He had to stop them before they caught up to Renee and Marina.
A small group of men approached him from the side and, seeing the loose dragon, turned their attention directly toward him. With a snap of his fingers, the now ankle-deep water at their feet began boiling and sizzling, and the men leapt for safety onto chairs and tables to escape the superheated liquid.
Ignoring scientists and lab coats, and using any force necessary to dispatch anyone trying to stop him, he ran for the exit, vaulting past overturned desks and tables and clearing the distance across the huge warehouse in a matter of seconds.
He made it through the half-collapsed doorway, only to be greeted by a large group of humongous wolves, already soaked from the rain, standing around a man who seemed to be issuing orders at the moment.
“Now go in there and stop him!” the man wearing the soldierly-looking cap barked out.
In unison, the wolves looked behind their apparent commander at Kai, their eyes red and brown, huge wolf teeth bared as their hackles rose.
Kai didn’t remember wolves being this big.
Renee’s face flashed through Kai’s mind, her smile, her laugh, her love. All things that were more precious to him than life itself.
And these monsters stood between them.
Kai’s dragon surged inside him, his human form sliding away into the enraged beast he’d been for centuries before. Protector of the sea. Bringer of storms.
The tourmaline dragon.
He could feel the collar’s magic burning, trying to restrain him. It still hung on his massive neck, but it was a barnacle on the side of a galleon compared to the raw power burning from the top of his head to the tip of his tail.
The wolves, suddenly seeing their human-sized prey grow into a ferocious predator before them, backed away a pace.
Thankfully, from his new height, Kai could see the surrounding terrain, and aside from a now-wrecked, apparently abandoned-looking warehouse, there was nothing but palm trees and beach and thick forest around them. Which made sense since he doubted the wolves would want to be somewhere prying human eyes could discover their nefarious scheming.
It also meant he didn’t have to worry about endangering any nearby humans.
Immediately at home in his dragon form, Kai raised one huge foot and stomped it onto the sand beneath him, making the very earth shake. A second later, a huge wave appeared in sight, quickly approaching the beach.
He heard several shifters emerge from the building, crying out as they saw the huge blue dragon and the approaching tidal wave, running for the forest in sheer panic.
That was the correct response.
Before him, the wolves summoned their courage and leapt at him, attempting futilely to dig their claws and teeth into his shimmering dark-blue scales.
But Kai had bested leviathans and krakens and all manner of calamitous sea creatures before. Wolves were nothing.
He swiped a claw at one, sending it flying onto the sand. Then he turned, lashing at several with his huge, armored tail and catching them across the body, sending them into the shallow surf as it retreated before the two-story wave only seconds from impact.
Beneath him, he saw the commander shift, his wolf larger than the others but still barely tall enough to reach Kai’s shoulder.
The wolf snarled, looking ready to leap, and Kai felt burning heat inside him. He opened his mouth, and white-hot steam spewed forth, melting sand and earth and anything else it touched in its path. The wolf dodged to the side, just barely avoiding the fire as a cacophonous crash sounded and the wave burst onto the land.
Anything that wasn’t firmly affixed to the earth was swept up beneath the wall of water, including most of the warehouse behind him. Then, not wanting the tidal wave to catch his escaping mate or any other humans off guard or do damage to their homes, he stopped the water in its tracks as it passed him.
He pushed it back, sending it to the sea, washing sand and earth and wolves away with it to the ocean.
He stepped forward, satisfied with his work and elated to feel like a dragon again, but then he felt the collar constricting him, this time with incredible force.
Against his will, he shifted back into his human shape, drained of his remaining energy as though the collar were punishing him for pushing the boundaries of the magic that held him restrained.
Kai guessed that with the danger gone, the collar was simply resuming its hold.
Pushing off his knees, Kai stood and looked around, eager to find his mate. Broken equipment and rubble and foliage littered the beach, anything that hadn’t been carried to sea.
Thankfully, the scent of his mate was second nature to him now, and despite the flooded landscape around him, he could pick up her presence farther inland.
He headed for a line of palm trees ahead.
Above him, he allowed the blackened sky to clear slightly, the clouds slowly dispersing as rays of light began to shine through onto the land beneath.
He was about to make it into the forest when he heard rustling to the side. Suddenly, Liz appeared out of the brush, still wearing the blue dress but now soaked from head to toe, looking more disheveled than he thought possible.
“Stop right there, dragon,” she ordered, black lines running down her face from her ruined makeup.
It was only then that Kai spotted Marina behind her, body frozen in place, gaze furious as she watched Liz. Farther back, hidden behind a tree trunk, he could see Renee
“Kai!” his mate called out.
“Renee!” Kai couldn’t help responding just to let her know he was fine.
“Shut up!” Liz commanded shrilly.
Kai tried to summon his strength again, tried to pull forth the dragon, but it was useless. The collar’s power was more limiting on him than before.
Apparently, Marina’s idea didn’t work if other dragons were in trouble. Just humans.
“That’s right. You’re powerless, Kai.” Liz glowered. “You can have your mate. Take frumpy little Renee home with you. But this one, she’s mine. I can think of a million more things to do with a female dragon. So many who would want her,” she said as Marina stared daggers at Liz’s back.
Kai couldn’t let that stand. He had to do something. But as he stepped forward, it became hard to even remain upright.
It wasn’t until he looked back up at Marina that he saw her slowly begin to move. First a finger, then her leg as she stepped forward, creeping up behind Liz, whose attention was still turned to Kai as she gloated.
A branch cracked beneath Marina’s foot, and Liz whirled around just as Marina’s fist connected with her face, sending her reeling off her feet and into the muddy dirt.
“I try to be nice, but you deserved that, wolf,” Marina said as she looked down at the cowering woman. “Like your stupid powers could restrain me!” She advanced on Liz, lifting her by the leg and hanging her upside down so she could yell at her better.
“I am a dragon.” Then Marina hauled back and slammed Liz into the sand, making the ground shake.
“I think she’s done,” Kai said, limping forward to take a look as Liz lay there, moaning.
“Oh no she’s not!” Renee shouted, leaping out of the foliage. She was scratched from hiding, but that didn’t appear to stop her as she lunged toward Liz, rage in her eyes.
To Kai and Marina’s surprise, she jerked her friend over and straddled her, grabbing her by the straps of her dress and pulling her up to face her.
“You. Touched. My. Man,” Renee said, getting right up in Liz’s bruised face. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
“You don’t get it, do you?” Liz said with a scoff before laughing hysterically. “You’re so stupid for even getting involved. Why wouldn’t you just go with the men I sent after you? Why did you have to get in the way?” Liz shook her head, lip bleeding from Marina’s punch. “This is a whole different world, so far above your pathetic little human feelings—”
She was interrupted by a resound
ing slap delivered by Renee, who sat there heaving.
“You never cared about my feelings. And maybe this is a whole new world, but you’re still the same selfish asshole. And. You’re. Never. Coming. Near. My. Man. Again.” Every word was punctuated by Renee slamming Liz back against the sand with a jarring shake.
“All right, then,” Marina said, walking over and lifting her off, holding her back as she struggled to get back to her prey. “Leave something for the oracle to deal with.”
“She touched you,” Renee hissed, still trying to swing at her former friend.
“I like her,” Marina said. “Feisty.”
“She’d have to be to deal with me.”
Marina nodded. “So now what?” She let Renee go gently, and she walked over to Kai.
“I don’t know,” Kai said, running a hand through his hair. He was glad to be back with Renee, but so much had happened.
“So… sea dragon?” Renee asked, looking up at him.
He put a hand around her. “Yes.”
She leaned into him. “Yeah, that kind of fits.”
“Oh, right,” Marina said, reaching into her pocket. “I found this on the beach. You were planning on giving it to her, right?”
“Uh, right,” Kai said, taking the sandy box from her, remembering those happy moments of anticipation before he’d been captured.
“I’ll take care of Liz,” Marina said. “And call in backup. I left a note for Ruby, so he should be in the sky as we speak. You two go back to the hotel. You have a lot to talk about.”
“Right,” he said, looking at the ring box. It felt so odd to do it now.
He kept his arm around Renee and realized he didn’t have a way back to the hotel.
“Take my car,” Marina said. “I’ll be fine here.”
“Are you sure?”
She rolled her eyes. “Dragon. Why is everyone forgetting this?”
“Okay,” Kai said. “We’ll go. Do you know how to drive?”
Renee nodded. “Of course I do.”
“Oh, Kai, come here for a minute,” Marina said.
“Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Renee,” he said shortly.
“Oh, well,” Marina said, shoving her hands in the pockets of her dress. “You have to have sex again, without protection this time. Found out about that later. Sorry.”
He felt himself go bright red and turned to Renee, who was stifling a smile.
Oh well.
“Now get out of here,” Marina said. “Go make it official before any more crap happens. Get that collar off your neck. Make that girl yours.”
Chapter 19
“So… that was crazy,” Renee said when they pulled up in front of the hotel.
“Yeah.” He’d been quiet while they’d been driving, asking her to give him a moment to gather his thoughts. He also needed to recover a bit from the fight. Shifting for the first time in so long had taken a lot out of him.
And he wanted to say things just right to his mate.
He was still quiet as they parked and he came around to open the door for his mate. He couldn’t resist taking her in his arms again, holding her close, knowing she was safe.
The ring box felt as if it were burning a hole in his pocket.
“I’m so sorry you got caught up in this,” he said as they pulled apart and started heading for the elevator.
“I’m not. If I helped save you, I’m glad.”
“I still need to yell at Marina for choking you,” he said darkly. “I’ll never forget that sight in my life.”
“She did what she had to in order for us all to get out safe. I like her a lot.”
He sighed. “You’re right, obviously. I just… hate the idea of anything happening to you.”
“Then can’t you see that I feel the same? When I woke up today and I couldn’t find you, it was the most horrible feeling.”
“I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have left you of my own choice.”
“I know.” She took his hand and pressed the button for his floor. “But let’s not worry about it now. Let’s just pack and get out of here.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Sorry about your friend.”
“She turned out to be a real bitch,” Renee said. “I’m just sorry she hurt you.”
“She didn’t. Thanks to you and Marina.”
They walked out of the elevator and stopped as he pulled out a key to open the hotel door. Dragon magic enabled them to stay in their clothing before and after a shift, so he looked the same, albeit a little worse for wear.
He walked into the living room and sat on the edge of the bed, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m a little upset at being the damsel in distress, though.”
“You made up for it,” she said, walking over to stand between his knees. “Besides, you’ve been saving me ever since you met me.”
“So you forgive me for almost drowning you?” he teased, looking up into her golden-brown eyes and feeling warmth rush through him. All of the weird details faded away, and it was just them again.
Just two people in love.
“You wouldn’t have let anything happen,” she said. “You want to come into the bedroom? I want to change.”
“Sure,” he said. He followed her in, stretching his arms over his head and popping his back. He was sore in every direction but had no regrets. It had been awesome to be a dragon again.
He heard rustling as he came into the room and looked up to see her taking off her clothes, stopping when she was in a bra and small panties.
His jaw dropped. “What?”
“Well, Marina said we have to do it again.” She rubbed a hand over her stomach. “Wait, can we get pregnant?”
“I don’t think so,” he said. “Not the first time.”
“I see,” she said.
“And it might be rare anyway. We might not even have young. Some dragons have with their human mates, but it’s tough. Complicated.”
“It’s fine,” she said, coming over and wrapping her arms around him, standing on her toes. “I have you. Let fate decide the rest.”
“I can have Jenny and Seaton keep us apprised.”
“Seaton?”
“My brother and his mate.”
“You have a brother?” she asked, pushing back from him. “Is he a dragon, too?”
“Yes,” he said.
She sat back on the bed with a sigh. “So much I don’t know about you.”
“Well,” he said nervously. “I guess you know the biggest things now.”
“Yeah, one really big thing,” she said, and he guessed she was thinking about his dragon. “So was that what you meant about growing up on the ocean?”
He nodded.
“And your sister said you wanted to ask me something. What was it?”
He got down on one knee, the way he’d seen men do on the posters in the jewelry stores. His heart was pounding, but why wait? He’d almost been taken away from her.
He pulled out the velvet box, brushed the sand off of it, and opened it for her.
“Oh my goodness,” she said, putting both hands over her mouth as she stared down.
Was that a good or a bad response?
“Do you like it?” he asked nervously.
“I love it,” she said, putting her hand out.
He took it out of the box. “It’s a tourmaline.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“The other dragons, the land dragons, all have gemstones. Me and my siblings are technically their kind, though we live in the ocean. We are named for gemstones, though most of us have disregarded it, as we ignored things that tied us to land. Especially me.”
“So yours is tourmaline?” she asked.
“Yes, though I didn’t care before I met you. I didn’t want a new life here. All I did was fight monsters. In this new world, I didn’t see where I could go.”
She just listened, looking down at the ring in his hand hovering above her fingers.
“All tha
t changed when I saw you. It was like a vision. I just took one look and knew you were meant for me. I thought you’d be a swimmer, but even when I found out you weren’t, it didn’t matter. You became more important to me than the ocean. More important than anything. Now there’s no room for anything but you in my heart.” He held the ring over her ring finger.
“I only think of you,” she said, encouraging him. “I meant it when I said I wanted everything. I used to think maybe our lifestyles wouldn’t fit, but what is important, we have in common. The desire to do the right thing, a love for each other—”
“You love me?” he asked, looking up at her.
“Of course,” she said. “Would I have said I wanted everything if I didn’t?”
“I have to explain something,” he said, aching to put the ring on her but knowing he had to do it the right way. “When I said everything, I might have meant something you didn’t. Dragons, my kind, we have mates. It’s even stronger than marriage, a bond that goes for all time. There is only one for us.”
“So you don’t get to choose?”
“It’s not that,” he said. “It’s more that a force greater than us understands what we need, and when we find that person, we fall in instant, deep love. Then, as we get to know them, we find out all the reasons why.”
She flushed and looked away. “I see.”
“Like with you,” he said, squeezing her hand. “How beautiful you are. How sweet. How patient and willing you are to forgive and give second chances, even when someone doesn’t deserve it.”
“Hey, some people deserve second and third chances. Sea dragons included.” She sighed. “So much makes sense now. Why you are so awkward, why you have no idea how hot you are—”
“Oh, I know how hot I am,” he teased.
“Why, you—”
“Hot enough to get a girl like you,” he said, coming forward onto the bed and catching her under the thighs, lifting her onto him so he could nuzzle her neck.
She laughed and struggled. “You’re silly.”
“I’m not. I’m a dragon, and I’m in love. And I know there’s so much more to tell you, but will you be mine?”
She stared at him, expression softening. “I think so. There’s one thing you should know, though.”
Tourmaline (Awakened Sea Dragons Book 2) Page 15
