Page 6

Chapter 6

Questions And Hormones

Blake

We were inside the grand glass desert castle, all gathered in the living room, worried looks spreading through the family as Xavier and I finished recapping what happened. I sat on the long cloudlike couch with my legs planted firmly on the ground and my hands on my lap, trying to not look as worried as I felt.

On the inside, I was freaking the fuck out.

What was that about?

Why target me?

Was I being stalked again?

Too many dark memories dug out from their mental graves and clawed their way back to the forefront of my thoughts.

“And you’re sure you got them all?” Damien asked. He leaned against the only solid slate-gray wall in the room, the others made of crystal-clear glass. A fireplace crackled next to Damien, but it gave off no real heat. “There were no others hiding out nearby?”

“I searched the area, only those three,” Xavier answered. He stood next to me, one hand on the back of the couch. If he hadn’t been there today, it would have been game over. There’s no fucking way I could have handled those three shifters by myself.

I owed him my life.

“I did find this, though.”

He placed a small, unassuming black satchel on the clean white coffee table. Damien went to reach for it, but Xavier put a hand out.

“I think it’s best if Robby handles this.”

Robby perked his head up. His smooth skin glistened under the sun that soaked through the glass walls. He stood in one swift, fluid movement and picked up the satchel. Damien, Warrick, and Dawn watched with confused expressions.

I was in a room full of dragons, and yet still felt like there were eyes pinned to my back.

Robby opened the satchel and looked inside. His eyebrows inched together. “What… what am I looking at?”

“Dragonsbane,” Xavier answered.

That got a reaction from the siblings. Warrick recoiled, falling back on his chair. Dawn sucked in a breath, and Damien turned into a marble statue, unmoving. I’d heard about Dragonsbane but admittedly didn’t know enough to figure out what had the dragons so scared of it.

“What’s it do?” I asked. Robby gently placed the satchel back down, as if he was handling a live bomb ticking down the time until exploding.

“It’s one of the few things that can take us out,” Dawn answered. Her eyes were pinned to the bag. She nervously ran fingers through her silky brown hair. “It’s an extremely rare plant, and when ground up into a dust, it turns toxic to us. A small dose of Dragonsbane would cancel out our powers, blocking us from our dragon form. A bigger dose would kill us.”

A frigid shiver crawled up my back. Damn. Today had been seconds away from turning into a very, very bad fucking day.

“How’d they even get it?” Warrick asked. “Dragonsbane doesn’t grow naturally anymore. Most of it was eradicated, whatever was left kept for scientific tests.”

“Testing for what?” I asked.

“Any curative properties it might have,” Warrick answered. He couldn’t take his eyes off the satchel. “There was a program developed by the government decades ago.”

“At least that’s what they said the program was about.” Damien had suspicion in his voice. I bristled. It felt like the cushion I sat on suddenly grew as hot as a bed of coals. I didn’t really blame him for his mistrust. I knew how the government worked firsthand, and I knew that the people pulling the strings weren’t always the most honest. Although the current administration had nothing to do with this, I still felt like some of the suspicion flew in my direction.

Dawn pulled out her phone and started to quickly tap away a message. “I’m asking Claire if she knows about this. Maybe she can make some antidote. A way to protect us.”

“What about Maddox and Caleb?” Warrick asked. “Should I get them back here?”

Damien shook his head. “No, let them enjoy their date. The threat, for now, seems to have been contained.”

For now. It sounded so ominous. I chewed my nails, a bad habit I couldn’t quite break. Not even when my mother painted a clear coat of bitter apple on them. I adapted to the taste.

“I did notice a symbol on the shifter’s jacket. Looked like some kind of hourglass. What would that mean, though?” Xavier asked. “And what would they want with Blake?”

I didn’t necessarily enjoy being talked about like I wasn’t around. “Ransom?” I suggested. “I’m not the least valuable target. Maybe they’re making some kind of move.”

“True,” Dawn said. She looked out the glass. My run this morning had shown me we weren’t as isolated as I thought we were. This desert mansion gave off the illusion of exclusivity. I had to remind myself that these glass walls weren’t surrounded by any sort of fences or protection.

Although I didn’t discount the four dragons and one vampire that currently surrounded me. That was way more protection than any kind of fence would ever provide.

I allowed my shoulders to drop, but I still bit my nails.

“A move so out in the open?” Warrick asked. His thick-rimmed black glasses sat low on his nose. He was the sibling I’d gotten closest to in the last month I’d been with them. He was lighter, a little less guarded than the others. The entire Blackthorne family welcomed me, but Warr felt like a long-lost best friend. And that was nice.

“This could have been a probe,” Damien suggested.

Robby scrunched his face. “A dumb one.” He was a handsome man, with that texture-less face all vampires had. His fangs were notable when he spoke. They got a bad reputation for their initial arrival from the Tears, when their blood-thirst had caused a mass murder of unsuspecting humans, Marvels, and fae. But over time, most of them integrated into society without an issue.

The shifters and dragons didn’t cause nearly as much of a stir.

“It just doesn’t make much sense.” Dawn sat back in her chair.

“And you said they were about to kill Blake?” Robby asked.

“That’s what it looked like, although one did mention something about grabbing me,” Xavier said.

The room spun a bit. I wiggled my toes and took a deep breath, grounding myself. He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. Did I have a tell? How did he know I was freaking out?

Maybe my masks weren’t as solid as I assumed.

My phone started to vibrate against my thigh. I pulled it out, already guessing who was on the other line.

I was right. It was my father.

I stood, the room’s attention shifting in my direction. I swallowed audibly. “Dad’s calling. Have to take this.” I pointed toward the hall

“Let’s go,” Xavier said at my side. He stood nearly a foot taller than me. At first, I found his height a little imposing, but now— especially now—it was becoming a comfort.

I answered the call. “Blake?” My dad’s voice was tense. He’d learn to keep his emotions in check, but I could always tell.

“Hey, Dad, I’m okay.” I heard him let go of the breath he’d been holding. Xavier had already briefed him, but my father was a worrier. Xavier and I stopped in the hallway. One of the walls was made of the natural tan stone rock, and the other was all glass. “Those self-defense classes came in handy. And so did my dragon buddy.”

Xavier shot me a wink. I started to blush.

Probably a side effect of the adrenaline.

“Okay, good, son. When I heard the news, I was about to get on the plane and head straight to you.”

“Thanks, Dad, but I’m fine. Does anyone know who these people are? What they’re after?”

There was a moment of silence. I could hear papers rustling in the background, one of his aides trying to get his attention. My dad was likely in his office. He shooed them away. “We don’t know yet. I’m looking into it, but as of right now, it seems random.”

The way he said it didn’t really instill much confidence in me. What did my dad know that I didn’t?

Likely a whole lot of shit. Just because I was the vice president’s son didn’t entitle me to a top secret clearance.

“With that said, I want you returning to the White House. I feel it might be safer here right now.” A small jolt of disappointment hit my heart. “I’ll have you and Xavier flown back tomorrow.” The jolt lessened with that clarification.

“Are you sure?” I asked. “I’ve got classes starting next week.”

“I believe that should be put on pause too.”

Surprisingly, that didn’t send the same jolt. I definitely wasn’t excited to be walking around a wide-open campus, being sat inside an auditorium full of people. Too many opportunities for things to go wrong. And it wasn’t like I didn’t already have a degree. I’d graduated three years back with a bachelor’s in English and had only decided to take these summer classes and have something else to work toward.

I could do that next summer. As long as I wasn’t taken out by a pack of rabid shifters beforehand.

“That’s fine. I can withdraw before the class starts.”

“Sorry, son. I just want to make sure you’re as safe as possible.”

“I get it.” I had paced down the hall but could still feel Xavier looking at me. I glanced over my shoulder. He was. And he didn’t break eye contact. He didn’t appear to be just “guarding” me either. There was a relaxed smile on his chiseled face, his gaze almost drinking me in like he’d been checking me out.

I looked away, that damn blush warming my cheeks again. These fantasies were getting way out of hand.

The aide said something barely audible on my end. “Right, and the good news is that there’ll be the Kind Gala this weekend. Come, you can bring a guest.”

“Does my bodyguard count?”

“Him plus one more,” my father clarified.

“I’ll see if anyone here wants a trip to DC.”

“Perfect. I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

“Love you too,” I said, hanging up and turning to Xavier. He leaned against the rock formation, arms crossed. The tight black shirt he wore clung to his chest and biceps.

“Looks like we have to make a field trip. Dad wants me back at the White House until he gets things figured out. That okay?”

“Of course it’s okay. I go wherever you go.” He pushed off the wall. Sunlight bathed him, his residual golden scales glittering like jewels. “How are you feeling about all this? ”

“Not great. Not great at all.” I looked out at the quiet desert. The Joshua trees, with their oddly shaped branches, now looked like the perfect hiding spots. I focused back on Xavier. But even that was difficult.

When I’d been assigned a bodyguard, I figured that they’d be incredibly attractive. It was in the damn job description. Hot, muscular, slightly damaged, soft center, big dick. I thought I’d be okay with that. Thought I could handle myself around a man like that.

But he scrambled all my thoughts and made me feel butterflies I wasn’t sure I was supposed to be feeling. Maybe it was the near-death moment I’d just escaped from. Adrenaline could do crazy things to a person.

Then again, so could hormones.

“Don’t stress about it, alright?” Xavier put a firm hand on my shoulder.

“Jeez, your hand’s huge.”

Xavier blinked. He was taken aback. Guess he still wasn’t used to my awkward spurts.

“My hands are normal-sized.” Doubt pulled his expression tight, a few wrinkles appearing between his dark black brows. They were as well taken care of as his hair, which was cut short around the sides with loose curls at the top.

“Maybe for a dragon.”

“Here, put your hand out.” He raised his between us.

I mirrored him. His hand eclipsed mine. My fingers were thinner, smaller, his calloused and thicker. Our palms pressed together. I honed in on the heat that passed between us. It matched the heat I’d felt under my paws as I raced across the desert hours earlier, underneath the shadow of his dragon form. There’d been something so incredibly freeing about that moment. I’d found myself thinking I could run until the sun had set and still kept going.

That serenity shattered with the howls and snarls of our assailants.

“I’m not that much bigger than you,” Xavier said. His eyes smoldered. I tried to look away, but it was like he had cast a spell.

“No,” I said. That was a blatant lie, but for some reason, it was the only word that came to form.

I stepped back. Took a breath. Shook it through my shoulders. “Alright, we should get started on packing.”

“Wait,” Xavier said. He gently gripped my elbow. “I really don’t want you getting scared. How are you feeling?”

“That’s cute. I’ve got a bodyguard and a therapist.” I bit my tongue. “Sorry, that had more attitude than I intended. I’m a little thrown, if I’m being honest. Really fucking thrown.” I leaned back against a particularly flat section of the rock formation the hall had been built around. The anxiety I’d been feeling since the attack started to expand, grow, turn malignant. It was a toxic black tar that coated every inch of me.

“It’s fine,” Xavier said. “You don’t have to apologize. I’ve had clients yell at me because I got in the way of their food delivery order. You’re a complete breath of fresh air.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Xavier said. “Also, you should check into updating your Wikipedia page. It makes you sound snobby. I expected the worst.” He gave me an effortless wink. “Instead, I think I got the opposite.”

I ignored the warm blossom of something that grew in my chest. “I can’t believe you looked me up online. I didn’t even realize I had one of those. And yeah, that’s wrong. I can be spoiled, sure, but snobby? Nah. It’s not like I grew up in multiple castles all around California.” I arched a brow and cocked my head at the handsome dragon.

“You should see the ones we have in Europe. The bedroom there is especially decadent.” The cocky motherfucker grinned at me. There’d been a spark simmering between us from the second we shook hands, and he just threw some gasoline onto it.

“Show me sometime,” I said. Don’t know where the hell that came from, but I said it. Instead of second-guessing myself, basting in my embarrassment, I turned and walked back toward the living room.

I still had a plus-one to give out.