by Cecilia Lane
He backed into the alley again and jumped, fingers catching the lowest rung of the access ladder. He hauled himself up, then jumped to the roof and glanced down.
Izzy watched him from below. Her eyes glowed with her inner animal, but there was so much hurt and disappointment swirling in her scent. It’d been a mistake to get close to her while his target was still on the loose. A mistake to let her distract him away from his hunt.
He knew what he needed to do. He’d just need to live with the sting of pain he caused.
Zane shoved out of his jacket and yanked his shirt over his head. His wings snapped out and he drew on his dragon’s power to conceal the rest of his change.
Snow shifted under the beat of his wings as he launched himself into the air, leaving Izzy behind.
Chapter 9
Izzy smoothed a hand down her burgundy dress and flashed a polite smile when the other guests chuckled around her. She took a sip of her drink and tried to remember what had been said, but the words disappeared into a black hole, completely lost. Hopefully there wouldn’t be a quiz at the end. Or a police lineup. She could hardly remember their faces when she turned, let alone their names or sound of their voices.
She felt so stupid for even trying to put on an act, but showing her face seemed like a better choice than spending another second in her very empty suite.
She’d spent half the night waiting for Zane to return before finally giving in to her drooping lids and crawling into bed. Sleep had been hard to find even with her exhaustion, and her dreams edged closer to nightmares. Nothing bloody or gory, but the bleakness of empty landscapes and wandering them alone woke her with cold sweats too many times to count.
The reality of her dark room wasn’t any better. The grim loneliness she’d disliked from the moment she stepped through the door had returned. Zane had added a warmth to the place that vanished along with him.
She tossed back the last of her drink and glared at the ice cubes left behind. Even the promise of someone to keep her drink filled hadn’t materialized, making the night her worst Christmas Eve ever.
She wandered through the merriment, determined to find a fresh drink. The line at the bar deterred her. She tried to slip into the kitchen, but one of the Old Maids’ nephews locked eyes on her, and she shot out the front door.
The chill and the quiet of the porch suited her better, anyway.
She should have known something was wrong. She should have suspected there was more to him than he let on. And she should have locked her cougar away and denied any feelings had cropped up for the man.
Mates were garbage, and their connection wasn’t real.
Pain laced through her. Claws slashed and sliced, shredding her from the inside out. She wanted to double over with the sudden torture but pressing her hands to her ears at her cat’s screaming yowls was the stronger instinct. Neither would help. Her animal wanted out. Now.
To do what? Track down the dragon and give him her belly? Let him bind them together with sweet words and amazing orgasms, just so the hurt was a little more painful when he walked away again?
Footsteps creaking up the porch steps made her turn, but she knew who it was even before setting her eyes on the dragon. Wood smoke and decadent chocolate filled her nose and settled a hard need in the pit of her stomach.
Zane’s bright eyes swept to her secluded corner as soon as he mounted the final step.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
“I came looking for you.”
“Yeah? Someone put a bounty on my head?” she sniped back. She took a step to the side, aiming to brush by him and disappear into the house, but he blocked her. Another step to the side, and he blocked that, too.
She let off a low growl and raised her eyes to meet his. “Let me pass.”
“Not until you hear me out.”
She didn’t want to listen to another word out of his dang mouth.
She didn’t want to leave until he had his say, either.
Zane grabbed hold of her hesitation before she could subdue it herself. “I shouldn’t have left you last night, but I was desperate to track that animal down. That’s what he is, Izzy. An animal with no care for anyone’s life. Erik Halvorsen escaped Shiftermax with all the others last summer. He’s slaughtered entire families for fun and hurt others since I picked up the job. I didn’t want to see that repeated here.”
“Did you find him?” she asked after a loaded moment.
Zane slashed his eyes away from her. “No,” he growled. “I couldn’t find any trace of him. It’s like he’s erasing his scent somehow.”
“So, you decided to take a break and come party.” She threw him a mocking smile. “How lovely for the rest of us.”
“I came because I couldn’t stay away any longer.”
The words were quiet, but as fierce as his growl. They grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and gently shook her to get her attention. Even her cougar sank down inside and quieted, and the beast had been all for rubbing against the man to mark him with her scent.
Izzy leaned against the railing and watched him from under her lashes. Dark shadows lined his eyes. His shoulders were as stiff and tense as the day she met him. His jaw clenched tight enough that she thought she’d hear his teeth grinding together if she stayed quiet.
“You’re in my head, Izzy,” he started in the same low voice. “In my nose. I can still taste you on my tongue. Every second apart—no matter how much I justified it to myself—every damn second felt like I was slowly breaking into pieces.” He let off a harsh laugh and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I should be out there right now, flying until exhaustion, but I’m here. Because I can’t stay away from you.”
“That’s not enough,” she told him in a choked voice. “I don’t want to be someone you can’t stay away from. I want to be on the inside. You can’t use me for a little company before zooming off again.”
“I know. This… having someone else is new to me. I don’t have a big family. There isn’t some happy little town I can visit for Christmas. It’s just my father, and we don’t talk all that much. He…” Zane pressed his lips together, then turned to her. “Do you know what happens to dragons who break the rules?”
“The same as any other shifter, I imagine. Anything too big or deadly or out of control gets put down. A butt whooping from the alpha for the more minor things.”
“Killing is a last resort for my kind. Our numbers dwindle more each year. We can’t make more with a bite like you groundlings.” His lips twisted with a wry smile. “Dragons are born, not made.”
“So, what happens to them?”
“Their wings are clipped. They’re still dragons, but they lose the sky.”
His scent shifted. The wood smoke blew cold with the sudden, chilling sadness. She didn’t have his ability to fly, but she imagined being cut off from that side of himself would be like losing her cougar. The loss, even imagined, made her wince.
“Darkwoods are proud bounty hunters. My father was high in the ranks, second in the wing. And for whatever reason, that wasn’t enough for him.” Zane ground his teeth together and tightened his grip on the railing. The wood creaked underneath his hands before he let loose with a sharp exhale. “He started selling tips to the very assholes we were supposed to track. Where the dragons would be, who was part of the team. All but giving them a call and offering up a safe house.”
He went quiet. Quiet, but not calm. His scent shifted all over the place, going angry one second and blowing with disappointment the next. His face stayed still the entire time, but so much trouble lurked under the smooth surface.
She let him have the moment before asking, “What does this have to do with me?”
“I watched my father run through women and obliterate my family’s reputation. I vowed I wouldn’t ever let myself be distracted from proving that I wasn’t him. And then I met you.” He took a step closer and stretched his hands out, palms raised. When she didn’t take them, his f
ingers curled into fists at his sides.
He didn’t step away, though. Heat washed off him even with the foot of space between them. Every cell in her body seemed to turn toward him like they were flowers, and he was the sun.
Her cougar padded through her head, flashing sendings at her of closing that gap and letting him wrap her in his arms. She wanted it so badly, but she hesitated. Wanting didn’t guarantee a happy ending. Feeling the call of a mate didn’t guarantee it, either. The connection between them had already snapped apart. She didn’t want to open herself up again just to see him disappear right before her eyes.
But he’d come for her. He’d opened up about the what and why, and he still wasn’t done baring his soul.
Zane lifted his hand and brushed his fingers over her cheek. “You have filled my every waking thought, and not just because you’re there with a smile and something ridiculous to say. There’s more to it than that. I feel whole around you. Balanced. Like nothing can possibly go wrong when I know you’re going to be around the corner.”
Truth. Every last word rang with honesty.
“I don’t know what I’m doing, Izzy,” he said softly. “I’m going to fuck this up about ten times every day. But between those times, I want you to know I’m yours.”
She pressed her forehead to his chest and breathed him in. Smoky hazelnuts rolled over her senses. He ran a soothing hand down her back, then hugged her tight against him. “I don’t know how to do this, either,” she answered just as softly. “But I want to figure it out with you.”
“Can I get started by offering to refresh your drink?”
She huffed a laugh, then widened her eyes and touched her fingertips to her heart. “What’s this? A respectable gentleman?”
“Only for tonight,” he assured her with a wink. “And only for you.”
Chapter 10
The floor creaked under his boots.
The noise stuck with Zane as he swept a look over the corner of the porch where he’d left Izzy.
She was gone.
Disappointment surged through him. Part of him wanted to believe it was what he deserved. He’d abandoned her, now she did the same to him.
She wouldn’t do that, though. She’d tell him off to his face and stomp away before she slipped away without a word.
Something was wrong.
Zane inhaled deeply, but there was a strangeness to the air he couldn’t quite pinpoint. It was cold, but not fresh or crisp.
In the distance, red brake lights caught his attention.
He inhaled again, and he realized what was so strange about the air. There wasn’t any scent to it. Nothing of Izzy’s blackberries and heather. No trace of anyone else passing through. Even the cold of the snow seemed muted and stale.
Just as it’d been in the alley when Erik disappeared.
The glass in his hand dropped and shattered against the wood under his feet.
His dragon roared to life as he threw himself off the porch, eyes locked on those glowing red lights in the distance. His shape exploded in an instant, and he shot into the air with savage sweeps of his wings, wrapping himself with invisibility to conceal his approach.
The van cut a hard turn leading away from civilization, but it didn’t get far before Zane caught up. Fire bubbled to life in the back of his throat, but he swallowed it down. Izzy could be in there. Or some other random, unlucky family he’d caught driving home. He had to know who, exactly, was in the van before setting it ablaze.
Zane sped ahead and spun on a wingtip before dropping low to the ground. One look at the driver. That was all he needed. One damn look to confirm it was the bastard he hunted.
Even then, he had to be careful. Fire was out if Izzy was inside. Flipping the whole vehicle, too. Ripping open the top like a tin can ran the risk of snagging her with his claws.
He hated the helpless feeling welling in the pit of his stomach and wanted to spit fire to clear the frustration.
He hovered, waiting for the van to get close enough, smoke streaming out of his nostrils. Waiting… Waiting…
Erik fucking Halvorsen sat behind the wheel.
Zane’s heart stopped in his chest. Izzy sat in the seat next to him, eyes wide with terror.
Even invisible, Erik seemed to spot him. His lip curled into an evil grin and his eyes jumped straight to Zane’s own.
With a hard yank of the wheel, the bastard drove straight for him.
Zane beat his wings to gain altitude before the van crashed into him. Erik twisted the wheel again, but the back end lost traction and spun out of control. He watched helplessly as the entire vehicle went round and round like a top before slamming to a stop against a tree.
Zane roared and dove for the wreckage.
“Out!” Erik ordered.
Izzy barely had time to reorient herself before a hand latched around her wrist and dragged her out of the van. She blinked rapidly at the vehicle and the snow slipping from the branches of the tree.
So that was what they’d hit. Her stomach twisted with what could have happened if they’d smashed in windshield first, rather than the back taking all the crunching damage.
She didn’t have time for any other thoughts before Erik grabbed a handful of her hair and shoved her forward.
Animal. That was what Zane had called him. And nothing since he’d grabbed her by the throat had changed her mind.
She’d tried to claw him into letting her go, but nothing she did seemed to faze him. He still bore the bloody marks on his arms. She’d even tried shifting into her cougar form, but he was quick to wrap silver around her neck and lock her animal down, with a snarled warning not to touch the chain still tightly pinching her skin.
“Show yourself, Darkwood!” Erik shouted. “Or I start slicing off bits of the pretty one!”
Her blood chilled at the words.
High above them, a dragon blinked into existence. Fury twisted the beast’s features and smoke poured out of his nose. With a roar, he spat fire into the air above their heads.
A low, evil laugh bubbled out of Erik as he stared at the dragon. Izzy’s skin crawled at the sound of it and the feel in the air. Pure darkness seemed to tickle at the back of her neck and blow just past her ears, and with it came a sudden, freezing cold.
Zane’s wings snapped to his sides.
“No!” Izzy cried out.
The word was useless and incapable of stopping the dragon—her dragon—from plummeting to the ground.
Trees cracked and the ground shook as he hit the earth.
She tried to run to him, but the grip on her hair yanked her back. She craned her neck to shoot Erik a terrified look. “You’re fae,” she gasped.
“Part. But did you know you can bind others to you?” He turned to her, a vicious smile splitting his face. “Takes some powerful magic to hide that away. How do you think I’ve kept free for so long? So easy to slip into bedrooms when they don’t hear a thing. So easy to take my time when no one else notices what’s happening right under their noses.”
Her stomach turned again, and she shot a worried look to where Zane had fallen.
“You’ve been in my business for too long, Darkwood,” Erik called into the night. “Maybe it’s time you find your way to my side instead.”
The trees groaned and shook as something big moved in the night.
Izzy’s heart sank straight to her toes when she caught sight of Zane lumbering toward him. Scales a deep, shiny blue, eyes glowing silver, he would have been impressive if she could see anything of him shining back at her.
There was nothing but emptiness in the gaze he swept over her. She straightened at that, feeling like a rubber band had snapped inside her. Her cougar howled with dread when the dragon settled his focus on Erik.
His master had called, and he obeyed.
Erik shoved her forward to stand right in front of the dragon’s snout. “Burn her, Darkwood!”
Izzy rolled her eyes upward. Zane was close enough to touch, but pure menace k
ept her from brushing her fingers over his scales.
She hated this. Not just the whole dying thing, though that was categorically awful. But finding her mate and coming to terms with it, surviving their first fight, not even getting to celebrate Christmas together, that all pretty much sucked.
The whole enthralled dragon thing was a fluffing big downer, too. If there was any good left in the world, Zane wouldn’t ever surface from whatever spell Erik had him under. She hoped he’d never realize what he’d done.
“Zane,” she whispered, holding her hands out in front of her. Stupid, she knew. Her fingers weren’t a shield. They’d be burned just as surely as the rest of her if he didn’t pull out of Erik’s magic. “Zane, don’t.”
Something flickered in his slitted eyes. That was the only way she could describe it. A flicker, and more of the Zane she knew looked back at her.
She hoped it was enough.
The dragon’s sides expanded with his deep inhale.
“Do it,” Erik commanded.
Izzy ducked just as Zane unleashed a blast of flame. Heat melted the snow under her feet, but nothing burned her. No flaming skin, no hair on fire, just a far-too-hot close encounter with her mate’s deadly breath.
One sharp scream was all she heard before silence once again reigned over the night.
Slowly, carefully, she pushed to her feet. She glanced over her shoulder, then whipped back around. One shaky step, then two, five, seven carried her away from the pile of ashes left behind. She reached for the end of the silver chain, and unwound it from her neck, casting it as far away from her as possible.
Hands grabbed at her shoulders and she let off a sharp scream before being spun around. Bright blue eyes stared down at her.
“Izzy.” Zane gave her a shake. “Izzy, look at me. Tell me you’re okay.”
She flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and dragging him closer. It was then that she realized he was naked. Of course he’d be naked. Dragons were shifters, too. No extra magic kept them from tearing away their clothes, and she couldn’t see him taking the time to undress while in pursuit of her.
