Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Shaking away the last of his anger, Keres knew he had to face the truth. He was losing it. This was not the first time he’d snapped out of a fit of rage and violence. Without his own mate’s gentle influence, the dragon inside him chose violence over sanity. Keres couldn’t ignore the risks anymore. He’d almost injured Skye and Aurora.
His top-level staff had refused to follow his directions to close his estate. They’d finally agreed to operate without him for one year. After that time period, if he hadn’t returned, they’d meet with all those who worked on his territory and made his land their home to undertake the process of readying his estate. The horde would need to invite another dragon to take his place. Keres didn’t allow himself to dwell on this. Mine.
Even through his frustration, Keres appreciated they were loyal and not willing to give up on him. Stalking out of the estate, he sent a message to the only dragon shifter who could possibly help him.
Oldrik. I need to meet with you alone.
Ardon and I can leave Skye when she naps. Want to meet on the field at the west side of town?
No Ardon. I need you to come alone, Oldrik. I promise you are safe.
I don’t need Ardon to protect me, Keres. Oldrik’s voice resounded with anger.
Of course you don’t. I’ll rephrase that to tell you I’ll scan for traps. I meant no offense.
Good. This afternoon at three?
Arriving at the meeting location early, Keres scouted from above before landing. Paranoia apparently went hand in hand with flashes of rage. Keres forced himself to focus and release the aggression that easily built inside him.
Keres shifted and waited for Oldrik to arrive. When the sun glinted off bronze wings, he relaxed slightly. Oldrik had come. Battling the black thoughts that lurked in the corners of his mind, Keres realized he’d almost waited too long to have this conversation.
“Oldrik. Thank you for meeting me.”
“I don’t enjoy discussing anything without my mate and Ardon. You said this was urgent,” the dragon shifter stated bluntly.
“Tell me where your sister is.” Keres got straight to the point.
“Why?” Oldrik asked.
“You know why. It’s the end for me. I’ll replace myself for the horde.”
“Your mate might be on the next transport,” Oldrik pointed out.
“The numbers of those arriving have dwindled to a handful every month. The list of missing Wyverns is blank, except for a few older people. No more mates are arriving now, Oldrik. I have to face the truth. There isn’t a mate for me in this generation. I can’t last for another one. It’s over for me. Tell me where she is.”
“I can’t do that for her safety, Keres.”
“I will swear an oath to you. Over all these years, I’ve proven to you my word, once given, is solid. That hasn’t changed. I will treat her well.”
“I’m not sure exactly where she is.”
“Tell me everything you can. I’ll find her,” Keres assured him. “I need a hint of where to start.”
Keres studied Oldrik’s expression as the bronze dragon considered his options. Rare female dragons battled for survival as shifters doomed to madness sought them as a last option. He couldn’t imagine a life that didn’t involve flight and freedom—all those things a dragon craved. For eons, females existed only to give life to new dragons. The procreation process couldn’t be easy for them, taken by a dragon barely holding on to sanity without a mate bond to make it pleasurable.
Keres met Oldrik’s gaze. “I will plead my case with your sister and hope she will help. I will accept no as an answer. Death will come to me either way. I will not drag an innocent into the torture that besieges me.”
“I have your word on that?” Oldrik’s focus was laser sharp.
“You have my word.”
“The last I heard, she was in a small hilltop in Montana. I do not know the town’s name or have an address. Rimi mentioned the construction of a new sports arena that might force her to move.”
“Thank you, Oldrik.”
“Bring her back, Keres. She deserves to live in the light.”
Keres met his gaze and nodded. There wouldn’t be a good end for him, but perhaps something positive could come out of this. The horde would protect his offspring and Oldrik’s sister.
Every day Keres battled the urge to return to his territory. What could the other dragons in his horde do? He could take them. The violence that echoed within his brain made him fearless.
A thin sliver of reality remained inside him. These were the members of his horde. Together they had fought shoulder to shoulder, protecting each other as well as the citizens of Wyvern. Deep in his brain, the need to keep them safe overruled the growing blackness of his soul. It was better for him to keep searching—hundreds of miles from his allies and their mates.