Dragon's Bane (Dragon Guild Chronicles Book 5)

by Carina Wilder

  “Fine, fine,” Silver said, running a tortured hand through his hair. “I’m only concerned because something weird happened at the club last night.”

  “What was it?” asked Luna, throwing herself down next to him on the couch.

  “Someone came in a few hours ago. A man. He was all sweaty, and a little frazzled-looking. He asked for Ripper.”

  “Do you know what he wanted?”

  “I heard him saying he’d seen someone, in the park.”

  The park. Luna’s heart began to race. Shit. Could Ripper know where she’d been? Well, even if he did, there was no rule against roaming at night.

  There was, however, most certainly a rule about getting naked with Dragon men.

  “Who was it?” she asked.

  “Not sure. They went into Ripper’s office to talk. But I will tell you that our Alpha looked like a ghost when he came back out.”

  “A ghost,” said Luna, distracted by thoughts of the previous night. “Hey, Silver, speaking of ghosts, what would you do if you ever saw him again?”

  Once she’d asked the question, she wondered at her own sanity. She’d told herself that she wasn’t going to say anything about Kirith. Yet here she was, about to make a blood-chilling announcement.

  “Saw who?” Silver replied as he leaned back, pressing his head to the wall above the couch.

  “The BHD.”

  Her brother turned her way, his eyes going wide. For a moment he looked like the boy she’d once known. The boy who’d been excited about life. Who could feel, who could experience emotion and surprise. He looked almost excited as soon as she uttered the words. “What the bloody hell are you talking about?” he asked.

  “You know what I’m talking about.”

  “You’re telling me the BHD is here? In London?”

  Luna nodded, biting a nail nervously. “I saw him last night, in Hyde Park.” She could have mentioned the earlier encounter in the pub, but it might have sent her brother over the edge to know she’d seen him twice in a twenty-four hour period.

  “Jesus, Luna…he’s dangerous. Please tell me you didn’t talk to him.”

  If you only knew what I’d done with him.

  “Only a little,” she said. “But it was enough.”

  “Enough for what?”

  Luna swallowed hard. This was probably going to make her brother angry. “To be able to say that I don’t think he’s what Ripper wants us to believe. I don’t think he’s a bad man after all. I’m not sure any Dragon is bad.” In spite of what I saw in the woods that night.

  Silver paused for a moment before mumbling, “Why do you say that?”

  “He protected me from some rather nasty blokes last night,” she said. “So whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong. He’s good.”

  Silver turned away, his hand gripping the arm rest, as though he’d suddenly become tense. “Yes,” he replied, to her surprise. “It’s very likely that he is a good man.”

  “What?” Luna asked, her jaw slack. “I always thought you hated him. Our entire Pack thinks he’s a killer, for fuck’s sake.”

  “I’m not so sure of that,” said Silver. “But look—it doesn’t matter. Whatever he is, I don’t think you should seek him out again. He has good reason to hate our Pack, and I can’t imagine he’d tolerate even you for long. If you saw him last night, you’re lucky to be alive.”

  Luna crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean, he has good reason to hate our Pack?” she said. Kirith had said the same thing, but how on earth did Silver know anything about it?

  “Call it a hunch,” Silver repeated, his voice reverting to its usual monotone, which meant that he was done with this conversation. Luna could feel him pulling away from her, retreating into his thick-walled vault, where nothing could touch him. “It doesn’t matter. Just stay away from him, Luna. Please.”

  “You’re no longer telling me he’s horrid and cruel.”

  “That’s because I don’t think he is cruel.” Silver threw his head back again, closing his eyes.

  “But you won’t tell me why.”

  Luna watched her brother. His eyes were still closed, but a single tear streaked down his left cheek. “If I told you what I know,” he said softly, pulling his eyes open, “it would break you as it’s broken me. I won’t have it, Luna. I won’t.”

  “Silver…” she said, shifting her body towards his. She wanted to hug him, to put her head on his shoulder. To tell him that she would always be here for him. That she would always love him, no matter what. But as soon as she got near, he held his right hand up, gesturing her to stop.

  When Luna’s eyes met the triangular tattoo on his palm, an ache set into her heart. Somehow, she knew, that fucking mark was behind all of this. Their ties to the Warkshire Pack, to Ripper, were the reason Silver had lost himself years earlier. “You need to talk to me,” she said. “Whatever it is you’ve been holding in all this time, you need to let it out. Otherwise I can’t help you. We can’t help each other.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t,” he croaked out, his voice breaking. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, seemingly annoyed at his tears for daring to fall.

  Luna rose to her feet, pressing her hands to her hips.

  “Then don’t ever ask me to confide in you again,” she said. “And for fuck’s sake, don’t ever lecture me on coming home in the wee hours of the night. If you’re not going to share your life with me, there’s no sodding reason I should share mine with you. I’ll see you at the club tonight.”

  With that, she charged into her room and slammed the door, not much caring if she woke the neighbours.

  She needed to sleep. To clear her head of all the thoughts that were haunting it. But mostly, she needed to let her poor heart rest for a time. It had suffered too much damage for one day.

  Chapter 13

  Luna arrived at the club at four p.m., dressed in a short, black cocktail dress with open shoulders. It dipped at the bust, revealing enough soft cleavage to satisfy any horny shifter seeking an eyeful. It was her shortest, tightest garment; one that she’d bought a few years earlier when going through a brief and regrettable period of one-night stands.

  Any normal woman would have dated many men by now. The average Wolf shifter would likely have found herself a mate by the age of thirty-one, but not Luna. Oh, she’d been with this man and that one, had the odd slightly-drunken fling. She’d never been with anyone in her Pack, of course; the submissive males of Warkshire had never managed to excite her enough.

  But in spite of a few pleasant nights out with some very attractive men from neighbouring Packs, no one had ever interested her enough to persuade her to commit to them. On top of that, Luna knew that Ripper wouldn’t approve of any of the men she’d been with. For some reason he seemed quite happy to keep her single. Perhaps it was his way of ensuring that she stuck around. Or maybe his reasons were more selfish than that.

  Whatever the case, it didn’t much matter to Luna. As long as Silver remained in the Pack, and as long as she couldn’t figure out a way to break him free, she would remain by his side. She would never run away with any man if it meant deserting her brother.

  Which basically meant that she lived the life of an abstinent, sexually frustrated nun, for all intents and purposes.

  When she strolled into the Underground Club, Silver was already standing behind one of the bar areas in a t-shirt and jeans, his assigned bartender’s uniform. He looked good. Luna could see why Ripper wanted him back there. If any young women walked in looking for a drink, no doubt they’d be delighted to find themselves face to face with such a handsome devil. Of course, they’d be lucky to get two words out of him.

  She wanted to march over and talk to him, to apologize for her behaviour last night. It wasn’t right to yell at a man so damaged as he was, and she’d been an idiot to lose her cool.

  But as she stepped towards him, a low whistle sounded from somewhere behind her, halting her in he
r tracks. She spun around, ready to face the arsehole who led their Pack.

  “Well, aren’t you looking gorgeous?” asked Ripper, who was moving towards her at a fast pace. He sidled up next to her, pressing his hand to her lower back and giving her a far-too-lengthy kiss on the cheek. She made a mental note to swab that cheek with alcohol as soon as possible.

  “Where do you want me?” she asked, her tone cold.

  Ripper threw her a sly glance that amounted to little more than a pervy narrowing of the eyes. “Hmm. Where do I want you? Oh, on a bed, on my desk, behind the bar?” he replied, letting out a stupid, far-too-loud laugh at his own completely inappropriate joke.

  “You know that’s not what I mean,” she growled.

  “Fine. When the patrons come in, I want you moving about as much as possible,” Ripper replied, raking his eyes down her body like he wanted to tear through the dress. “I want you visible at all times. I want that body of yours on display, and those ears of yours alert.”

  “Alert? For what? Drunken arseholes who are looking for a quick shag?”

  “Details,” said Ripper, leaning towards her and breathing the word in her ear. As the Alpha spoke, Luna looked over at her brother, whose jaw was clenched. She knew he didn’t like when Ripper got too close to her.

  “Yes, yes,” she said. “I know you want information.” Ripper was still too close, and now his right hand had slid over to her waist. Well, it seemed that her vile boss approved of her choice of wardrobe, anyhow.

  She pulled away, wrenching her body free of his grasp. There was only one man she wanted touching her, and he’d pushed her away in the early hours of the morning. The last thing she wanted was for Ripper’s hands to replace Kirith’s.

  “I’ve just found out that there’s someone in London,” Ripper said. “A Dragon shifter who’s of particular interest to me. Some Wolves saw him last night. You might remember him from Warkshire. His name is Kirith.”

  A tremor pulsed its way through Luna’s body, and she did her best to fight it back and conceal her reaction. “Kirith?” she said. “Yes, I seem to recall that name.”

  “He should be called Psycho, really,” said Ripper, who’d pulled back to draw his gross gaze to Luna’s breasts. “He’s rather dangerous, and I want to know where he is. They said they saw him in Hyde Park. I want all the information you can get me on him. So when our customers come in, use your feminine wiles. Wander among the men, ask questions, would you? It’s a matter of protecting the Pack, you see.”

  “Why’s that?” asked Luna, doing her best to sound like she’d forgotten about the Dragon’s alleged crimes.

  Ripper leaned in again and whispered the words into her ear. “Because Kirith is a nasty piece of work, and I mean to kill the fucker.”

  A ripple of dread wove its way through Luna, a deep, protective instinct rising up in her chest. Kirith had saved her from harm. He’d patched her up. He’d taken her clothes off, his mouth had made her head spin, his fingers had taken her possessively. For a brief moment in time he’d been her lover.

  It would have been a lie to say that any part of her believed anymore that he was a cruel and evil beast of a man, that his Dragon was all fire and brimstone. No. His Dragon was a watcher who’d saved her from harm against all odds. He was no devil. As cold as he could be, as distant and stone-hearted, Kirith was the good guy in this scenario.

  The leader of the Warkshire Pack was fighting for the wrong side.

  “I’ll do whatever you say,” she assured Ripper, issuing a quick smile. “I’ll keep an ear out for any news on this Kirith fellow.”

  “Good,” he replied. “I know I can rely on you.” With those words, the Alpha shot a glance at Silver, who was standing behind the bar with a beer stein in hand. His eyes were narrowed angrily, but the moment Ripper looked at him, he dropped his gaze in submission.

  Some day, thought Luna, I’ll learn what’s going on between these two.

  By seven p.m., patrons were beginning to arrive at the club.

  For the bulk of the evening, Luna wandered about the club, taking drink orders and glaring at shifters who stared at her hungrily. She knew that they could tell by her scent that she was unclaimed. A single, available She-Wolf ripe for the taking.

  Hands occasionally reached for her, caressing her when they shouldn’t have. Usually it was a shifter who’d had a little too much to drink who grabbed her, and it didn’t take more than two minutes for her new job to grow tiresome.

  She heard conversations about territories, about claims laid to London’s districts. The Denholm Pack was taking over Chelsea, they said, while another group was claiming Soho. But no real talk of Dragons, and certainly no chatter about Kirith, to Luna’s relief.

  It was only when two a.m. approached that she heard the first talk of his presence.

  “Massive man,” someone was saying, “Seven feet if he was an inch.”

  Her ears perked up, and she turned to see who was speaking. Some dark-haired man was chatting with another male. “It seems he likes to protect the lady-folk. He wouldn’t let us at her.”

  Luna immediately turned away. Crap. It was the greasy, scarred man who’d led her assailants the previous night. It had been dark in the park, but if she recognized him, chances were pretty good that he’d know her face, too.

  She pulled behind a stone column and listened.

  “I’m not sure where he lives,” the man was saying. “But he was in the park; it was like he was watching over it. Said it was under the jurisdiction of the Dragons’ Guild.”

  “They say it’s where the Alpha lives,” the other man replied. “That’s why.”

  “Well, it’ll be ours soon enough, given what Rip has planned.”

  “Oh? Who the fuck is Rip then?”

  “You haven’t heard? They call him the Dragon Slayer. He’s the Alpha of the Warkshire Pack. Nasty piece of work, he is. Knows how to bring down the king of all shifters.”

  “You’re telling me the guy has killed Dragons.”

  “Don’t know. All I know is what I’ve heard. And I’ve heard rumours,” the fucker said. “He means to take down the Guild’s Alpha. He’s out of London, but Rip has some info on his whereabouts.”

  “You’re taking the piss,” the other man replied. “He can’t kill a fucking Kindred leader.”

  “Maybe not, but he can break him. Rumour has it that the leader’s mate is human. And his child is half-human.”

  “Fuck me. That’s something, innit?”

  “Can you imagine what would happen if a sodding Wolf managed to destroy the entire Dragons’ Guild by driving its leader mad?”

  “He’d run this town.”

  “I know it.”

  Fuck, fuck, fuck. Luna spun round, looking to see where Ripper was, but she couldn’t see him. Good. She needed to get out of there, and fast. Needed to find Kirith and warn him.

  She’d never met Lumen, but something told her to protect him, to look after his interests. If Ripper hurt the Dragons, if he hurt Kirith…

  She would end him.

  Chapter 14

  Kirith lay on the large bed in Lumen’s apartment, staring up at the dimly diffused light coming through the glass ceiling.

  Thoughts of the pretty Wolf shifter moved through his mind in spite of his efforts to push her away. Her eyes, her lips, her breasts. The taste of her. His cock was rock hard, throbbing with desire for the woman he’d sent away the previous night. The woman who’d said she wanted him inside her.

  If she’d known how much he’d wanted to fulfill that request…

  At first he thought he’d only imagined the distant howl that broke through the air, snatching his mind away from naughty thoughts.

  A gust of wind caught up in a tree above, that was all it was.

  But then it came again, tearing through the night’s silence. The lonely cry of a Wolf in some kind of pain. Something in the sound felt familiar, sending all of Kirith’s instincts prickling to attention.

 
Luna was out there.

  Despite the fact that he’d told her not to return, she’d defied him. Damn it, woman. You should know better than to make a Dragon angry.

  He pulled himself to his feet, grabbing the nearest jeans and t-shirt and yanking them on, before tearing down the hall towards the exit that would take him up into the centre of the park.

  He found the copper Wolf near the reeds, pacing furiously. When she spotted him she stopped, her bright eyes tracking his. For a moment Kirith allowed himself to stare at her déor, gifting himself a rare moment of vulnerability. Her animal felt pain; he could feel it. But it wasn’t physical. Luna was worried, apprehensive. Worried for him. Scared of some unseen threat.

  “What is it?” he asked, stepping towards her, sniffing the air for the presence of intruders.

  Luna shifted into her human form when he’d come close, and Kirith stopped in his tracks, telling his already charged body to calm down. The accursed, beautiful Wolf shifter was wearing a tight little black number that exposed her shoulders and the rounded, luscious tops of her breasts. But something told him she hadn’t dressed to impress him. No, this was some sort of work uniform. That fucker of an Alpha wanted her showing off her skin. It was lovely skin, to be sure. Skin that sent blood rushing to the place between Kirith’s legs, stealing away his ability to think, to breathe.

  But beautiful or not, the truth was that Luna was worth so much more than to be put on display like a china doll for shifters to ogle. She was too innocent to garnish in this way. Too exquisite a creature.

  “I know you told me not to come back, but I needed to talk to you,” she said, drawing him away from thoughts of her perfect body.

  Kirith nodded. “Right. Come,” he said, leading her to a nearby bench. He needed to sit down, to look anywhere but at her. Somehow, clothed Luna was even sexier than naked Luna. He wanted to kiss her bare shoulders, to bite them. To mark her with an imprint of his teeth and claim her for his own.