Claiming His Prize (Bad Boy Alphas) (Feral Breed Followings Book 2) (8 page)

“Yes.”

“I mean, I’d happily get naked for you anytime, Doc. But I don’t need to.”

“It’s going to be hard to explain why you’re walking around the training area naked, don’t you think?”

“Not really,” he replied with a chuckle. “But I won’t go back in there naked. I’ll still be clothed.”

I tried to make sense of his words, but I couldn’t. Wolves shifted without their clothes, ending up naked at times. Saern never seemed to wear any clothes, not even the ones Mick brought him. How was Piers not going to be naked?

“Wait…what?”

Piers stepped closer. “My clothes shift with me.”

“No, they don’t.”

Without answering, Piers shifted. A huge, dark dragon appeared where once there was a man. I screamed and stumbled back, my chest tight. But the image melted. It was only there for the briefest of moments before he shifted back human. And fully clothed.

It took me a few moments to catch my breath enough to speak again, but when I was ready, I asked the only question on my mind. “How’d you do that?”

He shrugged. “Dragon magic, I guess.”

“Wolves can’t do that.”

“Nope.”

I shook my head, going over every detail of my time with Saern. “But…he’s been naked.”

Piers growled sharply, the sound silencing the forest around us. “Who?”

And wasn’t that the question of the hour? “I can’t tell you.”

“But my dragon will know?”

“Sort of.”

“Then I’ll shift and stay that way for a minute.” He paused, watching me with nervous eyes. “Don’t be afraid, okay? He cares for you as much as I do. He won’t hurt you.”

He won’t hurt you. Don’t run.
I swallowed back the fear Saern had taught me and nodded. I knew Piers wasn’t Saern, but I was unable to break them apart in my mind. Unable to see one without thinking of the other. They were both dragon shifters. Both unknown to me. Both very possibly dangerous. Still, I trusted Piers. If he said his dragon wouldn’t hurt me, I believed him.

“Okay.” I backed up another step. Ready. Mostly.

“Okay.” With a grin, he shifted again, this time immediately settling down on the ground and watching me with dark, reptilian eyes. A dragon lying on the forest floor like a puppy wasn’t nearly as scary as one lording over you, I found. I stepped closer, looking him over. Inspecting for a moment. His scales were a deep red fading to an orange. Like a living, breathing sunset. His head and wings were shaped differently from Saern’s, the covering over his wings looking far less leathery. He was a different animal, a different breed perhaps. And he didn’t scare me.

“Beautiful,” I whispered as I took a step closer. He didn’t move, didn’t even seem to breathe. I approached cautiously, just in case. My experiences with Saern made me jumpy, but I knew Piers wouldn’t hurt me. And I was growing more comfortable with that knowledge, even when he was in this form.

When I was close enough to touch, I lifted my hand. Delicately, carefully, I placed my fingers against his nose. He finally blew out a breath and inhaled. Almost as if he’d been as afraid of me as I’d been afraid of him. I smiled at the thought.

“Piers.” I twisted my arm, letting him see the gash there. Knowing it was time. “You need to know so you can leave. Tonight. There’s no time left.”

His dark eyes held mine, almost as if he was trying to refuse me. But he had to. I pushed my arm forward, whispering a quiet,
please
. His tongue flicked out over my arm, particularly around my cut. The sight of it didn’t scare me, a fact that made this moment even more bittersweet. But the rumble that came from him had me taking a step back. He shook his head, running his nose all over me, flicking his tongue out to taste the air. All the while, his growl grew louder. Stronger. More dangerous.

He knew.

Piers shifted without warning. One second, I was watching an angry dragon, the next, a furious Piers stood before me, clutching my arm.

“A dragon bit you?” He glared at me, but I didn’t say a word. Just watched him, hoping he’d get it. That he’d realize what was happening.

“That’s where you’ve been going with Mick. There’s a dragon in the area.” He huffed and ran a hand through his dark hair. “I was raised in a wolf pack, Doc. I was brought up to be more human. Dragons…they’re not. At all. Do you realize how dangerous dragons can be?”

I nodded. There was no need for an explanation. No requirement for more words. This was it. I was about to send Piers away to safety. Did I know how dangerous dragons could be? Yes. Totally. I had one in my life that I
thought
was going to kill me—and one I
knew
would when he took my heart with him.

“Please, go.” My whispered words wobbled, my throat tight.

Piers shook his head, looking from my eyes to the gash and back. His brow heavy across his eyes. “Are you in danger right now?”

“You’re in more danger. You have to go.”

Piers sighed. “Okay, fine. We can take off and head north. I can find a place for us in New England, maybe.”

I shook my head, tears welling in my eyes. “You have to go.”

“Jane, dragons are dangerous. If he’s had his teeth in you, it’s doubly so. There’s a marking smell coming from the bite. He’s claimed you as his mate.”

I nodded, freely crying.

Piers’ eyes widened, his face crumpling into a look of pain like I’d never seen from him before. “Do you want him?”

I choked on a sarcastic laugh. “God, no.”

“Good. That’s good.” He paced a few steps, obviously irritated. “What
do
you want, Doc?”

Without thought or care, I answered the only way I could. “I want you. I want to choose who I care about, and that’s you.”

“Oh, thank fuck.” Piers grabbed me in a brutal hug, yanking me off the ground. “You’re my mate, Jane. My dragon wants you, I want you…but it’s your choice.”

I ran my fingers through his hair, pulling him in for a kiss. Stealing one more moment. “I choose you.”

“Then we need to go.”

A sob escaped me as my heart shattered. “No. We can’t.”

“Doc, he won’t give up on you now that he’s claimed you. You think wolves can be territorial when it comes to their mates, you haven’t seen anything. He’ll destroy this whole mountain.”

“I know. But I can’t go. You have to leave without me.”

He recoiled as if I’d hit him. “I’m not leaving you behind.”

“You have to,” I whispered. “The dragon—he’s crazy. There’s no stopping him. And Mick is bringing him here tomorrow to set up a fight between the two of you. He’ll kill you.”

“No, he won’t.” He paced, practically brushing against me as he walked past again and again. “You’re my mate, Jane. My heart.”

“I know.” The tears were falling harder, the burn in my eyes too painful to see past. “But Mick wants two dragons in the ring, and he won’t stop until he gets it.”

“Fuck Mick and what he wants. Let me take you out of here. We can run someplace where this dragon won’t find us. I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”

“He has my father.”

Piers froze, his eyes wide. “What?”

“My dad knew Mick for years. They were friends, but Mick never told him about his wolf side. He told me when I was accepted into medical school. Said he would pay for my education if I kept his secret and learned to treat his kind. And I did, for years. But one day, Mick and I were arguing at his house about the ethics of using mating pheromones without telling those exposed. I should have known it then, but I didn’t put two and two together. I didn’t know his plans.”

“Jane—”

“Mick was really angry because I kept shooting down his ideas with arguments about ethics, and my dad showed up just as he shifted. He had a heart attack, and the second one caused two strokes. He’s in a nursing home nearby. I was a mess of fear and guilt when everything happened, and I still trusted Mick to care for his friend. He promised me he’d take care of everything.” Jane paused, shaking her head and sobbing into her hands. “I signed over my rights as my dad’s only living relative. Mick has the power of attorney for his estate and makes all his medical decisions. He lets me visit once every two weeks, but that’s it. He holds my father over my head, guilting me into staying with him. I can’t move my dad without him finding out, and he’d never let my dad go, so I can’t leave.”

Piers sighed, looking up at the sky for a long moment. “If you stay, then I stay. I’m
not
leaving you behind.”

I grabbed his arm and tugged, desperation making me bold. “If you stay, Saern will kill you. There’s nothing human about him anymore. He’s all beast, all animal. And as strong as you are, I’m not sure you would walk out of the ring in a fight against him.”

Piers stood stock-still, staring down at me. But I could see the thoughts flashing in his eyes; I knew he was thinking things over.

“So Mick’s bringing this dragon tomorrow?”

I nodded.

Piers licked his lips. “Then I’ve got a little less than twenty-four hours.”

“Good,” I said, sagging in relief. One down. Piers would be safe from Saern.

“I’m going to need your help with this, though.”

“For what?”

“To break your father out of the nursing home.”

I blinked. Blinked again. My brain not able to form words for what had to be a solid minute. “You can’t. Mick won’t let you take him.”

He shrugged. “So I’ll kill Mick.”

W
alking away
from Jane so we could sneak back into The Pack House was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. I wanted her safe, I wanted to protect her, I wanted her by my side. But that wasn’t possible yet. Not until I made my plan happen. Jane was against me killing Mick, a fact that didn’t surprise me in the least, but I couldn’t see another way around it. Mick had to go so Jane and her dad could be safe. Dragons dealt in death every day. This was a no-brainer.

Speaking of dragons…
shit
. A dragon in the area was bad news; a dragon having taken a bite out of Jane to claim her as his mate was the worst news possible. He wouldn’t hurt her intentionally, but if she refused him, he’d probably lash out. Dragons weren’t known for their patience or calm demeanors. We were killers, beasts of the skies, and we took what we wanted when we wanted it. I had those same instincts, but I’d been taught to control them. To let my human side lead. This fucker hadn’t, and that made me want to find him and burn him down for daring to think of Jane as an object he could claim ownership over. I’d have to deal with him, too.

I managed to avoid running into another person until I was literally outside my bedroom door. That’s when my luck ran out. Beadan turned the corner just as my hand landed on the knob. Normally, I would have called out a greeting, but I knew I still smelled like Jane. Like our coupling. And I knew Beadan would be able to detect it without much effort.

The two of us locked eyes for the briefest of moments. He raised his hand, looking as if he was going to say something. But his smile faltered as he sniffed, his brow furrowing. He sniffed a second time, and my stomach plummeted. Fucking wolves and their noses.

Beadan growled as if I’d fucked his sister or something. “Mick’s gonna kill you.”

I stood taller, not caring what Mick might do. “She’s my mate.”

“I thought you dragons didn’t mate.” His honest curiosity made me pause. Dragon lore was sparse and purposely seeded with untruths. But wolf lore was well-known. They had fated mates, their love was practically instant, and they defended those bonds to the death. Something I could understand. Something he and I probably had in common.

“Yeah, well, we do. We just get to choose our mates instead of dealing with what fate gives us.” I stood taller, my chin up and my gaze hard. “And my dragon and I choose Jane.”

He shrugged, huffing a sarcastic laugh. “Probably not going to matter much to Mick.”

“She chooses us, too.”

Beadan paused, staring into my eyes, not blinking. Weighing my words carefully. I held his gaze, reinforcing my truth.

A smile grew across his face, one filled with a happiness I had never seen from him. “Well, then, congrats, man. I’m happy you two found each other. She’s always been kind to me.”

“She is kind—and also tough as nails.” I turned the knob, ready to escape, but I could never forget where I was or how this place worked. Especially not who was in charge. “Please don’t say anything. We need to figure out what to do before we can really be together.”

Beadan nodded, still smiling. “No worries, though you’d better hit the showers and quick. We’ve got a meeting in the arena in ten.”

A trickle of fear weaved its way around my spine. “Meeting? For what?”

“New fighter.” He shrugged, casual. Not knowing the full story yet. But he would. There was no way this meeting was about just another fighter.

“Who called the meeting?” I asked, squeezing the door handle until I felt the metal ball pop.

“Fuck if I know. I’m just the messenger.”

He strolled down the hallway, his steps relaxed. A man without a care in the world, heading off to do what his bosses told him to. I envied him that.

“Spray yourself with the disinfectant shit they keep in the cleaning closet before you shower,” he hollered over his shoulder. “It’ll help hide the smell.”

And then he was gone. I hurried into my room to grab fresh clothes and strip out of my current ones. No sense risking anyone smelling Doc on me after the shower. Within eight minutes, I was sprayed, showered, and basically free of all memories of my time with Jane. Something that made both my dragon and me unhappy. I wanted to bask in her scent, not wash it away.

“Humans are fickle,” Mick called to the crowd of fighters and trainers spread out across the bleacher benches as I hurried into the arena. “They want rougher fights, more action, always needing the next great thing. Our own Tidal has brought in tremendous revenue due to his overwhelming fighting style, but even that seems to have slackened. We must invigorate the spectators. And I think I’ve figured out how.”

Jane wasn’t with him, a fact I found troubling. I searched the crowd for her to no avail. Only the other fighters and the training staff were present. Not even the two owners who partnered with Mick were there. This was his show, his decision. One I’d make sure he regretted.

Mick’s eyes met mine for the briefest of moments, his smile making my blood run colder. “If I could get the good doctor to bring out our latest addition…”

I growled as Jane walked out from the back hallway with a man at her side. Her body looked stiff, her posture screaming how uncomfortable she felt. He, on the other hand, strolled in as if he owned the place. As if he weren’t walking into a room filled with predators. And that told me all I needed to know. This was the other dragon shifter Mick had found. His dark jeans and black T-shirt outlined his muscled form, more bulky than lithe. He’d be a larger dragon than mine when he shifted, a different breed perhaps. There were many of us across the lands, some more dangerous than others. But really, that didn’t matter. If he put a hand on my mate, he was dead. I’d make sure of it, no matter how big he was.

Jane tried to step away from the man, but he called her back. Wagging a finger in her face as if she were a naughty child. I rubbed my hand over my arm as my scales appeared, my dragon wanting to come out to defend our mate. But I couldn’t—not yet. Jane needed our mating to be kept secret until we dealt with her father. Which meant I needed to stay calm.

“Meet our newest fighter, Midnight.” Mick held one hand out in the direction of the man. The crowd clapped halfheartedly in response as Midnight slinked into the ring, the other fighters not impressed. “All you wolves can sit back and relax, though. Midnight will be paired with Tidal for his first fight.”

Jane caught my stare, her eyes worried. Mick, meanwhile, was still smiling like a predator. Thinking he’d gotten one over on me. That he’d bested a dragon. A fact that almost made me laugh.

If I didn’t get the chance, Midnight would certainly prove to him how wrong he was.

“I hope you’ve been training hard, Tidal.” Mick moved to the side, giving the other dragon shifter a straight eyeline to me. “You’ve beaten all my wolves, but I’m not sure how you’ll do against one of your own.”

Midnight’s eyes met mine, and my dragon roared. Motherfucker, Mick really was stupid enough to bring him into a warehouse full of wolf shifters. That was like bringing a wild animal into a preschool. None of these shifters had any idea how dangerous the man standing next to my mate was.

But I did, and I didn’t like it.

I stood, ready to race down there, but the man called Midnight cocked his head. Watching me. Edging closer to Jane. Staring me down as he extended his arm. At first, I wasn’t sure what he was doing, but then I saw Jane jump and I reacted on instinct. I was in the ring in a blink, the world a rainbow as my eyesight sharpened into my dragon sight.

“If you want to keep that hand, you’ll take it off her ass.”

Midnight smirked. “You think you can best me, tadpole? I’m not like these puppies you’ve been fighting.”

I moved closer, boxing him in, dropping my voice so he’d hear the threat. “I know exactly what you’re like.”

“I doubt that,” he hissed, leaning right into my space. He was a good thirty pounds heavier than I was but a few inches shorter. Not that height and weight would matter much if he shifted. And he would. Dragons—true dragons raised in the conclaves—were unable to stay human for long. They were too beastly, too beholden to their inner animals. Too out of control to go unnoticed in human society.

Keeping my eyes on his, refusing to let that particular challenge drop, I reached for Jane’s hand. She gave it to me with ease, gripping my fingers with her own. My lips turned up at one corner as Midnight’s arrogant mask cracked, a smirk fighting its way free. Midnight’s eye twitched, and his jaw clamped tighter. Trying to control his instinctual reaction. This was a silent war for Jane, but where Midnight would probably just take her and demand she obey as his animal side wanted him to do, I was more human. I gave her the choice—come with me or not; it was up to her. And she came, so I pulled her gently behind me, using my body to shield hers. Protecting what I saw as mine. What I knew Midnight would want to take away from me.

“You’ll regret that,” he said with a growl.

“She chooses me.”

He laughed, a growly rumble that sounded all wrong. “Silly child. You think I care what she chooses?”

“Oh, I know you don’t care.” I grinned as he smirked, letting him think he won. But then, “And that’s why you’ll never have her. Because you thought you could rule her. But Jane’s her own person, and you can never truly enjoy her body without allowing her to decide when to give it to you.”

I leaned forward, murmuring close to his ear. “And she’s already given it to me. I’ve got the bite mark to prove it.”

Midnight hissed, looking like a man about to lose control of his rage. I pushed Jane farther back, wanting her out of the way in case he shifted. In case he sparked up.

In case he tried to burn this place down.

“Now, now,” Mick interrupted, stepping between us. Oblivious to the danger at his back. “Let’s keep things civil. You can have your dick-measuring contest in the ring tomorrow night.”

“Don’t think so,” I said, keeping my eyes on Midnight’s. His smirk had kicked up, had turned into an almost mad grin. His eyes were dark, his pupils long and slitlike. No longer human eyes. He was losing control.

As scales appeared along Midnight’s hairline, I pushed Jane back farther, wanting to tell her to run. But I couldn’t look away from the other dragon. One second of distraction, and he’d be on me. Or worse, be on Jane.

Midnight must have noticed my move to protect Jane because his smile dimmed, his lip curling. “You’ll really regret
that
.”

Mick chuckled, though his bravado seemed quieter, less certain. “Gentlemen, I’m going to ask you to please separate and sit down.”

“No,” Midnight said, not even looking his way. “We are not your paltry wolves. We do not bow to your timing and rules. Do we, child?”

When I didn’t answer him directly, Midnight leaned forward, hissing as he murmured to me just loud enough for Mick to hear. “I can smell you on her, tadpole. But it doesn’t matter. She’s my mate. My prize. I claimed her first—and she’s delicious.”