“Fabian is my brother, if indeed we speak of the same dragon.”
She smiled softly. “I thought so. Your scent is similar. We smelled you in the swamp last night and tried to find you. I was worried the abominations had caught you first.”
He took a sip of the chicory coffee.
“What can you tell me about the abominations?”
“I do hope that’s why you’re here? When the Headhunters moved in a year ago—”
“A year?” Pim had only reported their presence and interference a week ago.
“Yes. They’ve taken over that bar, Devil’s Due. They’ve taken over Loup Marais. I hope you and that pretty girl aren’t staying anywhere in town.”
“No. We’re safe.”
“Good.” She nodded. “The Headhunters have an Alpha. The former hunter—Peter Breslin.”
“I knew it. Is he here?”
“No, he’s not here. After he Turned all of the club, he left.”
Dread filled him. “Are they immune to silver?”
Fanchon smiled, baring her fangs. “No. Nor are they immune to the bite of a true loup garou. But there are more of them than what we can manage. Our intelligence tells us all of their chapters have been Turned. If we were to make a move against them, it would start a war and we’d lose the safety we’ve found here.”
“I understand.” He really did. “And we can’t fight a war on two fronts. Breslin, we think, is behind an epidemic of ghoul attacks and he may have taken the King of the Orlaith hostage.”
“Oh, that’s who your lady is.” She nodded. “There’s gold in this swamp that wasn’t here before.”
“So what happened with Pim?”
“Who?”
“The guy on the houseboat. I followed the scent of blood and wolf from there.”
“My men were looking for him as well, but all they found was the blood.” Fanchon nodded and took a sip of her own coffee.
“Is there anything else you can tell me?”
“I can tell you all sorts of things, my son.” She smiled at him, her ancient eyes sparkling. “But I’ve told you all I know about the abominations.”
“You have my thanks. If there’s anything I can ever do for the loup garou, I am in your debt.”
“We’ll call it even if you get these Headhunters out of my territory. They’ve been scouting my people. Looking to add them to their twisted bloodline. It’s what happened to Cezille’s family.”
“She is very much alone in the world.”
“You don’t approve?”
“It’s not my place to approve or disapprove of how you do things.” He tried to keep his response neutral.
“Yet, you do not approve.”
“She’s young to be on her own. To be abandoned by her people.”
“It is our way. We don’t care for the weak and sick. If she grows to adulthood, she’ll be welcomed back into the pack.”
“If she grows into adulthood, she may take over your pack. She’ll have strength unlike any of your people. She’ll know what it is to be alone and she will not fear it,” Imre advised.
She nodded. “I know, and I am tired. I’m ready to turn over the reins to someone who can take it from me.”
“She wanted to see my wings. I’m going to show her on my way out.”
“If you take her flying, you’ll make her a legend.” She took another sip of coffee.
As long as he didn’t soar above the tree line, no one would see him. Just a quick aerial or two…
“One more thing before you go. Your Headhunters are running meth through Loup Marais. It’s not good for anyone here. We’re not generally in the habit of making alliances with outsiders, but we’ll make the alliance with the dragons.”
“I feel I should tell you, we’ve made the alliance with one of the werewolf nations—the Woolvens.”
Fanchon nodded. “They are known to us. They want this Peter Breslin as much as the rest of us, don’t they?”
He nodded. “I have a meeting at Devil’s Due with the Headhunters.”
“You know you have no allies there? The Drago Knights here are no longer yours. They are all Headhunters now. Your Pim should’ve told you. Unless he’s betrayed you.”
“He didn’t smell of wolf.”
“You are wise to wait for proof, but if he lets you walk in to Devil’s Due alone, he’s betrayed his vows and you are all alone.”
“I’m never alone. I’m a Drago Knight.”
She gave him a smile that made her look twenty years younger. “I’ve always admired that about the dragons. You are correct that will not be alone. We’ll be your back up waiting in the shadows, should you need us.”
“Again, I am in your debt.” He stood.
“If Cezille did not return, no one would look for her.” Fanchon said, pointedly.
“Are you asking me to take her?”
“I’m simply sharing a truth with you. You don’t like her circumstances, so change them.”
Imre opened the door to find little Cezille with her face pressed against the door. “You don’t want me either, huh? That’s okay.”
His heart broke for the little girl. “Dragons and loup garou don’t mix well, little one.”
“That’s what Fanchon says. That’s why she can’t be with the one she loves.” Cezille shook her head. “That’s dumb.”
“I’ll show you my wings now, if you want.” He didn’t know if she’d still be into it since he’d told he couldn’t take her, but he was sure removing her from all she’d known would do more harm than good. She’d survive. He could see it in her eyes.
“Yeah. I definitely want to see.” She nodded emphatically.
He allowed his wings to bloom from his back.
“Whoa, that’s cool!” She reached up to touch one and paused. “Can I?”
“Yeah, sure. Thanks for asking.”
She petted his wings, her eyes and her mouth both giant “ohs.” She was almost cartoonishly impressed. “You can really fly.”
“Yeah. I’m really a dragon.”
“That is so cool. I wish I could be a dragon.”
“Nah, I mean, flying is cool. But I can’t do it whenever I want. I have to stay hidden all the time. The closest thing I can come to flying is riding my motorcycle.”
“I want one of those, too! I’m going to join the Drago Knights when I grow up.” She nodded emphatically. “Then I can go with you.”
His heart broke into tiny pieces for her.
“You are loup garou. And some day, you’re going to lead this pack. You’ll challenge Fanchon and you’ll be the grandmother.”
Cezille rolled her eyes. “Boring. I’d rather have an adventure. When I’m big enough and strong enough, I’m leaving Loup Marais and never coming back. I don’t care about the pack. They don’t care about me.”
“They care, Cezille.”
“Oh really? Would you leave someone you cared about to hunt for gator meat on their own and sleep in the swamp?”
She had him there. “Well, no. But I’m a dragon.”
“Can we fly now? Just a little?”
“Yeah. Hold on.” She climbed up on his back and he transformed—clothes and all—to soar in the small space just beneath the canopy of trees.
The girl squealed in his ear and held tight to his neck, but craned over the edge first on one side, then the other, as if she drink down the whole view, swallow it.
She reminded him so much of Aranka.
Checking the sun’s position in the sky, he realized he had to get back to her before going to Devil’s Due. If he didn’t keep her updated, there was no way she’d stay at the crypt waiting and twiddling her thumbs.
She’d be creeping out into trouble. Most likely trying to follow the veins of gold to find her father, and while he’d admit that might be the fastest and best way to find him, he didn’t want Aranka to put herself in danger if they could avoid it.
And he understood it.
Because it was somethi
ng he’d do himself.
Chapter 7
Aranka found deposit after deposit that were more than just a little sketch. Either this guy was dumber than a box of ghouls, or someone was trying really hard to make sure he looked guilty.
So the question was, why did the Headhunters want to make him look guilty?
Speaking with Pim, he didn’t seem to be stupid.
She thought about what Imre had said about the lengths she’d be willing to go to if she had to protect her family. If she thought no one would understand.
Part of her, the part that was raised a princess and knew sometimes you had to make hard choices said it didn’t matter. You did what you had to do and you lived with the consequences, but maybe Imre’s way was the right way. Maybe when you loved someone, when they were family, they deserved the benefit of the doubt.
If someone were trying to set Pim up, what was their end goal? Was it only Pim’s death? Surely, the guilty party knew that would be the punishment for betrayal.
If Pim was guilty, what was his end goal? Surely, it couldn’t just be for the money? She scoured his financials looking for anything that might give her another clue. These deposits, while sketchy, weren’t enough reward to make the risk worthwhile.
Then it hit her, this account, while there were deposits made every two weeks, there were never any withdrawals. No debit card transactions, nothing. This account just sat there, getting fatter and fatter—enough to make Pim look incredibly guilty.
Something prickled along her spine, some strange awareness tugging at her bones.
Gold.
It called her, a siren song spinning pretty dreams.
Only, it wasn’t natural.
There was someone manipulating the gold—could it be father?
He wouldn’t know where she was. It had to be some kind of trick to lure her out of hiding. Aranka wouldn’t deny there was part of her that wanted to rush to the source of the sensation with the vain hope of saving her father, but logic prevailed.
Even if she did run off into the gold to find her father, then what? How could she save him? She’d end up getting caught and she’d put Imre at a disadvantage.
So, no. She’d wait for him. She’d trust in him and his promise that they’d do this together. She could do this.
They could do this.
But the longer he was gone, the harder it was to ignore that pull. The harder it was to think logically.
Her brain ran every scenario of every horrible thing that could have happened to her father. That this thing she felt coming from gold that didn’t belong was her father’s cry for help. That he was being tortured and she sat there, doing nothing, while he was dying—with that thought, she shut it down.
She was smart enough to know that if these messages had been coming from Glorfindel, he’d never make her feel anything like this. Even if the unthinkable had happened to him, he’d never blame her of Krysanthe for what happened to him.
This dark magick was tricky and foul, taking her worst fears and turning them against her. Taking her strengths, the ability to travel through the veins of gold, and making it something dark and terrible.
She’d never been so relieved as when she heard the door open and saw Imre step through it. It was as if every muscle that had coiled, every sense that had been jacked into high-alert was suddenly soothed by his presence.
Aranka threw herself into his arms. “It seemed like you were gone forever.”
“I told you I’d be back as soon I could.”
“I know.” She pressed her lips together. “But I can feel gold in the ground here. Gold that doesn’t belong.”
“I’ve got a meeting set for eight tonight at the Devil’s Due with the Headhunters.” He sighed. “I learned from the loup garou, the other shifters in the swamp that night, that the Headhunters have taken over the Knights.”
“And Pim must know that.” She nodded her head. “Except, here’s the thing. His banking transactions are so obvious and he didn’t strike me as stupid.”
“Is it possible he knew you were monitoring him and they’re some kind of cry for help?”
“He had every opportunity to tell me what was going on when we first got here. Instead, he set a meeting with the Headhunters like I asked, and he didn’t warn me that I’ll be walking into their territory while thinking I’m on my home turf.”
“Did you find him?”
“No. Just sent him a text asking him where he is. I told him he needs to meet me at Devil’s Due. If he’s going to set me up, he’s coming down, too.”
“I’m going with you.”
He nodded. “But only if there are veins of gold near that you can trust. I need to know you have a back up option if I’m not walking out of there.”
Ferocity surged through her. “If you’re not walking out of there, neither are they. I won’t leave you, Imre.”
“I want to shake you and rattle your teeth until you agree that you’ll go, but I don’t want you to lie to me.”
“Good.” She nodded, emotion choking her. “Because no matter what you say, we’re mates now. There is no me without you.”
He held her tighter. “This will be an adventure, too, Aranka.
“One day, we’ll tell our children how we stood down a pack of dirty, smelly biker werewolves who’d encroached on our territory and how we tore them to shreds,” she snarled.
“And saved their grandfather, the king.”
“Have you seen him? Do you know if he’s here?”
“The loup garou leader told me that the gold in the swamp wasn’t there before. He has to be here.”
Aranka sure hoped so. Otherwise, she didn’t even know where to begin to look. She supposed she could travel the veins of the world until she found him, but that didn’t seem like the adventure she thought it would be—not if she was trying to find her father. She just wanted him safe. She’d trade anything to have him back safe.
She looked up at Imre and realized maybe not anything. Aranka hoped that wasn’t a choice she’d be forced to make.
“Get ready. If you’re coming with me, we need to leave soon. I want to drive around the place and check the veins before we commit one-hundred percent.”
“I already told you, I’m not leaving you.”
“I didn’t say you had to leave me. But what if you need to get someone out? What if your father can’t travel the lines? They’ve got that damn collar on him, I’m sure of it.”
She knew he was right. “Okay. This whole listening to reason thing is bullshit, though. Just saying.”
He kissed her forehead. “I know how hard this is for you. You’ve been independent for a long time and I’m not trying to take that away from you. But there’s more at stake here than either of us.”
“I know that.” She leaned into him. “Just hold me close another minute. Let me pretend that this is all pretend. Just for a second.”
“You don’t have to go,” he said.
“Yes, I do.”
“Actually, you do.” He grinned. “I need you.”
She tightened her arms around him as if that could anchor them both there in the moment. “You know, that’s better than any game of pretend.” Aranka laughed, and it was more of a nervous sound than anything. “You know I can’t do what my sister does. I can’t turn anything or anyone into gold.”
“I don’t give a damn about that. You’re smart, Aranka. You’re fearless—”
“I didn’t have enough sense to be afraid before. I thought I’d seen so much of the world, knew what it had to offer.” She began to nod slowly. “And what it could take away. But I didn’t. Not really. Fearless?” Aranka looked up at the ceiling and then back down to Imre. “No. I’m terrified.”
“And you’re coming with me, anyway. Aren’t you?”
“Of course I am. I wouldn’t stay behind if you tied me up.”
“Maybe I could tie you up after? We could try that, right?”
“Are you trying to soothe my fears or
do you really want to tie me up?” She grinned.
“Can’t it be both?”
“Yeah, I guess it can.” She kissed him. “I can’t lose you, Imre.”
“You won’t. I swear.”
For a moment, she didn’t believe him, but then she remembered he didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep. So she dressed in her shredded leathers—Imre’s claws had made easy work of them. They actually looked kind of badass. She could roll with it. She chose a clean shirt from the closet and while it was much too big, it hung on her like it was meant to be that way.
Briefly, she thought about texting Krysanthe, but she had enough to worry about with what had happened at Hidden Mountain. This task had been entrusted to them and they could handle it.
It was new being the responsible one. Aranka realized she’d always wanted them to believe she could do these things, but she’d never stepped up. She’d always relied on Voshkie, Krys, and her father to handle everything. She’d flit from thing to thing never worrying about what she left in her wake.
That wasn’t really adventure. That was fear.
And she was done with that. She wanted to be the woman Imre believed she was. She understood now what Krys meant when she said Ondrej made her want to be better. She’d thought there was no better woman than Krys, so how could anyone make her want to be better without instilling some sort of feeling of inadequacy?
But she totally got it now.
They drive to Devil’s Due was uneventful, but the sense of that unnatural gold only got stronger. Dread twisted into a tight knot in her gut.
She leaned closer to Imre, inhaled the scent of him and found her center. She knew the werewolves could smell her fear and she wasn’t going to undermine this mission by giving them that power.
When they pulled up to the bar, she felt like she could conquer the world.
Until she caught a glimpse of her neck in the side mirror. The mate mark had scarred, as she knew it would, but just like Ondrej’s Alpha scales looked like a tattoo, so too did her mate mark.
It looked as if she’d gotten “Imre” tattooed on her neck.
Godsdamnit.
Well, she consoled herself, at least it didn’t say “old lady.” There was always that.
Imre: Drago Knights MC (Mating Fever) Page 5
