Release, book 3 of The Angler series (22 page)

With practiced ease, she slowed her heart rate and kept breathing in a steady rhythm. Any of her guards could tear her to pieces, but she needed to believe they wouldn’t. The only thing stopping them was her overprotective father.

Pushing past the bushes, Kele inhaled. A strange odor blew in the wind, mild and floral.

Not far from the path, a female in civil form lay on the ground at the bottom of the hill. She rested just over the Payami territory line, marked every four days by her father’s scent.

The female sat and gaped at them. Leaves and twigs clung to her brown hair. What used to be a white coat was twisted around her torso.

Kele halted in her tracks.

A massive, silver-furred male raced down the hill toward them.

For a second, Kele lost control of her fear as her heart took flight. He was big—bigger than her father. This boded ill. Packs were not allowed on each other’s territories without an invitation from the alpha.

Her guards charged forward, blocking the strange shifter’s path across their border.

The male slid to a stop but his feet remained on Temple ground. Barely. “She belongs to me.” He leaned forward and confronted Ahote nose-to-nose.

Kele knelt next to the female. “Are you injured?” The female had a traumatized expression. “Did he hurt you?”

She stared at the feral males and grabbed Kele’s hand, her eyes never wavering from the beasts.

Sniffing, Kele tried to detect any scent of abuse. Small amount of blood from minor scrapes. Nothing major. No smell of sex either. Actually, the female smelled very clean, of soap and flowers and more importantly, no scent markers declared her attachments. Not even a pack’s.

“She clearly isn’t yours.” Rising, she stepped between the female and all the males. Unmarked females were a rare commodity. Females were always in demand. Between childbirth and illness, their numbers were less.

Ahote turned, his nostrils flaring as his ears came forward and fanned in surprise. “She doesn’t carry anyone’s scent.”

Kele sighed as all her guards twisted toward the runaway female. Nice. An unmarked female surrounded by a bunch of unmated males. Even though her father kept assigning unmated guards to protect her in hopes one might claim her, no male ever had. Her natural gift to ward off mating interest was an unwanted talent.

She growled her own warning to back off. Not very impressive coming from her in civil form; however something had to be done before their intelligence dropped and they began to think with their cocks. Mating challenges could be bloody.

The silver-furred male crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s not a shifter, which is why she’s free of marks. She calls herself a hu-man.” He snarled at her guards. “I found her first. The Goddess sent her to me.”

If she could be in feral form, Kele’s ears would have perked. “You still worship the Goddess?” She’d thought most shifters either prayed to the vampires’ God or didn’t pray at all.

The strange shifter eyed her from head to foot and kept silent.

“Do you have proof?” Kele raised an eyebrow.

“She fell from a blue light in the sky. Ask her.” He pointed to the unmarked female, who rose to her feet and stood close to Kele’s back.

“Did the Goddess send you?” Kele asked. The blue light was the reason for the trek. Guards watching the entrance to their den reported seeing it burn in the sky above Temple lands. Her parents had sent her to investigate.

The female blinked, her gaze traveling from Kele to the strange male. “I—I don’t know. All gods work in mysterious ways, don’t they?”

Kele didn’t smell any lies. “Did you fall from a blue light?”

Wringing her hands, the female backed away. “Yes,” she whispered.

Kele’s breath caught in her chest. “Truly?” She looked at the strange male once more for confirmation and approached him. He easily towered two feet above her short frame, but she was practiced in how to hold her ground. “She’s on Payami ground now, so I lay claim to her.”

Surprised grunts came from her guards.

“You can’t claim her. You’re—you’re female.” The strange male lifted his foot as if to step over the territorial line.

Her guards growled and closed in on him.

Ears folded back, he bared his teeth and stayed on his side of the border.

“Enough of this.” She clapped her hands as if disrupting a puppy squabble. “She’s not a shifter so she’s not part of pack hierarchy. None of you have rights to her. But she’ll be my guest.” She glared at the foreign shifter who acted like an alpha. “Be off.”

The female leaned close. “Thank you.”

“You’ve grown bold, Kele, for someone who can’t shift.” The stranger shook his mane and relaxed his stance. “You don’t possess the power to order me.”

A small muscle ticked along her jaw. This mutt didn’t need to remind her of her impotence. She was quite aware of it. “And who exactly are you?” Especially since he knew so much about her.

Fur melted to tanned skin. The male kept his muscular shape as his animal nature faded and he changed to his civil form. His muzzle and ears reshaped, leaving a rugged, angry face. A pale scar ran across his face to the corner of his lower lip, giving him a perpetual frown.

He didn’t cover his nudity. “Sorin, alpha of the Apisi.” His untidy silver hair hung down his back to his hips.

The female who tumbled down the hill gasped, her tight grip on Kele’s hand weakening as her eyes rolled back. She crumpled to the forest floor.

Kele blinked at the prone body at her feet. What had happened? Did she just die? She knelt, pressed her fingertips to the female’s throat and found a steady, strong pulse.

The ground vibrated with the rising sound of growls.

The alpha had crossed the line and squatted across from her. “Is she hurt?” Sorin brushed a loose strand of hair from the female’s cheek. Concern flashed across his face—so quick Kele wasn’t sure if she’d truly seen it. Dark circles and worry lines made Sorin appear older. Her gut said the female wasn’t the cause of his premature aging.

Ahote went down on all fours behind Sorin. The fur along his spine stood on end, and his bared fangs dripped saliva. He crept closer.

“Wait!” She raised her hands to stop the attack but a second too late.

Sorin twisted in time to meet the assault but her guards were in feral form, and the alpha was outnumbered.

She heard the crack of flesh hitting flesh, and the scent of fresh blood masked all other smells in the area. The fight didn’t last long. Her guards stood over Sorin’s prone, unmoving body and panted.

“You better not have killed him!” The idiots. Her father had no tolerance when it came to trespassers. They were usually beaten and returned to Temple land as a warning. Repeat offenders became omegas of her pack.

But Sorin was an alpha. She shook her head. This was different. Kele had heard the stories about the Apisi, a small pack to the North—too small to be a threat and too crazy to absorb into her pack. Her father barely tolerated their existence. She didn’t want them to retaliate over something as insignificant as young males fighting over a female. “Toss him back to neutral ground.”

Ahote returned her stare with his sharp blue eyes. “You sure? Your father may want to speak with him first.”

“About what? It’s not like his pack has anything we want.” Trading for the return of a trespasser was a common practice. Someone had to pay the price of breaking pack law. As an alpha, Sorin should have brought a nice bounty, but she knew his pack was poorer than dirt. She ground her teeth. She wouldn’t risk displeasing her father either. He might protect her from others but he didn’t have a problem tanning her ass. “Fine, bring him.”

She regarded the prone female.

Ahote knelt on the other side of her.

“She fainted. Sorin frightened her, I think.” Kele kept her laughter in check. “I don’t care if the Goddess sent her or not. That’s not a good way to leave an impression on an unmated female.”

Her first guard ran a gentle fingertip over the female’s unmarred cheek. “She acts like she’s never seen a shifter before. Have you ever heard of a hu-man?”

“No.” Kele bent closer to examine the inside of the female’s mouth. “No fangs. Her canines are too small and dull for a shifter.” She rolled her onto her side. “No wings, tail or fins.”

He leaned closer. “The light?”

“That’s why my father sent us.”

“Do you truly think she came from the Goddess?”

“She doesn’t work so openly, Ahote.” She rose to her feet. If the female came from the light, she’d need to question her before anyone else questioned her. Maybe she held the key to freeing Kele from the curse of remaining in civil form.

She assessed the female’s slim shape, a shape that contained a nice touch of extra curves that Kele lacked. “You’ll care for her? Not let these dogs abuse her?”

A snarl escaped Ahote. “But I’m not interested in a permanent mate.”

Kele fought to control a grin at his expression. Ahote could use a little humility. “I know. That’s why it has to be you until I find out more about her.”

He grimaced. “Fine, but you can’t hold it against me if I play with her. This is your idea, not mine.”

“Fair enough.”

Never make a deal with a dragon.

Sandra’s sister is dying. All the doctors agree that nothing more can be done, but she can’t give up hope. After using all her resources searching for a cure, a little bird whispers in Sandra’s ear about secr
et worlds, Gates, and the Keepers who protect them. A dragon Gatekeeper, who hoards magical treasure within his volcano home in Japan, can possibly hold an item to cure her sister.

Gates choose their Keepers and Koishi thinks his did an excellent job in picking him. Not many dare to cross and none who try survive.  However, one tiny human female with either the courage of an army or the intelligence of a gnat has arrived on the island asking for him. Curious and not wanting to disappoint, he waits for the locals to steer her to his human ‘servant’, which is him in his man form.

Let the games begin…

CONTENT WARNING: Goblins, mayhem, and sushi await you with hot dragon sex and Koishi’s odd sense of humor.

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              Never make a deal with a dragon.

              Koishi yawned so wide his jaw cracked. If he didn’t kill something soon, he’d--he’d have to find a hobby. A shudder ran down his human form’s spine. At least the winds were growing stronger so there would be good flying tonight.

              Takai Crossing, the gate to Outremer in the east, had been quiet the last two months. Too quiet. Nothing had tried to escape into Inverness, otherwise known as Earth.

              Outremer was the realm of magic. All manners of creatures lived there, including his kind. It was a dark and dangerous world. The gates, where both worlds touched, allowed people to cross. Keepers, such as he was, protected the worlds from spilling too much into each other.

              The two worlds around his gate were safe for the moment.

              The rough seas splashed warm water onto his bare feet and washed away the dirt from the dock. Dark storm clouds brewed over the horizon, racing toward Izu Oshima Island. Bands of orange and red slashed across them as the sun set.

              He couldn’t wait until it arrived. Flying against the elements, muscle and sinew versus lightning and rain, would provide some relief from this calm.

              Sheep bleated as the cargo ship knocked against the dock wall.

              “Moe,” he called out over the noise.

              The animals scurried to the far end of their pen and silence fell over the small herd.

              Sometimes animals were smarter than humans. They could sense a predator in disguise.

              “Koishi.” Captain Moe waved from across the ship’s deck. He helped a female to stand, hanging her head and arms over the side rail. “Vomit in the sea, not on my ship,” he told her before shuffling toward the stern.

              Clinging to the pens, Koishi kept his balance and surveyed the stock. A few cattle, less than he’d like. Twentyish head of sheep, difficult to count when they squeezed together like that.

              From the barking--he grinned--a few dogs.

              Moe gave him a quick bow, then gestured to the livestock. “This week’s order. Was

              Master Ishi pleased with last week’s?” His voice shook. Who could blame him? Koishi’s dragon form was fierce, which forced him to hide among them in his man-form, as his own servant. A genius idea.

              “Yes, he especially enjoyed the little dogs you brought.” The small bundles had been tender and their hair very short so they didn’t tickle when swallowed. They went well with a movie.

              “The Chihuahuas?”

              “Yes, those. You should buy a few breeding pair and start producing them. He’ll buy

              whatever you bring.”

              Moe grimaced, but nodded.

              Why did humans frown upon him eating dogs? They were delicious. He’d even sent his

              crazed mother a basket of them as a present. He would have loved to see the expression on her stern face when those arrived. She never played with her food. Her warrior nature wouldn’t allow such nonsense.

              The boat jerked from under his feet as a fierce wave knocked the ship once more. “Better unload my--uh--Master Ishi’s--cargo before the storm hits. He finished the last of his prey yesterday and is hungry.” His stomach grumbled and he rubbed it. Not long now.

              A groan traveled from the half-conscious female hanging on the side-rails for dear life.

              “Your woman looks ill.”

              Moe snorted. “Not mine. The ferry won’t run in this weather and she refused to wait. She bought passage with me.” He chuckled. “She fed the fish the whole way across. Where such a tiny thing keeps all that stored is beyond me.”

              The smell from that side of the ship soured the air. He shook his head. Tourists. Always in a rush, clogging the beaches and disturbing his home. No matter the rumors of his existence, a few had to be chased down the volcano’s side as a reminder that the area wasn’t safe to play around. He doubted any of them truly wanted to cross through the gate--it would be suicide--but he couldn’t allow concrete evidence of him to surface. Baker Morris, a human company that dealt with the gatekeepers, would have a fit.

              The magic realm tolerated some humans, but not the section where his gate exited.

              Shadowburn was a place where nightmares were born, and Takai gate resided close to a goblin nest. Whatever mortal stepped through wouldn’t survive for long. No, his duty was to keep the vermin from crossing into Inverness, or like the humans called it, Earth.

              His memory surpassed those of the short-lived locals, though they did tell their young the goblin stories. He had heard them repeated often in taverns and around campfires. In each one he was the hero. He’d driven back the goblin hordes when the last gatekeeper had been

              overwhelmed, and he would continue to do so until he fell.

              What dragon wouldn’t want such a destiny?

              He had easy food, battles at his doorstep, and an island full of people who worshipped the myth of him. The gate had chosen well when it bonded to him.

              Moe followed him off the ship. “She barely speaks Japanese.”

              “Who?”

              “The puker.”

              He shrugged and continued along the dock. A truck backed close to the ship. “Load the livestock in there. I’ve hired new handlers, so show them what to do.” He dropped a gold coin into Moe’s waiting hand.

              Unfortunately, changes happened quicker in the mortal world. Not many dealt with gold or silver anymore. Humans wanted paper or plastic now, but where was the warm and shiny in that?

              Moe liked gold. Koishi could appreciate that in a male, and he trusted greed. They

              worked well together. Too bad Moe would be dead in a few decades. Finding ships, not only to transport, but to make his purchases on the main island, grew more difficult with each generation. If he had to start hunting the old fashioned way, they’d find a replacement fast, he guessed.

              “Don’t let them release the dogs. They escape the pastures too easily, then the fucking locals adopt them. Master Ishi hates to make little girls cry.” He gave Moe a meaningful glare.

              Some of those Chihuahuas had escaped the pen last week. Little slippery snacks. His old handlers didn’t want them eaten.

              Nobody would ever see him setting farmers’ poultry loose because he didn’t agree with the human penchant for winged meat, though technically, chickens couldn’t fly. He wouldn’t eat them. It wasn’t ethical.

              Moe bowed. “Please extend my apologies to your master, Koishi. I’ll make sure these

              handlers are more respectful and unauthorized releases never happen again.”

             
* * * *

Sandra stared at the mocking gray waves. They rolled the ship back and forth, back and              

              forth, back and…she heaved one more time, pain radiating across her stomach, but nothing came out. Vomit had stopped flowing out of her before they’d docked. There was only so much a woman could puke, after all.

              The lovely captain, who smelled of a wonderful combination of aged sheep and fish, had yelled at her the whole trip. Every time he approached and made her lean over the side of the ship, his stench would start a fresh wave of heaving. She needed to get off this forsaken ship before they had to bury her at sea.

              Pushing against the railing, she took one stumbling step at a time across the rocking deck.

              If she waited for the world to stabilize, she’d grow old and gray before making one move. As she fell forward, something hard caught her under the arm and prevented a full force belly flop. A nibble on her fingertips shocked her straight out the nausea. She jerked her hand away and braced herself against a wooden pen.

              Sheep.

              She wiped the ewe spit on her shirt, next to the vomit stain. A sob knotted in her chest.

              She had to be here. She’d had no choice. Glaring at the animals, she wobbled away, using the pen’s fence as a crutch.

              Captain Moe stood on the dock speaking with a tall Asian man. Hell, they were all Asian.

              She was the foreigner here. Japan had sounded so distant a few days ago, yet here she stood after spreading her DNA across the narrow strip of ocean separating the main island from this small one.

              She hadn’t met too many Asians who were taller than her. Eyeing him, she appreciated the way his jeans clung to his muscular legs. His white t-shirt had a few dirt smudges on the front. He folded his thick arms over his chest and watched her slow progress with what she thought was a hint of amusement.

              On weak legs, she stepped off the death trap and took a deep breath. It didn’t smell any better, but it at least didn’t smell worse. She had to find somewhere to stay before beginning her search. Someplace with a shower. Oh yes, a long, hot shower with lots and lots of soap to wash away the boat journey’s nightmarish memory.

              The last few months had shredded her world. Her sister’s condition had taken a turn for the worse and the doctors had told Beth that her prognosis was poor. When Sandra had left, they were trying to convince her to send Beth to a hospice. She’d refused the idea.

              Beth was all the family she had left. Nothing would stand in Sandra’s way of finding some hope, a procedure, or a…cure.

              Not even a dragon.

              She had run to her best friend and they’d cried on each other’s shoulders. That was when her friend had confessed a have-to-take-it-to-the-grave secret or her employer would kill them both. Her friend worked for Baker Morris, an agency that researched, chronicled, monitored and sometimes was forced to police creatures that came from another plane.

              This other world was called Outremer and certain areas of both worlds touched to create gates. That was when she learned about gatekeepers. Especially about a certain dragon keeper who hoarded magical treasure.

              Humans didn’t know about the magical realm. Hell, it had taken some convincing to get her to believe, and she was desperate. Determination could stiffen any spine and give courage to any coward. She’d need to muster all she could to face Gatekeeper Ishi. They didn’t have dragons in the mid-west. He’d be her first, and she didn’t know shit about them.

              Flipping through her English-to-Japanese phrase book, she approached the captain and asked for the closest hotel.

              Both men blinked and stared as if she grown a second head.

              The stranger snorted, then threw his head back laughing. He slapped the captain on the back and dropped him to the ground. “Oh!” Bending over, he helped the captain back to his feet.

              “We don’t run those types of tea houses on the island anymore. It’s frowned upon.”

              “Tea house? I asked for a hotel.” Slapping the book closed, she stuffed it in her pocket.

              “You speak good English.”

              “So do you.” He continued to grin as the captain bowed to him and returned to the ship.

              “It’s an odd time of the year to visit Izu Oshima Island. Tourist season doesn’t start for another month.”

              “Good, it should be easy to find a room. Can you point me in the right direction?” The seasickness fogging her head faded and her vision cleared. Her gaze met the man’s dark, intense stare. Heat flushed her cheeks in a wave of awareness. In her state of disarray, puke stains and all, she wanted to crawl back on the boat.

              His gaze traveled lower, caressing her curves, before returning to her face. Only a

              predator could own such a hungry stare. “If you make a right off the dock, it will lead you to the main road.”

              “Thank you.” She shifted the weight of the pack on her back and marched toward the

              street.

              He twisted as she passed him, his gaze weighing heavily on her. “It’s about a three hour walk to the nearest hotel. If you run, you might beat the storm.”

              She spun around. “What?” she wanted to smack that stupid grin off his face. The trip across the strait had been harrowing enough. She wasn’t in any shape to hike in a storm. “Do you have cabs?”

              “Yes.” He approached her. “During tourist season.”

              “Then how do people move around the island? There have to be buses.” She peered at the storm clouds, which appeared closer than before. She hadn’t considered the consequences of rushing here. Time was running out and she’d jumped on the first flight out to Japan.