"Miss me?" Vito chuckled darkly, his voice, a low, guttural rumble, sliced through the memory, draggingme back to the suffocating present. His figure, predatory and menacing, moved closer, the gun glinting dully in the dimly lit room, cold and heavy in his grip.
His finger caressed the trigger, a lover's touch that promised nothing but destruction.
I couldn't move, couldn't breathe—frozen by the malignant intent in his gaze. Then, disorder erupted. The back door burst open with such force it rebounded off the wall. Vito spun, confusion etching his features for a split second before a blur of motion slammed his body.
The gunshot echoed, a thunderclap in the confined space. I squealed, instinct driving me to the floor with my arms thrown over my head as if I could ward off death itself. The metallic taste of fear flooded my mouth.
"Get down." The stranger's command was superfluous. I was already sprawled on the ground, heart racing a marathon.
Risking a glance, I saw Vito's crumpled form, the stranger standing over him, broad-shouldered and emanating a palpable ferocity. I scrambled up, inching toward where the gun skittered across the floor. With a swift kick, I sent it clattering under a cabinet, far from Vito's lifeless fingers.
"Is he...?" I couldn't finish the question. My gaze locked on thestranger's face.
"Don't worry, he can't shoot it. He's dead." The voice was a rich baritone, soothing yet laced with power. I staggered back, my pulse erratic. That voice—it resonated with an elemental timbre I'd heard once before, in what I'd convinced myself was a hallucination. It belonged to the dragon of my drug-induced delirium—or so I had told myself. Yet here he was, flesh and blood, standing before me.
Chapter 5
Ashton
Fucking hell.What a mess. I stood over the dead body as my chest heaved with fury. I want to bring him back so I can make his death slower and more painful.
Taking a deep, calming breath, I turned to my mate.
"Sorry." The word was gravel against my tongue. "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Ashton."
Her emerald eyes flickered with recognition. She heard my voice before when I was something far more fearsome than a man. I'd intentionally let her hear it. Not the brightest idea, in retrospect.
Her lips quivered as she tried to speak, her voice a mere whisper among the shadows that danced aroundus. "Erin."
Erin. The name seared into my soul like a brand. It took every ounce of restraint not to reach out, to pull her close and claim those trembling lips with my own. This wasn't the time, not with the dead asshole at our feet.
"I used to live in Stock Creek. Came back to, er, settle in again." More like to find her. My gaze lingered on Erin, taking in her pale skin and the fiery cascade of red hair that framed her face. She was the last bit of calm in a world gone mad, and I wanted nothing more than to envelop her in my strength.
"So, yeah, I'm looking to rent a room." I hoped to ground her, to give her something tangible to focus on besides the lifeless body behind me. "Indefinitely."
What I really wanted was to hoist her up and carry her away from all this darkness—to my home, where I could watch over her, protect her from whatever nightmare had followed her to Stock Creek. That wasn't how things worked in the human world. Here, I had to choose my words carefully, offering truths that didn't reveal too much.
"Got a lot of catching up to do." I gave her a half-truth that wouldn't send her running for the hills—or worse, straight into danger's arms. Erin eyed me cautiously, but beneath the fear, there was something else. A spark of curiosity? Hope? I couldn't be sure, but it was enough to keep me talking, to keep her here with me just a little longer.
The tremor in her voice betrayed the fear that clung to her like a second skin. I could feel every ounce of Erin's terror as if it were my own, an emotion I had not fully experienced since I was a hatchling, the first time I saw my father fight in an alpha challenge. As alpha of a large clan of dragons, he constantly dealt with challenges from alphas who wanted his position. That was the way of the dragons, and the main reason I was no longer in a big clan.
Yet, here in this quaint inn, with the scent of blood and death lingering in the air, I found myself inexplicably drawn to her fragile human strength.
"It's been a while since I'd been to Stock Creek." I wove threads of nostalgia into my words, hoping to anchor her to the present. "Ten years changes things, but the soul of the town remains."
Every century the curse on my species was sent to slumber, I’d wake after a decade to see changes in the town. Time always marched on, and the town’s population changed. New faces filled the streets, replacing those who’d died or departed, transforming its character. But those of my ilk, other shifters and witches remained.
It always took me a moment or two to orient myself, though my sister, Aurelia kept the cave stocked with clothes, food and the latest technology and normally she’d be there to greet me. Which reminded me, I’d woken early this time, the faint scent caught my attentionagain and I looked back up at the woman who’d pulled me from my cursed sleep. My mate.
Erin's green eyes flickered with a momentary distraction from her fear as she listened. Her breaths came slower, less erratic, as she listened to my words. For an instant, the bond between us she was yet unaware of seemed to ease her turmoil. As her gaze inadvertently slid past my shoulder, the horror struck her anew, and a sharp gasp cut through the stillness of the room.
I caught her arm gently and guided her away, steering us both toward the living room, where the plush couches and heavy curtains promised a reprieve from the gruesome scene. The mundane question slipped from my lips before I could consider its weight. "Do you have any guests at the moment?"
"Guests?" Her voice faltered, then steadied. "No, the last one checked out this morning. My assistant is in her apartment. In the basement." Confusion marred her brow as she pondered my inquiry. "She probably didn't hear anything. She always wears headphones when she's working on homework."
"Headphones," I said neutrally, though inside, I raged against the carelessness that left Erin exposed to danger. "You should tell her what's happened. It's not safe for either of you to be alone right now."
She searched my face, seeking reassurance or perhaps permission, and I nodded encouragingly. She went tothe kitchen. Presumably, the basement was through there. I had the primal urge to follow, to shield her from all the shadows that lurked behind closed doors. There were calls to make and actions to take—for Erin and the town.
