Chapter 9

Through the dust cloud, a lion’s head emerged with a long, unkempt golden mane. He sniffed the air, and his green eyes locked on to me. For several moments, he remained quiet and alert.

I recoiled, my hand settling on the hilt of my blade.

Stab it. Kill it.

“Keep quiet. I’m not killing anyone.” But I’d defend myself at any cost. Except the animal’s eyes were soft and promised safety, and something familiar about them struck me. “Reed, is that you?”

Please let it be him and not someone who’d ask me where their leader was. That would mean the gargoyle had killed Reed.

The lion tilted his head sideways, and at once, a surge of energy crackled over my flesh. The dust settled around us, and the animal’s body stretched and cracked, skin splitting. Through it all, he unleashed a deafening roar into the night.

I held still, amazed at how the shifters’ bodies warped, transformed, regrew new skin that tightened and hugged his human-like figure. I searched for any features to define him as Reed when someone grabbed my arm from behind and hauled me backward. Panic clenched my heart, and I whirled around.

“Hey, stop!” I called out as I stumbled behind a female in a leather vest and skirt, her red hair wild like fire.

“This way,” she demanded, dragging me away. I glanced over my shoulder. The male lion had vanished.

“What’s going on?” I searched the open plain for Reed, but it was too dark to find his face. Only lions and human figures. Was he even here?

The woman didn’t speak as she guided me across the field to an oversized tree. Its branches bowed outward, while other limbs reached for the night sky. Each supported perfect white blossoms amid the green leaves.

A sole figure stood beneath its shadows, buttoning up his shirt.

Several torches were lit, revealing his face, his golden hair falling to his waist. Reed stared at me with such hunger in his eyes that I lost my breath. The breeze swished past, doing zilch to cool the inferno burning across my skin. Hair fluttered around his face, giving him a rugged look, coupled with his stubble and parted lips.

My chest radiated as if a flame warmed my soul, I rushed forward to embrace him. “Reed. I thought you were dead. I’m so sorry, I should have warned you about the gargoyle. But you’re safe.” I held on to his back, his muscles shifting under my touch.

Reed hugged me, arms tight around my waist. He gently rubbed my back, and a light beamed in my heart that had been missing yesterday. He’d never returned to the tower to tell me he was okay, but then again, he’d had more pressing issues, like his missing sister and pride members.

“I like your hair short. It brings out your sweet cheekbones.” His breath caressed my neck, sending tingles down my back. I wished I could accept his compliment and parade my neater hairstyle. But it wasn’t mine, just a temporary remedy that happened every night.

I remembered our closeness in the tower, the kiss that had me floating on clouds, and those same butterflies now swirled in my gut at his attentiveness, the way his hands had dug into my skin as if he never wanted to release me. In close vicinity to Reed, something turned on inside me. Or maybe it was me simply being relieved he wasn’t dead.

“Everyone, leave me with the visitors now!” he cried out. He cupped the side of my face, a thumb brushing across the bruise under my eye. His warmth seeped into me, comforting me.

“Who hurt you?” The bridge of his nose wrinkled, as if he might break into a snarl.

The shuffling of feet and grunts faded around us. “The gargoyle. That’s why I’m here.” I broke free from Reed’s embrace.

My gaze fell on Gage as he approached from within the shadows at my side. I breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t been harmed by the lion shifters who’d split us up. But his expression darkened, and when he reached me, his hand slid into mine, drawing me closer.

“Well, that was a fun welcome.” Gage’s voice was as sour as sucking lemons.

Reed ran a hand through his hair, pushing the loose strands off his face. “My pride’s jumpy and everyone’s a potential enemy before I approve them. These are dark times.”

“So, are all these warrior women at your beck and call?” Gage asked, his voice sarcastic. “You lions love your harems.”

Reed arched a brow, his gaze falling to our holding hands. “A lion’s affairs are not the concerns of a dragon.”

“You can tell what he is?” I freed myself from Gage, feeling the uneasy sensation of eyes on us from a distance, and my skin crawled.

“He smells of burned fire. It’s clogging my nostrils.” Reed’s nose crinkled as if he’d just inhaled the worst smell in the world.

I didn’t understand the animosity between them.

Gage laughed loudly, likely all for show. “Only thing clogging your breathing is all that hair.”

The men glared at each other in a staring contest that could have easily turned into blood and war.

I interrupted them. “Anyway. We came to ask for your assistance.”

Gage cleared his throat and pressed against my side. “Heard someone say the local lion pride leader knew where to get a dragon-tooth dagger.” His words sounded like an accusation—implying that Reed might have killed a dragon.

“You’re aware of my gargoyle problem,” I added, slicing through the thickening tension. I didn’t have time for this macho shit and gave Reed an abridged rendition of my hellish situation—the curse, why I had short hair, and my failed attempt with Dustin and the disastrous outcome. Catching my breath, I said, “With the weapon, I can destroy the gargoyle.”

I chewed on my lip, thinking about Dustin’s situation, deciding that next time, I would slay the monster myself. No one else would risk their lives.

“This explains your strange cat and you living in a tower in the haunted part of the woods.”

“He was in your tower?” Gage rumbled.

Reed smirked, proud of himself. These two would jump into a brawl any moment. Except Reed had beautiful women around him to select from, and Gage never experienced a problem attracting the opposite sex. So what did they both see in me?

Reed stared from me to Gage. “But you’ve got a dragon standing right there, so why are you coming to me?”

I caught the snarl in his voice, and Gage’s chest puffed out as his breaths sped. I stepped between them. “Stop this, please. Reed, I welcomed you to stay in the tower for as long as needed, so I thought you’d extend me a similar generosity. And Gage can’t offer his tooth, or he would have.”

No one said a word.

“Look. We’re both facing problems,” I continued. “So I’ll do whatever I can for you if you assist me with the weapon. What do you say?”

Reed rubbed his jawline and crossed his arms over his chest, creasing his shirt. “I need to know who’s hunting down my pride. But since you didn’t shove me out the window of your tower, I’ll do my best to aid you.”

Reed strutted toward the tree and settled down with his back against the trunk.

“Elliana,” Reed began, and I sat cross-legged in front of him. Gage knelt on the grass next to me. “There’s a collector of artifacts who once mentioned a dragon-tooth knife and a bunch of other items she’d gained from a merchant. He didn’t pay her much heed since it was at the local town market, and everyone lied to make a sale. But if she spoke the truth, then one of my friends can help you track down the collector. Kahlo is a tiger shifter and he once saw the collector as she entered a trap door in a tree deep in the forest. Guess that’s where she keeps her collection, so she might have the weapon you’re looking for hidden in there.”

“Perfect,” Gage said. “Tell us where we can find Kahlo, and we’ll be out of here.”

Reed clapped his hands, and the red-haired warrior hopped down from the branches overhead.

I flinched. Was his pride ready to attack the moment we laid a hand on him? We stood no chance.

“I may have a lead to help your missing pride members,” Gage blurted.

Reed’s posture stiffened. He released a long exhale, and I faced Gage. “Do you know something that might assist them?”

Gage shrugged, studying Reed. “I’ve heard rumors about shifters vanishing. Not just your kind, but others. Panthers, wolves, and bears.”

Reed climbed to his feet, his expression growing darker. “What else do you know?”

“I need to be sure you’ll help Elliana.”

“Go collect, Kahlo.” Reed barked and met my gaze. “He’s here on pride matters, so you’ve come at a good time.”

I touched Gage’s arm. “Tell him what you know.”

Instead, he dragged me out of Reed’s earshot. He whispered, “Don’t be so easily led by the cat. They never help others—ever. It’s one of their pride rules. So why would he assist you so easily? I’m telling you that when we have any leads on the other members of their pride, he’ll turn on us. So we get his information on the dagger first.”

These past couple of days I had been through hell, and I longed for things to go smoothly for a change. Instead, Gage was acting like a green-eyed monster, and Reed wasn’t any better. I replied as if my jaw were wired shut. “Let go of me. He offered to help before you even mentioned the missing shifters.”

His mouth opened, then shut again. “But I’m still right. Don’t trust a lion. Their priority is their pride at the demise of everyone else. That’s why they live out here away from others. They’re a cult.”

Reed burst out laughing. “A cult! Really? Is that the best you can do?”

Gage brushed past me, and the humming energy from his body leaped from him to me. But something was happening to his shoulder-blades—two bulges pushed outward from under his top, growing in size. He was changing. He pulled off his shirt, but he would only partly shift as that was all he was capable of.

Vast wings fanned outward, fast and aggressive. They were black as night, terrifying, and smudged with gold near the tipped edges of his bat-like wings.

Translucent scales resembling claw-like projections stretched across his shoulders and down his spine, gleaming under the flamed torches. Gage hunched forward, lips curled back and faced Reed. A wisp of smoke wafted from his nostrils, rising in short puffs.

Within moments, six warriors dropped from the trees overhead, circling us, teeth bared, ready to battle. Reed’s arms shifted into large, furry paws, his claws extended. The two men faced each other, shoulders curled forward, growling, ready to battle.

Rage hissed through my body, sweeping against me like waves.

I ducked under Gage’s wings and placed myself between them. “What the fuck are you two doing?” Sure, Gage’s wings were magnificent and the only ability he had as a dragon, but I didn’t for the life of me need to deal with his aggression.

Reed lifted his chin. “Dragon, you have three seconds to tell me about the missing shifters, or my guards will rip you and your delicate wings to shreds. I mean if those wings are all you shift into, you’ll stand no chance against us. And all before you find true love, so you can finally evolve into your true dragon form.”

“Wait, what?” I stammered, staring at Gage, who avoided me.

I swallowed hard. “Say again. True love? Full form?”

“One,” Reed bellowed, starting his countdown.

The warrior women closed in, already their skins shimmered with the telltale signs of their transformation.

“Gage,” I yelled. “Stop being a dick. Tell him.”

“Two.”

I couldn’t stop the terror gripping my heart, my brain firing off sparks to run away from the two dumbheads as they got out their aggression. We were in Reed’s territory, he’d lost a sister, so hell yeah, he would respond with force. Meaning he had every intention of going through with his threat. And as much as Gage pissed me off, he was outnumbered, and he’d lose this fight.

So I did the first thing that came to mind. I pressed my back to Gage’s chest and faced Reed, hating how quickly things had escalated. The words rolled over my strained vocals. I had no idea if Reed would attack me, but I couldn’t let Gage get hurt. “You’ll have to kill me before I let you touch him.”