Reawakening the Dragon: Part Two (4 page)

But she understood the pain of not having someone you truly wanted.

Her dragon spoke up.
You never bloody tried. We are a catch. He would’ve wanted us.

And then what? Female dragon-shifters aren’t allowed to have human mates. You know that.

There are always ways. Humans and dragons have hidden their relationships for years.

Times are different now. There are cameras everywhere.

Her dragon huffed.
You are the one who wouldn’t act. Either go after the male again or find someone else. I’m starving for sex.

Kai could be dying. Have a little compassion.

He is stubborn and will most certainly live. I’m more concerned about us.

Tired of her dragon, Nikki locked her into a mental prison and pushed aside all thoughts of the male who had caught both her and her dragon’s eye a few years earlier. He wasn’t worth her time.

Her dragon broke free and spoke up again.
Any male will do. The one awkward encounter last year wasn’t enough. We are young and I want sex. Lots of sex.

Nikki gritted her teeth.
Now is not the time. Your complaining isn’t going to instantly change my mind.

It has in the past.

Yeah, well, I’m much stronger now.

Her dragon chuckled and Nikki ignored her. She knew that a male’s inner dragon thought about sex even more than a female one, but Nikki’s beast was slowly making her crazy.

Sleeping with random males would take away time from proving herself to the clan as a dedicated Protector. Only then would the older members of the clan see her as more than a blessing because of her birth.

Double-checking that her dragon was locked up tight, Nikki surveyed her surroundings again to pinpoint their location. She spotted the peaks in the distance that marked Stonefire’s territory. Good. She could feel Kai’s heart still beating, but the sooner Dr. Sid fixed him up, the better.

Ten minutes later, she made the final approach. Delicately beating her wings, Nikki lowered herself to the landing area used for injured dragons, but hovered before touching the ground. She laid Kai down gently before doing the same with Jane. Moving to the side, she plopped down and imagined her wings shrinking into her back, her talons becoming fingernails, and her snout turning into a nose. The second she was human again, she raced to Kai’s side.

Jane was already there, but Nikki ignored her to check on her leader. Thank fuck, he was still breathing.

Sid raced out of the building about twenty feet away, her ponytail swaying in time with her strides. Jane moved out of the way to allow Sid to take her place. As the doctor checked his pulse, she asked, “What happened?”

Nikki grimaced. “He was shot about forty minutes ago.”

Sid glanced up with irritation in her brown eyes. “Why did you wait so long to bring him here?”

“We were in Tyneside. I came as soon as I could.”

“Bloody hell,” Sid whispered. She ripped off Kai’s shirt and bandage before checking the gunshot wound in his arm. “Given the location, he should be okay as long as I get him into surgery and stop the bleeding.” She motioned to two young dragon-shifters behind her with a stretcher. “Get him inside.”

Nikki stepped back as the two dragon-shifters maneuvered Kai onto a stretcher. Sid added, “My job is to ensure Kai lives. You can take the reporter to Bram and sort out the rest.”

Before Nikki could do more than nod, Sid was moving with her team back to her surgery. Once Kai was no longer in sight, Nikki met Jane’s gaze. “We need to talk with Bram. Are you well enough to do that?”

Jane bobbed her head. “Yes, but will Kai be okay? It’s my fault that he’s hurt.”

Nikki waved a hand. “There’s more to this story than you know. Come, let’s go to Bram’s cottage and I’ll explain it to you there.” She watched as Jane looked back toward the surgery, so Nikki added, “Kai’s a tough bastard. He’ll make it through, if only to hunt down those who hurt him.” Nikki smiled. “If you truly want to help him, then we need to talk with Bram.”

“Why me?”

“You have information we need.”

Without another word, Nikki turned and headed in the direction of Bram’s cottage. Two seconds later, she heard Jane following.

Chapter Three

Rationally, Jane knew there was nothing she could do as long as Kai was in surgery, but she couldn’t help but glance one last time at the building Kai had been carried into.

The doctor had seemed confident, which she took as a good sign. Despite the fact Jane had never interviewed Dr. Sid, the dragon doctor had a good reputation. Jane only hoped it was true.

Looking back to Nikki, who was ahead of her, Jane increased her pace, taking deep breaths to calm her heart. What Bram would want with her, Jane had no idea. But since it was Jane’s fault Kai was hurt, she fully expected Bram to revoke her interview privileges with his clan. He might even banish her from stepping foot on Stonefire ever again.

A few days before, the news would’ve devastated her. Even though a small part of her would always wonder about Kai and the spark between them, in that moment, she could accept being banished because of her actions. It was no one’s fault but her own.

Just like with the ‘incident’ she’d caused a decade before yet again someone had been hurt while she’d been pursuing a story. Even if she hadn’t planned to use someone for her own personal gain, someone had still been hurt in the process, just like before. All she could do was try to find a way to make it right.
 

In other words, no matter what happened with Bram, Jane would find a way to gather information on the former Carlisle-based hunters and pass it on to Stonefire.

They approached the two-story cottage located in the middle of the main living area that belonged to Bram and Jane focused on the upcoming meeting.
 

Nikki knocked on the door, but it was Bram’s heavily pregnant mate who opened it.
 

Evie Marshall eyed Nikki and then glanced to Jane and back. “You’re supposed to be in Newcastle. What happened?”

Nikki answered, “We need to talk with Bram.”

Evie stepped back and motioned them inside. “You can talk to the both of us.”

Once they entered, Evie shut the door and guided them into the living area. She motioned toward the couch. “Sit down. I’ll fetch Bram. He’s upstairs putting Murray to bed for his afternoon nap.”

Evie looked at Jane with curiosity again before ascending the stairs. While Jane had met Evie Marshall once or twice, Jane had never stepped foot inside Bram’s cottage before. All of her meetings had been conducted inside the Protectors’ central command building. No doubt, the former DDA employee was wondering why she was there.

Nikki plopped onto the couch and patted the spot next to her. “You may as well sit down. I’m surprised you’re still standing after that flight.”

Jane started pacing. “How are you so calm? Kai’s in surgery because of a gunshot wound. He lost a lot of blood. He could die.”

Nikki shrugged. “He was hit in the arm, but he’s had far worse in the past. It comes with the job. His injury history is pretty impressive.”

Nikki’s attitude made her frown. “Even putting aside Kai’s injury, there’s the little fact those men were after me. Don’t you think we should investigate why?”

“I already know why.”

When the dragonwoman remained silent, Jane sighed. “Fine, I get it. We need to wait for Bram.”

Bram’s accent, a mixture of Northern English and Scottish, drifted into the room. “I’m here.” He walked into the room with Evie at his side. The tall leader looked at the blood on Jane’s shirt from when she’d knelt next to Kai earlier. “Now, tell me why Jane Hartley is standing in my living room and covered in blood.”

Nikki replied, “I wouldn’t say covered in blood. It’s just a splash.”

Bram growled. “Tell me what happened, Nikola Gray, or I’ll assign you to the teenagers’ watch duty for a month.”

Jane had no idea what that entailed, but Nikki immediately stood up. “We had an incident while looking for the dragon hunters.” Bram cocked an eyebrow and Nikki continued, “The Dragon Knights have a reward out for Jane. Someone reported her location and the knights had come to collect.”

Jane interjected, “What? How did they know where I was?”

Nikki met her eye. “Jeff.”

Shaking her head, Jane put up her hands. “That’s impossible. He served with my brother. Rafe trusted him.”

Bram’s voice interrupted, “Aye, well, it looks like that trust is now gone.”

Evie jumped in. “Stop dangling information piece by piece, Nikola. Just bloody tell us what you know.”

Nikki glanced to Jane and back to Evie. “I wasn’t sure how much I was allowed to share.”

Bram crossed his arms and stared down at Jane with his ice blue eyes. “This is off the record, lass, are we clear?” Jane could do nothing but nod at the dominance in his voice. Bram looked to Nikki. “Tell us, and quickly. Starting with where’s Kai.”

Jane should keep her mouth shut, but she blurted out, “He’s been shot.”

“With a regular or electric blast gun?” Bram asked.

Nikki answered, “Regular one. But Sid has it under control and thinks he’ll be fine.”

Evie leaned against Bram. “Sid doesn’t give platitudes, so it must be true.”

Jane placed her hands on her hips. “Something could go wrong and Kai could still die. Why are you all so calm?”

Bram paused and then asked, “I think the bigger question is why are you so concerned?

Jane huffed. “He was protecting me, so of course I care. If you start accusing me of being only here for a story and not giving a damn about the good of the dragon-shifters, I swear I will kick you in the balls. A reporter can have ethics and real feelings, you know.”

Amusement flashed in Bram’s eyes, but then vanished. “I never said they couldn’t, Ms. Hartley. I believe you have a heart. Reporting on my kind isn’t easy and can lead to dangers such as what happened today. The fact you’ve stuck around tells me volumes about your character.” Bram paused a second and added, “I also know about the moving flats and the death threats.”

“How—“

Bram cut Jane off. “I may not be a reporter, but I have my sources.” He looked to Nikki. “Fill us in on the rest, Nikki.”

Nikki bobbed her head. “The knights have been wanting Jane for some time. Her reports helped drown out their social media campaigns, which curtailed a lot of their momentum.”

Evie looked to Jane. “Were the knights the ones sending you the death threats?”

Jane shrugged. “For a while, but then things died down after the Lochguard attack. I figured they were no longer a threat.”

Bram grunted. “Well, they are. Until all of this is sorted, you’re staying here.” Jane opened her mouth, but Bram cut her off, again. “I’m sure your boss will understand when you mention the danger. I can mostly control the outside threats while you’re on my lands, barring a surprise attack. If you leave before things are taken care of, then you’ll be on your own. And trust me, lass, not even your reports can help stave off the bloody Dragon Knights. You support us, therefore, you’re the enemy, end of story.”

“I know,” Jane stated. “But why help me? Keeping me on Stonefire will only endanger your clan.”

Bram smiled. “Stonefire has had enemies as long as we’ve been based here in the Lake District. It’s nothing new.”

She should let it drop, but Jane’s curiosity never quit. “That still doesn’t answer my question. Why?”

Bram shrugged one shoulder. “I have my reasons. Stick around long enough to earn my trust and you might learn what they are.”

Judging by Bram’s tone that was all the answer she was going to get.
 

That didn’t mean she couldn’t start earning Bram’s trust. No doubt, Bram already knew Kai’s reasons for being in Newcastle, but not hers. She needed to fix that.

Rather than think about why she wanted Bram’s trust, Jane straightened her shoulders and added, “The only issue I have with remaining here is that Kai and I had a lead on the former Carlisle-based hunters. We were close to pinpointing their new base’s location when we were attacked.”

Bram shook his head. “As much as I want the bastards out of the way, I won’t risk you or any other members of my clan. Since I saw Nikki flying in, I assume she was near Newcastle in dragon form. The DDA will probably soon be on my case, not to mention the hunters will be on high alert now. It’s best to wait and pounce later, once things calm down.”

Jane strummed her fingers on her thigh and her eyes went to Nikki. An idea hit her. “I agree, but I may have a solution of how we can still try to take the hunters down whilst remaining under the radar.”

Bram raised his brows. “Oh, aye? How?”

Jane kept her gaze on Nikki. “Tell them your suggestion.”

Nikki blinked. “I thought we talked about this. You were supposed to discuss it with Kai first.”

Evie threw up her hands. “Kai isn’t here, is he? Now, I don’t bloody well care who tells me, but someone had better speak up because I really need to pee. And you don’t want to upset a pregnant woman. Trust me. Bram’s learned that lesson the hard way.”

Bram’s voice was dry. “Aye, you’d best do what she says, Nikki.”

Nikki widened her stance and clasped her hands behind her back. “Well, I thought it might be a good idea to unofficially invite our trusted comrades from the British armed forces to help us hunt the dragon hunters. They’re human, but skilled. They have ways of monitoring the knights whilst remaining under the radar. I don’t think even Simon Bourne would see their help coming.”

Jane jumped in. “I thought we could ask my brother to help, along with suggestions from your Protectors. They could gather intelligence on the hunters whilst your clan and I stay here. Once they have the information we need, you and Lochguard could make a surprise attack.”

Bram replied, “After your brother’s recommendation of the human named Jeff, I’m a little leery of trusting him.”

Jane raised her chin. “My brother is a decorated soldier who has always put friends and family first. We all screw up once in a while, and I’m sure there’s a reason his judgment was wrong about Jeff. Talk to my brother yourself and then make a decision. That’s what you keep asking humans to do, isn’t it? To talk with a dragon-shifter before deeming them monsters.”