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  Virgo

  Zodiac Dragon Guardians, Book VI

  Kim Faulks

  Edited by

  Angela Kelly

  Illustrated by

  Jacqueline Sweet

  Copyright © 2017 by Angela Kelly

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  This one is for you, my reader…my supporter.

  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Sign-up

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Afterword

  Also by Kim Faulks

  Acknowledgments

  A massive thank you to my wonderful editor Ang, who does a phenomenal job. To my support crew, Kristy, Ann-Marie and Diane. I’d be a nervous wreck without your opinions and keen eye. To Jacqueline for another gorgeous cover. To Eden who is always there for support and guidance when I need it and my buddies.

  Thank you to life. To all the kicks and the punches, to all those moments where I spun out of control. To the heartbreak and the loss…because that was where I found myself—the real me…the fighter.

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  Virgo

  Book Six

  The Zodiac Dragon Guardians

  Michael's the fifth of twelve Guardians. Dragon-born in the sign of Virgo, he carries all the traits of his sign—the good and the bad.

  He’s practical and kind. The one with pure purpose—and until now that purpose has been to keep his family together. Until he finds a letter foretelling the arrival of a vicious dark mage—the same b*tch who’d tortured his brother, Zadoc. And who’s now taken Zadoc’s babies hostage.

  A letter addressed to one of his kin…

  The Bloodletter.

  Did Marcus know the war was coming? Could he have changed the course of history and saved them all?

  Michael sets out in search of the truth and finds himself drawn to one person.

  A flawed mortal human…

  A doctor who refuses to surrender—even when she stares down a vicious brood of Vampires with two very special babies in her arms—Doctor Angel Leigh.

  1

  Doc Angel

  “Okay.” The shaky word slipped from Joslyn’s lips.

  She cast a panicked glance to the Vampire behind me, and slowly nodded. “I’ll put the blade down. Just let her go.”

  Icy fingers squeezed my neck and lifted. Agony drove a pick somewhere in the base of my skull as my feet left the floor.

  Neon lights buzzed and brightened, bouncing off the scalpel in Joslyn’s grip. But it was a sound that held me. A baby’s tiny mewl echoed—hungry, frightened, needing her mother.

  Needing Joslyn.

  A cold wave of clarity cut me to the core, giving birth to something much deeper than fear.

  “No.” The sting was instant, driving the Vampire’s nails deeper into my neck as I forced the words. “Joslyn…run!”

  She cast a glance toward the door, and for a second my heart took flight…until she turned her head, finding me once more.

  Defeat shone so clearly in her gaze, hollow and empty as if I could topple into that dark well she held inside as she dropped her hand.

  “See.” Icy breath brushed my ear. “I told her the bitch mother would come around. She didn’t believe me, said you’d fight to the death. Yours, not mine.”

  The young mother took a step toward the center of the room. “I’m moving away, see?”

  The vise around my throat gave way. I hit the floor and crumpled. The air was sudden, rushing in with savage gasps, until the sting of rage took over. I punched the floor, stumbled, and found my feet. Nails cut into the flesh of my palm as I cocked my fist and swung.

  The blow landed with a dull thud against the Vampire’s stony chest. He dropped his gaze. A slick of glistening black hair fell forward. We were nothing to him—nothing.

  Rage spewed from my lips. “Get the fuck off me!”

  Movement crowded the edges of my vision. The thunder of steps raced my pulse. Joslyn was a blur, charging across the room with scalpel raised high.

  The blade burrowed into the hard swell of his chest. But there was no blood, no rush of life to spill around the steel.

  He grabbed Joslyn, and spun her in his arms. His sickening words filled my ear. “Did you really think The Huntress would let you keep them?”

  My stomach kicked. A scream tore free. “No!”

  “No.” Joslyn hissed. She never moved, only stared at me with a shell-shocked gaze as the Vampire smiled at me, opened his mouth and struck.

  A sickening pop sounded—and red bathed my world.

  Blood shot in a stream from her vein as he tore free. A sickening smile slid across his lips as the Vampire dropped his hands leaving her to stumble across the room.

  “No!” I reached for her, staring at the jagged hole in her neck. “No! Joslyn!”

  Cruel hands pushed me, driving me toward that bassinet. But I couldn’t break my gaze. Joslyn needed me…I could save her. I could heal her…

  “Pick up the bassinet, Doctor, or you’ll be next.”

  I wrenched my gaze to his. Obsidian eyes sparkled with the truth. He would kill me—with nothing more than a passing thought—but what would he do with the babies?

  My hands shook, moving on their own. The light bounced off black inky scales as the tiny dragon opened her mouth and let out a cry.

  Save them.

  The need hit me hard.

  Save…them…

  I grasped the sides of the plastic crib and heaved, leaving the steel frame behind.

  “To the door, Doctor. Any heroics and I leave you behind. Do you understand me? I’ll leave you behind.”

  And take them…those words followed in my head. The room faded away, and all I saw were the tiny immortals. I stumbled, leaving behind the echo of my steps and headed for the door. Blood soaked through khaki to pool around the young soldier.

  His neck was open, tendons sheared, veins perforated. I knew dead when I saw it.

  “Don’t stop,” the Vampire growled, barreling me through the front door and down the stairs.

  A car waited against the curb. The back door was open. My stomach tightened, fear chilled me to the bone. All of the warnings came to life. All those who disappeared once they climbed into the back seat of a stranger’s car haunted me.

  Death waited for me in there…

  I gripped the sides of the plastic and stilled. “No.”

  The brunt on my shoulder knocked me forward; still I dug my heels into the pavement. “I’m not getting in there.”

  “Oh you will, Doctor,” the undead hissed and grasped my neck.

  I’d never seen such a cold, inhuman rage as I did then. Blood coated the edges of his gums as he smi
led. That's Joslyn’s blood.

  Revulsion swelled as my feet moved. Plastic slid against the leather. I crammed in. The door slammed shut with a dull thud, a heartbeat later we were moving.

  I spun in the seat and slammed my palm against the window. She was a flicker of movement, clutching her neck and stumbling.

  Joslyn found the stairs, slipped, shoved to her feet. Her eyes found me, mouth moving in a wordless scream.

  “Joslyn! Joslyn!”

  My blows were useless against the glass. Tears blurred the sight.

  “No. No. No.”

  The car banked hard, throwing me against the crib, and a scream filled the car…mine, theirs…calling…hurting.

  I caught the blur of a truck as we rounded the corner. Zadoc’s truck…

  That image stayed with me as the slow realization dawned. He could’ve saved us.

  The piercing howl of torment mingled with my gasp of despair.

  Zadoc could've saved us.

  Slick tears were hot against my cheek.

  It was okay—I lifted a trembling hand and reached for the babies—Zadoc could still find us.

  Black blurred. The little Dragon whipped her tail through the air to protect her brother. The lash cut deep, the sting brutal, but it was nothing…nothing…

  I clenched my fist to stem the blood and turned to stare through the rear window. Some part of me waited, desperate to see that gunning front end of the pickup as we turned again, swinging harder.

  He could still find us.

  We turned again.

  He could still find us…

  2

  Michael

  Our house smoldered. The bitter stench sat heavy and thick, dampening the air, but not our spirit.

  Xael paced the floor and chattered, jumping from one stream of thought to the other with the frenzy of a hunting shark. “We could put them in Evander’s room. That’s not far from mine. I could help, get up to her in the middle of the night…babies need a lot of work. It takes a village, isn’t that what they say? Or your room. You don’t mind, do you, Michael?”

  I forced a smile and shook my head. I didn’t mind—I never minded. I glanced to the small alarm clock on the counter and watched the red numbers change. We’d been home for over an hour, and my sister was still enthralled.

  Her eyes widened, black hair sliced the air and spun as she narrowed in on me. “Don’t you have anything to say? Aren’t you even a little excited?” She lifted her hand. “Why do I even bother? You’re not excited. You’re never excited.”

  “Xael, that’s not fair,” Victor muttered and cut me a look of concern. “We don’t all have to be jumping out of our skin.”

  “But it’s a Dragon, Victor. A Dragon.” She crossed the room to stand between us. “I held her little body in my hands. I saw her—a real baby—Zadoc’s baby. That’s not supposed to happen.”

  Neither is being captured, tortured, or wasting our immortal life within these damn walls. I wanted to say the words, but it wouldn’t help any of us—only hurt.

  An icy gust pierced the air. I turned my head to the busted makeshift door as it slid backwards, and Odessa stepped through. Flakes of snow fell from her bare arms, leaving a trail of slick to melt in her wake. I shuddered at the sight, chilled to the bone for the strange one. This was no time to be standing out in the cold. She turned her head, seizing me with amber eyes and stilled.

  A chill raced, skipping along my spine to blow against the nape of my neck. Her lips moved, the words so faint. It sounded like… “She’ll need you. Don’t leave her behind.”

  The sensation grew as the seer’s eyes widened. The connection tightened, drawing me closer into this tangled web.

  She’ll need you, Michael. Don’t leave her, don’t leave her behind. And then, in the blink of an eye the seer was gone, replaced by a small, strange, curly blonde waif who stood in front of me. Odessa flinched. Her forehead creased as the sudden rush of her breath filled my ears.

  “Everything okay?” Victor’s voice shattered the hold.

  I found my brother and forced a smile. “Yeah…yeah. Everything’s good. Odessa was…” I licked my lips. “What were you saying?”

  “I was saying…” The seer whispered—and then stilled.

  The wave of power hit us like a wall. I stumbled, and the blast came again like a sledgehammer to my mind.

  Somewhere in the house glass shattered. My legs trembled. Someone hit the floor with a thud. But I couldn’t fall—I was held transfixed by shimmering amber eyes as Odessa meet my gaze.

  Movement blurred coming from all directions. The grating snap of a gun followed. Gunny scanned the room, taking in every expression and lifted her gun.

  “Where and how hard,” she snapped, only silence answered her. “Evander! I said where and how hard.”

  “I…” Evander hissed, his voice was strange, deep and warped. He reached for a hold and found his mate.

  Pale skin darkened. Razored tines cut through. Gunny grabbed him where she could, pulling him closer, while she aimed the weapon at the door. “I’ve got you. Hold on to me. I’ve got you.”

  He stumbled to the side, glanced around the room and stilled. “No, Xael…Xael.”

  I yanked my gaze to her crumpled body on the floor. My heart kicked. I forced a step, and then another, slipping to the floor beside her. My sister…my poor sister…

  “Xael!” Marcus roared and the thunder of his footsteps followed.

  It’s happening again…the words filled me. The vision is coming. It’s really here.

  I braced myself, ready for the onslaught and waited to succumb to the dreams of fire and Hell. Marcus charged toward us. He shoved my hand away. Fear filled his eyes with words unspoken—words we all felt.

  Don’t let her lose control…

  He was the eldest of our line—the one we all turned to.

  “Marcus,” Victor growled. “Wait…we don’t know if she—”

  Marcus slowed and dropped to his knees beside her. “Save Xael. She’s our fucking sister.”

  The house was silent.

  There was no vision. There were no flames.

  “It’s not her,” Odessa muttered breaking the spell. “It’s not her, Marcus. It’s someone else in trouble. It’s…”

  Joslyn! Zadoc’s roar pierced my head.

  I slammed my hands over my ears.

  Joslyn…no! My babies…that bitch took my babies!

  Panic rose, cutting like glass through her words. “Victor. Zadoc needs us now!”

  3

  Doc Angel

  The car veered cutting through the opposite way on a one-way street. My nails found the stitching on the leather. I held on, moving with the sway as we turned one last time.

  The echo inside my head was strangely silent, even the throb of my hand felt distant. I dropped my gaze to my nails, burrowed deep. The frayed end of the stitching burst underneath.

  I’ll have to fix that. The thought came from nowhere. I lifted my head and stared at unfamiliar streets as tears slipped. I’ll have to fix the damn seat…

  A howl came from the crib beside me. The sound so pathetic and small it hurt to hear. The wolf stared at me with piercing blue eyes, then lifted his head and tried once more.

  The cry grew stronger, vocal folds now tested—drawing him closer to his true essence.

  “Shut him up.”

  The growl came from the driver’s seat. I’d forgotten about the Vampire, caught up in the loss—I’d hadn’t remembered the reason why I was here. “Fuck you.”

  The words rang false. I swallowed and tried again. “Fuck you, you piece of shit. I hope you die. I hope you go to whatever fucking Hell your kind believes in, and I hope you remain there for eternity.”

  The abuse erupted, and I didn’t care.

  I was the good girl, the doctor, the Biomedical Scientist who slept in her lab. I was the woman whose only friends were the rats and…shifters she poked and prodded.

  I was the one who fooled a
round with the occasional Professor, and if I was honest, I wasn’t even that good—but I knew who I was…or, I had known who I was.

  Until Now.

  Now, I didn’t know me at all.

  The new me was an arsonist.

  I’d committed crimes of military espionage. I stole. I hid the truth.

  I’d held a young girl in my arms as she died, because to them she was disposable. I dropped my gaze to the little wolf as his lips closed to form a howl—like right now, I was disposable.

  “Fuck you,” I whispered, staring at the side of his head. “Just fuck you.”

  My shoulders slumped. I slid down on the seat and turned. I’d aligned myself with this family of wolves and Dragons, and now I was here.

  I didn’t believe in fate. I believed in science. I believed in what I held in my hand, right here, and now—I believed in my own mind—but I knew in my heart I deserved this.

  The wolf’s howl found my own torment. I tilted my head backwards and let the sound free…I deserved this. Tears flowed. It was my fault the shifter from the compound was dead. It was my fault they killed her.

  My fault…all my damn fault.

  “Shut him up!” The creature snapped and wrenched his gaze to the rearview mirror. “I said shut him up! Or I’ll fucking kill you all.”

  Blue eyes held me. We could die in that moment, and this would all be for nothing. A surge of satisfaction swelled inside. Even as a newborn this little wolf had more spirit than I’d ever had in my life.