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  The Dragon Villain’s Prey

  Separated by Time: Book Eight

  A Paranormal Romance

  by Jasmine Wylder

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Other Books in this Series

  Also by Jasmine Wylder

  About Jasmine Wylder

  Chapter One

  Dominique

  “You got the wrong girl.”

  The man Dominique stood before glared at her, as though it was her fault that a bunch of masked men had jumped out of an unmarked van and grabbed her off the street. Her heart hammered against her chest while her stomach clenched sickeningly. The man who had just spoken stared at her with a look of annoyance and disgust. The wrong girl? So, who had he been after… and what was he going to do with her, since she was the wrong one?

  She shuddered as his dark eyes locked on hers. Even though she wanted to look away, she didn’t… almost couldn’t. She recognized him from the images that had been in the papers. Ivan Dickerson, a rogue FBI agent that had been working from within the bureau to try to destroy the new dragons and mages that had sprung up across the U.S. and Earth, after the ancient kingdom of Byrelmore was returned to its proper place.

  One of her kidnappers scratched his chin and gave Dominique a searching glance. “The wrong one? What are you on about, eh? You said to grab the curvy woman with dark hair. She looks exactly like the picture. Now you’re trying to say we got the wrong one?”

  “She looks exactly like the picture?” Dickerson snorted as his eyes snapped to the kidnapper. “And how do you figure that?”

  Dominique released a relieved breath. She realized she had stopped struggling against the ropes holding her and renewed her efforts. Even though she still felt like she could throw up at any moment. Even though she didn’t know how she’d fight past all these men, and where she’d go if she could. Audiv, her best friend, had told her never to give up when in hard situations. Audiv hadn’t been talking about getting kidnapped, but Dominique was going to take her advice—not give up.

  Dickerson slammed something into the chest of the kidnapper and growled under his breath. “Tell me, how do these two look anything alike?”

  “Well… their bodies look the same,” the kidnapper floundered. “And they both have dark hair.”

  Dominque glanced at them, and her heart gave a lurch when she saw the picture. It was of Anna, queen of Byrelmore and Dominique’s former neighbor. She could only imagine what awful things Dickerson had planned for her…

  But what about her? She was just some girl that was grabbed instead of the queen. She had only been living at the palace as a courtesy, since her old residence had drawn protestors in such a great number that Anna felt bad about leaving her there. It wasn’t like she had anything to do with the royal dragons other than the occasional meeting on game night.

  “I knew I should have gone myself,” Dickerson grumbled as he turned his pitiless eyes back on her, making her freeze once more.

  “We can get rid of ‘er and get the one you want,” another of the kidnappers stepped forward hurriedly. “Free of charge.”

  Get rid of her? Dominque cried out, though the sound was muffled due to the gag in her mouth. She stared at Dickerson pleadingly, hoping that he wasn’t as emotionless and empty as his eyes suggested. Her lip trembled, and tears burned in her eyes. The former FBI agent looked away again and waved his hand toward the kidnappers.

  “And have you bring me back a goat next? No. I’ll take care of her myself. You’ll take half your promised commission. You’re lucky I can still use her, otherwise, it’d be your heads. Now get out of here before I lose my temper.”

  The kidnappers, who had seemed like such big, tough men when they were abducting her, now suddenly seemed like schoolboys. They hurried away, a few of them glancing back as though they wanted to say something but didn’t dare. Dominique started to shiver again, her stomach cramping even worse. What uses could he have for her, some random nobody, when he had wanted to get his hands on the queen?

  Dickerson waited until the kidnappers were well and truly gone before turning to her and shaking his head. His shoulders relaxed and his whole stance became less threatening as he smiled softly toward her. The change was so remarkable that for a moment she forgot to be afraid.

  “Those look tight,” he said, reaching first to undo the gag biting into her mouth, then the ropes that held her. He whistled as he inspected how raw she’d rubbed her wrists. “Don’t suppose we have to worry about infection, but let’s get these bandaged up anyway, shall we?”

  Dominique swallowed roughly. “What are you going to do to me? I’m not anybody. I—"

  “Not anybody?” Dickerson chuckled. “You live at the palace complex, don’t you? Of course, you do… otherwise, those idiots wouldn’t have grabbed you. I know who you are. Best friends with Indulf’s highest mage. Friend to the queen and several other high-ranking warrior’s mates. He made quite an effort to protect you when you were attacked by those anti-dragon nuts years back.”

  Her cheeks flushed. For a moment, Dominque forgot herself. She clenched her hands and glared at Dickerson. “Anti-dragon nuts like you!”

  Ivan glanced at her. She quailed, and he rolled his eyes. “I’m not against dragons or magic,” he said as he grasped her elbow and tugged her from the room. “I’m against Indulf himself.”

  Indulf? That didn’t make any sense. She knew he had been working with Michael Angstrom three years ago when Angstrom tried to steal the magic from Audiv and other mages to set himself up as a god and wipe out the kingdom of Byrelmore. If Dickerson was only against Indulf, why would he ally himself with such a terrible person? Why would he be involved in stealing other people’s magic?

  “What could Indulf possibly have done to you?” she blurted.

  This couldn’t be personal! It hadn’t been that long since the original contact between Byrelmore and Earth was made. Only eleven years. And even less since Byrelmore was returned to Earth. There wasn’t enough time for Indulf to have done something, hurt Dickerson personally…

  Dickerson stopped walking. He stared straight ahead for a moment, then turned toward her with a chilling smile. His eyes were once again devoid of all emotion, and his teeth seemed like a snake’s, ready to sink in and swallow her whole. The handsome lines of his face were cast into shadow, giving him an eerie appearance.

  “That is a story for another day, Miss… Dominique, isn’t it?”

  She shuddered. How did he know her name? Was she less of a nobody than she thought?

  Not a word dared escape her lips after that smile was directed at her. She followed after him, considering her options. It was possible that she could punch him in the back of the neck and run… but that might make him angry. She could beg and plead and promise him money. Her bank account bal
ance, in the double digits, crossed her mind. Perhaps she could threaten him, say that Indulf would destroy him if he hurt her?

  But he had been going after Anna, Indulf’s wife. He clearly didn’t fear the dragon king.

  Dickerson hummed a cheerful tune under his breath as he bandaged her wrists and led her to a room with a deadbolt set in it. The room was more comfortable than Dominique would have thought. It had a double bed in the middle, with a small desk at one side that had a computer and several stacks of movies and games beside it. The desk was to one side of a door that led to the bathroom, and on the other side was a bookshelf full of books.

  “I didn’t intend on having you here,” Dickerson said pleasantly as he bowed her in. “You are not as valuable as the queen would have been. Make no mistake, I will kill you without hesitation if you cause me too much trouble. You have value, but you are by no means indispensable. Do you have any allergies I should be aware of?” he continued, as though he hadn’t just threatened her life.

  Dominique started to shake her head, thinking that if she had an attack, he’d be forced to take her to the hospital. Then she realized he’d probably just let her die. She sighed, hunching her shoulders. “I’m allergic to soy products.”

  Dickerson rose a brow but nodded without comment. A shiver ran down her spine anyway. What had that flash of pleasure in his eyes been about? Was he planning on feeding her soy and acting like it was an accident that she died? No, he couldn’t be… it’d be hard to explain how he ended up with her after she was kidnapped. Besides which, he was one of the most wanted men in America. He couldn’t exactly just play innocent.

  The door closed, and the deadbolt locked. Dominique sank onto the bed, her fears starting to overwhelm her again. Then she shook her head and stood. Maybe she was a kidnap victim and had never done anything more dangerous in her life than a tent in the backyard over summer. Maybe she had self-esteem issues and freaked out over everything. But she hadn’t been attending assertiveness training and seeing a counselor for nothing!

  “Okay,” she murmured to herself as she looked around. “First we simply have to assess the situation. Is it worth being frightened about?”

  Well, that was obvious.

  “What can I do to maintain some control of the situation?”

  If there was no fighting Dickerson, and no convincing him to let her go, then she had to get back to her original plan. Escape. There had to be some way… She strode to the door and peered at the deadbolt. Was picking the lock an option? No. She didn’t know anything about that and didn’t have tools even if she did. She looked around the room again. There were several lights in the ceiling, but no windows. Same in the bathroom. There’d be no climbing through the wall. If she moved one of the bookshelves slightly, perhaps she could dig through the wall behind it…

  If worse came to worst, there were plenty of things in here she could use as weapons. She’d read a book about a prisoner who made a shiv out of paper. It wouldn’t be too difficult to figure that out.

  The thought of plunging a blade into Dickerson made her feel ill, but also a little better. He didn’t seem to have anybody working with him. If she could take him out, even if it was just clubbing him over the head with the Harry Potter boxset over there, then her chances of escape were high. She had also been taking self-defense lessons lately. So, it wasn’t hopeless…

  She refused to give in to the despair clawing at her belly, telling herself over and over that she had a plan now.

  Dickerson’s voice came through the door and she froze, her heart leaping to her throat.

  “No, she’s not a dragon’s mate,” he drawled. “But she’s been living among dragons for quite some time. You said you wanted to know what changes happen in a human when they mate a dragon? Well, those changes are bound to start before they’re properly mated. This woman’s been living with them long enough that she’ll have started to sponge up their magic… And if not, she’s not going to be missed by anybody. She’s a nobody. You can easily experiment on her without anybody realizing she’s gone.”

  Experiment on her? But he’d said that she wasn’t a nobody… Why was he going to…

  Dominique’s lungs emptied. She felt the familiar sensation of a panic attack coming on. The pounding heart. The tight chest. The feeling like she was about to die. She patted her pockets weakly, but she hadn’t had an attack in years—she’d stopped carrying the medicine with her. Her head spun even as she tried to force her body to calm.

  But it was no use. She collapsed on the bed, curled in on herself, and prayed that her heart wasn’t going to explode.

  Chapter Two

  Ivarsson

  Perhaps his plans to steal Indulf’s queen had failed, but Dominique would prove useful. She’d get him the money he wanted, and Indulf wasn’t going to just let her die.

  Ivarsson smiled to himself, pleased. He’d deliver information about the people who were holding Dominique to the royal guards. Volcant, perhaps, or maybe Hendric. Someone high enough to go rescue her without informing Indulf first… weakening the king’s position.

  Or, perhaps, Ivarsson mused, I’ll save her myself and take her back to her friends, make up some bullshit story about working as a double agent so I can protect Byrelmore from the shadows.

  He liked the thought of Dominique, gratitude shining in her eyes, dropping to her knees to give him proper thanks. He amused himself with that image for some time. He wondered, if that should happen, how far would it logically go? Ah, hell—this was just his imagination, and even if he did save her, she’d never do that—not after he was the one who handed her over in the first place. So why not let it go deep? He closed his eyes, imagining himself plunging into her, finishing into her.

  The sight of her pregnant with his child flitted across this mind. He opened his eyes, cutting out the fantasy as a growl rose in his throat. It wasn’t happening. He’d already abducted the poor girl, why should he degrade her further in his mind?

  Another image flitted through his mind. A tall, stately woman with large black eyes, dressed in red with a hand on her swollen belly. His father’s mistress, pregnant with his child. He had only been a young boy at the time, but the image was seared into his memory. She had stared at him and his mother coldly, while his mother raged at his father.

  “I am your lawful wife,” she had said. “My son is your heir, not the bastard of this whore!”

  His father. The king of Byrelmore. His mistress, Indulf’s mother. Ivarsson’s hands clenched as he remembered those days. How he and his mother were banished by his father, so that his pregnant mistress’ child could be his heir, instead of the child given him by his wife. He had been sent to the Exiled Lands just for being the first legitimate firstborn.

  Byrelmore was his kingdom. He should be king, not the bastard child favored by his father.

  Shaking those thoughts from his head, he placed the rest of the food on the tray and headed for Dominique’s cell. It had been a couple of days since he’d gotten her. His contacts were getting antsy to get their hands on her, but he knew the search was still out in full force. They needed to wait, to hold back until everything had settled just a little. Yes, it would mean that Indulf would be more desperate… but that wasn’t a bad thing, either.

  And, he had to admit, he wanted to have a proper conversation with her. He wasn’t sure why, but he wanted to explain what he was doing and why. Maybe it was the fear in her eyes. Maybe it was that this was so much bigger than her, and she was caught up in it through no fault of her own. Maybe it was because there was a chance that she might understand. He wasn’t sure, and he knew it was silly of him to want such things…

  That didn’t stop him from wanting to really talk to her.

  With another shake of his head, he unlocked the door and stepped into her room. She was sitting on her bed, as usual, looking especially pale and afraid. He eyed her as he set the tray down on the desk. Had she had a nightmare or something?

  “Eggs and toast,�
�� he said, gesturing to the food. “I hope you enjoy—”

  Dominique leapt off the bed and swung at him. Her blow hit his chest, causing him to rock back. It was more from surprise than from the actual punch. So, the little mouse did fight back? It was almost amusing. He blocked the neck punch she sent at him, and her eyes widened even further if that was possible. With a sharp gasp, she pulled something from her waistband. He glanced down, blinking in surprise as a paper shiv came at him.

  He was still trying to figure out how she’d known how to make such a thing when the hard, pointed end stabbed into his neck. That brought his laughter to an abrupt stop as pain flooded through him. Dominique uttered a short scream and jerked back as blood sprayed onto her face. Ivarsson’s hand flew to the puncture. He pressed hard on it, stemming the blood flow, but it still oozed between his fingers. The little mouse had gotten him in just the right spot.

  “Oh!” Dominique pressed her hand over his, adding her pressure. She babbled out a multitude of sorrys and other words that blurred together.

  Ivarsson gripped her shoulder. His knees were starting to feel wobbly. Whether it was blood loss or pain, he wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter. Heat rose up from his stomach, scorching the skin beneath his fingers. It would help seal the wound and prevent him from dying right away, but he had to get outside. If he was going to survive this, he needed to let the fires roar through his veins, in a way he hadn’t done for almost a year now.

  “Shut up,” he snapped hoarsely at Dominic. For stabbing him in the first place, she was rather worried about keeping him alive now.

  Probably had never killed anybody before. Probably thought that her attack wouldn’t work. Probably had no fucking clue how to follow up on her plan and get away while she could. Ivarsson grunted. That was probably good for him. He leaned heavily on her, dark spots starting to blur his vision. It was happening faster than he thought. The walls seemed to close in on him even as wings beat against his heart.