Dragon Star (A Shifter Football League Novel) (13 page)

It certainly wasn't fair, and as he took her by the waist and began to transform, she knew that life wasn't fair at all—that this had all been a nice fairytale.

But fairytales have to end.

She was on the ground, then she was above the car, above the parking lot. The sights below were only seen for a split second. Her stomach dropping told her they were going higher.

Jae took her in one claw. Scream and kick as she might try, no one down below with all the music and excitement would hear her.

This time, she realized, Jae wasn't interested in keeping her.

She'd spurned a prideful dragon.

Her stomach leapt to her throat now as they dropped. The last second, she saw lights whipping by her. He let her go, dropping her a little too rough on purpose. It was a drop, a painful one.

Cass nurtured her side as she crawled onto her knees and looked around. She was in a car dump, heaps of cars circling her. In that circle, there were three others waiting, not including Jae.

Jae’s dragon smirked. He transformed back to his human. Her hands were at her sides as fists. She would punch, kick, and scream if it came down to it.

Not like she'd be able to do much. Her tazer wasn't on her. She was only a human, and these three men in front of her, all looking rough and tumble with scars, unshaven faces, and tattoos were most likely shifters.

She recognized one. The panther shifter who had tried to kidnap her before.

He licked his lips at her. She gave him the finger in response. His tongue shot right back in his mouth.

"Boys, get to work," Jae said.

They started toward her. One looked fat and slimy like a toad. The panther shifter might be charming looking, but he was unkempt and greasy. And the third, well, the third was a hulking man who she wasn't looking forward to fighting.

"Jae, please, don't," she started, turning to him.

"This is for the best." He strode toward her. Jae told them to wait.

He snatched her hips. Quite unlike him, he went in for a kiss. It always seemed like he had no sexual energy to him. This wasn't loving, though. This was revenge.

And Cass found her fight. She bit down on his lip, tearing away a piece. She spat it out.

"I know what's best for me. And it certainly isn’t you," she yelled.

He brought his hand up to his torn lip. With his shifter powers, it slowly regenerated in front of her eyes, along with that sickening smile.

"Stupid human." He reared back to punch her. "If I can't have my treasure, I'll take it." Instead he snapped his finger at the men. They collapsed in the circle.

"I've got a championship to win. See you later, my love."

Jae transformed into his dragon and took off into the night, the wind from his powerful wings knocking her back, right into the arms of the panther shifter.

Cass threw an elbow, striking him in the chin. He staggered back.

The toad like man was on her next. "Get off me." She tossed him off.

But by then, the panther was on her again. Cass surprised herself with her strength. Or her ability to wriggle free and throw elbows. That was a strength too, right? A flurry of elbows landed on their faces.

And for a moment, she felt very good about herself, like she was the next incarnation of Bruce Lee.

But then that big guy lumbered in. He must've been a bear shifter. His strength was too much for her as he bear hugged her and carried her kicking in his hold.

"Where you want me to put her?" he asked as he received blows to the head.

"Durry," he said. Cass started to claw at his eyes. He had to have a weakness.

He dropped her down. Cass tried to spring up but they pushed her back. They tied her up to a chair in the middle of the rubbish.

Cass blinked hard. "What do you plan on doing with me?"

The panther shifter cackled as he went about doing something behind her.

"What are you doing back there?" She jerked her neck to the side.

He stood up, proud of himself. "You shut your pretty little mouth. If you piss me off enough, I might just set this thing to blow ahead of time. He might be a dragon, but I'm a panther. I can run pretty fucking fast."

Cass shut up. She looked over her shoulder and heard the ticking. Did it have to have the obnoxious ticking? It helped her understand though. This was serious, deadly serious.

Jae had set a bomb on her. It seemed if he couldn’t have her, no one could. How long she had, or what needed to be done to save her, she had no idea.

But she had a feeling that information wasn't for her anyway.

N
ico hit
the target dead on with a football, and it sprung back, only to reappear at waist level on the net.

He picked up another football and went through the motion, fluid like flowing water to unleash it upon the next target.

He struck it. Perfectly.

Today was the day, the day he'd finally get the Championship MVP ring. It meant more to him than the gold. And what gold it was, the most precious gold one could find. The owners purposely made the MVP ring the most precious treasure they could afford, and being billionaires, they could afford a lot.

They knew what that ring represented.

That ring represented the top of athletic achievement. That ring represented a lifetime of work. There were superstars who worked their asses off twenty-four-seven for years, but they never got it.

Now it was Nico's time. There was only one other who would be competing. Jae.

He'd get it if he sacked Nico enough times. But that wasn't going to happen. He launched another laser-guided throw at the target. Once again, he hit it in the bull’s-eye. The mechanical set up placed it at his knees.

Cass came to his mind, but she wasn't a distraction. She made him throw harder, more accurate. He was fighting so that he could give her what she wanted...what he really wanted as well.

Today, he needed his fighting spirit.

This game was about more than the ring. It was about hurting Jae. And oh, how Nico planned on hurting him. Humiliating him.

The next throw knocked down the entire net, the latches of the target ripped clean off and flying with the football, far, far away.

One of the assistants ran up to Nico. He was holding his cell phone in his hand.

“Nico, you've got a call.”

“Who is it?”

“They didn't say.”

Nico took it. This was unusual. “Thank you.”

The Outlaw assistant ran off.

Nico pressed the cell to his ear. “Hello?”

“Nico,” the voice on the other line said, slowly and clearly.

“Yes?”

As the low voice went on, Nico began to recognize it.

“I've got my girl back.”

Nico said nothing as his dragon began to pace.

“I've got her, and now you need to make a choice. You've got three.”

“Who is this?” A stupid question.

“You know who this is.”

He fell silent. Already, he wanted to race away to save Cass.

“I've got her, and you need to make a choice. You need to drop out of the game or lose your gold or lose your girl.”

“My gold? My girl? You don't have either.” Nico's chest was constricting. He couldn't breathe.

“I have it all, Nico.” Jae was laughing, overjoyed at his expense. “Do you want to hear her? Let me link you in.”

The phone's audio cut out for a moment before a different timbre entered, followed by Cass asking if it was really Nico.

“Cass, are you okay?”

“Nico, I'm fine, I'm—”

It cut out. In came Jae again.

“I'm going to send you a picture. If you didn't believe I had your treasure before, you'll believe it now. Now you have a choice, and I'm not going to say it again. Drop out of the game. Cass will be spared, the bomb will not go off that's attached to her. Your gold, however, that will be mine. So make a choice, the gold, the game, or your girl.”

“Fuck,” Nico shouted. He took the phone and tossed it where the target was before.

His cell vibrated. Nico cautiously approached it. His eyes were shimmering with tears. He was overemotional. His muscles were swarming with energy, ready to fight, but inside his mind, he was vulnerable.

This was all he had...

His treasure.

Had Jae stolen all he had of his past, his mother's tiara and his father's golden pocket watch as well?

Had he taken it all?

How?

“You're lying,” he snarled. He picked up the cell phone and saw the image.

Sure enough, it was a picture of his gold hoard. No one should have a picture of it. The last person who had seen it had been Cass.

Nico was ready to drop the phone. Smash it.

“Do you know how I got it?”

He said nothing.

“I got it from Cass. She led me there. She brought me one of your gloves too with your fingerprint, so it was easy to open the door.”

“No,” Nico breathed out. His head was spinning.

Could Jae’s dragon breath be strong enough to open the door? Nico had tested it on his own dragon fire. The tests were inconclusive.

How
did
he know where he hid his treasure?

And how did he get past his security systems?

“She stabbed you in the back. This whole time, she’s loved me. Do you think anyone would honestly be interested in you? You’re pathetic.”

His laughter rang throughout Nico.

“What’s your choice?”

Nico screamed and tossed the phone down, smashing it with his heel.

Jae had his treasure. His dragon was roaring fire, telling him that he needed to find Jae and reclaim it. As far as he knew, Jae would still be competing in the Championship Game.

Nico couldn't forget his teammates. The fans. Everyone who depended on him to win. Millions of people were tuning in. And he’d just disappear? They'd call him a traitor, they'd hate him forever, he'd be banished. Nico wouldn't blame them.

He wouldn't blame them at all. Because this was the biggest game of the season, even people who didn't care about shifter football would be tuning in to tweet and post about it. It was practically a national holiday.

Where was Cass? That was the question that came forefront to his mind.

And that's when Nico was sure, dead sure, that Cass was his fated mate, as if he didn't know it before.

He was going to give up all the treasure he hoarded for years. He was going to give away the MVP ring. Nico wasn't going to play the game.

Nico was going to save Cass.

There was not one doubt in his mind that this was the right choice.

Sure, he'd been afraid with his treasure taken, but Jae could never understand that Cass was invaluable.

And Nico would take advantage of that. He couldn’t turn him against her. Cass was the only reason why he was alive right now, anyway.

Jae must've thought he would stay and play for the MVP ring, the most precious treasure that a dragon could hope for.

He’d been palming a football while thinking. He dropped it and transformed into his dragon, which felt damn good

Forget the game. Forget his treasure. He knew what he wanted. He wanted her.

He was full of anxiety as he took off to discover what had happened to his fated mate.

If he couldn't sniff her out, they were in trouble. He flapped close to the parking lot as the windshield wipers below slid from the awesome power of his wings.

He caught her scent.

If she weren't his, he might've never realized it. Thousands passed by that spot.

Their connection couldn't be denied. Jae had no idea what it would be like. They were practically connected by mind. Now that he discovered her, it would be as simple as following the trail.

He followed, his dragon beating its wings until it hurt.

Closer now, her scent was undeniable. Her cries rattled in his head, almost knocking him off course.

She wasn't far away. Jae hadn't put much thought into this, because he must've thought that Nico would choose the game. He spotted Cass in an open junk yard.

Swooping down, he landed next to her. Her mouth was taped, her legs and arms were tied. Three men guarded her.

Nico could hear the ticking of the bomb attached to her. He thrust his wings upward with a roar. The men in front of him were plenty scared. They still didn’t go running.

They began to shift....Nico sniffed the air, testing them. His dragon was ready to have fun. Once shifted they were an alligator, a bear, and a panther. All frozen, because no one wanted to be the first to attack a dragon.

Nico rose up on his back legs. He pressed his gullet high into the sky, his scales poking out, black with anger. As he called for his fire, his scales turned even darker. His beard unfurled like a row of spiky armor.

He unleashed all that rage he had buried inside him. The blue tinted flame unfurled from his mouth, branching out in slow motion as he watched. The heat would've gave him some nasty burns if it weren't for his scales.

They howled as the wall of flames crashed into them. They were taken under like a wave, and once it passed, they were nothing but ash floating past Nico.

Cass stared straight ahead. She'd just seen three people eviscerated before her eyes.

To help her, he transformed back to his human. Also, because he wanted to hold her in his hands.

He unleashed her from the chair she was in, and she launched herself at his chest.

“Nico,” she screamed, “get me out of here.” And that was exactly what he did.

Nico transformed back to his dragon while holding Cass close to him, his bundle of love.

The explosive ticked away as they left.

He tried his hardest to speak to her through his dragon mind. “You’re safe now. Don’t worry. I’ve got you. Like I said I would. And I will continue to protect you.”

She couldn’t respond. Perhaps a little of what he was saying would slip through. They were fated mates after all.

It was too late for his team. Too late for his Championship.

And judging by the picture Jae sent, it would be too late for his treasure. Somehow he had broken in and taken everything Nico owned. A dragon might be the only shifter capable.

Yet he had what was most important in his possession. For that, he was thankful.

Nico
would not let her go.