Dragon Lords Blood Contract

by Rylee Winters

  Liam ducked and rolled away on the ground, hissing in anger, but Drake didn’t spare him a moment to breathe before he attacked him again and again, in quick succession.

  Bolts of energy were flying everywhere as Liam leapt, swerved and ducked to avoid getting hit.

  Another loud gasp cut through the air. This time lighter and more feminine. But Drake barely heard it and didn’t seem to care. He laughed loudly, like a maniac, while in the background, Knox jumped up from his seat in panic, and desperately pleaded for both his brothers to stop. His cries fell flat on deaf ears.

  “The both of you need to stop this ridiculous fight right now!” Knox shouted angrily, as he watched the room getting destroyed left, right and centre.

  Knox stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, as a fireball almost hit him in the milieu. Quickly scrambling underneath the table to hide, he clasped his hands protectively over his head, trying to stay out of range of the crossfire.

  Things were going crazy between Liam and Drake, when all of a sudden Drake’s manic laughter stopped; to be replaced by a high-pitched shriek.

  Knox crawled to the edge of the table, poking his head out from underneath, his eyes widening as he spotted Drake levitating off the ground, his body trapped entirely in a bubble, floating in mid-air.

  “What the hell!” Drake roared, swiping his sharp claws angrily through the air, trying to rip open the magic cage. But he was like a rookie astronaut, struggling to control the position of his limbs and body in zero gravity.

  “That’s enough!” Ethan commanded, his dead serious voice booming from the open doorway. “If you both don’t calm your sorry asses down, I’m going to toss the two of you in the bloody beast pit.”

  Drake gnashed his teeth angrily at the air. “Your threats don’t scare me. Just wait until you release this stupid spell. I’m going to – ” He didn’t get a chance to finish his words.

  Ethan knotted his brow, and began to incant something underneath his breath, and a few moments later, the bubble trapping Drake inside started to spin in the air.

  Round and round, and round. It was dizzying even to watch.

  The figure hidden behind Ethan’s back covered her mouth, her wide, round eyes filling with horror.

  “Holy bloody hellhounds!” Drake hollered. “Ethan, you bastard – stop this spinning right now!” He growled, unable to endure the torture.

  “Will you promise to stop with your childish antics, then?” Ethan demanded, his spine rigid, and the posture of his stance emanating nothing but impatience.

  “Yes! Yes! Just let me the hell down!” Drake swore rudely, but underneath his rough, offensive tone was definitely an undeniable hint of pleading.

  Satisfied with his answer, Ethan snapped his fingers together, and the bubble disappeared. Drake fell through the air immediately, and without ceremony, dropped flat onto the ground with an audible thud.

  He groaned, feeling the pain of the impact spread through his chest, as he slowly rolled over and pulled himself up.

  Drake’s hard eyes shrunk to pinpoints as they settled on Ethan’s unyielding face, but he did not make any move to fight back.

  “Behave yourselves,” Ethan warned all the guys in the room, looking sternly firstly at Drake, and then at Liam, before settling his gaze on Knox, who was still hiding behind a table leg, arms wrapped tightly around it as if he was holding on for dear life. “We have a guest.”

  Knox scrambled out from under the table on all fours, and bumbled to his feet, while Liam dusted himself off and straightened his trimly fitted, light blue button down shirt.

  Drake rolled his jaw, and cracked his neck with a crick.

  All three pairs of eyes swiveled to look at the slim figure hiding in Ethan’s shadow.

  “This is Jasmine,” Ethan introduced, and the girl tentatively stepped out from behind him.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Jasmine

  Holy shitballs.

  Three pairs of gorgeous, striking eyes glued themselves onto me as I nervously stepped forward, on Ethan’s introduction.

  Who or what are these guys? They were clearly magical beings, but their scent wasn’t one I recognized.

  Meanwhile, my knees were threatening to buckle beneath me, and my legs were screaming at me to run away, but I ignored the urge, as I tried to fight off the rising panic in my chest.

  After witnessing the fight in detail moments before, my instincts for self-preservation had kicked in, and there was nothing more I wanted to do than get my pretty little ass out of here.

  But Ethan was watching me like a hawk, and blocking any possible path of escape.

  So I pulled myself upright, pretending to be braver than I felt, and taking a deep breath in, I plastered on the fakest smile I could muster under the circumstances, and tried to appear friendly and non-threatening.

  I thought I was doing okay, until my calm was broken by the guy named Drake, who suddenly let out an unexpected roar.

  “YOU!” He pointed his finger at me, jabbing it in the air like an accusation, as he speared me with a glare.

  Startled by the loudness of his voice, I jumped a little inside my own skin, and took a small step back.

  The fake smile I’d masked over my face faltered, my body instinctively feeling a burst of fear as Drake charged towards me in long, massive strides – the danger he emanated scrubbing my nerves raw; nerves that were already on high alert.

  “Do I know you?” I asked, confused, as he stopped in front of me and my eyes took in his flame-red hair. For a brief moment the sunlight from the windows caught on it, and it shone a dazzling coppery tint.

  His face was just as handsome as the other guys in the room, but a part from this, it wasn’t a face I recognized.

  His expression of anger however, was all too familiar to me.

  Drake snarled at me. “You bet your sorry ass you do!” His expression was an open book of hostility, and he looked like he was about to eat me alive.

  Ethan stepped out in front of me, while pushing me back behind him with his arm, protecting me. “Come on, Drake. Let’s talk about this civilly…” he said, trying to diffuse the situation.

  Unwilling to listen to Ethan’s suggestion, Drake stepped forward with a growl, and tried to push past him, only to have Ethan block his path. Pushing up against each other, they scrimmaged briefly, Drake trying to get the upperhand, while Ethan held steady with his feet firmly planted on the ground.

  Their height, build and strength seemed equally matched, and they found themselves locked in a stalemate. But that didn’t stop Drake from trying…

  “You’re the crazy-ass woman who kicked my car this afternoon. You know you put a dent in the front!” he snarled, his entangled limbs struggling against Ethan’s hold.

  Hell’s infernal gates.

  Realization dawned on me, sending a wave of shock smacking against my head. It was the bonehead who’d almost run me over with his white Mercedes Benz.

  Scrunching my face up in disgust, I momentarily forgot my earlier fear of him, as fury started to boil my blood. “I should’ve keyed your car, you reckless asshole. You almost freaking killed me, speeding that fast!”

  Preparing to respond to his threat, I planted one foot forward, and twisted sideways, anchoring my feet to the ground, as I raised my hands in an offensive combat stance, about to rip Drake open with my own bare hands if he dared to come any closer to me.

  Unable to get past Ethan, Drake huffed loudly in frustration, as he finally gave up and stopped pushing, taking a step back. But that didn’t stop him from talking…

  “You crazy psycho,” he spluttered, his face flushing red. “I’m going to make you pay for the damage you did to my car, if it’s the last thing I do today!” He lurched forward, trying to burst past Ethan in a surprise manoeuvre, but Ethan had anticipated his move, and was able to block his way.

  Once again, Drake found himself struggling against Ethan, who scowled as he tried to keep him at bay.

  “No
one’s going to hurt anyone,” Ethan said, growling. Twisting around to Drake’s back, he pulled the red-head’s arms backwards into a deadlock using expert skill.

  “Heel!” he commanded, eyes blazing fiercely, and then with one swift kick, he brought Drake thudding down onto his knees to kneel on the floor. Without pausing, he exerted his dominance by pulling Drake’s arm back straight, and twisting it tightly.

  Drake reacted instantly – ducking his head down as he let out a deep, rumbling cry of pain. He attempted to push his knee up off the ground and to get up on his feet, but Ethan’s other hand grabbed onto his shoulder and held him down with an iron grip.

  From a safe distance in the background, I saw Liam and Knox watching this display in rapt fascination, like this was some kind of entertaining TV show.

  But Drake wasn’t deterred by Ethan’s threats. Snarling like a caged animal, he lifted his head up, immediately spotting me, and gave me a death stare.

  Turning his head to look up at Ethan behind his shoulder, he growled. “Let go of me,” he spat, trying to jerk free. Ethan twisted his arm back harder. “Only after you promise to behave yourself. Capiche?”

  Drake made another attempt to free himself, but Ethan had him in a death-like grip. “Fine. Capiche!” Drake finally snapped, out of options.

  Ethan slowly loosened his hold, and as soon as he was able to, Drake angrily yanked his arm free, scrambling to get to his feet.

  As Drake rubbed at his sore wrists, pure animosity poured out from his pores in waves. He glared at me with his crystal green eyes, and I could tell not only did he blame me for the damage to his car, but he also blamed me for Ethan treating him like this.

  “Now. Will either of you explain to me what’s happened?”

  I took a step forward, my fists clenched, ready for a fight.

  “Civilly…” Ethan warned, slanting me a narrow, sidelong glance.

  Breathing out loudly, my eyes narrowed to slits. The sound that came from my throat was guttural, a low animal growl. But I was smart enough to listen to Ethan and restrained myself.

  “This bozo almost ran over me with his car earlier today,” I snapped, fuming inside.

  My words only seemed to incite Drake’s rage further. “Only because you,” he jabbed a finger at me, “walked out blindly onto the road. Seriously, who freaking does that?!” Crossing his arms over his wide, muscular chest, Drake’s eyes shot invisible darts at my head. “Also, don’t forget, you fucking kicked my car.”

  “You’re lucky that’s all I did,” I retorted, hands itching to claw that smug, self-righteous look off his face.

  We both squared our shoulders, preparing to face off. Hackles up, I took a step forward, but Ethan stopped us, his authoritative baritone slicing through the space between us like a knife. He continued by glaring at the two of us, and we reluctantly backed down. Words of threat were absent, but the promise of retribution in Ethan’s eyes was definitely there.

  “Is it true Jasmine? Did you damage Drake’s car? Ethan asked. His voice was calm and steady, but I could clearly tell he was inclined to believe Drake given what he knew of my personality.

  I flushed indignantly and opened my mouth, about to protest. But a deep, husky voice interrupted me, cutting through the air.

  “Who is this, Ethan?” The voice spoke up again from behind me. The tone was curious, but also commanding.

  Knox cut in before Ethan could reply.

  “Damien, you’re here!” He cried out ecstatically, as he raced forward, passing Ethan and me, to embrace the strange man who’d just entered the room. He wrapped Damien in a big, tight bear hug that lifted him up, off the ground, and the action surprised me, as the stranger was a great deal bigger than Knox. But Knox’s strong, muscular arms flexed easily, like the man’s weight was nothing to him.

  The stranger – Damien, didn’t try to fend Knox off, but allowed him to do as he pleased. One look at his face though, told me he was far from enjoying it.

  After holding onto the stranger for a few more moments, Knox put him down roughly, with a wide, mischievous grin. With his head slightly bent over, Damien ruffled Knox’s hair almost affectionately, which was easy for him to do since Knox was a good head shorter than he was.

  “Where have you been, Damien?” Knox asked, his deep voice overflowing with excitement and joy.

  “Out,” was Damien’s only reply. There was a brief moment of silence as he lifted his head up, and rested his penetrating eyes on me.

  My breath caught in my throat. The man was otherworldly beautiful. Tousled locks of dark, midnight black hair framed a chiseled face set in marble. His features were striking: a high bridged nose, soft, full lips, sculpted cheekbones, and an unreadable pair of clear, sea-green eyes under dark eyebrows. They contrasted with his glowing, smooth, moon white skin in a way that was breath-taking.

  I almost wanted to weep at how perfect he was, but instead I found myself shivering from the cold aura his glacial eyes emanated.

  As his god-like figure made strides towards me, his whole body looked like it was swathed in some kind of ethereal luminance. The brilliance it radiated made me squint, and it almost hurt my eyes to keep looking.

  I stared up at his face as he stopped directly in front of me.

  So tall. His broad shoulders, and lean muscular frame almost seemed to block out my entire view. I fought to swallow the nervous lump caught in my throat.

  “How did you get past the lock spell on all the doors?” Drake asked sharply, completely unaffected by this man’s charm. “I know you were still in the house when the spell activated.”

  “I didn’t. Ethan gave me the magic incantation to unlock them,” he answered without shifting his gaze from my face.

  “Are you fucking serious – ” Blustering, Drake started to stomp towards Ethan, but Damien stopped him in his tracks with a simple raise of his hand.

  Drake froze mid-step, like he’d been paralyzed, and I choked back a laugh seeing how comical he looked, while his eyes widened in surprise.

  I realized he must be under Damien’s spell as he began to rage loudly, cussing at Damien to free him.

  But Damien only ignored him, his attention keenly focused on me. This close up, he towered over me, and I had to tilt my head backwards to see his face properly.

  His throat emitted a low thrum, and he slowly began to circle around me, reminding me of a predator on the prowl. The aura of dominance he emitted was almost overwhelming, and like a seasoned hunter, he lowered his head to sniff me, sizing me up.

  He’s musky scent wafted up my nose, and I seized up in shock as I smelt something forbidding, yet wondrous. The scent of untouched glaciers, wide expanses of ocean and wild storms. And behind it all, something more. Something old and majestic. Something ancient.

  “What are you?” he growled, head snapping back. The expression on his face told me he could smell something strange about me too – something off.

  Pushing down the rising panic in my chest, my eyes darted to the left at Ethan – who gave me a slight shake of his head – and then up, as I quickly tried to think of how to respond. I tried to reassure myself that my secret was still safe.

  Of course he can smell I’m a supernatural, but that would be all. There’s no way he can detect the deeper roots of my genealogy.

  My hearts hammered loudly, as I blurted out a response.

  “Your new nanny,” I replied, grinning nervously, hoping my joke would throw him off the scent.

  Damien frowned. He didn’t look like he appreciated the joke. “That’s not what I mean. You’re not human. So what exactly are you?”

  “Jasmine’s a shifter.” Ethan interrupted our exchange, speaking up to answer for me. Relief flooded my veins and cooled my blood, and I almost wept from gratefulness at not having to reply to Damien myself. Besides, with Ethan doing the talking, any further suspicion regarding my true origins would easily be deflected.

  “That’s right,” I answered, backing up Ethan claim. For a mo
ment, Damien looked like he didn’t believe us, and I could see his eyes were still wary with suspicion. But to my relief he finally relaxed his posture and took a step back.

  The movement caught my eye, and even as I exhaled a shaky breath, I was able to glimpse the planes of strong, taut muscles across his broad, powerful chest.

  Against my better judgement, I let my eyes wander to his muscular forearms that peeked out from underneath shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbow. Fortunately, he was already turning away, and did not discover me checking him out.

  Tucking his hands inside his pant pockets, Damien cocked his head, and looked over at Ethan. “What’s she doing here?”

  Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but appreciate his handsome profile and fine jawline from this angle.

  “As I was trying to say,” Ethan replied with an exasperated sigh. “This is Jasmine. I’ve hired her to help us out with the search for the amulet. And to prevent any of you doing something stupid along the way.” He finished his explanation by directing a pointed look at Drake.

  Drake was still frozen, his eyes and mouth the only two things he could move. Continuing to splutter a stream of expletives, his cussing was getting more and more creative and obscene the longer he was allowed to carry on.

  “Damien, release Drake please,” Ethan requested, rubbing his temples with a tired look on his face. Probably getting a headache from all this drama.

  Damien grunted as if he disagreed, but after a hard look from Ethan, he grudgingly waved his hand in Drake’s direction, and broke the enchantment. Drake stumbled forward and almost fell flat on his face again, but was able to regain his balance and save himself at the last moment.

  Scowling at Damien, Drake was more than ready to lunge at him, but Ethan threw him a warning look.

  “That’s enough! Everyone. Especially you, Drake.” Ethan barked.

  We all immediately froze on the spot. Thunder and lightening seemed to clap inside Ethan’s loud, booming voice, causing a deafening ring in our ears – and implied enough danger to make us all hesitate.