by Sophie Stern
It felt like a lifetime had passed since Declan had left the treehouse even though it had only been a few hours. He could see Zoa now. She was safe. Christopher had kept her safe.
A feeling of relief washed over him. Everything was going to be okay. They were all going to be okay. He might not have killed Kellen – yet – but he would. In the meantime, he got to be with her, and oh, he wanted to be with her.
“Hey,” Zoa jumped up. She scurried over to Declan and hugged him. He hugged her back and then kissed her right in front of his brothers. He didn’t care if they knew he liked her. She’d spent the night in his bed, after all. It was kind of obvious that he cared for her.
Declan did like Zoa. He liked her a lot. She was heaven to a dragon like him. She was soft and sweet and wonderful, and she made him feel like no matter what else happened in the world, everything would be okay as long as they were together.
“You’re back,” Zoa whispered, and Declan realized that she’d been worried about him just as he’d been worried about her.
When was the last time someone worried about him?
Had anyone ever been afraid for him before?
Declan looked past her to his brother. Zoa and Christopher had been playing some sort of card game when Declan and Brian returned. Christopher stood, too, and he furrowed his brows. He also seemed concerned about Declan, but it didn’t feel the way it felt when Zoa was the one worried.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“What happened?”
It was obvious that there was some sort of problem. Christopher could tell, even without Declan saying anything, that the mission hadn’t exactly gone as planned. Declan knew that everything was written on his face. His brother could probably tell that he’d screwed up somehow and that he felt bad.
Declan closed his eyes as Zoa wrapped her arms around him a little more tightly. He tried to imagine they were in a different world. In any other lifetime, he could pretend that they were just ordinary people. If they didn’t have to deal with Kellen, he’d take her away, he thought. That’s what he would do. The two of them could go somewhere nice, somewhere wonderful. Maybe they’d visit Dragon Isle and explore the beauty of the old castle there. Perhaps they’d go to a tiny shifter town in the mountains and just be. He’d heard Honeypot was nice this time of year.
“He wasn’t there,” Declan finally said.
“Kellen blew up the house,” Brian explained, climbing into the house. He stood upright beside Declan and shook his head, obviously just as frustrated as Declan was. “He destroyed everything before we even arrived. Declan suspects he’s aware that Zoa is missing.”
“He knows you’re the one who saved me,” Zoa looked up at Declan.
“Yeah,” he managed to choke out. That was the problem, wasn’t it? Declan had saved her. He’d rescued her. Now he had to deal with the wrath of someone horrible, but he didn’t care.
He didn’t care at all about Kellen.
Maybe Kellen would be clever and try to destroy the company’s reputation, or perhaps he’d make a big show and invade the treehouse. Who knew? Maybe he’d been lying in wait for Declan’s return, and he’d tracked them back to the forest.
All Declan knew was that no matter what happened, he didn’t give a shit about himself as long as Zoa was safe. He’d do anything for Zoa. He’d die for her.
“Yeah, ‘cause she’s your mate,” Brian rolled his eyes.
“What?”
“You just said you’d die for me,” Zoa looked up at him, blinking. “Is that true, Declan?” She licked her lips, and he wanted to kiss her so badly right then. If he could spend hours just teasing those sweet, soft lips, then he would. Maybe one day. Then, she added a question he’d been waiting for, one he’d been scared to answer. “Am I your mate?”
This was the moment.
This was the moment he’d been waiting for.
He was faced with a choice, and he knew he had to make the right one. Was Zoa his mate? He believed it more than anything else. He hadn’t believed in mates for a very long time.
His mother had always promised they were real, that true love was a possibility for all of her children, but Declan had always passed it off as a fairy tale. Then he’d met Zoa, and everything just seemed so right. It was unlike anything he’d ever expected or planned for.
Yeah, Zoa was his mate.
“Yes,” he said. Declan nodded, looking at her. He couldn’t – wouldn’t – deny it. Not to himself, and not to anyone else. He could be honest. For her. He’d do it for her. “You’re my mate.”
“Congratulations,” Christopher grinned, chuckling. “Took you long enough to admit it, you know?”
“Not the time,” Declan chided his brother. There would be plenty of time for Brian and Christopher to tease Declan later. Not that they had any room to talk. Both of them were unmated, and Declan wondered if they’d be able to admit it when they met their own mates. Judging by the way Christopher eyed his assistant every time she walked by, Declan figured it was a safe bet that neither one of his brothers would be any smarter than he was.
Right now, though, they needed to focus. They needed a plan. They needed to figure out how they were going to find Kellen, and how they were going to defeat him. Since he was no longer in one place, it would be more difficult. Still, a guy like Kellen wouldn’t stay in hiding for long. He’d come out of the woodwork, and probably pretty damn soon.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Christopher waved his hands, as though he thought Declan was being over-the-top. Christopher glared, irritated. He looked exactly the same way he had when they were younger and would fight over their shared birthday presents.
“Dude,” Brian shook his head. “Let it go, man.”
“But he-”
“Let it go,” Brian repeated. Christopher sighed, but nodded. He knew as well as Declan and Brian did that they needed to decide what their next steps would be. Zoa needed to be protected at all costs. If Kellen managed to get his hands on her again, Declan knew that the jerkwad shifter wouldn’t be as nice this time.
“We need a plan,” Declan pointed out. “Before we do anything else, we need to have a plan.” He felt proud of himself for taking charge. Usually, that was Brian’s department.
“I don’t think that we do,” Brian said slowly.
“Why not? Why wouldn’t we need a plan?”
“Because he obviously followed us.”
“Are you sure?” Declan was confused. “I looked. I didn’t see anyone.”
“I kept checking behind us,” Brian told his brothers and Zoa. He crossed his arms over his chest. “And I didn’t see anything until we were almost back. It was clever, really. A light blue dragon was flying behind us.”
“Light blue?”
“Light blue,” Brian nodded. “It blended almost perfectly with the sky.”
“He’s got a dragon?” Zoa squeaked out.
Declan looked at his brothers. They all knew what this meant. There was going to be a fight, and it was going to be a nasty one. Worst of all, it was going to be a fight for Zoa. She was the one that Kellen wanted, and Declan had a feeling he’d do anything to get his pet back.
“He might have one dragon,” Declan said, “but he’s still no match for us. Don’t you worry, Zoa. We’re going to keep you safe.”
They had to.
She was his mate.
Chapter 10
Zoa wasn’t an idiot. She knew that if Kellen reached the treehouse, he’d attack. She wasn’t worried about him dropping a bomb or planting explosives. No matter how he’d gotten rid of the mansion, he wouldn’t be doing that here. Why not? Because Zoa was here, and Kellen really, really wanted Zoa. She had her suspicions that Kellen would try to kill Declan. Kellen was an asshole, and guys like him wanted more than to reclaim their prize.
They wanted payback.
Well, Zoa wasn’t okay with that. She wasn’t going to just sit back and let Kellen come and attack the man she loved. Fuck.
Had she really just thought that? It must be that mating thing Christopher was talking about. She didn’t know if the mating bond went both ways. Like, a dragon could have a mate, but could a human? She didn’t know, but it wasn’t the time to ask questions. It was the time for action.
“I don’t want him to hurt you,” she said to Declan. That was what she was worried about the most. She couldn’t let someone like Kellen hurt her lover. Declan was too good and too kind. He needed to be protected.
“I’m a good fighter.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“He won’t be able to get close to me.”
“Kellen is smarter than he looks,” she said. Perhaps that had been her biggest problem. She’d underestimated Kellen. Now she worried that Declan was doing the same thing. This was the man who had manufactured an incredibly elaborate plan just to kidnap her. It had worked, and he’d gotten her. Kellen might be cruel and crappy, but he wasn’t dumb. After all, that was why he’d hired Declan’s office. He’d wanted a safe way to lock her up and keep her hidden.
“I’m not a tame dragon, love,” Declan whispered, lowering his voice. “Contrary to what you may think, I only play nice in the bedroom.”
Zoa blushed. She wouldn’t have called what they’d done “playing nice.” If anything, she thought they’d played pretty damn dirty. Maybe she had more to learn about dragons than she thought.
“How much time do we have?” Zoa asked.
Declan reached for his tablet, which was sitting on the kitchen counter. He pressed a button and opened up an app she didn’t recognize. Then he started pointing.
“I have security cameras surrounding this entire place,” he said.
“It’s a genius system,” Christopher commented.
“There are also alarms linked to it throughout the woods,” Brian added. “Declan doesn’t play games when it comes to protecting his home.”
“Yeah, or his mate,” Christopher muttered.
“If Kellen approaches, we’ll know right away.”
“What if he flies?” Zoa asked. That was how Declan, Christopher, and Brian had gotten around. They’d flown. What if Kellen did the same thing? If he flew to access this place, would the alarms still sound? Kellen had a dragon in his midst, after all. He could go for a ride.
“There are cameras in the tops of the trees that surround my house,” Declan told her. “Don’t worry, princess. We’ll be safe.”
At least, they would until Kellen arrived. What then, though? Kellen had destroyed his beautiful mansion. Now he was coming for this place, too, and it was just as lovely. The first floor of the treehouse had paintings that lined the walls, and they were obviously very expensive and hard to acquire. Each one had a little metal plaque beneath it that listed the name of the artist, as well as the date Declan had purchased it. The couches were lovely, and the family portraits were lovely, and the design was lovely.
“We shouldn’t stay here and wait for him,” Zoa said. “He’s going to destroy everything.”
“He won’t.”
“He could,” she whispered, exasperated. What if that happened? How would she ever forgive herself? Surely, there must be another way of locating Kellen.
“He won’t,” Declan said. He seemed to sense her anxiety, because it only took him two strides to reach her, and then he was kissing her. Instantly, all of her fear melted away, and she was caught up in the fact that he adored her. “He won’t.”
THAT NIGHT, ZOA AND Declan made love slowly and sweetly. When they were done, they held each other for a long time, but neither one of them talked. There wasn’t really anything to say. They didn’t know where Kellen had gone. He probably owned a lot of properties, and he most likely had them all under different names and shell corporations. Figuring out where those locations were would take time, though, and that was something they didn’t have.
Zoa knew where the office was that Kellen had first taken her. She’d suspected that perhaps Kellen had gone there to hide out, but Declan had sent one of his employees to check it out, and she hadn’t seen anything. In fact, she’d reported to him that the location had been completely emptied out. Zoa wondered if that meant it hadn’t ever been a real office space at all. She felt even more dumb, if that was even possible.
Declan didn’t seem worried about his plan to simply wait until Kellen attacked and then to defend his home, but it didn’t sit right with Zoa. Kellen was a dick. He was also wildly clever. If he knew where they were hiding, it was only a matter of time before he came to them, sure, but there was going to be a twist. There was always a twist.
It was nearly 2AM when Christopher knocked on the door to the bedroom and pushed it open.
“Hey,” he said, popping his head into the room. “It’s time.”
So, Kellen was almost there. He’d waited until the middle of the night, then he’d come. Zoa understood the plan, and she knew perfectly well what her mate and his two brothers were capable of, but she still found herself scared and nervous about what was going to happen next.
Declan was awake beside her. He reached for her and squeezed her hand.
“It’ll be fine,” he said. Then they headed downstairs where Brian was waiting. Together, the four of them left the little treehouse and wandered out into the woods a safe distance away. They could still see the treehouse clearly, but they were hidden beneath the cover of darkness.
Declan kept checking his tablet. He could see that there was a dragon flying in low. It was hovering just above the trees as it made its way toward the treehouse. When the dragon was almost directly above the treehouse, Declan handed the tablet to Christopher.
“Watch for any additional players,” he said. They weren’t sure whether Kellen would actually appear tonight, or whether he’d just bring the dragon to do his dirty work. Either way, the dragon brothers were ready.
Brian and Declan charged toward the treehouse, shifting as they ran. They leapt up toward the dragon and started to fight right there above the treehouse. Zoa was amazed as they watched the three dragons growling at each other. She’d never seen anything like it before. The sounds and the howls were insane to her as they fought over and over. They were hitting each other and slamming into one another. One dragon would barrel toward another in the air, and then the other one would react.
Soon another dragon approached, joining the fight. Zoa couldn’t tell whether it was fighting against Declan and Brian or with them. It was impossible to tell, and soon the sky was filled with the sounds of the fight. The dragons were soaring into one another, hitting each other repeatedly, yet somehow, none of them fell. They managed to stay right in the air where they belonged.
Then another dragon came.
And another.
“Shit,” Christopher muttered. He looked at the tablet again. Zoa peered over and saw what Christopher was looking at. Alarms were going off throughout the forest, but not because there were a lot of people. After all, Kellen had killed a lot of his men. No, the alarms were going off because there were even more dragons approaching the treehouse. “Hold this,” Christopher shoved the tablet into Zoa’s hands. “And don’t move.”
Christopher took off, shifting, too. He leapt up and started fighting with his brothers. The dragons were growling and hissing at each other in the air. None of them were breathing fire, but occasionally, one of them would let out a loud howl and smack another with its tail or its wings. Zoa tried not to panic or freak out. Instead, she looked down at the tablet.
“Strange,” she muttered. Why were so many dragons coming here? Tonight? It seemed like this was a quiet place most of the time. If Kellen’s men had come to attack, that would have been one thing, but from Zoa’s point of view, it didn’t look like the dragons were attacking the Monster brothers. They were kind of just attacking everyone.
There was a buzzing sound from beside her. Christopher had left his phone when he’d gone to fight with the others, and she reached for it. There was an alert on the phone, so Zoa didn’t even
need to unlock it to read what it said.
EMERGENCY IN SAPPHIRE FOREST. EMERGENCY. A DRAGON IS IN DANGER. ALL ABLE-BODIED SHIFTERS REQUESTED TO ASSIST. REPEAT. A DRAGON IS IN DANGER.
The alert went on, but Zoa’s heart sunk. So that was it. That was the twist. This wasn’t a group of dragons who were all evil and trying to kill Declan. Aside from the very first dragon that arrived, the light blue one who worked for Kellen, these were citizens of Sapphire Island. They probably knew Declan and his brothers. They were probably trying to help.
They just didn’t know what the problem was. They’d shown up and seen a fight, and they’d joined in. Apparently, dragons were unable to resist a good fight. Crap.
“Hey!” Zoa stepped forward to call out to them. She started walking toward the treehouse. How could she get their attention? She had to let them know that whatever was happening wasn’t the reality. They needed to stop fighting because Kellen was trying to distract them for some reason.
What if she launched some sort of firework?
Or maybe she could shoot off a flare.
She didn’t have anything, though. She didn’t have anything except her voice. She opened her mouth and screamed, but the dragons were too loud. They were making wild, horrible noises, and not a single one of them noticed her.
Then she heard a hiss from behind her, and Zoa realized that this night was far from over.
He was here.
He was here on the ground with her while everyone else was in the sky. He’d brought the distractions, and he’d separated her from her protectors. He’d thought of everything.
That was Kellen’s way.
“So, it’s you,” she whispered, turning around. She stared into his beady eyes. He was just as horrible as he’d been the last time. He smelled bad, and he looked bad, and he seemed...well, bad. When Zoa had been locked up in his home, she’d been hurting and scared and afraid. Now she wasn’t afraid anymore. She was just tired.
