Dragon's Prisoner: A Curvy Girl Military Romance (Dragon Blaze Ops Book 4) Read online

  “Get off! I’ve been trained to fight.”

  Karey shook her head more firmly. Out there, the dragons would have their attention so divided up that it’d be impossible for them to ensure Maura’s safety. Even though her own nerves were frayed to the edge, even though part of her wanted to jump out there and be part of the fighting as well, she forced herself to stay where she was. Forced herself to keep such a tight hold on Maura that the head of the Magnus Academy couldn’t break free.

  “They’ll focus all their attacks on you,” Karey rasped. “And maybe they don’t know for sure you’re here. They could be waiting for visual confirmation and then blow up this whole cabin.”

  Maura’s face paled. She punched the back of the couch; a mouse skittered out from under it, and Karey nearly screamed from the sheer unexpectedness of it. She slapped a hand over her mouth, biting back on the scream. The mouse darted back under the couch as a keening howl came from outside.

  Karey bit her tongue so hard she tasted blood. Was that someone she knew? Was it a wolf or a dragon?

  “I’m not just gonna stay here defenseless anyway,” Maura hissed. She leapt over the couch before Karey could stop her. There was a bang, a crash, and then she was back. Clutched in her hands was the tray full of steak knives. She selected two, holding them ready to stab anybody who came near their little safe haven.

  Karey’s hands shook as she grabbed two knives as well. The air seemed to be too thin, and she could feel herself spiraling out of control.

  “I don’t know how to fight,” she whimpered. “I was never taught how.”

  “Slice, don’t stab,” Maura replied, gesturing with her knives. “You slice, you get them better and you have less risk of losing your knife.”

  Karey nodded.

  The door splintered off its frame. It flew across the room, smacking into the couch. It fell over, hitting Maura hard in the head. Karey bit back a scream, reaching to help her. A howl filled the cabin, followed by a grunt of pain.

  The couch was ripped from where it stood and flung to one side. A wolf and bear loomed over them, blood dripping from the wolf’s muzzle. They both lunged at the same time. Karey slashed her knives forward; they caught in the bear’s thick fur as its teeth snapped next to her ear.

  Another howl.

  Adam was there, on the bear’s back, driving a huge knife into its spine. It reared, roaring, while a dragon dragged the wolf away. Maura leapt to her feet, slashing the bear across the belly. She rolled under its swinging paws, shifting fluidly into the form of a leopard as another wolf dashed behind the dragon, sinking its teeth into his legs. Maura leapt onto the back of the first wolf, her teeth tearing at the back of its neck.

  A third and fourth wolf easily leaped through the window. They went for Adam as the bear toppled. Karey scrambled to her feet, flinging a steak knife at one of them.

  A hand caught her wrist.

  Her father flung her into the wall. The knife she still held flashed out, slicing across his chest. He didn’t even seem to notice as he wrapped one hand around her throat. She stabbed at him; he deflected the blow, then twisted her wrist sharply. A snap of pain rushed up her arm, and she cried out as her fingers lost the knife.

  The Alpha pressed both hands to her throat now, his teeth bared in a snarl. Karey struggled against him. She kicked his legs and clawed at his eyes. The pressure only increased, until she was certain her neck was going to snap. Her lungs screamed for air and darkness washed in from the sides of her vision. The sounds seemed to muddle in her ears, louder than the beating of her heart and yet so very far away.

  Someone smacked into her father, tearing him away. His fingers clawed at her neck, leaving streaks of red behind. She sagged against the wall, coughing, as she rubbed her bruised throat.

  Adam wrestled with the Alpha, smoke coming from his mouth. Her father snarled, hurling Adam aside. He shifted to his wolf form, snapping at Adam’s throat. Adam caught his muzzle, yelling with exertion as he kept those snapping teeth away from his neck.

  Everything else in the room disappeared. Hot burning rage swept through Karey’s body. It bubbled in her blood. Nothing in the world mattered except this one thing. With a feral screech, she grabbed two new knives and hurled herself at her father. She slashed him across the haunches, earning a howl of pain. He whirled on her, his teeth snapping at her face. Karey jerked back, falling to the floor as she tripped over a body.

  When her father came at her again, she stabbed forward with both knives. The impact jarred up her arms. One blade snapped, the other slicing across his collar before getting lodge between the bones. Adam leapt on his spine, yanking his head back as he bit down on Karey’s arm. She was dragged several feet as the Alpha tried to dislodge Adam.

  Stephen shielded Maura with his wings from the two other wolves, snapping and snarling at them.

  As Adam and her father fought, Karey scrambled across the room. The wolves ignored her, still going for Maura and Stephen. She yanked open the cupboard. And there it was. Vials of medicine. Syringes.

  She didn’t let herself think, didn’t let herself doubt. Her hands were remarkably steady as she went through the familiar actions. Drawing a syringe full of medicine. Set it aside. Draw another. And another. Soon she was armed with half a dozen syringes full of blockers. She turned, inhaled deeply and rushed for the nearest wolf.

  It didn’t see her coming until she had jabbed the needle into its rump. She hit the plunger, sending the blockers in. The wolf yelped as it turned on her. But then it froze, eyes wide, and let out a howl that turned to a scream. Karey jumped to the next one, plunging the blockers in quickly. The third started to turn, recognizing what was happening; Stephen grabbed and pinned it. Karey injected him as well.

  The Alpha howled and threw Adam off. Adam impacted the wall, grunting as he slid to the floor. The Alpha came at Karey again, but she was ready. With a syringe in either hand, she jabbed them forward. Both stabbed into his muscles, and she pushed in the plungers.

  He jerked. His teeth came at her throat. Then he was human again, his wolf fading from him. He slumped, and Karey thought it was over.

  Silver flashed. Pain ripped across her chest and neck. Adam howled. A knife shining with blood rose in her father’s hand. It sped forward as Adam shouted, and then everything went black.

  ***

  Karey woke long before she was aware she was awake. Everything felt groggy and strange. Her wolf curled in her chest, drawing the flames up and around it. It whimpered, nudging her to full consciousness.

  The first thing she thought was that her father really was dead this time. She didn’t need to be told. Even with the blockers in his system, he would not have been taken alive. She lay there for some time, processing that. And feeling only relief now. He never loved her. Would never love her. If he had lived, he’d just keep coming after her and Adam.

  Adam…

  “Adam!” She bolted upright.

  “Whoa!” Adam’s scent enveloped her. “Whoa, whoa. It’s okay. I’m right here.”

  Karey grasped his sleeve, staring up at him as the pounding of her heart slowly settled. She pulled Adam into her arms, needing to feel him close to her. Burying her face into his neck, she breathed in his scent. He was here. He was safe.

  “Are you okay?” his hands rested on her back as he pulled away, peering intently at her.

  “I…” She tried to take stock of herself. She didn’t feel like she was in any great pain, but there was a strange sort of tingling in her neck. As she remembered her father’s hands around her throat, she shuddered but nodded. “I think I’m okay.”

  Adam ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her lightly. “Good. Because I’ve been very worried about you.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re sorry?” He gave her a pinched smile. “Sorry for something that isn’t your fault? Sorry that your father nearly killed you and I almost wasn’t there in time? Those aren’t things for you to feel guilty for.”


  Karey shrugged. “Sorry that you were worried, then?”

  “Sympathy, not guilt?”

  She had to chuckle as she nodded.

  Adam kissed her and smoothed her hair from her face. “Okay, yeah. I can take that.”

  “Where are we?”

  “Hospital.” He stroked her hair, his hand trembling like he was afraid she might suddenly disappear. “You’ve been asleep for two days now. But the Alpha is dead. The Blaze Ops and the rest of the Academy are hunting down the remaining pockets of the Pack. They’ve scattered, just like you thought they would. And you’ll be happy to know that after a lot of discussions, Maura has decided you were telling the truth.”

  Karey laughed, both out of relief and because of the scowl on Adam’s face, like he was trying desperately not to say something nasty about that. Karey didn’t care. If it took Maura this long to decide to trust her, at least she wouldn’t have to be too worried about what was going to happen next.

  Although… “So what is going to happen next?”

  “I’m not sure,” Adam murmured. “But I can promise you this. I will be by your side, no matter what.”

  Warmth blossomed in Karey’s chest. She curled her fingers into his hair as she drew him in for a deep, passionate kiss. And she knew that she didn’t need any time to figure out what love was—this was it.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Only after he was absolutely certain that Karey was alright did Adam leave her. It made him antsy to leave the hospital room, but she was awake and knew he’d be back shortly. After everything that had happened over these last few months, he wanted to spend time with her. Just the two of them, not because they were forced to be each other’s only company but because they wanted to.

  First, though, he had to deal with the consequences of his actions.

  Maura sat at her desk, fingers laced, peering intently at him as he came in. She gestured for him to sit, something he did gratefully. Her expression was calmer than the last time he had been in here, and there was an almost amused quirk to her mouth. She had suffered three broken bones as the wolves concentrated on her, trying to kill her, but she had recovered completely now.

  “So,” she said as he settled himself down. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Release me from all blame and say that it was all part of a wider plan to take down the Alpha, which has succeeded?” Adam gave her a weak smile. “You know, because we did take down the Alpha and we’ve routed the majority of the sects still remaining. So…?”

  Maura shook her head, although she let out a soft laugh. That was a good sign. Things couldn’t be too terrible if she was allowing herself to be amused. The situation couldn’t be too terribly serious.

  “Why is it that the Blaze Ops always puts me in the most uncomfortable situations? The Shadow Ops never does this. Maybe it’s the leadership. Cooper runs his team pretty tightly.”

  Adam frowned. He didn’t like the implication that Patrick was too soft on them. “Maybe we have caused a lot of chaos in our personal lives that has spilled over, but we have also been the most successful team in the Academy. Nobody else has as high a success rate as we do. Cooper and his people could never have done everything we’ve accomplished.”

  “I suppose that is true. I just wish that you could have done this in a way that didn’t put me in an awkward position.”

  Adam leaned forward slightly. “If you recall, Karey did offer her help. She wanted to do this on the level, and you refused to believe her.”

  “And you know exactly why I was hesitant to trust her. If you had brought her back to the Academy when she was reaching out to us, we could have settled this in a much less chaotic manner.” Maura shook her head. “Besides which, that isn’t what I am referring to. You kidnapped a member of your team and put him on blockers. You quit. And while you and Karey were prisoners, you decided it was a good time to have sex. How am I supposed to defend all that to the people I report to?”

  Adam opened his mouth, then closed it again. That was all very damning, he had to admit. If their places were reversed, what would he do?

  “Well… I guess the first thing would be taking Stephen prisoner.” Adam glared down at his hands. “I did apologize to him, and he seemed to be okay.”

  Maura hummed. “I talked to him as well. He says that he understands why you did what you did, that you were protecting your mate and that he doesn’t want to be used as means for your punishment.”

  A tightness in Adam’s chest eased. It was the same thing that Stephen had told him, but it was good to hear that he was saying it to other people as well. He wouldn’t have blamed Stephen for being angry with him over what had happened. If their places were reversed, Adam was certain he would not be so forgiving.

  “I also asked him and your other teammates if they thought they could still trust you. And they all said yes.” Maura laced her fingers together. “So, Stephen has agreed to cover up for you. He’s going to say that you didn’t kidnap him, but that it was part of a plan to keep the Pack off guard and lure them into a trap. Since we didn’t lose anybody from our side, it’ll be easy enough to act like we were expecting them.”

  Adam’s eyes widened as his head came up. She was going to cover it up? He had wondered how the others had been allowed to stay with the Blaze Ops after what they had done.

  “The Magnus Academy was put together so it could work off the books. Out of the eyes of the government and in ways that would otherwise be bogged down by red tape,” Maura explained. “And you’re very right about one thing. The Blaze Ops have been more successful than any other team I’m aware of. And as much as you lot like to break the rules, breaking those rules has also led to seriously good results. So. If I have to lie a little on my reports to the people who like to know what’s going on here…”

  She shrugged casually, and Adam had to grin. She wasn’t as strict as he had thought she was. Knowing about this certainly made a few other things that happened around here make a lot more sense.

  “You don’t have to worry about what is going to happen to you,” Maura continued. “I’ll smooth things over. Now the question is, do you want to come back to the Academy to work?”

  “Yes,” Adam replied at once. He couldn’t think of anything he’d like to do more. What his team did, it was important. “And in the future, I will not let myself get so caught up in things that I don’t communicate with everybody else.”

  Maura nodded. “Then I suppose this is settled. Patrick and Fiona have already been arguing for you to be reinstated. I will have to give you a suspension, though, for some of your other actions.”

  Sleeping with Karey. Adam nodded, although he had no idea how she was going to smooth that over. She answered it pretty quickly, though, as she leaned forward.

  “How is your mate doing?”

  Adam blinked, then grinned. Of course. Nobody could blame him for sleeping with his own mate. As for the situation they were in, well… he was certain Maura would be able to take care of that, too. He clasped his hands together. “She’s as good as can be expected. Physically, she’s healed. Emotionally… we have a lot of things we’re going to have to work through.”

  “The Academy has therapists she can see if she wants that.”

  “I’ll talk to her about it.” He didn’t know what sort of attitude there was toward mental health in the Pack, but he could only imagine it was negative. He knew it would benefit her greatly if she had therapy, but he wasn’t sure if it was something she’d be open to. But that was something to talk to her about. “So what happens to her now? She was part of the Pack.”

  “She’s not going to be arrested, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Maura replied. “Given her help in taking down the Pack, I’m fighting for a full pardon for what she was involved in. Although she is probably going to be asked to meet with and apologize to her victims, just as Utopia did.”

  Adam grimaced. Karey’s mental state and self-esteem were so much more fragile than
Utopia’s. She had years of people telling her that she was weak and worthless. He couldn’t imagine what the anger some of those people had would do to her. He’d have to talk to her about it, too. If he could convince her to go to therapy, it would make things a lot easier.

  He wanted to help her the best he could. He wanted to help her heal from everything she had gone through. But he also recognized that he was not a professional and that his understanding of mental health was pretty low.

  “I should see a therapist, too, shouldn’t I?”

  Maura nodded. “I would suggest it.”

  She dismissed him shortly after that, and Adam returned to Karey feeling like he was a thousand pounds lighter. He related to her what they’d talked about and when he got to the part about therapy, she stiffened. Adam quickly went on to explain why he thought it would be good and that he was going to go as well. Karey relaxed and agreed to go.

  “I guess I do have quite a few issues to work through. I’ve seen and done terrible things.”

  “Yeah and I don’t want you to internalize this any more than you already have.” He stroked her hair from her face and kissed her forehead. “And honestly I probably ought to have gone to therapy a long time before this.”

  “I thought you said you did, after…” Karey brushed her fingers against the scar on his neck.

  “I did. I just meant about the general stuff. That therapy was specifically because of my near-death experience and the trauma involved in it.” Adam wrapped his arms around her as he slid into the bed beside her, even though there wasn’t really enough room for the two of them. “I have a lot of other things I should try to work through as well.”

  Karey rested her head on his shoulder, her hand on his chest. She was so soft and warm in his arms. He hadn’t even realized that something was missing until now, when he could hold her. Feel how alive she was. A slow smile crossed his face as he trailed a hand down her spine.

  “I was just thinking,” he said slowly.

  “About what?”

  “Well you’re still on those fertility drugs, right? Is it too soon to try for a baby?”