by Ines Johnson
“Oh, yeah. After The College Years spin-off show. There was a prime time special like ten years ago and—”
"No.” Cardi put her hands over her ears. “Don't tell me anymore. I don't want to know. Not good to know your future. Doc Brown taught us that in Back to the Future.”
“Well, yeah,” said Chryssie. “But in the second movie they—”
Cardi dropped her hands from her ears. “There’s a second Back to the Future movie?”
Poppy decided not to tell her that the franchise had developed into a trilogy.
The light in the room dimmed. Poppy looked over to see two large males blocking the sun. For a moment, she thought one of them might be Beryl. But both of the males sported a thick mane of blond hair.
“Great,” sighed Cardi. “Here comes trouble. Let me go and get our drinks before the lions lap up every drop.”
She rose from her chair and began to make her way toward the bar. But one of the massive men—or lion men—stepped in her path.
“Mmm,” the lion purred. The man was shirtless, sporting a hairy, golden chest. “Nothing like the smell of sweetmeat in the afternoon.”
“Gag me with a spoon, Ari,” Cardi said with a roll of her eyes and flip of her hair.
“Let her alone, Ari,” said the lion beside him. The man could’ve been Ari’s twin, except his mane was trimmed to rest just above his shoulders, where Ari’s ran down his back. “You know who she belongs to and what he’ll do if he finds out you touched her.”
“Shut it, Izem.” Ari brushed the other man’s words aside. “We both can smell that that limp dick dragon still hasn’t plucked her petals yet.”
The thing about being a redhead was that it was hard to hide your emotions. Embarrassment, anger, joy they all showed up on your face in splotches of red. Cardi looked like a beet. But she stood her ground in front of the two large males. It was clear to Poppy that that wasn’t fear in her wide eyes, it was a mixture of shame and anger.
“What goes on with my petals is none of your business, you overgrown meat sack. Now get out of my way, or tomorrow you’ll wake up with your pretty hair permed.”
It was David staring down Goliath. Cardi was tiny in comparison to the lions. But Ari blinked first.
Poppy knew two things in that moment. One, she would never piss off Cardi. Two, she wanted to be just like Cardi when she grew up.
Ari stepped aside. The sound of his molars grinding and his fists clenching filled the room as he did so. Izem also took a step back, but he did it with a grin.
Cardi stepped away from them. The moment she did, a breeze wafted through the doors. It lifted Poppy’s hair. The lions’ noses lifted into the air as well. When the dust in the air settled, two sets of glowing eyes landed on Poppy.
“An unclaimed human?” Ari’s voice was low, deep, predatory.
Poppy felt like a gazelle out in the Sahara the moment after it was spotted with nowhere to run. Chryssie took her hand under the table. Her face set into fierce lines.
“She’s not unclaimed,” said Cardi, marching back into the fray and putting her small body between Poppy and the lions. “This is Beryl’s new mate. He claimed her last night. Right, Poppy?”
Poppy didn’t have to say anything. Her redhead traits were betraying her all over her cheeks and her neck. Even her arms were bright red.
“Beryl bit me.” She was so embarrassed to admit that much. She definitely wasn’t telling them what else they got up to, not even under the duress of being eaten by one of these lions.
“And he boinked you,” Cardi encouraged. “Right?”
“Um …”
Cardi whirled around to face Poppy. “‘Um’ is not the right answer in this situation.”
“We did … stuff …”
“But you haven’t been boinked? Did he insert tab B into slot A?”
Poppy opened her mouth and then closed it. Once again, she had no need to answer. It was clear they all saw red.
Chapter Fifteen
Beryl pushed his wings hard. His shoulders ached as he carried his heavy load through the air, going faster than was prudent. He ignored the pain in his back. He ignored the strain of his wings.
No pain, no gain, and he had to gain on getting to Poppy.
Even now, a lion could be sniffing at her hide. A wolf might be flashing its canines. Thank the Goddess the bears were still sleeping.
He caught a whiff of her on the wind. She was close. The tendrils of her delicate scent erased the burn from his muscles. Beryl pushed harder.
Shephard’s Town wasn’t that big. There were few establishments to purchase clothing, food, and supplies. The inhabitants of the Veil still practiced the ancient art of bartering. It was mainly the Valkyries who coveted gemstones. Because the daughters of the Goddess were able to travel outside of the Veil and collect prized items, many of the beings began to trade in precious metals as well.
It was another reason the girls should be left alone. No one wanted to anger the dragons on account of their tempers. But also because everyone wanted access to gems.
Unfortunately, the knowledge that others shouldn’t bother Cardi, Chryssie, or Poppy wasn’t enough. Human women were an item coveted more than any sustenance, more than any gem. Especially by other male shifters.
Now inside the town’s boundaries, Beryl didn’t bother following his nose. He knew exactly where Cardi would take them. The only place truly worth her time. Sure enough, he saw the girls through the open double doors of God’s Teet as he landed.
Beryl’s powerful thighs hit the ground. Claws dug into the rich soil. Smoke curled from his nostrils as he rushed toward the doors. The dragon gave him back his skin when it realized he couldn't fit into the doors. Beryl burst into the bar, naked as the day he was born. Dragons didn't typically shift out in public. But desperate times and all.
Ari was at her front. Izem was at her back. Cardi stepped in front of Ari wagging her finger as though the lion would heel to a human. For a moment, Beryl thought Ari might.
After an inhale, he dropped all consideration of letting Cardi put the lions in their place. Beryl smelled fear on his mate. His dragon scratched at his skin to get back out.
"Back up off her now.” Beryl still had his body, but the beast had taken back his voice.
Poppy's gaze darted immediately to him. Beryl was gratified that her gaze filled with relief. But the smell of fear came back when Ari cuffed her upper arms.
"She's not claimed," the lion said. "How do we even know she wants you."
"She bears my mark.” Beryl’s vision was a green so dark, he could barely make out what was around him. “She belongs to me."
"A mark means nothing. You just pissed on her leg. You haven't moved in."
Lions were big males. Not as big as him. But one would rip Poppy apart if not careful. Ari wasn’t the most careful of males. He’d broken many of Beryl’s toys when he’d come over to play as a cub; his Optimus Prime Battle Convoy for one. In retaliation, Beryl ripped the head off Ari’s prized Lion-O action figure. With his clumsy paws, Ari could break Poppy.
Beryl was fast losing the ability to think, to reason. All that mattered was getting to Poppy and getting Ari’s hands off her. He was tainting her perfect skin with his fur.
Anger rippled over his muscles. Everything in his sight turned green. Puffs of air curled out of his nostrils like toxic gamma rays. He curled his fists into hammers, ready to smash his way to her.
"You have my mate behind you," came a calm voice.
Beryl didn't turn to see Kimber standing beside him. His brother had been on his tail as he'd cut through the sky. He knew that Corun was at his other side. Ilia was standing just outside the door along with Rhoyl. The only one who’d stayed home was Elek to stand guard over the castle, their horde, and his mother.
Some of the bluster went out of Ari at the sight of the fierce weyr of dragons. Beryl would have liked to think he alone inspired Ari’s lowered tone. But even he could feel the power in his
brother’s low voice.
“For the love of the Goddess, calm down children.”
A collective breath of relief was taken at the appearance of Leona. Everyone except Beryl. His fists curled into hammers, waiting for the moment he could pound Ari’s jaw permanently closed.
“Boys, let the females go.”
“I didn’t do anything,” said Izem.
Leona’s bright gaze cut to Izem. With just a lift of her brow, she communicated volumes.
“But, Mama,” whined Ari.
Leona made a hissing sound like an angry cat. Ari dropped his arms from blocking the girls’ way.
“We didn't touch your mate, Kimber,” said Izem. “Everyone knows Cardi’s yours, even if you still haven't claimed her."
"Wonder if he even wants to," muttered Cardi.
Beside her, Izem cocked his head toward her, his bushy brow raised up like a question mark.
“He hasn't even kissed me,” Cardi said as though the lion’s brow had asked her a direct question.
Izem’s brows lowered. His gaze narrowed, focusing on Cardi’s lips.
Beryl had always thought Izem one of the smarter cubs. Looks like he was wrong. The male clearly had a death wish.
"Cardinal," Kimber warned.
But Cardi wasn't cowed. She was never cowed. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed as she crossed the distance to them. When she reached Kimber, he tucked her behind him.
"We didn't touch yours either, Corun," said Izem. "She's clearly been claimed. Felicitations on the cubs."
Corun was unmoved. His upper lip remained curled. His hard glare persisted on the lion shifters.
Chryssie rushed into Corun’s arms. He placed his hand on her belly and his lips in her hair. All the while, his gaze never left the lions.
Poppy didn’t follow the girls. Her gaze was trained on the ground. She was shaking, but she didn’t attempt to move, to flee, to run to the safety of Beryl’s arms.
“She’s not coming to you,” said Ari. “That tells me she’s fair game.”
Poppy stood there, trembling like a leaf in a light breeze. Her face was ashen. He could smell the cold sweat trickling down her brow. She was terrified.
As fast as a pickax could strike stone, Beryl was on Ari. “What did you do to her?”
But Ari couldn’t answer. Beryl’s paw was wrapped tightly around the lion’s windpipe. Ari’s claws dug into Beryl’s wrists, but Beryl felt nothing but ire for the lion.
All around him, he heard Kimber’s voice, Leona’s voice, telling him to let Ari go. He ignored them all. It was the tiniest of whimpers that loosened his grip.
Poppy had lifted her gaze. She was staring at him, her lips and chin trembling. Her eyes blinked rapidly; trying to see things clearly, trying to erase what she was seeing, he had not a clue. All that mattered was soothing the dismay from her perfect brow.
In a sea of green, she was the one bright light. He dropped his hold on Ari. The lion fell to the ground in a loud thunk. Beryl enfolded his mate in his arms.
He wrapped her up tight, needing to put his scent on her immediately. His beast was still riled up and needing blood, but its first priority was her, his mate. Poppy was tense in his arms. Her eyes unseeing. Her chin stiff.
Had Ari left a scar, a mark? If he had, heads would roll no matter the custom.
“Beryl, dear, try not to leave your toys around without your name on them if you don't want others to claim them,” Leona said.
Izem’s lip curled in a smirk. Around the bar, there were a few other chuckles. Beryl took a deep breath, breathing in Poppy’s scent. She still wasn’t looking at him. Her large eyes were glossed over, as though only her body was present.
“What did you do to her?” growled Beryl.
“Gave her an option,” said Ari from the floor. The lion had a few brain cells, he hadn’t gotten up from where Beryl had dropped him. “I think she’s thinking about it.”
Finally, Poppy’s gaze lifted. Pure terror was reflected back at him. He would rip Ari’s head off.
Man and beast were in agreement. “I’m going to kill you.”
“Challenge accepted,” grinned Ari. His canines were out, along with his claws.
"No,” bellowed Kimber. Once again, everyone in the bar stopped what they were doing. Hearing the guttural roar of the most powerful dragon in the land turned them all as still as stones. “We do not practice the ways of our fathers. We are better men than that."
Izem nodded, taking a step back.
Ari sneered, biting at the top of his lip as though he were considering the depths of his character.
Beryl didn’t have to think. “He touched my mate. I want his blood.”
“Beryl—”
Beryl wasn’t listening anymore. He scooped Poppy into his arms, stepped through the door, and ran with his precious cargo secured in his arms.
“Remember the old rules,” he heard Leona call faintly, “don’t taint the prize before she’s won.”
Chapter Sixteen
She couldn’t catch her breath. Poppy’s heart was pounding so hard that her lungs couldn’t fill. She tried to open her mouth and take in air, but tremors ran all over her body, making her head droop.
Her forehead landed on something firm but soft. The smell of sweat and earth hit the back of her nose, knocking some sense back into her. It was the smell of safety. It was the smell of Beryl.
He’d come for her. Taken her from the clutches of that man, that beast, who had touched her. The lion shifter had planned to take her against her will.
No, not against her will.
Poppy hadn’t resisted Ari. She’d played possum like she’d always done with the men who barged into her life. She hadn’t fought the man who’d climbed onto her as a child. She’d never once said no to Bruce. If Cardi and Chryssie hadn’t stood up for her, if Beryl hadn’t come for her, would Poppy have let the lions take her?
God, she was so pathetic. So weak. She was not going to survive in this world where women actually had to speak up or get eaten. If she wanted to stay with Beryl, if he even still wanted such a pitiful excuse for a woman, she’d have to find her voice.
He ran with her in his arms. He went so fast the scenery around her was a blur. Even though he was the one running, she was out of breath.
"Beryl, please. Please, stop."
He came to an immediate halt. It was almost cartoonish the way his feet pumped to a stop and dirt kicked up around them. But neither of them were in a laughing mood.
They were out in the middle of nowhere. Poppy couldn't see the town from this distance. She could barely make out the castle up in the mountains either.
Beryl tugged at the bottom of her shirt, lifting it up and exposing her skin. He lifted her shirt over her head, leaving her breasts exposed. The only bras available in the stash of clothes he’d shown her earlier had been a few sizes too small, so she’d gone without. Poppy crossed her arms over herself. Beryl shoved her hands out of the way and ran his hands over her skin.
“Beryl, please,” she begged.
He ignored her pleas. His hands rubbed roughly over her spots. But it wasn’t sexual. Poppy knew what a sexual advance felt like. This was something different.
"Did he hurt you?” Beryl demanded. “Did he leave a mark?"
"What?”
“Ari. That hairy bastard. I’ll kill him, revive him, and then kill him again.”
“No. I don't think so."
Apparently, Beryl was unconvinced. His fingers combed every inch of her skin, looking for a hint of damage.
“It’s fine,” she said. “I’m fine.”
That brought his head up. His gaze flashed on her, emerald shining bright in the afternoon sun. “Don’t lie to me. You are not fine.”
The anger in his voice shrank her down into her shoes. His mouth, which had given her so much pleasure last night, turned cruel. The dream of a man showing her kindness, maybe even showing her love, died before her eyes. Poppy brought her hands
up to her face, to protect herself from the sight of the total transformation.
“You think I would strike you?”
She didn’t answer. She didn’t move her hands from her face. She’d known it was too good to be true.
He was too good. It couldn’t be true. All men were beasts.
Beryl fought in cage matches; bloody ones. He’d made his own brother bleed the day she got here. He’d wrapped his hands around Ari’s neck and watched him lose his air. He would hurt her just like Bruce, just like her abuser, just like that lion had intended to.
She would take it like she always did. She needed to figure out how to keep Beryl happy, how to not tug on the anger trigger like she’d just done. She wasn’t under any illusion that it would never happen again. There were always minefields in a relationship.
“I would never hurt you,” he said.
“I know,” Poppy said.
It was strange, though. Beryl sounded sincere. She could always hear the lie in Bruce’s voice. Bruce’s voice would go softer with deceit. Like it was a secret, and since he’d only told her, he didn’t have to keep it.
But Beryl was loud with his dishonesty. He fairly shouted the words. Loud enough that they could have been heard back at the bar by everyone present.
Poppy kept her voice quiet as she continued to placate him. “It was my fault.”
“Your fault?” His face contorted into deeper angry lines.
Shit. Wrong move. She braced herself for an explosion.
Beryl’s hands came to her cheek. His touch was gentle, reverent. He cupped her face with prayer hands. His thick fingers would’ve made the steeple except her face was in the way.
“You should have waited for me,” he said, his voice quieter now.
Poppy no longer thought he would hit her. Though she preferred the hitting to the verbal abuse. Physical bruises healed quicker than the internal ones. She knew Beryl’s words would hurt.
“You are precious to me,” he continued his assault. “There are dangerous things in this world. I need to be there to protect you from them. It’s my job, my responsibility. If anything had happened to you—”
