Page 73 of Saving the Last Heir
I stiffened and glanced around, my head jerking back and forth, looking for the source of that last smell. My dragon roared at me to take flight and flee, but I held firm, fists clenched. Theserpentine smell of a dragon shifter permeated the area—it was the strangely earthen scent that drakes had. Wyrms smelled like fresh water and us winged dragons had a charcoal scent. Again, my eyes were drawn to the old house. The broken windows were like baleful eyes, the shattered door like a gaping and screaming mouth ready to feast upon me. From within, the first slithering sounds of movements echoed out. The hair on the back of my neck rose as gooseflesh rippled along my arms. Was this a trap? Had I been lured here to be killed?
Rustling noises crackled through the forest, forcing me to rip my eyes away from the house and scan the surrounding area. The scent of drakes filled my nose. So many. I was surrounded.
When the first drake emerged from the forest, it did so with long languid strides, its long, lithe body sliding from behind a tree and out of the shadows. Ruby red eyes glared at me. Large, taloned paws thudded on the ground, claws digging furrows in the dirt and grass with each step. It was the largest drake I’d ever seen, hulking and muscular as the dark, shit-brown scaled skin flexed. Beside that dragon, another emerged, this one smaller, but still dangerous, its mouth hung half open in a parody of a smile, dagger like ivory teeth glinted in the morning light as saliva dripped.
More of them slipped from the forest massive drakes ringed the clearing, tails twitching and lashing back and forth, every set of eyes looking upon me as if I was a mouse in a cage, and they were hungry snakes. Even in my full dragon form, a fight with this many drakes at once would be tough. Winged dragons were bigger and stronger than both drakes and wyrms, but numbers were still numbers. Me being an alpha would help, but not enough. They also had incredibly powerful legs and could leapover a hundred feet. If I tried to shift and simply fly away, they’d pounce on me before I could get far enough away. I was trapped.
It was only as that realization sank in that the sound of footsteps again came from the house. Glancing at the ruined home, I found another drake slipping, like liquid, from the shattered front door, his huge body barely fitting through the broken and gaping opening. The scales were dark green, almost jade-like, and ridged with spines along the shoulders and hips. Eyes black as midnight glared at me with hungry fascination as the entirety of the body stepped down the rotten steps to the grass below. When the drake was only a few feet away, he shifted, revealing a man I’d only seen in pictures.
Joseph Anitoli.
His shoulders were the broad and rigid type you saw on linebackers, his thick barrel-like chest strained against the dress shirt he wore, the sleeves rolled up to reveal massive forearms with rippling muscles like steel cables beneath the skin. Stubble lined his face, and his light brown hair was swept back from his forehead. His smile was predatory in its savagery.
“The legendary Jackson Adelmund. Last alpha of the winged dragons,” Joseph said, opening his arms as if to hug me. “Glad you could make it, Jack.”
Swallowing hard, I glanced around at the other drakes, each of them still in their dragon forms, their eyes locked on me.
“I, uh, didn’t know there’d be such a big welcoming party,” I managed.
Joseph chuckled, and put his left fist into his right hand and cracked the knuckles. “I’m not a dumb man, Jack,” he said, still giving me that predacious grin. “You maysayyou’re a good boywho’ll do as I ask, but I know your type.” He shrugged as if bored. “You start getting ideas, you thinkmaybe I can fight my way out of this, your dick starts getting hard at the thought, testosterone and your dragon start giving you ideas? All shit I’ve seen before. All shit I’vedealtwith before. My men are here to make sure you don’t try any bullshit that we would both regret.”
I nodded slowly. “Okay. Sure. Well, I brought your car,” I said, waving a hand at the Lamborghini.
Joseph finally tore his savage eyes from me and looked at the car. He chuckled with glee. Stepping forward, he ran a hand along the side.
“Oh, she is a beauty. No wonder Alessio’s losing his shit over this. Dumb fucking prick that he is, hedoeshave taste.”
“What did they do to piss you off?” I asked.
“I told you,” Joseph said, not bothering to look at me as he leaned in to inspect the interior. “He’s horning in on my business dealings.”
“Yes, but all the other crime families, cartels, and gangs do. Human, shifter, all of them. What’s got you so hung up on Alessio Torrence?”
My tone finally brought Joseph out of his reverie, and he stood tall. Leaning his huge forearms on the roof of the car, he narrowed his eyes at me. “You know what they said about curiosity and the cat, right?”
Staring back at him, unflinching, I nodded. “I do. But I’m not a fucking cat. Are you gonna answer me or not?”
The drakes around the circle froze, probably shocked that I dared to speak to their alpha that way. Joseph glared at me,emotionless. For a moment, I was sure I’d fucked up by not being able to ignore my curiosity. Then, he belted out a laugh, banging a hand gently on the roof, and pointing at me.
“Oh, Jack, you’ve got some steel balls between those legs of yours. Tell me the truth, do they clink when you walk?” He gave me a conspiratorial wink as he chuckled.
I said nothing. I’d be damned if I gave this guy even a hint of satisfaction. The shine in his eyes faded, replaced by a bitter anger that his laughter didn’t quite cover up.
“Fine,” Joseph said after his laughter died away. “Alessio and his family got the jump on something I’ve been trying to perfect for years. A type of alcohol additive that will actually let shifters get drunk. He’s gonna make a fucking killing on it, and he’s beat me to market. I don’t like getting beaten.”
My shoulders sagged in disappointment. All this for fucking beer, liquor, and wine? Deep down, I’d hoped there was some type of blood feud, a battle that had raged over a murder, assault, or personal slight.Somethingthat would justify me risking my life for payback. Instead, it was nothing but two men fighting over a goddamn product launch. Like two dumbass CEOs sniping at each other over the launch of a new app. Holy fucking shit. This was even more pointless than I’d realized, and I had to fight to keep the disgust and derision off my face.
“Little prick knew I’ve been working on that for the better part of a decade, then, as soon as he takes over from his old man, he swoops in and hires two of my best chemists—a lion shifter and a human who knows about us.” He patted the car again. “So, this is payback.”
“A little petty, don’t you think?” I said.
“Don’t concern yourself with the dealings of bigger men, Jack,” Joseph said, then he sneered at me. “You wouldn’t understand.”
I let that slide. There was no reason to get into an argument I couldn’t win.
“Fine,” I grunted. “You’ve got his car. Now, what else do you fucking need?”
Joseph’s eyes narrowed. “Watch your mouth, son. What Ineedand what Iwantare usually the same thing, and Ialwaysget what I want.”
