by Anya Nowlan
Before a tear could roll down her cheek, Apollo was there, pushing one of her jet black locks out of her face with one hand while his other rested on the small of her back, caressing her softly and sending little waves of pleasure wafting through her. She looked up at him and then to Alexander, and to her surprise, both of them looked sternly decided. They stood like watchmen over their mark, as if promising to guard over her.
“No, you were right to come to us, Jade,” Alexander said softly.
“We won’t let anything happen to you,” Apollo agreed. “You are safe, Jade. No matter what.” It sounded like a promise he would die to keep. It scared her a little, but at the same time, it filled her with a sense of ease and hope she’d long given up on.
Maybe it’ll be alright?
CHAPTER SEVEN
Alexander
As soon as Jade had been tucked away for the night, hidden away in Apollo’s bed, while he slept on the couch, Alexander had gone to work. He had to quell the rage he felt forming in him, his dragon having grown more and more irate throughout the conversation with Jade.
It hadn’t taken long for him to realize what she was going to tell him and Apollo. One glance at that torn Death Wing shirt had told him everything he needed to know. The Gold Dragons had never got along with Death Wing. It wasn’t only the fact that they were rivals in the world of rock. The Goldplains and the Blackscales went way back.
Legend told that before the council of Treasure Lane was formed, the Blackscales had been one of the more prominent families in the area. They ruled over the lands now known as Gold Way, until the Goldplains drove them from it. Back then it had been a dragon against dragon kind of world, and only the strongest survived.
The smaller shifters – wolves, bears, big cats and the like – could go about their little lives, thinking they were significant, but all the real battles were waged between the true lords of shifter kind, the dragons. And when two powerful families fought, the world shuddered around them. Since then, there had been no love lost between the Blackscales and Goldplains, and as far as Alexander was concerned, that wasn’t about to change.
It wasn’t merely the history they shared, but the fact that the two families worked differently on a fundamental level. The Goldplains had prided themselves for centuries in using their power for good, while the Blackscales seemed to have no such scruples. Where the Goldplains healed, the Blackscales destroyed. Where the Goldplains built, the Blackscales demolished.
Meeting again on the rock charts as two significant, but completely different forces in music was yet another rendition of the age-old fight. Alexander wasn’t even surprised. Some rivalries couldn’t be quelled, no matter how long past the wrongdoings were.
Too cowardly to face us, as usual, Alexander thought, perching on his haunches on the very ledge of their hotel’s roof, overlooking the city.
Albuquerque was not really the place to hold a dragon showdown, though it masqueraded as a place bigger than its heart allowed it to be. Alexander’s mood was sour. His dragon was coiled tightly, willing him to shift and seek out those who had tried to do harm to Jade. His outrage was alien to him, so raw and demanding and unlike anything he’d ever felt before. The dragon already knew, but the man – he wasn’t so sure. Could fate really be so kind to him, and to Apollo as well? Bringing their mate right into their arms, all raven hair and soulful eyes and curves he couldn’t wait to discover.
He smirked darkly to himself, his shoulders hunched forward and his elbows resting on his knees. The breeze blew around him, but Alexander stayed motionless, like a gargoyle keeping its eternal watch. Sometimes, he felt a bit like that – like a relic from another time.
While Apollo partied and screwed every nice pair of tits in sight, he found it hard to muster desire for someone he didn’t feel a connection with. And as a dragon shifter, he knew that the moment he recognized that connection, it would hit him right in the gut like a mallet, not waft past him like a fleeting thought. Jade had hit him in the stomach just like that.
When she walked in, his world stopped for a moment and all his focus went directly to her. It was as if she somehow caught the light, pulling it to her, to sparkle off her pale skin and flow around her as she played.
What if she’s not the one? What if you’re just so desperate to hold on to your powers that you’ll see every curvy beauty as your fated? Got to keep your head straight, Alexander… Yet, the chiding didn’t seem to help change his mind much. Deep within, he was convinced. At least, his dragon was, and more often than not, that was plenty for Alexander.
He sighed, annoyed by this sudden burst of outrage and longing that was twisting into a shapeless, angry mass in him. Just then, the door leading up to the roof creaked behind him, and he looked over his shoulder to see Apollo approaching. Alexander chuckled. Even at a time like this, Apollo didn’t lose that swagger in his step that told the whole world who he was and why he was there – to catch their attention, all of it.
“Brother,” Alexander greeted, nodding his head.
“Brother,” Apollo returned, hopping up onto the ledge and crouching down on one knee next to Alexander.
They stayed there in silence for a moment, taking in the lazy bustle of the late night city below them, lights streaming past in an endless cacophony of cars and traffic. Though they’d never truly synced up as well as Alexander had expected them to, they’d at least learned to share their silences.
“So. About Jade,” Apollo started, a surprising note of uncertainty in his voice. Alexander cocked a brow, looking at his brother, who avoided his gaze and kept his eyes down.
“What about her?” Alexander asked, trying to sound as noncommittal as possible.
When they were younger, Apollo had made a sport of stealing Alexander’s prized possessions from him, or at least attempting to. More often than not, it also included women. Would it be so wrong to assume that Apollo would do so again, regardless of whether or not he wanted her as badly as Alexander did? The thought was hard to shake. Alexander knew all too well how adamantly Apollo opposed the thought of finding a mate and settling down – always the wild soul, always on the prowl. Suddenly, he felt very protective of Jade.
“Do you think she’s telling the truth?” Apollo asked.
“I do. She’s got no reason to lie. And you have to hand it to her, keeping a cool head around dragons – that’s a first. Michelle just about drank herself into liver damage when we told her, but Jade’s just taking it in stride. Impressive.”
“She is. Very,” Apollo said, falling silent once more.
Alexander frowned, considering his younger brother. Was that affection he heard in Apollo’s voice? The emotion reserved for good Porterhouse steak and his favorite guitar and those two things only? Color Alexander impressed.
“You sound intrigued,” Alexander said, a hint of amusement in his tone. His dragon eased up as well. Alexander knew it had to be important to him – it wasn’t often that Apollo showed himself as a mere mortal, caring about anyone other than himself.
“Aren’t you?” Apollo shot back.
“I am.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to her,” Apollo added sternly, looking up at Alexander now.
Alexander nodded, the slightest motion of his head.
“I agree. But, why her? I’ve never seen you grow attached to any woman, who shows up in our suite, no matter how much of a princess in need of a rescue she may or may not be.”
Just as Apollo was about to answer, Alexander and Apollo both snapped their attention to the skies, their dragons immediately rising to high alert. Apollo snarled under his breath, and both of them jumped up, every muscle strumming with adrenaline.
Dragons, Alexander thought, the faintest sound of rustling wings enough to perk their keen ears and tell them that someone was approaching. No later, two giant, black bodies jetted down from the skies, blood red eyes gleaming like deathly rubies as they landed on the roof, making the big building quiver a little.
“Blackscales,” Apollo growled beside Alexander, who quickly grabbed him by the shoulder before he could rush forth.
“Don’t,” Alexander said, though he shared Apollo’s desire. There was nothing he would have enjoyed more than to settle things with the Blackscales in a quick, bloody way, ridding the world of their deathly presence once and for all. Apollo remained still, though the way his blue eyes glared at the dragons could have cut through dragon scale itself. Shame that it didn’t, really. The black dragons, huge as they were and taking up most of the roof, lingered for a moment too long, showing off their fearsome teeth as they snarled, smoke pluming out of their nostrils.
Alexander could feel the heat rising in him, the familiar line of smoke seeping up around his head, as it was around Apollo’s. His hands were rolled into fists and his dragon thrashed against him, demanding to be set free and given the chance to settle things as they had been in ancient times. Only this time, with more dire consequences.
It wasn’t only dragon blood that was at risk, they would have endangered everyone in the city. No matter how much he wanted to punish those who had aimed to hurt Jade, he couldn’t. The rational side had to win, for now.
The standoff under the starry skies had gone on for far too long, and he’d never prided himself in being a patient man. “What do you want?” he called to the Blackscales.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Apollo
Apollo watched with quiet rage as the Blackscales shifted, turning into their human forms. When they’d turned, the way they walked over to him and Alexander made him want to punch their lights out. Wearing simpering grins, the Blackscales looked like the harbingers of some angsty teenage apocalypse.
Both were clad in leather jackets and white tanks, the gold around their necks large and ostentatious. They had longish, black hair and dull gray eyes, made even less appealing by the red rings around the irises that echoed the way their dragons were deeply ingrained in them. When a dragon was allowed so close to the surface, he would seep into the human, and sometimes, it was hard to get it back out again.
“Aren’t you glad to see us?” Cameron, the older of the two, asked. He had a slight stubble on his chin, and the toothy grin he gave made him look like the slimiest prick this side of the Atlantic.
I’m going to rip their slimy tongues out if they don’t shut up right now…
“I thought you’d be pleased to see other dragons. We know how irritating it gets with these humans when you’re on the road, nothing but their tiny, insignificant lives to keep you company,” Colt added, his voice carrying a bit of a drawl that scraped at Apollo’s ears.
They stood as tall as Alexander and he, and Apollo was sure that in a fight it would be a close match, both as humans and as dragons. Still, he couldn’t think of them as anything but the lowliest of scum. The kind of dragons that gave the whole race a bad name.
“Cut the bullshit. What are you here for?” Apollo snapped, wishing he could cross the few feet between him and Cameron and wipe that shit-eating grin off his face. The Blackscales glanced at each other, their body language almost mimicking one another.
“We’re here to pick up what is ours,” Cameron said serenely, as if he were explaining the simplest thing. “I believe you have our bassist.”
“She’s not yours, and we’re certainly not handing her over to you two,” Alexander said, bile bubbling in his words. Apollo nodded his agreement. Mentally, he was plotting the quickest path to his bedroom and to Jade, in case the Blackscales wanted to turn this tea party into a real fight.
“Why not? What’s she worth to you? You know she knows who we are, right? I bet the bitch wants to expose us for some quick tabloid bucks. Wouldn’t that be great? ‘Bassist reveals that two top rock groups are composed of dragons and they’re messing with your minds!’” Colt snorted at that, though the look in his eyes told Apollo that revealed identities weren’t the only things they were worried about.
“I don’t think we have anything to fear from her. She just wants you to leave her alone,” Alexander said mildly. Apollo had to once again admire his brother’s self-control. Were it left up to him, the Blackscales would already be down on their backs, getting the shit kicked out of them for the stunt they’d pulled.
“I think we’d like to be the judges of that,” Cameron bit back just as calmly, his words so icy that they could have frozen an ocean in a second.
“You’re just going to have to take my word for it,” Alexander said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“You’re not laying one fucking finger on her,” Apollo added, the rumbling growl of his dragon reverberating through him. He meant it – they’d have to go through him to get to her. Why he was feeling so strongly about this woman he’d only met a few days ago was another matter altogether, but that was something to deal with later.
“That is to say that I haven’t already,” Cameron said, grinning. This time, it was Apollo, who had to catch Alexander, getting a hold of the always reserved and in control man before he got close enough to punch Cameron. Alexander’s face was contorted in a snarl and his eyes burned gold, so bright they were almost blinding.
“You seem awfully attached to her,” Colt said, smirking dangerously as he cocked his head to the side. His gray eyes were shadowed with red – all of the dragons getting far too close for comfort. “Would hate to see something happen to her.”
“I’ll gut you alive if you harm a hair on her head,” Apollo said, his chest aching at the merest mention of causing any harm to Jade. Fuck, she’d got to him good, and by the looks of it, Alexander was right with him on that one.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Cameron said with a chuckle, sharing a look and a nod with his brother. “But we best be leaving you. Wouldn’t want to cut your beauty sleep short. You two seem to need it.” Cameron motioned loosely at both of them, and Apollo’s dragon relaxed. He could deal with idiotic banter from two worthless dragons, as long as it wasn’t directed at Jade. Somehow, that was all that mattered now.
Apollo loosened his grip on Alexander as the Blackscales took a few steps back and shifted. As a parting gift, they scorched a semi-circle around them with their blackish-red flames, burning so bright and hot for a few seconds that Apollo could feel his clothes char. To him and his dragon, it felt like little more than the sunshine on a warm summer day.
The Blackscales took flight, the perfectly choreographed, serpentine beasts with gleaming red eyes shooting into the skies. Only when the last hint of them disappeared could Apollo relax a little.
“You know why they were here tonight, right?” Apollo said quietly, feeling the tightness in his chest release slowly, though irritation still gnawed at him with rabid teeth.
“I do.”
Looking over at Alexander, Apollo was surprised to see his brother still fuming, his muscles hard and ready for a fight, almost begging for it. He knew exactly how his twin felt.
“I wasn’t kidding. If anything happens to her…”
“I know. I feel the same way.”
The answer was right inside of Apollo, and he knew what it was. It was painfully obvious to him now, like it had been standing right in front of him all along, and he just hadn’t noticed. Like a revelation or the perfect words to a song that had been in the back of your head for weeks, he didn’t know what to do with Jade arriving in his and Alexander’s life so suddenly. Go for it? Wasn’t that always the right answer?
As if reading his mind, Alexander’s tension oozed out of him and the man took a deep breath, his gold eyes flickering back to blue.
“You know what we have to do now, right?” Alexander asked.
For the first time in as long as Apollo could remember, he felt exactly in sync with his brother – what he felt was echoed in Alexander and Alexander’s rage and fury mirrored in him.
“Yes,” Apollo said, grinning wickedly. Oh yes, he knew exactly what they needed to do. And he was damn well going to enjoy it.
CHAPTER NINE
Jade yawned to herself, still trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. It was impossibly early, and they’d already been travelling for a while. As far as she could tell, no one was really interested in telling her where it was that they were going. So, it was no wonder that when the black stretch limo she was cooped up in pulled up at a private airstrip, she had more than a little cause for confusion.
“C’mon, green eyes, time to roll,” Apollo said, shoving the door open and hopping out with the grace of a seasoned predator.
Alexander followed him with equal ease, giving Jade a cryptic look on his way out. All Jade could do was glance from one beefcake to another, hang onto her disposable cup of coffee and haul herself out of the car with plenty of questions but no real energy to spare to ask them. She pulled her bass case out along with her, Michelle giving it a slight push when it caught stuck behind one of the plush seats.
“So, um, what’s going on?” Jade asked between yawns, shielding her eyes with her hand from the rising sun sweeping across the airfield.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Michelle mumbled, lighting a cigarette and glaring at the Goldplains brothers.
They were hard at work unloading suitcases from the limo, not letting the driver lift a finger, when Jade noticed her two ragged cases as well. She wasn’t even aware they’d been brought along. All that she’d been told in the morning was that she needed to get up, NOW, and so she’d done. Of course, getting out from between Apollo’s sheets had been a struggle and a half, but to her credit, she’d only taken one lengthy inhale before she got down to brass tacks. It was unfair how damn good they smelled, and a girl was allowed a tiny bit of indulgence, right?
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