by KD Jones
When she got hired to work as an advertising assistant, her grandparents helped her move to the United States where she was able to find an affordable apartment in San Diego, California. They visited whenever they could afford it and she visited them as well. They were there for her every time she needed them. She would forever be grateful to them for doing all they had for her.
Her grandfather passed away a few months ago and Gema took a few months off from her job to come back to her grandparents’ beach cottage on El Golfo de Santa Clara and help her grandmother. She decided to transfer to Arizona so that she could be closer to where her grandmother lived.
Going over to kiss her grandmother on the cheek, she told her, “I’ll be back before you know. I love you.”
Her grandmother’s expression softened. “Te amo, mi niña.”
Gema left the small two-bedroom beach cottage and headed down the decking to the sand. The air was turning cool as the sun was starting to set, and she should have brought a sweater. She loved walking along the shore when the sun set. All the beautiful colors of the sky when it met the water’s horizon were just breathtaking. It was fall so there weren’t many people on the beach, which she liked just fine.
Birds flew overhead and she smiled up at them. It must be amazing to be able to fly. She had always been afraid of heights and had managed to not fly on a plane thus far. She would rather drive, take a boat, or a train. Her fear of flying was one of the reasons her most recent relationship didn’t last. She didn’t want to fly to take a vacation. Her ex, Dan, found someone quickly who didn’t mind taking trips on planes.
She stopped to pick up a few seashells that she would add to her collection. Bending down, she took her sandals off so she could walk in the water. The feeling of the sand moving up with the current and then back toward the sea always felt odd but also good.
When she bent to pick up another shell, a large shadow showed on the sand near her. The shadow disappeared. She looked up into the air, wondering what kind of bird that had to be. There wasn’t anything there. She glanced out into the sea and noticed that there was a ship out but it didn’t look like a fishing boat, it was bigger.
A weird squeaking sound made her look up again. There was a huge figure of a bird. She’d never seen anything that big before. It swooped closer and she swore she saw scales on it. What in the hell was that? She couldn’t help but be curious. It was strange but there was not fear when she looked at the creature.
The sounds of gunfire had her jumping back. The ship was shooting at the bird creature. This was getting very dangerous and weird. The creature yelped then fell from the sky, hitting the water in the distance hard. Oh no, why would they do that to the poor thing?
She decided it was time to go home. Turning around, she started heading back to her grandmother’s cottage. Fear filled her as she realized that she was the only person on the beach. A shadow on the ground before her had her turning her head to look up and back. There was another creature similar to the other one, it was coming right at her and it was not friendly looking.
“Oh my God!” Gema started running for her life. The creature chased her. She climbed over small rocks and tripped a couple of times. Her heart raced and she was scared out of her mind, she was running away from her grandmother’s cottage. She stumbled and tripped over her own feet and fell to her hands and knees. She felt the claws grip her like a vice and cut into her flesh. She tried to squirm to get out of its hold but it only caused the claws to sink further into her skin. The creature flew upwards carrying her high into the sky. Her fear of heights combined with the pain caused her to pass out.
Chapter 4
Rei woke up in pain and confusion. He tried to sit up but his arms were chained to the floor, and so were his feet. He only had a few feet to move when he stood, but his head was swirling. It felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. His whole body felt like that. When he was struck by the bullets, his dragon body fell from the sky, hitting the ocean water below hard. It knocked him out. If he had been a human, the impact would have killed him.
Slowly getting to his feet, he looked around, assessing his environment. The room was a dirty cell no bigger than ten by ten with a heavy wood door, which had a small window in it with bars. His chains would not let him get to the door completely but he could see out the window. There was another cell like his across from him.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”
“Help!”
“Please help!”
“Shhh…they will hear you.”
So many voices called out, he couldn’t decipher who was who but he thought he heard a mixture of both males and females. There was crying and moaning as well. Was that a child’s voice? The scents were human. Damn Dyson and his evil ways. The remaining kings had stripped him of his title and banned him from any of the clans because he had been caught killing humans outright and exposing their kind to danger. There was no telling what he was doing with these humans. He remembered the carnage. It still gave him nightmares.
“Bring the female here,” a male called out.
Rei watched in horror as dragon shifters dragged an unconscious human female into the cell across from him. His dragon stirred. It had been the female he was watching by the beach right before he was shot down. Was she part of his capture? His dragon growled. Turning away from the door, he paced the small space. Was he going to be taken down once more by a betraying female?
His second-in-command requested he not take such a long flight but he needed the stretch. Meeting with the other kings and arguing had made him angry and frustrated. He needed to get away for a few hours. He hadn’t planned to fly so far out but a scent of something sweet and arousing had his dragon heading in that direction.
The sight of a raven-haired female bending to pick a shell was so perfect he couldn’t help but swoop a little lower to get a better glimpse of her. She was beautiful, a timeless classic beauty as if someone had taken her image from the past and encapsulated it into a modern day version. She was thinner than the females he was used to, and wore a simple blue sundress. Blue was his favorite color. He wondered if her eyes were blue as well. She looked up his way and he fought the urgings from his dragon to sweep her up and carry her off for a mating.
As he started to head back home, leaving the beautiful female alone, he caught scent of his enemy. He expected to have to fend off a few dragons but had not expected that his enemy would use human weapons to take him down.
Down he went because the bullets were aimed at the soft underbelly of his dragon, a weakness all dragon shifters tried to protect. It was his fault for letting himself get distracted. He felt the painful impact and passed out. He could still feel the impact vibrating through his body. He needed to shift.
Most wounds dragon shifters could recover from with a shift or two into their dragon form and back. He didn’t understand the how of it, only that shifting started a natural surge of healing agents to react, spreading throughout his system. He definitely needed to shift.
Walking to the center of the cell, he attempted to call his dragon forward. He could feel his inner beast straining and straining to come out—nothing happened. “What the fuck?”
A rapping at his door had him lifting his head up and growling. “You can try all you like but you won’t be able to shift.”
Rei tried again and once more he couldn’t shift. “What have you done to me?”
“It’s just little cocktail our scientist cooked up. Get used to not healing. We’ll be back to show you how well the serum works.”
He punched the wall in anger as the dragon shifters laughed and walked out of the dungeon. That was mistake as pain shot through his fist down his arm. It almost felt like he was…human. That just couldn’t be. Could it? Had Dyson found a way to reduce dragon shifters down to the strength and frailty of a human? This was bad for all dragon shifters everywhere. He had to get out of there and warn the others.
Chapter 5
Gema groaned f
rom the pain in her sides. It felt like her ribs had been crushed. Opening her eyes, she looked around and found herself lying on a cot in a dirty cell.
She sat up and winced. Glancing down, she noticed that one of her straps to her dress was snapped, she had smudges on her once pretty dress, and there were holes in her dress at the waist where she could see dried blood. What happened? Where was she?
“Where the hell am I?” she asked out loud.
“Are you okay?” a male voice asked somewhere on the outside of the big wooden door. The door had a window with bars so she got up and stumbled her way over to it.
“Who’s there?”
“My name is Reichardt. Are you injured?”
“I’m Gema Pope and, yes, I think I was cut on my waist but the blood is dried.”
“Pull your dress up.”
“What?” She couldn’t help but take an instinctive step back.
“While the…men are gone, assess your injuries.”
Wow, he was bossy but right. She did need to see how badly she was hurt but she didn’t want anyone to catch her doing that. She pulled her dress up, grateful to note her panties and bra had not been touched.
“I have scratches but they’re not too deep and the blood flow has stopped. It could get infected, though.”
“I hope to get us out of here before that. I have people looking for me, I’m sure. They’ll come.”
“Where are we? Are you a prisoner, too?” She hadn’t thought until that moment that she could be talking to one of the guys that had kidnapped her.
“Yes, I was captured probably around the same time you were near the beach.”
“You were on the beach, too?” She didn’t remember seeing anyone else there.
“In a way I was.”
“What do they want from us? Ransom?”
“I…don’t know.”
The hesitancy in his voice made her think he wasn’t telling the complete truth. He knew something that she didn’t, and that pissed her off.
“Look, buddy, I was minding my own business when out of nowhere this big bird thing grabbed me with his talons and took me into the air.”
“It wasn’t a bird,” Reichardt said.
“I know I probably sound crazy to you but I’m telling you that something grabbed me and took me into the air. I thought I was going to fall to my death. I have a fear of heights and I started hyperventilating right before I passed out.”
“Easy. I believe you.”
Sounds of moans and cries down the hallway made her start shaking. “Are there other prisoners?”
“Yes. I’m not sure how many.”
“I don’t understand why these guys would take us. Is it a human trafficking thing?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why do I get the feeling you know more than you’re telling me?”
There was a short pause before he answered her carefully. “Gema, there are some things that you are better off not knowing about. I promise I will get you out of here and back to your husband.”
“I’m not married.”
“Your boyfriend must be worried. Why would he let you go walking on the beach by yourself?”
He had seen her on the beach. “I don’t have a boyfriend and nobody lets me do anything. I do what I want. That is sexist.”
“I’m a bit old-fashioned and believe females should be protected and treated with the utmost respect.”
She should be angry at his attitude but it kind of reminded her of her grandfather. He treated her grandmother like she was a queen but was protective. Her grandmother never complained and enjoyed his care of her. Gema leaned her back against the door, wondering if she would ever get a chance to find a true love like that.
“What are you thinking about?” Reichardt asked.
“Just wondering if I would ever get out of here and find my true love.”
“Do you believe there’s one perfect person?” he asked, sounding doubtful.
“I do. My parents were true soul mates, just as my grandparents were.”
“Were?”
“My parents died in a car crash when I was eight. My grandparents live in El Golfo de Santa Clara and raised me. My abuelo, my grandfather, died a few months ago. I came back to help my grandmother.”
“I’m sorry about your grandfather.”
“Thanks.” She couldn’t help but shed a few tears. Talking about her grandfather made her happy and sad at the same time. “I just missed making it to the hospital to say goodbye to my abuelo before he died. I feel like I have this emptiness where he once filled it.”
“You still have your grandmother.”
“I know, and let me tell you, these guys are going to wish they were dead if my abuela gets her hands on them. Don’t mess with a Mexican grandmother’s only grandchild.”
“I look forward to seeing her beat them senseless.”
They both laughed and some of her tension left her. Exhaustion hit her hard and she was afraid she wouldn’t make it back to the bed. “I need to lie down for a bit. I’m feeling a bit woozy.”
“Are you okay?”
Gema yawned. “Just really tired. Wake me when the rescue party arrives.”
Chapter 6
Rei felt protective over the female. He didn’t know her but his dragon felt a pull to her that he had never felt for any other female. Why here? Why now? This was not the best place to try to see if someone would be a good mate, and she was human—not his preference at all.
He walked over to the small cot and sat down. Pain vibrated through his body, not letting him sleep. There was only so much pain his human form could take. It would weaken him and make him extremely vulnerable. If he couldn’t shift to his dragon form he couldn’t use his dragon’s sonar call, which other dragon shifters would be able to hear even from a great distance. What he needed now was a phone.
He looked at his wrist. They had left his watch. That was their mistake. Rei had all his people outfitted with trackers. Some wore bracelets, rings, or necklaces but he chose to install the tracker in his watch. Once his absence was noted, his second-in-command would send out a search party. He just had to be patient and wait. Easier said than done.
His dragon was restless. Rei tried to get him to settle. “Calm down.”
Must protect girl.
“We will do our best.”
He knew the chains on his wrists and ankles had no give, but what about where the chain was connected to the floor? He stood and walked over to the door, as close as he could get, and listened. Most of the prisoners were sleeping. Footsteps were getting closer and closer. Soon they stopped right outside his door.
“Step back, Reichardt.”
“Why should I?”
“If you don’t do as we say, we’ll drag out each of the prisoners here and kill them in front of you. We’ll start with the pretty human.”
They knew his honor would not allow for him to stand by and do nothing while the innocent were being abused. If there was anything he could do to ease their suffering, he had to do it. Growling low with displeasure, Rei took a few steps back.
Three large male dragon shifters entered his cell and surrounded him. His dragon growled his displeasure at the nearness of the other dragons. “What do you want?”
“It’s time for your medicine,” one of the guards said with a sneer.
“I won’t allow it.”
“You don’t have a choice in it.”
That was the only warning he got before all three males came at him. He fought them off the best he could but being weakened from his injuries took its toll. At least he landed a few heavy punches, making the males growl and wince at the same time. Then they came at him, landing punch after punch. At some point he must have passed out but his body felt like he endured more of a beating.
He had been left on the floor. This time he barely recalled a prick in his arm where it felt bruised. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure if there was a spot on him that wasn’t bruised.
&nbs
p; “Are you okay?” a female voice asked. It was Gema.
“I’m still alive so that’s good.”
“I am so sorry. I woke up late after they had just finished…”
“Beating the shit out of me?”
“Yeah. I should have said something or done something.”
“Gema, there was nothing you could do. If you tried to interfere you would have been put in danger. Promise you won’t do that.”
“But what about you?”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I heard you moaning in pain. No one could handle that much abuse.”
Another voice called out in the darkness. “He can handle it. He’s one of them!”
“What?” Gema sounded confused.
“Ignore him.” Rei tried to change the subject.
“Don’t let that bastard fool you, girl. He’s just like the others—a dragon shifter.”
Rei tried to see through the bars of the door to get a look at Gema. This was not the ideal way of finding out other species existed.
“Gema?”
“Is it true? Are you and the others…dragon shifters?”
He hesitated but felt that there was no point in lying. “Yes, it’s true.”
Chapter 7
Dragon shifters? How hard did these guys hit her? Was she unconscious and dreaming? This would not be the kind of place she would have dreamed about. Maybe she read too many science fiction and paranormal romances.
“What are you thinking?” Reichardt asked.
“That I’ve been sucked into some strange form of twilight zone.”
He chuckled. “I wish it were that simple.”
She liked his laugh. It made her feel more relaxed and less afraid. Gema felt like she could ask him anything, so she did.
“Do you turn into a real dragon or just get really angry like a dragon?”
“I can shift into a real dragon, wings and claws and fiery breath. Just know that I would never hurt you.”
