Deryk (Dragon Hearts #2)(34)
“Izzi and her family are still under my protection,” Vlad informed him coldly as they all gathered on the roof of the Mikhailov Palace, preparing to depart.
Deryk narrowed icy eyes. “And it’s pretty clear to me that over the years, you’ve grown arrogant and lazy in the protection of what you refer to as your humans. Of which Izabella is no longer one,” he added firmly.
“Deryk—”
“Don’t even try to shut me up, Grigor.” He glared at his eldest brother. “If Romanov and his brothers had been doing their job of protection properly, then Izabella wouldn’t now be missing. As far as I’m concerned, Romanov no longer has the right to claim to protect her.”
“You—”
“He’s right.” Vlad spoke quietly over Grigor’s warning before turning back to Deryk, his expression bleak. “When we find Izzi, you have my permission to take her wherever you believe she will be safest from harm.”
“I don’t need your fucking permission—”
“Just ensure that Izzi is safe,” the Russian growled, his eyes glittering. “We will deal with the others. I will also make sure Izzi’s parents understand and accept the situation of your mating when I return to the palace.”
Deryk’s brows rose. “That wasn’t your attitude the last time we spoke on the subject.”
“I have changed my mind.”
He snorted. “No more ‘let’s settle this outside’ crap?”
The other dragon’s jaw tightened. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because the way you protect Izabella above all else proves she is undoubtedly your mate.”
What Deryk wanted to do right now was rip someone or something apart, preferably Vlad Romanov, but now the bastard had decided to be reasonable. To actually sound as if he cared that Izabella might currently be in great danger. Which Deryk believed she was. She was neither dragon nor dragon’s mate as yet, and as such, she was completely vulnerable.
“Let’s do this,” Deryk snapped, becoming dragon in a matter of seconds, leaving the others to follow him as he took off into the sky.
If Izabella had gone where he thought she had, then once Deryk had her safely away from St. Petersburg, it was his intention to thoroughly chastise her for putting herself and their mating in danger. And his worry was such he knew he wouldn’t be gentle with her.
Once he had her safely out of harm’s way.
If he wasn’t already too late.
The building he landed on several minutes later looked innocuous enough. It was one of the functional apartment buildings that had sprung up on the outskirts of St. Petersburg from the nineteen sixties to the nineteen eighties. They contained little character and were too flimsily built to offer much in the way of security, but at least they gave families the opportunity to live separately and away from the main and expensive part of the city.
Or so Vlad had informed them when they brought up a plan of the building online and all discussed the best way to approach and enter the building.
Deryk didn’t give a fuck whether the apartment building had the security of the Bank of England, he was going in there, and he wasn’t leaving again without Izabella.
Once again, he didn’t wait for the rest of the dragons before easily breaking the lock on the door into the top of the building and quietly entering the emergency stairwell. The apartment he was looking for was on the tenth floor. Number one-zero-two, to be exact.
The apartment he knew to be that of the brother and sister, Pyotr and Tanya.
Vaughn’s would-be lover.
Izabella’s ex-boyfriend.
Dragon hunters.
Chapter 12
Deryk was here.
There was no sound to alert Izzi to his presence either inside or outside the apartment where she now considered herself to be a prisoner, but nevertheless, she knew Deryk was close by.
Because of the deepening of the mating bond.
Deryk had warned that her senses would become heightened the more they were together, that not only would they need to be close to each other, but they would also be able to sense each other’s emotions.
Right now, Izzi sensed Deryk was filled with an icy, murderous rage in his need to find and protect his mate.
She could feel those human emotions through walls and floors, through time itself.
As she also sensed Deryk’s dragon wanted to rip and claw to pieces anything that stood in the way of him and his mate.
Tanya and Pyotr were standing in Deryk and his dragon’s way.
“You really need to release me now.” She tried one last time to reason with the Petrovs as they both restlessly paced the kitchen, waiting for the dragons to arrive. The brother and sister had made Izzi sit down at the kitchen table during that wait.
Pyotr gave a hard smile. “And why would we want to do that?”
“Because Deryk is going to kill you both if you don’t.” Izzi had no doubt about both the man’s and dragon’s murderous rage.
“How long did it take you to spread your legs for the inhuman English bastard?” Pyotr glared his disgust. “A few hours? A day?” he sneered.
“Deryk is Welsh,” she corrected. “And I’m his mate.” If Deryk was going to die today, then Izzi intended going with him, had no intention of waiting that three weeks of languishing without him before dying herself.