Ruby Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 3) Read online

  “Red, stop it,” she said. “You’re pushing too hard.”

  “I can’t help it,” he said, throwing his arms up in the air as he walked out onto the lawn. “I could be okay waiting, I think. But I can’t be okay with you telling me to be with someone else or telling me I’m a bad person.”

  “I didn’t say you were a bad person,” she said, striding out onto the lawn behind him. “Maybe we both need to get some rest. Calm down.”

  He turned to face her in the moonlight and tried not to catch his breath at how gorgeous she looked. “But when we wake up in the morning, it won’t have changed that I’m in love with you. That I’d do anything for you. Yet you won’t even admit you have feelings for me.”

  She stared at him. Hard. He cocked his head at her odd expression and then realized she was actually looking over his shoulder.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She gaped as she raised a silent hand, pointing behind him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he whirled around to see dark, winged creatures that didn’t look right flying toward them.

  Like dragons without arms, only legs, and grotesque, skinny wings. And evil, glowing yellow eyes.

  “Run,” he said, pushing her back toward the house just as the things dove toward them.

  He felt them whoosh over him and knew they were aiming for her. Not today! He summoned all his strength and dove forward, rolling with her underneath him. He kept her covered with his body as the creatures circled and then landed.

  “Who are you?” one hissed. “We want the woman with blond hair.”

  “I’m the red dragon, and I’ll come with you if you leave her.”

  They looked at each other and made hissing noises. “We accept.”

  “No,” she murmured underneath him.

  He pulled off his ring and shoved it into her closed palm. “Keep this. Put it on if you’re in trouble. You won’t even have to deal with me. I promise. But stay safe.” Then he pressed a kiss to her forehead and stood. “Okay.”

  The creatures swept forward, grabbing his arms, and though he struggled, they lifted off.

  He fought but then realized, even if he escaped, Faye would be in danger. He jerked back to see her running toward the house, and he sagged in relief.

  His mate was safe.

  He was just sorry they had to fight right before they might be split up forever. No, forever? He wasn’t going to let that happen. Collar or no collar, he was going to make it back to her. He promised himself that.

  12

  Faye felt utterly helpless as she watched the grotesque creatures carrying Red away.

  It was all her fault, arguing with him when she knew it was pointless. Holding off and protecting her heart when she’d known she was safe with him.

  It was just hard when she’d thought she was safe before and been totally wrong.

  But her heart told her she needed Red. Loved him. Wanted to mate him. She looked at the ring curled in her palm, and her heart thudded wildly.

  She closed her eyes, trying to make herself brave against everything she’d gone through, and slid it on her finger.

  It was what Red had wanted, and now that he’d sacrificed himself for her, she’d need all the help she could get. Any power the ring could give. Because she was going to get the dragons to rescue her mate, and she was going with them.

  As she sprinted back to the house, trying not to trip over her own feet, she felt more and more right about what she’d done.

  She’d taken the first step, against all her fear, and it felt so freeing. Felt like her exes, her stepdad, could no longer affect her or take away her happiness. As she ran back to the house, she felt like flying.

  She slammed through the front door as hard as she could while she caught her breath so she could yell. “Luc! Zach! Somebody!”

  She heard clattering from the rooms upstairs and a door opened, and Zach came skittering out in a bathrobe, running a hand through his long, dark hair. “What’s wrong?”

  Luc came running down the hall, shirtless except for pajama pants, and she averted her eyes. “Sorry,” he said, folding his arms. “What’s wrong?”

  “They took Red. They took him.”

  “Where?” Luc asked, jumping over the railing and landing on the ground with a thud. Zach took the stairs down to join him.

  She pointed outside. “But they were flying so fast.”

  She watched Luc transform as he ran outside, and she ran after to see him take off in dragon form, a gigantic, shimmering shape as he flew into the darkness, searching, turning in the air.

  “Shit,” Zach said. “They could have used a portal for all we know.”

  “A portal?” she asked.

  “The oracle has at least one. Who knows what other science has been leaked?”

  “I should have run in faster,” she said, heart pounding. “I was so shocked.”

  “Nothing you could have done,” he said. “They would have made sure they couldn’t be followed, regardless.”

  Sapphire landed again and transformed seamlessly back to himself, still wearing his pajama pants.

  “How do you not just rip through them?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Magic. Same way we don’t just rip through our skin.” He nodded for them to follow him as he ran up the front steps and back inside. “Come on. We have to regroup. Have to try and figure out what’s going on.”

  “We have to go after him,” she said desperately.

  “Yes.” Luc agreed patiently. “But we don’t even know where to go, so there’s no point. What if we went the wrong direction and it took longer? We’ll send out dragon envoys. Contact the oracle. Have dragons in the area checking the skies. I promise we’ll find him.”

  She bit her lip and followed them inside, looking at her ring. If only they hadn’t fought. If only she had given him the benefit of the doubt instead of being stupid. Who cared if the perfect love affair happened within only a few days? That didn’t make it any less right.

  Even if his world was weird, that didn’t make him any less special.

  She touched her ring and felt warmth flow through her.

  Don’t worry, Red. We’re going to find you.

  Red fought so much on the trip that he had to be tranquilized, and when he woke up, he was in an iron cage in the middle of a room that was foreign to him. It was styled like an old castle, with stone walls and old tapestries hanging here and there and ancient rugs on the ground.

  Looking out the window at the starry night, he had no idea where he was. And he felt groggy to boot.

  He had no idea who would bring him here or why.

  “Hello?” he called out, stepping forward. But there were shackles on his wrists and ankles, chaining him to either side of the cage so he couldn’t move much.

  What the fuck?

  “Hello there,” a husky voice said as an unfamiliar female stepped into the room. She was tall and slim, with white hair pulled into a tight bun on top of her head and severe, pointed features. Following her were a bunch of the men dressed in black clothing, wearing masks. Wyverns, presumably.

  “Sorry we couldn’t make you more welcome. I was told you were quite uncooperative,” she said.

  “People generally are when they’re being kidnapped,” he snapped, as she walked uncomfortably close to the cage. “What do you want?”

  She ran a finger over one of the bars, and he inhaled, scenting wolf. Alpha wolf, most likely. “You,” she said. “My boss feels you would be a definite asset to the team, given your effect on females. In fact, over the next few days, we plan to test it.”

  “What?” he asked, totally aghast. “You have to be kidding.”

  “No,” she said, reaching through the bars to touch his neck as he pulled back hard, disgusted by her touch.

  “What the hell is going on, Clarissa?” a deep voice boomed, and Red jerked to see who was entering the room.

  It was Aegis, wearing odd green pants under a black robe. His blond hai
r was mussed, like he’d been sleeping. And even with his tired, grumpy appearance, with his height, he was still the most intimidating person in the room.

  All eyes turned to him.

  “Aegis, you didn’t need to be here,” Clarissa murmured.

  Aegis strode over to the cage, and Red saw fury flicker in his vibrant green gaze. “Why wasn’t I told about this?”

  “Mistress thought you wouldn’t approve,” the alpha wolf said.

  “Clarissa,” he said. “This isn’t okay. We’re supposed to recruit dragons. Not kidnap them.”

  “I’m just following orders,” Clarissa said, folding her arms. “What do you want me to do about it?”

  Aegis looked at Red again, his eyes flicking to Red’s bonds with distaste. Then he let out a deep breath. “A command from the top, hm?”

  Clarissa nodded, and Red could tell she was a bit afraid of Aegis. As she had every reason to be. He was an un-collared dragon with very few principles. One of those, however, extended to enslaving dragons.

  Aegis seemed to be thinking about it and then stepped back with a nod. “Fine. But don’t do this again.”

  “So you’ll cooperate?” she asked hopefully.

  “Hell no,” he said. “This has nothing to do with me.” His lips curled in distaste. “But I’m not going to stop you either. Cocky bastard had it coming.”

  “Aegis, please,” Red grated out. “My mate…”

  “Aw, look at him, pleading for his woman,” Aegis said, walking closer. Taunting. “I only came up here because they were disturbing my rest with all the clinking and talking. I could care less what happens to you or your little mate.”

  “Aegis, wait,” Red said, trying one last angle. “Remember, you had someone you cared for, too. What would you have done to be with her?”

  Aegis was already halfway to exiting the room, but he stopped. Then he shook his head and walked out.

  Shit. Red would just have to figure another way out of this. “What do you plan to do with me?” he asked.

  “I’ve invited several shifter females who are leaders of their clans. I’m going to see what they would offer for a night with you.”

  “You evil—”

  “Shh,” she said, reaching toward him to put a finger in front of his lips. He jerked back so she couldn’t touch him. “Or should I try you myself first? I admit, the effect you have on my wolf is intense. And you know we alpha females have needs. And I have a few days with you all to myself.”

  He continued straining back from her poisonous touch. There was only one person his body belonged to now, and he was going to fight to the death to see to that. “Take your nasty needs somewhere else.”

  She laughed, throwing her head back cruelly. “I still can’t decide if I want to play with you or not. I’ve never been with a dragon before.”

  He snorted. “There’s always Aegis.”

  She pouted. “He only hides in his room or goes out on missions. He’s too stiff.”

  Aegis stiff? How anarchic was this woman?

  Aegis’s betrayal still stung, but it was what he should have expected. His friend was no longer the dragon he once knew.

  She touched the bars of the cage once again, locking eyes with him, and he realized her eyes were a purple so dark they were almost black. “I’ll tell you one thing, though. There’s a reason I’m one of her lieutenants. And that’s because as an alpha female of my particular pack, I have a power that is uniquely useful. Test me, and you’ll see what it is.”

  “Fuck your powers. And who is this ‘she’ you’re talking about?”

  The wolf laughed, stepping back with folded arms. “I guess you might as well know, since you’re never getting out of here. My leader is the dark oracle.” She gestured to her guys to surround the cage. “Guard him. I’m going out to check on a few things and will be back soon.” She ran her tongue ominously over her lower lip. “We’ll see what I feel like doing then.”

  He fought off a shiver of disgust as she left, and then he started focusing on his chains. His collar wasn’t off, but perhaps he had enough heat to melt them. Then again, since no human was in trouble, maybe not.

  He hoped it was a while before the horny wolf lady came back.

  “Zach, get over here,” Luc called out, running toward them, holding his phone.

  Zach, who’d been on the phone, trying to reach the oracle, while Faye waited nervously, strode right over. “What is it?”

  “You’ll never believe this, but Aegis is helping us. I just got a text from him.”

  “I don’t believe it,” Zach muttered.

  “Look.” Luc handed him the phone, and Faye looked over her shoulder at it. There was a text with shared coordinates on a map, and then a small bubble of text beneath it.

  It grieves me to have to assist you, but if you don’t rescue your friend soon, there won’t be anything left to mate with.

  “What the fuck?” Zach asked. “What does that mean?”

  “He probably means Red is in enough trouble that he’d incinerate himself rather than go through with whatever they’re planning.”

  “What would they be planning?” she asked. “He has his collar on.”

  Luc frowned. “I shouldn’t say it.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “They could be planning to use him. You know.”

  She felt fire welling up in her. “Oh, hell no.”

  “Yeah,” Zach said. “Red is unique like that. Okay, we know where we’re going. We’re going to take off now.” He nodded for Luc to follow him and began to stride out.

  “Wait,” Faye said. “I’m coming.”

  “No, stay here,” Zach said. “Erin and Hallie will take care of you. They know what’s going on.” They were in another room, making other calls. “You can go in and tell them we’ve got it and it’s going to be okay.”

  “No,” Faye said firmly. “You can tell them. I’m going with you.”

  Luc folded his arms. “There’s no reason for you to go. What’s more, Red would kick our asses for letting you.”

  She held her finger out with the ring on it, and Luc’s mouth fell open in shock. “I have his ring, but I haven’t fully mated him. When I tell him he’s my mate, his collar will come off. You might need his powers, so you need to bring me.”

  “The oracle might not be able to do it remotely. It might only be activated by voice,” Luc said. “Dammit, she may be right.”

  “You don’t know what you’re facing,” she said. “And that’s my mate in there.” She held up the ring. “Plus, this should protect me, right?”

  Zach sighed. “All right. We’ll fly, though, and this isn’t going to be comfortable.”

  “How does that work?” she asked.

  “Luc can explain. I’m going to tell the mates what’s going on.” Zach shook his head. “They’re going to think I’m crazy for bringing you. And Red is going to kick my ass.”

  “I don’t care who he’s mad at as long as he’s safe,” she said. She was going to fight for him. A life without him wasn’t a life at all, and he’d been fighting for her for so long.

  “We’ll have to carry you in our claws. It’ll be cold. We’ll be high up,” Luc said.

  “I don’t care,” she said resolutely, following him out onto the front lawn as he shifted again. She looked up at his giant form in awe. “Dragons are beautiful.”

  “Wait until you see your mate’s dragon,” Luc said with a wink. “If you think this is beautiful, I think you’ll be happy.”

  She swallowed. She didn’t really care. He could be an ugly pooh-colored dragon as long as he was unharmed. “Let’s head out. Zach can follow.”

  Luc nodded and wrapped his giant talons around her waist, lifting her jerkily into the air. She gasped, looking down at the land becoming tinier beneath them. But then she faced forward, into the cold, dark night through which they would fly to reach her mate.

  No more looking back.

  13

  Red hadn
’t made much progress on his chains by the time Clarissa returned. He was grossed out to see she was now wearing a dressing gown, purple silk that was tied at the waist, revealing cleavage.

  He looked away, supremely uninterested.

  “Oh, come on,” she said. “I got all pretty for you.” She looked at the wyverns around her. “Back up.”

  “You don’t want to do this,” Red said calmly. “I’m collared now, but I won’t always be.”

  She opened the cage door and walked inside, and he pulled against the chains. She touched them lightly. “Specially made for restraining dragons. Very strong.” She ran a finger over his chest.

  “I can see that,” he said, pulling back as far as he could.

  “Interesting. Can I watch?” A voice cut in.

  Red looked up, grateful for the interruption, and saw Aegis walking in again, hands in the pockets of his robe, looking casual.

  He couldn’t actually want to watch this, could he?

  “Aegis,” Clarissa said, looking delighted. “Would you like to join this?”

  Aegis gave them a sardonic look and shook his head. “I admit I’ve entertained the idea of you and me, Clarissa, but I’m afraid I’m not interested in sharing.”

  Clarissa pulled back from Red, seemingly confused. She walked over to Aegis, meeting him in the middle of the room. “I’ve come on to you for weeks, and you haven’t been interested. What, are you jealous?” She stroked a finger over his shoulders, and Aegis did a remarkable job repressing any shudder he might have felt.

  “Jealousy,” he said in a bored voice. “Sure. That must be it.”

  Red glared at him, trying to figure out what he was doing.

  Aegis gave him a glare over Clarissa’s shoulder. You owe me one.

  Why are you doing this?

  I don’t know, Aegis thought back as Clarissa put her arm up around his neck and reached up on her toes to kiss his cheek. I guess just because I don’t have anything worth living for doesn’t mean you don’t. He turned his head slightly. Fuck. This bitch is disgusting.

  Real bad. Red agreed.

  Your friends are coming, Aegis thought back. I’ll delay her until then.