Rip.

He pushed his upper body up. Blood gushed from his lower lip, spilling over his chin. Onto her tattered clothes.

“My my, what big eyes you have.”

And then he was gone, replaced by a terrible creature with a mane of black. Lips streaked with crimson. The beast’s incredible weight pinned her to the ground.

“No!”

Jaws closed around the back of her neck.

Pain unlike anything she had ever felt before.

Rip.

At first she thought it was her clothes that were ripping. But then she realized it was her own skin.

Suddenly the creature didn’t feel so heavy. She tore the beast off of her. Pinned its neck with her jaws. It escaped her grasp, and they fought in a blur.

And then she was racing through the trees, her body battered. The pain, the pain. Not just physical, but emotional.

She reached a trail that wound through the woods. She spotted a lone hiker. A man. He seemed shocked, backed away.

A man.

A man had done this too her.

Something snapped inside of her.

She leaped at the hiker, jaws open wide...

"No!" Ariel lifted her head and opened her eyes but couldn’t see through the tears. A growl rose inside of her as the lioness clawed to get out, but could not.

Then she remembered where she was. Midnight. Jett’s guest house.

She lay back. Strange, there was no pillow under her head, and the surface felt strangely hard beneath her. Had she fallen onto the floor?

Ariel blinked her eyes groggily, clearing away the blur of tears. She felt extremely tired, like she’d only slept half the night or less.

LEDs embedded in the ceiling created bright spots in her vision. She didn’t remember the roof of her bedroom being that far away. And it definitely hadn’t been made of stone.

“Where—” She sat up.

She resided on the floor of a vast, stone-walled chamber. She felt the tight grip of compulsion around her chest.

Movement drew her eye, and she spotted Gwendoline lingering among a series of stone plinths, her hands clasped behind her back.

Ariel scrambled to her feet and backed away. Her hip hit something. Turning around, she saw that it was another stone plinth, reaching to her waist. No, not a plinth, but a tomb: on top was a statue depicting a medieval knight at rest, with a sword held between hands that were clasped over his belly, the stone blade pointing toward booted feet. Large wings protruded from underneath the knight, emerging from the shoulder blade regions, and they were sculpted to wrap down the sides of the tomb. The membranous wings had no feathers, like those of the dragons she had seen in flight.

Ariel lifted her gaze and realized the other stone objects lining the chamber were tombs as well. This was a sepulcher or crypt of some kind.

“I carried you here, using compulsion to ensure you slept,” Gwendoline said nonchalantly. She was dressed in an immaculate white gown, wearing a crystalline tiara and earrings harboring large rubies. Beautiful as ever. Ariel couldn’t shake the feelings of inferiority.

“Why?” Ariel said.

“So you are aware of the gravity of the situation,” Gwendoline said. “Do not take Jett’s actions lightly. What he does for you, he would not do for any ordinary shifter. You are important to him for some reason. Though honestly, I can’t imagine what he sees in you, Lion.”

The way Gwendoline said that especially irked Ariel, and the animal abruptly growled in outrage inside of her, struggling to get out. That the lioness remained caged served only to confirm Ariel was still in Midnight City.

“So vulnerable,” Gwendoline said, approaching. “So delicate. Weak.”

Ariel pressed herself against the knight’s tomb, and leaned away as Gwendoline reached for her. A hot finger touched her face, so hot that at first Ariel thought it would burn her. The finger traced Ariel’s jawline, sliding down in front of her chin: it was all she could do not to bite at the digit.

Ariel finally snapped. “Don’t touch me!” She tried to bat Gwendoline’s hand aside, but her palm slammed against the flesh and didn’t move. It was like she had struck stone. Or steel.

Gwendoline smirked, but then withdrew. “Tread carefully in my presence, little one. You may have the pity of my brother, but I am not so easily swayed by a broken animal.”

Gwendoline turned her back on Ariel and retreated several paces. Ariel considered running in that moment, but where would she go? With compulsion wrapped around her chest, she wouldn’t make it very far.

Gwendoline stopped. Glancing askance, she asked: “Do you even know who Jett is?”

“Your alpha?” Ariel tried.

Gwendoline chuckled softly. “He’s more than that, dear girl. He is my king.”

“Oh,” Ariel said. King.

Gwendoline gestured around her.

“These are the tombs of the dragon knights who died since the Great Unification,” Gwendoline said. “In the Great Vampire War, and all the smaller wars fought since the tribes united.”

“The tribes…” Ariel said.

“Yes,” Gwendoline told her. “The dragons were spread across the world, far and wide. Many lived in tribes, many more lived alone in private dens. Jett and our father worked to unite all of those who resided on this continent under one rule, and our father became the first of the seven great kings. Together they built this place, Midnight City, and invited the dragons to leave their tribes and solitary dens to live here under the king’s protection.

“Jett remained in the countryside, working to gather the tribes into larger dens for their own protection, and securing the allegiance of the different shifter crews. He also acted as the emissary to the other seven kings and queens who arose across the world. After the Great Vampire War, our world-weary father abdicated the throne to Jett, leaving it up to my brother to keep the dragons of North America united, and the shifters and vampires on the continent under control. Jett has made so many sacrifices for his people. Led us in the wars. Put down revolts and infighting. He’s even married dragon women to secure the allegiance of various tribes. At one point, he had three wives.”

Ariel felt a twinge of jealousy, thinking about how three women had the privilege of calling Jett husband. Even if they were dragon women.

“What happened to the wives?” Ariel said.

Gwendoline shrugged. “They seemed to get on well enough at first, but near the anniversary of their first year together the women destroyed each other.”

“Nice,” Ariel said.

Gwendoline shrugged. “Dragon women are known for their jealousy.”

“So is there anything else you wanted to tell me, or can I go now?” Ariel said.

“Only one thing,” Gwendoline said. “Remember well our First Rule. It is forbidden for an ordinary shifter or human to lay with a dragon. Do not seduce Jett.”

“Excuse me?” Ariel said, offended by the words. “I have no intention of seducing him. Who do you think I am? I’m not some random streetwalker.”

“Aren’t you?” Gwendoline said.

Ariel fisted her hands at her sides and couldn’t help the growl that escaped her throat. If there hadn’t been an invisible vise containing her lioness, she probably would have transformed.

“I’m a tradeswoman,” Ariel said slowly, steadily. “And I teach martial arts on weekends. I beat up men. Not seduce them.”

“Good, because I will not have you taking my brother from me.” With that, Gwendoline turned around. “Let’s go.”

Ariel felt the choking sensation in her chest, and she hurried to obey if only to breathe again.

Gwendoline led her from the sepulcher and into a long tunnel that led back to the city proper. Gwendoline took her through the winding streets, which proved empty at that hour. The LEDs embedded in the far ceiling were dimmer, providing just enough light to see by. Ariel thought she saw eyes watching from the shadows in alleyways, and she shivered. Those eyes quickly dispersed whenever Gwendoline, tall and regal in her white dress, glanced their way.

Eventually the woman led Ariel to the door of her brother’s estate and the two vampire guards on duty bowed.

“See that the lion reaches the house unmolested,” Gwendoline ordered the pair.

The tightness lifted from Ariel’s chest, and she knew Gwendoline had revoked the compulsion.

Ariel glanced at her, but Gwendoline was already walking away. Ariel hurried into the estate; one of the vampires assumed a place beside her in escort. She realized he carried the pistols and swords of a member of the White Swords.

Jett was waiting in the foyer of the mansion. Shirtless. His chiseled abs and sculpted chest were visible in all their glory thanks to the bright overhead lights within.

“What did she want with you?” he asked, shutting the door behind Ariel, which caused his large shoulder muscles to ripple.

“Nothing,” Ariel said. “Is it time to leave?”

Gwendoline’s words still echoed through her mind.

Do not seduce him.

“We’re not leaving yet,” Jett said. “It’s still early morning. We have some hours left.”

“Too bad,” Ariel said.

“She showed you the sepulcher?” Jett said. In response to her unanswered question, he added: “Dan told me.”

“Yes,” Ariel said.

“What was said between you?” Jett pressed.

“Why don’t you ask your Dan?” Ariel said.

“No audio or video recording devices are allowed in the sepulcher,” Jett told her. “It is a sacred place.”

Ariel bit her lip. She just wanted to be left alone right now. “I told you, she said nothing. Now can I go to my room?”

He hesitated, then nodded.

She hurried inside and up the stairs. Dan activated and deactivated the house lights as she went. When she reached the hallway that led to the guest room, she saw that Brazen stood guard.

“What happened to Flame?” she asked the White Sword.

“The sire punished him for letting his sister pass,” Brazen replied. His deep voice was stony, emotionless.

Ariel gulped. “What did Jett do to him?”

Brazen shrugged. “Flame will live. Though it might be a few weeks before he can fly again.”

Ariel shook her head. “I hate the thought of someone being punished because of me. Suffering.”

“Reserve your pity for yourself,” Brazen said. “A few weeks in the immense lifespan of a dragon is a drop in the bucket. The sire could have inflicted far worse.”

When she got to her room she shut and locked the door. It wouldn’t hold Jett or his White Swords if they really wanted to get in, but so what? At least it gave her the partial illusion of security.

She lay down and squeezed her eyes shut.

She dwelled on Flame’s punishment for only a few moments, and then her mind returned to what Jett’s crazy sister had told her.

Do not seduce him.

For some reason, those words bothered Ariel. A lot.

Why do I even care about whether I can or can’t seduce him? Not that I ever would, of course. I’m not that kind of girl. He’s just some random guy, after all.

Who just so happens to be the king of the dragons. And hot as hell.

Stop it. Besides, he’s cruel. He punished Flame for no reason.

Actually, I’m lying to myself if I believe that. He had a pretty big reason: Jett punished Flame because the White Sword let his crazy sister take me.

Anyway forget it. I’m not going to touch Jett. Or encourage him. As if he’d be interested in me anyway.

But he’s just so damn hot and alluring...

She kept swinging back and forth like that in her mind. It was a long time before slumber finally came to her again, and when it did, she slept in short, troubled bursts.