Destiny of Dragons (3 page)

“Yeah, it makes me wonder if eventually he’ll get more dragon abilities.” Aden hadn’t become a dragon until his forties, what skills would his son begin to exhibit as he got older? Aden approved of anything that would help keep Carey safe. Breathing fire might be a good start.

A loud splash turned their attention to the window. With a sense of dread Aden watched a large blue dragon emerge from the water.

“Is the Puget Sound a dragon portal and no one ever told me?” Gallen asked.

“You’d think so wouldn’t you? Should we go greet the new dragon?”

“Might as well. We’ve learned from experience they just don’t go away if you ignore them. That would be another benefit to moving into the mansion. No water creatures would pop out and come to see us.”

Aden laughed. “This one has horrible timing. I was looking forward to bending you over the couch again.”

Memories of the last time Aden pounded into his mate’s gorgeous ass while Gallen clung to the back cushions slid through his head. He grabbed Gallen’s hips and pulled him closer to show his mate proof of his arousal.

Gallen moaned. “Damn, that would’ve been nice. We’ll have to restrain ourselves to the bedroom if we move in with Carey. I’d hate to scar him by having him walk in while you’re fucking me.”

“We’ll keep this place for alone time,” Aden promised. “But on a day-to-day basis we should live with the boys. I might ask Denton to move back in with us, too.”

“I doubt he’ll want to leave his house. I mean, he has his own pool and a heated rock, that’s paradise to a crocodile shifter.”

Aden sighed. “True. Maybe if he’s careful it won’t matter. I think dragons are the target not other shifters, and Denton is mean enough to take care of himself.”

A loud roar outside made Aden growl himself.

“We’d best go see the dragon,” Gallen said. “He sounds impatient.”

“Aren’t they always?” Aden reluctantly released his mate and allowed Gallen to stand. There were so many other things he’d prefer to do with the sexy sorcerer, going to talk to another lost dragon was low on his list.

Holding hands, they left their home and walked across the street. The dragon watched them approach, his expression wary. Before they reached him the beast transformed into an Asian man complete with dragon scale clothing.

“Welcome to Seattle,” Gallen said.

The dragon ignored Gallen, his dark eyes fixated on Aden as if he carried the mysteries of the universe in the palm of his hand and planned to hand them over for free.

“My mate greeted you, it’s polite to say hello.” Aden had to push back his inner dragon or he’d shift and rip out the other dragon’s throat. No one disrespected his mate.

“Forgive me,” the dragon bowed to Gallen, “I was surprised to see a true royal dragon here. Are you trapping the other in hopes of selling us to the emperor?”

Aden frowned. “What in the hell are you talking about? I thought we were fighting the emperor?”

The dragon shifter sighed. “Good. Do you have someplace private we can talk?”

“Come with us.” Aden turned around and headed back across the street. This was becoming repetitive. Find a dragon and take it home.

“I don’t like this new habit you’ve acquired of collecting stray dragons,” Gallen complained as if reading Aden’s mind. “They’re too large to keep as pets.”

“But what else can the other kids play with?” Aden batted his eyes at his mate and smiled when Gallen burst into laughter.

No one said anything else until they were back inside.

“Please have a seat,” Aden pointed to one of the overstuffed chairs.

“Thank you.” The dragon sat gingerly on the edge.

“I promise no one in this room plans to harm you,” Aden said, watching the dragon’s cautious stance.

“We can’t make any promises once you leave here though,” Gallen said. “Seattle is rife with danger these days.”

Aden opened his mouth to object to his mate’s comment about their home city then he recalled the events of the past few weeks. Maybe Gallen had a good point.

The dragon nodded. “Fair enough.”

“What’s your name?” Aden asked.

“I am Liang.”

Aden nodded, recognizing the name. “I’ve met two of your friends.”

“Which ones?” Liang leaned forward eagerly. “I was searching for them and my instincts led me to you. I was looking for Zhou.”

“I’m a newly awakened dragon.” Aden didn’t say more. He didn’t know Liang and refused to spill out his soul to a complete stranger, even if they were on the same side.

“Ahh, you are very powerful, but I can’t tell what kind of dragon you are, only that you have the energy to be king.” Liang stared at Aden as if trying to pry open his soul and check what’s inside.

“That’s not important,” Gallen interrupted. “Zhou and Jiang are living with Aden’s son right now. If you want to see them we can take you over.”

“How do I know it’s not a trap?” Liang’s gaze jumped from Gallen to Aden then back again.

“You don’t. I could have you call the house and talk to your leader, but you still wouldn’t know if he was being forced to say the right things.” Aden knew there was no way to truly make the dragon more comfortable about going with them. “You can either trust us or go back to the sea. It makes no difference to me.”

Aden preferred that all the dragons were reunited, but it wasn’t his duty, he had enough problems on his plate. The annoying reptiles had already brought a dangerous emperor into their lives Aden and had no wish to encourage others to be against them.

Silence filled the living room like an oppressive weight, but Aden didn’t back down. He waited for Liang’s conclusion.

“I don’t want to fight you. I have little doubt I would lose. I could feel your power across oceans and you should keep in mind that if I can feel you, so can others,” Liang warned. “You stand out like a beacon for dragon kind.”

“Another reason to go live with Carey,” Gallen said. “The mansion is reinforced and it might tamp down the power you project.”

“I’ll not cower behind magical walls. If the emperor wants me he can come and try to take me.” Aden wouldn’t back down from a battle, but he would move to keep his mate safe.

“He won’t fight fair. He will take your child, he will take your mate then he will kill them and send you back their parts.” Liang said with the hollow tone of someone who’d experienced the horror.

“Did he do that to you?”

Liang nodded. “My parents and my little brother tried to resist. He cut off their fingers and toes and sent them to me. When I came to rescue them it was already too late. If it’s the last thing I do, I will see that man dead.”

“You might have to stand in line,” Aden warned.

Liang explained about his encounter. “I woke up in a cage in the Coral Sea, my captor was a water dragon named Bingwen. He was certain he could exchange me for favors from the emperor. The emperor has offered a bounty for us.”

“That’s information Zhou should know. I’m afraid we have to drive. So far none of the other dragons have appreciated a car trip,” Aden said.

“I haven’t ridden in one of these
cars
before. I am eager for the experience,” Liang announced.

Aden shook his head remembering the stench of fear that had filled the vehicle each time he’d driven a dragon anywhere. “You’ve been warned. If you knew where my son lived I’d let you fly there. You couldn’t get in, but at least you wouldn’t have to ride in a car.”

Liang shrugged. “I’ll have to get used to it some time. Flying takes a lot of energy, which is why we rode horses.”

“Didn’t the horses get upset?” Gallen asked.

“Why?” Liang asked, a bewildered expression on his face.

“Well, don’t you eat them?” Gallen winced after he asked the question.

Aden had to laugh at his diplomatic mate. It probably hurt Gallen’s sense of manners to discuss horse chomping with a stranger. His sweet sorcerer didn’t like to make other people uncomfortable.

“No. Horses were too valuable to eat. In my time a good horse was worth its weight in gold.”

“The only horse I have is a Mustang and it’s made out of metal. We’ll have to take that.” Aden motioned for the dragon to follow him to the garage.

Liang made little fuss on the way to Carey’s house and if his claws pierced the upholstery more than once, Aden didn’t find it worth mentioning. They pulled up in front of the mansion and Aden pressed the intercom button by the gate.

After verifying who they were, the gates opened.

Liang’s dark eyes swept the area, his gaze bright and curious. “This is a lot of security for one person’s house, both magical and physical.”

“Other than my mate, the people most important to me live here. I need to know they’re safe.” Aden wouldn’t apologize for his security measures. Even before he’d become the king of all dragons he’d been possessive of his child and Carey’s friends.

People were already spilling out of the front door when they pulled up.

“What’s up, Dad? I wasn’t expecting you today.” Carey walked over to greet Aden.

“I would’ve called, but I didn’t know if it was a trap or not.” He had no idea if Liang’s story was true. The only way to verify it was to bring him to the other dragons. They could get rid of him if it turned out he was lying.

Zhou, the leader of the water dragons, stepped out of a house. “Liang!” he exclaimed.

The joy on the dragon shifter’s face told Aden he’d made the right decision to bring Liang to the mansion.

“I’m going to go talk with Eaton.” Gallen kissed Aden lightly on the lips then trailed after the eagle shifter.

“I need to talk to you,” Aden told Carey.

“Let’s go talk in the library,” Carey headed back inside the house.

Aden followed his son through the twisted hallways while dodging the flow of people coming and going. Finally, they reached the library and settled in comfy leather chairs facing each other.

“What can I do for you, Dad?” Carey asked.

“Would it be possible for me and Gallen to move in? I don’t think it’s safe at my place anymore. If Gallen were to be captured by my enemies, no one would be safe.”

Carey sat for a moment without saying a word. “This is as much your house as it is mine. I have no problem with the two of you moving in. Did you discuss it with him?”

“Yes. He thinks I should be closer to my treasure anyway.”

Carey laughed. “He’s probably right.”

“He usually is.”

Leaning back in his chair, Carey seemed to be considering something.

“What is it?” His son didn’t usually hesitate to say whatever was on his mind. This new pondering side disquieted Aden.

“I’m wondering where to put you. Maybe we should knock out a wall between two rooms to make you a master suite. After all, if you’re truly the king of dragons then we can’t put you in a small attic room.”

Aden snorted. “Do you really think a title has changed me?”

“No, but it might change how other shifters react to you. We need them to feel you’re in charge of everything here. If you are truly the king of dragons they’ll expect you to have the best.”

“I don’t want to take away your leadership, I just want a safe place for Gallen to live. He might be a powerful sorcerer, but the emperor has lots of people willing take his life or use him for his magic.”

“Are you still going to let him go back to school?”

Aden’s skin crawled at the thought, the mere idea of his beloved wandering across campus unprotected set Aden’s inner dragon snarling. Aden clenched his fingers around the arms of the chair. “I’m hoping he can take some of his classes remotely. If not, I’ll have to send him to school with bodyguards and we both know how well that will go over. I don’t want to make him a prisoner, even if it’s for his own safety.”

As much as he loved his mate, he was under no illusion that Gallen would appreciate having guards follow him from class to class. Gallen had worked hard to break free of his father’s dictatorship and Aden didn’t wish to make him feel crowded once again.

“Don’t worry, Dad, you’ll figure it out.”

“Then you’re more optimistic about it than I am.” Still, Carey’s faith eased some of Aden’s anxiety. Together they would figure out a way to let Gallen study without putting Aden’s mate in danger.

A knock at the library door startled the men out of their discussion.

“Yes?” Carey shouted.

The door swung open and Zhou stuck his head inside. “We have a problem. Liang had to leave his mate behind. We need to go to Australia and fetch him.”

“Why didn’t he bring his mate with him?” Aden didn’t understand how the dragon could bear to abandon the other half of his soul. His opinion of Liang took a hit.

“Apparently he can’t shift into his human form right now for some reason,” Zhou said. “He’s a leafy sea dragon and the change in temperature could have killed him.”

“Oh, I saw an exhibit of those at the Seattle Aquarium. They’re fascinating creatures.” Aden stood to face the dragon leader. “But they’re pretty delicate.”

“We don’t know why he can’t change?” Carey asked.

It did seem quite peculiar that a shifter wouldn’t be willing to change back into a human to travel with his mate. “Didn’t he want to come back here?”

Maybe it was the shifter’s way of escaping his mating. Aden knew not all shifters appreciated the mating compulsion, they saw it as a way to control them.

“I thought I’d go back to help fight the Coral Sea king if necessary,” Zhou said. “Maybe we can learn more then.”

Aden raised his eyebrows. He didn’t like things that didn’t make sense.

“How are we going to solve the water issue? We don’t exactly have tropical water in the Puget Sound.” The Pacific Northwest had cold water even in the summer months, not a proper environment for a sea dragon.

“We could get him a tank.” Carey stood up. “There’s a tropical fish store at the bottom of the hill, we could get all the equipment we need there. Maybe Gallen can do something to ease the transition.”

“The parlor is a good spot for an aquarium. It’s not really used for anything.” Aden envisioned a large tank filling one wall and nodded. “It should be fine there.”

“Thanks. I’m going back with Liang to make sure his mate is safe. I don’t want to leave him in the hands of a crazy dragon. If we have to, we can stay in Australia for a bit while you set everything up,” Zhou said.