Heart of the Guardians: Adoring Destiny by Adrianna Adore (best big ereader .TXT) 📗

the drinks in front of the men. “Even during the plague, the fire of sixteen twelve, and the prohibition of alcohol during the reign of King Thalmud the unloved and then again during the fires of eighteen twenty-five. This building has been repaired and modernized but it’s the same one that has stood since the early days of the kingdoms founding. We’ve always been here and have always been open for business.”

“Here’s to another five hundred years,” James said and raised his glass then slammed it back down when he heard Dana scream.

The men launched themselves from their stools and ran for the spiral staircase that wound down to the lower level.

12

Becoming

“Oh Claire bear I think I’m in love.” Dana said airily as they finally made it to the bottom of the dizzying circular stairs. “I don’t care if he’s old enough to be my dad and has a Santa Claus belly, I haven’t had this much fun in forever.”

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if he liked me back? Do you think he does?” she asked a little wistfully as they tried to adjust their eyes to the gloomy lower level. They were alone, all of the booths and tables were empty. The bathrooms weren’t lit up with a sign so they started circling the huge room. They’d run into them eventually.

“I think he does.” Claire said. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. You may have found a good one this time.”

“If only he didn’t live ten thousand miles away.” Dana said, the reality of the situation chipping at her happiness. “Story of my life. The good ones are already taken or unavailable. Whatever. We have a few more days before we leave, we can have fun, right?”

She pulled open the nearest door to see what was behind it and froze.

A group of hard looking bikers, long hair and leather jackets, turned to stare at her. They were in a storage room, racks of wine and barrels of beer covered most of the walls but the gang stood around a monstrous looking man chained to the stone wall. He was bloody and almost unrecognizable as human. He had a misshapen face and towered a full head and shoulders above the tallest one. His skin was piebald and mottled and when he looked up at the petrified girls, his mouth opened showing too many teeth and too many tongues. He roared and before she started screaming, Dana recognized one of the bikers as the naked man at the lake. The bold one who had tried to flirt with her. He ran towards her, concern on his face but the giant black and red spotted man ripped a chain out of the wall and swung it wildly. It surprised them, they thought he was weakened and they were caught off guard. Half of them were sent flying by the chain and bodies slammed together in a bone breaking crunch. With one hand free, it ripped the other bonds loose in seconds, and started swinging the chains with big chunks of stone still attached. Bodies flew and Dana shrieked, hands to face, eyes wide as the thing that looked a little like a man came straight for her. Its jaws spread wide and triple rows of glistening fangs hungered for her flesh. Dimitri shifted, dug teeth and nails into its’ scaly back and was whipped aside, slammed into a hundred bottles of wine. The others were recovering with snarls and growls. Fangs and claws flashed out where teeth and hands had been a moment before but the beast was halfway across the room, thundering towards pure human blood and hot, juicy human flesh. For ten thousand years he had hungered and nothing would stop his feasting.

The floor shook and his horned head was lowered to clear the rafters and the dust falling down from them. Dana still screamed and Claire stood frozen in place, death a half second away as the thing raised a mighty taloned hand to bash her away. It swung a chained fist at her, a behemoth flicking away a fly that stood between him and his food.

Claire saw her death coming.

Claire knew her life was over.

Claire could do nothing but watch.

But then Claire wasn’t Claire anymore.

Something changed.

Something shifted.

She lunged at the beast on instinct, her powerful hind legs ripping away the shreds of clothing that seemed to explode away from her as she launched herself at the monster with a black burning hatred that drove her to kill. She met the mottled beast in midair as it dove for Dana, its’ ugly mouth wide to rip and tear. A thousand pounds of pissed off she bear slammed the demon aside and it howled in rage, sank four inch long fangs deep into her shoulder. She barely felt it, her own anger blinding her and turning the world red with apoplectic rage. She slashed at him with her talons, sent an arm flying across the room as blood coated her cinnamon fur. She reared on her hind legs, bashed her head against the rafters and dove in for more. The demon thing tried to flee but the wolves were all over it, ripping and tearing, shredding it to pieces. It snapped at her, tried to slice open her belly but she crushed its’ head in her mighty maw. Brains and eyes and blood splashed the walls and filled her mouth with a horrible, burning taste. She effortlessly batted away one of the wolves, sent it sprawling across the room. This was her kill and she’d destroy any of them that tried to take it from her. She stood again and roared a challenge, gore and blood soaked her fur. More dust shook down from the rafters and she was prepared to fight any or all of them. They darted away, out of reach of her savage claws and one by one, they turned back into humans. A man stood before her with a calming hand extended.

A man