Under His Claw Read online

  “So, you know you are the child of three generations of vampire blood and dragons.”

  “Of course.”

  “Do you know each of your female ancestors ran and hid from their mates? Alamina was followed by Darcash until she died, and he died when she did. Though they could have simply dropped off the map for privacy. Korlinous still follows me around when I can’t dodge him. Right now, he thinks I am in Italy.”

  “And Mom?”

  “She is enjoying a conjugal visit with your father, Yorou, for the last six years. Dragons don’t experience time the same way other species do. Oddly enough, the vampire in you causes a peculiar complication. You smell like a human, but your blood tells the tale of your true nature. That was why I asked about your…uh…interaction.”

  It was good to know Grandma Char was just as uneasy about discussing Zora’s sex life as she was.

  “Wait, do you mean my father is alive?”

  “Yes.”

  “And my grandfather?”

  Charani nodded. “Yup.”

  “And possibly my great-grandfather and grandmother?” Zora pushed her plate to the edge of the table.

  “Yes.”

  “So why have I never met them?”

  Her grandmother ran her hand through her hair again. “Dragons are only dragons when they are boys. The girls are carriers, so to speak. The dhampir gene Alamina carried was close enough; it had enough power to allow for a pregnancy.”

  “Power?”

  “Babies born to dragons take a lot of energy to bring to term. Male dragons go their entire lives looking for a woman with the potential to be a mate. That can be a long time to wait for the right woman. They get a little obsessive when they find her.”

  “Wonderful. Sucks for you. Why are you telling me this?”

  Charani rubbed her neck. “Regick has one-twentieth of this continent as his personal territory. You are currently in the center of it.”

  Zora swallowed and gulped some water before stammering. “But he…I mean it was just one night.”

  “It will take him a day or two to get the tests done by a mage. Once he confirms your lineage, there is every chance he will be after you.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “I want to know if you want to run. If you run, I will help you. I will hide you, but you have to decide now.”

  Zora swayed with exhaustion, and when someone stopped and filled her coffee cup, she looked up and smiled her thanks.

  Regick was looking down at her with the coffee pot in his hand. “You are welcome.”

  She spoke to her grandmother while staring at Regick. “I think we are too late.”

  He smiled politely and handed the coffeepot to the star-struck waitress. “Thank you, Sara.”

  “No problem.” She whisked the coffeepot away.

  Zora looked at him and cocked her head. “I think she is going to bronze it.”

  He shrugged. “May I join you?”

  Charani’s face was oscillating between amused and irritated. “Please.”

  Zora moved over and he settled in next to her, his thigh pressed to hers.

  Her grandmother looked him over. “You cover up fairly well.”

  Zora looked at him in surprise. “What is he covering up?”

  “Your friend is referring to my appearance. This is a glamor which makes me acceptable to humans.”

  “I am sorry. Regick, this is my grandmother, Charani. Charani, this is Regick.”

  He extended his hand to Charani and he jolted slightly as she took it. “You truly are her grandmother. That does explain a few things.”

  Charani sighed, “It seems you have a few things to discuss with Zora. Does the vampire know she is gone?”

  Regick nodded. “He has search parties out for her, but he is looking for a vampire or a shifter, not your grandmother.”

  Zora made a face. “I hope no one is in trouble because of me.”

  Charani leaned forward and took her hand. “Sweetie, you were kidnapped and enslaved. If they can survive the damage, they can recover from it, and no shifters will be harmed. It is against the treaty.”

  “It isn’t the shifters I am worried about. The king’s personal guard have been very kind to me.”

  Regick sighed. “I suppose I will have to get you somewhere safe and then invite Olvadi over for a conversation.”

  She was nervous. “What do you mean, get me somewhere safe?”

  “He means he is going to bring you into his lair and keep you there until you give in to him.” Charani scowled and leaned back.

  Regick raised his brows. “Hardly a lair. My home is well appointed and very secure. She will be safe there until we negotiate a settlement. There is even a shopping center on the premises. You can get some more comfortable clothing.”

  She looked down at her rumpled designer suit. “This suit was fine.”

  “And uncomfortable. It showed in every move you made.”

  Zora frowned. “You only saw me the one time, at the party and then…after.”

  “Olvadi sent me your picture to lure me to the party. You were wearing a blue suit and heels which were half a size too small for you.” He smiled.

  Charani snorted. “Dragons have an excellent style sense.”

  “So, you told her what I am.”

  “I did.”

  “You are a dragon’s mate.”

  Charani frowned. “I am.”

  “Where is he?”

  “On a wild goose chase. I find I get along best with my mate if we are in different cities.”

  “Who is he?”

  Zora’s grandmother laughed, “Oh, no. You will call him, and then, the next thing I know, he will be flying me out to some chunk of rock for negotiations.”

  Zora frowned at the second reference to negotiations. “What does that mean?”

  Her grandmother smiled at her. “Sex, dear.”

  Sure, Charani didn’t look a day over thirty-five, but her air of wisdom seemed to have always been there. The idea of her grandmother having sex should have been normal, but for some reason, it freaked Zora out.

  Her grandmother decided for her. “Get her safe. If he is looking already, we don’t have the time I thought we did.”

  “I would like to ensure your safety as well.”

  Charani smiled, “I have faith in Zora’s ability to handle you. I need to get back on the road and destroy my trail. Zee-zee, I give you permission to tell him our family secrets. He will learn them soon enough anyway.”

  Her grandmother disappeared from the table and the bike fired up outside, she spun in a circle and headed for the open road.

  Regick looked at Zora with an amused expression. “Does she do that a lot?”

  “Often enough.” She looked around and made a face. “And she skipped out on the check and I don’t have enough to pay the bill.”

  He grinned and took her wrist, snapping the bangles off her left wrist and then the right. He left them on the table and said, “That should cover it.”

  She blinked. “That should.”

  Regick rose to his feet and held out his hand. “If you want to hide, we need to leave now. The vampires are getting closer. You have been careless enough with your blood that they are all in search of it.”

  Zora took his hand, and she tried to ignore the excitement of her body at his smallest touch.

  They exited the diner and a dark limo pulled up. Regick tucked her inside and followed after. The door closed and the car glided forward.

  “Home, Fred.”

  The silhouette behind the privacy glass nodded and they turned back to the city.

  Zora shivered.

  Regick moved next to her and pulled her into his lap, cuddling her into his warmth. He pressed a kiss to her temple and inhaled deeply. “I can’t believe I didn’t sense this before.”

  “Sense what?”

  “You are a blend of dragon and vampire which has never walked the earth before. It is a very good
thing and will make it difficult for Olvadi to put a claim on you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because, by the natural resources treaty of 1905, no dragon can be held, chained, threatened or enslaved by any agency, supernatural or human. It disrupts the balance of nature to hold a dragon out of their territory. You have at least one dragon in your bloodline so it puts you under our protection.”

  “Three.”

  “What?”

  “Three dragons. Water, fire and earth. Each of my ancestresses since Lela and Alfonso has been a dragon’s mate. I didn’t know they were still all involved.”

  “When dragons mate, it is for life and the life of our partner matches our own. If we have learned anything over the years, it is no dragon has been lucky enough to find an easy mate. If we don’t fight for our own partners, we don’t keep them.”

  Zora smiled at the thought. “You might be the first bored dragon on record. I am hardly what one would call feisty.”

  “Perhaps you need the chance to stand up for yourself and be what you were meant to be.”

  Chapter Six

  She got her own room and a bed large enough for four. Stripping, she crawled between the sheets and dozed off. She was so damned tired.

  ****

  “Where is my property, Regick?”

  Olvadi was in a foul humor. His guards were cowed and huddling in on themselves.

  “Ah, yes. Your property. You forced her to seek out a sex partner, and as I was by far the superior specimen, she chose me.” Regick didn’t agree with the idea of thrones, but his employees were nearby and at attention. They were seated at the boardroom table where he engaged in all of his more trying transactions.

  “And yet you left her and walked out of my home.”

  Olvadi seemed different, more hostile. His normally calm demeanor looked like it could shatter at any moment.

  “There is a matter you and I are going to have to discuss.”

  “Give her back and we will discuss it.”

  “That is what must be discussed. We will not give to the vampires that which belongs to the dragons.”

  Olvadi shook the room with his bellow. “What?”

  “She is of my kind. Three dragons are in her immediate lineage and this trumps her dhampir beginning.”

  The king clawed at the table. “You do not understand. She has value to the vampire community.”

  “Does she know about his value?”

  “She does.”

  “She didn’t mention it. What is the nature of the value?”

  The vampire king leaned forward. “I am not comfortable mentioning it.”

  “Then, you will not see her. You know as well as I do that my claim trumps yours tenfold.”

  “You don’t understand.”

  “Then explain it to me. We have been friends for a long time. She will be my mate. You will not get to her unless it is through me.”

  Olvadi gritted his teeth. “Fine. She heals vampires. She can use her blood to remove damage left by torture in our previous lives and silver and holy-water inflicted damage from after we changed.”

  “She can do all that?” He was impressed.

  “Yes. She even regrew my genitals the day before she disappeared.”

  Regick sat straight. “My mate regrew your cock?”

  Olvadi looked nervous; his crimson eyes were banked. “She did, at my order.”

  “Then, you have taken all you will from my mate. If you wish her services, you will come to me and negotiate a proper fee for her skills. Threatening her life is not acceptable.”

  The vampire king drummed his fingers on the table. “I had thought to complete my healing and take her as my bride.”

  Regick felt his glamor slip with his flash of irritation. “No.”

  Olvadi leaned back. “Take it easy, my friend. If you have claimed her, it is enough. We have known each other for centuries.”

  Regick calmed himself and he set his mind to negotiation. “What will you offer for another healing?”

  “Will you keep her ability to heal vampires as our secret?”

  Regick noted his friend was very nervous. There was a reason for it; if word of the repairs got out before Zora got settled into her power, she would be vulnerable. That wasn’t something he wanted.

  “She will remain as my mate and you will come to visit with your entourage as a caring former employer. Now, what are you willing to offer?”

  They settled down into the business of negotiating for her services, and Olvadi put businesses down on the table and Regick began to realize what a potential gold mine was sleeping upstairs.

  Six months of healing services created a very nice portfolio for Zora. Regick hoped she would appreciate his decisions.

  When the paperwork had been drawn up and signed, Olvadi smiled, “You will be getting rich off Zora’s efforts.”

  “You didn’t read the name on the transfer of ownership. These are all going to be Zora’s. It is her blood going into the work, she should benefit.”

  Olvadi looked confused.

  Regick finished up the paperwork and handed it to his lawyer. The gargoyle nodded and took the sheaf of papers off to his office. “They will be filed immediately.”

  Olvadi nodded. “Of course. Now, why put the businesses in Zora’s name?”

  “So she has a reason to stay.” He didn’t mention no dragon’s mate would remain in one place unless she could build a nest. That was none of the vampire’s business. He would not make the mistake that the others had made with her ancestors. If she needed reasons to stay with him, he would give them to her.

  ****

  Zora sat up suddenly, her heart pounding at the shock of unfamiliar surroundings.

  She clutched the sheets to her chest and stared at the door in fear, but no one came in.

  “Maybe I just went to a hotel and got drunk and passed out.”

  The carpet felt thick and soft under her feet as she crossed the room to look out the windows. The room was decorated in a subtle combination of soft gold and cream. It was light, bright and huge. The window looked out over the city of Arbor, and based on the height of the window, she was in the Scale, the tallest building for two states.

  She could see a full one hundred and eighty degrees; the window was arched in a curved bubble from floor to ceiling. Zora didn’t know how she could have such an expensive hotel room; she didn’t even know the Scale had hotel rooms.

  A quiet knock on the door made her check to make sure she was tightly wrapped in the sheet before she turned. “Come in.”

  A young woman came in with a tray balanced on one arm. “Good day, Miss Zora.”

  “Um, good day.”

  “I am Leah Marx, and I will be your personal assistant if you have no objections.”

  The tray was set on the dark and slickly polished bleached oak table. Leah removed the cover on the tray and the smell of bacon and other treats wafted to Zora.

  “Why would I need a personal assistant?”

  “If you accept me for the moment, I will tell you.”

  “Consider yourself hired.”

  Leah grinned, sat at the table and told Zora about everything which had gone on while she slept.

  The most interesting thing to Zora was that Leah and her family had been in Regick’s employ for centuries. Gargoyles were notoriously long lived and not prey for vampires. It made them excellent employees for dragons.

  The second most interesting thing was, Zora now owned a hair and nail salon as well as three boutiques.

  “So, Regick demanded it and Olvadi gave in?”

  Leah shrugged. “I have worked for him all my life, and when Regick makes up his mind about something, he gets what he wants. Anyway, my father is his lawyer and my mother is his accountant. They have all the details.”

  Zora fidgeted. “So, can I go out?”

  “Of course. I will take you to your appointments and act as your driver and bodyguard, but you can go anywhere you like, see anyone
you want.”

  “As long as I take you with me.”

  “I can literally blend in with my surroundings. It will be like I am not there.” Leah sat and went invisible right in front of Zora’s eyes.

  “That is a nice trick.”

  She reappeared. “We try to be more subtle than the vampires, but the result is the same, you will be protected.”

  “What am I being protected from?”

  Leah smirked, “For the first few months, female shifters who wanted Regick for their own will be after you. For today, I am going to get you some clothing and you will attend your meeting with the mayor and the governor.”

  “What?”

  “Regick is one of the largest landowners in his territory and he also owns all of the natural resources. Becoming his mate will make you exceptionally wealthy and a public personality.”

  Zora sank back. “That is not the career path I had for myself.”

  “You had a plan?”

  “I was going to remain obscure and go from small job to small job until I figured out what I wanted to do next. My life was an endless stream of not attracting attention.”

  “And now, here you are.” Leah’s hands took in the expanse of the room.

  “Right. With nothing to wear. What happened to my clothes?”

  “I am pretty sure Regick burned them. Nothing from the vampire’s court is allowed to remain here.”

  “Where does it leave me?”

  “It leaves you as the bride of the great golden dragon. Now, you finish eating while I get your clothing.” Leah patted her on the arm and was out of the room in a heartbeat.

  Zora settled in and poured a cup of coffee before working her way through her fruit cup.

  She took a shower and was finger combing her hair when a knock sounded again. “Come in, Leah.”

  “I am not Leah. How are you feeling?” Regick came in and leaned against the window.

  Zora tightened the towel and checked to make sure only a little thigh was showing. The towel covered her to barely above her knees. “Um, fine. I thought you were Leah.”

  He grinned and the sunlight glinted off his hair. “I get that a lot.”

  She giggled.

  “So, has Leah briefed you?”

  Zora took in the heat in his gaze, and she pulled her hair forward and kept finger combing it. “She did.”