Chapter 27
Dylan
My arms were trembling slightly as I dragged the dragon shifter into the bathroom. The woman had been strong, uncomfortably so. It had taken every last drop of my strength to wrench her away from Amara. Thanks to Hunter, she was now putty in my arms, but that split second of resistance from her had already taken a lot out of me. It was terrifying, knowing just how powerful the dragon shifters could be.
But the woman was struggling weakly after Hunter’s sharp words, her breath coming in short gasps. I hauled the shifter into the corner of the small, dimly lit room, and bound her hands behind her back with my belt. It probably wasn’t enough to hold her for long, but it would have to do. She hissed as I stepped back, placing myself between her and Amara.
Jordan and River arrived moments later, slipping into the bathroom with an air of quiet authority. Jordan’s presence was like a storm gathering on the horizon, calm, but with an undercurrent of danger that promised swift action if provoked. River, for once a silent sentinel, stood by the door, her gaze sharp and watchful.
Hunter followed close behind, her expression more severe than usual. There was a certain darkness in her eyes that I had come to recognize. Hunter’s powers were usually subtle, relying more on slight coercion rather than sheer force of will. But occasionally, she pushed harder. And when she did, there was no room for mercy.
“Talk,” Jordan demanded, her voice low as she stepped forward, her eyes boring into the disorientated shifter. “Why are you here, and what does Don Leone have to do with it?”
The woman remained defiant, her lips pressed into a thin line as she refused to meet her gaze.
I could see the tension in her body, the way her muscles tightened as she fought against the invisible force that was Hunter’s coercion. But Hunter pressed on unabated, her powers like a vice tightening around the shifter’s will. She took a step closer, her voice a soft whisper that seemed to snake its way into the trembling shifter’s mind.
“You can’t resist forever,” Hunter murmured, her eyes narrowing as she concentrated. “You might as well make it easier on yourself.”
The woman’s breath hitched, and for a moment, I thought she might break. But then she clenched her jaw and shook her head, her resolve wavering but still intact.
Jordan wasn’t willing to wait though. “Who sent you?” she demanded, her tone sharp as a blade. “Why are you working for Don?”
Silence hung in the air, thick and heavy. I felt a small, warm hand curl around my own and glanced down to find Amara staring in silent horror at the interrogation. I pulled her closer, wrapping a protective arm around her waist.
When the woman stayed silent, Hunter’s eyes flashed, and she doubled down.
“Talk,” she said again, her voice laced with ominous power. The dragon shifter shuddered, her eyes wide as she tried to fight back. But there was no use in resisting Hunter when she was like this. I could almost see her influence, digging deeper into the shifter’s mind, prying at the cracks in her defenses.
Finally, with a gasp, the shifter’s resistance crumbled.
“Oksana!” She slumped against the wall, breath ragged and voice rasping. “My name is Oksana.”
Hunter seemed worse for wear too, and she leaned in the doorway with a fatigued groan. The dragon shifter eyed her with naked resentment before turning those burning black pupils on Jordan.
“And yes.” Her words were laced with bitterness as she spat out the confession. “I’m working for Don.”
The confession hung in the air, a bitter truth that tasted like ash in my mouth. I glanced at Amara, who blinked up at me with glazed eyes. We had suspected something like this, but hearing it confirmed was another matter entirely.
“How did he know?” Jordan stepped forward, her voice a menacing whisper. “How did he know about us?”
Oksana hesitated, but Jordan’s gaze was unforgiving, and the shifter had no fight left in her. “He... he had his people conducting raids on Leyore turf,” she admitted, thick accent and husky throat hazing her words. “He thought he was raiding a van full of narcotics, but instead, he found blood. That’s when he started snooping around, piecing things together.”
Jordan’s eyes darkened, her voice tight, and I could see the anger simmering beneath her calm exterior. “And how did he know about your kind?”
Oksana’s expression was one of resignation, and her lips curled into a bitter mockery of a smile. “He has contacts in Russia. He was there not long ago – to secure arms deals or something. I’m not sure on the details… But that’s when he learned of us. Our leader thought Don would make a useful ally. But we revealed too much.”
“What did he do?” I asked, blank faced and cold.
Oksana’s eyes filled with a deep, painful regret. “He stole what was most precious to us.”
A fragmented memory floated through my mind, sending me back to the day I’d followed this woman into Don’s club. I’d been thrown off by the threat to Amara’s life, but what else had she said that day…
“An egg?” it came to me suddenly, and Oksana’s gaze snapped up the moment the words left my lips.
“A dragon shifter’s egg.” Her words were whispered, steeped in sorrow. “New life, a hundred years in the making.”
Her face was pained when she continued and Amara’s grip on me tightened. “Don is nothing more than a man, but with our legacy in his grasp, we’re powerless to deny him. We followed him here, and we’ve been at his beck and call ever since. All in the hopes that he will return what he took from us.”
I knew enough about dragon shifters to understand the melancholy that rolled off her in waves. Dragon shifters were ancient, long living, near immortal. But they rarely bore children. One in a thousand years was what I had heard. And Don had ripped it away from them.
“Why?” Jordan’s tone was clipped, but even she was visibly shaken by Oksana’s words. “Why did he steal it? What was this all for?”
“He... he wanted you to kill Amara. To invoke your coven’s rules.” Oksana turned watery eyes on me. “Knowing that Jordan wouldn’t let you die, he planned to propose a duel between Jordan and a champion of his choice – one of us, to kill your leader and take the throne.”
The room fell into a heavy silence as Oksana’s words sank in. We were right on the money then. I felt a cold fury rising steadily in my chest, my fists clenching as I struggled to keep my emotions in check. This was Don’s plan all along, to manipulate us – all of us – to use us as pawns in his twisted game.
Jordan was the first to break the silence.
“If we get the egg back,” she began, her voice steady again, “will your people join our side? We can end this, Oksana.”
Oksana’s eyes narrowed, her expression hardening. “We cannot risk turning on Don. He has threatened to destroy the egg. We would sooner destroy ourselves if it means keeping our child safe.”
The room fell silent again and I glanced at Jordan, waiting for orders.
But before the redhead could speak, quietly, so quietly that I almost didn’t hear her even with heightened senses, Amara spoke up. “I think I know where it could be.”
My head snapped toward Amara, and the others turned to look at her too, disbelief etched on their faces. Oksana’s gaze locked onto Amara, suspicion and something else – desperation, maybe – flickering in her eyes.
“Don ordered me to kill you,” she said, her voice low and thick with her foreign accent. “And I would have to do it. I am compelled.”
She paused, a glimmer of resignation in her eyes. “Go, do what you must, before I am forced to follow through on his orders.”
I exchanged a quick, tense glance with Jordan, who nodded grimly.
“Go,” she said, her tone leaving no room for argument. “We’ll handle things here.”
Before she’d finished speaking, a guttural groan echoed from the doorway. I turned quickly, heart sinking when I saw Hunter standing there, her body contorting in mid-transformation. Behind her, Don loomed, a scowl twisting his lips, and in his hand, a perfume bottle.
Realizing what was happening, Jordan’s voice rang out, urgent and commanding. “Dylan, take Amara and run!”
I didn’t need to be told twice. But as I moved, Oksana, free from Hunter’s control, lunged toward Amara. With a swift, frantic kick, I sent the dragon shifter crashing into a cubicle. But Oksana was on her feet again in seconds.
I grabbed Amara’s hand and pulled her toward the door, adrenaline surging through my veins. Jordan and River tackled Hunter out of the way and I barreled straight toward Don. With all the force I could muster, I slammed the grinning man against the wall with my shoulder. His jaw snapped shut at the impact and the back of his skull hit the concrete with a satisfying crack.
But it wasn’t enough to kill him. As Hunter roared behind me, our eyes locked for a brief, furious moment. I saw the twisted satisfaction in his gaze, but there was no time for confrontation. I had to get Amara out of there.
We tore down the hallway, chaos and panic erupting behind us. The crowd screamed as Oksana, in pursuit, began a full transformation, dragon form bursting from her body like a geyser erupting. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Sky sprinting toward Oksana, pulling out a shimmering powder from her purse. She threw a handful at the shifter, who howled in pain as the powder settled on her scales.
But I didn’t stop to watch the aftermath. I tightened my grip on Amara’s hand, hauling her through the panicked crowd. We reached River’s banged-up Ranger just as Oksana let out a deafening roar behind us.
I fumbled for the keys, swiped from River’s pocket on the way out, and tossed Amara inside. She squeaked in surprise when her feet left the ground, and landed in a crumpled heap in the passenger seat. Unwilling to waste a moment glancing over my shoulder, I climbed in beside her and slammed the door shut, kicking the engine awake.
Oksana made contact the moment my foot touched the pedal, ramming into the Ranger like a sledgehammer. Amara screamed when the car fishtailed and I grappled with the steering wheel, propelling us over the sidewalk and narrowly dodging a streetlight in the process. I caught a glimpse of Oksana in the rearview mirror, jaw unhinged as she let out a thunderous roar. But we were ahead of her now, speeding into the night.
My knuckles were white where I gripped the steering wheel, foot pressing hard on the gas. The car shot down the dark street and the engine roared as we sped further from the chaos in our wake. My mind raced just as fast as the car, and the smell of burning rubber filled the interior when I took a corner too sharply, tires screeching against the pavement.
"Where the hell are we supposed to be going?!” I glanced over at Amara and saw that her gaze was locked on the road ahead, her expression distant.
Of course, she hadn’t heard me. I turned my eyes to the road just in time to see the curb rushing up to meet me and spun the wheel at the last second, making the car jolt violently. Amara’s head whipped around, and she glared at me.
“Sorry,” I muttered, though my heart was still racing. I ignored Amara’s disapproving frown at my reckless driving and tried again. Taking one hand off the wheel, I awkwardly attempted to sign the question. It was clumsy, but it was the best I could manage while steering with one hand.
"Where – are – we – going?"
Amara’s frown turned into one of alarm and she lunged forward to steady the wheel before shooting me another condemning glare. She pointed ahead and then gestured in the direction we needed to go.
“Hudson Valley,” she said, her voice strained. I could see the effort it took for her to speak, the way her lips moved carefully over each word.
“Okay…” I nodded, though I was still confused, tilting my head so she could read my lips. “What’s out there?”
Amara’s expression darkened, shadows flickering across her face in the dim light of the dashboard. She hesitated, her hands tightening in her lap. When she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. “My first home.”