The Dragon's Secret Queen

by Jasmine Wylder

  Chaz got onto his motorcycle and sat waiting for Zuri to get on too.

  “I have to take Sandy’s car back,” Zuri said, not moving to get on.

  “Joe sent one of the guys back with it already,” Chaz said without looking at her.

  “You hotwired Sandy’s car?” Zuri felt a righteous indignation she wasn’t sure she had a right to.

  Chaz turned and looked at her, “You left the keys in the car.”

  Zuri felt shame ripple over her again. She silently got onto the back of Chaz’s motorcycle and as soon as she settled on he drove off into the night.

  They drove in silence back to Chaz’s house, not that they would have been able to talk even if there was something to say. He parked and waited for her to get off, then stormed moodily into the house.

  Zuri followed slowly behind him.

  Chaz paced his way to the end of the house then back. She had just decided to retreat to the room when he turned on her.

  “You promised you would let me do this. Did you even consider what you would do if you found Ava? What would you do if there were three shifters with her? Even one? You would have sprayed them in the face?”

  She reached and felt the bear spray still in her back pocket. The mace must still be at the warehouse. A hot wave of embarrassment rolled over her.

  “I would have figured something out.” Zuri felt her voice growing tight, energy rising through her body. “It’s not like you are finding her. What happens when it’s too late, huh?”

  “We have men on it. I am on it. I promised I would find her. I promised you.” He walked to her with menacing purpose. “I told you that I don’t take promises lightly. You don’t trust me.”

  “How can I when Ava is still out there, being held captive by those…those…animals.”

  “Did you know that only a few hours earlier there were about ten wolf shifters hiding out at Devil’s Head? Ava wasn’t even being held there, we checked. What would you have done if they hadn’t moved camp?” Chaz was tight with rage.

  “At least I would have been trying.” Zuri felt near tears but she pulled herself together and refused to give in to the feeling.

  “You think I’m not trying? What do you think I do all day? How do you think I got this?” Chaz ripped the tee shirt underneath his jacket to reveal the bruise he’d showed earlier and another longer trail of purple and yellow bruises running over his torso.

  Ava looked at his chest. She bit down on her lower lip. Chaz was quiet, she could feel a hot rage boiling beneath the surface.

  “Do you know what I pictured when I heard what you did? Do you know what I thought of? No, you…”

  Zuri tried to imagine what he’d pictured. Had he worried about her safety that much? Had he worried about her?

  “You went to Devil’s Head…tonight?” She looked up at his shining eyes.

  “Yes, like I said Ava wasn’t even there…but those men are dangerous. Really dangerous. You don’t understand.” His voice dissipated into a low growl.

  Zuri felt her body responding to his energy. She felt herself being pulled into him, into this man that wanted to protect her. This man that went into a dangerous situation, got battered and bruised, to find Ava.

  “Did you find anything out about where Ava might be?” Zuri’s voice was calm and plaintive.

  Chaz looked at her for a long time before answering, “If I did would you go off on your own to investigate?”

  Zuri shook her head, “I just need to know.”

  Chaz pushed a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. “No. They cover their tracks. There are too many of them and too few of us. What do you know about the guy that owns the Smoke Stack?”

  “Greg?” Zuri was surprised by the question. “Greg is greedy and money focused but I don’t think he would hurt anyone. Why do you ask?”

  “Last time these guys were in town he seemed to be a little too interested, a little too friendly with them,” Chaz said, his shirt still gaping open.

  “That’s just him, he’s a busybody at heart. Gossipy but I don’t think he knows much of anything important.”

  “Please,” Chaz’s voice got low and soft, “don’t run off on your own again. If something happened to you…if…”

  There was a fiery tension between them and she took a step toward him. As she did he stepped all the way toward her, grabbed her body and pulled her lips to his.

  It was nothing like the first kiss. It was explosive. Combustible. Zuri felt her whole being shift into Chaz’s. She wanted to melt onto him, until they could never be separated.

  Chaz’s hands reached around her, pulling at the roundness in her hips, fingers pulling into the weight of her ass.

  He lifted Zuri and her legs naturally wrapped around his torso.

  One arm held her firmly in place and the other moved up her spine, underneath her hair, holding her head he kissed her open mouth.

  He moved without seeing and bumped into the side of the couch. The two tumbled forward onto the cushions. Zuri looked up into Chaz’s face, his strong jaw, his tortured dark eyes. She pulled at his lip with her teeth.

  His hand roamed over her body, needing, wanting.

  Zuri reached her hand under the sides of Chaz’s jacket, feeling the cascading heat of his body and the perfectly taut muscles underneath.

  She leaned her head back and exhaled a whimper. Her own need was growing too ferocious to quell.

  Chaz lifted. She was about to pull him back to her when he moved away.

  Zuri paused. She looked at his turned body not understanding what had just happened.

  “This,” he turned to look at her. She was still sprawled on the sofa, her shirt halfway undone. “This isn’t a good idea,” he continued. “You should go get some sleep.”

  He looked at Zuri one more time, his eyes still burning, then he turned and walked out of the door into the night.

  Chapter Eight

  For the next two days Zuri and Chaz barely said a word to one another. Zuri kept thinking of Rebecca and assumed Chaz was thinking of her as well. A small piece of Zuri was floating off in the distance, a part that had wanted Chaz, had chosen Chaz. But he hadn’t chosen her, she reminded herself over and over again.

  At work she kept asking around, trying to find out more details of where Ava was being held captive. Sandy hadn’t surfaced and Zuri knew that she must have been taken too. How many other girls were being held captive by these men?

  The Ukrainians were becoming bolder. They came into the Smoke Stack and though Zuri refused to serve them, Greg brought them drinks and let them sit in groups away from the Magus. He was nice to them, too nice, and Zuri wondered about what Chaz had asked,a but she chalked it up to his obvious worry over any more damage to his bar and he kept a sharp eye on any contact between the two groups.

  Zuri wasn’t sure if Greg shouldn’t be more worried about her attacking the Ukrainians. Every part of her wanted to confront them. To go and draw her fingernails across them and tell them exactly what she thought of them.

  She peppered Kevin with questions and even tried to finagle details out of some of her long time patrons. Anything that could or might lead to Ava was worthy of her attention.

  Now that Chaz was barely talking to her she was left with the obsessive burden of Ava’s rescue. Nothing mattered besides Ava. She had to be found, and soon. Zuri knew that the longer a girl went missing the less likely it became that the girl would ever be found.

  Zuri took a big bag of trash out of the bin after her Friday night shift. It had been a long night, Zuri was exhausted but she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep. The past two nights had been the same. Her thoughts were far too intrusive, and sleep became less and less of an option. Instead she’d turned on her headphones and pace the floor, occasionally her mind calmed enough for her to read. If she was lucky she would wake up a few hours later with the book still in the crook of her arm.

  The box in the corner of Chaz’s closet was burning a hole through her
heart. She felt seared, scorched by something she couldn’t put a title on.

  She opened the door to the back alley and walked the bag down to the giant dumpster, giving it a heaving throw over and in.

  Zuri turned and began walking back but stopped when she realized someone stood in front of her.

  The Ukrainian wolf shifter, the one who had taken Ava, stood in front of her.

  “So we meet again,” he smiled the same cold grin.

  Zuri hadn’t seen him since that night. He hadn’t been in to the Smoke Stack with the other mobsters she’d seen. If he had, she knew she wouldn’t have been able to control herself.

  She looked at the distance between them and wondered how fast she would have to be to run past this man and make it back into the bar safely. If she yelled, would anyone even hear her in time?

  “Where is Ava, the girl you took that night—where is she?” Zuri tried to lift herself, to make herself seem stronger, more substantial than she actually was. She wanted to look past him to get her bearings, make a plan, but she didn’t want to break eye contact either.

  “I heard you’ve been asking a lot of questions.” He laughed as if at some private joke and a chill ran up through Zuri’s spine. This was a very bad situation. There was nothing in the alley that she could use to defend herself. Even if he didn’t shift she wouldn’t stand a chance against this man.

  “So answer my questions and I’ll stop asking.”

  The man began to walk toward her and Zuri immediately began to back up. The thought of his closing distance made panic begin to rise inside of her.

  “I don’t think that’s the solution. I think the solution is just shutting you up.” The man moved forward again. His eyes were hard and cruel. Zuri braced her body.

  She tried in vain to think of an escape route, a plan. But it was too late.

  With a leap he shifted. The huge snarling gray wolf in front of her looked rabid. His teeth were sharp, spit dripping down his mouth, and his eyes sparkled. His hair stood ragged in clumps.

  Zuri screamed out at the top of her lungs. Adrenaline pulsed through her body and ran backwards toward the trash bins, stumbling over herself.

  This was the end. She would die tonight. She would never find Ava. She would never see Chaz again. Her heart pounded, she lifted a bag of trash and threw it toward the wolf. He easily bounced out of the way. Zuri screamed again.

  There was a scuffling sound and she looked past the wolf to see Chaz standing at the end of the alley. A flood of emotion poured through her. She would die but at least she would get to see this man one more time.

  The wolf turned to look too. Zuri picked up a trash bin lid and held it up as shield, as if it would in some way offer her a modicum of protection.

  Chaz broke into a run and in an instant he transformed. Zuri watched spellbound as the giant bear barreled toward them. The wolf turned his full attention to Chaz now. He crouched and pounced. Chaz threw one massive brown arm out as if he were hitting a volleyball and the wolf thudded against the wall, scrambling around and crouching again.

  The wolf was on him, teeth out and growling, but he was no match for Chaz’s strength. Chaz backhanded the wolf. The wolf crouched but before he could lunge again Chaz reached forward. He picked up the huge animal and hurled his body five feet straight into the brick wall.

  Chaz stood to his full height and Zuri felt the same pulse of adrenaline. Chaz was well over ten feet tall in his bear form. His body was massive, his thick arms ready to grab and crush. He let out a loud savage roar. Zuri backed up into a crevasse between the dumpster and the brick wall.

  The wolf whimpered and struggled onto his paws, giving Chaz a last look. Then, he turned and trotted, limping away.

  Zuri held her position. Not sure what to do, until Chaz began to transform back into his normal body. Then she ran to him. She didn’t stop running until her body slammed into his.

  He held her shoulders in outstretched arms and looked over her face and body, looking for any sign that she had been hurt. Zuri felt her jaw quivering and for a moment she wasn’t sure she could stand. Her legs began to give way and Chaz held her up, pulling her close to him.

  They stood that way for a long time, Zuri pulling energy and life from Chaz, her body giving over to him.

  After a long time he pushed her back again, still holding her shoulders for support.

  “You’re ok?” he asked when he saw no signs of damage.

  Zuri nodded her head. She was shaking too badly to say anything more.

  “Alright then, let’s get you out of here.” He guided her shoulders and began moving her forward.

  “Wait,” she stopped and looked at him. Her voice was hoarse and barely audible, “You shifted. You said—”

  The color had drained from his face but the heat off his body was palpable, “—it was instinct. Nothing more.”

  Chapter Nine

  Chaz didn’t want Zuri to know how deeply he felt the threat against her. How much it shook him to his core that he had shifted without hesitation. He’d shifted to save her life. He’d seen her in danger and just like that he had unleashed on the other man.

  He’d gone so many years without shifting that he’d had doubts about his ability to do it at all. After Rebecca shifting had become something dark and dangerous to him, to be avoided at all costs.

  But tonight, just like that, his defenses had been crushed. His doubts fell away. There had been no hesitation he had just done it.

  Zuri looked more beautiful to him that night than she’d ever looked. Her face was full of emotion, her eyes so open and trusting. He was certain that she’d never looked at anyone else that way before. Her normal steely guard had been blasted away and he was allowed to look at the woman underneath. His instinct to protect her was growing to a dangerous level.

  The sense that he was losing control over himself and over his feelings was beginning to worry him in a way that nothing had before. He knew he needed to find Ava, he had made a promise, but if he was going to do it then he had to focus, and the threat to Zuri was weighing on him heavily.

  Chaz went back into the bar and took Zuri’s bag, he left Zuri standing by a table, watching him while he told Greg what had happened.

  “Zuri isn’t safe working here until we get those mobsters out of town,” Chaz said. He looked Greg over. “I heard that they’ve been coming in here lately.”

  “Well, it’s a free country, I can’t just kick them out.” Greg sounded defensive. He inadvertently looked to the table where the Ukrainians had been sitting only an hour before.

  Chaz nodded his head slowly, appraising the man in front of him. “You did hear me say that one of them just tried to kill your bartender in the alley a few minutes ago?”

  “Well, I would never let him in, naturally.” Greg flushed red and crossed his arms over his chest.

  Chaz was still feeling the heat of aggression rolling through his body and he tried to temper himself, knowing that he might not be in his right senses. “Naturally,” Chaz said. He moved a hand along his jawline.

  “Zuri says one of your other bartenders has gone missing.” Chaz looked back at Zuri to make sure she was out of earshot.

  “So you can imagine how I feel being told that I’m going to be down another bartender.” Greg’s voice was petulant and grasping.

  Chaz had an impulse to reach out and grip into the man, to thrash some sense into him.

  Greg must have felt Chaz’s rancor towards him because he quickly added, “Of course I want Zuri to be safe.”

  Chaz knew he elicited fear in other people. His gruff looks and demeanor, his ability to shift, being a high ranking member of the Magus. Sometimes it bothered him but often, as with Greg, he found it was to his benefit.

  “Ok, and you’ll let us know if you find out anything important about these guys?” Chaz watched Greg’s face carefully.

  Greg nodded, “Sure. Of course.”

  Chaz reached out a hand and gave Greg a heavy whack o
f mutual understanding then turned back to where Zuri still stood.

  When Big Joe had called him the night Zuri had snuck off on her own Chaz had gone apoplectic. He felt control sifting through his hands. Worst-case scenarios raced through his mind and he had been almost certain that he would never see Zuri again.

  But she’d been at Devil’s Head, unharmed, when he’d arrived. Then a new fear overtook him.

  After Rebecca he’d sworn off women. There was no point, his heart had been given and his heart had been taken. There was no going back. With Rebecca gone he had thought only of Magus. Only of his job, his brothers, and keeping himself to himself.

  “Come on, let’s go,” he said softly to Zuri, turning her towards the door.

  Chaz could feel Zuri shaking under his hand as he led her outside to his motorcycle. He looked around, making sure there were no signs of the man he’d run off.

  There was something feral, untamed in him that he’d not felt for a long time. When he stayed in his human form and did his work as Anthony’s enforcer he felt completely controlled. The craze of the moment never over took him. He was calculated, predictable. Now he felt the sweeping animal instinct in him alive and ready to attack.

  When he drove Zuri back to his place he knew their situation couldn’t continue on in the same way. He was overwhelmed by her presence. He wasn’t sleeping, he knew she wasn’t sleeping either, he listened to her foot tread until the wee hours. He knew she was reading when he heard the pages of her books turning. Her physical presence, only a room away, was torturing him and he had to break the spell.

  As she got off the motorcycle he cut the engine.

  He walked behind her up to the darkened house. He unlocked the door but neither of them moved to open the door and go in.

  “I wanted to say,” she said as her eyes fluttered to his, “thank you. Thank you for tonight. This is the second time you’ve saved my life.”

  “And there’s no telling what could have happened at the warehouse if I hadn’t shown up,” he added. The truth was that he didn’t want her thanks. He didn’t want to hear the soft voice, hear the gratitude and…something else in her voice.