Canary for the Dragon Read online

  He clenched his jaw, digging his nails into the palms of his hands. They turned to claws, tore at skin and drew blood. Calm down. Don’t give into the dragon.

  “You shouldn’t say that. You don’t know me, how dangerous I can be,” he said, voice cracking, turning harsh, edged with desire.

  Sky placed a palm over his left cheek, touch startling Rex. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone touched him so tenderly.

  “That might be true, but I don’t want to be anywhere else but by your side. I can’t describe it, but my canary feels at home with you.”

  Home.

  That word took Rex back. Home was a place he could return to, somewhere he took comfort in. The city ceased being his home after his old mate died, because the vital parts of him died, too. Sky had the ability to breathe life back into one old dragon, but they were both in for a rough rollercoaster ride.

  Rex placed a hand over Sky’s. The talons had retracted. He shut his eyes. “Sky, you need to know something. I’m on the verge of losing control of my inner animal.”

  Sky laughed, the sound music to Rex’s ears. He wondered if he could get Sky to sing for him. “You’re the most in control shifter I know. You batted Gareth away like he was only a pest.”

  “Okay.” Rex released Sky’s hand. “Let’s try this. I’ll offer you sanctuary, until you find your own way.”

  “Offer sanctuary? Who uses words like that?” Sky beamed, though, teasing him. Rex liked it, loved the fact Sky didn’t act scared around him when most people went out of their way to avoid him.

  When Sky really finds out what you are, will he run, too? an ugly voice in his head asked. Do you think salvation’s still possible for an ancient monster like you?

  “Rex?” Sky pressed, peering up at him with concern. “Are you okay? You’re not having second thoughts, right?”

  “Not at all.” Rex flashed Sky what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He led them out of the park and hailed a cab. Once more, he opened the car door. Sky slid in. Rex followed, liking how Sky sat closer to him, until their shoulders touched.

  The urge to touch Sky rose. It needn’t be sexual, he reminded himself. Start with slow steps.

  ****

  The world’s a dangerous place, where predators eat prey like you for dinner. Gareth’s words echoed in Sky’s head. Not helpful. Gareth didn’t have a place in his life any longer.

  The apartment building looked normal enough, not fancy or pretentious like the Emerald Towers II. The exterior looked newly refurbished, and it still had a doorman.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Striker, fancy seeing you this early,” said the doorman.

  Rex merely inclined his head, reminding Sky of a gentleman, and the world seldom made those any more. “Afternoon, Tom. This is Sky, he’ll be staying with me for a couple of days.”

  “I see, I’ll let reception know,” Tom said, smile still in place and not an eyebrow raised.

  Sky wondered if the residents must be paid for privacy as well. Rex led him to the elevators, where they encountered a young mother and her little boy.

  “Rawr,” the boy told Rex with a gap-tooth grin.

  “Have you been good to your mom, Jonathan?” Rex asked pleasantly.

  “Rawr,” the boy repeated.

  “Have a good day to you and your guest, Rex,” the mother said, exiting on the fifth floor with the boy.

  “A lot can be said about a man who knows his neighbors,” he said.

  “Does it? I can be a friendly serial killer for all you know.”

  “Wait. Are you trying to make a joke?” Sky asked.

  “Did it work?” Rex asked, curious.

  “No.” Sky stepped out of the elevator as they reached Rex’s floor—the penthouse suite.

  “Are you having second thoughts?” Rex inquired. “We can still find you a hotel or something you’re more comfortable with.”

  “I don’t have any money.” It was shameful to admit, but his people made sure he and the other submissive avians relied on their stronger mates for everything. He hurried on. “But I’m planning to get a job soon.”

  Sky babbled, said the first thing on his mind because truth be told, he didn’t have a clue what to do next. Still, he didn’t want Rex to think of him as some kind of burden.

  “You don’t need to worry about money.”

  “I’ll pay you back even if I decide to stay at a hotel,” he said, lifting his chin. “I’m not some helpless stranded bird.”

  Rex sighed. “I know you aren’t fragile, Sky. You endured a man like Gareth for a month. That’s a testament to your inner strength.”

  Embarrassed by Rex’s praise, Sky looked away first. Best he returned to the main topic at hand. “I’m not changing my mind.”

  “Let me show you my den then,” Rex offered. There was only a single door waiting there. He guessed the entire penthouse unit was Rex’s.

  Rex opened the door and let him in first.

  “Does it work?” Sky asked. “Like, opening doors and stuff. Does the gentleman gimmick work when you’re hitting on someone?”

  Shit. Why did he ask that?

  Rex locked the door behind him and frowned. “It’s been a while for me, Sky.”

  Feeling like an idiot, Sky turned his attention to Rex’s pad. It looked like a cut-out from an interior design magazine, minimalist and all white.

  “Did you like, recently move in or something?” Sky asked, curiously walking and looking around.

  “I never linger in one place for long, or bother establishing roots.” Rex sounded wistful.

  Realizing he still had Rex’s jacket, Sky took it off and folded it neatly, before placing it on the dining table. Something struck him as odd—the apartment was bare. Books lined the shelves, but there were no posters, art, or photos, no personal objects to give Sky a hint of the man living here.

  “That sounds sad,” he admitted. “When I first moved into Gareth’s place, everything screamed his. He didn’t allow me to change anything, and you have all this space.”

  “Color leeched out of my life after Tim died.”

  “Tim?” He asked.

  “My former mate. He passed away two decades ago.”

  Sky frowned, hovering by the dining room. Something about Rex’s statement didn’t make any sense. Rex was thirty or so, unless he merely looked young. However, Rex losing his mate did explain why Rex didn’t have complete control of his animal.

  Shifters mated for life. Like songbirds, if one died, the other followed suit.

  “How do you say this in modern terms?” Rex murmured, looking distracted. “Ah yes. I have a lot of baggage.”

  Modern terms?

  The realization dawned on Sky. Not all shifters had mortal lifespans. Those who came from an older line could live centuries.

  “You’re old,” he said. Rex looked resigned, weary, suddenly years older. “I mean, you’re like, decades older than you appear?”

  Rex didn’t immediately answer. He imagined Rex living in this cheerless space, going through the everyday motions. Rex must have been lonely, caged in a way. Just like him, except Rex wasn’t trapped by obligations or a forced mating bond. The past chained Rex down.

  “I’ll show you the guest room,” Rex said instead.

  Feeling awkward, like Sky had broached a taboo topic, he made the decision to think before opening his mouth. Rex showed him around—living room, kitchen, and the guest bedroom.

  “I don’t know why I maintain this room,” Rex admitted.

  Sky looked in. There was a huge window looking out, curtains drawn back, a queen sized bed, cabinets, and a personal bathroom. Like the rest of the apartment, it looked like a cut-out of a cozy hotel room.

  “Thank you,” Sky said, meaning it.

  “I need to go back to the office and tend to some things,” Rex said, pulling out his wallet and produced a key. “Here’s a copy. Tom would know you by now. You can come and go as you please, but just be cautious. Gareth must be looking for you.
”

  “I understand.” That was a lie. His world right now was a screaming mess of confusion. Did he imagine the hunger in Rex’s gaze just now? Rex left the key by the bedside table.

  “There’s food in the fridge or the numbers of some takeout places taped on the freezer door,” Rex said, flashing him a smile that seemed a little strained, as if he was the one regretting offering Sky to stay. “I’ll see you later?”

  A question, not a statement.

  “I’ll be here,” Sky replied. The offer to be able to go anywhere he wanted was nice, but he had nowhere else to be after all.

  He sat on the edge of the bed and didn’t move until he heard the click of the front door. Sky brought out all his belongings. Wallet. Phone. Nothing else.

  The phone he couldn’t use, didn’t want to use because of the restrictions placed on it. He didn’t have his own bank account either, but had a joint one with restricted access to Gareth.

  He flopped on the bed, not bothering to take off his shoes. Burying his head into the pillow, he let out a silent scream of frustration.

  Chapter Five

  Rex lied. Heading back to the office, pretending everything was fine, like it was any other normal day—yeah right.

  Deciding the elevator took too long, he took the emergency stairwell, taking two steps at a time. Reaching the first floor, he exited the apartment building, finding himself at the back alleyway behind the building.

  He rested his forehead against the brick wall, breathing hard, trying to make sense of what just happened. His cock still dug painfully against the zipper of his trousers. It was not hard to head back up. Take what his canary would willingly offer.

  Rex wasn’t blind. He knew the attraction wasn’t one-sided, but Sky wasn’t like any of his hook-ups. Once Rex started on this path, there was no going back.

  His dragon wanted to mate Sky. It believed Sky was the key to putting back all the broken pieces inside Rex together again.

  Rex let out a hollow laugh.

  He shouldn’t have invited Sky back to his place or offered a stray canary sanctuary. Rex had acted on impulse, not sense, thereby putting Sky in danger. Not from the Paranormal Council or Garret, but little did Sky know that the real threat lay closer to home. Him.

  Knowing he could barely control himself around Sky should have made him take a step back. Assess the situation. Rex still had allies in the Council, powerful immortal friends who like him, preferred solitude as opposed to interfering with politics and supernatural affairs. Rex could have gone to any of them, asked them for a favor, but his dragon refused to hand Sky over to strangers.

  His phone vibrated in his pocket. Rex ignored it, shut his eyes, and counted to ten in his head.

  It didn’t help one bit. Rex stumbled back to his car and got behind the wheel. He knew where he needed to go. The town of Vine Hill was half an hour’s drive from the city. Rex drove like a madman. Given it was dark and the middle of the night, he encountered no traffic.

  He arrived in record time, but he drove past the town center and right to his property in the woods. The dirt road winding uphill to his cabin was gone, no doubt from time and the elements but no matter. With his enhanced shifter vision, he didn’t need lights either. Killing the engine once he parked the car in front of the dark cabin, he strode out.

  It struck Rex he didn’t have the keys, but it didn’t matter.

  “Don’t need them anyway,” he muttered.

  Rex stripped down, leaving all his clothes and belongings in the compartment of his car. He breathed in and out, trying to make his breathing even, his heartbeats normal. It had been a while since he did this, since he’d let his dragon out for fear he’d lose control.

  Normally, he would resort to a drink or several, maybe hook up with a random stranger at a bar to appease his dragon, drive the isolating loneliness away. The situation was different. Rex was in the red zone.

  Padding to the back of the cabin, he saw a clearing large enough to accommodate his size when shifted.

  Rex let the dragon flow out of him. Bones creaked, scales replacing human skin. Wings burst out of his shoulder blades. His human half disappeared, replaced by his terrifying black dragon.

  It felt good, being in his second skin. Raising his serpentine head to the heavens, he let out a roar. No use hiding his nature. The people of Vine Hill told stories to their children about a black dragon who protected their town. To them, Rex was a myth, but the older paranormals who lived in Vine Hill knew who he was.

  Spreading his wings, Rex tucked his claws against his body and lifted skywards, towards the night sky. A breeze lifted him, helping him ascend upwards, faster, until he became a black blur of speed. He flew over trees, climbed higher, until he swept past the Vine Hill mountains.

  Being free from his mortal troubles felt fucking fantastic. To keep his sanity, Rex chained himself to human affairs, told himself pretending to be a normal human would help his condition. In the end, he’d built himself a prison. Instead of letting old wounds heal, he let them fester.

  Escape. Stay free. Remain in dragon form. Leave your human half if you don’t have the guts to possess your canary prince. He ignored the voice of his dragon, because what did the beast know?

  Few dragons existed in the present. Most animal groups and other paranormal shifters viewed them with distrust or fear. Any provocation would set his dragon off. Rex couldn’t afford to get himself into unnecessary fights or involve himself in supernatural politics.

  Except he broke that rule for Sky.

  Tim’s words echoed in his head. Live, baby. For the both of us. Find someone else to make you as happy as I did.

  Not long ago, Rex had found Tim’s request impossible, selfish. Now, he saw that Tim simply didn’t want him to live the rest of his life in misery.

  He saw himself walking by the building Sky lived in everyday.

  Heard Sky’s mournful little birdsong in his head.

  Help me. Save me.

  Those were the real messages of Sky’s song, except it was Rex who was drowning in a sea of loneliness, in depression. Perhaps they could save each other.

  Before, doubts and fogged his mind and made him weak. Rex had enough. Alphas didn’t act this way. Grief had broken him, but perhaps love could reforge him into something better. If he didn’t try, Rex would never know.

  It was time to strap on a pair of balls. For fuck’s sake, Rex was tired of living in constant fear his dragon would push him to wreak havoc on innocent bystanders. He’d lived this long, so he could meet Sky, get his second chance at love, a mate, all the things he thought were beyond him.

  Sky didn’t belong in someone’s cage. Sky deserved to be free, a mate who would cherish him, and Rex could protect Sky from everything and anyone.

  Judging from their limited interaction, Sky clearly wanted Rex the same way Rex did. If they keep fighting their desire for each other, denial would only worsen the situation.

  Something had to give.

  Besides, what did Rex have to lose, when he had nothing of value in the first place?

  Sky was a treasure he’d found, and intended to keep.

  Enough second-guessing himself.

  If anything good would come out of this, Sky had to accept all of Rex, even the monster that lived inside him.

  Time to come clean.

  By the time Rex flew back to the cabin, the sun began to rise. Turning back to human form, he dressed in his old clothes, ignoring the mountain of texts his assistant sent him. He typed a quick text to George.

  Rex: I’m taking a personal day. No calls or emails.

  He sent the message, amused George instantly replied.

  Turning off his phone, he got in the car and drove back to the city, feeling like a completely new man.

  Chapter Six

  Sky paced back and forth Rex’s living room, worried out of his mind. What took Rex so long? What if Gareth’s men got to him? A possibility, given Gareth’s family had plenty of influence in the
city, but Rex seemed confident, unafraid. Recklessness could easily get one killed though Rex didn’t show any of the arrogance some of the higher ranked members of the Eyrie.

  Sky bit his lip, stopping in front of the balcony to gaze at the view of the city below. So many secret places and alleyways for a shifter to get dragged in and murdered. Rex wouldn’t stand a chance. Avian shifters were cutthroats by nature, especially when faced against a larger apex predator like a bear or wolf.

  Imagining Rex with his eyes pecked and body covered in gashes made Sky queasy.

  “Why I did I agree to this?” he whispered to no one.

  That was right, because he let his dick do the thinking not his brain. Sky had never been impulsive though, never agreed to a proposal unless he considered all the angles. But look where the decisions of others led him, right into the lair of a sadistic arrogant eagle like Gareth. Sky was so sick of people making choices for him that it felt good to follow his instinct. Truth be told, his attraction to Rex hadn’t been the only factor why he agreed to Rex’s crazy suggestion.

  Sky felt safe with Rex, his inner canary completely content, at peace. Thinking back, he’d never encountered that kind of emotion before. Raised as a bargaining chip, he lived his entire life looking over his shoulder. It felt nice to encounter a great, wonderful guy who treated him as an equal, who seemed interested in the entire package—not just his body’s ability to give birth to more avian shifters.

  Rex had told Sky he was strong for surviving Gareth. That made him happy, but true strength didn’t lie in running away and leaving the past behind, not when someone else was involved. If Gareth was one thing, the eagle shifter was persistent. Eventually, Gareth would track down Rex for helping Sky. There were plenty of witnesses on the street when Rex picked him up, and Rex didn’t exactly scream plain or mediocre.

  Sky shoved his left hand to the pocket of his jeans, fingering the extra key Rex left him.

  It was not too late to leave, but once he exited that door, he knew he’d never be able to see Rex again.

  “By staying, I’m putting him in more danger,” he whispered, but they were this close to seeing what this arrangement could lead. Arrangement, because Sky was terrified to give a name to whatever they had. A relationship seemed laughable. A one-night-stand, maybe? Sky didn’t end up calling it that. All he wanted was one moment of bliss, of pleasure, before being consigned to a life of hell. He could have that with Rex.