Surrendering to the Dragon (Stonefire British Dragons Book 7) (21 page)

Aaron and the others walked for about ten minutes before their attendant stopped in front of a large, castle-looking structure. The large glass windows were dark, but he heard a few faint whispers from the inside. Maybe the clan was gathered in what he assumed was Glenlough’s great hall.

The Irish dragonman finally spoke up again. “Say nothing until you meet Killian. If you try, then my orders are to toss you off our land and ban Stonefire from ever returning.”

Following orders from a stranger wasn’t something Aaron usually did. But in this case, an entire clan’s existence might be on the line, so he merely nodded in acknowledgement.

“Right, then let’s go,” the Irish male said.

They entered via a small side door and walked down one corridor and then another before heading down a flight of stairs. The sounds of people talking grew louder.
Was everyone underground?

The Irish dragonman opened a door and said to another dragon-shifter on the other side, “They’re here.”

The door opened wide and Aaron caught a glimpse of the edge of a crowd. As he followed their guide into the room, the merriment died down to a hushed cacophony of whispers.

There had to be at least 400 dragon-shifters in their human forms, ranging from babies to the elderly. If not for the lilting accent and Celtic designs painted on the walls around murals depicting Glenlough’s history, the crowd didn’t look all that different from Stonefire.

A walkway opened up and Aaron looked toward the front. Killian O’Shea’s dark-haired form stood on a raised dais at the end of the cleared pathway, his arms crossed over his chest.

The male couldn’t be more than his late thirties, but his assessing eyes reminded him of Bram. Maybe a piercing gaze was required to become clan leader.

Although, unlike Bram, Aaron wasn’t so sure that Killian had a sense of humor.

Aaron was instructed to stop in front of the dais. Gritting his teeth, he looked up to meet Killian’s green eyes. The bastard finally spoke up. “You’re late.”

“There aren’t exactly road signs telling me how to get here. Not even the sat-nav was entirely sure of this location.”

At his side, Quinn spoke up. “Although we’re honored to be welcomed onto your clan’s lands.”

Killian’s gaze moved to Quinn. “At least one of you has some manners.” Aaron was tempted to retort, but Killian’s voice cut him off. “Regardless, Bennett has vouched for you. That has granted you at least a meeting with Glenlough’s leader.” He motioned and Bennett came to Killian’s side. “Show them to the meeting room. I’ll join you shortly.”

Nodding, Bennett descended the stairs to the main floor and motioned with his head. “This way.”

Only because the entire Irish clan’s survival could hinge on this meeting did Aaron keep his mouth shut. The one thing he’d enjoyed in Italy had been the freedom to say what he wanted, whenever he wanted, even to the clan leader. The Italian dragon clans hated anything other than complete honesty. The leader of the Irish clan, however, wasn’t above talking about himself in the third person.

His dragon spoke up.
But we’re not in Italy anymore.

Believe me, I know.

Bennett finally opened a door and guided them into a windowless room no more than twelve feet by twelve feet. The instant Bennett shut the door, Aaron spoke again. “What was the point of walking us through the clan if Killian wanted to discuss matters in private?”

Bennett shrugged. “He wanted to show your faces to the clan. They have to be cautious here, especially in light of recent news.”

“Speaking of which, will he listen? He barely said two words to Bram beyond agreeing to this meeting.”

Bennett lowered his voice. “He’s a tough bastard to read. But he cares for his clan. I’ll vouch for that. If there’s a threat, he’ll do whatever it takes to quash it.”

Before Aaron could ask another question, the door opened. Killian walked into the room, followed by a female with the same dark hair and green eyes.
 

His dragon spoke up.
She is pretty.

And more than off limits.

Maybe if there’s a celebration, we can chat her up.

Don’t start, dragon.

The female’s pupils flashed as well, but her face remained stoic as she took a seat next to Killian. Taking that as a cue to follow suit, Aaron signaled his people to also sit down.

Once everyone settled around the conference table, the Irish female was the first to speak. “Are you still allies with Clan Northcastle?”

Aaron half-expected for Killian to castigate the female for speaking out of turn. But all the Irish leader did was nod. “Answer her.”

“We’re neither allies nor enemies. Stonefire hasn’t had any contact with the Northern Irish clan since the 1970s.” And because Aaron couldn’t help himself, he added quickly, “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

The corner of the female’s mouth ticked up. “Of course. Don’t underestimate us just because we’re not the almighty Clan Stonefire.”

“And yet you assume we’re liars?” Aaron asked as he raised his brows.

The female shrugged. “You can never be too careful with the English, be it human or dragon-shifter.”

Killian chimed in. “Enough, Teagan.”

His beast spoke up again.
Teagan. The name suits her. I bet she’s feisty when she relaxes.

We don’t have time to flirt. Leave it.

As his dragon pouted in the back of his mind, Aaron looked between Killian and Teagan. There was definitely a resemblance. “I’m Aaron Caruso and this is Quinn, Brenna, and Sebastian.” He pointed to Killian. “You’re Killian O’Shea.” He pointed to Teagan. “And you’re Teagan who?”

She smirked. “O’Shea. If you haven’t figured that out already, then you need to go back for more training, Aaron Caruso.”

He kept expecting Killian to say something, but the male remained silent. Aaron’s confusion must have shown on his face because Teagan’s voice filled the room again. “If you’re waiting for my brother to tell me to shut it, you’ll be waiting quite a while.”

Aaron frowned. “Females are free to speak their minds. But usually in a meeting of importance, the clan leader does the talking.”

Teagan leaned forward. “Ah, but you see, the clan leader is speaking.”

“What are you talking about?”

Teagan gestured around. “Welcome to my clan, Aaron Caruso. I hope a female leader won’t change your plans.”

He pointed his forefinger. “You’re Glenlough’s clan leader.”

Teagan tossed her long, dark hair over her shoulder. Aaron’s eyes darted to her bared neck, but quickly caught himself as she answered, “The one and only.” She assessed him a second before adding, “If you even think of challenging me to a contest, stop. I’ve bested every male in my clan. I’m sure an English dragon-shifter wouldn’t stand a chance.”

His beast spoke up.
Intriguing. A female leader. I want to know more.

Ignoring his dragon, Aaron growled. “Not that it matters, but I’m half Italian.”

Teagan’s smile widened. “That should make it even easier to defeat you.”

Aaron clenched the fingers of one hand under the table. Maybe someday he would get the chance to challenge Teagan and wipe the smile off her face. For the present, there were more important issues. “Getting back on topic, why did you deceive us? Bram certainly won’t like that.”

Teagan leaned back in her chair. “It’s common practice for Glenlough to have a female leader. However, we’ve learned the hard way that if it’s made public knowledge, our enemies perceive us as vulnerable and attack more often. So, a male is always publicly named as leader. If anyone does attack, it works well because the fake leader named is always one of our best Protectors and is an excellent decoy.”

Aaron’s estimation of Glenlough went up a few notches.
 

He shot a look to Bennett, but the Stonefire male shrugged. “I was sworn to secrecy.”

Looking back to Teagan, he murmured, “Clever female.”

“I’m clever, Aaron Caruso, but also strategic. If you want to leave Glenlough and share our secret with your clan leader, then convince me you’re here sincerely and why you give a damn about whether we survive a dragon hunter attack or not.”

“How do we know you won’t turn on us? After all, you’ve lied to us once. It’s possible you’ll do it again.”

Killian finally spoke again. “We’ve seen footage of what the dragon hunters and Dragon Knights have done over in England and Scotland. Regardless of the past, we mourn the loss of your clan members. No one wants the same to happen here.”

Aaron studied Killian. His dragon chimed in.
I think he’s sincere.
 

I wish his sister would be more levelheaded.

I know you stared at her neck and lips. Maybe she would be more levelheaded if she wasn’t thinking of us in a different situation with far fewer clothes.

What the bloody hell are you going on about?

I think we should kiss her.

Oh, no. No, no, no. I don’t even want to chance my fate to HER.

His beast sniffed.
But she’s interesting.

And that’s the end of that.

The female in question’s voice filled the room. “I’m curious what your dragon is saying to you.”

Meeting Teagan’s moss green eyes, he absolutely refused to admit they were striking. “He was just telling me that Killian seems sincere.”

She raised one thin, dark eyebrow. “And what about me?”

“You don’t want to know.”

Teagan barked out a laugh. “I know how that goes.” Her face turned serious once more. “Now, let’s try this again. What’s your true purpose in wanting to help us?”

Refusing to think how Teagan’s dragon might be thinking of him naked, Aaron answered, “There are two reasons. The first is Stonefire is always looking for new alliances.”

“And the second?” Teagan asked.

“We’d do anything to deny the hunter bastards a win. Even if it means driving a bloody car across the island when flying would be more efficient.”

Teagan shared a glance with her brother before looking back to Aaron. “Then you and your team will be working with Killian for the next few days.”

“And what about you?”

“As much as I know you love my company, I have a few other important matters to attend to.” Teagan stood. “I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

The Irish female turned and walked out of the room. Despite every reason he shouldn’t, Aaron couldn’t help but stare at her arse as she swayed her hips. He liked her confidence.

His dragon chuckled.
Just wait.

Trying to figure out what to say to that, Killian cleared his throat. “That is my sister you’re staring at, Caruso. Keep at it, and I’ll toss you into one of the holding cells.”

He met Killan’s gaze. “No need to go to such extremes. Let’s get to business. The sooner we prevent the hunters from attacking, the sooner you’ll be rid of us.”

As Killian shared what he knew of any intruders in the area, Aaron’s mind wandered to the female clan leader. The female had secrets; he was sure of it. But he wasn’t sure if he wanted to figure them out or run the hell away before his dragon had other ideas.

When his beast sat smugly in silence, Aaron focused on his hatred of the dragon hunters. He would focus all of his energy on the enemy. The sooner he was back on Stonefire, the better.

Chapter Eighteen

Five days later, Rafe was curled up next to Nikki’s warm dragonhide when he heard a rustle outside the tent. Keeping still, he cracked his eyes to see who was there. While no one else had attacked in the days since Nikki was injured, he wasn’t taking any chances.

But as the early dawn outlined Dr. Sid’s tall form, Rafe relaxed, opened his eyes, and sat up. Nikki rustled beside him.

Sid flipped on the single light bulb hanging from the center of the tent and moved to Nikki’s injured wing. “As impatient as you’ve been, I figured I would check on you before my other patients. Otherwise, Rafe here would pester me with calls and text messages until I did.”

He frowned. “I haven’t pestered you. You said to report any concerns. So I did.”

Shaking her head, Sid carefully removed the bandage on Nikki’s wound. “Are you sure you’re human and not part dragon-shifter?”

“Why do people keep asking me that?” he muttered. Nikki met his gaze and amusement danced in her eyes. He gave a playful shove. “Until you are completely healed, you can’t say anything. That was our agreement.”

She gave a toothy grin.

He gently patted Nikki’s hide. As much as he loved her dragon form, he missed talking with her. Sure, he’d kept her up-to-date with what little information had come in about Ireland from Aaron, but he wanted more than a listening ear; he wanted Nikki’s input, suggestions, analysis, and even her teasing. Hell, he even missed her arguments.
 

However, being restricted to her dragon form had to be much harder for Nikki. After all, she’d been stuck here while a Stonefire contingent had met with Killian O’Shea. He only hoped Dr. Sid gave Nikki the all clear to shift after the current examination. Aaron was due back later in the afternoon, and Rafe wanted her to be a part of the debriefing session.

Sid peered closer at Nikki’s wing. A few seconds passed, and Rafe couldn’t keep quiet anymore. “Well?”

The doctor merely raised her brows. “That tone isn’t going to make me work any faster, Rafe Hartley.”

He growled, but Nikki wrapped her tail around his middle to keep him in place.

Carefully packing her medical bag up, Sid didn’t speak again until she was finished. “While I can’t clear you for duty yet, I think your wing has healed enough to shift back. I’ll give you a half-hour of privacy whilst I check on another patient. Then I’ll be back to do an examination of your human form and to ensure everything is fine with your pregnancy.” Sid looked to Rafe. “You need to remove her splint before she shifts.”

He shared a glance with Nikki and then nodded. “I will.”

“Good. Thirty minutes and no more. Keep that in mind because I’ll interrupt whatever you may be doing at the time.”

As much as Rafe wanted to pull Nikki’s naked human form against him and claim her, he wanted to hear her voice first.