Hour of the Dragon - Heather Killough-Walden Page 0,181
you here, boss?”
Nathan was one of the few members of the clan who frequently referred to Cain as “boss,” despite him being the most off-hands “boss” a clan leader could possibly be. Most of them simply deferred to him. They refrained from phrases like “boss” and “sir” because they were men in a motorcycle club, and because they knew he didn’t give a shit. But there were a few members who’d come from a place of certain civility, and that sophistication and adherence to convention was just an unshakable part of who and what they were. Nathan was one such member.
Cain shrugged, glancing up. “I know what’s going through your head right now.” He watched as the light in the living room behind the curtains went out, casting the apartment in darkness. Then he looked back down at Nathan.
Nate was watching the dark window, his jaw set tight.
“So I’m going to give you a piece of advice,” Cain continued.
Nathan tensed even further. But he lowered his head and looked at the ground, the corners of his mouth turning up in a small smile. “Tread carefully?” he offered in assumption.
“No, jackass.”
Nate’s head snapped up. Gold eyes met blue.
Cain’s gaze narrowed. “Don’t waste any time.”
Now Nathan’s brow furrowed uncertainly.
Cain sighed. “Connor, you and I know damn well you would never hurt a woman, and that includes Golddusts during a hard gold fever hunger. It’s the reason you are what you are in the first place.” He’d been weak when he’d faced off with the Dire werewolf all those years ago because he’d refused to take something from someone without their permission, and there was simply a shortage of freely-offered goldblood. “I don’t have to worry about you in that respect, and neither does Grace. What I do have to worry about is the fact that Michael Clemens is still out there somewhere and he’d love nothing more than to capitalize on the known whereabouts of a Golddust. You know how much he loves making money off the blood of beautiful women.”
He let that sit for a moment and watched Connor’s expression darken dangerously before he continued. “To say nothing of a chaos god who would love to use her to create a rift in our little world, or of Dmitri Voronoi, another Apex whose agenda is still very much unclear but who’d be crazy not to follow a golden scent when he catches it.” He paused, took a breath, and said, “And then there’s Victoria Grace herself. And the fact that her spells aren’t lasting like they should.” Just like your own feeding isn’t lasting like it should. Cain thought the words in Nathan’s head, and saw the recognition flash in the Apex’s eyes. Nathan hadn’t been certain that Cain could tell he was getting hungry.
But he was certain now.
“Time is of the essence,” Cain said. “So yeah, tread carefully.” He looked away, releasing Nate from his gaze to turn and head back toward his bike. “Just don’t fucking crawl,” he finished over his shoulder.
When he got back to his bike, swung his leg over, and looked up from the saddle, it was to find Nathan Connor looking at the ground and lost in deep thought. The hunger Cain had sensed in him earlier was still there. But it was tempered by strength.
Some of that strength was lent to him. Cain would always take care of his clansmen.
But some of it was just Nate. Cain trusted he would do what needed to be done. Nonetheless, the next few days and weeks would be interesting. Victoria Grace was so used to running and hiding, she was bound to turn rabbit at the slightest hint of Connor on her trail, no matter how down-wind of her he was. She would need to be tailed. And guarded.
With that thought, Cain’s attention turned inward. In his mind’s eye he saw a woman beyond the clean panes of a white window sill. He saw her stop in her tracks, lower her face to her hands in exhaustion and desperation, and he felt his eyes begin to glow once more.
He closed his eyes and shoved everything way the hell back down before he started up his bike and pulled away from the curb and the neighborhood.
The next few weeks were going to be more than interesting. There was a bad moon rising, and the coming days were sure to be nothing less than the perfect storm.
Stay tuned for Monsters Three, by Heather Killough-Walden
I, Android (Brand new pulse-pounding romantic sci-fi thriller series.):
I, Android, Book One: A Different Model
I, Android Book Two: (TBA, 2021)
The Big Bad Wolf series:
The Heat
The Strip
The Spell
The Hunt
The Big Bad Wolf Romance Compilation (all four books together, in proper chronological order)
The Lost Angels series:
Always Angel (eBook-only introductory novella)
Avenger's Angel
Messenger's Angel
Death's Angel
Warrior's Angel
Samael
The Kings - A Big Bad Wolf spinoff series:
The Vampire King
The Phantom King
The Warlock King
The Goblin King
The Seelie King
The Unseelie King
The Shadow King
The Winter King
The Demon King
The Shifter King
The Nightmare King
The Dragon King
The Time King
Withered – bridge novella linking The Kings to Monsters
Monsters
Book One: The Good, The Bad, The Cursed
Book Two: Hour of the Dragon
Book Three: (TBA, 2021)
The October Trilogy:
Sam I Am
Secretly Sam
Suddenly Sam
Neverland Series:
Forever Neverland
Beyond Neverland
The Chosen Soul Trilogy:
The Chosen Soul
Drake of Tanith
Queen of Abaddon
Redeemer (stand-alone)
Hell Bent (stand-alone)
Vampire, Vampire (stand-alone)
A Sinister Game (stand-alone)
The Third Kiss: Ares's Dream (stand-alone)
Note: The Lost Angels series (not including Always Angel, Warrior’s Angel and Samael) and the Big Bad Wolf series are available in print and eBook format. All other HKW books are currently eBook-only.