Denying the Alpha

by Sam Crescent

  Why the hell would they be working together? Unless they thought they could get something for themselves out of this.

  But what? Surely, they had to realize that even entering a dragon’s home without invitation was a very bad idea. Stealing things or harming those within was absolutely beyond the pale and subject to the harshest of consequences.

  A hard, feminine voice broke the stillness. “I know you’re here somewhere Cammi. I don’t know how you did it. We all thought you were a destitute little Seeker. This is truly a surprise.”

  Cammi mouthed, “It’s Lavinia,” to Aldric. Not surprising.

  The sorceress continued, her voice coming from just below them. “I’m disappointed you didn’t share your obvious success with me. I wouldn’t have felt the need to put the collar on you if I knew you were this successful. And this powerful.”

  She thought Cammi was capable of his traps and wards? Aldric arched a brow at Cammi and she pressed her hands to her mouth to stifle her laughter. The witch was in for one hell of a surprise.

  “How did you manage that dragon illusion? I’m assuming you betrayed that elf who helped you, true to form, who then came after you and threw you from the building. But how you managed to save yourself and create that dragon baffles me. I’m not too proud to say I’m jealous.” Her voice started to fade as she turned a corner. “Not too jealous, mind. I would have made a more impressive dragon. One that was a bit more … awe-inspiring.”

  Aldric bristled. He’d give her awe-inspiring.

  Cammi shook her head. He knew the witch was trying to goad her into action but she wouldn’t expect a real-life dragon to appear, would she? His dragon agreed. Aldric turned to Cammi to let her know what he was thinking.

  His heart stopped and his dragon threatened to tear him apart from the inside when he found the space next to him empty.

  Chapter Five

  Cammi didn’t need a bond with him to know what Aldric was thinking at that moment. Not that she could blame him for wanting to tear Lavinia and her little minions to pieces. But his ego was getting in the way.

  He might be a high and mighty dragon, but he’d been living in his ivory tower for so long he probably had no idea what the witch was capable of.

  She’d handle this. Her way.

  While Aldric was listening to the ranting, she started rigging the area with the grenades he’d given her. It was better than sitting around listening to the crap Lavinia was spouting.

  It pissed her off hearing what the witch thought of her. How beneath her Cammi was. As if she didn’t know that already. A halfling Seeker with no true power of her own? How could she not be at the bottom of the food chain?

  She wrapped the last little orb with a golden thread she’d found in Aldric’s hidden room. It probably belonged to Queen Titania’s sister’s butler’s friend and was worth more than her life, but Cammi had seen a need for it.

  Wadding a little in the button, she carefully looped the thread around the ball before securing it to a door handle. Aldric’s home didn’t give her that many options. She never thought she’d complain about clean, simple design.

  Several metal banister posts got the same treatment, leaving her with a handful in her bag. That set, she let the ball of thread unravel as she crept down the rest of the stairs.

  The situation wasn’t helped by the guilt nibbling away at her gut either. She’d brought this down on Aldric. Until she came along, his existence was quiet. Probably peaceful.

  Then in came Cammi.

  Like a wrecking ball.

  If she could fix this, their relationship could start off on a more even keel because, at the moment, Aldric held all the cards. Not something that made her comfortable. If they were going to be bonded, she wanted to be an equal partner.

  Cammi stopped moving.

  What the hell was she thinking? She didn’t want a mate. She didn’t need one. Her life had been long, hard, and meager, but she’d done it on her own. So what if she’d slowly go mad because she wouldn’t bond with him? It would take a long, long time before that happened.

  As if she needed the added complication of an overbearing mate tossed into the mix.

  This would be a show of strength. She didn’t need him to protect her. If anything, he needed her. With his old-world mannerisms, he probably wouldn’t strike Lavinia if it came down to it because she was a female. And she would take full advantage of that.

  Shaking her head, Cammi cleared the bottom steps and made it around a corner without being spotted. Wishing she had her shadows charm, she painstakingly inched her way around the room. What she wouldn’t give for a more traditional design at that moment. Having wide open spaces was great … until you got attacked and needed to find cover.

  Using furniture and statues as cover, Cammi got behind the werewolf. Comparatively, he’d be the easiest to take down. Especially when he was currently swilling what was sure to be insanely expensive alcohol like he needed it to live.

  Aldric would thank her for this.

  Cammi lay down almost flat, balancing herself on her hands and toes as she moved closer. Unfortunately, the too-large tunic scraped along the marble floor.

  She froze. In the vulnerable position that she was, chances were stacked against her getting away. Holding her breath, she waited. Cammi could reach her dagger in time—possibly—if he attacked. It wouldn’t be pretty, or easy, but she could handle herself.

  He paused, tipping the bottle upright as he listened.

  Cammi forced her quickly fatiguing muscles to keep still.

  When he sniffed deep, she almost rolled onto her back to grab the dagger. He stuck his nose in the neck of the bottle and inhaled again. Savoring the aroma. Relief caused her to sag a little but she held her ground.

  When he tipped the bottle back again, Cammi took the opportunity and leaped to her feet. Using the chair, she jumped up onto his neck and wrapped her legs around it. She slammed her fist against the bottom of the bottle and pushed it farther into his mouth, using the liquid and her legs to gag him.

  He ripped and tore at her. Thankfully the tunic held against the razor sharpness of his claws though she was positive she’d have some ugly bruises the next day.

  She threw her weight to the side, twisting his neck. When she felt the pop, Cammi knew it was over and toppled him silently onto the sofa.

  It was a quick matter of taking the bottle out of his mouth, to avoid a further mess, covering him with a throw and some cushions, and moving on.

  She looked up to where she’d left Aldric and caught sight of his furious face an instant before he disappeared in a blur of movement.

  What? She’d saved what was left of his brandy and took out one of the intruders. That was two-to-zero in her book. He’d better hurry if he wanted to catch up.

  As she took cover, she caught sight of him on the other side where the vampire was looking through his collection of books. From the look that crossed Aldric’s face when the vampire touched them, he wasn’t too happy.

  Aldric grabbed him and she spotted how the would-be thief’s body shuddered and spasmed. He’d been electrocuted and was likely dead before he hit the ground. Aldric stood over the smoldering body as he glowered at her.

  Was that a challenge?

  So what if he had powers? She had brains. And, thanks to him, a few new toys.

  He motioned for her to come back to him. Why? Things were working out quite nicely as they were.

  Lavinia was still ranting about … something. Not that it mattered. All she spouted were things that would distract her. Cammi needed to focus. That left her and the other witch. As long as nothing else got in.

  Shaking her head, Cammi signaled he should go around to get the witch while she went after Lavinia. Aldric shook his head and pointed at her then at the ground at his side again.

  Was he crazy? He wanted her to risk going over there just so he could play the big hero?

  Aldric pointed again but when she glared back at him, he dashed acros
s the space in the blink of an eye. What Cammi hadn’t expected was the serpent he stomped on just inches away from biting her.

  “What the hell do you think you’re playing at?” he growled in her ear.

  A tremor skittered through her. He’d been trying to protect her, not boss her around. “I thought…”

  “I know what you thought,” he bit out. “This isn’t a game, Cammi.”

  She pulled herself to her full height. “I know it’s not. But how can I trust you when I know nothing about you?”

  Aldric gripped her shoulders. “Know that I am your mate and nothing short of death will stop me from protecting you.”

  “And I’m trying to protect you. You don’t know anything about her or what she’s capable of. I do. That, and with your lord of the manor act, how can I know you’ll be able to take her down?”

  He looked utterly baffled. “What?”

  “What if you have to hit her?” It sounded ridiculous to her own ears now, but Cammi kept going. “Could you?”

  He looked at her as if she was crazy and in that moment Cammi wasn’t sure that she was completely sane either.

  But his face softened inexplicably. “It’s a big change, I know,” he murmured. “If only we’d had a chance to bond before this happened.”

  That would have made thing easier? Sure, they’d be better attuned to one another. Cammi had heard stories of mates who could read each other’s minds and trace the other over vast distances. Would they be like them?

  Or would the extreme need to protect the other be a hindrance? It was bad enough now that she worried about his safety as well as her own. If they were bonded, wouldn’t the urge be much worse?

  But at least she would get where he was coming from and that would be a huge advantage.

  Too late now.

  “Who’s this?” Lavinia had rounded the corner and spied them with curiosity clear on her angular features.

  Tall and willowy, the sorceress appeared fragile enough that a stiff wind would break her. Experience told Cammi that was the furthest thing from the truth.

  The obvious attraction in Lavinia’s gaze as she studied Aldric ignited the impulse to grab her by her auburn hair and throw her out the nearest window.

  Aldric closed his hand over her shoulder as if he could read what she was thinking.

  The witch’s eyes caught the move. “I never knew you had a lover. You seem so stressed and … unlikable, I assumed that was due, in part, to sexual frustration. You are full of surprises today, aren’t you?”

  Cammi shrugged Aldric off. “I don’t know what you think you’re getting by coming here, but I suggest you leave.”

  Lavinia’s face turned hard. “Look who’s tough now that she’s got backup.”

  Aldric stiffened behind her but thankfully said nothing.

  Stepping in front of Aldric, Cammi squared off with the witch. “I’m not the one who had to show up with a team to help her take on one little halfling.”

  Laughing, Lavinia tore her gaze from Cammi to look at the man behind her once again. “I get it now. This is his place. Does he even know what you are? What you do? What you dragged him into?”

  Aldric chuckled.

  “What’s so funny, handsome?”

  “You.” Aldric’s voice rumbled into Cammi’s back. “You think you can break into my home and threaten what’s mine and get away with it?”

  “I think I might,” came her haughty reply.

  A low growl came from the man behind her. One that belonged to a creature much, much bigger. “Wrong.”

  Chapter Six

  Cammi couldn’t say that she didn’t enjoy the look of terror that came over the witch’s face when Aldric transformed. She was still in awe from what she remembered, and the sheer size of him alone was awe-inspiring.

  But as much as she wanted to stop and gawk, there were two spell-casters that needed to be disposed of.

  Darkness descended upon them when Aldric spread his wings and destroyed the lights. Suited her just fine. And definitely gave them the advantage over the witches.

  Movement caught the corner of her eye and Cammi spotted the other witch. She’d dropped everything she had pillaged and stood wide-eyed and jaw loose at the dragon that filled the space, and she was scrabbling in the darkness to get away.

  Taking advantage of the opening, Cammi hit the easy target with an ice orb an instant before Aldric released a blast of electricity-laced blue fire at her, vaporizing her in an instant.

  Darkness, it seemed, didn’t hinder him in the slightest either.

  Aldric wheeled around, looking for Lavinia, smashing out the windows with his tail to give himself more space to maneuver.

  For a moment, Cammi stared at the space left open where the glass used to be. But the creatures on the other side, the ones that hadn’t been stupid enough to get cooked by the barrier, still couldn’t pass Aldric’s wards.

  She counted a couple of harpies and a vampire left outside. Seeing Aldric in all his glory, they’d have to be fools to try to take him on.

  That left the sorceress.

  Lavinia had broken through the shock though the terror she experienced at facing down Aldric was clear in her pallor and glassy eyes.

  “I—I didn’t know…”

  Of course, she hadn’t. If she’d had any inkling of what she would face, Lavinia would never have shown up. A charge filled the air, but it wasn’t from Aldric.

  Cammi screamed for him to take cover as a blast of green blazed from the witch, aimed directly at his head. He countered with a blast of his own. The resulting heat seared and blistered Cammi’s skin until she had to take cover.

  It gave her an opportunity, however.

  Using the crashing as more glass and stone was obliterated with Aldric’s next move as camouflage, Cammi ducked around. Aldric seemed aware of where she was and kept relatively still as she darted around his legs and past his tail to get to the other side of him.

  Lavinia’s focus was on the dragon bearing down on her. No matter what she hurled at him, Aldric was able to counter it. Easily.

  How could Cammi tell him that Lavinia was more than likely trying to lull him into a false sense of security? Did she need to? Surely, Aldric knew what she was up to.

  In case he didn’t, she’d make sure she had his back.

  While he kept Lavinia’s focus, Cammi edged closer toward her. There were a couple of grenades left in her bag, a fire and a bonding orb, her dagger, and her tunic. She’d make do with them.

  Cammi hadn’t been kidding when she’d told Aldric that she’d made far less work in her favor. Now wasn’t the time for reminiscing, however. She edged behind an armed statue to try to figure out a strategy. One idea would be to lob everything she had at Lavinia and hope one of them would incapacitate her. And that was including the spear and shield the statue held.

  But a look over her shoulder told Cammi that it wasn’t likely. It was possible one of the creatures outside could tell Lavinia where she was. Did Aldric have a ward for something like that? She got the feeling they were being watched with great interest. How were they going to stop them from telling the world dragons still roamed among them?

  Cammi couldn’t let that kind of information get out. It was bad enough the damage they were doing to the tower. How was that not going to be on the news that night?

  Giving the sorceress a quick glance and seeing she was still establishing Aldric’s power, Cammi headed to the blown-out windows. She tested the wards with her hand and felt the familiar charge of energy. Aldric was in for a world of questions if they got out of this in one piece.

  But like the last time, she was able to get through it. It was painful, but that would give her an advantage.

  It occurred to her that it might have been because he was her mate that she was able to get through his barrier with minimal damage. Then an idea hit her, putting a smile on her face.

  Cammi carefully slid the spear out of the statue’s grip, careful not to make
a noise. Not that it mattered with the literal firefight and enormous dragon wreaking havoc. It was a simple matter to tie the golden thread around the spearhead then loop the end around a pillar. With it secure, she cut her thumb on the tip, smearing her blood on the head and the shaft. That done, Cammi then mockingly motioned to the vampire and the harpies.

  “Can’t get me, can you? I bet that just pisses you right off, doesn’t it?” She recognized one of the harpies as one she’d run into before. The hag had stolen a relic that Cammi had spent ages working out the traps for.

  This was going to be good.

  She danced just out of reach, swinging her butt at them, enraging them all the more. Cammi used her movements to disguise her pulling the bronze orb from the bag and holding her thumb down on the trigger.

  Predictably incensed, the harpy started attacking the ward and encouraged the others to do the same.

  Exactly what Cammi hoped for.

  The moment they did so in unison, Cammi acted. Throwing the bronze ball toward them, she quickly followed the same path with the spear. The orb did its job and exploded with a flash of orange, binding them together with the spear, which thanks to her blood had pierced the ward. She grinned in triumph at the gelatinous glob dangling from the golden thread like fish on a hook, keeping the world below from knowing what was going on far above.

  With them out of the way, Cammi was free to focus her attention on Lavinia.

  Aldric had circled the core of the building, destroying everything in his wake. Cammi mourned his collection, much of which was little more than shards and splinters now.

  And all because she had brought this chaos into his life.

  Putting that thought aside for later, Cammi reached into the bag and closed her hand around the last orb. She needed to lure Lavinia upstairs so she could use the ones she had planted along the way.

  Aldric let loose a world-trembling roar that shook the remaining glass from their panes, sending them shattering to the floor.

  Or she could let Aldric deal with her.

  Rebuking herself for such an uncharitable thought against her mate, Cammi picked up a chunk of cement and hurled it at the sorceress. If she could just get her attention, she just might be able to give Aldric an opening and they could end this.