Ignoring all the little scars running up his arms, he slipped the brand new t-shirt over his head, loving the feel of the clean, soft fabric. Stop. This won’t last, he told himself, then quickly finished dressing. He sighed when he slipped the new black hoodie Tierney and Jax bought him on. It felt so good, so warm and fuzzy inside, and now, at least his arms were covered.
He hated owning anyone anything, but what choice did he have? He didn’t have any clothes of his own. The wolves liked to taunt Thaniel with the fact that they had burned the clothes he’d been wearing when he arrived at their den, leaving him buck-ass naked.
Thaniel ran his hands over the new hoodie and jeans, enjoying the feel. Why would these people go to so much trouble for him? They didn’t know him and he told them he didn’t have the money to pay them back. They claimed they didn’t want anything from him. How was that possible? Everyone wanted something. Yet for some reason, he believed them. He just didn’t understand why. They didn’t know him at all.
After brushing and blow-drying his hair, Thaniel put everything away exactly where it had been. Then he wiped the little bit of water off the floor and hung the floor mat and towels that he had used. Finally, he looked around and when satisfied, he slowly raised his head.
The haunted pale-blue eyes that reflected in the mirror was someone he recognized and yet didn’t. His brows were a darker blond and pulled into a frown as he slowly tucked part of his long white-blond hair behind his left ear. His skin was pale, most likely from being locked in the dark for so long. Although, it could also be from having been turned into a Were-leopard. He rubbed his jaw and as he’d done in the past, and wondered why he had never grown any facial hair. Then he gingerly moved the hair away from the right side of his face.
The gruesome sight of the nasty, white puckered scar that ran from the right side of his jaw, up and past his eyebrow, and into his hair, had him quickly dropping his hand. His hair fell back to cover his face and he turned away, not wanting to dwell on the events that gave him that scar.
Quickly, he gathered up the large hoodie Jax had lent him along with the blanket and folded each. Then, after a last check that he wasn’t leaving a mess behind, he unlocked and opened the bathroom door. He moved into the hallway and paused, steeling himself to face the three he heard talking in the kitchen. Part of him wanted to run, but he couldn’t repay their kindness like that. At least, he hoped it was kindness.
Without touching anything, he made his way down the hallway, passing bedrooms and a large living and dining area, as he followed the sound of voices.
Heart pounding, he walked around the corner and into the kitchen area and froze when his three rescuers gasped. Even with his face lowered, he could feel their eyes on him. He shifted to the other foot. The urge to flee, to run as far and as fast as he could, pumped through his veins.
“Thaniel … you’re beautiful,” Tierney said with awe in her voice that embarrassed him and he felt his face heat up.
His heart continued to thump loudly as he kept his face hidden behind his hair. Peering through the no longer tangled strands, he saw Tierney get up from where she’d been sitting at the table between Jax and Sami. He tensed up as she made her way over to him.
She surprised him when she reached out and took the blanket and Jax's large hoodie from him, set it all down on a chair and then took his hand in hers. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” she said softly, and led him to a chair at the table. “Come, sit.”
Still nervous, he followed her and sat down in the chair she indicated while Sami jumped to his feet.
“Want some coffee?” Sami asked, towering over him.
Thaniel held still, pulse beginning to race, but as if he didn’t notice, Sami set the mug in front of him and went back to his seat.
Thaniel drew in a deep breath; the aroma was delicious and he almost sighed. He’d only had coffee a couple times in his life and one of those times it had been cold. Still, he’d always loved the smell. It brought back memories of his mother and father drinking their first cup in the morning. Sometimes his mother would make him hot chocolate. Of course, that was before his daddy walked out on them. After, when his mother even thought of buying some food, hot chocolate was never considered.
Thaniel shook his head at the dish of sugar and carton of cream that Sami pushed his way. He had no idea if he liked coffee with anything and didn't want them to know how ignorant he really was.
“Thaniel, how old are you?” Tierney asked, breaking his reverie.
He froze with the cup halfway to his lips. “W-why?” he asked. Here it was, they did want something from him. He knew it.
But Tierney just smiled kindly at him. “No reason. I’m curious. You seem so young.”
Thaniel let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Oh.” Could it really be that simple? He really wanted to believe. “I’m almost twenty-one,” he said and ducked his head, once again embarrassed. He’d always been small, but now he was fully grown and still only stood five-foot-five.
Chapter Nine
Private Property
THANIEL, HOPING to find Real, insisted on going with them as they followed a few leads to a place called Liberty Lake, outside of Spokane. An Ilyium compound.
“Who are the Ilyium?” he asked.
“They are our mortal enemies. They’ve been hunting our kind for a very long time,” Tierney explained, making him wonder what her kind was. When he asked, she didn’t answer but the pain in her eyes, the tense set of Sami’s, Jax’s, and even Soroyan’s shoulders—made him wonder what the Ilyium had done to these people.
“Not only your kind,” Thaniel heard Soroyan mutter under his breath from the front seat, though he didn’t think anyone else heard the big guy, they were so lost in their own pasts.
When they arrived, Thaniel studied the tall walls surrounding the compound, and then looked up at the evening sky. A moment later, Jax stopped the car on a dirt path, just past the wall. Thaniel climbed out after everyone, and turned in a circle, taking in his surroundings. He’d rarely in his life been out in the forest, and as the shadows danced and swayed around him. Thaniel shivered. He could feel his leopard’s excitement at being out doors.
Without a word, he followed everyone to the top of a hill where they could survey the place they planned to infiltrate, and he couldn’t believe he was a part of this. He’d never before done things that were so risky, but he knew he had to do everything he could to find Real. He owed his friend that much.
He’d been stunned when he found out that there were supernatural creatures in the world, but now he learned there was magic as well. Not only that, it shocked him to learn Tierney could read minds and sense emotions. That ability told her there were prisoners in pain in the barn at the back of the property.
Although relieved she couldn’t read his mind, due to shields he never knew he had, Thaniel still couldn’t help being a little leery.
Still, not wanting to be left behind, he followed them all as they made their way to the back of the private property where billowing clouds of black smoke rose steadily into the air. The worst part was the stench of death that clogged his nostrils and made him want to gag.
***
GENNA PERCHED high above the ground on a thick, gnarly branch of a large old tree, and watched the people she’d been spying on for the past couple of days. She hadn’t expected them to be here, but now they were. She pushed her messy, night-black hair from her face and frowned as they drew closer to the wall at the back of the property. Then she grinned. Oh goody, I knew no one be seeing me. Her grin slipped away though as the big man who smelled like wolf, leaped over the wall. Where he be going? As high up as she was, Genna could see him run toward the red brick building on the other side. What he be doing? Oh, whatever! She turned her attention on the others after he disappeared from view into the building.
“You sure you don’t want to stay here?” the woman she’d learned was called Tierney turned and asked a young man
with long, pale-blond hair. Genna frowned, wondering who he was and where he had come from. She hadn’t seen him before.
“I need to find Real,” the guy said and Tierney nodded.
“Okay.” The one called Jax jumped up and perched on the wall and Genna wanted to groan.
She’d have to stop them before they got caught. Drawing on her power, she used her newfound teleportation skills and appeared in front of the other three still on the ground. She chuckled at the surprised gasps, but the most fun was watching Tierney jump.
She turned her attention to Jax up on the wall. “Wait, don’t go in,” she yelled, and a moment later, Jax jumped back down to take up a defensive position beside Tierney. The taller one, Sami, stood on the other side of her. The fear on the face of the new guy as he pushed back against the wall made Genna want to snort. That ol’ wall wasn’t going to help him if she decided to attack any of them.
Genna watched them form a semi-circle, ready to attack.
Who is this girl?
Genna, hearing Tierney's thoughts, began to grow angry.
I is no girl! She growled deep inside. It didn’t matter if she was only five-foot-one. Genna shoved her wild, blue-black hair out of the way and glared at the four looking at her.
“What the shit?” Tierney breathed. “She’s a young girl-Jax.”
The anger bubbled even stronger inside of her. “What in hell you be talkin’ about?”
“Who are you?” the nice one, Sami, asked her at the same time Jax swore.
“The fuck?”
Tierney frowned. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Genna. Genna D,” Like Duh! she answered, but Tierney only shrugged, pissing her off even more.
“Have we met?” Tierney finally asked and Genna heard her thoughts again. I know I’ve seen this girl somewhere.
Rage fueled her. “I tells you, I not be a bloody girl!” Genna growled. Maybe I be wrong. I thoughts I might be liking Tierney, but now, not so much.
“Yeah, okay. Whatever. Get out of my head,” Tierney snarled and then glanced at Jax and Sami. “We don’t have time for this.”
“You can’t go beyond the wall,” Genna said, remembering the reason she’d revealed herself.
“Oh, why not?” Tierney asked and Genna wanted to punch her and rip her long, shiny-black hair off. Instead, she imagined her friend Caden telling her to be calm, and sucked in her anger at Tierney.
“Why don’t you want us to go beyond the wall?” Sami asked in a much friendlier tone and Genna turned to him.
“Duh! Because you’ll be gettin’n caught, and what the master will do won’t be pretty.” Genna rolled her eyes. How dense can they be?
“Who is the master?” Jax asked then frowned, head tilted, and Genna really looked at him. He seemed somehow achingly familiar.
She shook it from her mind and grimaced. “The master be the master—and not a nicey one, either. You’ll be locked up, experimented on, tortured if you be lucky, and drained. So … don’t go in there.”
“Forget that. I’m not leaving everyone in there to die.” Tierney started for the wall again.
“Tiern—” Jax said, but she interrupted him.
“Don’t try to stop me. They’re suffering. I need to do something.”
Genna didn’t understand. Why they even care ‘bouts the ones in the barn?
Jax smirked at Tierney. “Wouldn’t think of stopping you. I’ll be right behind you.”
Tierney nodded and turned to Sami and Thaniel. “If either of you want to stay—”
“Shut up,” Sami said.
“Real might be inside,” Thaniel repeated, although Genna knew his fear wasn’t gone because she still tasted it.
“All right, let’s go,” Jax said and turned to the wall again.
Snail-tails, these people are impossible! “You’re all freakin’ idiots.” Genna scowled at them. “Didn’t you hears what I say? You go in, you risk capture and be strung-up prisoners.” She couldn’t understand why anyone would be willing to be a prisoner for anyone. She never would and if it wasn’t for Caden … Oh! At the thought of her friend, her heart did some funny flipping. Quizzically, she studied Tierney as the woman turned away from her.
“We’ll be careful. We’re not about to leave others to suffer and—”
The fact that Tierney wouldn’t listen to her still made her angry. “Oh fine.” Genna cut her off. “Don’t say I didn’t warns you.”
Marching up to the wall, she raised her hands and shot a hot pulse of air outward, smiling when a section of the wall disintegrated, leaving a gaping hole. She’d practiced that one a bit.
“Well, all right then,” Sami mumbled and Genna glared back.
First they want to go in. Now they just stands around gawking? “The frick y’all be waitin’ for?” she asked from the other side.
After they had all stepped through, Tierney gazed around and Genna could hear her wonder where Soroyan went.
“He be with the bleeders,” Genna said, nodding at the brick building a little distance away.
***
THANIEL, HEAD hurting from all that had happened that day, watched the short girl with wild black hair and brilliant-blue eyes, which somehow looked just like Jax’s. “How … did you do that?” he finally asked, indicating the wall.
“Oh, look. He speaks.” The evil grin on Genna’s face made him cringe. She reminded him of the kids in his foster homes.
“Quit your shit,” Tierney reprimanded Genna warningly.
“The frick-evers.” Genna pouted and then stalked toward the barn.
If this was a dream, he really didn’t want to wake up because while scary, it was also kind of cool.
Inside the barn, Genna’s eyes held a sparkle of insanity as she rushed into a room with old saddles and bridles, and came back out waving a dusty, faded, old horse show ribbon. Then as everyone else inspected another room, the girl came up behind him and pinched him on the forearm.
Having learned early on not to make a sound when hurt, Thaniel jumped away from her, keeping his cry of protest inside. Staring warily at her, he held his arm to his side. She really was crazy! He watched Genna grin at him, eyes bright with glee, and he sidled even further away. She shook her head, then indicated he lean close so she could whisper into his ear. Thaniel shook his head, determined to stay away from her, but she was too quick.
Before he could blink, she was whispering into his ear.
“No, you are nots dreaming, and yes, I can be very scaries,” she said before skipping away.
With a deep swallow, he kept his eyes on crazy girl, but didn’t say a word when Tierney narrowed her eyes quizzically on him. He didn’t want to cause any trouble and knew she’d go after Genna if she had any idea what crazy girl had done.
His gore rose when they found rows of cells holding prisoners in the main part of the barn. Heart clenched painfully after recently being a prisoner himself, Thaniel turned and quickly found the buttons to open the doors.
A moment later, doors slid open and while some of the prisoners hurriedly moved out, others were a little slower to realize what was happening.
Then he and Sami waved the prisoners over their way. “We need them to exit this way so they don’t get caught again,” Sami said.
Thaniel nodded. He was just beginning to think everything was going to be okay when all hell broke loose near a set of double doors leading outside that Tierney had gone to close.
Jax shouted and ran and Sami took off after him. Unsure of what had happened, Thaniel took in the prisoners, whose only interest was escape, and realized his help wasn’t needed.
Turning, he hurried after Sami only to pull up sharply at the sight of Tierney lying on the ground. Eyes wide, he gasped at the blood gushing from a wound in her neck. No-no-no! This couldn’t be happening, regardless of what Genna said. He had to be dreaming. He couldn’t have just found friends for them to die in front of him.
“Thaniel,” Jax called to him.
He remained frozen in place, not hearing his name being called until it was repeated, then, whole body shaking, his attention snapped to a woman cowering in front of Sami. She held her hand to her bloody face as if her nose was broken. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she’d attacked Tierney, who had then punched her.
It was clear his friends knew the woman since they called her Serena. Sami stood above Serena, looking ready to snap her neck, but that was nothing next to the rage Thaniel felt wafting from Jax.
“Thaniel,” he heard Jax call again, and blinked when Jax beckoned him over. “Put your hands here,” Jax said, indicating Tierney’s neck.
Thaniel swallowed his fear. Shaking, he knelt down and placed his hands where Jax indicated, absently wondering where Genna had gone. Then he sucked in a breath and fought his leopard as Tierney’s blood slid between his fingers, slowly draining away. His leopard continued to bang around inside of him at the chaos and rich coppery scent, but Thaniel could also feel its deep concern for his new friend. Shoving it all away, he concentrated on what he was doing, though he wasn’t really sure if he was helping at all as Tierney grew even weaker.
Thaniel didn’t want to be here to see her die. His heart was already weeping, but then, some kind of dark rage rose out of Jax like a living entity. He gaped wide-eyed as his friend dragged Serena over to Tierney. Thaniel moved out of the way, but he continued to watch, not realizing he had dug his hands into the dirt on the ground, or that he was holding his breath as Jax forced her to heal Tierney.
If he hadn’t witnessed it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believe as Serena bit into her own hand with incredibly long teeth. What? She’s a vampire? There are vampires, too? He couldn’t take his eyes away from the woman as she placed her bleeding palm on Tierney’s neck.
Then Tierney cried out and arched into the air and the breath whooshed out of him. He thought that was it for his newfound friend, but a moment later, her wound slowly knit closed like magic. He drew in another ragged breath and then released it in relief when Tierney’s heartbeat regained its normal tempo. He continued to stare, dumbfounded, as Jax helped Tierney to her feet.
Dracones Boxset Books 1-5 Page 96
