Lana blushed wildly with embarrassment. She had never been so brazen in her life.
Shaking her head to dispel the images, she forced herself to focus on the present.
Nick was telling Brady about the situation.
“Lucy somehow managed to get herself caught up with one nasty character. Dizag was the chief of Vardok’s army of dragon shifters. Somehow, he managed to escape from the Northlands and make his way here,” Nick explained.
Brady said, “Female shifters started turning up dead or missing right after the battles were over. He must have come over soon after that.”
“Besides an outright hatred for women, why would he decide to kill or kidnap female shifters?” Lana asked.
Nick shrugged his shoulders. “It’s hard to understand why some individuals commit the acts as they do. Their reasons make sense in their own minds but not to anyone else.”
“I’m guessing that he is taking his frustration out on the females because he can’t get to Alix. She is the one who killed their king and took over the throne of the kingdom. Their mighty leader was taken out by a woman. Twisted hatred and revenge makes people do a lot of really crazy things,” Brady said.
Lana thought about her sister. Where was Lucy? Was she even still alive? The anger rose up inside of her as she thought about Dizag.
“I’ll kill him myself,” she muttered to herself.
Although she had murmured the words very quietly, Nick heard her speak. He knew that she was scared and worried about her sister.
Nick grabbed her hand. “We’ll find her,” he said. “Dizag will get what he deserves. I promise.”
A bolt of electricity flowed through Lana as warmth from Nick’s hand caressed her. She felt her heart and soul start to hum just from his touch.
“I wonder how many other of Vardok’s dragon shifters escaped and joined forces and how many of them are in the human world?” Brady asked.
“I wish I knew,” Nick said.”
After a few minutes of silence, Nick asked, thoughtfully, “If he didn’t come through the portal here at the club, how did he get from the shifter world to the human world? Why wasn’t his move noticed?”
Lana nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice behind her said, “I believe I can answer that question.”
4
Nick
Nick hid his smile as he watched Lana nearly fall off her bar stool when Lucian spoke suddenly behind her. Lucian always walked quietly, and Lana had not heard his stealthy approach.
Then, all eyes turned toward the tall, blonde man with dark eyes. Lucian Maldonado was the prince of a very powerful vampire clan. Normally, vampires didn’t get involved in others’ business, especially since vampires were so misunderstood. However, Lucian and Brady had been friends for a very long time.
“Hey, Lucian. It’s good to see you again,” Nick said, holding his hand out.
Lucian shook Nick’s hand and smiled at the lion shifter.
“This is Lana. She came to this world, looking for her sister, Lucy,” Brady said.
“Hi. It’s nice to meet you,” Lana said, softly, still looking startled from Lucian’s sudden appearance. The fact that Lucian was clearly a vampire didn’t seem to affect Lana at all.
“Likewise,” Lucian said, flashing a brilliant smile that would melt most women’s hearts instantly. His handsome face had a way of turning women’s heads and making them take a second look. When he smiled at them, they became completely captivated. His charm and arresting good looks, as well as his status as a powerful prince, made it a complete mystery as to why he was still a single man.
He told Lana that he had met her parents before and that they were very nice people. He had enjoyed their company.
Then, his face became very serious. “There was a portal in Connecticut. It was a cave located deep in a wooded area, guarded by a female bear shifter. She was found dead by some hikers in the woods near the portal. It was obvious that she had tried to defend the portal, and had fought hard. However, she lost. The guardian had been ripped to shreds and burned. It looked as though she had been killed in a fit of rage. The forest rangers got the state police involved in the investigation of the death because it was outside of city limits. The lead investigator was a bear shifter and recognized the body,” Lucian told them.
“Was she in bear form?” Nick asked.
Lucian nodded. “She was. Normally, an investigation wouldn’t have been launched for a bear, but the death was pretty brutal. People who kill animals violently tend to turn their sick tendencies toward humans. This theory proved right, since the female shifters started to be murdered and kidnapped soon after.”
Nick said, “I haven’t heard of any shifters being killed there, but I know law enforcement agencies don’t always communicate.”
“I would have thought that I would have heard of another portal guardian being killed, since I am the guardian of this one. We try to keep in contact with each other, especially if there is someone dangerous who comes through or if something happens to one of the guardians,” Brady said, shocked.
Lucian explained that the murder and breach of the portal had been kept quiet, although he wasn’t sure why. “The only reason why I know what happened is because I have connections in the area.”
“You have connections everywhere,” Brady said, smiling.
Lucian dipped his head and grinned. “I might, at that.”
“It’s interesting that the guardian was found in her bear form, but all of his other victims were found in their human form,” Nick mused.
“It’s likely that they were caught off guard,” Brady surmised.
Lucian nodded in agreement.
Lana focused on the discussion intently, but didn’t say anything. Nick could almost see the gears turning in her head as she mulled over everything, and her worry for Lucy intensified.
“What is your theory about Dizag and what he hopes to gain by abducting or killing the females?” Nick asked Lucian. “After all, what affects our world affects yours, too.”
“You are right about that. I think
