Текст книги "Night of the Dragon"

Автор книги: Alexandra O'Hurley

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“And living in a cage is better than death?   I wouldn’t want to live that way, would you?  Just look at her eyes.”

Karli didn’t want to admit that she had often stopped here through her park tours and thought that the animals reflected sadness in their eyes.  “We give them…the best care we can.”

“The best care would have been releasing them to the wild.”

“Giza was too badly hurt to go back.  Plus, it’s too late for that now, regardless.”  Unable to stop the words, the ones no one in the park was supposed to utter aloud.  “They have been here so long that they would die if we released them.”

“You know this, yet you keep them anyway.”

“I’m not the one in charge of the animals.”  Karli backed up a step as he drew nearer.  A large hand moved to her face, one finger extended.  His touch was feather light, as he stroked it along her cheek.

“No.  No, you just work here.  Another one of their caged beasts.  Perhaps I need to set you free?”

“And how do you suppose you can do that?”  A wave of desire spread through her, starting at the barely there touch upon her cheek.  The finger moved under her chin, lifting her face to his.

“Like this.”  Dropping down, he pressed soft lips to hers in a kiss that was a whisper of what it could be.  A name whispered through her mind as his kiss ended… Ryden.

“Ryden?”

His brows furrowed as he stood back to his full height.  “How do you know my name?”

”I…don’t…know.”

The corner of his lips hinted at a smile as his eyes bored a hole deep within her.  The man inhaled, deeply, lowering his head until it was level with her own.  She felt his hot breath on her neck, and she arched her back slightly, her traitorous body demanding more of his touch.

Which never came.

Opening the eyes she hadn’t even realized she had closed, she looked up into his hooded gaze, the one that screamed an arousal that equaled her own.  Tapping his finger on her nametag, the tugging blossomed into a full smile.  “Well, Karli of Scream Town, I will be seeing you soon.  Very soon.”

****

“They have found her in the amusement park.  I saw it with my own eyes.”

Freyja looked closely at her subordinate, knowing the news before it was ever uttered.  “Harald’s Berserkers have proven to be too smart and too resourceful for their own good. I want them dead by the Nave.”

“Easier said than done. Odin has a soft spot for these six, more so than any of his other Berserkers.  I fear his hand has hidden them from us throughout the years.”

“You idiot!”  Freyja stood from her golden throne, looking down at the meek hooded form in front of her, repulsed by the show of fear as her servant stepped back.  “Of course Odin has had a hand in their survival.  Do you doubt that they would not be in my Hall centuries ago if not for that fact?”

“Of course, my Queen.  You are all knowing and all powerful.”

Freyja looked down at the quivering mass of flesh lying prostrate on the floor below her feet, wrinkling her nose in distaste.  “They will be expecting Gyda and the Swartska, you will have the element of surprise.  The female can be your bait.  She is the key.”  Freyja could not stomach any more of the weakness, her warrior should not cower on the floor, but stand with head held high.  “Stand up, for Sessrumnir’s sake.  You are dirtying up my floor.  There are scales everywhere.”

“As is your wish, my Queen.”

Freyja had been good to her word many eons ago, and had used the Nave over the centuries to collect live souls for her house.  Odin’s bands of bloody Berserkers had thrown themselves in her way too many times over the years, so Freyja began targeting them on her hunts as fewer and fewer believed in the old religions anymore. There were fewer and fewer new souls to refresh her power.  Berserker power was better than any human anyway, and a live one, well, a live one could keep her juiced up for some time.  The last two she had brought to Sessrumnir had kept her energy high for years.

But Harald’s set of Berserkers had been especially hard to capture, the soft spot they held in Odin’s heart made them worthy targets for her. But it also made them more of a challenge.  Her favorite subject, Gyda, had cursed the wretched men over one thousand years before, and she and Gyda’s Swartska family of gypsies had hunted the beasts from that point forward.  That had made her smile.  But, curses were not enough to make her smile any longer.  She was ready for blood.

 “My wish is for all their heads.  On pikes.  Presented to me by the end of the Nave.  I think it is time to release the dragon and get this all over with.”

“There are only five, my Queen.  One is missing, the one they call Jakob.”

“Gyda has been after that one for months.  He will be collected soon enough.”

“And the female?  What shall I do with her?”

“Once she has completed her task as bait, you can have her to do as you wish.”

Chapter Three

Ryden stalked toward Rayne, and the two fell into a matched gate as they moved their way to the exit of the park.  For the first ten minutes the pair was silent and Ryden didn’t want to express his thoughts until they were alone.

Apparently, Rayne couldn’t wait.  “Do you truly think the curse is over?”

Ryden took a deep breath and kept walking, still hearing the witch’s words floating in his head.  For mer enn tusen år, vil du ikke finne kjærligheten, vil du ikke finne lykke, og du vil ikke spre din ætt. Og jeg vil finne din elskere, og jeg vil drepe dem alle foran øynene dine.

For more than one thousand years, you will not find love, you will not find happiness, and you will not spread your seed. And I will find your mates, and I will kill them all before your eyes.

And that one thousand years had been over for some time now.  His men had started living with a little hope that one day there would be a light at the end of the tunnel for them.  That love was something they would eventually know.  Once the mark had come and gone nearly one hundred years before, each day brought them the truth, that they were not yet worthy of love.

Until today.  When Rayne had scented the woman in the air.  In an amusement park of all things.

Seven hundred years ago, this acreage had been the land of the Powtoken tribe, inhabitants who had been good to them when they first reached the shores of the new world.  The peoples of Europe had become too guarded, and with the onslaught on the Black Death, anyone considered different or strange was burned at the stake, blamed for bringing plague to their doors.  A band of Berserkers, although feared by most, could have eventually been tracked down by a scared group of humans with pitchforks and torches alá a Frankenstein movie.  To protect themselves and the humans whose bravery almost matched their stupidity, they left for the shores they had heard tell of from Leif Erickson’s men.

Crossing the vast Atlantic had not been easy, the ship had hit hard waters and the men sulked for the life they were leaving behind.  Hitting the shores of Greenland, they had traveled south looking for more temperate climates.  After hundreds of years trapped in snow and ice each winter, they wanted warmth.  But they could not resist the urge to stay close to water, and the bounty it provided them, so they stayed close to shore as they went deeper into the land.

As they moved, they met with many of the indigenous tribes of men.  So much different than the Europeans, these people were one with the land, communicated with the spirit world, and held a greater knowledge than any of the other humans they had ever come into contact with.  Many of the tribes were kind to them, but wary as well.  A few attacked, unsure of the pale-faced males they came into contact with, sensing the animal within them.

The Powtoken Nation had accepted them with open arms, thinking their animal selves a communion with the Earth Mother herself.  They were regarded as near deities, and made the Berserkers honorary members of the tribe.  At last, they felt like they had found a home.

After spending nearly two hundred years with the Nation, Europe caught up with them. They feared their presence would get the Powtoken killed, especially when Hahunsunacawh chose to make peace with the settlers.  Hoping the Europeans would learn from these people, that the beauty that was the Powtoken would clear the fog from their eyes, Ryden and his men walked away.

Ryden felt they should have known what the settlers would do to the Natives years later, as they had already destroyed much of Europe, tearing down the forests and robbing the ground of the Earth’s treasures.  Ryden would forever mourn the mistake he had made not killing the lot of the settlers.  But perhaps then, it would have been even worse for the Nation, once more and more of the Europeans had come, and blamed them for the massacre.  Berserkers were strong, but not strong enough to kill every settler that laid a foot on new soil.

Nor was it their nature.

Once each one hundred years since, Ryden and his men returned to this spot, paying their respects to the Nation and Hahunsunacawh for the love and family they had become.  But now those settlers had ruined the land further, placing an amusement park on the largest Indian burial ground in the Powtoken Nation.  Animals who once ran free through the vast forests that grew here were caged and put on show for the descendants of the Europeans to watch.  Metal monsters flung them into the air and back to the ground.  It made Ryden sick.

Until Rayne had captured the scent that had floored them all.

And Ryden knew that fate had finally found them and brought them to this wretched place for a reason.  As they watched the woman from afar, they knew her to be a mate immediately; her scent had nearly driven all the men insane.  As she turned, she had been drawn to Ryden. Locked within his gaze and it was sealed at that point.

She had chosen.

“Ryden?”

Pulled out of his abyss, Ryden turned to Rayne noting they were walking from the entrance of the park.  Moving towards the woods at the far left, they blended in, walking until they were deep enough that no human would hear them.

“Ryden!”

“What?”  Ryden’s word ripped from him on a roar, the energy he used to prevent himself from grabbing the woman and running into the woods with her was an irritant, and he took it out on the one man he knew would allow him his rage.  His brother.  His twin.  The two were nearly inseparable, as if they truly were two parts of the same whole.  And Rayne could take Ryden’s anger.

“We have waited too long, why did you not lure her out so we could take her?  Her time is near she will need to be away from people soon.”

Ryden did not answer; afraid his brother would not like the answer.  “She needs time.”

“She has none.  The Nave is but three days away.  The woman is in danger.  We need to protect her.”

“So we watch her.”

“Watch?  We watch her?  This is not the time to sit back and idly strategize.  She needs more than that.  We need to get her to one of the safe houses and keep her under lock and key.” Rayne drew his fingers through his choppy blonde hair.  “We can’t lose her, not after waiting this long.”

Moving to a fallen log, Ryden sat down, thighs wide, his forearms braced on his knees.  The musty scent of rotting leaves hit his nose. “I don’t like the idea any more than you do, but she will not come quietly, I sense it. Her Valkyrie blood is too strong.  And if we take her too soon, she may never forgive us.  It needs to be her choice.  We need to fire her passions, make her yearn for us, make her…comfortable.”

“Comfortable?  You want to waste time…wooing the woman?”

“Wooing?  In an odd manner of speaking, I suppose so.  Put ourselves in her path.  Make us less the strangers and I think it will be easier on her.”

“Brother, I have serious doubts here.  The Swartska could be closing in even now.  I hope you are right about this.”

“We haven’t sensed a threat in the area.  And we will remain close by to protect her.  Our brothers would lay down their lives to protect a mate, you know it.”

“I just hope it doesn’t come to that point, Ryden.”

****

Karli stepped out of the shower and threw on her sleep shirt.  After a long day in the heat, and the crazy pull of the men in the park, she felt drained.  Slipping into the cool sheets, sleep fought her, and she tossed in her bed.  The bright red glow of the clock was like a constant reminder that she couldn’t find peace as the minutes ticked by.

Eventually sleep did come, but peace was still not to be.  As soon as she closed her eyes, visions of the silver eyed men kept her up all night.  She imagined them in her room, slipping into the covers with her, touching her in ways she had never thought possible.  Holding her within their arms, making her feel safe and secure.  Huddled between both of their strong naked bodies.

Rolling over, the ache in her pussy was too much for her to bear any longer, and her hand drifted between her legs to give her ease.  Opening her bedside stand, she pulled out her vibrator, rubbing the length against her aching clit, imagining the entire time that Ryden rested between her opened legs, pressing against her burning flesh.

Fluidly beneath the sheets, she brought herself to completion as she had so many other times before, and as soon as she dropped the toy beside her, she felt tears spring to her eyes.  Telling herself for so many years that she didn’t need anyone in her life, that she could take care of all of her needs herself; she had pushed the thought of a relationship from her mind and her world.

And now, after finding her empty completion, the one thing she wanted most was for someone to share her bed.  Closing her eyes, sleep came for her once more, though fitfully.  She continued to toss and turn, opening her eyes to a noise.

A large gray wolf padded up to her bed, standing at the corner looking at her with its silver glowing eyes.

“I must be dreaming,” she said to the wolf, as if he would understand her.

There was no fear on her part; she knew the animal was not there to hurt her.  Karli sat up, the sheets falling off her upper body, revealing her naked breasts.  A growl came from the beast, the sound vibrating through her body, making the dampness between her legs grow.

The wolf began to contort, turning into Ryden.  He stood there before her naked, large and erect, ready to pleasure her.  He remained at the corner of her bed; the eyes still the same stunning silver, with a question in them.  Karli reached her hand out to him; she needed to be held in this bed that had suddenly become so vacant.  He took her hand and climbed up the foot of the bed, resting alongside her, pulling her into his massive arms.

His heat bled into her, and her eyes closed in delight.  Karli reached for his sex, and he moved her hand off him, remaining above the covers as he held her tightly.  Pressing a soft kiss to her brow, he rubbed his heavy hands along her head, down her arm, calming her.  As the tears came, he held her as she sobbed, and continued to do so until sleep finally fully claimed her.

She found peace, in Ryden’s arms.

****

Ryden looked down at Karli’s satin skin as she finally relaxed in his arms.  Brushing a stray bit of russet hair back, he fanned the waves out onto her pillow.  She was exquisite, even though he could tell she thought herself as plain.  No woman who realized the full impact of her beauty would hide it behind loose clothing and ponytails.  She deserved to be in expensive gowns with diamonds dripping off every possible space.

She deserved to be cherished.  And from the tears she shed earlier, he was sure she was not.  And his pack had the means to do so.  After one thousand years of knowledge and continued learning, and amassing collections of items of value, they had a treasure trove, as well as a keen insight on the Stock Market.

Karli would look beautiful in silks and diamonds.  In his king sized bed on silken sheets.  Ryden sensed no happiness in her heart, only determination.  He wanted her to smile everyday.  And he wanted to be the reason she smiled. He would give her the world if she let him.

She thought he was a dream.  Had she so needed someone in her bed tonight, someone to hold her and make her feel safe that his appearance was dream worthy?  The fact that she had not screamed at his wolf self, even though she thought it all a dream, the simple fact she had accepted the change without fear, spoke volumes.  Or was calling it all a dream an easy way to avoid what she could not easily explain away?

Either way, he felt honored to hold her in his arms, to comfort her in her time of need.  And he and Rayne would be there for the next, if there ever was one.  She was theirs.

****

“You are here early.”  Karli looked at David as she was strapping on her radios, getting ready to head out into the park for her tour.  Her boss was the last person she had wanted to see on her way in, scared her sensual dreams that made her blush in the daylight, and her errant thoughts, were displayed all across her face.

Karli had half expected to wake up with Ryden beside her, and had been upset that it had in fact been a dream.  Waking up to a cold bed, alone, had been enough to make her chest ache.

“Yeah, Scream Town crowds were heavy last night, and the weather is perfect again tonight, so I expect more of the same.  Figured I’d get a head start tonight.”  Liar.  You are so going on the look out for Ryden and his twin.

“I like your attitude.  Good thinking.  Let me know how the tour goes.” David clasped a hand on her shoulder, and Karli wanted to squirm away.  “Great job with the team.”

Karli smiled the best fabricated smile she could and pulled away from that palm on her shoulder.  Starting her job here when she was only sixteen, she had worked summers through high school and college, moving up the ranks as she proved she was competent and capable.  Once she completed her degree, she had loved the park so much; she had stayed, moving into management instead of using her degree in Art History.

All along the way, David had been there, encouraging, coaching, mentoring, and always helpful.  But there was always something simmering below the surface that she tried to ignore, as if she acknowledged his lust for her, she would be caught in his claws.  The thought gave her a shiver, as just about any interaction did at this point, the years of denial growing into revulsion on her part.

But not on his.  Every time she turned around, the man was watching her, commenting on something she had done or said.  Like she was a homing beacon, she could not shake the man, but in all the years he had worked with her, he had never crossed the line, so at times she wondered if it were all her imagination.  David was a well-respected member of the team and was next in line for a Director’s position, and Karli knew that she needed to remain on his good side.  No matter how it disgusted her.  But interoffice politics was not her cup of tea.

Throwing open the Operations door, she quickly stepped to the employee entrance into the park.  Greeting team members and supervisors as she went, Karli ultimately had an eye out as she walked.  She was looking for flashes of silver.  It was another two hours until dusk, and she had plenty of time to stroll through the park, looking.

“Unit fifteen-ten, you have a ten-ninety-nine B right behind you.”  Karli closed her eyes and shook her head as she heard the radio call echo in her ear.  Karli was unit fifteen-ten.  And a ten-ninety-nine B was not good.

Belladonna, or B as most of the staff called her, was their resident crazy lady, who showed up every single day the park was open.  B talked to few people in the park, she just came in, walked around all day, looking at the sights, rode a few rides and then went home.  Every single day.

Karli was one of the chosen few B ever talked to, unfortunately.

“Howdy, Karli, what’s shaking tonight?  Ready for Halloween?”

Karli turned around slowly.  No, but I sure bet you are ready for Halloween.  The tight leopard skin dress along with the extra curly blonde porn star wig was just not a good look for a woman of her age, nor was the three pounds of makeup she always wore.  No one was completely sure of B’s age, but most guessed her to be at least sixty, if not older.

Today’s look was B’s normal daily appearance.  There was nothing on the woman’s body that was there for the holiday, but at least the guests stared less during this time of the year, assuming she was just in the Halloween spirit.  Cringing inwardly, Karli tried her best to plaster a smile on her face.

“I think we’re ready, Belladonna.  What do you think?”

“Park looks good, but too many people.”  B stepped closer to her, and Karli had to fight the desire to step back.  “Come to think of it, you look good.  You are all bright and shiny tonight.”

“Oh, you think so, do ya?  Must be the crisp, fall air.”

“Nahh.  I’d say you got some.  That spring in your step and the glow on your face doesn’t come from thin air.”

Karli fought to keep her jaw in check.  “Wow, B, tell me how you really feel.”

B stepped closer to Karli, and for once, the crazy woman made her feel panic.  Smelling the fetid odor of the woman’s breath, she tried to stand her ground while holding her breath at the same time.  B’s eyes got small, as she invaded Karli’s personal space.  “You gotta watch those men, Karli.  They are good for nothing and will only bring you pain and suffering.  You count my words.  Pain. And. Suffering.”

Karli pulled back, looking B in the eyes, trying to determine if the woman was truly lucid or not.  The bright, clear look she returned told her she was, and Karli let out a small sigh of relief.  She had always wondered if she would one day have to call security to escort B out of the park, her kind of crazy seemed to be superficial, but as of late, B had been acting a little odder than normal.  “Pain and suffering.  Yeah.  Got it.  Thanks for the words of encouragement, Belladonna.”

“Anytime.”  B slapped Karli on the arm.  “Anytime.  I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t pass on all the wisdom that I have with someone.  Now, on to ride the Snarling Wolf.”

Wondering how many times B had ridden that roller coaster, Karli watched the woman walk away.  The hint of menace in her tone had been new, and she pondered the change as she moved on through the park.

Two hours later, around the time her normal shift should have been beginning at dusk; she was almost saddened that she had not seen the men.  She finished up the park tour and entered the epicenter of Scream Town, one large field with five haunted houses, a corn maze, and the starting off point for the haunted hayride, and scanned the crowd.  This was the heart of the park during this time of the year, and she would remain near this space for the rest of the night.

No sign of the silver eyed duo, so she moved to the first haunted house, walking through to check if the team was ready to go.

A wave of desire flowed through her as she neared the entrance.  Compulsion took over and she felt as if an invisible force pulled her inside the doorway to the haunted maze.  In a fog, she walked through, ignoring the team members in costume around her, all milling about to get into place for the night.  Sweat blossomed all over her body, and she felt a pearl of liquid slide between her breasts, the sensation puckering her nipples.

Nearing the end, she felt heat swell through her pussy, as if invisible hands held her, stroked her.  Trying to stifle her moan, she continued to focus on putting one foot in front of the other, swaying slightly as if drunk, catching her hand on one of the walls of the hallway she coasted down.  She neared the exit, feeling the cooler air of the outdoors beckon her.

A set of hands pulled her through a curtained area just before she could reach the outside, clamping down on her mouth and her stomach.

Pitch black within, she saw nothing, but knew it was one of the small alcoves meant for the scare gang.  Pulled against a stiff chest, hands wrapped themselves around her waist.  A set of lips pressed against the pulse in her neck as her mouth was released, and another set of hands rubbed her thighs, sensing this one was at his knees before her.  Inhaling, she was surrounded by hard male flesh, and wanted nothing more than to be lost in the moment.

A mouth clamped down on her sex, through her clothing, as hands gently massaged her aching breasts, heavy and full with longing, and pinched the hardened nubs.  Another set of hands fondled her ass, squeezing the flesh in strong fingers.  One mouth continued to nibble at her sex, the other found her mouth, pressing a heavy tongue between her lips.  In the darkness, she wasn’t completely sure which set of hands were which.

The eroticism of the touches made her care less about the hands, just as long as they didn’t stop.  Weightless, Karli was held aloft by the power of the two men.  Had they not, she would not have had the strength to stand by herself.  Even though the two had not removed one piece of her clothing, she knew her orgasm neared and was desperate to have them touch her without the fabric abrading her flesh.

Juices flowing, her scent was strong in the space, and a small amount of her essence escaped the side of her shorts and she felt a tongue lick the wetness up her inner thigh.  A deep growl emerged from the body below her, and her shorts were pushed as high as possible for him to gain entrance into her sex.

The hands on Karli’s breasts moved to unbutton her shorts without moving his mouth from hers, and she was quickly undressed from the waist down with help from below.  The fingers which had unsnapped her pants slipped to her clit and began to circle the nub as the man below her began an assault on her pussy, sliding one finger inside her slowly as he licked and tasted her flowing juices.

Sounds swirled in Karli’s ears, the heavy breaths and soft groans of the men surrounding her in their cocoon were at the forefront.  But other noises filtered in.  The roller coaster chains, the screams of delighted terror, and the hum of hundreds of voices as they passed the spot they were secluded in reminded her that they could be caught at any second, the thin curtain whisked away and she would be on display, in the throes of passion at the hands of the two men.

Sensation overwhelmed her and light flashed behind her eyelids as the power of her orgasm slammed into her.  Energy spread through her as her back arched in pleasure.  She screamed her release into the mouth of one man as she was held and touched by them both. Seized within their arms, her body was caressed, calmed, as she recovered from her release.  Carefully, without words being spoken, she was quickly redressed and sensed she was utterly alone seconds later.

Stepping from the darkened space, she ran out the exit on wobbly legs made of rubber, looking around for her mystery lovers.  Reality hit at that very second, and she nearly died from the realization she had let two complete strangers fondle and lick her in a darkened corner of her workplace.  What if it had not been the two silver eyed men?

  Innately she knew it hadbeen Ryden and his twin, and she also knew she had wanted them to do the things they had.  Instead of denying her unnatural desire for more of them, she searched the crowd, needing them more at that moment then she needed to breathe.

As she approached the entrance to the next maze, she noted a flash of light coming from the tree line that surrounded the edge of the park.  Walking towards the spot, she popped out her pocket flashlight and flashed it towards the trees.  She screamed as she saw two pairs of silver eyes and then several huge wolves running away into the forest.