Mannix Dragon Shifters

Chapter 14

Jasmine"s heart hammered in her chest. She wasn"t sure if it was from the amazing o****m she"d just experienced or the fact that a strange dragon was coming to collect her.

Would they put her in front of all the clans and parade her around like a heifer at a cattle auction? It didn"t sound as though anyone obeyed basic rules of decency in this society except Kylan and Dillon, so maybe they"d just stick her in a cage and let the dragons fight for her.

She scrambled off the sofa and hunted for her clothing. There was no way she was going into this predicament naked.

"Don"t let them take me," she pleaded as she pulled on her underwear.

Kylan grabbed her arms and made her look into his eyes, which were still glowing blue. There was a wildness in his face that she found oddly reassuring. Just a few seconds ago, she"d stared into those eyes as he watched her c****x under Dillon"s mouth.

"Never," he said.

She nodded and he let go so she could continue to dress. She yanked on her shirt without bothering about a bra first. Then she jerked on her pants.

Dillon growled by the window.

"Who is here?" Kylan asked.

"Councillor Xander and his sidekick Kolz."

Kylan straightened and seemed to grow before her eyes into the chief that Dillon called him. This man, who"d been so tender to her a moment ago, looked like a warrior leader, who would let no one stand in the way of what he wanted.

Still, he didn"t scare her.

The whoosh of dragon wings resounded through the air. The sound was just like the dragon attack in her nightmare. She trembled and Kylan pulled her against his side.

"Should I hide?"

"They will already know you are here."

Stupid dragon senses. Jasmine swallowed and nodded. "Okay then, what do we do?"

"Dillon and I will handle this," he said as he squeezed her hip where his hand rested. "Don"t worry."

Oh, but she did worry. And she wasn"t about to stand back while her fate was decided. If, indeed, that was what was about to happen.

Dillon opened the door before the newcomers had a chance to knock. They entered without a word. Both men were well-built and tall, like Kylan and Dillon. But where her dragons had wide shoulders and muscles popping out all over the place, these new dragons were leaner. Dillon nodded toward one of the men, but not the other, so Jasmine quickly surmised which one was the sidekick. They both wore jeans and pressed, button-down shirts with the top buttons undone, but despite the casual ensemble, they didn"t look like average men. Nope, these two could be mistaken for fashion models. Powerful, authoritative fashion models.

sidekick"Not a formal visit?" Kylan asked as he eyed the councillor.

Xander smiled slightly. "I could summon my ceremonial gowns, if you prefer."

"I would prefer to know what has brought you here."

When Kolz eyed Jasmine—boldly looking her up and down—Kylan tightened his grip on her and snarled at the other man. The deep rumble of his growl was menacing and protective. The other man wasn"t bothered by Kylan"s display; he simply grinned and winked at Jasmine.

"Ah, and here is the mysterious Ms. Gordon." Xander extended his hand to her. The others appeared surprised at the gesture.

Jasmine considered ignoring him, but if her fate was in this man"s hands it didn"t make much sense to dismiss him so quickly. She leaned against Kylan, to let him know that she was okay. When she placed her hand in Xander"s, she expected him to shake hers, but he didn"t. He raised and turned her hand, then he skimmed his lips over the inside of her wrist. Jasmine jerked her hand back, but Xander didn"t release her. Instead, he inhaled deeply.

"Let her go." Dillon"s voice dripped of malice. Kolz turned to him and grabbed him by the throat.

"The councillor can do as he wants here," Kolz warned. "You and your chief are the ones doing questionable activities."

Jasmine yanked harder, and this time he allowed her hand to slip out of his. She rubbed the spot where the councillor had placed his mouth. Xander licked his lips, as if savoring her taste. She shuddered.

"You have not mated yet." It wasn"t a question, but there was a hint of surprise in Xander"s voice.

Kylan pulled Jasmine behind him. "What happened in the final negotiations with the humans? It sounds like the agreement has turned into a s**t-show. Jasmine did not volunteer of her own free will. They sacrificed her."

Xander"s eyes hardened for a moment, then he studied Jasmine. She was peeking out from behind Kylan"s massive body.

"Is this true?"

"Yes."

Xander turned to Kolz and nodded. Jasmine wasn"t sure what that meant, but Kolz left without another word. As soon as he disappeared out the front door, Jasmine heard the thumping of giant wings. When the sound subsided, Xander stroked his chin. Tension rippled off Kylan.

"We had heard that you were holding the human woman here," Xander said. "That is against the parameters of your bereavement isolation. You have violated—"

"We didn"t arrange this." Jasmine ducked around Kylan. She put her hands on her hips and eyed the councillor. "You sound as though you are suggesting Kylan has done something wrong. He found me in the woods. That is all. I ran out of gas. There was nothing sordid or pre-planned or—"

Xander silenced her with a lift of one of his elegant eyebrows. Then he looked at Kylan. "She has much to learn."

Jasmine folded her arms over her chest and tapped her foot. Xander ignored her.

"Until we can investigate these accusations further, the best place for the human is with you and your clan. Your isolation is temporarily postponed until this is sorted. Your new task is to guard her." He snapped his fingers and Kylan"s bereavement band dropped to the floor.

"Is that better?" Xander"s eyes were full of amusement when he looked back to Jasmine.

"Yes." She nodded. "Thank you."

Then the councillor exited the cabin. Dillon shut the door and turned to Kylan and Jasmine.

"It looks like we are going home."

Home? As in the place where a bunch more dragons lived? Oh, God.

Kylan eyed Jasmine with apprehension as she retreated from them. s**t. They"d just lost their best opportunity to persuade her to consider mating with them, but he agreed with Xander. She would be safer with the clan.

He clenched his hands. He could still feel the soft weight of her breasts against his fingers. Now there was a chance that was as much as he"d ever feel of her body.

Her gaze darted around the room. He could tell she was plotting her escape, but that wasn"t possible. If Xander and Kolz could figure out she was in this area so quickly, it wouldn"t be long before the others did too. He should have asked how they"d concluded she was here. Had they bugged his and Dillon"s phones or was it as simple as Dillon stopping to get baking supplies from Deford"s?

Either way, others would follow.

Jasmine knew so little about dragon abilities, even the basic stuff. She would be vulnerable and not even realize how at risk she was.

"I know what you are thinking," Kylan said as he followed her across the room. "But we can"t let you run again."

"I don"t know what you are talking about."

Dillon rolled his eyes toward the sky. "Even I know you are planning to skip out on us."

She frowned. "All I need is a bit of gas. I—"

"No." The finality in Kylan"s one word made her jump.

"You can"t tell me what to do." She glared at him. "Is this what you meant about giving me my every want and desire? Well, I guess it"s good to know how easily you lie."

He never angered. It was what made him an excellent leader. But this woman… "We would give our lives for you, but we don"t expect you to throw your life away so foolishly."

"You don"t understand. Why aren"t you listening to me?" Jasmine stepped toward him with her hands tight in little fists, but before she reached Kylan, Dillon stepped between them with his arms raised to both of them.

"Okay," he said softly. "Things haven"t worked out the way we"d anticipated, but that doesn"t mean we can"t find a solution that will work for everyone."

They stared at Dillon.

"Jasmine," he started, "with Xander looking into the situation, we can at least be guaranteed an unbiased investigation of what"s happened. He is our best chance at getting this resolved and you back to you regular life." Dillon grimaced slightly at that declaration, but Kylan wasn"t sure if Jasmine caught it. "In the meantime, there are several dragons who still think you are fair game. We are natural hunters. It is only a matter of time before they come looking for you."

"But we were safe here," Jasmine said.

Dillon shot a glance to Kylan, who took a deep breath and nodded.

"Kylan and I are prepared to fight for you, but your safety is our primary concern."

Jasmine narrowed her eyes at Dillon. "I"m putting you at risk, aren"t I?"

"We can take care of ourselves and you too. Mannix is a clan of soldiers and we are its leaders," Kylan said stiffly.

"But," Dillon said softly, "we would be better able to protect you with our clan at our sides. When the investigation is finished, we will discuss how to proceed."

Kylan nodded. Dillon had only forgotten one thing. Something that could make the difference to Jasmine. He reached for her hand. "We would never keep you against your will."

Jasmine rubbed her forehead with her free hand. "Fine. I"ll go with you."

A heavy weight felt lifted from Kylan"s chest, but it was immediately replaced with another. In order for them to return to the clan, they were going to have to shift to dragon form in front of her. Any progress they"d made with her could come to a screeching halt.

Jasmine closed the door to the bedroom. Her heart was pounding. The logical part of her brain understood their reasons to relocate to their home, but it didn"t mean that her emotions were so easily calmed.

She really should have done that research.

In the videos she"d seen online, dragon shifters preferred being in dragon form. They flew through the air with their giant wings and lumbered through the streets of the dragon-exclusive communities. They shot fire at one another all the time.

Then again, she had been doing research for why the election shouldn"t take place so those websites might have been biased.

After Jasmine shoved her belongings into her backpack and made the bed, she stared at the door. As soon as she opened it, they would want to leave. Sweat coated her palms.

What if she ducked out?

She eyed the bedroom window. If she took care to be quiet, she might be able to do it. She inched toward the window, barely allowing herself to breathe. The morning sunlight was streaming into the room. It would have been better if there had been a storm to hide the noise she"d make and to obscure her scent as she ran through the woods.

Flashbacks of her nightmare washed over her.

Her hand shook as she turned the crank to open the window. The warm peaty fragrance of the forest streamed into the room. The ground was about six feet down. Not too bad. She pushed her backpack through the opening and let it drop. It landed with a soft thud. She froze and waited for Kylan or Dillon to rush in and stop her.

Silence.

She slipped one leg over the sill, and then the other. She shoved herself off. As soon as she hit the ground, she grabbed her bag. Without looking back, she dashed to the trees.

"Going somewhere?"

Jasmine skidded to a halt as Kylan stepped into view ahead of her. His arms were folded over his massive chest.

She glanced over her shoulder to assess her options and saw Dillon behind her. He shrugged and winked at her.

"I thought maybe we should go our separate ways."

"We"ve already discussed why that isn"t a good idea." Kylan shook his head. "Dillon, go close the window and lock up. We"ll wait for you here."

Jasmine hugged her backpack. "Well, I"m not sure yours is a good idea either."

Kylan approached slowly. "What are you afraid of?" His voice was soft and gentle.

She stared into his blue eyes. "I"m not a dragon. I don"t belong with dragons."

Kylan brushed a stray strand of hair from her forehead. His touch sent tingles dancing over her. "You said you weren"t scared of Dillon and me. Has that changed?"

"No, it isn"t that."

"My mother was human, so was Dillon"s. Every dragon has a human mother." Kylan said. "So you see, we are not so different."

He made light of the fact that they could change into massive reptilian beasts, but she saw his point. It was one she hadn"t considered before.

"Done," Dillon said. "Are we ready?"

"Are we?" Kylan stared into Jasmine"s eyes.

She barely moved her head in a nod, but when she did, Kylan smiled.

"Good," he said.

"Wait." Dillon looked up. "I think we have company."

A shriek, loud and menacing, broke over them. High above them, dark winged creatures circled. There had to be at least eight.

Dillon cursed. "We gotta go."