Cancer

  Cancer

  Zodiac Dragon Guardians, Book III

  Kim Faulks

  Edited by

  Angela Kelly

  Illustrated by

  Jacqueline Sweet

  Cover art by Jacqueline Sweet

  Copyright © 2016 by Kim Faulks

  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

  Contents

  Sign up

  Acknowledgments

  Introduction

  1. Evander

  2. Evander

  3. Gunny

  4. Evander

  5. Gunny

  6. Evander

  7. Gunny

  8. Evander

  9. Gunny

  10. Evander

  11. Gunny

  12. Evander

  13. Gunny

  14. Evander

  15. Gunny

  16. Evander

  Aries

  Introduction

  1. Zadoc

  2. Joslyn

  Afterword

  SIGNUP FOR KIM FAULKS’ NEWSLETTER TO BE THE FIRST TO KNOW OF GIVEAWAYS, NEW RELEASES, EXCERPTS & MORE!

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  To all the strong, independent women who kick ass and take names.

  May we all be a Gunny in our own way.

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to so many people: Ann-Marie for your tireless support and cheerleading skills. To Kristy for staying up all night just to be the first to read this, and to Ang my phenomenal editor, you work magic, woman, and I’m so grateful to have you.

  And to all my friends and family. You make all the long days, the headaches and the sleepless nights worth it.

  Dark, Sexy. Powerful. This Zodiac Dragon Series will scorch the pages.

  Humans are running scared—it’s not just the wolves they fear now—it’s the winged monsters who’ve lived amongst them.

  Those humans in power do the only thing they know—perceive the threat, and then move to eliminate them.

  Evander’s the third of twelve.

  Dragon-born in the sign of Cancer he carries all the traits of his sign—the good and the bad.

  He's the compassionate one, he’s the one who puts others before himself, the one his family has turned to when the humans invade their home and expose who they really are. But that isn’t all they have to fear.

  They’ve been given an ultimatum: their brother, Zadoc, for the seer, Odessa.

  And time for their brother is running out.

  Only one woman can help them now. A human on a mission of her own. A woman who can stand shoulder to shoulder with the most terrifying of their kind and smirk in their faces.

  Former Marine Gunnery Sergeant, Regan Rivers.

  Family. Honor. Love.

  What happens when those three collide?

  Who will be left standing?

  Who will be left heartbroken?

  1

  Evander

  Zadoc’s guttural screams vibrated the TV speakers. The feedback was sudden, shredding the air with a piercing squeal. Acid rose in the back of my throat. I swallowed the bitter taste.

  A low tortured sound followed, black on red, glistening fresh. Shadows, blood were revealed against the flickering of a candle flame. All eyes were on the screen. Fear made me want to look away…but hate forced me to watch every harrowing second, until with a click the recording suddenly ended.

  There were no whispers. There were no sounds.

  My ears rang with stony silence.

  Shell-shocked gazes stared into nothing.

  “I’m going to kill her.” A raw, savage voice pierced the void. Slow movements consumed me. I turned my head in degrees. Victor’s blue eyes were savaged by black. Sparks of mania lingered. He was close to the edge…he was so damn close.

  That cavern opened wide, taking as many of my kin as it could.

  Victor stood and swayed. His gaze fixed on the vacant blue screen. “I’m going to fucking kill that bitch.”

  His chair toppled and hit the floor. Metal legs caught the water dragon off-guard. He stumbled, turning as the eldest of our line rose to help.

  “Stop…stop!” Marcus held out his hand.

  “Get the fuck off me.” Spittle flew from Victor’s mouth.

  I stared at the drops. My family…our family…shattered.

  Heavy steps echoed. I raised my head. Marcus was too close…couldn’t he see what was happening? Couldn’t he feel the shadowed wolf inside our brother?

  I raised my hand and rose on trembling legs. “Victor, no.”

  But it was too late. He swung. His blow missed Isaiah, and caught Marcus on the jaw. The energy sizzled, standing the hairs on my arms. Dark eyes blazed with anger. Rage saturated the air—all it needed was one spark—one match and we’d all burn.

  Marcus lunged, grasping hold of Victor, slamming him against his chest. Muscles flexed, grunts echoed. This was no brotherly tussle, no dragon play.

  Brother fought brother inside our family home.

  The brutal thud of flesh on flesh followed. The shelves took the brunt of both men. Books hit the floor, spines down, pages fluttering like white flags of surrender.

  My knees trembled. Pain was a savage shard through my chest. I grazed Victor’s arm as they neared. “Victor, please stop.”

  Black mist seeped from his bloodless lips.

  The Bloodstone members scurried out of their way.

  “Let me go!” Thick sobs replaced the sting of Victor’s anger. “I have to find that bitch!”

  “For fucks sake, she’s gone!” Marcus roared, and the windows rattled. He clung to our bother, his tone shattered, broken words scattered. “She’s gone, brother. She’s gone.”

  Victor shook his head, strands of blond hair stuck to wet cheeks. “It’s all my fault… Don’t you get that? This is all my fault. I couldn’t let you take Odessa from me.”

  “No one blames you,” I muttered, drawing his gaze.

  His nostrils flared, heat lashed his face and left him red. My fingers brushed his arm. Rage swelled inside my head, waves crashed, swallowing me in an endless river of need.

  Need to find Zadoc…need to keep Odessa safe. Need to hunt…need to kill. We’ll kill, Victor…let me out and we’ll kill together. Let me out, Victor…let me out!

  I snatched my hand from his arm. The vicious desire waned. This wasn’t him…this wasn’t Aquarius. “What happened to you, Victor? What have you done?”

  He cringed. The harsh drag of a breath tore free. “Does it matter?”

  “Yes, it matters!” Marcus snapped. His grip on our brother relaxed. Calloused hands skimmed Victor’s shoulders and settled. “It matters a great fucking deal. Don’t you understand? This…all of this is the damn prophecy—so it all matters.”

  The scuff of a shoe snatched my focus. Odessa barely made a sound. Soft, quiet, this walking…apocalypse neared. She wrenched her gaze toward me. Her brown eyes softened. She nodded as though she heard my thoughts. “If you need someone to blame, then it’s me.”

  “Tell me,” Marcus warned.

  Love broke the bank and spilled. She held Victor’s gaze, but it was us she spoke to, us she needed to help understand. “He fought my wolf…now she’s connected to him.”

  Connected. That word rang inside my head. Connected how?

  That desperate voice crowded my head. I could almost taste the blood. I could almost taste the fear.

  Need to hunt…need to kill. We’ll kill, Victor…let me out and we’ll kill together.

  Let me out, Victor…let me out! r />
  Victor never shifted his gaze from the tiny wolf. Emotion choked his words. He swallowed, cleared his throat. “You wanted to know if Zadoc was alive. Well, that was the price I paid.” His chest rose with a breath, as though his heart felt the distance to hers. “But it was nothing compared to the price she paid. It was nothing compared to…”

  The lone wolf lifted her hand to his face. My brother bowed his head, needing the strength in her touch.

  “It was nothing compared to what Odessa endured.”

  Marcus’s steps were soundless as he shuffled out of the way. Victor and the lone wolf melted into each other. Blonde hair mingled until I couldn’t tell them apart. The sweet sound of soft kisses filled the air. Marcus shifted from one foot to the other, his gaze finding the floor.

  But I couldn't look away.

  He loves her. A familiar ache spread its wings through my chest. He loves her and she loves him.

  “I…gotta get out of here,” Marcus muttered, stumbling blindly toward the door. He was almost there, his hand on the frame when he stopped and stared at the floor. “For what it’s worth I’m glad you’re home—both of you. This place wasn't the same.”

  Footsteps echoed as wolves and dragons emptied into the hallway.

  Victor and Odessa parted, still holding hands as Victor lifted his head to meet my gaze. “I’ve missed everyone too. Don’t make me choose again—you will lose every time when it comes to her.”

  Footsteps echoed—only this time they left me alone.

  The study was a mess—broken books, fractured family ties. I strode over to the empty shelves and knelt. Broken spines flopped as I closed the pages. I lined the bookshelves and piled broken glass into a corner. My reflection stared at me from the study windows. Amber burned yellow in my eyes. Dark circles crowded the hollow of my cheeks, blending to a brown stubble that marred the hard line of my jaw.

  I lifted my hand and scratched, skating the growth under my nose to the edge of my lip. My skin itched for a razor, shaggy brown hair needed a cut—both would have to wait.

  I lifted my gaze from the floor. The blue screen ate into the edges of my vision…waiting, calling. I crossed the empty space and dragged my chair closer. My damn fingers trembled as I reached for the remote.

  This was my burden to bear.

  Find something…anything, to bring our brother home.

  I pressed the button. Hazy images filled the screen. Shadows crowded the edges. Blood splatter marred the view. Zadoc stared at me, his face frozen in agony. Filth carved lines on perfect olive skin. Inky pupils smothered the brown in his eyes. Dark harrowing circles carved away his solid cheekbones and a thatch of black hair covered what had always been shiny and smooth.

  I didn’t recognize him.

  For a second I’d stared at the screen and not instinctively known this was my brother. My fingers trembled, inching upwards. I leaned in and skimmed the smooth screen, blunt nails finding the tiny plastic ridges. Gone was his clean head, gone was the spark of defiance. This man—my kin had been beaten. Beaten in mind. Beaten in body.

  A week in that hell—how could anyone survive?

  Bars lined the backdrop behind him, covered in a tangle of ghostly vines. I glanced at the remote on the table. My damn hand shook. I clenched a fist, and then reached.

  Voices slipped inside the study. I caught the sound of Victor’s name. Marcus called, deep urging words that made me turn my head toward the doorway. They were forgiving words—healing words.

  One brother was home—the flickering TV screen called me back—still one remained out there, waiting for us to find him.

  I pressed the button and Zadoc’s scream filled the room once more.

  The sound of that woman—that sick, demented bitch—filled my ears. “Call your brothers. Say their names. Who’s next, dragon? Who will you scream for next? How about Marcus? Or Evander? Will you whimper for Evander? Will you fucking beg for him?”

  The muscles of my jaw bulged, anger, rage ripped through me. I stared at the bitch that held my brother captive and gouged every line of her face into my mind.

  She was half the Alpha, Abrial, but everything else was the seer, Odessa. Tight blonde curls bounced, strands stuck together at the bottom, coated in a dark clogged mess, and swayed like a pendulum.

  That’s blood. My brother’s blood.

  Those tormented words filled my head. I’d had this thing inside my home—under my fucking roof.

  I wasn’t a killer. But, I could’ve killed her.

  I could’ve ended this all and just killed her.

  Zadoc’s suffering filled the screen. I couldn’t look away. There was no escaping.

  Not after knowing this.

  Not for Zadoc, and not for me.

  His lips curled over neon white teeth, spittle flew, falling short of the camera. “Fuck you!”

  Her throaty laughter slithered out of the speakers before she leaned in close. “Fuck me, huh? If you’re not in a chatty mood dragon, we can always find another to talk to.”

  The heavy clang of metal cut through the room. Behind him, a woman whimpered. The sound was low and tortured, turning the softest part of me into stone.

  Zadoc wrenched his head to the left. “Stop it. I said stop it! Leave her the fuck alone!”

  Chains gnashed, links pulled taut. Tendons strained like over-wound strings. Muffled sounds bled through the speakers. Steel glinted from the light on the camera. Cutting, gouging. Steel bit into flesh. His dark skin flushed red as he thrashed. “Leave her alone. You vicious bitch!”

  “Hurt her.” Cold, unforgiving steel slipped into the bitch’s words.

  Zadoc’s eyes widened, spidered veins carved a map through white sclera. The woman’s cries chained the man tighter than steel ever could. He shook his head, his words a choked whimper. “Don’t. Don’t you touch her. Leave her alone! Just leave her alone!”

  Tortured and shrill. The woman’s screams punctured my lungs and stole my air. My knees trembled. My damn foot wouldn’t stay still. I searched the dark blurred edges, needing to understand. What were they doing to her?

  What were they doing…?

  Black turned blue as the recording ended.

  I stared at the revolving file name across the screen: Your gift…

  There had to be something we missed. Something we weren’t understanding.

  All the little girls, what did you do with them? You’ll be a good soldier. Isn’t that what you said to them? You’ll be a good soldier.

  Odessa’s words crowded my head. Is that why they captured Zadoc? To break him and turn him into a soldier like them?

  I stared at the damn revolving name, and closed my eyes. They didn’t deserve this. Not Zadoc, not the woman—and not the girls.

  I had to know. I had to try to understand and then maybe…maybe I could save them.

  My fingers trembled as I pressed the button and leaned in. I searched every corner, and every glint in my brother’s bloodshot eyes. By the time I hit play for the fourth time, I mirrored the wretched sounds inside my head.

  “You don’t have to keep watching that, you know. Torturing yourself won’t bring him back.” Heavy footfalls neared. Hard edges threw shadows across his face as North stared at the screen, and then shifted his gaze.

  I swallowed the last of Zadoc’s cry and punched the mute. “Didn’t hear you come in.”

  “How many times must you watch this?”

  As many times as it takes…

  I opened my mouth to answer. Fear licked along my spine, leaving nothing but bloody broken promises.

  I needed to do this. I needed to watch, needed to learn. Damn. I needed to try to feel something, and then maybe, I wouldn’t feel so helpless.

  “Leave him be,” Bastian growled, moving like a shadow from the doorway to command the room. “Let him take it all in. He might find us a way out of this damned mess.”

  The snap of a shattering stick outside the window broke the tension. A flurry of movement caught m
y gaze.

  “Fucking mortals,” Bastian snapped. “They’re like damn cockroaches, I swear. Don’t they understand a sign that says private property—fuck off?”

  I shoved the chair with the backs of my legs as I rose. “That woman…that witch could still be out there.”

  “I fucking hope so.” Bastian’s answer was filled with darkness. “I wouldn’t mind hearing a little screaming of my own.”

  His steps thundered as my hotheaded brother strode out into the hall.

  All of this…all of this.

  We’d brought it on ourselves.

  I closed my eyes. I could still see the flames and the bodies of the prophecy. Humans screamed and I wanted to scream with them. I wanted to crawl into my shell and hide—but then came the Shaman.

  I’d heard her voice then, just as I heard her now. The old woman had brought wolves to our doors and now… I lifted my head to the window—now she brought humans. In less than a month, our solitude was gone, our safety was gone, and so was our brother.

  “You worried about the humans?” North muttered behind me.

  I paused with my finger over the button, staring at the blue screen once more. “You mean am I worried I’ll fuck this up and start a war? Then, yeah.”

  “That’s not going to happen. It’s different this time. We’re different, all of us. You’ll be great. They’ll listen to you. They’ll relate to you. So you watch that recording, watch it until you've seen all you need to see. Then, tomorrow we’ll talk to the humans and hope to God this time they don't see us as the enemy.”