Page 56 of Rurik
“You’re not doing it here?” sheasked.
Luis shook his head. “No. No. There is someone who is dying to meet you first. He has waited even longer than I have to see the Barinovs fall. It is he who will choose when you die, though I have claimed the pleasure of killing youmyself.”
A shiver shot down her spine. “Who are you taking meto?”
Luis’s smile grew malevolent. “DimitriDrakor.”
The only surviving member of the other Russian Imperial house of dragon shifters. The one dragon who had come closer than anyone else to killingRurik.
OhGod…
16
The course of true love never did run smooth. - William Shakespeare
Rurik’s facehurt like the devil. Jason’s one punch had left Rurik feeling agony he normally felt only in battle with another dragon. He spat, the bloody mess landing on the hotel carpet floor. Damien was staring at him, a contemplative look in his eyes, and Jason looked ready to go for round two withhim.
“There’s really no way to sever the mating bond?” Damien asked, his tone dangerouslyquiet.
This time Rurik didn’t feel like trying to hide his answers. Nothing he would say would change whatever it was they intended to do withhim.
“Only death can break the bond.” He looked Damien in the eyes. He saw only one option left open to him, even though it would shatter his heart. “Our intention, ourhope, was to convince you there was another way between our peoples. But if you are so blind that you can’t see this, then I have anotheroption.”
Damien frowned. “What’sthat?”
“I will leave her alone. You take her home, and we are done here. You do nothing to my brothers or their mates in retaliation. They had no part in our mating and have caused you no harm, nor do they pose a threat to your kind. You know this. It’s the Drakors you have tofear.”
“I’m aware of the Drakors, and I know you and your brothers have kept on good terms with humans over the centuries.” Damien watched him intently. “What did you mean when you said you’d leave my sisteralone?”
“I won’t try to keep her. I will stay here in Moscow. You can take her home without fear that I will come after her. It will hurt her to be apart from me, but it’s better that she suffer missing me than watching usfight.”
Damien and Jason held another whispered conference. Before they could finish, the hotel room door rattled as someone pounded on it. Damien opened the door, letting the one they called Nicholasinside.
“Damien,” he panted. “Tamara just called. Charlotte’s been abducted. They were leaving Moscow when a car hit them. She and Meg were knocked out, and when they woke up, Charlotte was gone. There’s no trace of who or what hit them or where theywent.”
Panic hit Rurik like a train, but he remained frozen to the chair. His mind worked frantically, absorbing what he’d justheard.
Damien turned to Rurik, his tone now icy. “Was this your brothers’work?”
Rurik glared at Damien. “That’s not our way, and you’re a fool to think it. We wouldn’t put Charlotte’s life in danger, nor would we harm your hunters unless they attackedfirst.”
Jason scoffed, but Damien raised a finger. “I believe him. At least the first part. Ramming the car could have killed her, and that would have killed Rurik. It’s too risky aplay.”
Rurik tried to think clearly, but knowing that someone had taken his mate was choking him. He’d never felt so powerless before. There was only one person he knew who would dare to get at him by harming his mate. A growl escaped hislips.
“But I know who took her.” He glared at them. “And when I find him, I’m going to tear him to pieces.” He jerked his bound hands. “Release me.Now.” Even though his dragon was gone, he was still fueled by his desire to destroy all those who threatened hismate.
“That’s not going to happen,” Damien said. “You can tell us where she is, or I willmakeyou tellus.”
Rurik was silent for a long moment, studying Charlotte’s big, bad brother, the man who could snap his fingers and raise hell for dragons everywhere, especially with the new weapon they possessed. He raised a brow in challenge, his tone deadly calm. “Listen to me,hunter. Dimitri Drakor has taken Charlotte to get to me. And they know she’s your sister, so they intend to use her against you as well. This is not the time to cling to past grudges. We can join forces, like Charlotte wanted, or we can stay here and bicker until they killher.”
Jason turned away from him, but he could still hear him say to his brother, “I don’t trusthim.”
Damien, however, was more thoughtful. He closed his eyes a moment, fingers pressed at the bridge of his nose. “The Barinovs wouldn’t risk Charlotte’s life crashing into her that way. A Russian warned us when we arrived about the Barinovs torturing Charlotte, but that never happened. He also said the Barinovs were a threat to everyone. He wanted us to take the Barinovsout.”
He opened his eyes and raised his head, meeting Rurik’s eyes. “We’re beingplayed.”
Rurik’s heart skipped abeat.
