Seafire Dragon

by Natalie Kristen

  How could he have found her so quickly? Why was he so obsessed with her?

  Piper looked up and saw Hawke’s dark eye flash silver.

  Claws glinted from his fingertips.

  “You..what are you?” she whispered. “Please let him go. Don’t hurt my son.”

  Piper gasped when Hawke’s claws lengthened and he pressed his claws against Zander’s neck. “Make a wrong move, and his blood will be all over these walls,” Hawke snarled.

  Zander whimpered and Piper saw that the boy was bravely fighting back tears.

  “It’s okay, baby.” She kept her voice calm. “Mommy’s here. Don’t be afraid. Just don’t move, okay?” Hawke’s claws gleamed dangerously, and she knew that those razor sharp claws could sever Zander’s jugular vein in a heartbeat.

  “What do you want?” Piper said evenly, staring at Hawke. “Why are you doing this? How did you even find me?”

  Hawke’s lips stretched in a mirthless smile. “I can find anything and anyone. I am a bounty hunter.”

  “You...you told me you’re a businessman,” Piper stammered.

  “That was a half-truth.”

  Piper shook her head slowly. She felt so stupid. How could she have thought that Hawke was a nice guy?

  “We just had one coffee date,” she said, hoping to distract Hawke so that she could snatch Zander out of his grip. “I declined your invitation to dinner, but...so what? I can’t be that special.”

  “You’re not.”

  “So why…?”

  Hawke’s smile vanished. “So why did you say no to me? Is it because of this?” He tapped his eye patch with a long, curved claw.

  “What?”

  “I’ve never been rejected by a female before,” Hawke spat.

  With a vicious growl, he said, “But after I lost my eye, women see me as half blind, handicapped and pitiful. They have coffee with me out of pity, but that’s as far as they’ll go. A maimed, half blind man isn’t very attractive, is he?”

  Piper shook her head mutely. There was no right answer to his question.

  And a wrong answer might cost Zander his life.

  She took a deep, fortifying breath. “Hawke,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “I just wasn’t feeling well that evening. Maybe if you’d asked me out another time...”

  “You’re not a very good liar, Piper.”

  “And you’re not a gentleman.” Piper balled her fists. “You’re a stalker.”

  “Ah.” Hawke bared his teeth in a wide smile. “That paid off. If I hadn’t followed you home, I would never have discovered...this.” He jerked Zander up, holding him by the scruff of his neck. “What a wonderful, well-kept little secret.”

  “Please, don’t hurt my boy.” Piper hated the desperation in her voice, but she could no longer tamp down her panic and terror.

  “He is not a boy,” Hawke said, bending down to sniff at Zander’s neck. “He is a hippogriff, and he can fetch a very high price.” He let out a cold, cruel laugh. “There are breeders and collectors who will pay a king’s ransom to get their hands on a hippogriff.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  “No...” Piper gulped and tried to inch forward, but Hawke pushed his claws menacingly against Zander’s cheek.

  “Come any closer and I’ll slice his cheek open,” Hawke said. “Maybe...I’ll take out his eye too. An eye for an eye, right?” Hawke laughed bitterly. “A son should pay for the sins of his father.”

  “What are you talking about?” Piper said. “Zander is innocent. Just…let him go.”

  Hawke’s face twisted as he stared at the side of her neck. “When I realized that you had a hippogriff in your possession, I followed you to keep tabs on the kid. You disappeared but I managed to track you here, to Shadow Point.”

  Hawke laughed. “What a small, small world. You led me straight to my enemy. And you, Piper, will be the instrument of my revenge.”

  Piper refused to back away even when Hawke took a step towards her.

  “I have been waiting for this. I could have killed him, but death is too good for him. Seath Fireblood will pay for what he did to me.”

  “Seath?” Piper shook her head. “What’s Seath got to do with this? Leave him out of this!”

  “Leave him out of this?” Hawke mimicked her. He tore his eye patch away to show her the mangled mess of flesh underneath. “Your mate, Seath Fireblood, did this. He did this to me!”

  “No. I don’t believe you.” Piper swallowed hard. “You’re lying!”

  “You think I’m lying? It seems you don’t know your mate very well,” Hawke taunted. “Let me tell you what Seath Fireblood did. He came up behind me and jammed a blade into my eye. Seath is a killer, a violent, bloodthirsty murderer. He has blood on his hands.”

  When Piper shook her head, Hawke laughed and pressed his hand to his chest. “Oh, I see that he hasn’t told you any of that. I am truly sorry. You have been deceived, woman. You thought he was an upright, wonderful man. But you were fooled into mating with a murderous, violent predator.”

  “No! Seath is not like that!” Piper shouted.

  Hawke’s eye glowed as he stared at her neck. “I can see Seath Fireblood’s mate mark on you. You are his mate, and this boy...is his son. His dragon has bonded with you and the kid. I will make Seath pay. But I want to make sure that he pays a very high price.”

  Piper’s blood turned to ice in her veins. “No...”

  Hawke laughed softly. “Don’t worry, I won’t kill Seath. Not yet anyway. I want to watch him suffer. I want to destroy him before I kill him. Taking something that is precious to him will gut him. And when he sees his mate and son being destroyed because of him, that will completely destroy him.” Hawke pressed his claws deeper into Zander’s neck. A thin line of blood oozed out but Zander didn’t make a sound.

  “Don’t hurt him!” Piper cried and lunged forward. She stopped when Hawke let out a warning growl.

  “Come any closer and your son will die right now. I will rip out his throat and his heart before your very eyes,” Hawke said.

  “Please don’t hurt him,” she whispered, holding Zander’s tear-filled gaze. “Please...”

  As she stared at Hawke’s deadly claws, she saw shimmering black scales appear on the back of his hands. The claws, the glowing eyes, the scales…

  Piper gasped.

  Hawke was a dragon shifter. That was why the tall fence around the house hadn’t been an obstacle to him. He had simply flown over the fence and gotten into Zander’s room through the open window.

  She took a deep breath as she clenched her fists tighter. Hawke had given her the impression that Seath had acted dishonorably and underhandedly in taking out his eye. He had implied that the fight had been unfair and unjust.

  But now Piper could see the whole picture.

  Seath didn’t just sneak up behind a smaller, weaker shifter and maimed him. It had been a battle between dragons.

  “You’re a dragon,” Piper said, her voice quivering with rage.

  Hawke didn’t bother denying or confirming her statement.

  The disdainful look he gave her made her even angrier. She hated bullies and abusers. They were nothing but cowards who used cruelty to hide their weakness and cowardice.

  “You’re a dragon, but you’re a coward,” Piper spat.

  “What did you say?” Hawke demanded.

  “I said you’re a coward. Instead of facing Seath and fighting him fairly, you pick on a little boy and a human woman.”

  In a flash, Hawke’s large hand was around her throat. “I can kill you right now,” he threatened.

  “Like I said, you’re a fucking coward!” Piper wheezed.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Piper refused to cry out even when she felt Hawke’s claws digging into her flesh. She glared at him and aimed a punch at his face as he tightened his grip around her neck.

  “Don’t hurt my Mommy!” Zander shrieked, kicking wildly.

  Hawke snarled. He was holdi
ng Zander and Piper by their necks, and Piper knew that she could not overpower him. But she wasn’t going to just cower and grovel before this worthless piece of shit.

  Hawke might be a dragon, but he was nothing but a coward. No doubt he had been watching Seath and his brothers, but instead of confronting his enemies out in the open, he had hidden in the shadows and preyed on a human woman and a young hippogriff shifter.

  “Why?” Piper rasped. “Why did Seath take out your eye?”

  Hawke growled, showing his fangs. But Piper stared defiantly back at him.

  “What did you do?” she spat out. “Seath wouldn’t have taken out your eye for nothing. Why did he do it? Go on, tell me,” Piper challenged. “Tell me the truth!”

  Hawke backhanded her suddenly and Piper fell to the floor. Before she could scramble up, a heavy boot landed on her face and kept her down.

  “Bitch!” Hawke snarled.

  “Coward,” Piper wheezed. “I’m sure you saw Seath and his brothers leave. You waited until we were alone in the house to attack. Let the kid go! Pick on someone your own size.”

  Hawke ground the heel of his boot into her neck. “I can break your flimsy little neck before you can even scream.”

  Piper writhed and flailed as Zander sobbed noisily. “Don’t hurt my Mommy! Mommy!”

  Hawke dragged them to the window and Piper made a desperate attempt to struggle free. She felt his hand loosen around her neck momentarily and she stumbled back.

  But before she could get away, Hawke yanked her to him and threw her over his shoulder.

  He vaulted soundlessly out of the window and started running. With a powerful leap, Hawke launched himself into the air.

  Piper’s scream was choked off when she felt herself being jerked upwards. She looked down and saw large talons curled around her and Zander.

  Hawke had shifted into a huge black dragon and was flying away with her and Zander.

  “Help!” Piper shrieked. “Put us down, you...you...”

  But when Piper looked down again, she saw that the house was nothing more than a speck in the distance.

  Below them, the houses and roads disappeared and became a blur.

  The black dragon flew on at a dizzying, terrifying speed. Shadow Point was now far behind them.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Piper looked down as Hawke flew over harsh, rocky terrain. She had screamed herself hoarse. But she realized that all that screaming and cursing was just a massive waste of energy. At this altitude, no one could hear her.

  She shuddered as she stared at the jagged rocks below. If Hawke dropped her now, she would crack her skull wide open and spill all her brains out.

  What a mess that would be. What a sad, horrible mess.

  She didn’t want to be a mess. She had to keep calm and stay alert. She had to know where they were.

  Piper frowned as she studied the landscape below. She really had no idea where she was right now. It felt like they had been flying for a long time, and they were now far away from Shadow Point.

  Was Seath back at the house now? Would he be able to find them? He must be so worried.

  Piper closed her eyes and focused her thoughts on Seath. She remembered him telling her that the mate bond would enable them to feel each other’s emotions and find each other.

  The thought gave her strength and comfort. Seath would find them. She knew he would.

  Hawke flew over a smoking crater and Piper spluttered and choked out a terrified cry. The deadly heat scorched her skin and she was having trouble breathing as noxious gases clogged her lungs. Her eyes watered painfully, and she could almost feel her blood being boiled by the infernal heat.

  They were flying over an active volcano.

  Piper fought down her panic and bit down a scream.

  Was the sadistic black dragon going to drop her into the volcano?

  Hawke flapped his wings and flew away from the tormenting heat and poisonous gases. He veered away sharply and flew towards a cave at the side of a mountain.

  Piper went limp with relief. She tried to look at Zander, but she couldn’t see the little boy at all. Hawke was gripping his precious hippogriff too tightly, curling his talons possessively around his prize.

  “Zander,” she whispered, hoping that the wind would carry her voice to him. “Mommy’s right here...”

  Folding his wings, Hawke dived into a cave hidden at the side of the mountain and shifted back to human form. Piper rolled and slammed painfully against a rock as he released her.

  With a groan, she pushed herself up and looked around for her son.

  “Zander,” she hissed.

  The boy threw himself into her arms. She could feel hot tears on her neck.

  “Where are we, Mommy? I’m scared. I want to go home!”

  “So do I,” Piper said. “We’ll get home. I promise.”

  Hugging her son tightly, Piper looked around the huge, shadowy cave. She would keep her promise to her son. But how were they going to escape? There was no way she could scale down the steep rocky face of the mountain.

  Hawke had disappeared to the back of the cave. There seemed to be a long tunnel leading to another part of the cave.

  “Is he gone?” Zander asked tearfully. “Has that bad dragon left?”

  “I don’t know,” Piper grimaced. “I...I don’t think so.” She tried to listen for his voice and footsteps but heard only her own ragged breathing.

  Piper hugged Zander and whispered urgently, “Listen. Can you shift into a hippogriff?”

  The boy gave a shaky nod.

  “I want you to shift and fly out of this cave,” she said, speaking rapidly but clearly. “This may be your only chance.”

  “But...what about you?”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Just fly away. Don’t look back.”

  “I won’t leave you, Mommy.”

  “You need to go,” Piper said urgently.

  The boy shook his head and began to cry in earnest. “I don’t want to go without you!”

  “Baby, you have to be brave...”

  But Zander clung to her and sobbed. Piper closed her eyes in pain as she held her son.

  “It’s okay, baby,” she whispered, stroking his hair. “We’ll get home. Together.”

  It wasn’t a promise this time. It was a lie.

  She would do anything to save Zander, even sacrifice her life.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Seath took off his gloves and frowned. He and his brothers had been working on Mr Hamilton’s garden all afternoon. But something didn’t feel right.

  “Looking good,” Sky said with a grin. “I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to finish the job by tomorrow.”

  Storm saw the frown on Seath’s face and asked, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  “I need to get back to Piper’s house,” he said.

  “Okay. We’ll come with you,” Sky answered as he gathered up the tools. “We have a few hours of sunlight left. We can help you with the roof and...”

  Sky was still speaking but Seath could no longer hear his big brother’s voice.

  There was a terrible roar in his head, and he could feel the explosive wrath of his dragon.

  “Seath! Seath, what’s wrong?”

  Seath shook his head hard and stared into his brothers’ wide, bulging eyes.

  “We heard your dragon roar!” Sky gasped.

  “In our heads,” Storm said, his green eyes round with amazement. “I think our dragons can connect telepathically.”

  “All our dragons had to emerge before the telepathic bond can be forged,” Sky said. “I couldn’t connect with Storm’s dragon before, but now...”

  Seath shoved his brothers aside. “Piper and Zander...they’re in trouble!”

  Sky and Storm dropped their tools at once. Seath wasn’t even conscious of shifting into dragon form. His beast simply ripped out of him and soared into the sky.

  His two brothers shifted and followed him. Seath flew to Pip
er’s house and dropped in front of her house in human form. He ran into the house and charged straight into Zander’s room.

  There was a tiny drop of blood on the floor. Seath touched the blood and held it to his nose. “Zander,” he growled. “Someone hurt my boy.”

  Breathing hard, Seath picked out all the different scents in the room. He scented his mate’s fear and he could smell Zander’s tears and blood.

  He jerked sharply when his dragon finally recognized that strange, foreign scent in the room.

  It was the scent of another dragon. And this was a dragon he had tangled with before.

  It was the scent of an old enemy.

  “Hawke!” Seath snarled.

  He spun round when he heard his brothers’ voices behind him. Sky and Storm both spat out the same name. It had been more than three years ago, but the Fireblood brothers would never forget what Hawke did.

  Hawke was a black dragon and an unscrupulous bounty hunter. Hawke had been paid by an evil warlock to kidnap Storm’s mate, Emilia, and he had carried out the job with brutal efficiency.

  Seath hadn’t been able to shift into a dragon during that daring rescue, but that didn’t stop him from doing everything he could to save his sister-in-law.

  Hawke was a formidable hunter and predator. Seath had no regret plunging his pocket knife into Hawke’s left eye.

  It had been the only way to get the black dragon to release Emilia.

  “It is Hawke,” Storm snarled, taking another whiff. “I can recognize his scent. I should have hunted him down and killed him!”

  “That bastard just doesn’t know when to stop,” Sky snapped.

  “He hurt my mate, yet we let him live. We didn’t go after him,” Storm said, his claws slicing out. “I should have gone after him...”

  “No. Emilia didn’t want you to put yourself in danger. She just wanted you to be by her side, and live a happy life with your family. She didn’t need vengeance. She needed her mate,” Sky said, putting a hand on Storm’s shoulder. “Living well is the best revenge.”

  Sky looked at both his younger brothers and bared his fangs. “But now, we will hunt Hawke down to the ends of the earth. He got off easy when he lost just an eye. Hawke will pay.” Sky swore and his eyes blazed with fury. “Oh, he will pay.”