by Amelia Jade
“Me too. Because right now this is heavenly, which is as close as I plan to get to it for a long, long time.” He nuzzled in tighter to her.
“I believe you, by the way.”
He looked up from where his head was resting on her chest. “About what?”
“That you’re a dragon. I believe it.”
Caine laughed, then winced. “All it took was seeing me go up against another dragon for you to believe, was it? Should have told me that earlier.” He started to laugh again, but subsided when his face clenched tight in pain.
“Hush,” she urged, not wanting him to aggravate his wounds. “There’s one other thing I wanted to tell you.”
“There is?” Caine very carefully didn’t move. She could feel him stiffening.
“I…” she faltered. “Caine, I’ve not had a great life. I haven’t had many examples of positive, well, anything, until you came along. You’ve shown me so much. You’ve opened my eyes to the world and made me realize that there is good in it. That people aren’t just using others to get what they want.” She was tearing up, but she pushed on. “My world has been forever changed in the past few weeks because of you, and that was before you told me what you are. I’ve never met anyone so selfless, honest, trusting, and caring as you. I have no real example of it, but I’m pretty damn positive this is what love is supposed to feel like.”
Anna sniffled. “So I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love you, Caine.”
The big dragon shifter sat up so that he could look her directly in the eyes.
“I love you too, Anna. With all my being.”
“Does that mean I’m your mate?”
He jerked. “How did you know about that?”
“Uh, one of the other dragons mentioned it by accident.”
Caine glared around. “Which one?”
“I don’t know.” It was a lie. They both knew it.
Her dragon—and dammit he was hers and she wasn’t giving him up—sighed. “Yes, though I’d hoped to tell you myself. But we dragons only mate once. For life. You are mine. I wanted to tell you long ago. I knew it from the first day I saw you, but I couldn’t tell you how it meant we were bound together. I needed you to fall in love with me on your own.”
“I did.”
Caine’s smile swelled her heart to bursting.
Anna pulled him in close and kissed him, ignoring the sounds all around them as Caine’s friends gathered up all the survivors. Right now she needed a moment for the two of them, and no one else.
They parted for air eventually, and she brushed Caine’s hair back from his face, careful of the cuts on his head, even as they were already healing.
“Caine.”
They both looked up as Vanek came over, accompanied by Colonel Mara.
“Yes?”
“Come with me. You need to hear this.”
She exchanged glances with Caine, and then together they got up and followed as Vanek led them over to where the green dragon was pinned to the wall by a layer of ice.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Caine
As they approached the green dragon finally ripped itself free, sinking to all fours under the watchful eye of a dozen black-painted battlesuits and five dragons in human form. He recognized his two brothers and Corde, Vanek’s roommate, but that was all.
“What’d I miss?”
He spun around as yet another dragon entered the room. Kallore looked around wildly and ran over to Colonel Mara. Caine smiled as they spoke in low tones, watching the pair embrace. They were an adorable pair when they let their guard down in public, and he wished them nothing but happiness.
They paused at the body of General Knefferson. “What happened here?” he asked.
“Colonel Mara.” It was the only response Vanek would give.
It was enough.
They continued on, arriving in front of the dragon shifter. Caine eyed him again.
“I’m not crazy, right? His blood is purple?”
The others agreed, nodding warily, their eyes fixed on the unknown dragon.
Caine stepped forward. “Who are you, why are you infected with Outsider, and what the fuck are you doing with General Knefferson?”
Answers were needed. He squeezed Anna’s hand. He’d not wanted to expose her to the true reason that he and his brothers were in Barton City, but it was too late now. He couldn’t protect her from this forever, no matter how hard he wished he could.
“My name is not important.” Caine was stunned by the wheezing sound as he spoke. Was the dragon truly that hurt?
“Your other questions are a longer story.” He paused, green eyes focusing on Caine. “For centuries now we have worked with the government, and the military in particular, helping them as needed. Always one of us has liaised with a high-ranking official. For the past two decades, that has been myself. Most recently General Knefferson has been our contact.”
“Our? Who are these people you speak of?”
“Dragons. An enclave that, unlike yourselves, never went to sleep. We have remained awake and hidden from humans all along, only dealing with certain people, like General Knefferson.”
Caine was stunned. Dragons who hadn’t gone to sleep? Awake all along? “Why didn’t we know of this?” He looked around at the other dragons, then at Colonel Mara.
“Don’t look at me,” the military officer said. “This is all news to me.”
Caine shook his head. “Go on. Explain why you’ve sided with that traitorous asshole Knefferson.”
“I didn’t side with him.” The man coughed, purple blood spraying from his mouth. “He was in charge at Central Defense Command. That is who we have always worked with. I did not know he was a traitor. I knew this program was up and running, but that was about all. I have not been involved.”
“And the Outsider? Why are you infected with it?”
The shifter looked at its hand, stained purple from its blood. “I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t know?”
He shook his head. “No. Knefferson said that a drug had been developed to help make us stronger. I volunteered to test it. It seemed to work at first. Now it seems it’s going to kill me.”
“So he tricked you into it?”
“It would seem that way. There was another, after me. I believe some of you encountered Liam?”
Caine knew that to be the dragon his youngest brother had fought against, the first sign they’d had that Outsiders were infecting humans.
“I’m lost,” Anna said, speaking up. “I still don’t understand why Knefferson would do this.”
“It’s rather simple in hindsight,” the unnamed shifter said, coughing up more blood as he spoke. “Knefferson is a xenophobe. I picked up on it late, but I see it now. He wanted to kill us all. To distribute the drugs to dragons through me and then eventually to you all. He hired the crime boss Richard Malkin to get it to other shifters after we told him that different species besides dragons existed.”
“What an asshole,” Anna spat, shaking her head furiously.
“So Knefferson never told you the origin of the drugs?”
“No. But he worked closely with Liam on it, who hated any non-dragon shifters. I believe he knew, at the end.”
“He did,” Cowl said, speaking up at last. Caine looked at his younger brother. He hadn’t spoken much about that fight to anyone. “At the end he sacrificed himself to the last Outsider, hoping that it would be enough to overpower us.”
Caine rubbed his temples. They hurt outside and in, from his wounds and all the newfound knowledge.
Other dragons. Knefferson a confirmed traitor. Infecting shifters to try and kill them all.
“What the fuck happens now?” he wondered out loud.
“Now, someone else will assume command of the CDC,” Colonel Mara said slowly. “He’s going to die soon. And then I guess his enclave will send another representative?”
The dying shifter nodded. “I would assume so.”
“Well that new commander had better be you,” Caine growled, pointing at Colonel Mara. “Because there is no way in hell we’re following anyone else after having to deal with Knefferson.”
Colonel Mara laughed. “It won’t be me. I’m far too junior, and most of the upper echelon hate me and want me out of the service. Sorry.”
Caine shook his head. “I don’t think you understand me, Colonel. You are the new commander. If they don’t like it, too fucking bad. We’re not dealing with anyone else. Period. End of story.”
Anna nodded, and the other shifters all agreed. Even Kallore wasn’t willing to stick by his mate’s side on this one. He could sense what was happening.
“If you do this, they’ll call it treason.”
Caine grinned. “If they want a rebellion, they’ll get it. But I suspect they don’t want nine angry dragon shifters storming the president’s house, now do they?”
Colonel Mara shook her head. “Hooo boy. This ought to be fun to explain.”
“That’s why you’re paid the big bucks,” Kallore joked, avoiding the swat from his mate.
Caine looked around, pulling Anna in tight to him as the green dragon coughed and hacked. Great gobs of purple blood spilled from his mouth and he began to shake.
Ivore got to him first, helping the dragon into a sitting position.
“My people are not going to be happy about this. They will probably blame you.” He shrugged, a wry smile on his face. “Sorry.”
Then he died, his body shivering and going still. Ivore reached out and closed his eyes, standing up and returning to a spot near Caine. “What do we do now?” he asked softly.
Caine didn’t respond right away. He took his time, formulated his thoughts, and then looked at Anna. She nodded. Whatever he decided she would be okay with.
“We stay,” he announced. “The humans need us. The world needs us. As many of us as possible. Knefferson won’t be the last one to hate us. We need to stay together, to show our unity to the world. Eventually our secret will get out, and when that time comes, we’ll need one another to make it through.”
The other dragons nodded or called out their cries of support. Caine turned to Kallore and his mate.
“We’re yours to command. General.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Anna
“You’re sure you’re okay with this?”
She nodded. “Yes. Yes I am.”
“You know Senator Lee is still out there. He escaped in the battle.”
“I know. But he’s never going to be the same. You saw the footage I saw, Caine. He got caught in the blast zone of that dragon’s gas-grenade thing. His face and side were melted horrifically. He’s never going to be the same ever again. He’s going to lose everything. That’s actually a worse fate, I think, than being granted a swift death.” She grinned, feeling no remorse for what was going to happen to Lee. “He’s going to lose everything, but it will be slow. Bit by bit. It will be stripped from him, leaving him with little to go on.”
Caine walked ahead of her, reaching the end of the aisle and then turning down the next, his eyes glazing over at row after row of cushions. He was a little overwhelmed at the size of the home décor store. “I guess. But you aren’t worried that if you move in with me and settle down, he might send someone after you?”
She snickered. “Look how well that worked out for him the first time. No, I think we’re done seeing him.”
“Annalise Walker?”
Caine was instantly at her side, standing just a hair in front of her, in case she needed protecting.
“Yes?”
“These are for you.” A man dressed in a smart courier uniform handed her a manila envelope, and then his reader for her to sign with her finger. She did, looking strangely at the letterhead.
“What are these?”
“Divorce papers.” The courier hit something on his reader and then nodded at her. “Thank you.” He hurried off toward the exit of the store.
Anna stared up at Caine, stunned. “How the hell did he find us here?”
“I have no idea.” Her mate was eying the envelope. “So you’re officially divorced now?”
She shrugged. “Kind of hard to hold up a marriage that was performed without my consent, against my will, was never consummated, and had many cases of infidelity on his part.”
A strange part of her felt relieved. Like the book on her old existence was finally closed, and she could truly move on. She looked forward to starting a new life.
“So, can you handle having a single woman living with you?” she teased.
It had taken her a week and more after the battle of the cavern for her to feel truly comfortable with the decision to move in with Caine, but once she’d committed to it, Anna hadn’t planned on stopping.
Caine snorted. “I hope you realize that as soon as those are signed and you’re comfortable with it, there’s going to be a ring on your finger again.”
“Oh yeah?”
He held up a hand. Ice curled up from his palm, forming a perfect circle, topped with a glittering jewel of ice. “Very.” The ring melted away. “But once you’re ready. There’s no rush. We’re going to have a very long time together, my love.”
My love.
Anna smiled. “This isn’t just some elaborate plan to get into my pants, is it?”
Caine frowned. “I was in your pants last night. Twice, if I remember. Also this morning. And I will be again when we get home. So no, I don’t think so.”
“You seem pretty confident about what’s going to happen later! Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”
He swept her off her feet, whirling her around. “Well, if my memory is correct, I’m pretty sure you were the one that told me what was going down when we got back.”
She blushed, knowing her cheeks had to be nearly glowing red at the reminder. Her palm still stung from where she’d smacked it against his rear. It wasn’t fair that it hurt her to do that. He was just too muscular!
Scratch that, she thought, clinging to his chest as he carried her up the aisle. She was quite content with his build. Quite content.
A tear dripped from her eye.
This was what she’d been missing her entire life. For three and a half decades, Anna had gone without feeling truly loved.
“Thank you,” she whispered, snuggling in close to Caine once more, ignoring the looks from the other shoppers.
Caine made a confused sound, but he didn’t question the situation. He just held her tight.
It was exactly what she needed.
********
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This concludes Dragon Rebellion, Ice Dragons Book 3.
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Inferno
Dragons of Drake’s Crossing #1
By Amelia Jade
Inferno
Copyright @ 2017 by Amelia Jade
First Electronic Publication: November 2017
Amelia Jade
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagi
nation or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.
All sexual activities depicted occur between consenting characters 18 years or older who are not blood related.
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Inferno
Chapter One
The clanking of armor was what awoke him.
Triple eyelids slicked back into their recesses as yellow orbs the size of a human head focused into the darkness, attempting to pinpoint the sound.
“Fools,” he hissed, his anger burning brighter.
Deep in the mountain the earth responded to his rage. Melted slag and rock shivered in anticipation. The temperature of his cavern rose ever so slightly. Shaking himself, he rose onto his four massive clawed feet. A quick glance behind him showed a solid wall. He breathed in relief; neither his treasure room nor the other room had been breached. They were still sealed off to the world. After what had happened back in Normandy, he was never too careful. It still irked him that he’d slept while those thieving Frenchmen had stolen three-quarters of his hoard.
Moving forward, he stomped down the hallway and up the smooth rock face toward the surface. After several corners and pushing one gigantic boulder out of the way, he found daylight at last. By now the sound of metal clanking against metal was much easier to hear. To his surprise they were far closer than he’d imagined. Perhaps his listening-hole acoustics weren’t as good as he’d thought. Making a mental note to rework his air/ear hole from the surface to his den, he oriented himself on the trespassers.
