Tempt
The Pteron Chronicles
Alyssa Rose Ivy
Copyright © 2018 Alyssa Rose Ivy
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written approval of the author.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover Design: Najla Qambar Designs
Cover Photography: Lindee Robinson Photography
Created with Vellum
Contents
Books by Alyssa Rose Ivy
New Orleans
1. Wyatt
2. Hailey
3. Wyatt
4. Hailey
December 10, 1945
5. Wyatt
6. Hailey
7. Wyatt
8. Hailey
9. Wyatt
10. Hailey
11. Wyatt
12. Hailey
13. Wyatt
14. Hailey
15. Wyatt
16. Hailey
December 24, 1946
17. Wyatt
18. Hailey
19. Wyatt
20. Hailey
Thank You
Afterward
Soar (The Empire Chronicles #1)
Casey
Books by Alyssa Rose Ivy
Books by Alyssa Rose Ivy
Flight (The Crescent Chronicles #1)
Focus (The Crescent Chronicles #2)
Found (The Crescent Chronicles #3)
First & Forever (The Crescent Chronicles #4)
Soar (The Empire Chronicles #1)
Search (The Empire Chronicles #2)
Stay (The Empire Chronicles #3)
Savor (The Empire Chronicles #4)
Storm (The Empire Chronicles #5)
Seduction’s Kiss (The Allure Chronicles #0.5)
Lure (The Allure Chronicles #1)
Lust (The Allure Chronicles #2)
Lost (The Allure Chronicles #3)
Love (The Allure Chronicles #4)
Dire (The Dire Wolves Chronicles #1)
Dusk (The Dire Wolves Chronicles #2)
Dawn (The Dire Wolves Chronicles #3)
Forged in Stone (The Forged Chronicles #1)
Forged in Ice (The Forged Chronicles #2)
Forged in Fire (The Forged Chronicles #3)
Forged in Light (The Forged Chronicles #4)
Hunt (The Grizzly Brothers Chronicles #1)
Heat (The Grizzly Brothers Chronicles #2)
Torn (The Pteron Chronicles #1)
Tempt (The Pteron Chronicles #2)
Heart of the Wolf (The Heart Chronicles #1)
Corded (The Corded Saga #1)
Cornered (The Corded Saga #2)
Shifter’s Fate (Willow Harbor #1)
The Hazards of Skinny Dipping (Hazards)
The Hazards of a One Night Stand (Hazards)
The Hazards of Sex on the Beach (Hazards)
The Hazards of Mistletoe (Hazards)
The Hazards of Sleeping with a Friend (Hazards)
Shaken Not Stirred (Mixology)
On The Rocks (Mixology)
Derailed (Clayton Falls)
Veer (Clayton Falls)
Wrecked (Clayton Falls)
Beckoning Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #1)
Perilous Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #2)
Enduring Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #3)
Life After Falling
Full Moons and Mistletoe (Full Moons)
Full Moons and Candy Canes (Full Moons)
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New Orleans
September 3, 1945
Mrs. Delford
* * *
I wasn’t supposed to be sitting in that room. But I was. I was supposed to be home entwined in the arms of my new husband. But I wasn’t. I wasn’t supposed to be there, but I had no other choice. My own people had sold their souls and futures to ensure the survival of an inferior species. My husband had been one of the stupid ones. He’d blindly agreed to follow leaders who placed the value of his life beneath those of powerless beings. But I wasn’t stupid. I would have revenge. Until then I was stuck.
I typed the words I was supposed to type. I recorded everything. This was a pity job. A scrap thrown to the widow of a man they’d sent to his death. I wished I didn’t have to take it, but it was the only way I was going to get the information I needed to destroy them all.
1
Wyatt
Present day
* * *
I blinked over and over, but I still couldn’t wake up. This had to be a dream. There was no other explanation for the predicament I was in. I glanced to my right and then my left. My hands were still tied. I looked down at my naked body. This couldn’t be happening. A Drago could not get captured and tied up. Nope. Never. This sort of situation was for lesser shifters and vampires, not creatures descended from dragons.
But I was tied up. And I was naked. I blinked another few times. I focused on waking up. That always worked when I was asleep and dreaming. Nothing. I was still tied up. I was in a darkened room; the only light came from sconces several feet away. I was elevated, my feet well above the floor. I couldn’t turn my head enough to see much of anything behind me. I tugged against the binds holding my hands hostage. Nothing. I closed my eyes and focused. There was no fabric or rope strong enough to hold me back. Yet somehow there was. No matter how hard I fought it, I couldn’t break the strands.
Well, there was one other way out. It might hurt as the fabric covering my mouth was likely as strong as that binding my hands, but I had to try.
I felt the fire build in my chest, and I let it continue until it reached my throat. I breathed out. The heat was intense, and I embraced it. The fabric should have melted away, but it did nothing. What the hell? What fabric could withstand the heat of my fire?
The fire had nowhere to go, and I had to swallow it back down. It burned, but the sensation was nothing compared to the fear and anger that warred inside of me.
“Hello, Wyatt.” A sickening sweet voice spoke from some way off. I knew exactly who the voice belonged to, and I also knew there was nothing sweet about the owner.
“Oh, yes. I forgot. You can’t speak. Can you?”
I waited, knowing full well she’d step into my line of view eventually.
“I wonder if Hailey chose you because she knew what you offered underneath your clothes.”
I said nothing. I couldn’t. I struggled against the wrist restraints. They appeared to be a simple cloth fabric. I should have been strong enough to break them. What was happening to me?
“Or maybe it was your smile. Too bad I can’t see that smile now. Although I highly doubt you’re smiling. By now you’ve realized you’re not going anywhere.” Heels clicked on the white tile floor before Veronica stepped in front of me. Her long brown hair was down, partially obscuring her face. She was wearing high heels and a fitted red dress. Talk about an exterior not matching her true inner self. She was a monster both in the literal and figurative sense.
“You heal fast, Wyatt.” She walked toward me. The clicking was getting increasingly annoying. “Your face looks normal already. I’m enjoying this new way of conversing with you. You can’t argue or say anything. I have your undivided attention. If I’d done this to Sol maybe things would have turned out differently for us.”
Sol. The Seer. Where was he? I could sure have used any help at that moment. I needed to spring free and find Hailey.
“You’re angry. I can see it in your eyes.” She walked toward me. “There’s no reason to be upset.” She ran a hand down my cheek. “We have a chance to do great things together.”
I fought against the restraints. There had to be a way out. I felt the smallest tear in the fabric.
“Be careful, or you’ll hurt yourself.” She wagged a finger in front of my face.
Hurt myself? As if that was my concern.
“You’re wondering where Hailey is, aren’t you?” She cupped my chin and made me look up at her. “I suppose that’s only natural.” Her lips twisted into a smile. “I’m sure she’s enjoying the maze.”
The maze? What the hell was she talking about? Fear gripped me. I wasn’t worried about my own survival, but I would kill this monster if something happened to Hailey.
“Don’t worry there’s no Minotaur in my maze, and she has company. There’s even a tiny chance she’ll find her way out eventually. If she does, my associates might even let her live as long as she agrees to help. That is if she hasn’t completely lost her mind.”
I couldn’t take any more. I reached for more fire this time while letting my Drago side take over. My transformed state always brought more strength with it. My vision tunneled and my head spun until I could no longer feel my human side. I was all Drago. But something was different. A new strength surged through me. I fought against the restraints, and they fell away.
“Finally. I knew the real you was in there.” Veronica grinned. She looked different now. I could see her clearer and in a different set of colors.
“Where is she?” I tried to scream the words, but nothing came out. I looked around. My vision was sharper, deeper, but it was tunneled. My chest and legs were covered in scales, and I had a forked tail instead of legs.
“Perfect!” Veronica clapped. “I knew this would work!”
This couldn’t be happening. A Drago hadn’t turned into an actual dragon in centuries. We’d evolved past that.
“I know what you’re thinking, and it’s going to be okay.”
Okay? Nothing was going to be okay. I reached for my human form—but I felt nothing. It was only darkness outside of this dragon state. I was only the unfamiliar creature.
I wanted to burn her. Destroy her. Yet a voice in the back of my head warned me not to. Had Veronica done this? Could she change me back?
Veronica crouched down in front of me. “It’s all going to be okay. I promise there is still a man inside. I can help you find him. And I can reunite you with Hailey, but first, we have some work to do.”
Anger surged through me. I swished my tail, and the wheel I’d been imprisoned on smashed into tiny pieces.
“See how strong you are? And this strength you don’t have to reach for. It’s always there.” She straightened back up to standing. “I knew this would work on you. I knew you were the right one. We will do great things together, my dragon.”
2
Hailey
I might have stood staring at the spot where Jesalyn had been for hours if it weren’t for Cade yelling in my ear. My confusion and shock were probably normal. My boyfriend’s dead mother had showed up as some sort of hologram, shared a slideshow of crazy images, and now I could see even though it was completely dark. Considering all that happened after being thrown in a dungeon by a crazy monster, the situation was definitely intense.
“Hailey!”
“What?” I snapped out of my daze. One minute the Lightness was there; the next she was gone. I struggled to hold onto the images she’d shown me. Were they real? What was I supposed to do with them?
“So you can hear?” Cade leaned back against a stone wall. Aside from the initial way he yelled my name, he was still his cool and collected self. “I was beginning to doubt you had that ability. Seemed you were purposely ignoring us.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I wasn’t.” I was trying to process the mind-blowing information dump from Jesalyn while also coming to terms with our current predicament. Unfortunately the visit from the Lightness had done nothing to break us free from the basement prison we were in. I went over the events leading to our current situation. Agreeing to speak at the women’s conference, meeting Veronica, having to take a leave of absence after saying exactly what was on my mind at the conference, agreeing to go to Veronica’s house to protect The Society, Veronica turning into a crazy monster, and finally falling through the floor to this awful place. All in all it still seemed exactly as bad as I’d thought.
“Jesalyn gave you her light. Now use it to get us out of here.” Troy’s expression was hard and unyielding. It was hard to find any evidence of the Drago I’d first met. No cocky attitude and smirk. All traces of his humor were gone. Was this all about the fire that was stripped from him? Was his fire so tied to his personality he was essentially a different person now? I hated to even think about the possibility. Not that he was the nicest before, but this was something else entirely.
“You make that sound easy,” I snapped.
“It should be easy.” The coldness in his voice matched his expression.
“Maybe if I’d known what a Lightness was before just now.” As usual I’d been kept in the dark. That term now took on new meaning after meeting Jesalyn. I didn’t want to be angry at Wyatt, but why had he kept the details from me? Because there’d been no time. Life seemed to always move at a whirlwind pace for us.
“You have her light. You are a Lightness now.” Troy crossed his arms. “There’s nothing more to it.”
“No. I’m still a Pteron.” Aside from a bad headache, nothing felt different. I wasn’t about to transform—having my wings out wasn’t going to help us much where we were—but I knew I still could. That more powerful and darker side of me still lay just beneath the surface.
“Well, yes. You are a hybrid.” Troy scowled. “But that doesn’t change that you have the power to get us out of here.”
“Somehow when you say it like that it isn’t encouraging.” I tried to make light of things even though there was nothing light about them. We needed to escape, and we needed to do it soon.
“Who said I wanted to be encouraging?” Troy puffed. “It doesn’t matter what I say. We have to find Wyatt. That should be motivation alone.”
“We need to get out of here.” Cade straightened and stepped away from the wall. “If that involves finding Wyatt, I’m down for it.”
“Hunter.” I turned toward the glass wall. Hunter was still standing there. Still completely naked. “Could you cover yourself please?”
“Oh.” He moved his hands down in front of him. “I forgot you can see.” He gave me a sheepish smile. Many girls went for guys like Hunter—the Alpha types—but I had no interest in being window dressing for anyone. That’s all a mate was to an Alpha in my opinion. Wyatt wasn’t an Alpha. He was strong and powerful, but he viewed me as his equal. There was no hierarchy to worry about.
Hunter’s hands worked as coverage, but that was going to limit his movements. “We need to get you clothes.”
“Yes. A pair of pants would be nice.” He smiled. “Wish I hadn’t been in the shower when all this happened.”
“I still can’t imagine how that all went down,” I admitted.
“Were you trying to imagine it?” Cade bumped his shoulder into mine.
“I don’t mean literally imagine it, idiot.” I could feel heat rising to my cheeks.
“Idiot?” Cade raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never called me that before.”
“You’ve never accused me of being a pervert before.”
“Come on, you just said you couldn’t imagine Hunter in the shower. That implies you were trying to imagine it.”
“No. I said I couldn’t imagine Hunter getting kidnapped from a shower.”
“Hailey, do you usually argue this much?” Eloise asked quietly.
“Uh, with Cade, yes.”
We’d always had a relationship more tantamount to a brother-sister relationship than actual friends. You’d have thought one older brother would have been enough for me, but I was a glutton for punishment.
“Ok. I’m just trying to see how much Jesalyn’s gift changed you.”
“Gift? You really think there’s Lightness in me?” I looked at the petite girl beside me. Eloise had really ended up with the short end of the stick when she was assigned to me.
“You can see. Perfectly.” Eloise touched my elbow. “The rest of us can’t.”
“I know, but that might be an after-effect of Jocelyn’s, well, whatever it was she did.”
“The after-effect is you’re part Lightness now.” Troy sat down and leaned against the wall. “How many times does one need to tell you things before you believe it?”
“Why are you so convinced I am part Lightness?” I asked out of both curiosity and annoyance.
“Because it’s obvious.” Troy stretched his legs out in front of him. “I may not have my fire, but I haven’t lost my keen observation senses.”
“Keen observation senses?” Cade chuckled. “Oh, my. I wish I had those.”
“Shut up, bird.” Troy sneered.
“Just stop.” I rolled my eyes out of habit and turned back toward Hunter. “I’m going to need your help.”
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