Chapter Three

Chapter Three

He snatched up the human before his head could hit the unforgiving rocks.

“Fucking hell!”

Shifting into human form in the first fucking place went against his nature, and to stand here buck naked further pissed him off.

Of course, the warm body in his arms wasn’t making anything easier nor was it cooling his anger. Yet, beneath the anger simmered something far more dangerous than his temper. Something delicious and primal. The man’s scent alone sent his dragon thrashing against the shell of his human form, its roar a scorching fury. Not of rage, but rather the desire to devour the tempting morsel in his arms and own it.

Jazdon quelled that shit with iron control. No way in hell was he getting tangled up with a human. He’d seen what the devastation mixing the races had caused his father.

Some spoke of a prophecy. A prediction that the answer to their dwindling numbers would come from the humans.

Jazdon called it bullshit.

In his opinion, the Greengile were the reason reproduction had gone to hell over the last century.

He lowered the man to the ground and ripped off the bottom of the guy’s shirt to tie tightly around the wound above his ankle. Rolling the man to the side, he lifted his wallet and flipped it open. The United States driver’s license displayed the name Finn Johansen.

The photo didn’t do the guy justice. He had short, golden hair, blue eyes, and a face that was almost pretty. Jazdon thought it was the eyelashes.

Vargla shifted in a flash of light and walked toward him. “Looks like he needs medical attention,” the shifter said holding out his arms.

Jazdon sent his first lieutenant a scorching look, and the shifter had the good sense to hastily back away.

“Was it my smell?” The smart ass lifted his hands up like he was starring in a bad cop movie and gave him a wide grin.

Jazdon ground his teeth. All he needed was for his knee jerk response to get back to the community. The sudden possessive move had come from his dragon. A low rumble escaped his throat—part domineering jealousy at the thought of Vargas touching Finn, and part annoyance at his animal’s response to the human.

“Get your ass back in dragon form and give me a lift,” he ordered.

“Your wish is my command.” Vargla shifted and lowered the tip of his wing.

Jazdon leapt onto the leathery surface and walked further along the scales until he reached the crevice where wing met neck. He knew the moment he touched Vargla that both he and the human would be hidden from view. Of course, he couldn’t communicate telepathically to Vargla in this form, but now he could just shout further orders.

Hopefully the human wouldn’t wake up during flight. Not that Jazdon would be opposed to knocking the guy out, but he’d rather avoid it if possible. His arms tightened when Vargla swooped to the sky. Jazdon kept his head back, gazing up at the blue sky rather than at the man nestled against his cock.

Somewhere in the distance, in the core of his soul, his dragon purred like it had just won the fucking lottery. He didn’t have the heart to stop it.

The human groaned and Jazdon tightened his arms. Once he got the man back…Finn. His name is Finn. He liked the name. It sounded vaguely Nordic and went with his eyes, the color of Jazdon’s beloved Icelandic sky.

Without incident they reached the wall of rocks that hid the entrance to their home from prying eyes.

Vargla swooped into the hidden alcove, passed the Isatolia guards, and soared upward through the rocky tunnel that led to the landing pad well within the fortress. With a mighty stroke of air, Vargla landed on the granite slab and Jazdon leaped from the dragon’s wing with his precious cargo.

Guards saw him coming and opened the thick double doors long before he reached them. As he passed, they gave a bow of heads in respect to his position. Though he didn’t like it, he put up with it. As his royal father’s only son, he had certain responsibilities. Long strides took him through the main entrance and to the secluded quarters located in the west wing.

“I’ll take him.” Maridous said striding forward.

When the dragon general reached for Finn, Jazdon gave her a squinty eyed look in passing but didn’t slow until he had Finn within the walls of segregation. He selected a room inside the unit that he remembered having expensive furnishing. Easing Finn from his arms, he stretched the man on the large bed and stood gazing down.

Maridous made a sound in her throat and handed him a long cloak. “Better put this on before you traumatize him further.”

Jazdon tossed her a look and settled the cloak around his shoulders with a snap. The room was just as he remembered, comfortable and quiet, but most of all isolated.

“He needs medical attention.”

The segregation unit had been built for situations exactly like this one. It was designed to prevent exposure between worlds.

“Was this an accident?” she asked.

“The ankle yes. I’m not sure about him being so far off the reserve’s trail. He said he got lost.”

“If he’s innocent…”

He spun on her and she had the presence of mind to back up. It wasn’t for her to speculate as to why Finn… He clenched his jaw. As to why the human was here. He’d find out soon enough.

“Call me when he’s awake.”

Maridous bowed her head. “Yes, my liege.”

With a quick stop at his own quarters to change, he found the king in the armory. Their king wasn’t one to watch the running of the clan from afar. Reykur led them with a personal touch. He personally attended each and every adolescent change. Those of their clan, while born in their human form, had to reach puberty before they could shift into their dragons. And the shift could only be pulled from the youngsters by an elder.

It was for self-protection. If a young dragon were stolen from the clan, they would live their lives as humans.

“Jaz!” Rinter squeaked and launched himself across the room.

Jazdon caught the thirteen-year-old in a hug and then a headlock before his young cousin struggled away with a loud laugh.

“Formation, Rin!” Grimwild yelled from across the room. Rinter gave him a grimace and darted back toward the elder.

Reykur broke away from the group and approached.

“Father.” Jazdon bowed to the king.

“I hear we’ve got a guest.”

“It couldn’t be helped,” he said.

“You better be damned sure. Us on the brink of war is not the time to have visitors within our walls,” his father growled.

“Understood, but you need to know that Syrus was behind the attack on the human. His pack cornered Finn… the man… and would have torn him to shreds if we hadn’t intervened.”

The king’s mouth settled into a firm flat line and the look that came over his cool, blue eyes was frosty as an arctic winter.

“So what do we do? Call for a meeting?” Jazdon asked.

“No. The time for a meeting is over.”

Jazdon understood where the king was coming from. They’d had countless meetings with Syrus about his behavior.

“Issue an order. Syrus is to be brought to me,” Reykur said.

“Dead or alive?”

“Dead.”

“What about the human?”

“See what he knows and then get rid of him,” Reykur said.

“As in?” he waited, not sure what he’d do if his father ordered Finn to be killed.

He couldn’t say that he didn’t feel the same way about the risk of having a human here, but the thought of getting rid of Finn didn’t sit well.

“As in take him back to his people,” Reykur squinted. “Do you really think I’d have a human killed?”

“No, I don’t. It’s just that your order came on the heels of you wanting Syrus dead.”

“I should have been more clear,” Reykur pulled a hand over his dark mustache and beard. “It’s not safe for him to be here, nor for us to have him here.”

“I agree.”

He and his father were of the same mind. Contact with humans would lead to their downfall.

Jazdon was sure of it.