Charming the Alphas (Hex My Heart, #5) (6 page)

The second male paused half a second before continuing. “You can dissect our existence en route. Or nae—”

“We get it,” Lucian cut in. “From the way the ley lines are jumping all over the place we don’t have long before the High Council finds her. And us.”

Knuckles caressed the underside of her chin. “Mara, baby girl, please open your beautiful brown eyes for us. You gotta wake up now.” Zane’s lips brushed against her ear and cut through the torrid flood of images of what it meant if the High Council did find them, and Zane’s sweet touch anchored her. Glue fastened her eyelids closed and it seemed the harder she tried to move the more her body resisted. A prisoner in her own body, she had to trust her men to take care of her.

Cold seeped into her bones and skimmed along her exposed skin. Energy pooled around them a split second before a thunderous noise overwhelmed her. Bone or branches—she couldn’t tell—cracked and moaned. Unable to move, her senses kicked into overdrive.

Loud crunching from heavy footfalls in the fresh snow hit her eardrums. Pine scent tickled her nose followed by a hint of smoke. No. Cinder. Cinder and something exotic. A small memory came to mind. Wind kicked up a flurry of ice to pelt her face and erased the scent.

“No fucking way. We have to ride YOU?” Zane roared out, his tension rolling over her.

Ride whom?

Hades on fire, why couldn’t she get control of herself? This was supposed to be her night, the night she regained control, and right now she had none. If the High Council stood in front of her, nothing would keep the anger filling her veins from lashing out and giving them a dose of their own medicine. Barbaric, callous, bullies, the whole lot of them.

“That’s it, Mara, fight it.”

What? What did she do? Lucian coaxed her closer from the fringes of her darkened world with soothing words and a soft touch to her cheek. Slits of light hit her eyeballs and she flinched from the sudden assault. Wait. Was she doing that? Rockets of energy shot through her. Maybe, just maybe... First a groan, and then a roar ripped from her parched throat. Slow, rhythmic beats quickly picked up until her heart hit top speed. Muscles bunched and her back stiffened, but her throat hurt the most.

Every swallow was like shooting back fireballs cooked in the pit of Hades. Finally, her eyes fully opened. Lances of moonlight stabbed her eyes. She blinked several times before the ache subsided. That’s when she saw them. Midnight came to life and it had the slitted eyes of a dragon. Moonlight brushed against black scales to create iridescent shimmers of light. As if he harnessed the powers of the Northern Lights. Or maybe he
was
the ribbons of colorful lights? “Where do your clothes go when you shift?” She couldn’t say the question consumed her thoughts. It did strike her as odd not to see piles of clothing thrown aside like her wolf shifters, though.

“Ye see a two-century-old DraegonStone and that’s yer first question, witch?” The dragon still in human form piped up with a look of amusement to his eyes. She could use a little of that right now when things looked so bleak.

Brow arched in question, Marabelle shrugged with a smile. The man standing beside the dragon bowed his head, but she caught the little flick of a smile before he turned away and strode across her yard to a clearing between the pines. Weak but happy to be breathing, she tightened her arms around Lucian’s neck and inhaled long and slow. “I missed you,” she whispered for his ears only. “You and Zane.”

Turning her head, she gave a shrug in answer to the stranger. “Seems fair given my current clothing situation, or lack of.” Marabelle held up the flimsy material of the small blanket wrapped around her.

“Let me help with that.” Zane stripped off his jacket and wrapped the warmed leather and fleece material over her exposed chest. Slowly, he leaned in and pressed warm lips to hers. Every emotion she had ever felt for the man rushed her. She opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything. She could only fall under the allure of his red rimmed eyes.

Hands pressed against her mouth, Marabelle angled her head to look between Zane and Lucian. “I’m sorry, so so sorry,” she whispered. “I...” Her voice cut out. She’d almost lost them and wasn’t that worth a few words? “I didn’t mean to scare you. Either of you.” She held out a hand to Zane and his large, warm hand engulfed hers.

“There will be more time for that later. We all have a lot to discuss.” Zane’s gaze shot to her neck. Odd. She brushed a hand over the sore area and flinched.

“Like he said, Mara, a lot has happened in the last day, hell, the last hour. Let us get you safe and then it’s all cards on the table.”

She agreed.

Metallic-tinged ley lines danced above them in the night sky and she didn’t like what that meant. Humans called them northern lights while otherworldlies knew them as the magick grid that crisscrossed the earth. When they radiated with this much intensity in her world, it meant a powerful warlock drew on the powers. From the zing of static along her skin, she’d say they had her location pinned and were closing in. Fast.

Shit.
“Uh, guys, we gotta fly... like right now.”

“Got it.” Zane shot Lucian a look and then both turned to the dragons. “Looks like we might get a proper send off after all.”

She’d never considered herself the nervous kind, then again, she’d never pissed off someone with enough magick in their little pinky to burn her at the stake with a flick of their wrist. Energy rolled along the winter night. Shadows shifted to reveal an ice blue dragon. Both dragons raised their wings and stretched their massive bodies until their snouts glanced across the heavens from her angle. Both let loose a bellow that fed into the ground with the strength of what she imagined would be Thor’s hammer. Obsidian dipped his head, shoulder, until his massive body lay across the quickly mounting snow in dark contrast.

Wood splintered from a nearby tree and exploded, catching Lucian and her dead center with fragments.

“Again!” This so needed to stop happening to her. “What is it with the fireballs?”

Arms wrapped around her tight, Lucian shot her a glance and at this proximity she couldn’t miss the
what the fuck do you mean
gleam in his eyes. “You’ll explain later.”

Yeah, she read that loud and clear.
Way to go, Mara
.

“Och, get on.”
Her thoughts slammed in reverse and left burn tracks a mile long. What the hell...? A deep brogue resounded in her head again, this time with a lot more ire.

“Witch, I’m nae takin’ another fireball for ye. Get on!”

Her eyeballs grew wide and her gaze shot to the midnight scaled dragon.
You’re kidding me!

Fierce growls tore from Lucian’s throat as power rolled along his body and fed into her as if he’d hooked car wires up to her metaphysical battery pack. If he’d been in protection mode earlier, that shoved him into to def con KILL mode now.

Zane moved in closer, his eyes darting from one side of the surrounding trees to the other.

“Get her outta here, now!”

The force to shift rolled over their bodies and pulled something to life within her. How else could she explain the full body glow? She looked like one of those freaking glow worm nightlights. She flung back the coat and looked down the length of her body. Starting from the center, with every pulse of her heart a new wave of light rippled from her center into her extremities. Or what she could see of them. Not cool. Lit up like a flashing neon sign, Marabelle hunched into the tightest ball she could muster in Lucian’s grip.

Lucian flashed a glance her way and he looked as bewildered as she felt. “Fuck. Zane, cover her!”

Zane flanked her on one side while Obsidian did his best to position himself between them and the tree line. Lucian shielded her with his massive shoulders, but it only made the golden light shine brighter.

“Time out!” She threw her hands up to form a T. “What,” Her voice cracked. “What the freaking heck is going on?” Fear had a way of taking the reins. Heat flushed along her skin and Lucian’s grew taut under her touch. His wolf sensed her freaking out. If she didn’t calm down, fur, scales and magickal fireballs would clash tonight with no predictable outcome.

“Fight it, Lucian. Look at me.” Blue-crimson eyes roamed over her face and she momentarily forgot to breathe. When did that happen? And what did it mean? His eyes had been brown when she’d left for work this morning and now...

A guttural growl worked up his chest and he struggled with his wolf. Everything in her told her the wolves were no match for the elder she sensed hidden beneath the bowing pine branches. Their beady little eyes probably tracked their every move.

“He’s here.” Still holding her gaze, he spoke to Zane over his shoulder. Lucian didn’t bother with who
he
was, but Zane apparently understood. Rage darkened their features as their attention turned fully toward a shadowed area of the forest off to their left. Her men wanted blood. She could read it from the way they postured their shoulders and braced for a fight.

“You go with her. I’ll handle this.” Zane’s muscles bunched and rolled beneath his flimsy T-shirt as he moved away from them and her hand shot out. Deep down she knew if she let go, there was a good possibility she’d never see him again.
Not gonna happen.
If she didn’t get to die, neither did he.

Fatigue weighed heavy and her breath quickened. Her fingers tightened. Fear fed her the strength to make it this far, but even that wasn’t strong enough anymore. Her grasp slipped.

“We...” she flipped a finger to encompass all three of them, “...all have to go.” Lucian gave a curt nod and lunged toward Obsidian, who was still reeling from the magick ball. If a dragon could have a pissed off face, he wore it well.

Ye goin’ to stand around and play dodge ball all night? It’s now or nae, witch!
Her gaze met the amethyst eyes of the dragon.
Aye, thought I sensed the dragon in ye. Ye father was right.

Wait. He knew her father? Her father knew dragons? Thousands of questions hit her and before one could roll off her tongue, more golden orbs slammed into the ground, surrounding trees, and one into the side of Obsidian who answered with a bellow, dislodging Lucian footing. They fell forward and Lucian tucked her close, rolling sideways to take the brunt of the impact. Covered in snow, Zane scooped her up and called out over his shoulder to Lucian, his voice drowned out by the wail of orbs that hailed down on their position.

“Got her.”

Okay. Later she’d freak about how exactly she could hear dragon voices in her head. If they survived.

Quickly Zane placed a foot on Obsidian’s extended leg and hauled himself up with her in tow. Straddled over the ridge and arms anchored around his neck, she glanced sideways to find Zane’s once coffee-colored eyes now crimson red with shafts of ice blue too. Her brows pinched. How long had she been out? Were they mated? A hand went to her neck.

“No baby girl, we’re not mated. Fully, anyway. We’ll explain everything later.”

Sounded good. Lucian hauled ass to the white dragon and made quick work of securing himself. Wings flared open. The power she felt in them, around them, seeped into her bones as much as the winter air did. Several thunderous beats kicked up a thick shield of snow, and they were already past the treetops as night enveloped them into its hold. Weak, she relaxed into Zane’s hold and let him pull her closer. Wind brushed through the tips of her hair and stung the sensitive skin of her cheeks. His heat chased away the worst of the cold. Face buried against his chest, she closed her eyes and focused on his strong, steady heartbeat against her ear.

Mountains rushed them moments before Obsidian’s dragon angled his body and glided them over smaller peaks. Werewolves and witches with a handful more of otherworldlies had come out to the human world. Dragons not so much. Guess that little secret wouldn’t fit back into the shadows after tonight.

A small voice reared in the back of her mind. The mess left behind wouldn’t go away and the High Council would want answers. Sweet Briar Hollow was a small town but that only gave the Royals a stronger hold over all the witches. Maybe—eventually—the shifter kind as well. That placed her sisters in danger in a way she’d never predicted.

She rubbed her hand up her chest. Nothing could ward off the pain that tore into her. Moans slipped out and she clutched at her stomach. Lights burst behind her eyelids. The glow that had died down somewhere in between the High Council’s attack and their rushed takeoff flared up again. She cracked an eye and raised her hand. What had she done here tonight? And why were there dragons helping them?

“You’re safe, Mara.” She smiled up at Zane.

Were they? Honestly, she wasn’t too sure. She’d invited trouble to their doorstep with her spellwork and for what? Her magick hadn’t returned. No familiar pull on Mother Nature or energy crackling and waiting to do her bidding.

“How much farther?” Zane’s chest vibrated beneath her touch as he called to Obsidian. He tightened his hold on her and leaned in closer. Any more and she wouldn’t know where she ended and he began. Maybe that was his plan.

The dragon made a sound of frustration that came out like a gurgled sigh.
Impatient wolf.

She cracked a small smile. Despite the pain, Marabelle laughed at the frustration the dragon had for Zane’s worry. “He’s a little cranky.”

Zane’s voice went low. “What do you mean, baby girl?”

“Didn’t you hear him?” ARGH! Another slash caught her across the chest as if it wanted to rip out her still pumping heart.

Lassie, he doesn’t know ye can hear me
.
And I know ye can, so stop trying to ignore me.
Amazement mixed with awe and had the dragon’s head rearing around to catch a glimpse of her before he tucked his wings and took them through a gap between two rock walls.

“
Not ignoring. Who could ignore the two-ton dragon in the sky?
She mentally challenged him.

“Who are you talking to, Mara.” Zane looked at her expectantly.

Rumbled laughter filled her head, not her ears.