Treasure Lane Dragons: Complete Series (BBW Paranormal Dragon Shapeshifter Romance) (33 page)

The men who had been standing in a half-circle in front of Cillian, closed in on him, and reluctantly, Cillian dragged his attention back to the enemies at hand.

It would be so easy to crush them all,
Cillian heard himself think, his dragon spinning pleasing images of destruction in his head.

Cillian agreed wholeheartedly, but resisted. To shift in the garage complex would mean bringing the whole place down in ashes, and he wasn’t sure if he could get to Ruby in time to protect her from the debris. It was the wolves’ luck that he was not out in the open, where he could have shifted easily and cooked them alive with dragon fire before they had a chance to pray to their forefathers for being such gigantic twats.

“No!” he heard Ruby’s sweet voice cry as heavy blows landed on him from all sides.

He wasn’t just fighting one or two men. They came from all directions, armed with chairs and batons and their rock-hard fists. But Cillian hardly felt the hits, barely noticed when something connected with his body or shoved him back or kicked him down. All he could feel was the urge to get to Ruby.

Pain didn’t matter. He kicked, punched and rained pain all around him, moving so fast that the werewolves could barely keep up as he dodged between them, bringing down one after another. In the background, the sound of the music was becoming overwhelmed by the moans of the ones he had left on the floor in uneven piles, groaning in pain – now that was music to his ears.

He burned all over, as if he had been shoved into a furnace and it had brought him alive. He’d never felt quite so powerful in his human form as he did now, his green eyes blazing gold and his lips constantly peeled back in a deathly snarl, with smoke rising from his nostrils and pluming from his mouth. The dragon was so close to the surface that sometimes he could almost feel parts of him shifting, becoming harder and stronger, though he kept himself back with what little humanity he had left.

After what seemed like an eternity, a loud voice screamed over the music and the speakers were quickly silenced.

“Stop!” Cable’s voice boomed, distinct with that low growl it carried.

Suddenly, there was no one to hit, no one to attack. Cillian stood in the middle of a circle of fallen bodies, looking like the bloodiest messiah known to man with his hair clinging to his face and his body soaked in sweat and the blood of him and his foes. He met Ruby’s eyes across the room and saw fear in them, and he wasn’t sure whether it was because of the situation or because of… him.

That sobered him up. He lowered his fists and stood up straight, rolling back his shoulders. He couldn’t will the demented eyes of gold to shift back to green – the dragon was too strong to be dragged back to dormancy. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted the dragon to back down just yet. Nothing was over, and he got the distinct feeling that the state of his body might fail him if it were left only to his human half.

“The fuck do you want?” Cable asked, surprisingly calm, considering that more than half of his pack was lying in pools of blood around Cillian’s feet.

“I want my mate back,” Cillian pressed through gritted teeth, every fiber of his body pulsing with rage.

“She’s my mate,” Cable spat back.

Cillian registered the look Ruby tossed both of them, her lips thinned into that line that immediately told him that his mate was not particularly amused by anything that was going on.

“I have it on good account that she isn’t,” Cillian hissed, the hairs on his neck standing up at the sound of his voice, full of ancient fury and ready to bring the world down around him in ashes if need be.

And he had no doubt he’d do just that. All of those old tales that had sounded like fables, speaking of the kind of white-hot rage that could make a dragon do impossible things, now made perfect sense. Cillian felt invincible, as if the combined force of all his forefathers flowed right into him. And just one look from Ruby could bring that sensation crashing down around his ankles – chilling, what love could do.

Cable’s hands were also balled into fists, and Cillian could almost taste how good it would feel to punch the werewolf’s lights out. Rationally, he knew that the man was just a little fish in a much bigger game that his brother had set in motion (it was obvious to him now that the only way Cable could have taken Ruby from him discreetly, was with Carrick’s involvement), but that wouldn’t stop Cillian from anything.

“How about both of you shut up and let me decide whose mate I am, huh?” Ruby said sternly, shaking Cillian from his revelry.

Cable looked at her in surprise, as if he’d realized for the first time that she was in the room at all. Ruby’s cheeks were lit with red, and absently, Cillian considered how much better she would look if that dress were green. Not that she didn’t look absolutely devastating as she stood, but still.

“Ruby, shut…” Cable started, receiving a look from the feisty redhead that could fell a tree and dry up the oceans of the world in one fast strike.

“No, you shut up,” she snarled, ripping her hand from Trident, who had been keeping a hold on both Ruby and a small chocolate-skinned beauty Cillian remembered seeing at The Rusty Nail.

“Both of you, I get it. You’re such big, scary shifters, and I’m supposed to stand aside while you two duke it out, but that’s not how we’re going to play it, okay?” Ruby said, and despite wanting nothing more than to make sure Cable wasn’t more than a bloody speck on the floor, Cillian listened.

“We’re going to go and talk about this, like the fucking grown-ups that we are, and if it still seems that the best way to solve this is to have one of you end up with all of your bones broken, then so be it. You hear me?” Ruby demanded, her hands on her hips like she was chiding two insubordinate toddlers.

Cillian couldn’t help but feel that she would make a great mother to dragons one day. He and Cable exchanged a look that could have been comical if it hadn’t been for the situation they were in, and with a mirrored shrug, they nodded their understanding.

“Good. Now, um, march!” Ruby said, obviously somewhat surprised that it had worked.

Cillian followed as Ruby led them out of the central room, escorted by surprised looks and confused murmurs mixed with heart wrenching howls of pain. Cillian didn’t hide the dark smirk that clung to his lips at the sound of the pain he had caused. It was joyless, but he couldn’t deny that it had relieved him a little of the barely controllable anger that had taken hold of him since figuring out Carrick’s plot.

Of course, seeing Ruby safe and sound had also played a big part in bringing forth a slightly calmer mindset. Trident had been hot on Cillian’s heels, and Cillian could smell the fear and distrust on the man. He was relieved when Cable told his second in command to stay outside, closing the door behind the three of them.

Fear was the last thing they needed between them. Fear could only lead to dumb decisions and, dragons above, there had been plenty of those going around lately.

“Now, could someone explain to me what the fuck you two think you’re doing?” Ruby asked, crossing her hands over her chest.

It took all Cillian had to not step up to her and kiss the anger right off her face.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Ruby

Ruby’s dress was smeared with blood that formed darker spots on the fabric, and her body was vibrating with adrenaline. Seeing Cillian was both such a relief and such a turn-on that it was hard to keep a cool head as she spoke. Though, witnessing him break through a pack of werewolves, each the size of a brick wall, had certainly sobered her a little. She hadn’t doubted the man’s strength and determination, but seeing him in full force was certainly a lot to take.

The golden eyes that stared back at her were a mix of the man and the dragon, both of whom she felt like she knew better than herself. It was a strange sensation, being so sure that she knew him inside and out without even having spent much time together, but there it was, absolute certainty. It felt liberating, in a way, knowing that what she was doing was for the right reasons and for the right man.

She took a deep breath before she started, making sure both of the men were watching her. She was going to fix this, somehow. She had to, if she wanted that happiness that had seemed so impossible to attain. Now that she knew exactly what she wanted, she would just need to make it happen.

That wasn’t so hard, right? One look at Cable, ready to pounce on Cillian at a moment’s notice, and Cillian still heaving, cut, injured and bloodied, told her that things weren’t anywhere near as easy. They were now standing in Cable’s makeshift bedroom, and Ruby felt a sense of déjà vu. It felt somehow fitting that she would try and figure things out at the same place where she’d made the commitment to go through with her plan in the first place.

„Enough is enough. I don’t want any more blood spilled because of me. Cable, what is it that you actually want from me? And don’t give me any bullshit about how I’m your true mate and whatever, I know that can’t be true or you wouldn’t be parading me around like a prized hog at the county fair in front of all your buddies and other gangs at the Nail.“

From the corner of her eye, she could see Cillian opening his mouth to say something, and before he could make a peep, she had shushed him with a raise of her hand. Dealing with one overblown ego was enough, she didn’t want to delve into the inner workings of a deranged dragon in one fell swoop as well. Though Ruby would have loved to fall into his arms and never come up for air even in his current state.

Cable exhaled after an excruciatingly long pause, a glint of tiredness in his cold eyes. She could see him relaxing slightly, the tenseness in his shoulders lifting. For a moment, she saw the man she had been attracted to in the first place – strong, calculating, free. And then his expression fell, and what she’d seen was lost under a veneer of exhaustion and worry.

The big man slumped back, falling to sit on the edge of the large bed, the mattress heaving under his weight. It was like the heat suddenly fizzled out of the room, relaxing both her and Cillian. She watched his eyes shift green for a moment, and Cillian swayed as if blown by a strong wind. A moment later his eyes went gold again, and he settled back into a position that invited anyone to come and take a stab at him if they could.

He must be really hurt,
she thought, considering the way he held his body.

It was hard to tell, which of the blood was his and which was just the blood and grime of others. He slipped the brass knuckles off his hands, and Ruby chose to take it as a sign of co-operation. She sat next to Cable, giving him a long look.

„Tell me,“ she urged him, her eyes pleading.

She was ready to do just about anything she could to make the situation unravel itself and become manageable.

„It’s not a particularly compelling story,“ Cable said with an uncharacteristically wry smirk.

Ruby cocked a brow, giving him a long look. It certainly wasn’t like Cable to crack wise about anything, let alone in a situation where half his pack lay bleeding on the floor.

„Tell me anyway,“ Ruby said, noticing Cillian correcting his posture a little.

Her stomach dropped. She wasn’t entirely sure how long he could keep standing. Whatever was going to happen, it had to happen fast.

„The Crimson Riders aren’t what they used to be,“ Cable noted with a look that spoke of bygone times.

Ruby couldn’t disagree with him. Not long ago, the Riders had been a name that incited fear in the hearts of others, but with changing times, their power over the city had slipped, much like the Accardos’. It was amusing, in a way, sitting there as the heir of one relic, being courted by another relic.

„The pack is falling to pieces around me. You can see it. Trident doubts me, and though he still works for me for now, I don’t know how long that will last. Any hint of weakness and they tear me apart. You, my little cherry, seemed like the best option I had. The Accardo name along with the strength of the Crimson Fang Riders could have been something. You’re right, you’re not my true mate. But these days, it hardly seems to matter,“ Cable said, looking somber.

Ruby noticed Cillain bristle, and she hoped against hope that he wouldn’t do anything they both might regret. Though, one look at him told her that he was becoming less and less of an active threat… Until someone decided to piss him off again, which she was certain Cable was capable of doing.

„So you were just going to marry me tomorrow night to tie the Riders with the Accardos?“ Ruby asked, not sure why she sounded surprised.

It did make sense, after all. And, as much as her father despised Cable for what he was and how he had taken her, she was sure that he would also see the wisdom in the plan, as soon as his fatherly outrage wore off that is. Ruby’s lips thinned. Who would have guessed – Cable, a shrewd strategist?