Burn: Dragon Shifter Romance

by Ava Frost

  Grant stopped listening to Jackson when he mentioned Darius, the name rang a bell, he was one of the Alphas from when he first turned, and suddenly everything started to fall into place. She was no ordinary spoiled brat; she was the daughter of Darius Gunter, the former Alpha of the one of the oldest packs in the world. No one knows what ever became of him, but if he did in fact have a daughter, and Delilah or rather Mary was his daughter, that meant she is the rightful Omega of the Imperials, the most feared pack in the northern hemisphere. Could this all be their doing?

  “Does it say anything about her life here in America?” Grant asked as he paced up and down.

  “Mmm, it says here that her mother remarried a Morrey Nielson, her mother died of cancer and Morrey was presumed dead, but his body was never found, what is this all about?” Jackson asked turning around on the swivel chair.

  “I don’t know yet, Delilah has a nasty stalker on her tail, but it appears to be a simple front to distract and set the stage for disaster.”

  That was it! He realized a stalker who had gone mad would be the perfect cover-up for an unexplained disappearance. Get the world to believe she was being stalked which led to her eventual murder. This was all Morrey’s doing.

  He had to get to Delilah before the Imperials did, if they kill her before she turned the Imperials will be under Morrey’s control for the next decade, and they will become the rulers of their kind.

  “Thanks Jackson I owe you,” he said and shook his friends hand, “Do me a favor, if anyone comes sniffing around for this information, don’t say anything. I need to figure out what’s going on.”

  “Sure thing, are you sure you won’t need my help?”

  “No, I’m good. If I do need your help I’ll be in touch.”

  With that Grant left the base and sped towards Hollywood, he had to get Delilah to safety, but to get to her was another mission all together. He couldn’t very well march on to the set and take her.

  He kept a watchful eye on her movements, and waited until she went on one of her spa trips before he made his move. Once she had entered the Petal’s Spa, he went in through the back door and waited until she was settled down for her massage. Using some Wolf Claw mixed with Datura or better known among the immortals as Ghost Flower, he quickly put the young girl at the counter to sleep along with the rest of the staff. He snuck to the front door and locked it, switching the sign to say closed and then headed to the back. He finally found the room where Delilah lay face down on the bed.

  “Delilah.”

  She jumped up and covered herself with the towel, “What are you doing here?” she whispered under her breath.

  “Saving you,” he said flatly and tossed her clothes to her, “You have to come with me; I will explain everything on the way.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you,” she said under her breath, “How do I know you’re not the stalker that’s caused me so much crap?”

  He knew she wouldn’t come easily, but he was willing to kidnap her if she refused. He stepped closer to her and reached for her hand.

  “Do you trust me?” he spoke to her mind.

  She frowned but didn’t pull her hand away, “How are you able to do that?”

  “I’ll explain it later, right now I need you to come with me. And I need you to trust me.”

  “No, not until you tell me what’s going on.”

  “Look, if I wanted to do you any harm, I could have done that on multiple occasions while I was alone with you. Please, we don’t have much time.”

  He could see the confusion in her eyes, as those ice blue orbs flashed with curiosity and doubt. And after just a few seconds she reached for her clothes and dressed.

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “Away from here, but we need to move fast. The Imperials are going to be here soon and I need to get you away before they get here.”

  “The Imperials?” she asked as he dragged her out of the room and towards the back door.

  Too late, the hair on his neck rose in warning, it wasn’t Lucas this time, it was someone far more powerful, and he suspected straight away that it was Morrey.

  “This way, quick,” he said and slipped into one of the cubicles he noticed that had a window, which led into the alley alongside the spa, “They have found you.”

  He sensed her erratic pulse and frantic heart beat immediately as panic rose in her and then tugged her up against him and looked into her eyes, “You’re safe with me, I promise.” He said and then climbed through the window, before pulling her through.

  He scanned the Alley for any Imperials and then quickly dragged her along with him, with time against him; he lifted her into his arms and sprinted towards his truck. Once they were on the road, he looked at her and smiled.

  “I promise you, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “You have to tell me what’s going on, my nerves are shot. What do I have to do with the Infidels?”

  “Imperials,” he corrected her and then squeezed her hand. “What I’m about to tell you is farfetched to say the least, but it’s my reality and it will be yours too.”

  Grant pulled up to a dilapidated cabin a few miles away. The surfaces in the cabin were covered in dirty snow as a layer of dust collected over the weeks or months it has been standing abandoned. Old cups and papers were cascaded all over the floor as if the person who lived here had left in a hurry. Grant quickly pulled out a pouch of powder, which he scattered at all entrances, in an attempt to mask his scent to avoid detection from the Imperials. All the while Delilah stood around wide eyed and nervous and all he wanted was to take her in his arms.

  “We can’t stay here long, but this will have to do until night fall, then we’ll have to head out again.”

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

  Grant sighed and pulled over a chair, dusting it off and offering her a seat, which she accepted without question.

  “Mary…” he started.

  “My name is Delilah,” the tone of her voice was cold; it was evident that she hated the name.

  “Delilah, your biological father Darius was once part of the Imperials; in fact he was their Alpha. The truth is that all you believe and know is not the only truth. You possess in you a genome that was passed on to you from your father, it’s a Lycan genome that enables you to eventually become what you were born to be,” he started, but the way she raised a single brow and tilted her head to the side showed her pure disbelief.

  “Wait, so let me get this straight, you’re telling me I’m some sort of freak?”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, “Not a freak, a work of wonder rather,” he cupped her hands as he stood on his haunches before her, “Look, werewolves, vampires, harpies, hell, even elves exist. I know trust me; I also found it hard to believe when I first learned the truth.”

  Delilah pulled her hands out of his and stood up, kicking the chair back, “You have got to be kidding me, is this some kind of a joke?”

  “I’m afraid not, it’s the honest truth and I can vouch for it. I’m a werewolf,” he said without pause.

  The bellow of laughter that escaped her made him cringe, he knew she wasn’t going to just buy into this fable but he had no other way to proof it to her, not yet anyway.

  “I’ll prove it to you, once we’re further away from the Imperials, but I need you to trust me.”

  “Trust you? I wouldn’t trust you if the Pope blessed you and called you fucking Teen-Wolf. This is the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard, and I’ve had enough of this crap. Take me back home this instant.”

  “I cannot do that, the Imperials fear the fact that you exist, because if you turn, then the Imperials have to automatically submit to you and no one else. Morrey has a price out on your head, and he won’t rest until he knows you’re six feet under.”

  As Delilah sank back into the chair Grant stepped closer and gently placed his hand on her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.
>
  “You know very well just how vile and evil Morrey is, he didn’t marry your mother just because he fell for her, and he married her because he needed to get rid of the only seed that could ruin his existence.”

  Chapter 11

  A few days later, after traveling for days, they finally reached the state of New Mexico and ironically found themselves in Roswell, the home of the little green men the weird and wonderful that most normal people discarded as fantasy.

  The time spent with Grant, driving night and day making only the necessary stops, she had learned all about him. And although Morrey’s name left a bitter taste in her mouth whenever it was mentioned, she was no longer afraid. She had finally come to terms with the memories she tried to forget that flooded her mind threatening to suck her into a black hole of despair and now that she knew the truth, she understood things much better. She fought so hard to get away from him after her mother died. She changed her entire identity, lived on the streets for months until she finally managed to land a job, and from there she started to build her own life. She had heard through the grapevine that Morrey had passed away, after he mysteriously fell over the edge of a boat and drowned. His body was never recovered and after weeks of searching he was presumed dead, but somewhere deep down she always suspected he was out there looking for her.

  They had used some of the cash Delilah was carrying to book a room at a motel in Roswell so that her credit card transactions would not be traced. The room much like the rest of the town looked like the inside of a spaceship, with foiled ornaments, alien green wallpaper and random portraits of UFO sightings hung on the walls. There were two single beds with mismatched bedding, and it took Grant getting her new sheets and a mattress cover before she dared to sleep in one of the beds.

  But even though this little room was not exactly lover’s paradise, she enjoyed being so close to Grant, despite the looming danger.

  “When do you think we’ll be able to leave here?” she asked Grant one evening when she lay staring up at the ceiling covered with glow in the dark stars.

  “I don’t know,” he admitted and turned on his side to face her.

  She turned on her side and looked at him, “Is there a means to an end with all of this?”

  With the beds only a hair’s breadth apart, Grant reached out and touched her cheek, “That’s complicated, and I doubt you’ll be happy with either outcome.”

  “Shouldn’t I be the one to decide what I’ll be happy with?” she asked softly.

  “I guess,” he said and moved to sit up on the edge of his bed and laced his fingers together in front of him, “So there are two options really. You run for the rest of your life, avoid detection and live a long life as a fugitive.”

  “That’s not a life Grant; I’ll never be able to live like that.”

  “Or, you turn and take your rightful place as the Omega of the Imperials,” he said and lowered his head.

  “Wow, death almost sounds like an attractive retreat from all of this,” she said and rubbed her forehead, “How does this turning thing work?”

  “The bite of another werewolf will activate the genome and that is followed by temporary death for the genome and your DNA to combine and after that merge takes place you wake up.”

  “Is it painful?” she asked biting her bottom lip.

  “At first, the shifting process is, but you get used to it,” he said and then shifted to lie down and patted the bed next to him, “Let’s just get some rest.”

  Delilah looked at the spot next to him and her body craved his touch, but she knew that they couldn’t get up to any shenanigans, with some madman hunting her down. But the prospect of lying in his arms was a comforting thought. So she pushed herself off her bed and lay down next to Grant.

  He pulled her body up against his and spooned her.

  “I’m scared,” she whispered as he wrapped his arm around her.

  “I’ve got you,” he said and pressed his lips against her hair.

  *******

  Grant woke with a start when he heard a loud thud outside their motel room, and leaped out of bed. Delilah also jumped up with her eyes wide.

  “Is that them?” she whispered as she pulled her shoes on.

  Grant held his finger up against his mouth and then back up against the wall, he edged the curtain open with one finger and peeked outside. There were two Imperials outside, no sign of Morrey, but he could detect Lucas immediately. He couldn’t place Lucas, he was the one who warned him about Morrey, yet, he’s with them now.

  He felt Delilah tug on his arm as she stood close to him.

  “We have two weres out front, and I suspect there are more.”

  He didn’t see any way out of this without one of them getting hurt or killed. He glanced out the window again, calculating the distance between the one man and the other on the left near the reception area. They really stood very little chance of survival. He cursed under his breath and then grabbed Delilah’s hand dragging her to the bathroom, trying to find a way out, but he suspected that they were surrounded.

  “Bite me,” Delilah said grabbing his arm, “I don’t want to die, and we have no real way out of here, do we?”

  Grant looked down at her and a frown creased on his forehead, “I’m not biting you.”

  “So you’ll let me die instead? Just fucking bite me dammit, get it over with,” she urged him.

  “There’s no guarantee that you’ll wake up, if they take your head off, it’s over anyway.”

  Delilah ran back into the room, dug in her purse and pulled out a small gun, “Bite me, then I’ll take my own life before they get to me.”

  A loud banging on the door alerted them and Grant gritted his teeth. He had no real choice; this was the only thing left to do. Without any effort he shifted only halfway and then sunk his teeth into Delilah’s arm, and once he was done. He nodded at her and completed his transformation. With his bones snapping and his skin stretching over the bulges that formed all over his body he watched in horror how Delilah stared at him in shock, and then she pulled the trigger, shooting herself in the chest.

  Chapter 12

  Two weeks later, Delilah lay in a room unfamiliar to her. She felt different, but a whole chapter of her life felt like it was missing. She sat up in the hospital-like room and glanced around. Her hearing seemed extremely sensitive. She looked up at the air-conditioner and noticed a strip of paper waving in the air exiting the vents. It felt as if she could hear every individual strand of paper flapping.

  “Hello?” she asked tentatively.

  “Delilah, I’m glad to see you’re awake.”

  She didn’t recognize the man who stood before her, but somehow she didn’t feel threatened by his presence.

  “Where am I?” she asked and pressed her hand against her throat.

  The stranger stepped forward and handed her a bottle of water, “I’m Lucas, a friend of Grant. Welcome to the Pack.”

  The pack, suddenly she remembered what had happened, or at least what last happened before she pulled that trigger.

  “Grant! Is he, did he…”

  Lucas smiled and took the bottled water from her, “Grant is fine, he’s on patrol and should be back soon. It was quite a brave move you pulled there with Morrey,” he continued.

  “I’m afraid I don’t know what all happened,” she admitted and tried to stand up.

  “I suggest you lay down, your strength is taking slightly longer to regenerate with your current condition,” he said and helped her back on to the bed.

  “My condition?” she asked confusedly.

  “I think I’ll leave that up to Grant to explain, for now I’m just glad you made it and the Imperials are once again free of oppression.”

  “Morrey is gone?” she asked surprised.

  Lucas chuckled and then bowed theatrically, “You’re the new Omega, and we’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

  She didn’t know what to say, or how to respond to that. She didn’t even k
now what happened after she had shot herself, but clearly the battle was won and she believed that Grant had stood up against Morrey and probably took his life. One thing she was sure of was that her life was irrevocably changed forever. She would not be able to go back to acting, but at least now she as part of something greater. Somehow, even with the daunting reality of her being a werewolf Omega, she felt as if she belonged, and she knew everything was going to be fine.

  “I see you’re finally awake from your beauty sleep.”

  Her heart fluttered the moment she heard Grant’s voice, but the flutter wasn’t anything like she had experienced before. It was much stronger, almost like an invisible chord between the two of them linking them. This must be what being sired felt like, she realized and smiled at him.

  “How long have I been out?” she asked weakly.

  “A few weeks, you just need to rest,” he said and came to sit beside her after Lucas left.

  “I thought I would be up and about then, did something go wrong?”

  Grant looked at her, and the look in his eyes was intense. She sensed that there was something he needed to tell her but she wasn’t so sure if it was good or bad news. What if the whole shift thing didn’t work and she’s a reject. No, that can’t be, Lucas told her she’s the Omega.