Zander spun around to see the old woman standing there, a cloud of purple smoke disappearing around her in the early morning light. Her long, straight, salt-and-pepper hair hung to her waist, and her tanned, wrinkled face was covered with a mischievous smile. Those dark eyes of her twinkled wickedly as they flicked over his naked body, lingering longer than he’d like on his dick.
“I thought we should talk in person,” she said with a wink. Isadora pointed one crooked finger at his crotch before leaning both hands on her tall walking stick. “You better cover up, or I’m going to get the wrong idea.”
“I’m too old to go diving behind a tree.”
Zander hit End on the phone and strode toward the tent as her cackling laughter filled the air. Nudity wasn’t a big deal for the members of his race. Shit. After five hundred years on earth, trapped in his human form, nothing was a big deal anymore.
“And I’m too old to take advantage of the situation,” she snickered. “In this body, anyhow. Now, if I had used my younger-self potion before my travelin’ potion, we wouldn’t be doing very much talking, if you know what I’m gettin’ at.”
“I have an idea.” Zander threw his cell phone in the tent and grabbed his jeans, trying not to imagine what the old woman looked like under her long robe-like dress. “You know, we could have continued this conversation on the phone.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” She leaned on her cane and gave him a sly smile as he pulled his pants up. “’Sides, given everythin’ you were goin’ on about, we need to be real clear about what comes next. Best to have this talk in person.”
Zander nodded his agreement and settled both hands on his hips as he studied the ancient witch woman closely. Her energy signature, like most supernatural creatures, was far stronger than a human’s. It was the spiritual fingerprint each individual possessed. After Zander had been cursed, being able to detect those powerful streams of energy was the only gift he had left.
Well, that and being immortal. But as far as he was concerned, immortality wasn’t any damn gift he’d ever wanted. At least, not like this.
“Now, let’s get back to business.” Isadora thumped her walking stick into the ground with her gnarled hands. “You think you may have found a way to break my sister’s curse? I thought the only way to get rid of it was for one of you boys to commit an act of pure, unselfish love?”
“Since Zed has been trapped in hibernation in his dragon form for the past five centuries, it cut our odds in half.”
“Fair point.” She let out a groan as she settled her round backside on a tree stump next to Zander’s makeshift fire pit. “But you’re still here. Why ain’t you been able to get rid of the curse? Ain’t you done any good deeds in the last half a millennium?”
“What a load of crap that turned out to be,” Zander scoffed under his breath. “I’ve spent the last five centuries doing good deeds and random acts of kindness all over the globe, and not a damn one worked. Do you have any idea how many cats and drowning kids I’ve saved?”
“Nope.”
“Well, it’s a lot. Shit,” he huffed. “I’ve lost count. I’ve fought in wars for the greater good, built homes for the downtrodden, and bought groceries for strangers. I’ve tossed countless coins into paper cups that were clutched in the hands of homeless men, women, and children. Nothing has made a difference. The curse has remained in place. Zed is stuck in the dreamrealm, and I’m…here.”
“Yeah.” She sighed. “You and your twin brother got screwed.”
“He got it worse than me,” Zander said quietly. “Zed has been languishing in the dreamrealm. Night after night, we relive that fight—the one that changed everything. I’ve tried to reason with him, but he stopped hearing me long ago. He’s…tortured.”
“Grief and regret will do that.”
“He’s been reduced to his most savage state. The man is gone, and only the beast remains.”
“Right, I know all that,” she said with waning patience. “So what makes you think this woman is the key to breaking the curse?”
“He saw her, Isadora,” Zander said with a smile. “And he spoke. I can’t tell you the last time he did that. It was only one word, but it was a damn good one.”
“Mine,” Isadora said quietly. Worry edged the wrinkles around her eyes. “So you’re tellin’ me that you think this woman in the dreamrealm is Zed’s mate?”
“Zed sure as hell thought she was. Besides, why else would some random woman land in there with us?”
“Why do you think—”
“She’s Amoveo,” Zander said quietly.
Isadora’s eyes widened, and she nodded slowly as an expression of understanding washed over her. The Amoveo, an ancient race of shapeshifters similar to the Dragon Clan in many ways, found their mates in the dreamrealm. Once they connected there, they could find each other in the physical plane.
“She’s a shifter. Like you were.”
“No.” Zander’s jaw clenched. “The dragons were cousins of the Amoveo. We aren’t the same.”
“Pfft.” She rolled her eyes. “That’s what you call semantics. The Dragon Clan was considered the eleventh clan of the Amoveo by most everyone—except the dragons. Which of the ten Amoveo clans is she descended from?”
“From the Fox Clan, I think.”
“Like someone else we knew.” Isadora sniffed. “Seems a little too coincidental for me.”
Zander pretended to ignore that last comment.
“Her name is Rena McHale, but I don’t think she’s a pureblood. If she was, she would know what she is, because she would have gone through her first shapeshifting episode during puberty, like all of the Amoveo do. There’s no way she knows there’s Amoveo blood in her veins, which is going to make this a hell of a lot more difficult. I had no idea the Amoveo could even breed with humans.”
“Most of ’em don’t know what they are,” Isadora said flatly. “Comes as quite a shock to ’em.”
Zander stilled.
“You mean there are more like her? Part human and part Amoveo?”
“Yes, sir. Prince Richard has had his men out looking for ’em and bringin’ ’em back to his ranch, over in Montana.”
An image of Zed in his hibernation cocoon flashed into his mind. His twin brother was deep beneath the earth, where no one would find him. Humans rarely ventured that far under the ground, and other than Zander and Isadora, nobody even knew Zed was there.
“They still occupy that land? I thought for sure they would have sold it off over the years.”
“You didn’t sell yours,” she said, referring to his property in West Yellowstone.
“It’s all I have left of my clan.”
“Maybe they feel the same. You aren’t so different after all.” She shrugged her narrow shoulders and waved one hand. “Richard and Salinda’s place is more of a compound, really. They had themselves some trouble over the past few years. Purist Amoveo caused a ruckus. Guess they were none too pleased about these hybrids popping up. The Council has been dissolved and—”
“You’re not serious.”
The Council was the Amoveo’s governing body and was comprised of two members from each of the ten clans. Eons ago, long before Zander and Zed were born, the Dragons had even been a part of it. He couldn’t imagine the kind of chaos that must have ensued with the dissolution of the Council.
“Deadly so, I’m afraid. There were assassination attempts. Nasty business. I ain’t seen the ten Amoveo clans fight among themselves like that since…well…since that business with you and your brother and that Fox Clan girl.”
“That was a long time ago, and this woman, whoever she is, isn’t Arianna but she is Zed’s mate.”
“Or yours,” Isadora whispered.
“No,” he said adamantly. “I’m not letting that happen again. She’s meant for Zed.”
“Who
she’s meant for ain’t up to you, now is it?”
“This woman is his only hope.”
Zander grabbed two large, thick branches and snapped them in half, using his pent-up frustration to do it. Silence settled between them as Zander squatted down and arranged some sticks in the fire pit. He stuffed some newspaper underneath before lighting it up.
“’Bout time,” she groused. “It’s colder than a witch’s tit out here.”
Zander let out a huff of laughter at her silly comment and shook his head before sitting beside the fire. Isadora always did have a way of diffusing tense situations. He pulled his knees up and settled his arms over them as the heat washed over the bare flesh of his chest. The crackle of the wood as it was consumed by the flames filled the air, instantly putting him at ease.
For most people, the power of fire was frightening, but it made Zander feel at home.
“You miss it, don’t you?” she asked, her voice pulling him from his memories. “The dragon.”
“Embracing my dragon again is all I’ve wanted, and ironically, it’s the very thing that’s tormenting Zed.” He tossed another branch on the fire, sending sparks into the air. “If I can get this woman to the cave where Zed is hibernating and give her a spirit stone from our tribal land, she might be able to use it to wake him up.”
“That’s a big might,” Isadora said firmly. “Boy, you got nothin’ but maybes and could bes.”
“Yeah. That’s about all I’ve got, and we’re running out of time. This Saturday is—”
“Oh hell.” She tapped her cane on the ground and pursed her lips. “It’s All Hallows’ Eve, ain’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Damn,” she said with a sigh. “Those five hundred years surely did fly right on by.”
Zed let out a bitter laugh.
The past several centuries had felt more like millennia as far as he was concerned. However, he clamped down on his moment of self-pity and reminded himself that nothing he went through could compare to Zed’s painful existence.
“That’s why I need your help. If we don’t break the curse before sunset on Saturday, then it will never be over, and Zed will be trapped there. Forever. Tormented. Alone. I can’t live with that, and thanks to your sister’s curse, I can’t even put myself out of my own misery.” He sighed wearily. “Living forever sucks…at least living like this.”
He turned his gaze to hers and threw a prayer to the universe that she would take pity on him. The old woman, her long white-and-brown robe draped over her thin form, stared into the fire but said nothing. He sensed she was weighing her options.
“Please, Isadora. Put me in touch with the prince or one of his people. I’ve got to get on that property. You and I both know that I can’t just walk up to the gates. And I can’t try and sneak on, because they’ll sense my presence. You know I’m right.”
“Can’t say you’re wrong.” A look of understanding flickered over her weathered face, and she nodded. “But if you had an Amoveo hybrid with you…one looking for sanctuary…”
“We kill two birds with one stone: Rena can connect with her people, and I have a chance to free my brother.”
“Seems more complicated than you’re makin’ it.”
Zander let out a beleaguered sigh.
“Can you help me or not?”
“Yes.”
She pushed herself to her feet, using her cane for support. Zander hopped up before going around the fire and scooping the tiny old witch up in a big hug. Her frail, five-foot-tall frame was easily engulfed by his far larger one.
“My sister was a troublemaker and always sellin’ her magic to the highest bidder. It ain’t right, and if she weren’t already dead, I’d have a mind to kill her myself. It’s witches like her that gave all of us a bad rap. I swear. The fairies are a bunch of troublemakers and we’re the ones who look bad in the human stories. Ain’t right, I tell ya.”
“Thank you, Isadora.”
He set her down and planted a kiss on her soft cheek as his gratitude swelled.
“All right, now.” Her wrinkled cheeks pinkened, and she patted him on the arm. “Better be careful with all that kissin’ on me. We may be about the same age, but my body ain’t weathered the years as well as yours.”
Her brow furrowed, and her smile faltered as her gaze skittered over his bare chest. She tapped one of several scars on his torso with a gnarled fingertip and made a tsking sound.
“I guess you aren’t exactly unscathed, are you?”
“No, ma’am.” Zander pressed both hands to his chest and stepped back before extending his arms wide. “But thanks to your sister, I am indestructible.”
“And handsome as ever.” She pulled a small glass bottle from one of the folds in her robe and flipped the cork out with her thumb. “Better stand back, boy.”
Zander did as she said and put a healthy distance between them.
“I’ll get a message to the Amoveo. If I had to venture a guess, you’ll be gettin’ a call from a Dante Coltari. He’s the one been wranglin’ the hybrids to the ranch, but that’s all I can do for you. After that, you’re on your own. I don’t like to meddle where I don’t have to.”
Zander arched one dark eyebrow at her, and she shrugged.
“Yeah, that ain’t true. I love messin’ with people. Keeps my mind and magic sharp.”
She was about to swallow her potion, but Zander held up one hand, stopping her.
“Don’t give them my real name. Tell them—”
“Won’t matter. Trust me.”
“Isadora,” he began, “I hardly think they’ll welcome a dragon to their property. Even before my people were extinct, we were the outcasts. Some of the Amoveo even helped the human dragon slayers hunt us into oblivion, Arianna’s father for one.”
Anger surged at the painful memories, but he stuffed it back down. Better to save it for another day. If he was going to have to deal with a ranch full of Amoveo, he would need all of his strength. In his experience, rage was one hell of a weapon.
“Yeah,” she snorted. “But you ain’t a dragon no more. The dragons are all gone and only exist in human fairy tales and folklore…for the most part.”
Before he could protest further, Isadora swallowed her potion and vanished in a cloud of purple smoke. As the haze of her departure dissipated, Zander’s thoughts went to the woman from the dreamrealm.
If she didn’t know who and what she really was, how the hell was Zander going to tell her about him and his brother? Or that she was Zed’s intended mate?
What a shit show.
Yep. He was fucked. Again.
All he knew was her name and where she was located. Though the curse had stripped him of virtually all of his Dragon Clan abilities, he was still able to identify her unique energy pattern—and it showed him exactly where she was.
He wasted no time. Zander packed up his tent and backpack and pointed his Harley in the right direction.
Chapter 2
“But you have to come out tonight,” Pat said with a dramatic whine. “It’s my annual birthday boozefest, and it wouldn’t be the same without you. Come on, girl.”
“Pat, you know you’re my best friend,” Rena said, while stifling a large yawn.
“Bitch, please, I’m your only friend.”
Pat settled her leather-clad backside on the edge of Rena’s desk and checked her bleach-blond reflection in the wall mirror. She pulled a lipstick from the pocket of her pink satin jacket and quickly touched up her lips. She had been a showgirl in Vegas for years and dressed the part on- and offstage.
“Yeah? Well, you aren’t exactly swimming in a girl squad are you, Pat?”
“Whatevs.” Pat sighed. “You’re smart and tough. You’d be surprised how many broads out here can’t stand on their own two feet. And if there’s anything I can’t abide, it’s a weak
chick.”
“Says the woman whose last serious boyfriend drained her bank account of ten grand and split in the dead of night.”
“Hey! Can I help it if he was a thief?”
“I still can’t believe you got bamboozled by that guy.”
“What can I say? He was superhot and off-the-charts awesome in bed. I must’ve had sex-brain. That’s my only excuse.”
“What on earth is sex-brain?” Rena asked, while keeping one eye on her computer screen. The topic of sex made her uncomfortable and not only because she hadn’t had much of it. Intimacy of any kind made Rena feel off-kilter or on guard. In her experience, allowing herself to be vulnerable, physically or emotionally, only ended up causing her pain.
“You’d know if you ever got laid.”
“Please.” Rena rolled her eyes. “Sex is overrated.”
“Says the woman who hasn’t done it in three years.” Pat smirked. “Or is it four? Girl, you need some good old-fashioned nookie.”
It was four but who’s counting? Rena squared her shoulders and typed two more figures into the spreadsheet. The last guy she had slept with was only interested in his own pleasure, and even though he’d tried to fake it, Rena knew he didn’t even remember her name afterward. She hadn’t been looking for the dude to proclaim his love to her or anything, but he could at least have gotten her name right.
After that humiliating experience, she decided sex wasn’t worth the trouble.
“Look at the mess your libido got you into. I’ll stick with running my business and my ongoing love affair with Netflix.”
“That’s depressing.” Pat hopped off the desk and smoothed the back of her pants. “Tank may have been a thief and a liar, but we should thank him. If I hadn’t hired you to track that shithead down, we would never have met.”
“That’s true.” Rena winked and smiled at her one and only friend. “It was my best case ever. Well, the one with the best fringe benefits, anyway.”
It had been a win for both women. The only person who didn’t benefit from it was Tank. The big brute had coughed up the money once Rena got her hands on him. Actually, it was more like her mind. A smile curved her lips as she recalled the look on his face when she was able to tell him all the deep, dark secrets she saw in his head. He’d spazzed out and called her the devil but not before giving back the cash he’d stolen.
Undiscovered Page 2
