Dangerous Lovers

by Becca Vincenza

  I recognized the coloring. My breathing became hollow. My heart rammed into my chest. His spikes looked more deadly than ever, sharp to the point that simply brushing a hand over them could leave a person bleeding. I forgot how beautiful he was in this form, he took it so rarely when I was around.

  His breathing changed slightly and I knew he picked up on my scent. I had never felt so afraid in my life. My hands started to shake. His slit eyes opened and stared at me, then he got on all fours. Sharp, long talons bit into the ground. I remembered those claws well, in his half human form they were smaller, and more needle like, now they were thick and heavier.

  My body shook with fear. He let out a great roar that echoed in the room. Zeke held onto me a little tighter. I hadn’t realized that I started to move backwards. It was the roar, it reminded me of past incidents, and I still feared his punishments. What would I get this time? He gave me the scar on my face for being friends with someone. What would he do to me for going missing for five years? All because I wanted to go back for Aiden.

  The dragon that stood in front of me shifted back to his human form. My father stood at a shocking six feet seven inches. His body was built thick, sturdy, the body of a real dragon shifter. He always told me that I was too small even for a girl; I wasn’t a real dragon shifter. I never had shifted, even before I was taken away from him, though he tried to force me too many times.

  The memories of half attempts, the blows that I would receive when I couldn’t do it were flooding in. The nights I spent whispering to Aiden how I wished I could be a dragon like him. All those memories attacked me, followed by all the moments I had with my father when he was loving, when he cared. Moments like now when he stared at me like I was the only thing that mattered in this world. I was his reason for trying so hard, even though his beloved wife had died in childbirth because of me.

  “Audrey…” His voice was deeper than I remembered. Maybe it was thicker because of the emotions he was trying to hide. Maybe it was because my ears no longer belonged to a frightened child.

  I flinched as he moved toward us, though he was wearing no clothes, I was used to it with my father.

  His deep red hair was longer than I remembered it ever being. He’d once said I was fortunate to inherit his hair. I mostly inherited my mother’s softer looks and her height. Looking at his strong, square jaw, I realized how much we didn’t look alike. We had the same blue eyes and the same smile. At least that was what some people used to say when they would see us out. I didn’t know if that would be true now. I rarely smiled and when I did, it felt wrong. A little too tight, a little too scarred. I stared at my father’s chest, afraid to look in his eyes and see the anger waiting to be unleashed.

  “Audrey.” His voice was rough this time, he was getting annoyed. I was still too afraid to move. He nudged my head up with his knuckles, a bit too forcefully and made my jaw ache.

  He still didn’t know his strength very well. At least, not when dealing with weaker creatures. It reminded me of the first time he had grabbed my arm in order to stop me from moving. He almost broke it. That was when he decided he had to watch his strength around his "supposed to be strong dragon-shifting daughter". I was weak compared to him, weak compared to many paranormals. That was the day he also told me we wouldn’t be living with paranormals ever again. They were too dangerous to our kind. To me.

  “What do I always say?” He demanded.

  “Heads stay up,” I answered and meet his eyes.

  He nodded his approval and pulled me into a hug. I knew that he held back.

  “My little babe is all grown now.” He pulled back and inspected his scar. I could see a glimmer of approval in his eye. Dragons were possessive. I belonged to no one else but him, I was his property and the scar on my face would be a reminder for all.

  I looked away ashamed. The scar was a lie. I no longer belonged to him. I belonged to Stone.

  “Zeke could you grab me some clothes?”

  Zeke nodded and went to go get my father his clothes.

  “I’ve missed you.” He cupped my cheek gently, his blue eyes showing the depth of his sadness. When Zeke arrived back in a few minutes with clothes for my father, my father took the clothes behind a close by pillar.

  His absence of attention gave me a moment to take in the room. The entire ceiling was made of glass; it was a dome shape that made the sky look like it was made of jewels. It was quite beautiful and the sun shined right down onto the white marble, black-veined floors. The edge of the wide room was overcast by a concrete ceiling which was shrouded in shadows. From across the room, I could see a bed set up, along with furniture. The dressers looked familiar.

  Wearing dark colored jeans with a black shirt and a black leather jacket, my father stepped out from behind the foundation pillar. He came over, grabbed my upper arm, and steered me toward a door on the other side of the room, which led to a hallway.

  We took so many turns that it started to feel like a maze. Finally, we arrived to a dark wood door with small, intricate designs. I couldn’t look at them for long because my father took his place in front of me. It was his way of protecting me and keeping me hidden until he was ready to let someone see me. He knocked on the door and a gruff, distorted voice answered.

  “What do you want Drake?” My father opened the door. When he walked in I got a glimpse of who was on the other side. Before I could get a better glimpse my father moved again. He didn’t have to tell me where to stand because I knew. I would stand behind him until he said otherwise. “Look Drake I don’t want to fight with you…”

  “Xavier, I would like to introduce you to my daughter Audrey.” My father moved only a step out of the way; he pulled me close, tucking me under his arm.

  Looking up I realized that my first glimpse of the man behind the desk was real. His skin was a deep grey color. It wasn’t as if he was sick, his skin looked more like a rock than actual skin. His eyes were a deep purple color and showed shock, but his face remained passive, and almost blank. A small smile curled the end of his very dark lips.

  “You found her.” It was almost a question. But he moved on before anyone could answer. “I am so sorry, where are my manners? I am Xavier York. Head of the York Clan.” He offered a hand that had sharp clawed nails. I saw a swish of a tail behind him and, pressed to his back, but not completely hidden, were huge bat like wings. I didn’t take his hand but stared at him.

  “Are you going to kill my…my friends?” My voice wasn’t as strong as I would have wished.

  I felt my father’s hold tighten to the point of pain that I winced. Xavier gave my father a look of annoyance, bordering on anger. My father released his too tight of hold on me, but his arm remained around my shoulders. I had never seen my father back down from anyone before...

  “No my dear. We would never do that.” Xavier flashed a sharp-toothed grin at me. His incisors were longer than normal human's were but the teeth next to them were normal sized incisors.

  “There is much-” Before he could finish, the door behind us crashed open. All hell broke loose after that.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Stone

  Staring at the Stone Giant, I realized freeing Elijah and Nixie later would be harder than I thought. The Stone Giant was the second endangered species hidden in the York clan. I had thought that the York clan was primarily Middle Eastern American paranormals. I eyed the Valkyrie wondering how old she really was. The older they were the more impossible it would be to beat, even young ones would be a difficult fight.

  Nixie looked happy and calm now that she had both the cheetah shifters under her spell. Elijah remained motionless as was his custom. When the elevator hit the ground floor and I started to step out, I knew our plan wouldn’t work. In order to leave this floor we needed to be able to work a voice recognition lock. Even if I could form my vocal cords to something different it still wouldn’t work, I would never be able to get the exact tone. I looked at Nixie and nodded. She gave me a huge smile an
d nodded back.

  I put my hands over my ears as Nixie started to open her mouth. Not only could sirens make the most enchanting noise, but they could burst a person’s eardrums. Nixie started to screech; the Valkyrie went down, the cheetahs followed. The only one that remained standing was the Stone Giant. It looked down at the Valkyrie not really understanding what was happening.

  I let go of Elijah and started to shift into the form of a Stone Giant. The Giant caught the movement and before I could complete the change it threw me against a wall. I hit it hard, struggled back to my feet and continued to work on changing my cells, expanding and reforming.

  Elijah started to fight with the Stone Giant. Watching a wraith fight was strange. He was attacking with hid fist. Yet, there was something so unnatural about it. The movements were a little too fluid. The attacks were a little too violent. Elijah would disappear and reappear in different spots in a blink of an eye. His fist knocked off more stone than I would think a fist could do. I tore my eyes from their fight.

  Nixie was singing to the cheetahs to keep their attention on helping us, while the Valkyrie was parrying attacks at her. Nixie moved swiftly as she was trained from a young age to fight. I got up and started walking to the Valkyrie, while she might be a skilled fighter, she couldn’t do anything about the bulk of a Stone Giant. When I crashed into her she knocked her head on the wall. While normally I would have finished her off, I felt we had bigger issues. I turned back to Elijah, he was going for the killing blow and I roared. He stopped, watching me. I took my own form again.

  “Don’t kill it.” My voice was still gruff like a dwarf’s, I tried clearing my throat. “Don’t kill it Elijah.” I yelled again when he moved to attack it.

  “Why not?” Elijah’s black eyes were focused on me as he prepared to shove his hand into the Giant’s chest.

  “It’s an endangered species.” Really all paranormals were, but some of us were more abundant than others. “Just lock him up with the others.”

  Elijah didn’t move for a while and I thought for sure that he would destroy the Giant. Instead, he stood, grabbed the Giants arm, and pulled the creature into the first cell. Nixie sang the cheetahs into the cell next to the Giant, and I moved the Valkyrie with the cheetahs.

  The doors were still open for the elevators so the others followed me in. Elijah pushed the button for the floor we needed. I knew that Elijah could sense other paranormals. We had used that ability many times while on missions, and I assumed he knew where Audrey was. I started to pace, feeling the adrenaline still in my system making me feel edgy and restless. Nixie watched me, her eyes going back and forth following my movements.

  “What?” I snapped at Nixie.

  “You just seemed a bit more geared up than you usually are after a fight. Usually you are about as stoic as Elijah. Dal- never-mind.” She gave me a dirty look when I just glared at her.

  “Look, I am just feeling a little on edge right now. Adrenaline and all that shit.” I muttered and continued to pace the small room.

  “It is not adrenaline you dumb oaf, you are worried about Audrey. And so am I, but you needed to calm the fuck down before I screech at you!” Nixie looked like she was at the edge of her rope as well. Her entire body was tense and her lips were pressed tightly together.

  I tried to remain still, but felt it uncomfortable, like my skin was crawling in anticipation of a change. It wasn’t that though. Nixie was right. I rubbed the back of my neck.

  Finally the elevator doors opened. I wanted to rush out and find her as quickly as possible, but we didn’t know what would be waiting for us. Nixie was plastered to the left side, while I was on the right. Elijah stood in the middle, stepped forward and walked out of the elevator. I heard the undeniable crack of a neck and stepped out.

  “Do not worry, it was only a vampire. Easy enough to replace,” Elijah said.

  I didn’t feel sorry for the vampire at all. Honestly, I probably would have done the same thing. But I still believed in my decision to spare the Stone Giant. While the York and Braden clan might fight each other, there were still unspoken rules about destroying the last few of certain races. It wasn’t something we did.

  Nixie looked a little sick when she glanced down at the vampire whose head had twisted at an unnatural direction. She usually didn’t go on kill missions, but we needed to get Audrey back and I didn’t care what the consequences would be at this point. I only wanted Audrey safe.

  We moved silently through the building. Elijah and I killed a few guards and Nixie knocked out a few that we didn’t have time to stop and finish off. I don’t know what it was that was leading me, but I felt something tugging me toward the middle of the building. It was maze-like and Nixie followed me, I think her own bond led her forward. Elijah didn’t question us, but moved with us, waiting for any other guards to appear. Finally we stopped.

  “She is here. Somewhere.” Nixie closed her eyes as if she was going to go off of feeling alone.

  I agreed with her, but there was nothing. It was driving me insane. I started to pace, a growl forming in the back of my throat.

  “There is a hidden door.” Elijah stepped up and pushed at a white wall.

  I waited for something to happen, but nothing did. Elijah stepped back and kicked his leg out unexpectedly. Nixie yelped at the sound of splintering wood. We were now staring into a small office. Bookshelves lined the wall, and two elegant chairs sat in front of a large mahogany desk. I couldn’t focus on the furniture though. My eyes focused on Audrey’s scared face.

  A tall, dark haired man held onto her arm. His eyes matched Audrey’s. She must not have realized that she had stepped closer to me because she looked surprised when he pulled her back. He bared his teeth at me with a snarl, long sharp canines that were much different than a vampire’s. They were shaped like a serpent’s teeth, but much bigger. He was big, but so was the Gargoyle behind him.

  “Stone.” Audrey barely whispered my name, but the man holding her heard it. He turned his eyes down to her.

  “Who is this?” He growled down at her.

  Audrey flinched and shrank back into herself.

  I stepped toward Audrey. The man pushed her behind his back, defensively. The Gargoyle hissed at me and stepped forward, but Elijah met his attack. The man lashed out at me. An easily anticipated strike that I dodged. Nixie started to ease around the pair, but the Gargoyle’s tail wrapped around her neck.

  “Stop!” It was the first time I heard her voice so strong.

  “Stop, Drake.”

  I didn’t realize that the other paranormal had moved. He was inches from me. I snarled back at him wanting nothing more than to attack him.

  “So it seems that you have escaped the cells, and I am assuming you left a trail of dead bodies behind you. All for the sake of Audrey. Done like a true Braden. Tell me, did you also kill Tom the Stone Giant? You know there are only about twenty Stone Giants left in the world. I know how much Cain would enjoy completely irradiating them from the face of this earth.” The Gargoyle snarled at us. His hold on Nixie tightened slightly and I saw her eyes widen and her breath stop. Audrey fell backwards a little clutching her heart watching Nixie.

  “Stop! Stop choking her!” I roared. The Gargoyle snarled at me.

  “And why the hell should I?” He yelled back at me.

  “You’re killing them both. Nixie is bonded to her.” Elijah stated looking at Audrey as well. The man I was toe to toe with turned to look at her. He rushed to her side and held her up. I knew that people bonded to sirens could feel their pain if the siren left the bond open.

  “Xavier.” Drake called out. The Gargoyle released his tightened hold on Nixie.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Audrey

  I was so scared seeing Nixie like that, a pain was filling my heart as I gasped and backed away clutching my heart. Her pain reflected back into me. I could feel the tightening around the throat. The loss of breath. She was my best friend and I couldn’t face the fact th
at she was in pain because of me. Because she was trying to save me. Finally Xavier loosened his hold on her and she slumped a little forward. I let out a struggled whine. Xavier lifted the unconscious Nixie in his arms and gently placed her in his chair. I moved to go to her, but my father held me back.

  “What did you do to Audrey?” My father growled watching Stone.

  Stone who was here, he was here, though he was taller, and bigger than the Stone I knew him to be. I tried to move from behind my father again, but he moved with me as if knowing the direction that I was headed. Stone’s eyes flashed a dangerous red color and I knew that he was beyond pissed with my father.

  “I did nothing. What did you do to her?” He growled back. Looking at Stone made me realize how much his almost betrayal had affected me. While moments before my heart was hurting from the pain I saw Nixie in, it was so full now seeing Stone there. He had come for me. He was here.

  “Nothing, I am her father, I would never hurt her.”

  “You left her! You left her and she was tortured for years!” Stone’s eyes flashed as he looked at me then back at my father. His eyes did something I never seen before, they turned a cold hard black. One second Stone stood across the room, the next he held my father up against a wall, choking him. I flinched at the loud bang they made colliding with each other.

  “How can you live with yourself? You’re a bastard. She was tortured for years.” Stone’s form kept shifting but his eyes remained the same, completely black. Xavier moved faster than I could follow and tried to pull Stone off, but Stone pushed Xavier away. I moved next to Stone.

  “Stone?” I touched the arm that was keeping my father captive.

  Stone didn’t take his eyes off my father, but I felt his arm relax slightly under my touch.

  “Please don’t hurt him.”

  Stone looked at me and let go of my father. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me so close that I could barely breathe. I felt Stone push his face into my hair, burying himself further into it. He was touching where he could, as if to reassure himself that I was there. But I was touching him as well, I couldn’t stop touching him. He was here, he came for me. Xavier held back my father when Stone finally let me go.