Lead Dragon (Dragon Guard of Drakkaris)

by Terry Bolryder

  “No,” Cobalt said. “The best thing we can do is be kind. Be gentlemen. Let her teach us about humans. Yes, she is objectively beautiful, and anyone would be lucky to have her, but there are other human females. Ones we will be better equipped to win if we pay attention to what Brittany can teach us.”

  Cadmium raised an eyebrow at Cobalt. “Or are you just trying to distract us so you can move in and get an advantage?”

  “Stop it,” Lead said sharply. “We are the dragon guard. Are we really going to do this? Let one female tear us apart? Let us stop this.”

  There were mumbles and then reluctant nods of assent.

  “I’m sorry,” Cadmium said. “I forgot myself.” He perked up slightly. “But you know, while we are learning from her, there’s no reason we can’t show her who we are, what we have to offer. If she ends up falling for one of us, completely by chance, is it our fault?”

  Several of the dragons looked up hopefully, and Lead put a hand over his face.

  “You slept in her room last night,” Arsenic said in a low voice, walking over to him. “It put ideas in some of their heads. We have been cooped up in this house with no company. Before that, we spent hundreds of years with only the vague hope of a mate. Be patient. I know that none of our guard will be dishonorable.”

  Lead nodded. Despite his dour disposition, Arsenic was his second-in-command, and Lead trusted him implicitly. He put a hand on Arsenic’s shoulder. “Thank you. And I swear nothing happened.”

  Arsenic let out a snort as they all headed to the kitchen for breakfast. “Of course nothing happened. I sometimes worry that for you, nothing will ever happen because of your damn honor.”

  “What does that mean?” Lead said.

  “Nothing,” Arsenic said. “Only that sometimes I worry that honor is all you think about, and you’ll never do anything for yourself.”

  Lead was quiet at that because it was a fair point. One he’d been worried about himself. He didn’t see, however, how it related to Brittany.

  When they were in the kitchen, pulling plates and leftovers from the fridge onto the counter, Lead decided someone other than himself should probably take breakfast up to Brittany, in case she didn’t want to come down.

  If he went, it would only stir up more jealousy and conflict.

  He appraised the other dragons and realized he could get two things done at once if he sent Chromium. First, it would ensure Chromium’s cooking would be taken to her instead of Arsenic’s, and second, it would show he wasn’t being possessive or selfish with the human since he wasn’t going himself.

  “Chromium, do you want to make a plate to take up to Brittany?”

  Chromium gave a small nod, then busied himself in the fridge, picking things out.

  Whoever ended up with Chromium would be lucky. He was thoughtful, kind, a top-notch warrior, and someone who was always dependable.

  He also apparently had a jealous streak, which Lead would have to keep an eye on.

  When Chromium was ready, plates piled in both hands, he made his way carefully out of the kitchen and headed for the stairs.

  The other dragons surreptitiously moved as if to peek on Chromium as he went, and Lead cleared his throat as if to tell them to stop it.

  They would only make things more awkward if Brittany opened her door to see everyone staring from downstairs.

  He went back to fixing his breakfast and was doing his best to stay focused when a feminine shriek rent the air.

  Before Lead knew what was happening, he was at the top of the stairs, breathing heavily as he pushed Brittany’s door open and saw her sitting on the bed. She had her breakfast in front of her, staring aghast at Chromium, who was standing bare-chested with what looked like the remains of his shirt in his hands.

  He looked over at Lead with a confused expression, and Cobalt walked forward and grabbed him by the arm. “Chromium, no.”

  Chromium gave a quick shrug and exited with Cobalt, leaving Lead and the others with the awkward task of explaining what had just happened.

  Lead entered the room ahead of the dragons, taking stock of Brittany as she exhaled slowly and began to laugh awkwardly, looking up at Lead.

  “What happened? Are you hurt?” he asked sharply. His heart was pounding, but he was just relieved that nothing more serious had happened.

  Brittany, who Lead now realized was deeply flushing, took a deep breath and let it out, her small hand pressed to her chest. “I’m sorry. I overreacted. It’s just… He brought my food in and seemed so polite and nice, and so I was eating, and I just thought I should maybe get to know him better. I just off-handedly asked him to tell me more about himself, and then I heard this ripping noise and looked up and just…” She trailed off, waving a hand as her blush grew even deeper. “I was surprised, that’s all. Why did he do that?”

  Lead didn’t have a clear answer.

  “Someone took our ‘showing what we have to offer’ a bit too literally,” Arsenic murmured, stepping forward. He faced Brittany. “You have to understand Chromium is a warrior. One of our strongest. He probably thought he was telling you about himself.”

  Lead exhaled. “It isn’t uncommon as a means of courtship on our world for warriors to show their physique, their strength, to a potential mate. To show they would be adequate protectors.”

  She swallowed. “Ah. I see.”

  “I’m sure he didn’t mean to scare you,” Zinc said. “He probably just got nervous because he isn’t a big talker and defaulted to Drakkaris methods of trying to impress you.”

  “Why was he trying to impress me?”

  Now it was Lead’s turn to blush, and he and the other dragons looked around balefully, everyone trying not to address the elephant in the room.

  “We’ll leave you alone for now,” Lead said. “You’ve had a hard morning. We’ll be in the kitchen if you need us. In a group.” His voice was hard as he ushered the others out of her room and down the stairs.

  When he reached the living room, Cobalt was walking back in with Chromium, who had found a shirt but was looking sullen.

  “Listen here,” Lead said. “I don’t care what the oracle said. Let me make this a little clearer. No one touches her. No one bothers her. Go about your lives. She either approaches you or you don’t see her at all. We may be on Earth, but I am still your captain.”

  Five pairs of dragon eyes narrowed at him, and five nods followed. Most of them trailed back toward the kitchen, but Zinc stayed behind, watching Lead thoughtfully.

  “What?” Lead asked, a little more harshly than he meant to.

  The corners of Zinc’s mouth turned up in a smile. “You like her.”

  Lead snorted. “That’s ridiculous. I’m just doing my duty.”

  Zinc raised an eyebrow. “So protective.” Then, before Lead could retort, Zinc raised his shoulder in an elegant shrug and left to follow the others into the kitchen.

  Lead exhaled roughly as he cast a glance up at Brittany’s door. This whole thing was going to be a lot harder than he’d originally thought.

  Chapter 5

  Brittany breathed hard as she stared at the closed door through which the “dragons” had just left.

  Lead had gotten there so fast, looked so furious… She’d definitely chosen the right one to ask for help. It bothered her in some ways to be dependent on someone, but after what she’d been through in the past few weeks, she wasn’t taking any chances.

  She hadn’t been prepared for Chromium to rip off his shirt like that, a totally calm look in his jade-green eyes as she tried not to pass out at the sight of more beautiful, hard male muscles than she’d ever seen in her life.

  Was that what Lead would look like under his clothes?

  She reprimanded herself for the inappropriate thought and went into the bathroom to clean up. She’d showered the previous night before bed, wanting to get any last vestiges of the prison off her body. Her hair had dried curly and matted, and she wet it and ran a brush through it carefully, reviv
ing the curls into smooth waves. Then she put a headband on, pulling the hair back from her face. There was a variety of hair supplies, almost as though someone had gone into a beauty supply store and asked for anything a human woman could need.

  Which, now that she thought about it, was exactly what the dragons might have done.

  So what did it mean, being a dragon? In this modern day, they didn’t exactly have to fly around guarding princesses in castles, and if they showed their true forms, they’d be all over the news.

  She guessed that was something she’d have to ask them.

  Also, the oracle had said that if she would be willing to teach them about human women, that would be much appreciated. But they already lived here. How could they not know?

  They were aliens, but they looked like full-grown men, so why did they need her to teach them? Had they only recently come here?

  She sighed, facing herself in the mirror resolutely. The only way to feel better about these guys, to be able to trust Lead about them, was to get to know them.

  And since Lead was probably out there with them, it couldn’t hurt to take her breakfast down and see if she could ask some questions and get a little more comfortable.

  She pulled down on the soft, blue cowl-neck tunic she was wearing over soft black leggings (again, in the closet in all sizes and colors) and checked herself out. No makeup, but then she’d never been one to wear much, having always had good (if freckled) skin. Her blue eyes were her best feature, she thought, framed with long lashes and slightly tilted up at the corners. Her face was rounded and her lips were smaller than she would have liked, but it matched her fairly petite nose that had a slight point at the tip.

  She blew a piece of hair out of her face and decided this was as good as things were going to get.

  She walked to the door and peeked out, looking around to see if any dragons were on the top floor. When she saw no one, she crept to the edge of the railing and looked down, hearing voices from the kitchen.

  So they were all in there, then.

  She walked back in her room to grab her plates (Chromium had brought them after all, and she was sure he hadn’t meant any harm) and headed slowly down the stairs, trying not to make any noise.

  The dragons sounded as though they were engaged in a rather raucous argument about sports anyway, so she wasn’t worried that they would hear her.

  Her heart began to pound rapidly as she got closer, knowing that at any moment, they would look up and see her. The mansion she’d been brought to was huge and luxurious, with modern furnishings in white and beige and gray, accented with denim and dark blues on the curtains and sofas. Cold and clean, but not sterile.

  When she walked into the kitchen, she felt all eyes go to her in a veritable rainbow of colors and wondered how any woman was supposed to cope without fainting when surrounded by so many beautiful dudes.

  Some of the wolves, especially the alphas, had been tall and muscular and attractive. Fifi had been exceptionally beautiful. But dragons took it all to another level entirely. Taller, more muscled, more cut, more handsome, more striking, with an entirely alpha, intense bearing that just sort of made her heart feel like a butterfly in the wind.

  Forks clanked onto plates as everyone stopped eating and continued staring. She felt heat pool in her entire body as they all appraised her openly. She didn’t know if she’d ever had one man look at her with such keen interest, but never this many at once and never men who looked like models.

  She supposed she should start with something simple to break the ice. “I never thanked you for yesterday. For saving me.” She brushed a stray curl behind her ear nervously. “Thank you so much.”

  Two dragons, the one with blond hair and the one with dark-gray hair, looked at each other and then at her.

  She’d been in shock last night, and though she vaguely remembered hearing their names, she couldn’t recall them.

  “You’re welcome,” the blond said.

  Lead got up at that point, his hawkish yellow eyes narrowed at the others as he walked around to pull a chair out for her at the head of the table.

  Then he sat down on her right, ignoring murmurs from the others.

  “I’m sure you don’t remember names from last night,” Cadmium said. “Why don’t we go around the table?”

  She looked around, and memories slowly came back to her. “Um, I remember Arsenic,” she said, looking at the man with sharp, pirate-esque features and shoulder-length hair that was black and streaked with bits of silver and white. His green eyes glared intensely, reminding her of poison. However, when she got his name right, a smile lit his face, curving his full lips up at the corner.

  She focused as she looked around at the others. “Chromium, who I met this morning.”

  Chromium nodded. He had layered white hair that went just below his shoulders, and it was thick and masculine despite its length. His skin was tanned and smooth, and his eyes were a beautiful, creamy pale blue-green.

  Next to him, a man with light-gray hair that appeared almost blue in this light spoke up. “Chromium says he’s very sorry for scaring you this morning. It won’t happen again.”

  She looked between them, wondering why this man talked for Chromium.

  “He’s my cousin,” the man said. Looking again, his short gray hair definitely had a blue tint to it, and his eyes were a deep, deep blue like blown glass. His features were sharp, authoritarian, with a long, straight nose and hard jaw. She remembered now.

  “Cobalt,” she said with a smile.

  The man gave her a warm grin. “That’s right.”

  “Nice to meet you,” she said. “And you, Chromium.” She bit her lip nervously. “Uh, so does he not talk?”

  “I talk,” Chromium said quickly, and she blinked. His voice was melodic. Low. Pleasant. Why didn’t he use it more?

  “Dragons don’t have to use their voices,” Cobalt said. “Most of us can read each other’s minds. Chromium has always preferred that. Not that he says much there, either.”

  “Oh,” she said.

  “I’ve always liked using my voice,” Cadmium said. “But not everyone does.”

  Arsenic snorted. “And no one as much as you, Cadmium.”

  The others chuckled, and she looked over at the gray-haired man next to Cadmium. This one had drawn her attention even last night due to his dark-gray eyes that seemed to hold so much sadness.

  What had happened to him?

  “On that note,” Arsenic said. “Remember that we should all try to speak out loud and not read her mind either. Just close those channels off.”

  “Why?” Cadmium asked. His blond hair was cut in flattering layers around his handsome, almost pretty-boy face, and his smile was perpetually teasing, with a dimple on one side.

  “It’s rude, idiot,” Arsenic said.

  “So is calling someone an idiot,” the gray-haired man said with a smile. His dark-gray hair waved to just below his jaw and some fell over his forehead. He was classically handsome, the type you’d see in a chick flick playing someone’s boss, but with more exotic-colored eyes and hair.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m drawing a blank,” she said apologetically.

  He had the calmest expression of any of them as he gave her a pleasant smile, so why did she feel there was something dark hiding behind it? “Not a problem. I’m Zinc.”

  “Zinc is actually next in line for the throne of Drakkaris, but he joined the dragon guard to stay busy while he was waiting,” Cadmium said.

  “I can speak for myself,” Zinc said gently, and Cadmium sat back in his chair with a frown.

  She could tell the two men were close. “Nice to meet you, Zinc.”

  “You as well, Brittany.”

  She turned her attention to Lead, who was poking at his scrambled eggs ruefully. “Lead?”

  He looked up sharply. “Yes?”

  She realized his hawkish eyes were accented by long lashes that winged up at the ends. A long scar went across the bridge of
his nose from under one cheek, but it was thin, and with his tanned skin, she hadn’t noticed it before.

  He was handsome but in a coarser way than the rest. He reminded her of someone who might play a warrior in a movie. A genetically modified warrior with beautiful dark hair and yellow eyes. His face was square, his nose slightly hooked, his lips surprisingly soft and full above a hard, wide jaw. He could have been carved from granite by a merciless artist who decided at the last minute to soften the eyes and mouth.

  “What are you thinking?” Lead asked quietly. “You are studying me, and I’m not going to read your mind.”

  “Nothing,” she said, shaking her head and looking down at her breakfast to hopefully hide the blush rushing to her cheeks. All of the men were beautiful, but something about Lead drew her in most of all.

  After a few bites, she’d calmed herself and raised her head to keep talking.

  “So what are some alien dragons doing here in New York?”

  They all looked around for a minute, and she suddenly realized they felt just as awkward about this whole situation as she did. Unlike the wolves, who seemed utterly aware of everything, these men looked as if they were uncertain and new to things as well.

  “Um. We. Uh,” Cadmium stuttered.

  “I’m not sure how much we should say,” Lead said.

  “We came over to find mates,” Arsenic said sharply, cocking his head. He seemed the type to blurt anything out just to see someone’s reaction. His green eyes felt almost hypnotic they were so vivid.

  “Mates?”

  “Human women to mate with,” he said. His mouth curved in a side smile, revealing one sharp canine. “Sex.”

  Lead stood, shooting him a glare of warning. There was that flush again.

  Hopefully, when she got used to these men, it would stop.

  “Such things are not honorable to speak of in front of a lady,” Lead said, hands planted firmly on the table.

  Arsenic rolled his eyes. “He’s become even more of a stick in the mud since we got here.”

  Cobalt nodded. “Nonetheless, we should be careful.” He seemed like the thoughtful one, always weighing something out before he said or did it.