With a surefooted kick, Daegal crushed the side of the pod. They began to sink toward the floor of the sea. As soon as the water rushed in, Daegal sighed with relief. He hadn't felt the warm waters of the sea in thousands of years. Scales flowed over his skin, pearlescent and brilliant blue, soaking up the seawater before they settled back under his skin.
His friends began to destroy the rest of the pod and soon, they all floated in the depths of the sea and stared up at the surface.
"Do we go?" Sebastian asked telepathically. They could talk underwater, but it expended a lot of energy and left them open to prying ears. Since they'd taken the blood bond, the gods had gifted them with the ability to communicate through their thoughts. Few could use this form of communication. Strong friends or mates, but Daegal only had friends. No woman had yet stolen his heart.
He nodded. "Let's see what we've missed."
All four of them slowly swam to the surface. Broad, powerful strokes propelled them quickly until all four were bobbing in the sea, studying the mark of land that lay many feet ahead.
Gregor's shocked exhalation said what they were all thinking. This could not possibly be the Earth they'd left behind. What were all the strange structures on the horizon? And where was all the greenery? There was some, but it was nothing like their homeland.
Also, why was it so blastedly hot? The water was warm against his skin, unlike the frigid waters of the fjords he and his people used to swim in each day. The sun beat down upon their broad backs and highlighted the golden strands in all of their hair. Those streaks were a mark of a water dragon, though Daegal was the only one with hair of pure gold. Such was the look of royalty. His friends all bore streaks of gold as dragon lords, but no other would have hair like spun gold unless he was meant to be king.
Daegal, even after all this time, was still meant to be king.
First, though, he needed to figure out where he was and how long he'd been asleep.
Caution shimmered over Daegal's face as he studied the Earth's surface or as much of it as they could see. Everything was different. Upon the shores, children played at the edge of the water.
Sebastian inhaled and choked on water. "Did you see, Daegal? Do you see what those humans are wearing?"
Daegal frowned at his friend and looked in the direction Sebastian was gawking at. He had to blink twice.
"There isn't enough scrap to cover up even half their bodies," he wondered aloud. "Is this how poverty is now?"
"I'm not sure I care," Sebastian said as he ducked his head under the water and began to swim with furious speed toward the shore.
Edvard shook his head. "Even after all this time, his dick drives his emotions."
"Such is the way of some men," Gregor said, his gray eyes sparkling as he watched his friend speed swim to the first available woman.
"We should go after the imbecile," Daegal mused, but no one moved. This was usually the case with Sebastian. He dove in headfirst and failed to ask any questions. When he failed, and he usually did, Daegal and the others would swoop in and save him. It wasn't that Sebastian was stupid, far from it. He was just impulsive and reckless.
They owed some of the best times of their lives to Sebastian's inability to curb his impulses.
"Do you think the women have changed?" Gregor mused as he watched Sebastian rise out of the sea. Water poured down the rippling muscles of his back as he spotted his prey—a blonde woman wearing an absolutely hideous shade of green. It was so bright, it offended Daegal's sensibilities. Whatever that color was, it hadn't existed before they'd gone to sleep. If it had, Daegal would have outlawed it.
The blonde stopped in her tracks and stared at Sebastian like he was a god. His friend stalked toward her like he was going to claim her. With his vision, Daegal noticed the moment alarm surpassed admiration. The woman took a single step back.
"Woman!" Sebastian roared. "I've come to claim you!"
Edvard snorted with amusement. Gregor sighed and shook his head.
"We should go to him," Gregor said.
Daegal sighed. "Aye. We should."
But still, no one moved.
Sebastian stood in front of the woman. He wasn't yelling anymore, so it was difficult to hear. Then, the woman's hand connected with Sebastian's cheek so furiously it sounded like a thunderclap. The woman's ample breasts heaved as she turned and stomped away. By now, the scene had gathered a crowd.
Daegal could tell the moment Sebastian realized he might be in trouble. There was nothing scarier than a mob. Unless you were confronted with a mob while weak, hungry, and mighty horny.
"Gods," Daegal gritted out. He dove into the sea and toward his stupid friend.
Gregor and Edvard followed.
Sebastian's cheek was bright red and sported the perfect imprint of a dainty palm.
"She struck me!" he said in disbelief. "Across the face." His gaze swung wildly around.
Daegal stood beside his friend casting an imperious glare at all the people who gathered too close.
"Yeah!" came the voice of a man who appeared to have overindulged on mutton and sweets. "That's totally disrespectful!" the man shouted as he jabbed his finger in the air. His belly hung over a pair of some kind of material that only went to his knees. Did all humans disrespect their body so much? It was disgraceful. Daegal glanced down as if to reassure himself his physique still remained.
"Silence," Daegal declared.
The man began to walk up to him, his face puffy and red with anger. Daegal held up a hand. He knew he had to diffuse this immediately. "Peace, brother," he said.
The man's face registered confusion. "Brother?" he spat. "I'll tell you—"
Gregor punched him in the face. The man went down like a sack of stones. His friend's cold gray gaze swept over the crowd. "Anyone else?" he asked mildly.
Not a single person spoke.
This was always Gregor's role. Act as an enforcer. Ask questions later.
"We must find shelter," Daegal murmured quietly. Several feet in front of them loomed a large dwelling overlooking the sea. "We will start there."
Sebastian still looked stunned. "These humans are vicious," he murmured.
Daegal slapped a hand on his friend's back. "Perhaps this is merely progression," Daegal said quietly. "You can't always take what you wish. This was true even in our day, friend."
"I hate progression," Sebastian said.
"Without progress, we would still be stuck in our skins," Edvard commented. He, too, remained vigilant on the beach as he watched for any more signs of the humans attacking.
Daegal, sensing the confrontation was over, toed the prone man. When he didn't wake up, he leaned down and watched the man's chest for a moment. "He will wake soon," he announced. "Perhaps next time he will fear the wrath of a dragon lord before he acts."
The humans all wore the same confused expression. Had they not heard of dragon lords or kings? A puzzled frown knit his brows. Perhaps he would be the one to teach this lesson soon.
"Come, brothers," he announced as he stepped over the man. "We need sustenance."
Sebastian still touched his face.
Edvard laughed out loud at his expression. "Perhaps next time you will refrain from shouting your claim to the heavens?"
"I'll do no such thing," snapped Sebastian. His gaze still traveled toward the woman who was now halfway down the beach. She hadn't looked back once. "Perhaps there is a more willing wench available."
"Good gods, man," Gregor said. "We've barely been awake an hour. I'm sure there are more pressing needs."
"This is why you never have any fun, Gregor. You're all punch first, ask questions later. You don't know how to woo."
Edvard let out a loud crack of laughter. "Is that what you call wooing, brother?"
"Aye," Sebastian said. "It usually works."
"Maybe in our time," Edvard said as he followed Daegal up to the house. "I would take care to watch and learn this time. Perhaps there is a much different way to woo these women."
Daegal shook his head. "I don't think Sebastian means to woo anyone."
Sebastian chuckled darkly. "Daegal is right."
"Keep your shaft in your pants for now. We need to present ourselves as charming and agreeable," Daegal said.
The grin hadn't yet fallen off Edvard's face. "Agreeable now? Is that what we're doing?"
Daegal gave him a sharp glare. "We need food. We have no money and no shelter. If we have to be agreeable to gather those things, then agreeable we shall be."
"Sure, brother," Edvard said. He smiled all the way to the steps of the dwelling.
The men stood at the bottom of the steps and stared up to the top where the door was. Everything looked so different than it used to be. The windows were made out of some strange clear material. It wasn't dragonglass. It was too smooth to be so. The color of it was almost offensive to him. It was a light shade of blue, a color that reminded him of the scales he wore beneath his skin. It had a structure wrapped around the house, scattered with chairs and plant life in containers. Strange. Plants were supposed to be in the ground, otherwise, they died.
He looked at his brothers. They all wore the same perplexed looks he wore. "To sustenance," he said.
"Sustenance!" his brothers roared.
Daegal took the first step up to the dwelling.
The door opened immediately.
Daegal stumbled as a wave of...something hit him. An ancient, primal, invisible force socked him right in the stomach. If he were less of a man, it would have doubled him over. A woman stood in the doorway, her hair flowing around her head of its own volition. It was wild and the color of the sunsets at home—red and gold and deep, burnished orange. She was tiny compared to him but muscled with a lean strength.
She was nothing like the women from home.
She was a storm in the wild, a beacon bright and shining. He wanted to do so many things to her, it was even an effort to take another step.
Their gazes locked. She stared at him, her eyes the most stunning shade of green and amber. There was no word for that color because he'd never seen it before. The woman did not possess the ice blue or green eyes of his brethren. Wherever they were, it was not Scandinavia.
Or anywhere near it, he feared.
"Can I help you?" she asked. Her voice was a growl of anger and curiosity mixed together.
Daegal and his companions made it to the top of the stairs. "We ask for sustenance and hospitality, woman," Daegal declared.
The woman blinked those stunning eyes at him. "Excuse me?"
"Sustenance," Daegal repeated. When she still stared at him, he elaborated. "Food, dinner—"
"I know what sustenance is," the fiery woman snapped. "I'm just wondering if you think I'm an idiot."
Daegal blinked in surprise. "I'm not sure why you ask me such a question."
She tilted her head and studied him. Slowly, her eyes slid down to his chin, neck, chest, and down to his toes. Everything tightened in response. This woman was a brazen wench.
He wanted her.
"I ask you such a question because this is 2019 and women don't let strange, half-dressed men into their homes. For sustenance," she enunciated.
"We can bargain for something other than sustenance," Sebastian said, his voice a sly thing.
"Silence," Daegal barked, anger raging in his system at Sebastian. This woman was his and Sebastian would not claim her as his bedmate.
"Get bent, dude," the woman said to Sebastian.
He wasn't even sure what that meant, but it sounded like the worst kind of insult.
"Bent?" Sebastian murmured under his breath.
Edvard leaned forward. "I believe she would rather you twist yourself into a pretzel than lay with you."
Gregor let out a sigh of impatience. He stepped forward. "Lady, I implore you. We've just come from the sea, and we are starved. We ask only for your hospitality for a few hours and we will be on our way. We swear our oaths as dragon lords that no harm will come to you or anyone who dwells here."
The woman's face softened at Gregor's words, and irrational anger flowed through Daegal's veins. Gregor was handsome, well-spoken, and had the manners of a courtier, damn his face. Daegal let out a silent, short breath and tried again.
"Aye," he agreed. "That's all we ask." Though it wasn't all he planned to take if things worked out like he was beginning to think he wanted them to.
The woman sized them all up.
Then she promptly slammed the door in their faces.
3
Sara
Sara leaned against the door she'd just slammed, her hand on her heart. It beat wildly in her chest, and her breath came in gasps. What in the hell? Of all the bizarre things to happen today, four half-dressed, super buff men showing up on her doorstep asking for food would never have crossed her mind.
She swung a wild gaze to her three friends, all standing there. They all wore different expressions. Carrie was ecstatic. She practically bounced on her toes. "We have to let them in!" she said on a breathy note.
"Absolutely not," Jillian snapped. "Haven't you seen even a single episode of The First 48?"
Ella snorted with laughter, but her expression sobered. "She's right. This is completely nuts." A paperback dangled from her thin fingers, even as she peered at the door with rampant curiosity. Nothing interesting ever happened to Ella simply because her nose was either stuck in a book or she was riding the waves. Her friend was delightfully oblivious.
But today, Sara could tell her curiosity was beginning to outweigh her customary caution.
"They're all gorgeous," Sara breathed. She blinked then and let out a startled laugh. Of all the things she could have said.
Jillian's gaze narrowed. "How gorgeous?" she asked. "Ted Bundy gorgeous? Or, maybe, Brad Pitt gorgeous?"
Carrie threw a concerned glance at Jillian. "Why'd you have to bring up a serial killer in this conversation?"
"Because there are four men outside, slobbering like wolves at our door. And they're asking to come in and eat us."
Sara snorted with hysterical laughter. "They didn't ask to eat us," she clarified. "They asked for food."
"I mean, sometimes on weekends, I consider myself food," Jillian said thoughtfully.
"Dear God," Ella whispered. "You're all crazy."
Sara still leaned against the door, her thoughts tumbling with the events of the last few minutes. They were all outrageously handsome, but the first one who spoke—the blond—there was something primal about him. Something that spoke to her soul. She knew she could trust him, even if her brain was screaming at her not to.
Sara chewed on her thumbnail. "Should we let them in?"
Three voices spoke at once until it turned into a cacophony of sound and no one could understand anyone.
There was a polite knock at the door.
Sara jumped away like it had burned her.
All the women stared at the door as if it would bite them if they touched it.
"Excuse me?" came the sound of the gray-eyed one's voice. "You have our solemn oath. We will not harm you. We are travelers in need of assistance. Once we have rested and sated our appetites, we will leave you in peace."
Jillian's eyes sparkled. "Oooh, appetites," she whispered.
"We are all going to die," Ella moaned, but even she seemed to be caving.
Sara opened the door.
Carrie squealed with delight.
"Shit," said Ella.
Sara stood almost toe to toe with the blond one. He was enormous. She had to tilt her head up to speak to him. Sara liked this deep down, but on the surface, it rankled her. She was a petite woman, as far as her height, but her lithe, muscled body usually intimidated men.
This one looked like he wanted to eat her for breakfast and then lick her bones clean. Intimidation factor: zero.
She hung on to the door frame, still afraid to let them all in. The house wasn't small, but the presence of these four men swallowed up the atmosphere.
"Daegal," the man said and touched his chest. "Sebastian." He pointed to a dark-haired man with eyes the color of emeralds. "Gregor." The gray-eyed man raised a hand in greeting. "Edvard." Edvard's eyes twinkled with humor. He winked at her.
So handsome. All of them. Daegal loomed in front of her, like Poseidon risen from the sea. His hair was long and curled down to rest at the top of his shoulders. He was unshaven, but Sara could tell the jaw beneath it was made of granite. His lips, of what she could see of them, were full. The man's eyes were the color of icy seas and the water of long-forgotten isles. He was breathtaking. She'd gotten a good look at his body before, but she took a moment to quickly peruse it again. After all, a body like that was meant for admiring.
And other things she didn't want to think about right now.
His chest was massive, but not in an obscene way. He looked like the kind of man who thought tossing trees was fun. Like a lumberjack from days gone by. These were not muscles made in the gym. His waist tapered in and encased lean hips. His legs were covered in strange pants, though she had no doubt they would be as finely muscled as the rest of him.
One of his eyebrows rose. "Like what you see, woman?"
Sara's face colored, but she fired back. "I want to see what I'm up against if you act up while you're in my home."
"Oh? And do you find me wanting?"
Not even a little bit, she thought. "We'll see," she said.
Sara stepped back from the entrance and allowed the men to enter her home. This had the potential to be a massive mistake. As she watched their backsides, she had the feeling that all of their lives had just changed.
Shaking that thought off, she shut the door and turned back only to see the men and her friends in some kind of weird stare-off.
Sebastian, the dark-haired man wore a leer on his face. Jillian tilted her head at him.
"Got a problem?" she asked.
Sebastian blinked at her. Gregor quietly elbowed him in the gut.
The Alpha Dragon's Secret (Dragon Shifters of Kahului Book 1) Page 2
