid for herself and she wasn't afraid to die if it meant Nora would be safe.
Nora looked up and met Edriq's silver eyes. She gasped and blinked rapidly when she saw something rising from him. Something huge, ferocious and terrifying.
She jerked and stifled a panicked cry when Edriq reached out and covered her hand with his. His touch seemed to steady her and she dragged a ragged breath into her lungs.
“What…?”
“You're looking at my dragon, Nora,” he said quietly.
“Y-your d-dragon,” she stammered, staring up towards the ceiling.
“Yes. But only you can see it. The other humans in the cafe can't see my dragon.”
She muttered the only lame thing that came to mind. “I see.”
It was indeed his dragon. His dragon took shape right before her eyes, rising from him and towering above him. But it didn't take solid form. His dragon flickered and glowed like a hologram. Both the dragon and the man were staring at her, their silver eyes locked on her. They were one, yet separate. At the moment, Nora knew that it was the man who was in control. The great beast tried to lurch towards her but Edriq clenched his fist and the dragon jerked back as if it had been yanked back by a leash.
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