Bad Dragons: Special Edition Complete Series Read online

  “Wait.”

  I turn around to see Lee now sitting on the bed, wearing that blue tee shirt as always.

  My jaw drops. “What are you…? How did you just come through the ceiling?”

  “I’m not really here,” he says quietly. “I’m simply projecting myself. Like a ghost. One of Rainier’s experiments lets me do it.”

  “So that’s why you can’t do this on your own. You can’t come here physically.”

  Lee nods. “There are rules.”

  I put a hand on my chest where I can feel my heart racing. “Oh my God. Next time, don’t go through the ceiling.”

  “I’ll try,” he says. “I’m not sure how much more I’ll be able to come.”

  “Right,” I say, realizing I should just be glad to see a familiar face.

  “Come here,” he says, craning his head.

  I slowly walk over to stand by the bed, ignoring his invitation to sit on it as he pats the spot next to him.

  He smiles up at me. “I’m glad to see things are going well for you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you already found Griffin.”

  I cock my head in confusion. “No, I haven’t. I just—”

  “Who brought you here?”

  “Red.”

  Lee’s eyes narrow on me meaningfully, and the blue there is deep as the ocean. When he raises one brow, what he is suggesting kicks in.

  “Oh,” I say blankly. “You mean Red is Griffin?”

  Lee nods. “Of course he is. I told you I was dropping you near Griff’s region and that we are dragons. What more do you need?”

  “He lied to me,” I say indignantly. “He said he was—”

  Lee smiles. “Oh, he can do much worse than lie. All of my friends can.”

  “Then why are they your friends?” I ask.

  Lee’s expression grows thoughtful, wistful even, and a little sad. He pushes his jet-black hair back. “It’s complicated.”

  I let out a sigh. “Red said he could read minds. Why didn’t you tell me about that?”

  Lee shrugs nonchalantly. “I couldn’t tell you a lot of things. You have to figure them out on your own for my purposes.”

  “Which are?”

  He eyes me sidelong. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “I’m kind of worried about it,” I say quickly, finally sitting down by him on the bed. “I mean, it’s even worse here than I thought.”

  “Your sister is doing well,” he says quietly. “I went to check on her. The trust is working just fine.”

  I fold my hands in my lap. “Good to hear.” I can’t regret doing this when I think about what it could mean for Gayle.

  Lee reaches up to stroke my hair, and it’s like the wind is caressing me. “I guess I should go now that I know things are going fine.”

  “Fine? Griffin hates me. He wants to sell me, and—”

  Lee shakes his head, interrupting me. “No, he would never sell something so precious.” He inches closer to me on the bed, and his hand reaches out to touch mine.

  It’s the gentlest caress in the world but still makes me warm inside.

  “That feels so weird.” I breathe as he comes even closer to me, leaning in so our faces are near.

  “It’s not weird,” he says. “It’s the most natural thing in the world, being attracted to me. To any dragon. Do try to win Griffin over.”

  “I can’t,” I say. “He’s just the worst, and—”

  “Give him a chance,” Lee says. “For both of our sakes.”

  Just as his lips are about to touch mine, footsteps shake the ground, coming toward the cabin.

  “That could be Griffin,” I say, frozen.

  “That’s my cue to go,” Lee says regretfully, sliding one slim finger down my neck as he leans in to place a kiss there. It feels like just a breath of warmth, though my body still heats in reaction.

  Lee smiles softly, then disappears just as the cabin door slams open, revealing a very ruddy-faced Red.

  Who is actually Griffin, apparently.

  His giant hands are clenched in fists, and he’s panting. “What’s going on in here? I thought I heard voices.”

  I glance up at him. “Nothing’s going on. I’m the only one in here.”

  Red glares at me and sniffs the air. “It feels weird. What were you doing?”

  I instantly straighten up. “Nothing. Just thinking about something.”

  Red takes a step forward, glaring down. “Like what?”

  I shrug innocently. “Don’t worry about it.”

  There’s a loud thump outside and the sound of wood breaking as someone crashes into something.

  Then a roar.

  “What was that?” I ask nervously, digging my hands into the blankets beneath me.

  Red looks smug in the face of my fear. He cocks a hip. “What was what?”

  Another loud crashing sounds nearby, along with another eerie roar in the distance.

  “I mean, any of it,” I say. “The noise outside, the noise far away.”

  Red just grins, showing perfect white teeth with sharp canines. “Don’t worry about it,” he says, sending my words back at me.

  I scowl at him, realizing he’s not going to be in any way helpful. “Fine, I guess there’s nothing going on and I should just go outside for a walk.”

  I stand up and head for the door, but he steps in front of it quickly, blocking it off, and I grin up at him in triumph.

  “So something is happening,” I say, gloating. “But you don’t want me to know about it. Just like you don’t want me to know you’re really Griffin.”

  He jerks at that, staring at me with disbelief. “Who told you? Did you talk to anyone while I was gone? You couldn’t have. I had someone watching your cabin.”

  I glare at him. “I figured it out on my own, obviously. Wait, you had someone watching me? So am I really a prisoner, then?”

  “Of course you are,” he says, folding his arms tighter. “I told you I’m going to sell you.” He looks to the side. “It’s just that having you here is a bit more complicated for the bears than I thought.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He walks over to the bed and sits down, running his hands through his hair. “That roaring you hear is because they are fighting.”

  “Why?”

  He looks up at me, and one corner of his mouth quirks in amusement. “You.”

  “What?” I lean against the dresser. “Why me? Aren’t you selling me?”

  “Yes.” Griffin kicks back on the bed, resting his hands behind his head like I did a while before. Sometimes it’s hard to remember he’s a dragon and not just a large human. “But they are fighting over who gets you tonight.”

  I nearly knock the dresser down behind me as I stumble back in shock. “What?”

  Griffin rolls onto his stomach. “Should I let them have you?”

  My chest feels tight. I hate that I have no power here. That so far, Griffin has been awful to me. “Why did you lie about who you are?”

  “Because whoever told you to find me was wrong. I’m not a good dragon, and whatever part of me could have been was gone long before I even got to this hell. So I told you what they call me here instead. It won’t matter for long.”

  “Right, because you’re selling me,” I say. “You know, whoever sent me here, I’m sure they don’t believe you’re going to do that.”

  Griffin narrows his eyes. “And who was that again?”

  I swallow. “I can’t tell you.”

  He stands and walks over to me. “You have to.” He puts a hand on each side of the dresser, trapping me, and all I can feel is his body heat and how close his muscles are.

  “No.” Damn, I’m pent up. I hate him, so I don’t know how I can respond so strongly to his nearness, but I do.

  He lets out a small growl as he looks down over me. “Tell me, or I’ll let the bears have you.”

  I shake my head slowly as I stare up at Griffin. “You woul
dn’t.”

  His blue eyes narrow in frustration, but then he sighs and lowers his head, surprising me as his lips cover mine in a kiss.

  He’s oddly gentle, just brushing his lips against mine, testing, tasting.

  His hand snakes around my waist, and it’s so strong, so large, so safe that I melt into him, opening my mouth farther with a little mewl.

  With a curse, he steps back, leaving my lips exposed to the cool night air.

  He shoves a hand across his mouth like he’s cleaning it and then shakes his head at me, storming out of the cabin and slamming the door behind him.

  I slowly sink to the ground, covering my own lips in surprise. I stay there for a few long moments and barely register the sound of thundering footsteps before the door to the cabin bursts open, sending splinters everywhere.

  “About time,” I say, pushing myself to my feet as I turn to the doorway. “You can’t just do things and run out like that, because…” I trail off as I see a tall man at the doorway, backed by several others.

  Definitely not Griffin.

  Griffin

  Griffin ran from the cabin, infuriated with himself for even touching the human.

  For taking a taste of something he’d been doomed never to have.

  For frustrating and teasing the dragon inside him.

  There was something about her. The way she looked at him. The innocence in her hazel eyes, mostly brown, somewhat green. Her parted lips whenever she asked a question.

  Of course he was drawn to her.

  Dragons of his type were meant to mate with humans, brave ones in particular. He didn’t know if Anna was brave or stupid for being willing to come to this world at someone’s request.

  Was it a man? Someone she was fond of? The thought made Griff angry, and he punched a tree, making it crack in half and fall down the mountain, rolling over craggy rocks.

  Griff watched it all the way down, trying to calm the storm in his heart.

  Then he sat on the grass, listening to the night sounds.

  There were no crickets. Just distant howls and shrieks.

  It was odd to live in a world with monsters. Odder still to be one of them, but Griff had to admit he’d earned the title.

  Sometimes he looked up at the blue sky, and it reminded him of deep-blue eyes and how he’d first fucked up everything.

  It was a reminder that Griff would always deserve to be here, no matter what he did.

  Anna’s wide, hazel eyes stared at him in his mind, pleading and vulnerable.

  He needed to sell her as soon as he could, before she fooled him harder.

  She probably had lied about coming here to do a favor for someone. No one would take a risk like that for someone else.

  She probably screwed up like the rest of them and then heard from someone that a dragon would be a powerful protector in the Blur.

  Well, too bad. Griffin didn’t do charity cases. And he didn’t—

  A scream rent the night, and he jumped to his feet, all senses on alert.

  He knew most of the bears here well enough that he could recognize their human yells, and the scream wasn’t any one of them.

  As he started jogging in the direction of the noise, he saw several men dragging Anna out into the clearing.

  Despite his attempt to loathe her, fury lit his entire body as he saw one of the men cover her mouth.

  She flailed around until one of them clapped both arms around her, dragging her close. Just then, her eyes met Griff’s and immediately became entreating.

  She was begging him for help.

  Griffin’s heart instantly hardened at any expectation of being a hero. Of having to protect someone.

  He took fees and kept a tight rein over the bears because that was how he survived here. It had given him new purpose.

  But he wasn’t a doer of good in any sense of the word.

  As the bears jerked her around and continued to march her toward a dark part of the woods, oblivious to Griffin watching them, he frowned.

  He shouldn’t care what happened next.

  She was an idiot if she did enter the Blur on purpose, and he should probably let her see what this world was like.

  But he could still remember a kinder world, and when he looked in her eyes, he was reminded of it.

  Plus, it had felt damn good to kiss her.

  He crept closer, careful not to let anyone hear him as he moved behind a nearby bush to look into the clearing.

  The man holding Anna dumped her in the center of the clearing as the others closed in, some of them holding torches.

  Some of them were women.

  “You think you can distract our dragon? Take his attention from us?” One of the women leaned down to grab Anna’s hands to tie them.

  Anna kicked and fought, but bear strength was too much for her and she was quickly subdued, her hands and feet tied.

  She looked up at the group, and it was obvious from the hope on her face that she still expected mercy.

  She would get none.

  Griffin was used to these animals and their good and bad sides. They weren’t the worst creatures in this world.

  But he was also aware of what they were capable of and the fact that they didn’t think of right and wrong in the same terms as humans.

  He cloaked himself and moved to a slightly closer tree, leaning against it as he got a better look.

  One of the men stepped forward, and Griffin felt another spark of fury as the man reached for the zipper of Anna’s jacket, pulling it down.

  Anna snapped her head down, trying to bite him, and as he jumped back, the whole crowd laughed.

  “Jasper will go first,” the woman who had tied her said. “He won the challenge.”

  “I will mate her,” Jasper said, stepping forward. “We can breed many humans and sell them as well.”

  Anna looked up at that. “Why do you sell humans? What is it with all of you guys and humans?”

  Jasper looked down at her. “She is noisy. I do not know if I wish to mate with her.”

  “I do,” another man said, stepping forward. Squinting, Griff realized it was Jasper’s close friend, Clive. “She is soft and fragile. I want to see her break.”

  Griff sighed. Perhaps he had deluded himself in thinking that his bears were better than some of the other shifters here.

  Perhaps he had wanted to think that.

  Griff wasn’t good by any means, but he had his own limits.

  Rape was one of them.

  Stealing, racketeering, bullying—none of those bothered him much. The world was cruel, and only the strongest survived by taking advantage.

  But seeing someone attack someone smaller than them and helpless…

  Griff guessed that not all goodness had been killed inside him, because he couldn’t stand to just sit by and watch.

  He clenched his fists as he watched Clive bend down and grab a struggling Anna, hefting her over his shoulder and ignoring her screams as she pounded on his back.

  After so many years in this world, Griff was angry at the human for making him actually care about something.

  He just wanted to go back to bullying people. Being numb.

  And he supposed it wasn’t his job to do anything. There were no laws in this world. People could take whatever they wanted as long as they were strong enough to take it.

  But as Griff watched the door to Clive’s cabin shut and saw the rest of the bears scuttle away, leering at each other, he felt something that he thought was dead in him roar to life.

  Well, fuck.

  7

  Anna

  I’ve taken a lot of things in stride today, but right now, I’m just terrified.

  I can’t remember a time I felt more helpless as I lay here on a smelly bed with my hands and feet tied.

  I’m even more mortified to know that Griffin saw me. That he knows I’m in trouble and just let them take me.

  If he wanted to interfere, he would have done so by now.

  I
look around, wishing Lee would suddenly appear, but see nothing.

  Just a rustic, empty cabin, except for the angry, stinky male bear who is probably hoping to rape me.

  I don’t know whether to call them bears or wolves or humans, but they’re all stronger than I am.

  Just like Griffin is stronger than all of them and could probably stop this.

  My eyes sting, and I push away that thought.

  He’s selling me anyway. His face was cruel when he said the bears were fighting over who had me first.

  I guess I was naive. I’ve been accused of that a lot in my life.

  But when he kissed me, there was something soft in his touch that surprised even him.

  I swear it.

  Clive is pacing, clenching his hands into fists and releasing them and growling as he works himself up into a fervor.

  “With this, I’ll be king,” he says. “All the money, all the power.”

  I glance up at him dubiously. “Um, I don’t see how any of that will happen as a result of this.”

  “Silence, human,” Clive says, as the wind picks up outside the cabin. “You will bear me children, and those children will bear children. We can start our own slave trade.” He puts a finger on his chin. “Not with Griffin here. He doesn’t approve of slaves. Even human ones.”

  “Why would you want human ones if we’re so weak?”

  “Easy,” Clive says, baring gnarled, yellow teeth as he comes forward. “They’re so fun to defile.”

  “Pretty big word for a bear,” I say, gasping as Clive surges forward and catches me by the jaw.

  “Don’t underestimate me, human. In your world, I did things you can’t even think of. I’ve been here for years, and I’ve been stifled by Griffin. He has Jasper’s support, and everyone is afraid of him.” He brushes my hair back, and I give a little shudder, trying to figure out if there is any way I can fight. “But with this, I’ll have more power. You’ll be bound to me, and Jasper will have to listen. Griffin will be gone.”

  “He’s a dragon,” I say, hating myself for defending him when he’s clearly letting me hang. But something about Lee’s belief in him, and my own experiences, force me to say what I feel. “You won’t beat him. And how do you know he hates the slave trade?”