CHAPTER 6
Loke landed hard in the clearing near the village, threw his head back and roared again, unleashing every drop of his anger so all in the clan would know it. He lowered his head and focused on the clan chief, Ren, where he stood at the edge of the platform in the main gathering place of the village. Ren held his gaze, unflinching as Loke snarled at him, baring twin rows of deadly sharp teeth.
Several males rushed towards Loke through the alleys between the huts, some of them with red hair. Which was the one who had taken Anais from him? They would be the first to die.
He growled at them all as they reached the clearing and they backed off, edging towards the circular black stone huts.
When they had moved to a distance that pleased him, he carefully curled his left paw around his knife so he didn’t lose it and focused on his body, willing it to change. In the blink of an eye, he was back in his more human form and his blue leathers had appeared over his legs. He twirled his knife and sheathed it beside his left hip as he strode forwards, each determined stride carrying him swiftly through the village.
His gaze locked on the square ahead and Ren and the fire in his veins burned hotter as his chief calmly stared back at him.
Rayna hurried towards him, her bare breasts bouncing with each step, but he paid her no heed. She always singled him out whenever he visited the village. He had no interest in what she wanted to offer him. There were other males more willing than he was to satisfy her.
Female dragons were nothing if not assertive. They never shied away from staking a claim on a male they found attractive and often pursued them until they gave up and gave the female what she wanted, slaking both of their carnal hungers. Sleeping with someone who desired you, even if you didn’t particularly desire them, was acceptable behaviour in dragon society.
Loke had never been into that side of life as a dragon. Free sex had no appeal to him, at least not anymore. Females had pursued him and he had slept with some of them when he had been younger and the mood had struck him. Since leaving the village to live in the mountain, he had kept to himself, evading the females who desired a tryst with him.
Most of them had given up and gone after a more willing male.
Not Rayna though.
She persisted and it irritated him. She was part of the reason he rarely visited the village, only coming to it when he was called to battle by Ren.
Or when someone took something from him.
Something he was beginning to feel was precious.
Rayna moved in front of him, a huge smile plastered on her face, as if she couldn’t see that he wasn’t in the mood to speak with her and it was a dangerous move to hinder him.
She didn’t get out of his way when he growled at her, flashing sharp teeth and warning her away. She stood her ground and even went as far as pressing her hands to his chest. He knocked them off him and stepped around her, sparing her little more than a glance before he locked eyes with Ren again.
Rayna grabbed his wrist.
Loke turned on her with a feral snarl and she flinched, drawing back in an instant and bringing her other arm up across her chest to protect herself. Dragons weren’t allowed to fight in the village, but she was pushing her luck.
She rallied and smiled at him, fluttering her eyelashes and daring to step closer to him.
“Leave me,” he said in their tongue and she frowned at him as he twisted his arm free of her grip and began walking again.
She pursued him and caught up with him near the edge of the circular clearing in the centre of the village. His gaze scanned it and stopped on a small dark form laying on the black ground off to the left of the raised platform where Ren stood waiting for him.
Metal shackles linked her ankles and wrists, a thick length of chain between them. He growled at the sight of her laying at the mercy of his kin, unconscious and vulnerable.
Rayna looked from him to his little Amazon and loosed a growl of her own. “You are come for the mortal?”
He nodded and went to enter the square, but Rayna grabbed his arm and pulled on it, stopping him. He flicked her a glance, catching her glare as she directed it at Anais, her golden eyes filled with darkness.
“The mortal is weak and not made for you. A powerful dragon warrior needs a powerful mate.”
Loke shook her hold again and continued into the square. Rayna followed him, an irritating shadow that frayed the tethers of his anger. She was risking her neck by refusing to leave him alone. He had warned her enough times.
She slowed and he thought he was rid of her at last.
“If you will not listen to me, perhaps I will ask my brother to have the mortal killed.”
A red veil descended and the fire in his veins exploded into an inferno, burning through the tethers holding his anger at bay.
He was on her in an instant, his hands clamped around her upper arms and his claws digging into her flesh. He brought his face close to hers and snarled at her, eliciting a gasp from her as she stared at him through wide eyes.
“You lay a claw on my female, and I will kill you, Rayna,” he growled down at her, his claws pressing in harder.
The coppery tang of her blood filled the air around him, goading him into carrying out his threat.
Only the thick silence that descended stopped him.
He knew he had overstepped the mark by threatening her. A male dragon killing a female was unheard of, but she had pushed him too far and he hadn’t been able to hold back his fury. The thought of Anais dying turned his blood to fire that burned hotter than dragon’s breath and set him on a warpath. If Rayna’s brother dared to harm Anais, Loke would take him down too.
Regardless of the fact that he was their clan’s chief.
Loke shoved her away from him, sending her crashing into a nearby male, and stormed towards Ren.
Ren flicked a bored glance at Rayna as she spat a vile curse at Loke’s back and then settled his fierce golden gaze back on Loke.
“You would think that if my dear sister desired the death of the mortal so much, she would have killed her when she took her from your cave.” Ren smiled coldly at him.
Loke’s fury flared hotter than ever and he turned back towards Rayna, a growl curling from his lips as his claws extended. He would do more than draw blood this time. He would take her head for daring to steal Anais from him. Rayna edged behind another male.
“Enough. Face me, Loke, and tell me what you seek from the mortal female.” Ren’s voice rang clearly above the din of the crowd and they fell silent again.
All eyes came to rest on Loke.
His gaze slipped to Anais where she lay at Zephyr’s feet. The male wore a sick look of satisfaction, leaving Loke in no doubt that he had been the one to deal with Anais. The warrior would pay for hurting her.
Loke lifted his gaze back to Ren, aware that his chief’s patience was in short supply. Anais had probably tested him to his limit already, leaving Loke little room to manoeuvre.
What did he seek from Anais?
He said the only thing that came to him—the only thing these males would understand. He couldn’t tell them that he’d had a vision of her. They would want her gone from the area and would view her as a bringer of misfortune. Or worse, Rayna would get her wish and Ren would kill Anais.
“She is a spoil of war. I meant to inform you of her presence in my cave, but she is a handful… as you are probably now aware. She made several attempts to escape, so I was waiting to regain enough magic to send her to sleep before coming to the village.” Loke held Ren’s golden gaze, his expression schooled in the hope that his chief would believe him.
Ren sat on his black throne and eyed him in silence. Loke held his nerve, unwilling to let his fear show, not in his expression or in his scent. He would find a way to get Anais out of the grip of his kin and back to the cave. He would ensure she was safe again, and then he would have words with her about disobeying him and breaking vows.
“You are a terrible liar, Loke,” Ren said and Loke’s stomach filled with cold lead. “Your mother was too.”
He growled at the mention of his mother, baring his fangs at the blond male. Ren was old enough to have known his mother, a clear thousand years older than Loke, and always brought her up when he wanted to weaken Loke’s defences. He wouldn’t let it work this time, because he had too much on the line.
He looked to Anais. She was out cold and he hoped she remained that way for at least the next few seconds, because he felt sure she wouldn’t be impressed with him if she heard and understood what he was about to say.
She would be furious.
“She is mine,” he announced and a murmur ran through the crowd.
Ren’s eyes narrowed on him, seeking the truth from his soul.
Loke let him see it, because he meant what he had said. He had never experienced what he felt for her. He had never desired anyone so deeply or needed anyone so completely.
Ren raised his hand to silence the gathered dragons, his eyes remaining locked on Loke.
“She is not yet yours.” The blond male stood and approached the edge of the black stone platform again. “You know that and you know the rules, Loke. You kept her a secret, hidden from others, for that reason. A mate must be won. You must prove yourself against the others who might desire her and prove yourself worthy of the female. We will have a contest.”
Loke’s stomach turned and ice formed in his veins.
He had wanted to avoid this and Ren knew it. The male had twisted the rules and what Loke had said. He hadn’t called Anais his mate. He had said that she belonged to him. The noise of the crowd rose, surrounding him and irritating him as he tried to think of a way to avoid having to enter the arena in order to secure Anais’s safety.
He didn’t want to fight, but the cold look in Ren’s eyes said that he had no choice.
He had to fight and he had to win.
If he didn’t, another male would take her as his mate. That male would attempt to charm her into surrendering to him and becoming his, and if that failed he would use whatever magic he possessed to manipulate her feelings, making her desire him, until the strain of having her mind repeatedly controlled broke her.
Anais would never willingly submit to a male. They would have to use their magic to control her.
He couldn’t bear the thought of her going through that, not when he had been the one to bring her into his world.
“Step forward if you wish to challenge Loke.” Those words leaving Ren’s lips dragged his focus back to his chief and he sent a silent prayer that no male would challenge him, even when he knew that he would be lucky to end up with only a single adversary.
He had seen contests before and many of them had been one male against five or more.
A large black-haired scarred male called Brink marched across the square and came to stand before Ren. Loke knew little about the dragon warrior other than Brink had come from another clan, an orphan of the wars. He was the last remaining member of that clan and the chief at the time had taken pity on him. Brink had been sent to train and had become one of their fiercest warriors.
Loke doubted Brink actually desired Anais or wanted her as his possession. The male lived to fight. He desired the battle and wanted to spill blood. That was the only reason he had stepped forwards. If he won, he would probably discard Anais, either by letting her go free or killing her.
Zephyr stepped forwards too, a lascivious smile on his face as he looked at Loke, one that made him burn with a need to take the male down. He wouldn’t let the sick sadistic male near Anais. He knew the tales of Zephyr.
Most male dragons valued females in any form, be them other dragons, witches, fae or even mortals. They resorted to using their powers only when charming the female failed. Zephyr was a different breed. He had no respect for the females he took from battle. He used no magic on them. He took them whether they were willing or not.
No other males stepped forwards. Loke couldn’t blame them. Zephyr and Brink were formidable opponents, likely to kill each other in an attempt to be the victor.
The contest only called for defeat of the other participants, not death.
If Loke could injure them badly enough that they could no longer fight, he would be declared the victor and Anais would be safe.
It was a sound plan, except for the fact that Zephyr and Brink were both stronger than he was and he had a sinking feeling they would work together at first to eliminate him before they turned on each other.
“Very well. Gather at the arena when you are ready.” Ren looked at each of them in turn and then lingered on Loke. “You may speak with the female.”
Loke nodded his gratitude. It was more than he had expected. Normally, none could speak with the female before a contest. She was kept locked away until the battle was over and the victor decided, unable to see what was happening. Loke knew that wouldn’t be the case this time. Ren was making an exception for Anais. He wanted her to witness the fight. Why? Because she was mortal?
Mortals weren’t the reason they had been forced to leave that realm, but dragons blamed them for it regardless.
He turned away from Zephyr and Brink, and went to Anais where she lay on the black ground. He could feel Rayna glaring at him from across the square, and could feel the eyes of others on him, but he paid them no heed as he crouched beside Anais, balancing on his bare toes.
Loke canted his head as he brushed strands of her untamed blonde hair from her face.
His beautiful female.
His gut clenched as he checked her over, scanning her face first and then her body for signs of trauma. Not a single scratch marred her. The relief he had wanted to feel didn’t come. Someone had rendered her unconscious.
Zephyr.
That male had no qualms about silencing females in such a manner. Anais had probably disobeyed him or fought him. His fierce little mortal. He could well imagine her standing up to the dragons gathered in the village, just as she had stood up to him.
The cuffs around her wrists and ankles were loose, but there was no way she could slip out of them. They would hinder her movements and keep her in check, and that would leave her vulnerable.
He needed to deal with Zephyr and Brink quickly, and free her. He didn’t want her to feel fear, expecting the worst from his kin. Most of the males and the females in the village weren’t a threat to her. The only ones who would seek to harm her were Rayna, Zephyr and Brink.
And possibly Ren.
Loke didn’t trust his chief.
He had followed the male into battle countless times, but he hadn’t done it because he respected him and believed him a competent leader. He had done it because Ren was their clan chief, and tradition dictated that Loke obey his commands.
He had his limits though.
If Ren pushed him, he would push back.
Ren had been the leader of their clan for centuries now. Loke was sure there were other males who would like to take his seat of power from him. It wouldn’t take much on Loke’s part to stir a rebellion, and he would do it if Ren forced his hand by attempting to harm Anais.
He would do anything to protect her.
Even fight to the death.
He swept his fingertips lightly across Anais’s cheek, using a sliver of his magic to heal her, and whispered, “Wake now, Little Amazon.”
Her eyelids fluttered and he withdrew his hand, rested his elbows on his knees and settled back on his haunches as he waited for her eyes to open. When they did, they immediately sought his face and the fear in them died as she locked gazes with him.
“Loke.” His name softly spoken on her lips stirred heat within him, a fierce tempest of need and desire that had his heart pounding.
“I am here, Little Amazon.” He brushed his knuckles across her cheek and smiled down at her as her eyebrows drew together, wrinkling her nose, and she groaned. “The pain will cease soon. I swear it.”
She closed her eyes and tried to evade his touch, and he sighed as he realised his words had wounded her. He hadn’t meant his mention of a vow to be a reminder of the one she had broken. He had only wanted to reassure her.
“Can we go now?” she whispered and slowly opened her eyes as he helped her into a sitting position.
He held her upper arms and drowned in the deep blue of her eyes as they locked with his, every male instinct he possessed commanding him to obey her and take her away from this place so she would feel safe again.
He forced himself to shake his head instead.
“Not yet. There is something I must do first.” He silently pleaded her not to ask the question that rose in her eyes because he didn’t want to frighten her.
The gods must have heard his prayer because she asked another instead.
“Like break these?” She raised her hands between them, the chain that linked her manacles clanking as she moved. Her hopeful smile wobbled on her lips.
“Soon. I must secure the right to break them.” He looked away when she frowned at him, unable to hold her gaze when he knew he was on the verge of making her feel more guilty about what she had done. “I will not be long. You will wait here. No one will hurt you. I swear it, Anais.”
She grabbed his wrists before he could move, the tightness of her grip demanding that he look at her. He closed his eyes and sighed as it struck him that she wasn’t going to release him until she knew what was happening.
“Why do you need to leave?” Her grip on him tightened, squeezing his bones together. “What is it you’re going to do?”
Loke looked over his shoulder at the raised platform where Ren still stood, deep in discussion with Rayna, and then beyond him to Zephyr where he was sharpening his curved blade outside his hut.
He sensed a shift in Anais’s feelings. They turned colder, laced with fear that drew him into looking at her again so he could discover the source of it. Her blue gaze was fixed on Zephyr and he growled under his breath as he thought about that male stepping anywhere near her.
“I am going to win a contest.”
Her eyes leaped back to him and widened. “You mean you’re going to fight.”
“I must. It is the way of my kind. I will secure your freedom, Anais.”
“No,” she barked and dug her short fingernails into his flesh. “You can’t fight to the death for me. It’s barbaric!”
Loke smiled softly. “And I am a barbarian… remember?”
She shook her head and her fair hair swayed across her breasts and shoulders, strands of it sticking to her black top. “You’re not a barbarian… but these men… let’s just fly out of here… now… please, Loke?”
Gods, he wanted to do that. He wanted to fulfil that request because he knew that she was scared—for him and for herself.
“I cannot.” He twisted his arms free of her grip and then took hold of her hands and looked at them.
They were small in his, dainty, but strong. He turned them both palm up and rubbed his thumbs across the calluses at the base of each finger. She had wielded weapons for many years, had clearly fought in many battles. His fearless little Amazon.
Yet she feared this place. She feared his people. She feared for him.
“You can.” She closed her fingers over his thumbs and held them.
He sighed and lifted his eyes to hers. “It will not change anything. It will not make you safe. If I do not fight for you, another male can claim you without a battle. The strongest will be chosen.”
“Which one is that? Not the green-haired bastard.” She glared across the square at Zephyr and Loke decided that he would take Zephyr’s head for upsetting his female so deeply.
He didn’t need to know what Zephyr had done to her. Just the fact that she feared him was reason enough for Loke.
He reined in that bloodthirsty desire and put it out of his head. He didn’t need to kill either of his opponents to win Anais. He only needed to incapacitate them. He wasn’t sure how Anais would react if he killed his fellow dragons in order to save her, but he had a suspicion the guilt she felt would only increase, and he didn’t want that to happen.
Loke pointed to Brink where he waited at the entrance of the path to the arena, staring at her through midnight eyes.
Anais paled.
Her blue gaze gradually inched back to Loke and she leaned closer to him. He wanted to open his arms and pull her into them, needed to give her the comfort she craved, but setting his hands on her in that way would only incite Brink and Zephyr. He had been given leave to speak with her. He didn’t dare do anything else, not when Ren was watching him so closely too.
“Does anyone die in these contests?” she murmured, her gaze flitting between him and Brink.
She didn’t look at Loke for longer than a second, but he could see that she had changed her mind and wanted him to fight and win now that she had seen what male would take possession of her if he defaulted.
Loke risked it and stroked her cheek, running his fingers over it and absorbing how soft and warm her skin was beneath his. She slowly looked back at him and her gaze stayed with him this time, never leaving his, piercing him right down to his soul just as it had that day they had met.
He fell into her eyes and the world around him faded, his awareness narrowing to only her.
“Many fail.” He lied.
He didn’t want to lie to her, but he couldn’t tell her the truth either. He didn’t want her to know that most dragons who entered into a contest didn’t walk away from it. He was certain she felt nothing for him, other than viewing him as a safer dragon to be around than the others, but he felt compelled to soften the blow.
He didn’t want her to feel guilty. He didn’t want her to fear for him either. Both of those emotions filled her eyes though, tearing at him, and he wasn’t sure what to do to make them go away.
Besides winning a contest.
He searched for something to say to reassure her, but words failed him and shock rippled through him, a startling wave of heat and tingles, when she instead did something that reassured him and made him want to roar.
She moved onto her knees, wedging her hips between his spread thighs, cupped his cheeks and pressed her lips to his.
Fire coursed through him, strength that obliterated his fears and his doubts as her lips gently swept over his in a tender kiss.
Before he could pull together his scattered senses and wrap his arms around her to hold her in place while he kissed her back, she withdrew.
She dropped her gaze to her knees, her cheeks darkening as she whispered, “Good luck.”
He didn’t need luck. Not anymore. Anais had filled him with the strength he needed to face Zephyr and Brink and emerge the victor. A single kiss had made him feel more powerful than he had ever done. He felt as if he could take on the entire village and win.
Gods, he could take on the world.
Nothing would stand between him and his little Amazon.