Dragon's First Rule (Dragons of Midnight Book 1)

by Silver Milan

  “Of course not,” Ariel said. “How would I?”

  Jett smiled vaguely. “Do you want to know why?”

  Ariel shrugged. “Not really. But I have a feeling you’re going to tell me anyway.”

  “It’s because of the blood pulsing through their veins,” Jett said. “The Strength has a particular affinity for dragon blood. Not to mention the fact that they use their own bones to Siphon the Strength, rather than relying on external interfaces.”

  “Quit your bragging,” Ariel said. She deepened her voice to mimic him: “Oh, we dragons are so very powerful and strong. We’re the best in the world! So tall and beautiful, even our blood is superior! Not to mention our bones. In fact, speaking of bones, did I ever tell you we have the biggest dicks in the world?”

  Jett stared at her, eyes twinkling. “I can already see that this is going to be a very enjoyable trip.”

  9

  Jett guided her through the city and up a path that ascended the cavern wall. He turned into the exit tunnel, and as they neared the opening that led to the outside world, he paused to tell her: “The Weave preventing your transformation will be receding soon. Are you ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be,” Ariel replied.

  The pair reached the opening, passing beyond the Weave. Some tense moments passed, but Ariel seemed to have her lioness under control. That was a good sign.

  Together they made their way down the winding trail that led out of dragon territory.

  During the descent, Jett could sense the growing anxiety within Ariel. She would be afraid of transforming, he knew, but perhaps even more afraid of what awaited them in the woods ahead. Meeting the lions, and potentially standing face-to-face with the man who had caused her so much pain, probably wasn’t something she was looking forward to. The thought of the suffering that man had caused her filled Jett with rage, and he knew once he met this Logan Kane, he wouldn’t be able to help himself from tearing the perpetrator limb from limb. Hopefully Jett would be able to control himself long enough to do the deed beyond Ariel’s sight at the very least.

  There was a reason that biting was forbidden among the lesser shifters—many of the victims who were forcefully transformed had to be put down. Ariel was a case in point. If she could not learn to control her inner beast, she would have to choose between living forever in Midnight City, where she could not transform, or death. Jett swore he would find a way to help her.

  As soon as the pair passed the sign proclaiming “Here Be Dragons,” she transformed.

  The lioness shrugged off the loose clothes and backpack before he could grab her, and she darted into the thickly wooded lands that cloaked the shoulder of the mountain.

  “Stop!” Jett cried, but with the collar in place, he had lost his power of compulsion; she was gone before he could grab her.

  Maybe he’d been wrong about the source of her anxiety. Maybe she hadn’t been afraid of meeting the lions after all, nor worried about transforming: perhaps she’d been planning to escape the whole time, and what he’d sensed were nervous jitters.

  He scooped up her clothes, shoving the jeans and blouse into the backpack, along with her abandoned runners and socks. As he slipped on the pack, he realized that she hadn’t been wearing a bra and panties, even though the guest room had been stocked with several different sizes. Maybe she was just one of those women who didn’t like underwear.

  Or maybe she had other reasons for not wearing them…

  He had to banish the sudden desire he felt as he ran through the trees in pursuit. “Ariel!”

  It had been a very long time since he had worn a collar, and he wasn’t sure how much of a damper on his dragon speed the device would impose, but to his relief he was able to readily catch up. Branches and leaves swatted at his face as he followed her through the old-growth forest, and slowly gained on her.

  He could see her feline form just ahead, weaving between the trees. He took a deep breath, dug deep inside of himself, and unleashed the last of the dragon strength available to him in human form. Energy pulsed through the muscles of his legs, and he shot forward with a fresh burst of speed. He grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, hauling her into the air just as easily as a human would a small cat.

  The lioness hissed and wrestled with him as he tried to pin her to the ground. Her paws swatted at his face, but the claws were retracted, he noticed. And not once did she try to bite him. That was the exact opposite of what he was expecting.

  Interesting.

  Did she know it was pointless to deploy her claws or teeth, which wouldn’t have harmed him anyway, or was she holding back for another reason?

  Gently, he extracted himself from her grip and extended his arm to hold her away from him. She kicked and wrung her body about violently, but still didn’t resort to claws or teeth. He pressed her into the dirt beneath a pine tree, petting her with his free hand while muttering soothing words.

  The cat struggled in his grasp for several more moments until at last she ceased all movements. She simply lay there, panting on the mossy ground, her powerful chest rising and falling.

  He continued petting her, and soon heard a soft, vibrant sound coming from her throat.

  She was purring.

  “That’s a good kitty,” Jett said. “Good girl.”

  He continued to pet her, letting her rub the sides of her face against his palm. He scratched under her neck, and she lifted her head contentedly, encouraging him. Her purring became even louder.

  And then, just like that, she changed back.

  As Ariel’s features returned, he saw that they were contorted in pain from the transformation.

  Jett released her.

  “God, that hurts,” Ariel said.

  “It always does,” Jett told her. “Though it gets easier over time.”

  She curled up into a ball, hiding her naked body. Her hair hung all around her like a wild woman. She was so deliciously ravishing that he had to suppress a sudden urge to wrap his arms around her and take her.

  “This is so embarrassing,” Ariel said.

  “What, the fact you’re lying naked before me?” Jett said. “Or that you were purring while I held you down and petted you?”

  “Both,” she said.

  He tossed her the backpack. “I stowed your clothes inside.”

  “Thanks,” she said. She looked up at him expectantly.

  “Ah.” He turned around to allow her some privacy while she dressed. He dearly wanted to peek, but his honor wouldn’t let him.

  “How come you don’t have a backpack, anyway?” she said behind him. “Why do I have to be the pack animal?”

  “Because the supplies you carry are for you alone,” Jett said. “I sleep on the ground, and don’t need a tent. Plus, I won’t be eating for a few days. I’m still digesting that cow.”

  “I don’t know how you fit it in that flat stomach of yours,” Ariel said.

  He chuckled. “There is so much that you don’t know about us. Or about shifters in general.”

  “Then enlighten me,” she said.

  “I will,” Jett said. “In time.”

  “But we don’t really have much more of that left, do we?” Ariel said. “We’ll be meeting the lions soon.”

  “It’s a long walk,” Jett said.

  “Fine,” Ariel said. “You don’t need food, but what about water? You’re going to share my canteen?”

  “I shouldn’t need to,” Jett said. “I plan to stop at various streams along the way.”

  “That’s actually kind of good,” she said. “I didn’t want to share my water with you anyway.” Though her voice dripped with contempt, it sounded fake to his ears. Forced.

  A moment later: “All right I’m dressed,” she said.

  He turned around. She looked just as ravishing as before, even clothed in that clinging blouse and those tight jeans. Maybe even more so, what with the way she’d clasped her hair into a neat ponytail to reveal that exquisite face of hers. And he wasn’
t sure, but he thought she’d applied some fresh makeup. She was exactly the kind of woman he’d always liked, the kind who truly didn’t know the effect she had on men.

  “You look like…” A goddess.

  “Like what?”

  “Never mind,” he said, continuing the hike through the forest, casually following a wide deer trail. He didn’t bother waiting to ensure she followed: he was confident he could catch her if she attempted to escape again. He attuned his hearing to her, listening for the characteristic sounds of flight, but instead it seemed as if she was getting closer.

  Sure enough, soon Ariel was striding at his side.

  “Tell me what you were going to say about me,” she insisted. “I look like… what?”

  “I forgot.”

  “No you didn’t,” she said. “You’re such a liar.”

  He grinned. “Visit my court sometime, and you’ll see I learned to lie from some of the best.”

  “I’ll bet,” she said. “By the way, sorry about what happened back there. I tried to control it, but my beast wanted to get free. She wasn’t used to being constrained for so long.”

  “You weren’t planning to escape then?” Jett asked.

  “No,” she said. “Not at all. I knew my beast would try to run, and that she’d never get away.” Ariel’s eyes moved shiftily as she spoke: either she was lying, and really had hoped to break free, or she planned to try escaping again at another time. He would have to watch her carefully.

  “You have to stop thinking of your animal form as ‘your beast,’” Jett said. “As if she is a separate entity. She is you. The sooner you get comfortable with that fact, the sooner you’ll come to terms with what you are. That’s the first step in learning how to control it.”

  “So I’m going to learn how to be a lion shifter from a dragon?” Ariel said.

  “Ideally, you would learn from your own kind,” Jett said.

  “Maybe I don’t want to learn from either of you,” Ariel said. “Maybe I just want to be left alone.”

  “There are techniques only the lions can teach you,” Jett insisted. “The social behaviors that come with living in a pride. The body language, customs, and so forth. How to hunt with the group.”

  “I learned how to hunt well enough on my own,” Ariel told him. “Like I said, I don’t need anyone. You’re not going to try to make me stay with the lions, are you? Because I’d much rather be left alone, than live in some shifter commune.”

  “You might believe that now,” Jett said. “But lions are social creatures. You’ll feel the urge to join a pride soon enough. Hunting with the pride is much easier than alone.”

  She shrugged. “I seemed to do well enough when I was on the run.”

  “You got lucky,” Jett said. “Seriously, joining a pride is the way to go. The only thing you might not like about pride life, however, is serving under an Alpha. Though with your headstrong and combative nature, I have no doubt you’ll displace any Alpha above you within a year or two.”

  “Ha,” Ariel said, her nose crinkling in that cute way it did whenever she laughed. “Like I have any interest in becoming an ‘Alpha.’ And anyway, Big Dragon, if I do stay with a pride, I doubt it’ll be Blue Hurricane. If they were harboring someone like Logan, they’re definitely not for me.”

  “I never said that would be the pride you’d pick,” Jett told her. “Though it would be the most convenient…”

  “For who, you?” Ariel crossed her arms. “Don’t you try to steer me in that direction. Because it’s not going to happen. Blue Hurricane. Bleh. Blue Bastards is what they are.”

  “At least wait until you’ve met them,” Jett said. “Don’t judge the quality of the harvest on one bad apple. That would be like judging all dragons based on Gwendoline, for example. The pride isn’t going to protect Logan, not when they find out what he did to you, if they haven’t learned already. Trust me. Even though his father is a well-known Alpha, they’ll be eager to hand him over. They know the rules just as well as the rest of us.”

  “So they’ll just give him to you, and then what?” Ariel said.

  “There’s only one punishment for what he did,” Jett said.

  Her face darkened. “I know what he did was wrong, and terrible, but… couldn’t we put him in a shifter jail or something instead?”

  Jett shook his head. “He must die. I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll do it, or give the pride that honor. Again, assuming they haven’t put him down already.”

  Ariel continued to seem conflicted. Did she truly want to show mercy to a man who had caused her so much suffering? Or was there something else that bothered her?

  He was about to ask, but then the doubt seemed to pass and her expression lightened.

  “Well okay,” Ariel said. “If you have to execute him because of your rules, then I guess your hands are tied. This is a whole new world for me. But just don’t expect me to watch.”

  “I’d prefer if you didn’t, actually,” Jett said.

  She was quiet for a moment. Jett heard only the crunch of their feet along the deer trail.

  “And if I do join a pride,” Ariel said, “it won’t be for very long. Just time enough to learn how to control my beast, and then I’m going back to my normal life. I don’t need all these strange laws and customs dictating how I live.”

  “There is no such thing as a normal life for you,” Jett said quietly. “Not anymore. Someday you may be able to go back to the city, yes, but you will have to be extremely cautious. And not just in regard to controlling your beast: shifters don’t just congregate in groups for social reasons, but for protection as well.”

  “Protection from what?” Ariel said. “Vampires?”

  “Sometimes…” Jett said. He wasn’t sure how to best explain it to her.

  But before he could speak further, she distracted him by saying: “Wait, do the prides have vampire guards, too?”

  “The lions?” Jett said incredulously. He laughed. Actually laughed. The joy she can bring me. “No. Only the dragons.”

  “I’m happy you find my ignorance funny,” Ariel said.

  “You’re cute when you pout,” Jett said.

  “Har har,” she said. “You know what? Forget it. I don’t care. How far do we have to go?”

  Jett glanced at her. “Before we reach the lions? We’re already in Starry Oak territory. A delegation should intercept us shortly, and if not, we’ll reach their cabins in the woods soon enough. They haven’t been answering our calls or texts, and I intend to find out why. If we’re lucky, Blue Hurricane will still be there, saving us the trip to their territory.”

  “Cabins in the Woods,” Ariel said. “Wasn’t that a horror movie?”

  “Never heard of it,” Jett said. “Though I haven’t been keeping up on my human pop culture lately.”

  The pair continued through the forest across the shoulder of the mountains, and eventually reached the foothills. Still there was no sign of the Starry Oak pride. Jett found that disturbing.

  They reached the collection of cabins the pride members called home shortly after leaving the foothills behind. Four units lined either side of a clearing, for a total of eight. Tall grass and wildflowers grew thickly against the outside of the logs that composed the walls. There was an outhouse next to the farthest cabin, and a fire pit resided in the center of the clearing, with a blackened spit just above it.

  Trucks and SUVs squatted in a makeshift parking lot beside the cabins. A bumpy, pothole-filled gravel road led away through the woods.

  “Hello?” Jett called.

  In answer he heard only a distant birdcall.

  Jett glanced at the vehicles. “Their trucks are here. They should be home. Unless they’re all out on a hunt or something...” He raised his voice again. “Hello?”

  Nothing.

  10

  Jett made a quick search of the cabins—none of the doors were locked. The units appeared hastily deserted, with clothes and personal belongings left behind, an
d food abandoned half-eaten on the counters.

  “I don’t think they’re out on a hunt,” Ariel said.

  “No,” Jett agreed.

  He paused before one cabin. The door was ajar, and he heard the buzzing of flies coming from within.

  “Stay here,” Jett said.

  “You’re worried there’s a dead body in there, aren’t you?” Ariel said.

  Jett didn’t answer. Instead, he peered inside, not really sure what to expect.

  He saw cold steaks sitting on the table. They were the source of the flies.

  Jett glanced at her. “It’s only more spoiled food.”

  Ariel slumped in relief.

  He entered completely, and Ariel followed behind him.

  “It’s troubling that the pride ran off like this in the middle of a meal,” Jett said. “A lion would have to be very scared to do something like that.”

  “Afraid of you, maybe?” Ariel asked. “You are a big, bad dragon after all.”

  “No,” Jett said, checking the final room. “Something else spooked them.”

  Finished searching the last of the cabins, he circled the perimeter and found paw prints leading away in the mud.

  “The tracks head east,” he told Ariel. “Toward Blue Hurricane territory.”

  “Do we follow?” she asked.

  “We do,” Jett replied. “That’s where we’re headed now anyway.”

  “And how far is it to Blue Hurricane?”

  “It’ll be at least a day and a half,” Jett said.

  “They really chased me quite a ways from their territory, didn’t they?” Ariel said. “I don’t suppose you can fly us there in dragon form, and get us there in a tenth the time?”

  Jett tapped the silver ring that collared him. “Can’t transform, remember?” He produced a smartphone and began entering text.

  “I’m surprised you get any reception out here,” Ariel said.

  “It’s essentially a sat-phone,” Jett said.