Chapter Eleven
Ella
For being a trained warrior – and I had no doubt, that's what he was – Zarik was fairly unobservant. I'd followed him out of the sewer and had followed him back to his apartment. I'd kept a discreet distance, of course. And the Order had trained me pretty well at concealing myself. But still, I thought the only reason I'd been able to follow him all the way back to his place was because he'd been – preoccupied.
Maybe it was the fact that I'd saved his life. Maybe, being the big, bad, fire-breathing, obviously alpha man he was, he didn't particularly like that. I knew some guys had a problem with their fragile little egos, and having a girl, of all people, step in to rescue them never sat well in their minds.
But I couldn't help it. There was something about the man that intrigued me. That inquisitive part of my brain – the part that almost always got me into trouble – had practically dared me to follow him home. To learn what I could about him. And I'm never one who can deny my own nature. Not that I ever try all that hard.
After learning where he lived, I'd gone home. Mostly, because I'd had to report back in to Jacob. It was one of the conditions of him letting me go out on my own solo patrol. I gave brief thought to telling him about my encounter with Zarik, but ultimately decided against it. I didn't have enough information yet. And given that Zarik wasn't human, Jacob would have expected me to put him down – as was the code of the Order. Me telling him that I didn't think he was a bad guy, or that we were on the same side of things wasn't going to fly. Jacob would have demanded his head.
For the first time since I'd joined the Order and had taken up the life I was leading, I disagreed with him. For the first time ever, I was thinking differently, that maybe not all non-humans were evil creatures who deserved the sword.
It was an opinion Jacob would neither understand, nor tolerate. He saw things in black and white – humans good, non-humans bad. Yet something about the mysterious man made me begin to question that sort of world view.
I sat on a bench across the street from Zarik's apartment. The sun was out and it was a warm, but pleasant day. I'd told Jacob I was heading out to run a few errands, do a little research, and some training – which wasn't uncommon and was the easiest way to get out of the house for the day without any questions.
I'd been sitting there for a while and was pondering going in to see if I could figure out which apartment was his. It was a ritzy looking building with smoked glass windows, all sorts of fancy ornamentation, and even a doorman – obviously, the people who lived there had some money.
Which made me even more curious about him. Hunting didn't pay very well, but the Order managed to make sure our needs were met and that we got a monthly stipend for our troubles. The stipend was nice, but I never would have been able to afford a place like Zarik's. And – human or not – I believed he was a hunter like me. Which, of course, made me wonder where he got his money.
I sat up when I saw the car he'd been driving when I'd followed him – a black BMW – came up the ramp that led out of the building's underground parking garage. The windows were to darkly tinted to see through, but I knew it was him – though, that didn't prevent me from shooting a quick glance at his license plate, just to be sure.
I jumped off the bench and climbed onto my bike, jamming my helmet on quickly before starting the engine. I waited for Zarik's car to pass me – and then waited for a couple more cars to get between us – before I pulled out into traffic. I had no idea where we were headed, but I made sure to keep some distance between us to avoid being seen.
We were on the road for a little more than an hour, having gone well out of the city and up into the Angeles Crest Forest. It was a little trickier to stay discreet on the road that took us deeper into the San Gabriel mountains, but I managed.
Eventually, he pulled off the highway and down a long dirt road – a driveway to a cabin well off the main road. I passed the driveway and continued on for another half mile or so before finding a place where I could pull off the road. Getting off my bike, I pushed it behind a bush before pulling off my helmet and locking it to the seat.
Setting off on foot, I headed back in the direction Zarik had pulled off the road. There wasn't a marked path and the going was a little slow, but I moved as quickly and quietly as I could. Eventually, I stood at the edge of the treeline that surrounded Zarik's cabin, sheltering behind a large bush.
I studied the cabin, looking for movement inside, but saw nothing. His car was in the driveway, but I didn't see Zarik anywhere. Keeping behind the trees and bushes at the edge of his property as possible, I made my way around to the back of the cabin and still saw nothing indicating he was inside. I briefly considered going inside to have a look around for myself, but quickly dismissed it – that was a little too reckless, even by my standards.
I picked my way through the trees. Although the sun was high overhead, the floor of the forest was still dim and gloomy. I noticed that a small path had been cut through the forest, leading from the cabin and down a gentle slope. The trees were pressed close together all around me, which provided me plenty of cover as I followed the direction of the path, wondering if maybe Zarik had come that way.
In between the massive tree trunks, I saw movement in a small clearing just ahead. It was Zarik. I crept behind one of the trees and peered around. He was practicing with his blades. The sun glinted off the edges of his daggers, flashing brightly. He was shirtless and the sun glistened off the sheen of sweat covering his toned body – it was hard to not notice his physique.
Aside from his incredible body though, I was mesmerized as I watched him practicing. He turned and spun, his blades cutting and dancing through the air in deadly strikes. He was a poet with his weapons, his every movement effortless, efficient – and lethal. Zarik was fast, moving with blinding speed. And for the first time, as I watched him, I began to have doubts that I could actually beat him in one-on-one combat.
I was good. Maybe I was even as great as Jacob said. But Zarik was on a whole different level.
Honestly, I probably could have watched him all day – and not just for his body. His skill was absolutely hypnotic. As it was, I had no idea how long I'd actually been standing there watching. But eventually, he put his blades back into their sheaths and set them down on a tree stump with a lump of fabric, I assumed was his shirt. He wiped his face with a rag and dropped that on the stump as well.
And that's where things got weird. Really, really weird.
Zarik took off his boots and set them next to the stump before unbuckling his pants and sliding them down his legs. I felt a warm heat growing in the center of me as I looked at the man standing beneath the sun, his golden colored body coated in sweat – naked as the day he was born.
And as I watched, Zarik stretched his arms out from his sides like he was doing a yoga pose – and then his body started to change. My mouth hung open as I watched him transform into a creature that was covered in green, scaly plates. Wings erupted from its back and had a span that was easily ten feet. His neck elongated and changed into something fierce, with a long snout and a mouthful of teeth that were as long as his daggers – and probably just as sharp.
When his transformation was complete, Zarik was about eight feet tall, had thick arms and legs that ended in lethal looking claws, and a long tail.
I couldn't believe my eyes – I was staring at a dragon.
I must have gasped or made some other sound without meaning to, because the dragon's head swung in my direction. Its eyes narrowed and a low, rumbling growl escaped its throat. Fear paralyzed me and my heart started to beat in my chest with a ferocity that made me think it might actually burst out of my body on its own.
The dragon was suddenly sniffing the air – loud enough that I could hear it from where I was. With a slight breeze blowing in behind me, I knew it was only a matter of moments before the dragon – or rather, Zarik – picked up my scent. I hadn't had the foresight to bring my masking spray with me. I didn't think I'd need it – and I was kicking myself for it.
The dragon roared and I felt the air around me vibrating with the noise. It was enough to break the paralysis that held me rooted to the spot behind the tree and send me scurrying through the forest. I ran as hard as I could, leaping over fallen logs, bushes, rocks, and anything else in my way. I was in a blind panic and my only thought was of escape.
Movement above me caught my eye and when I looked up, I saw the green dragon skimming along the treeline, its eyes peering down at me through the canopy overhead. I cut to my right abruptly, trying to run deeper into the forest and lose the creature in the sky.
It didn't work.
Instead of running deeper into the forest, I stumbled into a clearing in the trees and stopped so suddenly that I tripped over my own feet and went down hard. The breath was driven from my lungs and I gasped for air. Knowing that my survival depended on me getting up, I got to my feet as quickly as I could and prepared to run back into the trees.
But, it was too late. The dragon landed in the clearing just feet from me, the wind generated by its wings buffeting me. As I stood there, not knowing what to think or do, the dragon shifted again, transforming back into Zarik. He stood there smiling at me – still utterly and completely naked. As terrified as I was, I couldn't help but notice just how naked he actually was. What the mind chooses to focus on in times of high stress is strange indeed.
“Ella,” Zarik said. “It's nice to see you again. How long had you been hiding behind that tree?”
Long enough to see you put on quite a show – a show I should thank you for, I thought to myself.
“A little while, I guess,” I said, doing my best to avoid looking at his – nakedness – and probably failing miserably. “I was admiring your skill with your blades.”
“How did you find me?” he asked.
I cleared my throat and shrugged. “Dumb luck?”
He arched an eyebrow and stared at me. “Dumb luck, huh?”
“I was just in the neighborhood?”
He folded his arms across his chest and stared at me evenly. Clearly, he was a man used to getting what he wanted. But then, I wasn't usually a girl who gave in very easily. If at all. Jacob said I had a stubborn streak that would rival any mule in existence. And he was right.
At the same time though, Zarik had me dead to rights. I had no explanation for how I'd turned up at Zarik's secret mountain hideaway. So, I opted for the only path really open to me – the truth.
“Honestly, I followed you back to your place last night. After the fight in the tunnel,” I said. “And I obviously followed you out here today.”
He cocked his head. “But why?”
“I was curious,” I said.
“About?”
I shrugged. “About what you are,” I said. “I wanted to know. Had to know.”
He nodded and ran a hand through his hair. “So, now that you know, are you satisfied?”
A small chuckle slipped from my lips. “Not really,” I said. “Now, I just have a ton of questions.”
“As do I,” he said, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Tell you what, let's go back to my cabin and have a talk.”
I cleared my throat. “That sounds fine,” I said. “One favor though.”
“And that is?”
“You put some clothes on first.”
Zarik's laughter was genuine, his voice as deep and rumbling in human form as it was in his dragon form.
“Fair enough.”