Untamed: A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Leo (Dark Khimairans Book 1)

by Decadent Kane

  "Give me the woman." Tony's tongue slicked out like a snake’s as he spoke.

  Dante snarled. "Why? So, you can kill her like you did her mother, and I assume you had a hand in her aunt's death as well?"

  With his words, Bailey stiffened. She whipped around, seeming to get her bearings, leaving the protection of Dante's arms within seconds.

  "You!" Her voice came out hoarse but clearly laced with pure malice for the man. Bailey closed the scant distance between them before Dante could pull her back. Like something out of a horror film in slow motion, Tony's hand wrapped around her neck and squeezed until chocking noises came from her.

  “Let her go, Tony, or I’ll rip your arm off your body.” Dante stood. His words came out like a growl, as if his beast were speaking more than the human side.

  Tony’s mouth opened and his tongue slid out, as if tasting Bailey. Tony stared straight at Dante as he licked her cheek. “You are her niece. You will get me into the portal.” He didn’t even blink at Dante’s threat, didn’t acknowledge it.

  Dante's lion could not be contained. He couldn't control the beast. He hadn't called for it, but he changed nonetheless. The pain was ruthless as his body contorted within seconds. His jeans ripped as his lion form sprung free. He roared at Tony and lunged for the deformity's arm. Tony had been human once, but the more he tainted himself with dark magics and Khimairan blood, the more he turned into this vile piece of trash before him.

  Teeth sank into the flesh of Tony's arm.

  Tainted copper coated Dante's mouth.

  Bailey fell to the floor with a thud.

  "You're the alpha, aren't you, Dante?" Tony barely flinched. His smile widened. "I've been looking for you and here you were all along...right under my nose. Nadia hadn't told us anything about you, even when we tortured her." He seemed pleased with himself.

  Dante bit down harder. Bones snapped. A growl rumbled out around flesh and bone.

  He hadn't seen the primal blade until it was too late.

  Dante let Tony loose. He was all that stood between Bailey and the Beller and even if she hated his kind, even if she could never look at him with love, he couldn't watch harm come to her, not when he could save her.

  He turned his back on Tony knowing what was to come. The blade was the only weapon that could truly kill him. Bailey's eyes were huge when his gaze locked onto hers. He couldn’t be sure if it was fear or disbelief or just plain shock at what was happening. But the sight broke his heart. She’d never accept him. His lion mouth formed the unfamiliar human language and he half growled the word, "Run." He needed her to leave.

  Dante felt the sting of the blade slash along his back in one slow movement as he watched Bailey back pedal for the hallway, away from danger. He roared at the pain, at the unclean thing who could take everything he loved or held dear from him. The Beller couldn't find the portal, couldn't get to Bailey. Dante would die before he allowed it. His people, his mate counted on him to stop the foe here, before Tony found out the portal was at the shop. Bellers had spent years searching for the location.

  One massive paw reached out and swiped at Tony's feet, knocking him over. Tony's eyes widened, but the fall brought him closer to Dante. He slashed at him with the blade again. Dante's rage overflowed, he barely felt the pain. He pounced on the Beller, claws ripping at the flesh of his chest with satisfying depth. The two goons had ahold of Dante’s tail, trying to pull him off.

  Tony grinned.

  White hot pain gripped Dante from his stomach. Energy leeched out of him as the knife was buried deep inside him. The blade would drain both blood and alpha magic. The longer it was inside his body the more it would take of his soul. Dante felt the tearing of his magic being pulled from his soul as if being skinned alive.

  He slashed out, over and over, attacking anywhere he thought Tony was. He'd lost track in the painful moments. He refused to allow the blade all of him, he struggled with everything he had fighting, clawing, biting at whatever he could find in the haze of pain and anger until the blade slid out of him.

  A voice came to him—strong, vile, male. "Don't worry I won't kill you yet. This is better than the woman," Tony whispered into his ear. “I’ll be back for you, alpha.”

  Dante's vision blurred. He couldn't tell where he was in the room, but Tony's and the other two human’s presence were gone. Blood oozed out of the wound in his stomach. He couldn’t lay here waiting for them to come back. He needed to get to the portal. Needed Bailey to claim it and take him home. Unless she’d already left him, which he wouldn’t blame her. He’d just have to save himself. He dug his claws into the floor and pulled himself toward where he thought the hallway was. His lion roared, his body protesting the movements. Blackness encased his vision, blissful black...

  CHAPTER NINE

  Bailey tried to drown out the commotion upstairs. He had told her to run...his lion form was huge and intimidating and astonishing and beautiful. When his lion mouth formed the word “run,” Bailey was in awe and terrified at the same time. He was protecting her, and she ran. All the way down stairs, away from the fight, knowing she needed to get the portal going as it seemed to be the only way out. He’d said his people were on the other side of it. Maybe they could help?

  Her neck hurt and no amount of rubbing where that...that creature had touched her, made it go away or feel better. The portal brightened and dulled, pulsing as Bailey neared. How the devil was she supposed to get it working? She placed a shaking hand on the top glyph, the color changed from bright yellow to a deep orange. Okay...maybe she needed to touch it more. Or maybe she'd press the wrong thing and kill everyone with portal magic. Dante was right about one thing, she couldn't blame the innocents for what happened to her family and after hearing that beast upstairs nearly confess to everything, she wasn't so sure about Khimairans being the bad guys. How had her father gotten it so wrong?

  She put her other hand on the wall just inside the pulsing orange circle. It flashed faster, and as she moved her hand along the glyphs, it throbbed even faster and then slowed down when she moved beyond the circle to the outside of the glyphs. Was the portal trying to play hot and cold with her? Bailey put her hand on the top glyph again. It pulsed fast. She moved her hand down to her other palm and the color began to change to green. Once both palms were firmly pressed in the very middle of the portal, tangles of green swirls slid over her skin, tickling goosebumps along the way. A wave of air flashed forward, stinging her cheeks and flinging her hair back. The stone warmed as if accepting her, and she nearly fell through the wall. Bailey gasped and jumped back. She had no real idea where this led other than to a place Khimairans were free to do as they pleased and Dante had a home there somewhere.

  Dante! She hadn't heard anything coming from upstairs, and he wasn't downstairs with her. Had they killed each other? Her chest tightened.

  She could save herself, just walk right through that portal, try to find help and not look back. Bailey groaned. She was at war with herself. She’d been wrong about him, but letting go of her anger was a lot harder to do.

  He'd saved her life. She couldn't leave him up there even if he was... Bailey couldn’t bring herself to think him actually dead. Khimairans were immortal she thought, he couldn’t die, right? But she’d clearly seen blood, a lot of it, when the snake-eyed bastard who’d killed her family stabbed Dante.

  Damn it, why was she such a coward? She’d called him the liar, blamed him, but here she was downstairs contemplating his life. Guilt and pain assaulted her. He took the knife for her so she could run. The thought made her stomach clench and tears sting the corner of her eyes. She pushed the feelings back. There wasn't time for sappy crap. She'd go look. If he was dead and the nasty creature was still there, then she'd go through the portal to get more help. After the strength she’d witnessed with the grotesque man’s hand around her throat, she knew she couldn’t take him and his dog-faced buddies down. Otherwise, she'd figure it out. No matter what she saw up top, she'd be sure Dante fou
nd his family. It was the least she could do. Why did her heart feel as if it would shatter if Dante wasn’t alive?

  Bailey swallowed back the nagging fear of the snake like man. She moved slowly up the stairs, her hearing straining for any sounds to tell her if someone might come for her. Satisfied when she heard nothing, she lifted the trap door and headed slowly down the hall. Her heart thrummed in her ears as she closed in on the front of the store. She wasn’t prepared for the sight before her...the blood.

  Her knees buckled but she caught herself.

  Dante lay in the middle of the floor. Blood surrounding him, shining off the dim light coming in from the street. Her little dragon figure fluttered around him. What had the little beast been doing while they fought up here? Keeping itself safe no doubt as it had blended in really well with the other figurines on the table earlier.

  The snake guy was nowhere in sight. She held her breath, waiting to see if Dante’s chest would rise and fall. Hoping with everything inside her it would. Bailey nearly willed it to as her lungs screamed at her. Her chest tightened at the sight of him.

  His chest rose.

  Bailey let her breath out and tears fell down her cheeks. The amount of relief she felt overwhelmed her, and her body shook. She took a few steps forward, hoping the snake guy really was gone. Her dragon noticed her and fluttered over to her shoulder. It lifted its wings then settled, digging sharp little claws into her skin like a cat kneading a blanket. When she reached Dante, her gaze slid over his broken naked form. Cuts marred his beautiful skin along his side, stomach, and she was pretty sure, his back. The strange glyph glowed on his chest. Is that what made him change into a lion? Why hadn't she seen his eyes change to animal eyes before? She could see it in other Khimairans.

  Anger surged forward. Bailey didn't know exactly what she was angry about, but she wanted to smack him for being so stupid. He should have run with her, then maybe he wouldn't be hurt this bad. Jesus, she didn't even know if he'd live. He was twice her size, and she'd have to drag him all the way down to the portal.

  "What the devil is wrong with you?" she asked him, her voice shaking with emotion as she admonished him knowing full well he couldn’t hear her. It didn't matter that he couldn't talk back, she needed to vent. She ripped the bottom hem of her shirt to strips, so she could wrap it around his wounds the best she could. Blood stained her palms as she worked, willing herself not to let any tears fall.

  "You are the alpha, I guess you lead your race and you put yourself in danger like that?" Her voice shrilled. Why was it so high? Why did she care so much if he was hurt like this? She barely knew the man, but every fiber inside her refused to leave him. Bailey huffed and set to grabbing Dante's hands. She was glad he'd passed out, because this would hurt.

  Baily put all her strength into pulling Dante, inch by inch down the hall. She avoided looking at him, vulnerable, naked, completely at her mercy. She had tried to wrap the wounds best she could, but the fibers from the bottom hem of her shirt were already soaked in red. The square hole leading down to the basement was a few feet away. She didn't know how she would get him down the stairs. Throwing him down would get rid of some anger... He just showed up and saved her in his shifter form. Why did men think she needed saved when the truth was men needed supervision otherwise they did dumb shit like try to get themselves killed? Her arms were sore as she finally let loose of his hands. Dante moaned but didn't come to. She had to believe she could have saved herself, she didn’t need any one...

  "Dante. Come on, man. I can't just shove you down those stairs. Wake up." She shook his shoulders. Patted his face. Pulled his eyelids open. But other than shallow breathing, Dante wasn't waking.

  The hard way it is then.

  Bailey went down a couple steps and pulled with all the leverage she had so his chest was nearly falling in the hole. She shewed the dragon off her shoulder. Her legs shook as she turned around, holding Dante's weight with her body, trying to keep him from falling. Her petite form wasn't pleased with her decision. Bailey ground her teeth and heaved Dante onto her back, over her shoulders as much as possible. Her legs nearly buckled but she would not let herself fall. She could do this. Just a few steps, then she could drag him the rest the way to the portal. His weight hefted onto her. She focused on one step at a time. Dante would owe her big time for this. Bailey could barely believe she was able to carry him. Did the portal magic help make her stronger as a guardian?

  Sweat sprung up along her upper lip and brow as she took step after slow step. Her entire body shook by the time she made it to the last one, and she fell to her knees, catching Dante's fall to the cement floor. Her legs took the brunt. She would be bruised in the morning. She let him down slow and then lay next to him, huffing breath after breath. Her arms, back, and legs felt like rubber. She allowed herself several deep breaths before standing back up and pulling him to the portal. She was almost there. His people would be on the other side, and then she could rest.

  Bailey pulled Dante right up to the portal. Her dragon fluttered back to her shoulder. She'd need to find a name for it. She put her palms in the middle as she had done before and the same light swirled up, warming her hands. Once her palms felt as if they might fall through, she turned back to Dante and struggled to get him through the portal. The magic slipped over her. Her stomach twisted, but Bailey kept tugging at him until finally the magic subsided and they were in a cave lit by glowing crystals. There was an opening just ahead. Bailey tried not to concentrate on her body, on how tired she was, or how much her stomach churned. She dragged Dante all the way out of the cave.

  A breeze ruffled her ponytail, and she stood arching her back, trying to stretch the muscles. Portal magic was not her friend. Her little blew a tiny swirl of smoke at her. “I think I’ll call you Smokey. I know. Not very original.” She shrugged. The little creature just cocked its head to the side.

  Birds flapped as leaves rustled in the trees surrounding her. The moon shone bright along the sky lighting up shadows and woods. They were in the Rockies, nature all around, but no cabin in sight. Terrific. Could this night get any worse?

  A low growl came from the right. Bailey snapped her head in its direction. A mountain lion swished its tail, ears back, and mouth open. She stayed on all fours, trying to look as non-threatening as possible, but she'd never encountered a mountain lion before. How was she supposed to react? Don't run.

  Bailey couldn't take her eyes off the big cat. It stared her down. Dante moaned and the mountain lion pounced. She knew this was the end. She'd pulled his naked, gorgeous ass all the way through the shop, into the portal to get him to his people only to die by mountain wildlife. Her eyes were so transfixed on the cat leaping toward her, she hadn't noticed the bear come in from the side until it crashed into the lion.

  A wonderful, amazing, burly creature...with dark brown horns?

  Bailey shook her head. She didn't wait for a better opportunity. It couldn't have horns. Stress was getting to her. Baily crawled to Dante's side, grabbed his hands, and began pulling him back into the cave, hopefully into safety, as Smokey dug little claws deeper into her skin. Dante probably wouldn't make it through the night, but she couldn't sit here and let them both be eaten by wild animals. She'd take off the remains of her shirt and re-bandage him. Come morning she'd head out and search for his people. They had to know when one of their own had crossed the portal. At least she kept telling herself that.

  After they were hopefully safe in the cave, Bailey took another look outside, just a peek to see if the bear and lion were still there. She hadn't heard much shuffling, though she wasn't listening for it until now either.

  No mountain lion.

  No bear.

  Bailey leaned against the cave entrance, sliding down until her ass hit the ground. She could relax. Nothing was coming to get them. At least not yet. She let the woodsy scent of the mountain fill her lungs several times before heading back to Dante. She needed to get his wounds bound again. Her arms and legs felt so
heavy, but she pushed forward. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't do everything she could to help him.

  "How did you get here?" A female voice came from behind her.

  Bailey's shoulders slumped. "I really hope you are a Khimairan." She turned. She never thought she’d actually ever say that phrase.

  A slender, but toned female stood at the entrance to the cave. She sauntered forward, hips swaying. As she came into view with the light from the crystals Bailey's mouth dropped. Horns...there were horns on her head.

  "Were you the bear?" The words just flew out of her mouth. She blamed it on the never-ending night. She stared at the horns resting between thick strands of straight brown hair cut short, reaching just below her jaw line.

  "Want to feel me up?" The female crossed her arms.

  Bailey's gaze dropped to her bright amber eyes. "Excuse me?"

  "My horns. You're staring."

  "Sorry." Heat crept over Bailey's cheeks. But she needed help now, so she pulled in her shock and said, "I have Dante back here. He's hurt. Are you one of his people?"

  "My name's Sadie. Show him to me."

  Bailey took her to where she'd left Dante. He looked awful, his face had sunken in and for the first time of really looking at him since this night had started, her heart constricted. He really could die. "Please tell me you are a healer, Sadie, ’cause I don't think he's going to make it."

  Sadie lowered herself to Dante. Brows furrowed as she unwrapped his wounds. "What's your name?"

  "Bailey."

  "I want you to go over to the portal and—"

  "Oh no, you don't. I didn't drag him through all that just to be sent home. I'm staying, live or die, I won't go back until I know." Bailey's anger returned with a vengeance.

  "There's a bag by it. I need it."

  Insert foot in mouth. "Oh." Bailey dashed to the portal and found a bag resting along the wall. She hadn't even noticed it when they came through. Bailey took it back to the other Khimairan—well, she was pretty sure Sadie was Khimairan. Bear had horns, she had horns. "Here and uh...thanks for saving us from the mountain lion."