by Zara Zenia
“So,” I say pointedly, the word like an icy dagger hanging in the air. That’s all I say, an eyebrow arched, making eye contact with each and every one of them until one of them squirms and breaks.
It’s Morgan that says something first, but it’s not in any language I understand. He grumbles something to Lucas, but I don’t even try to figure it out. They’ll tell me when they’re ready. All I can do is enjoy my cocoa while I wait.
Chapter Seven
Morgan
“We should have eaten before coming here,” I say in Greek, knowing neither the girl nor the aliens will know what I’m saying. “I am hungry and in need of a hunt.” The cup of hot cocoa in front of me is just a tease. Reminding me of the simple pleasures I can no longer enjoy. Haven’t been able to enjoy in many centuries. It doesn’t normally bother me much, but refusing the token from this woman, made with such care despite her irritation, was painful. Almost enough so that I reconsidered the drink. Who cares if it tastes of nothing but ash if it causes her to smile?
“Patience,” Lucas hisses.
“Then again, there are two convenient animals here that could feed us for weeks,” I say, licking my lips and eying the aliens on either side of the cramped cabin. Their presence is an unfortunate development, but not one I can’t work around. Besides, like I said, I’m hungry and it’s making me irritable.
“How dare you!” the younger alien roars, slamming his fist on the table and sending our cocoa flying. Lucas and I both shoot to our feet hissing as the hot liquid pours all over us. It’s not going to do any lasting damage, but it still stings and that was a dick move.
“We have studied many languages on our planet. We are not animals. We are certainly more civilized than the likes of you blood-suckers.”
Lucas scoffs and I can’t help but agree. They’re practically cavemen compared to us, still ruled by their basest desires, their kind violent and brutish. Then again…our kind are as well, but I can’t help but feel like we’re…cleaner about it.
“Eva, you should know what you have welcomed into your house,” the younger alien says with a growl.
Eva. So that’s her name. Beautiful and simple. Perfect for a girl like her.
I have to admit, when Lucas told me his idea about finding this woman, I was skeptical. I wasn’t sure I could go along with it. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Who says we deserve to be saved really?
And looking at Eva, I know for sure we don’t. She’s goodness and innocence personified. There’s not a cruel bone in her body, no matter how tough she tries to be. The thought that she would ever want anything to do with a monster like me is laughable. Preposterous.
“That’s rich coming from you,” Lucas snarls back. “I presume you’ve told her all about your…peculiarities? I mean…she has invited you in and you did say she should know what she’s welcomed in.” His grin is shark-like in its menace. Lucas has a way of giving even me chills when he wants to and I can tell that the aliens aren’t unaffected.
“We pose no danger to Eva,” the older brute says, switching back to Greek.
“No danger, but plenty of secrets, eh?” I say, back at the table and drumming my fingers absently.
“We would never hurt her,” he grinds through clenched teeth.
“Good, glad we’re all on the same page then,” I answer brightly, patting his forearm.
He roars and goes to snatch my wrist, but I jerk it out of his grasp before he can, dodging around the table with lightning speed.
If nothing else freaked Eva out, that would certainly do it. Seeing me move faster than anyone should reasonably be able to move is enough to break a lot of people that don’t have as much going on as Eva.
But instead of freaking out like I expect — like I think we all expected since we all immediately froze and stared at Eva — she slowly drains her cocoa and takes the mug to the kitchen. When she returns, she has a hand towel each for Lucas and I to clean ourselves up with, and then she stands there, arms crossed, lips pursed, nothing but stony silence permeating the air. It’s that powerful, magnetic look that tells me we’re right about her. It’s definitely Eva. She has such a strength of character that it could only be her. Who else could face down two ancient vampires and two alien dragons without batting an eye? This girl is something else. And she deserves more than this petty squabbling.
Even though I’m pretty sure she’d kill me with a look if she could manage it right now, she’s the most beautiful damn thing I’ve ever seen and for the first time in centuries, my heart is something other than cold, hard, and dead. It almost hurts, this longing to be near her, to touch her. I’m pretty sure if I still had a pulse, my heart would be racing. But instead, it’s just this weird uncomfortable ache.
I look to Lucas, wondering if he’s feeling the same thing, and immediately I know he is. He’s staring at her with that same transfixed look. And that’s something. I’ve seen Lucas inspire that look in people plenty of times, but I’ve never seen him succumb to it. I’ve never seen him look at someone with the awe and reverence he’s looking at Eva with.
Part of me wants to fight him off. To fight them all off and stake my claim on her. But I know I can’t. I know that’s not how this has to go. Even though I want her all to myself, I know that’s out of the question.
Finally after the silence has stretched on long enough, Eva clicks her tongue and folds her hands, squeezing her fingers tight. When she starts talking, her voice is soft, calm and almost soothing if it weren’t for the razor edge of fury lurking just beyond the surface.
“I will not have you come into my house and turn it into a fighting ground. I don’t know what language you’re speaking, but I would appreciate if we could switch back to English, maybe with those explanations I was promised?” she adds the last part with a pointed look to each of the dragons.
And just like that, she’s performed a miracle. Without raising her voice or spilling a drop of blood, Eva broke up the fight and thoroughly chastised us all. No doubt about it, she’s the one. And I have to have her.
Chapter Eight
Eva
Though my entire body is still trembling, I hold the glare, turning it on each man in turn, hoping they didn’t hear the trembling in my voice. I have no idea what the hell is going on, but I know that things were starting to get pretty heated. My cabin may not be much, but it’s all I’ve got and I’d really rather it not be destroyed by a bunch of testosterone-fueled showboating.
Brandt’s the one that nods and stands, gesturing to the free seat. “You should sit,” he says.
I’ve had just about enough of these strangers telling me what to do in my own home turf, so my feet stay planted where they are.
“My hearing’s just as good standing as sitting.”
That gets a smile out of him and part of me is furious that he’s cavalier enough to be grinning at a time like this, but the other part can’t even conceive of the idea of anger because he’s so damn sexy.
“I don’t doubt that, but there is much to explain and you’ll be more comfortable seated.”
I cast a suspicious glance around the room, but no one flinches. They all seem to agree and that’s something at least, so I sit.
Brandt nods once I’m sitting and takes a deep breath like he’s preparing himself. His neon eyes dim and he looks strangely sad, but as quickly as that expression appeared, it’s gone and he’s giving me that placid smile.
“We have an ancient enemy, one who is determined to destroy us all,” he says, with so much gravity that I almost don’t take him seriously. It sounds absurd. Ridiculous. Like something out of a cheesy movie.
“Who is ‘us’?” I ask, folding my arms and leaning back in the chair. I’ve got no idea what to expect in response, but it should be good.
“All of us,” Trylor says in his gruff growl.
Brandt gives him a look that I don’t understand, but nods. “It travels from planet to planet, wiping out any and all it feels threatened by. As a result o
f that, my race is dying.”
Now the laughter spills out of me like water boiling over. There’s no stopping it. “Are you trying to tell me you’re from another planet?” I ask, eyebrow arched.
I’ll give him credit, Brandt maintains a perfectly neutral expression as he nods. “Yes, I am,” he says with enough sincerity to win an Oscar.
“All right then, tell me about your planet,” I say, eager to hear what he’s going to come up with next.
“In good time, Eva,” Brandt says. “But I will tell you about my people. We used to live on Earth among humans, able to appear like you” — he gestures down his front and I let my eyes travel slowly imagining the rock hard body I know is under those thick layers — “in addition to our true form.”
“Your true form?” I ask, incredulous.
He nods again. “We are dragons.”
“Now I’ve heard it all,” I mutter.
“Not yet you haven’t,” says Lucas. I jump, having forgotten he was even there. It’s almost like he and Morgan don’t make any noise at all, not even to breathe.
Brandt continues like no one interrupted him, his face grimmer than I’ve seen it before. “Dragons once lived amongst humans on Earth. Some no longer believe in the stories, others believe we went extinct. Neither is true. Earth evolved faster than the dragons, human innovation made it dangerous for us, so in order to survive, we found another planet to seek refuge on. A sanctuary. We did eventually evolve on our own, but only because hiding in plain sight was no longer necessary. Now the ability to shift — to appear human — is fairly rare among our kind. That is the reason Trylor and I have been the ones set to this task.”
It’s a lot to take in. And if anyone on the planet other than Brandt had told me this story, I probably would have kicked them out of my house while laughing in their face. But Brandt’s special. His neon green eyes are warmer again, shimmering with hope — maybe the need that I’ll believe his story? I know I shouldn’t. It’s absolutely insane. But without even debating it one way or the other, I already believe it. It’s wild, insane, and unbelievable, but Brandt is impossible to doubt. Stuck between that rock and hard place, well… Brandt’s the hard place I’m going to choose to cling to.
I almost don’t want to ask the obvious question, but I have to. Clearly. It’s hanging in the middle of the room, all of them holding their breath waiting for me to ask it. Not asking it doesn’t even seem like an option, though I desperately wish it was.
“And what task is that?”
Brandt and Trylor exchange a glance, something unspoken happening between them before they both nod at once.
“Finding you,” says Brandt, his voice soft, yet firm. “Ever since we heard about you, that’s all we’ve been doing. Searching for the one that could help.”
My eyes narrow at him, trying to see through his calm facade, trying to see if he’s screwing with me, but all I see staring back at me is warm sincerity.
I look around the room and every man has that same grim determination. No one is challenging what he’s said. No one is arguing.
“Me? But… What could I possibly do? I don’t even know anything about other planets or dragons or…enemies?” They still haven’t actually told me what these ‘enemies’ are like, but I’m just imagining giant warrior aliens crushing planet after planet in their wake and I don’t know how the hell I’m supposed to be able to stand up to that. I’m just a girl from the woods who wants to mind her own business and stay out of trouble.
Unfortunately, it seems that trouble’s been looking for me. And now it’s found me. For all my care and caution to be a good girl, to keep my head down and mind my own business living my simple life away from everyone and everything that has to do with civilization, I’ve got nothing to show for it. For all that work, they’re still here, telling me about some unknown evil that’s going to destroy us all. And I know it’s crazy to believe them, they could all be escaped mental patients, but somehow, I don’t think so.
Something deep down inside of me is rebelling against every doubtful thought I have toward their story. Something deep in the pit of my gut is telling me that I need to believe them. I need to help them, I need to do whatever I possibly can to destroy this enemy of theirs. I don’t know what that thing is, but it’s overriding every logical and sensible thought in my head, a kernel of intuition screaming ‘don’t ignore them!’
It’s kind of hard to ignore that kind of thing happening inside of you. Impossible, really.
A warm weight falls on my shoulder and I jump with a start, whirling my head around to spot Trylor standing directly behind me. His hand is heavy and huge, covering my whole shoulder, his fingers almost long enough to reach down to my breasts — not that I have any idea why my brain immediately went there — and he squeezes gently.
From anyone else, that might feel patronizing or intimidating even, but right now, in this room, all I felt from Trylor is reassurance.
“That is why we’re here to tell you about it. That is why we’ve been looking for you for so long,” he says.
“How long?” I ask, breathless at the awe in his voice. It’s almost like we’re the only two here, his golden eyes piercing straight through me, his warm rumbling voice speaking directly to my soul.
He shakes his head and turns his hand over, letting the backs of his knuckles skim up my shoulder alongside my neck, making me shiver from head to toe. It’s such a familiar, intimate touch from a stranger. I don’t know how to react to it. I should probably jerk away and tell him to keep his hands off of me, but that’s the furthest thing from what I’m going to do. It’s taking every bit of my willpower not to lean into him and beg for more of his intoxicating touch.
“Too long,” is all he says.
Brandt nods. “But that doesn’t matter. We’ve found you now and that’s the important part.”
Brandt speaking seems to break the spell that Trylor has cast over me and I blink a couple of times, like trying to wake up from a dream.
“Is it, though? Because I still don’t really know what you’re talking about and I don’t know how I’m supposed to help if I’ve never even heard of the problem. Finding me might have been important, but it hardly seems like the important part.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Lucas smirking and it sends a flush of heat through me, settling into a pleasant dampness between my thighs. That appraising look from him, clearly measuring me up and finding me satisfactory, is the most potent aphrodisiac I’ve experienced.
“Yes, I think it’s time you explain in a bit more detail exactly what we’re dealing with,” he drawls, almost like the whole thing is boring him. But it’s not. I can see the intensity in his eyes and know it’s as important to him as it is the others, despite the act he’s putting on.
I turn to look up at Trylor again and he lets out a sigh, his head dropping, his hand falling from my shoulder as he nods and steps back to take a seat on my well-worn couch, settling in for what is clearly going to be an enlightening chat.
Chapter Nine
Trylor
“This evil…it has taken many forms over the centuries, it has masqueraded as many things. But you have experience with its most recent, favorite form.”
Eva looks at me like I’m speaking a different language, and for a moment, I panic that I am, wondering if I’ve inadvertently switched back to my mother tongue. But the look of comprehension from the blood-suckers tells me I’m still speaking plainly in English and Eva is just having trouble understanding.
She shakes her head, the mixed expression of confusion and concern enough to make my heart ache to touch her again, to reach out and smooth the worry lines from her forehead, to bend down and touch my lips gently to hers to let her know that all will be well. We’ve found her now. We have her. This is the beginning of the end for the evil. I just know it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says, her voice barely a whisper. “I think if I had any experience with evil, I
’d know it.”
I don’t say anything, I just watch her, our eyes locked across the tiny, bare room. She’s twisted in her seat to look at me, her back to everyone else, and knowing that I’m the only one those eyes are for right now sends a bolt of need straight to my cock.
I never expected to want this woman the way I do. I never expected this deep-down craving for her that started up the moment I laid eyes on her and hadn’t ebbed yet. But here it is. This need, this longing, this undeniable pull to possess her and worship her and fill her, has me clenching my fists against my thighs and gritting my teeth together to force patience.
The dragon part of me is roaring. Patience be damned. She’s right here! He doesn’t understand how I can have her in my grips and not be possessing her this very moment.
But despite all assumptions to the contrary, I do know a thing or two about women — even human women — and I know not to push too hard too fast.
I also know that I can’t always listen to my dragon impulses. That may be the right move most of the time back home on Desergan, but not here. Not now when I’m with my brother and two blood-suckers, trying to convince our woman that she should help us.
“You have, Eva,” I say gently, after I’m sure the growl of hunger won’t sneak into my voice. “Think.”
Her face screws up in concentration, her brows pushed together, her supple lips turned down in a slight frown. She starts to shake her head again, then she stops, her eyes going wide and her jaw dropping.
“The wolves?” she whispers, so soft she might be afraid speaking of them out loud will summon them.
I nod, anger and pride warring with one another in my chest at the memory of our meeting. The wolves had known we were close, had known that they needed to stop us before we found her. And then, miraculously, she found us. She drove them off, braver than I could have hoped for. I wished that they’d never threatened her, that her life had never been in danger, but I couldn’t help but be immensely proud at how she’d handled the situation.
