Claws (Shifter Rescue 2) (7 page)

He heard his brother’s roar, and then Az again, icy gas pouring from his dragon, freezing one of the men where he stood. Drill pushed his worry for his dragon away -- Az was clearly helping, and he had a hunch they were going to need everyone they had. He called back to his brother Drongo, asking for assistance as he went for the throat of the next man he saw.

He could hear Az -- hell, people in the next province could hear him, the sound ringing out. Angry and fierce. It made him proud.

For a few moments it seemed as if there was an unending rush of men, but soon he and Az were joined by other wolves, a bear and even a big cat. Now they outnumbered the men and the odds increased every time one of them took another man down.

Az froze the last one standing, the blue scales almost white. Drill roared, nose in the air as he sniffed, making sure there was no other wrong smell.

“Keeper!” Az was shaking, anger and fear and exhaustion pouring from him.

Drill shifted and went to Az, wrapping around his now white, ice-cold dragon. “I have you, Az. You’re okay. We stopped them.”

“We did.” That was Drongo, now in human form and advancing on them. “Who the hell were they and is that a dragon?”

Az growled low, snapped his teeth together. “Do not speak in that manner to my keeper!” Someone was pissed off.

Drill saw Drongo’s back go ramrod straight, and it was all he could do not to roll his eyes at his older brother.

“Relax, Drongo. Az is with me. Az, this is my brother Drongo. Drongo, this is Az. My dragon.”

Drongo’s jaw sort of dropped open and a murmur went up among the shifters who had come to their aid and were now milling around as very naked humans.

“Dragon? Did he say dragon?”

“Dragons aren’t real. What is this?”

“That can’t be a dragon.”

Az went still and silent, almost like a piece of marble.

Keeping his arm around Az, Drill pulled his dragon closer. “Yes. Az is a dragon. He’s my dragon. These men we killed were here to take him and sell him into slavery. But Az has every right that the rest of us expect as our due.”

“We need to talk, brother.” Drongo growled the words out.

“We do.” They did. Clearly security was going to need to be beefed up. Some things were more important. “In the morning. Az needs me.”

“Someone needs to get this mess cleaned up. Bones, Turk -- take care of it. Pirou? Get the cleaning crew up here.”

“Is the pool room okay?” Drill asked Az. All the action had been out here.

Az nodded and headed for the bathroom. Through the open door, Drill saw Az sliding in without waiting for him. Ice began to form around his dragon almost immediately.

“Okay, everybody. I’m going to go make sure my sub is okay. Please keep this under your hat. I’m sure Drongo and Pirou will figure out how to handle this. You --” He pointed at his brother. “-- I’ll speak to in the morning.”

Drongo growled, snapped his teeth together. Drill curled his own lips up over his teeth. His brother didn’t scare him. At least not much.

“In. The. Morning.” He shoved everyone out and closed the door, locked it. Then he went to the bathroom to check on his dragon.

Az moved lazily in the pool, the ice getting thicker and thicker.

“Az? Are you okay? What’s happening with the water?”

“Keeper.” The single word was sighed.

“I’m right here, Az. I told you I’d keep you safe and I have.” He’d proven himself worthy. With the help of the other shifters who called the Old Tavern Club home. Slavers would think twice about coming back.

“You did.” Az moved to the edge of the pool, totally encased in ice. “I’m sorry.”

Drill reached out and touched. His dragon was so cold. “For what? Are you okay? Is this normal? This touching turning everything into ice thing.”

“I’ve never done it so much,” Az said, teeth chattering.

“Is it from blasting our attackers with your ice? From being angry?”

“Yes, keeper.” Az was bright white now, still.

“How do I warm you up again?” Not that Az was ever really warm, but this was ridiculously cold.

Az looked at him, stared into him like the secrets of the universe were right there. Leaning in, he kissed Az, ignoring how cold Az was; he would warm his dragon up. He pulled the ice away, drawing Az up out of the water. He repressed a shiver. His dragon needed his strength.

There was a shower, just small, but the hot water in there would help. At least it couldn’t hurt. He carried Az to the shower, turning it on as hot as he could stand. Then he let the water flow over them as he kissed Az, pressing his tongue into the cold depths of his dragon’s mouth.

The blue began to return, his dragon warming. Oh, thank goodness. He’d been pretty worried.

He kept kissing, tongue playing with Az’s, and Az finally began to respond, so slowly. Relief flooded through him, the whole thing finally catching up to him, and he clung to his dragon.

“Keeper. Keeper, bed?” Az asked.

“Yeah. Are you warm enough?” That had been scary.

“Please, Keeper. Be your bear-wolf with me.”

“My pleasure, Az.”

He got them out of the shower and dried off. Then he shifted back into his bear-wolf self and went to the nest of pillows and covers where they’d been when this whole thing had started.

They’d fought the bad guys off, though. He’d protected his dragon and he would do it again.

They settled together, curling beneath blankets and atop pillows, sharing warmth. Drill licked at Az’s scales, moving over every part of his dragon, sniffing for injuries, sore spots. They’d darted him, but they were expecting a wolf, not a bear and his fur was thick enough it hadn’t penetrated, had only pissed him off. And it seemed that Az’s scales had protected him.

“No, Keeper. You protected me.”

How had Az known that was what he was thinking? It must have been some magic of his being Az’s keeper. Az nuzzled his fur, eyes closing. Drill nuzzled back, licked another scale or two. Az chirruped for him, singing softly. He growled softly, responding. They were safe, both of them together.

Az relaxed, melted into him. All was right with his world. He rumbled, let his eyes close.

* * *

His keeper was with his brother, and Az called Pirou as soon as Drill left. He needed help.

Pirou was there in moments. “Az, dearest. Are you okay?”

He nodded, keeping his wings folded, trying to be so polite. “I need a favor, please. I need you to help me disappear. Can you do that?”

“Pardon me?”

“I have put my keeper in danger. The others know about me and if I go away, then they will forget.” No one believed in dragons anymore anyway, and he was blue. A blue dragon.

“It isn’t safe out there for you, Az.”

“It isn’t safe for me to be here for my keeper. Just… Can I go to the basement and be very quiet? Tell my keeper that I left?” He didn’t know what to do.

“Oh, Az, I think you should talk to Drill about this.”

“Talk to Drill about what?”

Az spun around, eyes wide. His keeper was there, looking at him expectantly.

Pirou shook his head. “Talk to your Master, Az. Please. Let him help you.”

Traitor.

“Thank you, Pirou. Could we have some privacy, please?” Drill asked.

“Absolutely. Please don’t be angry at me, Az.” Pirou patted him gently.

Az growled, but ducked his head. It wasn’t fair. He was trying so hard to protect his keeper.

When Pirou had gone, Drill came over to him, sat with him. “So what is it you need to talk to me about, my dragon?”

Az couldn’t look at Drill. “I’m going to go away, Keeper. It’s not safe for you and… and I didn’t keep quiet.”

“You are not!” Drill growled. “You’re my dragon and I forbid it. You will not leave.”

“But…” Az wasn’t doing this for himself, it was for Drill.

“But what? Am I not your keeper?”

“You are. My own keeper and I am your own dragon.” There was no disputing that.

“Then we need to be together,” Drill insisted.

“But I brought the slavers and everyone saw me and I froze them.”

“Well, freezing the slavers was a really good thing. And the cat’s out of the bag now -- you going won’t change that,” Drill pointed out.

“They would forget about me.”

“No, they would not. You are a beautiful, sexy, amazing dragon. People won’t forget you.”

“So I can stay?” He wanted to. His keeper was the whole world.

“You have to stay. I’m here, so you have to be as well.”

“I’m sorry that they came and that dragons are real, Keeper.” Az didn’t want to cause trouble, especially for his keeper.

“Oh, Az. I am so glad that dragons are real. I can’t imagine my life without you. As for the assholes who broke in -- that’s on them, not you.” His keeper held him close, held him tight.

Az cuddled in, leaning hard so he could listen to the pounding of Drill’s strong heart.

“I soothed things over with my brother. Drongo was angry at the men who’d invaded his club more than at me. And his biggest beef with me was that I hadn’t told him.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll be so quiet and small.” He could do that -- he could.

“Don’t you dare. You are my dragon. You are beautiful and stunning and special. You are not quiet and small and I don’t want you to be.”

“No, Keeper?”

“No. I know I said we needed to keep you hidden, but I forgot for a moment that everyone at the club is different. This is a place where we are free of the judgments of the outside world. And the men who tried to take you might not have gotten as far as they did if Drongo had known, had been able to set up security to keep you safe.” Drill said the words like he was repeating what had been said to him. “They’re going to make some changes to overall security and to our rooms in particular, so it should be safer for you here. I did keep you safe, though. I am the right keeper for you.”

“Of course you are!” That had never been a question.

“Then no trying to leave, Az. You know that if I’m your keeper, you belong with me, no matter what -- you’re the one who taught me that.”

Az nodded. “I felt bad that I brought them to you.” He didn’t want to be the reason why his keeper was hurt.

His keeper shook his head. “You did nothing.”

“No? They came for me.”

“But that’s not your fault,” Drill insisted.

He wasn’t sure that was possible. If they hadn’t wanted him, they wouldn’t have come.

“Az.” His keeper growled the word, only continuing when he looked up at Drill. “You are my heart. I feel your happy song inside me and it gives me joy. That is all you need to worry about. Happiness, joy, our bond.”

Oh. Oh, his own keeper. His wings fluttered, and he trilled, the sound building inside him.

Drill beamed at him. “I feel your song inside me, Az. I feel your joy.”

“My joy. Pirou told me to talk to my keeper and you would know what to do.”

“He was right. You knew that’s what you must do, too. Don’t let outside influences change your heart, Az. You know we’re together as we should be.” Drill held him close.

“For always.” Az swore it.

“Yes my dragon. Forever.”

He could hear a song inside his keeper, meeting and matching his own, making it complete.

A home. A pool. Berries. His own keeper. What a very lucky dragon he was.

A dragon with a place.

A dragon with a home of his own.

Writing under S. Michael for Het Ménage and Sean for signature M/M titles, Sean Michael leads a classic double life.

Often referred to as “Space Cowboy” and “Gangsta of Love” while still striving for the moniker of “Maurice,” Sean Michael spends days surfing, smutting, organizing an immense gourd collection and fantasizing about one day retiring on a small secluded island peopled entirely by horseshoe crabs.

While collecting vast amounts of vintage gay pulp novels and mood rings, Sean whiles away the hours between dropping the f-bomb and perusing the Kama Sutra by channeling the long lost spirit of John Wayne and singing along with the soundtrack to “Chicago.”

A long-time writer of complicated haiku, currently Sean is attempting to learn the advanced arts of plate spinning and soap carving sex toys.

Barring any of that? Sean’ll stick with writing stories, thanks, and rubbing pretty bodies together to see if they spark. You can write to Sean at
[email protected]
, or visit his websites. For Sean Michael’s M/M works, see
www.seanmichaelwrites.com
. For Sean’s adventures into the HET world as S. Michael, see
www.seanmichaelwrites.com/smichaelbooks.html
.