Mated to the Dragons Page 13

  “Promises, promises,” she replied, and he laughed even harder.

  “Once I have you alone with my brother, we’re going to fuck you good and hard; that way, you’ll never forget who masters your body, my queen,” he replied, and a shiver raced down her spine. He pulled her into a kiss and she moaned into his lips, his kiss devouring her as though he’d never be able to taste her again.

  Her heart pulsed in her chest.

  Her men had come to save her, her husbands, her kings.

  Closing her eyes, she thanked God for their arrival, that they had been able to find her when she thought all was lost. Turning, she watched as Draego breathed icy fire into the sky, freezing the tiny water droplets up high in the air. Tiny snowflakes drifted to the ground and she shivered with the cool breeze.

  Draego flew up into the air and slammed back down onto the stage. The weak wooden structure groaned and collapsed beneath his weight. His belly glowed with blue fire, same as his furious cerulean eyes, traveling between his scales like veins of ice. Steam billowed from his nostrils and he growled with anger, the sound rumbling the very earth beneath them.

  Overhead, the sun beat down, yet the wind blew cold around them, Draego’s very presence cooling everything around them. It was as if winter had come.

  Screams echoed as journalists and attendees fled, including even the team that vowed to protect her. They had seemingly disappeared. Before long, no one remained in the square, and not a human was in sight, other than her and her father.

  An alarm whirred to life, piercing and shrill to the tune of a police cruiser and she cringed. It was only a matter of time before Ramsey retaliated and destroyed all that she held dear. They had to run and they had to run now.

  “We have to get out of here, they’ll be sending the army, the entire space battalion here to attack you and take me back. We have to run,” she shrieked and Bruddis nodded in agreement. “Father. Draego will take you. Don’t be afraid,” she said, and her father looked at her in both astonishment and abject terror. She laid a hand on his chest. “I’ll explain everything when we’re somewhere safe. Climb on Draego’s back. Bruddis here will take me.”

  He nodded, his warm green eyes searching hers, trusting in her.

  “I love you, Father,” she whispered.

  “I love you, Jada. You’ve always made me proud,” he replied, and she smiled, despite the danger they were all in.

  “Thank you. That means the world to me,” she replied softly.

  Bruddis didn’t give her a chance to say another word as he shifted. She could feel his massive form beside her and didn’t hesitate in throwing herself up and over his shoulders. His body was hot, not cool like Draego’s, burning up from the inside out with his flames of fire. The two of them roared and her heart stopped at the sound of their fury.

  Taking off into the air, they soared into the sky until the ground was nothing more than a speck down far below. Her father screamed with glee intermingled with alarm beside her and she giggled into Bruddis’ neck.

  Her father had always been a fair man, a risk taker who wasn’t afraid to gamble in order to further his career and to care for his family. He’d always treated her with love and care and she adored him for it.

  She’d had a happy childhood, complete with special memories of birthdays, of visits to the zoo. She had wanted for nothing, at least until the stock market crashed and her family’s savings had disappeared into nothingness.

  Her father’s connection had landed her a job in the president’s office.

  Biting her lip, she pushed away her memories of the past and looked out into the sky as they hurtled toward what looked like a small island off the coast. A single mountain with tall cliffs and a dark, sandy beach awaited them. The wind gusted around her body and her hair whipped around her shoulders, but the exhilaration beating through her limbs warmed her completely.

  She could feel Bruddis humming with electricity beneath her.

  He dove toward the island and landed on the side of a rocky outcrop, Draego not far behind him. The two of them shifted back into human form and she threw her arms around them. Away from the people who had held her captive, she felt like she could finally breathe a small sigh of relief.

  “You both came for me,” she breathed.

  “Of course, we came for you. Draegira needs her queen,” Draego growled, gripping her chin and kissing her with a mastery that only he could muster. When he finally broke away, he stared into her eyes, his icy blue irises studying hers intensely.

  “And we need our wife,” Bruddis added behind them.

  She shivered, her body aching for them.

  “Let’s get out of sight until we can formulate a plan to return to our ship,” Bruddis said softly, breaking the moment with his warning.

  Her father pointed out a potential shelter and the four of them ventured into a rocky cave in the side of the cliffs. When they were all safely inside, she remembered that even though she was safe with her men, this ordeal still wasn’t over.

  “Father, President Ramsey still has Mother. They’re going to hurt her now that I’m gone. They’ll do whatever it takes to get me back in their clutches,” she whispered, and he stiffened beside her.

  Draego and Bruddis exchanged a look and leaned against the rock behind them.

  “Why don’t you tell us everything, little human,” Bruddis coaxed. “Why did they take you from us?”

  Sitting down on a nearby rock, she hung her head and hid her face in her hands.

  Wearily, she began from the very beginning, starting with how she had discovered Ramsey’s treachery, how she was going to expose him for what he was and how they had framed her for murder. She told them everything and openly sobbed as she confessed.

  By the time she had finished, it felt like the world had been lifted off her chest. Her men looked at her, studying her face, weighing the truth of her words.

  Bruddis broke the tension by laughing out loud.

  “So, our little warrior, not so much a warrior after all,” he smirked, and she couldn’t help but laugh softly along with him.

  “No. I never killed anyone,” she whispered.

  “The fire shaman deemed her a warrior, so that’s all the confirmation I need,” Draego added. “She was fated to be ours.”

  “You believe me?” she hazarded, too exhausted to believe her good fortune.

  “Of course we do, my queen. We’re just sorry we didn’t believe you from the start,” Draego said. He pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to her forehead.

  Bruddis wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the top of her head.

  “We love you, little human. No matter what happens, you’re ours. We protect what’s ours,” Bruddis said softly.

  “This is the future you’ve chosen, Jada,” her father said into the depths of the cave and she pulled away from her men for a short moment.

  “Yes, Father,” she replied, unable to keep herself from smiling in return.

  She introduced them formally then and the three men exchanged hearty handshakes.

  “You’ll take care of my daughter,” her father said fiercely, and she had to suppress a giggle as even her courageous dragon shifter husbands cowered back under her father’s glare.

  “She is our wife and our queen. There is no greater honor in our world,” both men replied together, pounding their fists to their chests.

  “Father, I choose them. I am theirs, their fated bride,” she added. “They make me happier than I’ve ever been.”

  Her father simply nodded, accepting her choice.

  “What are we going to do about my mother?” she said quietly.

  The three men stilled.

  “They kept her deep underground. We have to save her,” she replied, her weariness slowly being replaced by fear for her mother’s well-being.

  The brothers met each other’s eyes. She knew what they were thinking. They were weighing the options of taking her now and disappearing from Earth
forever. She couldn’t allow that to happen. Her mother didn’t deserve it.

  “No. I’m not leaving without her. They’ll kill her,” she said fiercely, daring them to defy her. She wasn’t going to back down from this fight, no matter what they did.

  Draego raised his eyebrow at her.

  “I demand it. I won’t go anywhere until we rescue her,” she said, lifting her chin in defiance. Her chest rose and fell with her courage. On this, she would not waver.

  “Your wish is our command, my queen,” Bruddis answered and she breathed a small sigh of relief. His jaw tensed and a certain fierceness passed over his features, enough so that she shivered at the effect of it.

  “So be it,” Draego said gruffly. He glanced at her and she saw his eyes light up with the promise of conquest. Deep in thought, he ran his fingers across the stubble on his chin.

  “Do either of you have something of hers? Something she’s touched? Worn?” Bruddis asked, looking grim, but determined.

  “I do,” her father replied. He pulled a small scarf from his pocket. “She was wearing it when I last saw her. She grew warm and asked me to carry it for her.”

  Bruddis took it and lifted it to his nose. Draego did the same.

  “We will find her,” Draego replied.

  “I’m coming with you,” she demanded.

  “No,” the two of them said together, their tone firm and unwavering.

  “I’ve been where they took me. I remember the hallways, what floor they took her to. You need me. I won’t take no for an answer,” she argued, tensing as they stared back at her. On this, she would not falter. Their dark eyes studied her intensely and her bottom tensed. Were they alone, she had no doubt that they would have spanked her for her bold words. In fact, she would bet that once this was all over, she’d probably be dancing over their knees, bare assed and bottom up. Her pussy clenched at the thought, before she pushed it away.

  “If for no other reason, I aim to make President Ramsey pay for what he’s done to be. He deserves to be ruined for what he’s done, for what he’s forced on me and my family, for hurting my mother. I want him to die,” she declared firmly.

  “Little warrior indeed,” Draego smirked.

  Looking back at her father, she smiled softly.

  “You stay here. We’ll return with Mom and then we’ll leave this forsaken planet for good. I can’t wait to show you all of Draegira. It’s beautiful. You’ll love it as much as I do,” she said softly.

  He nodded, tears shining unshed in his eyes.

  “Be safe. Protect her,” he replied.

  “On our honor,” her men answered.

  Draego walked forward and pressed something into her hand. Looking down, she realized it was a gun, but it didn’t originate from Earth. It wasn’t the sort of gun that took bullets, that much she could tell.

  “Point it where you want to hit and pull the trigger. It’ll do the job of destroying whatever you need it to,” he said softly and she nodded, taking the gun and pushing it in the waistband of her pants, against her low back. The iron was hard, unyielding and powerful against her skin.

  “Thank you,” she whispered and he nodded.

  “Keep yourself safe and alive, no matter what,” he replied, while Bruddis looked on in approval.

  “Let’s go then,” she said.

  The three of them then tore out of the cave, leaving her father behind. They shifted beside her and the very air shook with their power. This time, she pulled herself up next to Draego’s scales and climbed up on his back, the coolness of his skin comforting as adrenaline pumped through her veins.

  Draego tore off into the sky, back toward the city and back to where her mother was being held. He soared over tall buildings, flying low and scouring the Earth for her mother’s scent. Behind them, Bruddis followed until he roared with excitement, having caught the thrill of the hunt and her mother’s scent.

  Soaring through the clouds, she held on tight to Draego as he ruthlessly cut through the air. She could see the White House below and knew they were close, knew it was a just a matter of time before they found her mother.

  A gunshot echoed around them and she gasped, the breath in her lungs forced out in a single whoosh.

  Shit.

  They were under attack.

  She felt Draego rumble beneath her, his growl so fierce and heavy that it made her entire body vibrate. Biting her lip, she turned around so she could see what was coming.

  Lifting her head, she looked up in horror, seeing several thousand heavily fortified ships floating in the sky, guns directed toward them without mercy, and without remorse.

  They were going to kill them.

  “It’s Ramsey. He must have brought reinforcements, the entire cavalry,” she yelled and Draego snarled in response. He whirled around in the sky, his wings cutting through the air with ease. Bruddis bellowed with his displeasure beside them, the sound reverberating around them for miles.

  The world seemed to draw quiet then. The silence echoed around them and her heartbeat pounded loud in her ears.

  One central ship slowly drew forward, its front glass window large enough so that she could peer right in. Closer and closer it crept, until she made out two figures at the helm, waiting for her. Gasping audibly, her stomach dropped to her toes and she screamed out loud.

  President Ramsey had a gun pressed to the side of her mother’s head.

  Seeing her felt like a punch directly to her chest. Ramsey stared right at her, meeting her eyes and smiling gleefully. A sickening feeling passed over her. He pointed down toward the ground and she knew what he wanted.

  He wanted her surrender. He was ordering her to stand down, to stop whatever it was her dragons were about to do. He was leaving her with little choice. He was going to kill her mom.

  Tears threatened to pour from her eyes. Her defeat felt imminent and terrible, all at the same time. How could it all have gone so wrong, so fast?

  “Draego, he has my mother. He wants us to land. If I know him, he wants to talk, to negotiate my surrender,” she yelled out into the air and Draego rumbled angrily in response. Leaning forward, she pressed her forehead to the scales on his throat.

  “Please,” she begged, “she’s my mother, Draego. Please.”

  Draego hovered in the air for a long moment before he gradually maneuvered toward the ground, slowly floating downward until his talons scraped into the dirt beneath. Bruddis followed behind them, his growls sounding just as furious.

  The ship carrying her mother and the president drifted down to the grassy knoll ahead of them, its landing gear emerging with a resounding hiss. A door slid open on the side of the ship and her mother emerged, followed closely by Ramsey at her back. He had his left arm around her shoulders, holding her back to his chest and a gun pressed to her neck with his right.

  Her mother was terrified, her chestnut brown hair tangled and mussed, drifting in the wind. The bruise on her eye had darkened and Jada could see various marks on her upper arms from being handled roughly. Her lip had split and she trembled before her.

  In horror, she stared at her mother before tearing her vision back to Ramsey.

  She wanted to kill him, fucking slit his throat.

  Bastard.

  Tensing, she lifted her chin and pressed her teeth together, and vowed that Ramsey would not make it to the end of the day. It was time for her to take back her power; after all, she had dragons. Ramsey most certainly did not.

  “Miss Rivers, glad to see you again. I see you’ve brought your own reinforcements, as have I,” he called out and both dragons drew in angry rattling breaths beside her.

  Ramsey continued, warning still abundantly clear in his gravelly, sickening voice.

  “I must order you to stand down. My troops are under explicit orders to not allow you to leave Earth’s air space, no matter the cost. The three of you won’t survive if you try to escape. Your only choice is to surrender to me,” he said.

  Her dragons seethed beside he
r, one glowing ice blue, the other red hot.

  Looking from side to side, she had little doubt that her men would never surrender. They wouldn’t risk her life solely for the purpose of saving her mother. Bruddis turned his massive head toward her, his eyes burgundy red and ripe with fury.

  Draego rumbled beside them.

  It seemed like the entire world tensed in that moment. More guns were drawn, the hydraulic lasers of the thousands of ships in the sky moving to take aim at them, the widening of Ramsey’s eyes as he stared him down. It was though planet Earth was waiting on bated breath, waiting for what the aliens did next.

  Jada met her mother’s eyes, seeing sadness there, fear, but also a quiet power and courage that hadn’t been there a moment before.

  She took a deep breath, and figured she should start the negotiations first, take the upper hand before he did.

  “President Ramsey, I’m afraid we have much to talk about before we offer any sort of surrender. You see, my dragons here beside me are very protective of me and hate it very much when outside forces try to take me away from them,” she began, turning toward Bruddis and placing a hand on his scales. Looking up, she met his eyes, trying her best to send the message for them to trust her.

  She looked around at the ships flying through the air and grinned, recognizing one little fact that Ramsey probably wasn’t even aware of.

  “I’ve happened to notice that the main brunt of your force is terrestrial ships only, and not meant to survive in the harshness of deep space, am I right?”

  Ramsey narrowed his eyes and faltered, once he realized the implications of her words.

  Reaching out, she placed her palms on both her dragons at the same time.

  “Bruddis, Draego, why don’t you show President Ramsey why this single fact is important?” she commanded and the wind hurtled around her, ripping her hair upward as her dragons drew in a deep breath beside her.

  The ground trembled.

  Fire and ice burst forward from her dragons, hurtling toward the two ships closest to them. Flames and a freezing frost engulfed the small silver vessels, and instantly, the two dropped from the air, unequipped with defense shields meant to guard from a dragon’s breath. Nothing on Earth was meant to fight a dragon. Only the most technologically advanced shields stood a chance.