5. Calix

Chapter five

Calix

H orror floods me as my hand drops to my side and I realize who this dragon is in front of me. He doesn’t even bother to shake my hand. He just stares at me in pure horror. It’s as if tiny little puzzle pieces fall into place.

This is Zero.

I knew his name sounded familiar. The Elite Guard’s infamous rogue vampire hunter. Zero, the dragon who hates vampires so much that most of the rogues just refer to him as The Vampire Slayer.

My head whips toward Autumn, betrayal filling my chest. “Do you want to explain to me why I would let a vampire hunter protect me?”

Autumn’s mouth falls open. “I’m so sorry, Calix. I promise you can trust him. He only hunted rogues—”

Autumn is cut off by a pained, startling noise that comes from Zero. It’s a cry of anguish and devastation. A sound that burrows deep into my soul, calling to all the pain I’ve delt with in my life. Something is wrong.

He steps forward, hand extended. His amethyst-colored eyes change from round pupils to dragon slits. His familiar cinnamon scent surrounds me. Zero’s scales ripple across his arm and spreads. He’s fighting his shift.

My forehead creases. What the hell is going on? Fighting a shift like this is very painful. He needs to calm down.

“Calix?” Zero falls to his knees. “Is it really you?”

My eyes widen and my lip quivers. “You know me?” I study his face intently, trying to connect this handsome broken man to someone from my past. But it’s been fifteen years, and I have never met a dragon before. He doesn’t look familiar.

Zero’s scales ripple again. Fuck. He’s still fighting the shift. No matter who this person is, I need to calm him and his dragon down. The narrow space between buildings is too small for him to shift. I drop down to my knees and stare at him directly in the eyes. “Hey, hey, Zero. It’s okay. I need you to breathe. Look at me.”

I offer him a small smile. “That’s it. Look at me.”

His gaze drops to my lips. His pupils shift, becoming round and more human.

Leaning forward, I hope I’m not making a huge mistake by touching this vampire hunter. Slowly, carefully, I wrap my arms around his neck. He stills, then, before I can pull away, Zero yanks me closer pulling our bodies flush.

The hard press of his muscles against my body causes my vampire fangs to elongate. I once heard that dragon’s blood is like a vampire’s ambrosia. I shove those thoughts away. Zero buries his nose into my neck and breathes me in. To my shock, he licks my throat, one small claiming lick that's gone so quickly I almost wonder if I imagined it.

As he continues to hold me, I whisper sweet nothings into the air between us. Zero starts to calm down in my hold, but I don’t dare let go. I don’t know what set this dragon off, but he seemed devastated. Distraught.

I vaguely hear Autumn say he’s going to run inside and get Rook, but I don’t really pay attention. My sole focus is on the trembling dragon shifter in my arms. My hand instinctively trails up to the back of his head where I run my fingers through his hair. It’s a unique color, pearl white with amethyst highlights. My thoughts briefly stray to the amethyst dragon from my dreams. Could he possibly be the same dragon? Is that how he knows me?

Maybe he isn’t someone from my past, but the beast dreamt about?

If that’s the case, then I know that this dragon has spent over a decade searching for me. If was all real, and not some silly images my brain conjured up to cope with being kidnapped…if Zero is the paranormal creature from my dreams, that can only mean one thing.

Zero is my fated mate.