A Tiger's Destiny (Tiger Protectors Book 3)

by Terry Bolryder

  The wolf smirked and stepped back, gesturing to his friends. “I’ve heard of the black dragon. But I think in this case, we might have the advantage.”

  Ran raised an eyebrow and studied his nails. “If you have one of my friends, you never have any advantage.” He locked eyes with the wolf. “Bitch.”

  The wolf snarled angrily and charged forward, only to be sent flying by Drake, who punched him and sent him twenty feet away to dent the metal sliding warehouse door on the other side.

  The wolves looked at each other for a split second and then all charged in on the dragons as one.

  “Get Quill!” Ran shouted as he and Drake began to fight off the wolves. Draven pushed his way past the wolves, vaulting a few as needed, socking a few out of the way, until he reached Quill at the table.

  He looked over his shoulder to make sure Melissa was staying in safety. He just had to get back to her before the shield wore off.

  He ran to Quill’s table and easily broke his chains. Then he lifted his wrist, checking his pulse. Weak but fine. He would live, especially because of the healing blood in his veins. But his healing powers would be weak until he recovered.

  Draven breathed deeply, summoning the dragon trying to break out of his body, and then blew dragon fire over Quill, creating a shield. Then he picked Quill up in his arms and kicked his way through the crowd, sending an enraged glare at any wolf that dared approach.

  He made it to the door and saw Melissa waiting nervously.

  “Is there anything I can do?” she asked

  He shook his head. “Just stay safe.” He set Quill down. “And watch out for him.”

  She nodded, and Draven blew dragon fire over them once again. With the sheer number of wolves, Drake and Ran would need him to fight.

  He left Quill in her care and ran back in the room. It was a complete melee, one group around Ran, being knocked back fiercely, and one group around Drake, taking their turns at a pummeling.

  There had to be at least twenty on each though, and his friends were wearing down. Ran had to be hoping to use his fire at any moment.

  “Ran!” he shouted. “They’re safe!”

  Drake let out a sigh of relief, backhanding a wolf into a wall with one fist, and Ran nodded and vaulted over the wave of wolves in front of him to join Drake and Draven at the front of the room.

  “Ready?” he asked. “Draven, put up the shield.”

  Draven did, feeling his pulse pound as the golden shield moved to encompass him, Ran, and Drake as Ran took a long, sinister-sounding breath, his chest puffing out.

  The wolves seemed to sense something was wrong, but before they could retreat, Ran stuck his head out of the shield and let out a huge ball of fire that became a wave engulfing the room.

  Draven had never seen so much fire. Ran’s body was shaking as he continued to fill the room, green fire covering everything.

  The wolves howled as they died, and when the fire stopped burning, they saw a figure approaching, stepping over the bodies of the wolves that were charred and black, littering the room.

  It was the alpha, looking even bigger and angrier, if possible. He was singed, his clothing blackened. But then he looked up at them, hatred glaring in his feral yellow eyes.

  “You’ve taken everything, but I’ll take everything from you. He pulled someone out from behind him.

  Melissa, still glowing with Draven’s shield.

  Ran started forward, eyes blazingly angry, but the wolf put her in front of him like a screen.

  “Go ahead,” he said. “Her shield is weakening. Go ahead and use your fire, dragon. I’ve taken the blood of the blue dragon. You can’t kill me.”

  Draven gritted his teeth. Ran could kill him, but it would take an incomprehensible amount of dragon fire.

  His dragon burned in him at another man threatening his mate, but he had to be careful how he acted.

  If he breathed dragon fire to Melissa, it would only shield the wolf as well.

  “Do it,” Ran rasped, sounding hoarse from using so much fire.

  “But,” Draven said.

  “Do it!” Ran said, charging forward.

  Draven had no choice. He blew hard, sending his dragon breath to protect Melissa as Ran made his move.

  Ran charged forward, taking their mate with one hand as his dragon claws came out and slashed the wolf across the face. He tossed Melissa back, and she landed in Drake’s strong arms.

  Draven ran forward to help Ran.

  “Get back,” Ran said.

  “No,” Draven said. “I’m staying with you.”

  “He’s too strong. Take care of our mate.”

  “Ran, don’t—”

  Ran whipped on him with angry, glowing green eyes. “I have to finish him. He’s healing at dragon rate.”

  The wolf put a hand up to his face and hissed at the sizzling blood oozing from his wounds. “Damn you!”

  Ran grinned. His talons were poisonous too.

  “If I’m going to die, I’ll take you with me,” the wolf said. “I hope it takes all your dragon fire,” he screamed hysterically. “You took my son, and I’ll be happy to see you die in your own flames.”

  Ran was already filling his lungs, ready to release dragon fire. Draven had no choice but to stay back, shielding himself and watching as his friend took on a foe only he could kill.

  “I’m going for Quill,” Drake said.

  Draven nodded. No amount of force could kill a wolf with super healing. It was all up to Ran now.

  His fire erupted in fierce flames, flying as high as the ceiling as it covered the wolf in a towering pyre.

  The wolf howled and lunged at Ran, digging his claws into Ran’s chest, and Ran choked at the deep wound.

  Draven felt the pain as if it were his own. It wouldn’t have been so devastating, but Ran was already weakened by the poison surrounding him and inside him.

  As the wolf howled in the flames, he twisted his claws in Ran’s chest. Ran let out a terrifying dragon shriek and bellowed fire onto the wolf in a white-green blaze stronger than anything Draven had seen.

  Finally, the wolf wasn’t there, and when the fire faded to green and then red, the wolf could be seen slumped in a smoldering heap on the ground.

  Ran fell to his knees and then onto his face.

  Draven didn’t waste a minute, breathing dragon fire over everything, neutralizing Ran’s fire so it couldn’t hurt anyone else.

  He turned Ran over and saw his graying, colorless face, the blood seeping from the deep wounds in his chest.

  Damn. “Drake! Bring Quill.”

  Drake ran into the room, running his hand through his hair. “He’s out. And he’s too weak. No more blood.”

  “Damn!” Draven said, pounding the concrete. “We have to try.”

  He pushed back Drake and ran for the hallway where Quill was.

  Melissa was sitting next to him, looking tense. When he approached, she stood. “Where’s Ran?”

  Draven jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “There.” Then he knelt over Quill, hoping to bring him to consciousness. If he could only wake up, his fire could be enough.

  But Quill was too wounded. Draven shared devastated looks with Drake, feeling numbness move over him.

  Once again, he was helpless. Once again, there was nothing he could do.

  He felt a sharp pain in his arm, felt something warm and wet touch his skin.

  He turned to see what had happened and saw Melissa run into the room. He looked down at his arm, trickling blood. Felt something odd running through him as he tried to comprehend what had just happened.

  Then he heard a high-pitched, feminine shriek.

  She couldn’t have. His heart lurched painfully as he pushed to his feet and ran back into the room.

  She was kneeling by Ran’s body, clutching a bleeding arm.

  She’d mated them both, the little idiot.

  Chapter 10

  Melissa didn’t know if it was bravery or stupidity that drove her
to Ran. She only knew Ran was right, that there was no point to a life where you couldn’t protect your friends.

  For once, Ran would have to accept someone making a sacrifice for him.

  As his blood burned like fire through her veins, she hoped it wouldn’t be in vain.

  “No,” Ran choked out, reaching for her. She stayed out of his reach. He’d tried to stop her. As Draven was distracted by Quill, she’d seen Ran on the ground and known without a doubt he was dying and she was his only hope. She’d grabbed a knife from the floor and quickly slid it along her wrist and then done the same for both Draven and Ran, joining her blood with theirs.

  And then the most intense, blazing pain had shot through her, making her scream.

  Then she’d heard Draven’s agonized roar.

  He wouldn’t approve.

  She felt the moment the blood reached her heart, felt everything echo around her like an earthquake from the inside out as she felt squeezed as if she were in a vise.

  She could feel things going black.

  Please let me be a dragon-heart. Please give me the ability to heal.

  “Dammit, you weren’t supposed to… You were supposed to stay with Dray,” Ran choked out as he watched her.

  She fell forward on the ground, unable to stay upright with the pain.

  Maybe she wasn’t dragon-hearted after all. Maybe she was just a stupid girl who’d been caught up with dragons.

  Maybe she’d just done something that couldn’t be forgiven.

  But a life without Ran wouldn’t be any life at all. She’d seen the evil in the world, and the world needed the black dragon.

  Draven was over her, turning her in his lap as she hissed in pain at being touched.

  “You stupid idiot,” he said. “Always doing what you want.”

  She gave him a pained grin and then fainted.

  In the obscurity of dreams, she saw herself walking in a blue darkness, nothing but cold air swirling around her. Had she died? She reached out a hand to touch the coolness around her, and as it touched her fingertips, she was shocked as it flew inside her, like she was suddenly a vacuum taking in all the blue mist. She arched back, suspended in midair in this strange dimension, as she felt herself overwhelmed by blue. And at the end, when there was only blackness left, she felt a flash of light and then saw her friends.

  She was back in the warehouse, but she felt like she never had before. She looked up at her friends, Draven kneeling over her, Ran looking still at her side.

  “Quick, Draven, how do I use my fire?” she asked.

  Draven blinked. She didn’t have time for him to explain. Instead, she held up her still bleeding wrist and pressed it to Ran’s, giving him her blood.

  When he didn’t immediately improve, she straddled his waist and put her mouth over his. Focusing on everything blue inside her, she blew as hard as she could, trying to fill his body with whatever she was.

  She heard him draw a hoarse breath, felt green poison rushing toward her, but knew she could take it. It melted at the place where their fires met. She stayed entwined with him, taking his poison and filling him with life. She’d never felt more powerful or more needed.

  And she could literally feel hope filling the warehouse where they rested.

  Finally, she felt a large hand gently come up to touch her back. She opened her eyes to see Ran staring at her in shock. She released him and scooted back, wiping her mouth.

  “Dragon-heart,” Drake said, letting out a long breath as he folded his arms. “I’ll be damned.”

  Draven was still on his knees, his huge body hunched, his blue eyes wet with unshed tears. “I thought I’d lose both of you.”

  She lay back on the pavement, waiting for her heartbeat to return to normal. But it didn’t feel like it would. It didn’t feel like anything would ever be the same again.

  Her prior life flashed before her. The loneliness. The pain. The sense that her family had left her behind before she’d even gotten to know them. The sense that everyone had a family but her.

  As she looked around the dragons in the room, staring at her intently, she realized she had a new family now.

  She couldn’t wait to start eternity with them.

  Ran crawled over to her and pulled her into his lap, and she enjoyed his warmth, his huge body surrounding her. She could sense the gigantic dragon inside him but didn’t feel threatened anymore.

  Draven watched them with haunted eyes until she beckoned him forward, motioning for him to join them. He did, wrapping his large arms around them as they huddled in a heap.

  Somehow they’d made it. Against the odds, they’d all come together.

  Draven’s dragon shield went up automatically, protecting them from the world. Her healing calm moved through each of them, bringing a restful peace to the situation, and Ran’s strength, his determination to always protect their triad using the powerful dragon inside him.

  For the first time in forever, Melissa felt truly complete.

  Damn, did she love these men.

  * * *

  When they arrived back at the apartment, everything seemed different. On the roof, Draven and Ran changed back to their dragon forms, and the three of them walked to the exit and down the stairs that led to the elevator.

  Draven pressed the button to their floor, and they all piled inside with a tired huff.

  She eyed Ran, standing tall and looking more peaceful than she remembered him being before. He’d always had a light, calm expression, but she’d been able to sense the turbulence underneath. Now his features were relaxed, his beautiful, long-lashed green eyes blinking lightly, his perfect lips pursed. She wanted to reach up and run a finger along the line of his jaw that could have been made with a ruler.

  He caught her looking and gave her a knowing smirk, making her heat down to her toes as she turned her focus back to the elevator doors as they closed.

  But she could see Draven standing behind her in the reflection. Tall and intimidating, legs splayed shoulder width apart and hands clasped in front of him. She gulped.

  Now that they were out of danger, she became aware of a soul-deep hunger for them that was stronger than before.

  She needed them, her mates, inside her. She needed it now. She leaned on the door with both hands, taking a deep breath.

  “It’s the mating ritual,” Draven said in a low voice, coming behind her to wrap an arm over her chest and pull her against his warm, solid chest. “We have to complete it. Have to make you ours completely.”

  She gulped. “What does that mean?”

  “You’ll accept both of us completely.”

  Her heart sped up, beating so hard she felt sure her mates could have felt it. Two men. One night. And they were both really hers, forever.

  “Honestly,” Ran said. “Compared to risking death by putting poison blood in your veins, I can pretty much promise this part will be better.”

  She bit her lip as a shudder of lust pulsed through her. She believed him.

  The doors opened and they walked into the hall, down toward their apartment. When they opened the door, darkness greeted them. Draven flicked on the light, and Ran walked in and took off his jacket. Then he turned on the light in the kitchen and opened the fridge.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked Melissa.

  She ran her tongue slowly over her lips as she studied Ran’s tall, muscled body and gorgeous features. “Yes.”

  He laughed, throwing back his head with a sound that felt like music to her, and pulled a bottle of something out of the fridge. He tossed it to her and she caught it. “Take this. Can’t have you fainting on us during the ceremony.”

  “You want anything, Draven?”

  “I can wait ‘til after,” Draven said in a low voice. His square jaw tense as he looked her over. “You?”

  “Waiting,” Ran said.

  Melissa opened the bottle shyly and drank. She had a feeling this would be more… energetic for her than for them.

  They were bot
h so tall, so powerful, and looking at her with an intense expression that bespoke a forever kind of wanting.

  She felt heat pool low inside her as she finished the shake and tossed it aside.

  “I’m ready,” she said. “What’s next?”

  Draven grinned and looked at Ran. “Want to take a bath first?”

  Ran smirked. “Abso-fuckin-lutely.”

  She looked at her skin and realized she had flecks of dust and soot on her, as well as dried blood. A bath sounded pretty good.

  “Who goes first?” she asked, looking from one to the other.

  Draven laughed and surprised her by hauling her over his shoulder to walk across the apartment with her, Ran following. When they reached the master bedroom, they walked through it to a large room on the other side.

  A huge bathtub stood on a pedestal beside the window. It was easily big enough for two dragons, and the thought of the two, hugely muscled men both naked in it made her feel like she was melting she was so hot.

  “No,” Draven said, ruining her thoughts. “We don’t usually bathe together.”

  Ran laughed. “I’d have been down, but Draven’s a spoilsport.” Draven rolled his eyes as Ran continued. “In all seriousness, we had it put in when the place was built because we wanted somewhere to take our mate together. Both Draven and I agreed sharing in a tub would be awesome.”

  She blinked. “Can they see us up here?” There was a wide window overlooking the other high buildings of the city, the dark, sparkling landscape out there. It was invigorating to see but made her feel a little exposed.

  “One-way glass,” Ran said, putting his hand to the string that would pull the shades. “But if you’re uncomfortable…”

  “Leave it open,” she said. “I like it. I just wanted to make sure…”

  “We’d never let anyone see you,” Draven said, coming forward to pull off her jacket and then her shirt, slipping it over her shoulders as he dipped to place a kiss on her now naked skin. A shudder rushed through her and her knees went weak.

  Ran started the water running and then came to help Draven in undressing their mate.

  She sighed as she felt their warm, capable hands on her, steadying her, buoying her as Ran unhooked her bra and Draven pulled it off her shoulders. Ran helped it fall to the floor and then reached for the button of her jeans, flicking it open with one finger and then pushing the zipper down, grazing her sensitive skin through her underwear as he went.