Dragon Guard: Earth Dragons Series: Book 1

by Hartnady, Charlene

  Chapter 10

  Oh shit!

  Holy freaking crap balls!

  This was not good. Not good at all. The guy who had come crashing in on them looked pissed. He looked to be in his mid-twenties with dark hair and bright blue eyes. His face was either clean-shaven or soft like a baby’s bum. She wasn’t sure which, only that he had nothing on Mountain who was way bigger, way stronger and well…she could see he could kick the younger guy’s ass in half a second flat.

  Mine.

  The word kept rolling around in her head. More like charging. Yep, charging was a better word. Even better yet, stampeding. Why had he called her his? Especially when that wasn’t true. She was barely out of a relationship with Shaun. There must be some logical explanation. Yes! Now that she thought about it, she was sure there was a very good reason he had proclaimed ownership of her. Maybe like a prisoner or something.

  She huddled up, curled around herself, hugging her arms around her body, hoping that the shifter hadn’t gotten too much of an eyeful. Her cheeks heated and she felt like groaning with sheer embarrassment. Page was sure he had seen everything. That he’d seen her giving Mountain a blowjob. That he’d seen her naked. Her ass in the air. Her mouth… She turned to the other side of the clearing and watched as Mountain strode away from her. He’d said it would be okay. He’d promised to protect her, and she believed him.

  The other shifter said something, his face animated, he glared in her direction. Mountain said something back, just as animated.

  The shifter, Smoke, didn’t like it because he shook his head. They argued for a minute or so. It seemed like forever. Back and forth, becoming more and more heated.

  Smoke said something that looked very much like “Fuck that!” Then he said something else that had Mountain shaking his head.

  “Move!” Smoke yelled, loud enough for her to hear.

  Mountain said something back that the shifter didn’t like, judging by the scowl that contorted his face. Smoke tried to shove Mountain aside. The guy’s eyes were on her. Page realized with horror that he was trying to get to her. Thank god Mountain was having none of that.

  “Move or—” Smoke snarled.

  Mountain punched the shifter square in the face. There was a loud crunch and blood sprayed. Page gasped. The shifter staggered back. He put his arms out to try to rebalance.

  A plume of fire erupted from his throat. Luckily, he was facing the canopy or Mountain’s face would have melted right then. Instead, Mountain punched the guy again, this time in the throat. There was another sickening crunch and the guy went down.

  She was sure Mountain was done, because Smoke looked done. The fight looked over to her, but obviously Mountain didn’t agree because he kicked Smoke in the ribs.

  She flinched at the dull thud, flinching again when he kicked him a second time. This time there was a crack along with the thud.

  “Stop!” she yelled.

  His back tensed and he turned to her. His expression was one of rage. It instantly softened as he took her in. His chest heaved. It was a terrible thought to have in that moment, but he looked beautiful. Utterly terrifying. Devastatingly gorgeous. Rage and aggression should not be sexy, but it was on Mountain. He pulled it off and then some.

  “I had to put him down,” Mountain said as strode towards her. “Had to be sure he stays down ‒ at least for a couple of hours. We need to leave.”

  “Are you going to shift now?”

  “I told you I can’t.” He shook his head, walking over to where she sat.

  “Do you still need time to get to know me?” She frowned. “Is that it? Don’t you trust me yet?”

  “I trust you, Page. The problem is that the rest of my people won’t.”

  “I still don’t understand.”

  He held his hand out and she took it. Mountain hoisted her to her feet.

  “You can shift and can have us back in no time. Am I missing something? Why did you say I was yours just now?”

  “I told you that you need to trust me. The only way I can protect you is if I make it back on my own steam. I can’t shift. That’s all I’m going to tell you right now.” He pushed out a breath.

  “On your own steam?” she frowned again.

  “Like this,” he looked down at himself, “in my human form. We need to move. The time for a leisurely hike back is gone. I need to take the most direct route. I need to get us back before it’s too late.”

  “Too late for what?” She was baffled by what he was saying. She didn’t like it one bit. Why didn’t he want to tell her what he had planned?

  “When we get there, you can’t argue. You need to go with it. Do everything I say. Agree to everything.”

  “Tell me what everything is. I can’t just agree to—”

  “We don’t have time to discuss this.” He let frustration bleed into his words. “We don’t have time to argue right now. If you want me to help you, you don’t have a choice.”

  “I’m not going to like this plan of yours, am I?”

  He got this pained look.

  Page scrubbed a hand over her face. “I’m going to hate it. I can tell. That’s why you won’t talk to me about it.”

  “If Smoke makes it back before us, we’re in deep fucking shit. More dragons will come. Too many! They will take you, and I won’t be able to protect you any longer. We don’t have time for me to spell this out for you. I was hoping we would, but we don’t.”

  “I don’t like it.” She shook her head.

  “Trust me, okay? You asked me to trust you and now I’m asking the same from you.” He cupped her cheek, his chestnut eyes boring into hers.

  She finally nodded. “Okay. Yes, I trust you. God help me, but I do.”

  “Thank you.” He kissed her. It was quick. A brush of the lips. Then he was picking her up. “We’ll get our clothing. When we get back to the lair though, you need to know, we’re finishing this.” His deep voice sent shivers down her spine.

  Her mouth instantly felt dry. Her throat clogged. She nodded once but he was already running. Moving faster than she thought possible.

  When they reached the river, he put her down and she dressed quickly, her fingers fumbling.

  Mountain tried to hand her back her glasses. She shook her head. “I don’t need them.”

  He frowned.

  “I can see just fine. The glasses were a disguise, remember? Actually, I think I might see better without them.”

  Mountain gave her a half-smile as he picked her up, hoisting her onto his back. Then he was running like his ass was on fire.

  Chapter 11

  It felt really early. Or really late. Page wasn’t sure which. All she knew was that she was exhausted. Totally finished. She kept trying to nod off, which was impossible perched on Mountain’s back. She had to hold on or she was going to fall.

  They’d been on the move for hours. Stopping for a handful of minutes here and there so that they could relieve themselves or drink from a stream. It felt like forever since they’d last stopped. Her legs hurt. Her hands hurt. Everything felt stiff and sore. Her eyes hurt the most. They felt dry and scratchy.

  Page felt bad for complaining ‒ even though she only did it inside her own head. How must poor Mountain be feeling? He was the one carrying her. He was the one having to run. She was shocked at how fast he was. How agile and quiet. Covering miles and miles of ground silently and quickly.

  Then he stopped. It happened so suddenly she almost let go of him.

  “We’re here,” he announced, looking up.

  She tracked his line of vision. They were at the base of a tall cliff. There were— No! Wait a minute… Yes! There were lights blinking up there. In the actual cliff. “Is that it?” she asked, sounding in awe, which was appropriate because it was how she felt. Totally in awe of what she was seeing. Balconies and windows built into the side of a mountain.

  “My lair.” He slowly lowered her onto shaky legs.

  “I need to get you up there. Remember w
hat I said, Page.” He sounded stern, looked stern. “You do not let go of my hand and you must not argue. You need to agree with everything I say. We can argue about it once we are in my chamber. If you go against me, they will take you. I will have no say.” He shook his head. “I won’t be able to help you. As it stands, we have a fight on our hands.”

  “Fine! I’m sure it can’t be that hectic.”

  His jaw tensed and his eyes got a look she didn’t like. Then he was moving away from her. There was a shift in the actual air. A static, followed by cracking noises. She watched as his limbs stretched.

  Holy shit!

  His jaw elongated. Scales sprouted, along with a tail. A long, forked tail. The process was quick. A few seconds later and a magnificent beast stood before her. He was bigger than the one who had blown her helicopter out of the sky. Then again, this was Mountain. His eyes were the only things she recognized. The same color only brighter, more vivid. That, and his pupils were slitted instead of round. Beautiful.

  He growled, flapping his great wings. His huge, muscular body lifted. Then he was grabbing her in his talons and flying up. She yelped, feeling both fearful and exhilarated.

  She heard shouts and growls, from above her. Men ‒ make that shifters ‒ were pointing at them. A whole lot of them were assembled on a huge balcony. They parted, giving Mountain space to land. She saw two of them had golden chests. Page could still remember what that meant. They were royalty.

  A hush fell over the crowd as they landed. Touching down right in front of the two royal guys. She wondered if one of them was the king.

  “It’s her!” someone shouted.

  “It’s that slayer,” someone else growled, sounding angry. They spoke in hushed tones.

  She watched as one of the royal dragons sniffed the air. He frowned. “What the fuck!” he bellowed, looking shocked. “I was sure the Fire dragon was talking shit!” he added.

  Forget taking her hand, Mountain hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her in close, so that her back was flush against his front. When had he shifted back into his human form? She had been too busy watching the others, especially the royal dragons, to pay much attention.

  “What is going on?” the one with the dark hair said. He had even darker eyes, which narrowed on her as he spoke to Mountain.

  “You’re fucking with a slayer?” the other one barked. “This has to be a joke.” He sniffed the air again.

  “This is my female,” Mountain growled out the words. “I would urge you to have some respect, my lord.” Although Mountain spoke calmly, his body felt tense against her.

  My female. My. Female. Back to that whole ‘mine’ thing again.

  What the heck was going on?

  The lighter-haired one snorted out a mirthless laugh. “Tell me another one.” He tried to hand Mountain a pair of pants. They were neatly folded. Mountain ignored him.

  “Your female?” the darker-haired one frowned. “I don’t think so. You had better explain and you had better make it quick.”

  “Happily, my king.”

  Oh! So, the dark one was the king. Interesting. She felt like maybe she should curtsey or bow or something. She settled with staying still and keeping quiet, like Mountain had asked her. Besides, she couldn’t move much in his strong grasp.

  “I hunted this female, I captured her, marked her and plan on claiming her as soon as I get to my chamber. She is mine!” He snarled the last, his arm tightening around her a fraction.

  Mine.

  There he went again. Claiming? What did that even mean? Page kept quiet. She trusted Mountain. If this was what it took to save her ass, then so be it.

  “It’s what I was trying to do when Smoke interrupted us.”

  The fairer royal smirked. “It sounded to me like you were trying to claim her mouth.”

  Oh god! He hadn’t just said that.

  A couple of the guys snickered, a few more laughed. Some of them talked.

  Mountain growled low, she felt his chest vibrate against her back. “You will not mock my female, Shale, or so fucking help me I’ll—”

  The light-haired guy held up his hand. “I apologize.” Then he frowned. “This female is on our wanted list. She is a slayer. What are you doing? Have you lost your mind? I know it’s been a while since the last Stag Run, but…a slayer? Her?” His eyes flicked to Page and then back to Mountain. “I’ll give it to you that she’s sexy.”

  Mountain growled low, sounding like a wild animal.

  The cocky royal ignored Mountain. “Fucking around with a slayer though, even a sexy one, is sick,” he added.

  “This particular female wasn’t even part of the hunt,” the king said. “I’m happy you captured her, but I’m afraid I can’t let you claim her. I’m going to have to contact Blaze. I want her imprisoned until he gets here to question her.”

  “No!” Mountain snarled. “This isn’t Alex Bell. She isn’t on the list.”

  “Don’t talk shit.” Shale interrupted him. “I’m sorry but you can’t keep her. I’m sure she gives great head—”

  Whop!

  Mountain’s fist shot out. It connected with Shale’s chin and the guy staggered back, his face a mask of shock. “What the—?” he managed, rubbing his jaw. “You can’t hit me!” he snarled. “I’m your superior.”

  “I warned you not to mock my female again and I meant it. You don’t know what the fuck you are talking about. This is Page Bell, Alex’s sister. She isn’t a slayer. She left the organization ten years ago. She has a normal life and I can prove it. I hunted her, captured her and now she is mine. I wish to claim her and then mate her.”

  She sucked in a breath. “Um—”

  He squeezed her hip and she shut her mouth. What the hell! Mate? Had he said ‘mate’?

  “I was in the process of claiming her when Smoke interrupted ‒ don’t you dare open your mouth,” he directed the last at Shale who raised his brows.

  “I hadn’t planned on it.” He moved his jaw from side to side. “I like my bones intact. You broke three of my ribs at the start of the hunt.”

  “Good! You—” Mountain began.

  “Okay,” the king interrupted. “Let’s just say this is Page ‒ Alex’s sister…” the king scrutinized her, not looking like he believed a word. “Let’s say she isn’t a slayer. You still have no place claiming or mating her. She isn’t up for grabs.”

  Up for grabs?

  Mating?

  What the hell was going on?

  Mountain squeezed her hip again. Had she tensed up? Made a strange noise? It was quite possible. Then she realized that Mountain didn’t actually mean any of it. He didn’t see her as his. He didn’t plan on mating her. That was laughable. Totally absurd. In fact, she had to bite back a giggle at the thought of something so utterly crazy. They had barely known each other for three days. Three measly days. He was just saying all of it to get her out of shit street. She could relax and breathe more easily.

  “Blaze said that the humans were out there. He said we should hunt and capture them. He never specified who exactly they were. He didn’t name names. He just said human females. Then he laid down the rules which I followed to the letter. Here is my human ‒ captured and marked ‒ soon to be claimed. I won her fair and square. When Smoke tried to take her, I put him down. Let any of you try to take her from me and I will take you down as well.”

  The king widened his eyes. “Blaze wasn’t talking about any random female. He was talking about the ones who had signed up, the ones who—”

  “He never specified!” Mountain’s chest vibrated. His voice was deep and resonating. “All he said was human. That was it.”

  “Okay. I will have to take it up with him. As to the female—” The king looked at her.

  “My female!” Mountain sounded a bit like a caveman. She could feel how tense his muscles were.

  “About…your female,” the king said, looking unsure, “how positive are you that she isn’t Alex Bell? I’m not sure I trust your ju
dgment right now. I don’t think you’re thinking clearly.”

  “I studied that photograph of Alex Bell ‒ we all did.” He cleared his throat. “I noticed subtle differences. My female does not have the hand marking. The mark of the slayers. She left the organization before one could be placed onto her.” Mountain gripped her wrist and held up the hand in question. “See. You can look at both of them.” She held up the other one for him to see. Shale studied her hands, but the king kept his eyes on Mountain.

  “Look at that,” Shale remarked. “She doesn’t have the mark. What does that mean? She looks just like Alex.”

  “They are identical twins…twins, okay? Surely we of all dragons can understand that?”

  “She could have removed the marking. I have heard of humans doing that,” the king spat.

  “Her hair is too long to be Alex Bell,” Mountain tried. “There are other differences.”

  Her boobs. She cringed. ‘Please don’t mention them here in front of everyone,’ she silently begged. Shale looked her up and down…up and down, slowly…slowly.

  “She looks just like Alex Bell to me. I’m not convinced.” The king shook his head. “I think she has you wrapped around her finger. I don’t think anything you have shown us is conclusive.”

  Up and down…up and— Shale’s eyes widened. They were glued to her chest. “Oh shit! This isn’t Alex. I believe you, bro. I’m sorry I doubted.” He laughed. “Twins! How bizarre. They are identical, just like—”

  “How can you possibly tell?” the king interrupted. “You’re just saying that because Mountain is your friend.”

  Shale and Mountain were friends? They didn’t act like friends.