Page 2

TWO

MAC

The transition to the underworld is no less jarring than it was the last time, and as my feet land on solid ground and my lungs adjust to the sulfur-thick air, I blink several times to focus.

I’m vaguely aware of Auri’s voice, going on about something, but he sounds a thousand miles away.

When he falls silent, I look in his direction, still a little unstable.

Auri is looking at me expectantly and I realize I didn’t hear a word he just said. He smirks and his hair flutters again in the nonexistent breeze.

“As I was saying, why don’t I give you a quick tour of my compound, and then we can head into my office so I can give you the details of your assignment?”

Assignment? This is probably bad. Like, epically bad, but I guess I’ll figure that out later.

“Sure, yeah, sounds good,” I mutter in a daze.

My eyes wander over the richly decorated halls Auri leads me through, heading deeper into the compound.

There are plenty of shiny, priceless things that catch my eye, but none of them particularly excite my dragon.

That’s what so many people don’t understand about dragons—we don’t hoard indiscriminately.

Sure, we’ll happily scoop up random gems and treasures, but the majority of what we hoard has to speak to us on a deeper level.

It’s primal. It’s instinctual. I couldn’t tell you why my dragon had to have this particular ring or that specific dagger, I just know that when I see it, I know if it should be mine or not.

It smells right, it feels right. It’s like love at first sight.

Auri is prattling on about the compound as we walk, boasting about the number of rooms and security guards, but I’m barely listening. All I want is for him to give me the assignment I inadvertently agreed to so I can figure out what to do next.

He slows and gestures into the nearest room, which looks like some kind of rec space with a large TV mounted on one wall, a pool table, and a small kitchen.

In the middle of the room is a table with three men seated around it, apparently in the middle of a card game.

My nose twitches with the mixture of their scents, difficult to untangle when even the air around me doesn’t smell the way I’m used to.

“I’d like you to meet my most prized possessions,” Auri says proudly. “My favorite little pets, my own personal mercenaries.”

“I will literally rip your fucking throat out, Aur,” a man with shaggy brown hair and piercing silver eyes growls.

Something about the tenor of his voice reminds me of my brother Arson’s mate, Drayden, so I’m guessing he might be a wolf shifter.

But despite the threat, his voice doesn’t hold much venom, and Auri doesn’t so much as flinch.

If anything, he smiles a little wider, like he’s even more proud that one of his “pets” is cheeky enough to talk back.

“You think that would kill me? That’s adorable.” Auri chuckles. “As I was saying, these three are my personal mercenaries, their servitude signed in blood and sealed with a binding deal. Atlas is my gargoyle. Show them how strong you are, sweetness.”

The man sitting at the far side of the table with his hair buzzed short and a set of shoulders that he probably could literally rest the world on, doesn’t even look up from his cards, just raises one massive hand and flips his middle finger at the demon.

Auri laughs again, unbothered by the defiance.

“Roman is my wolf shifter. An alpha, no less. He’s fun on a full moon.” Auri gives an exaggerated wink, and the man I thought was a wolf just grunts in response. “And then there’s Cassius?—”

“Vampire,” the third man finishes for him in a bored drawl. He’s tiny in stature, and looks even smaller compared to the two giant beasts at the table with him; a twink by all accounts, with ivory skin and blood red irises.

I shiver instinctively at the chill of death that fills the room. Although maybe that’s all in my head. Vampires freak me out, so sue me.

“Yes.” Auri’s still grinning ear to ear. “And now, my newest prize.” He reaches over to run the back of his hand along my cheek.

I’m a prize? Terrific. I’ve really done it this time.

“You’ll have plenty of time to get to know them later,” he assures me before he continues on through the house, leaving the three mercenaries behind without another word. “I have a few more pets scattered around. Drax, for one.”

We round a corner, and the sound of loping paws draws my attention seconds before the cutest, shaggiest monster I’ve ever seen comes into view.

“Is that a hellhound?” I ask as the three-headed beast with glowing eyes and three lolling tongues gallops towards us. I’ve heard about them and seen drawings, but never one in real life.

“It is.” Auri preens. “Very selective breeding, hardly any available to the general public. Come here, Grim. Give Daddy a kiss.” The demon crouches down and the puppy crashes into him, all three heads licking and snuffling his face at once.

Auri baby talks to the dog—dog s ? Is a three-headed dog technically one animal or three?

Do all three heads have their own brains or are two of the heads more like extra limbs?

Trying to work it out starts to give me a headache, so I give up and just appreciate how adorable the slobbering little weirdo is.

Auri finally straightens himself back up and Grim trots along beside him the last few feet to the office.

He types in a security code to open the door then waves us inside.

His office is as opulent as the rest of the house, with a high ceiling and a massive mahogany desk in the center of the room.

The walls are lined with floor-to-ceiling bookcases and the smell of leather and old paper is so heavy in the air that it makes me sneeze.

“Have a seat.” Auri gestures to chairs in front of his desk.

“I’d rather get to the assignment part.”

He chuckles. “I wouldn’t be in such a rush if I were you, dragon. You’ll be spending a lot of time here until you’ve fulfilled the contract.”

I frown. “So, what, I do some things for you and then you give me this fabulous life you promised me?”

“Correct. I have a quest perfect for a dragon.”

“I don’t kill people.”

Auri snorts a laugh. “My precious, naive pet, I know you’re skilled at thievery, particularly getting your hands on demon artifacts.

” I bristle a little. How the hell does he know that?

Auri goes on with barely a pause. “If you can actually get your hands on the item I need then I’ll do as I promised. ”

“What item?”

Auri plants his ass right on the edge of his desk. He snaps his fingers, and a piece of parchment appears in the air right in front of me.

“Go ahead,” he prompts.

I pluck the parchment out of the air, and writing scrawls itself across the paper as if an invisible hand is holding a quill. The words glow for a second, then fade into regular, dark ink.

Assignment: The cursed amulet of Belinda Legarr

Cursed? Fucking great.

“What if I can’t?” I swallow hard and wonder for the hundredth time in the past hour what the hell I’ve gotten myself into… literally.

He scrunches his nose. “Oh, let’s not bother ourselves with unpleasantries just yet.”

My dragon squirms and I rub my chest. The door behind me opens and I turn to see a stunning man standing behind me.

He has dark hair, almost black but not quite, and stands a bit taller than me.

His eyes are a light, shimmering blue, almost crystal clear, and his skin is a pleasant, soft pink color.

He has thick black horns protruding from the top of his skull, and as my eyes roam from his face down his slender frame to his clawed feet and back up again, my dragon stirs with interest. And for some reason, he’s completely nude and covered in soft looking fur.

His massive, soft cock swings between his thighs without shame.

Okay, yeah, he’s hot, but I have bigger issues to deal with right now.

Besides, it’s not like I’m a stranger to nudity.

It’s just part of life for shifters, and not something that typically even registers with me.

Except when the naked person looks this damn good.

Something other than his cock catches my attention, or more accurately, my dragon’s attention.

A gold ring hangs from a chain around his neck, and my eyes track the pendulous swing of it between his pecs.

That have-to-have-it feeling I didn’t get earlier when Auri was showing off all his expensive things?

Yeah, I have it now. My heart beats faster and my vision sharpens as my eyes shift, and my dragon stirs.

“Ah, Drax,” Auri purrs, pulling my thoughts away from the other demon’s enormous assets and pretty jewelry. “I wondered where you were.”

“Trophy room, Master. Who is this?”

“This is Mac, my new pet.” Auri taps his chin. “Be a dear and give him the full orientation, will you?”

Drax nods dutifully. “Which room is he staying in?”

“You can decide.” Auri makes a shooing gesture. “Rest for now, dragon. I’ll be around later to explain more.”

I want to argue, but it’s as if my tongue is stuck and won’t allow it, so I just nod and follow the beautiful demon out of Auri’s office and back into the large house. I have a million questions, but I keep them to myself for now. Maybe Drax will answer them as he does his orientation.

He smiles at me, revealing sharp white teeth, just like Auri’s earlier.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Drax says. “I have a feeling we’re going to be fast friends.”

DRAX

The dragon smells… delicious. My cock stirs and my instincts rise to the surface, compelling me to move closer to him and breathe deeper.

I inhale and the dragon gives me a strange look out of the corner of his eye, but it’s still not enough to satisfy the sudden need to have my lungs filled with the delightfully smoky scent of his skin.

“Why are you—” he starts to ask, but I barely register the words, too wrapped up in this gut-deep need to memorize his scent, to get it into not only my nose but every cell of my body.

I step closer and he moves back, but I’m not bothered.

There’s only so far the dragon can go. When his back hits the wall, I close the last few steps between us and press my face against the crook of his neck, burying my nose right into the slope of his shoulder and breathing in deeply.

The smoky flavor of his scent coats my tongue and makes my mouth water, but there’s so much more nuance to his fragrance than the overt fiery smell.

The longer I sniff, the more I’m able to untangle half a dozen other scents, some lingering on his skin from the places he’s been, others coded directly into his DNA.

He smells like charred wood and sunshine and chaos in the best way.

I rumble a happy sound in my chest, then notice that the dragon has gone completely stiff, holding his breath and not moving a muscle while I scent him.

“Don’t try to eat me or anything, okay?” he says.

I withdraw my face from the crook of his neck and the happy rumble in my chest turns into laughter.

“Why would I eat you? Auri has a chef on staff who keeps us all well fed. Besides, I imagine a dragon would put up too much of a fight to be worth the light snack.”

“Hell yeah, I’m a snack.”

I cock my head and frown. Is he trying to talk me into eating him after all? He does smell edible, but in a way that has nothing to do with tearing his flesh. My cock stirs again in agreement, and Mac’s throat bobs with a nervous swallow.

“Am I making you anxious, dragon?” I bring one of my claws to the edge of his jaw and touch it gently to his skin so he can see how careful I can be.

Perhaps he’d be less nervous if I looked more human.

I pull a glamour into place with an easy, shimmering tug at the air around me, hiding my horns from sight and softening my flesh to match the pink hue of his.

The claw I have notched against his jaw turns into a human shaped finger. “Is that better?”

His gaze travels down, then back up again, and he wheezes out a laugh. “No glamour in the world could make that thing look less aggressive, dude.” He clears his throat. “So, you were going to show me to my room?”

“Yes.” Auri said I could put him anywhere I want, so I consider the options as I lead him down the hallway to the bedrooms.

There’s a room right next to Cassius’s that’s available, but I don’t love the idea of the vampire sneaking into Mac’s room for a midnight snack.

There’s another open room on Roman’s end of the hallway, but once a month he becomes excessively horny, and I wouldn’t want to subject the dragon to that either.

That only leaves one empty room left. The one right next to mine.

Yes, that’s an excellent option, actually. I’ll be able to make sure he gets settled in and I can listen for anyone trying to disturb his sleep at night. No one else will get into his room without me hearing it. I grunt in agreement with my own plan and lead Mac to the room.

“Here you are.” I stop outside the door and turn the handle to show him inside. “My room is right next door, so if you need anything, you can shout, and I’ll be right here.”

His cheeks turn a deeper shade of pink, and he nods.

“Uh, sure, thanks. I think I’m just going to…” He waves his hand towards his bed. “You know, cry and think about my life choices.”

I study him, trying to figure out whether he’s making a joke or not. His face doesn’t give me any clues, and neither does his scent. But it’s clear he’s dismissing me, so I nod and back towards the door.

“Alright. Dinner is in a few hours. I’ll come get you and show you the way to the dining room.”

Mac nods, a dazed look in his eyes as I step out of the room and leave him to get settled. As soon as the door is closed between us, an uncomfortable urge settles in my chest, telling me to go back in there, to stay close to him, to protect him.

What a strange, wonderful day.