Page 63 of Awaken the Dragon
There was no rage in her voice, no anger to join the space already full of tension. Just the lingering sound of disappointment and confusion as Theo turned to her slowly. Behind him the stench of burning vampires permeated the air. There was shouting through the communicator, but Theo kept his eyes trained on Shola. A cool wind coming through the broken window ruffled the material of her clothes, sending her scent like a spiral through the air. He inhaled deeply, fighting the pain spreading slowly through his chest.
“I told you who and what I was, Shola. I didn’t lie to you.”
She was shaking her head. “Did you tell me everything, the way you demanded I tell you? Did Hoan kill your mother? Are the Drakon working for Hoan?”
Theo didn’t know what to say. While he hadn’t lied to Shola, he certainly hadn’t shared everything about his past with her. And even though some of the things Hikeen said were true, they all weren’t, and the fact that the bastard vampire made her think differently sent his beast into a rage.
“Let’s go back to the Office,” he said through clenched teeth. “We can talk about it there. Whatever you chose to believe at this moment, you know that I would never hurt you.”
He stepped closer and reached out to touch her.
She didn’t back away from his approach, but from the guarded look in her eyes, he knew that touching her wasn’t what she wanted, so he let his arms fall to his side.
“We have to go now, Shola. I’ll answer every question you ask, just not right now. I’ll get someone to take you back to the Office while I deal with this. But we need to move!” His words were more urgent and forceful than he intended, but there were so many emotions warring for his attention right now, he wasn’t sure what to do or say. All he knew for certain was that the vampires were going to pay for the mayhem they’d caused. But first, he needed to make sure she was safe.
Shola looked around the room as if for the first time realizing they weren’t alone. She nodded her agreement. “You’re right. Now is not the time. I need to get some fresh air.”
She moved around the desk and he didn’t try to stop her.
His communicator was buzzing on his arm, and his heart was breaking as he watched Shola moving slowly to the door. For the first time in Theo’s life, he wasn’t sure of his next step, and he cared far more about what this woman thought of him than he’d ever cared about anything else.
“Theo!” Bleu yelled from the other side of the room, snatching his attention momentarily. “Isla says the security cameras are going crazy but every floor that’s accessible has been checked and there’s nothing on them.”
Shola had just walked out the door when Theo snapped into action. He lifted his arm to speak into his communicator. “Get downstairs and make sure Shola gets back to the Office safely,” he directed Reece.
“On it!” Reece replied.
Theo glanced back at Bleu who’d moved over to Theo’s desk and pulled up the security screen. He closed the space between them and focused his attention on the screen, now alight with red, as if something invisible were moving through the building.
“Spread out and do a manual check,” he ordered and used his communicator to type a message to Reece telling him to contact him the moment he and Shola made it back to the Office.
This wasn’t how Theo had figured the meeting would turn out.
Chapter Twenty-One
“I told you I would make it up to you, my lord,” Monife Seyi, general of the Odò Guard, whispered in Warrick’s ear an hour later.
She leaned over him as he sat in the chair positioned in the basement of his townhouse. Across the room, lying on the floor with her legs and hands bound, gag stuffed into her mouth, was Shola N’Gara, the wannabe warrior who planned to interrupt the rightful ruler from taking his throne.
Warrick propped his ankle on his knee and glared at the still form lying on the floor. She was going to be his wife. But that arrogant dragon had thought he could take her away from him. He stroked his goatee and smiled. His plan was to marry her, travel back to her village and change the rules there. Before he could command all vampires, he needed a colony that were loyal to only him. In addition to the legendary vampires he planned to raise from their graves beneath the small town using Shola’s power combined with his own, he would personally change every citizen of the River Tribe and then he would take the strongest with him to conquer the lords in every territory until they all answered to him. It was an ambitious job, but he could handle it. He was born to rule.
And Hoan had known that. It’s why the demonic had sought him out when he’d been ready to make his play for the convergence. After Warrick had told Hoan of his plan, the demonic had thought it a perfect fit. While Warrick built his vampire army, Hoan would merge the realms and rule them all as one. Any pushback that might occur would be solely Warrick’s responsibility to handle. But Warrick didn’t plan to work for Hoan forever. Eventually his army would grow stronger, and the next time an opportunity for a convergence came around, Warrick would be the one taking complete control.
Reciting the full plan in his mind had his chest thumping with excitement.
“She smells.” He frowned after a deep inhale. “Like the dragons.”
“It will wear off. It is a true scent that only stays with the one it belongs to,” Monife said.
Warrick shrugged. She would know about such things since she was a Drakon too. It’d been a terrific stroke of luck how they met a year ago—before he’d even met his bride-to-be—while he was taking a trip to Mobo. She was away from her village, shopping in a nearby city, and they’d instantly hit it off. What that meant in Warrick’s world was that she’d been immediately comfortable with him, not showing any fear or repulsion. He got the latter sometimes when dealing with other preternatural beings. Why the vampire always received such a bad reputation, he had no clue. There were so many worse beings to be approached by, some breeds of shape-shifters could be disgusting; wolves and foxes came immediately to mind. And then there were the witches with their cagey spells or the fae; damn but he hated the fae.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep her tied up until the ceremony. And what did you do to her? Not drugs, I hope. I want her to remain pure.”
Monife chuckled. “Please. Shola N’Gara hasn’t been pure for a very long time, and if she’s been staying in some secret place with Theo Masters, she may be more tainted than ever. Which is why we’ll keep her resting until we’re ready for her.”
“Resting?”
“Don’t worry, my lord. I have this under control.”
