Year of the Dragon (Changeling Sisters Book 3) by Heather Heffner Read Free Book Online Page A

countryside,” I continued confidently. “Daegu, Gyeongju, Mokpo… The Korean War scattered the pack, so who knows how many werewolves are out there, lost with no pack, believing themselves the only one of their kind? We will work together with Peomeosa Temple to find them. We will bring them home here, to Seoul.”
    “And while we’re at it, China can rest assured that the Seoul werewolves will also be looking for any signs of the exiled vampyre princes,” Rafael spoke suddenly, his razor-sharp intensity burying the words into my heart like a knife. “After all, it would be foolish to underestimate the threat they present just because their Mummy’s gone.”
    He looked calmly at me. “I can take Jeju Island with Kaelan. What do you say…Alpha?”
    That did it. I knew what I’d promised Raina, but my mind reeled at Rafael’s blunt subversion of authority. Wolf came to life in a bundle of snarls, leaving the door open for Demon…whose cold, taut anger caused my skin to crackle ever so slightly.
    I should have known. How often had I seen Rafael talk back to Jaehoon, his own creator? I’d laughed it off then because Rafael and I had been on the same team. Now I wondered how Jaehoon had ever held back.
    I had to get out of here, or else Demon would take over again. Miao looked at the wisps of smoke curling from my fingernails curiously. That was the last thing I needed reported back to Xiang: Not only was the pack in shambles, but the “Alpha” was a dangerous Triad whose mind could fall apart at any second.
    Kaelan raised his bowl. “No talk of missions tonight. Let’s make a toast to Ae Cha. She would have killed in the obstacle course. You boys with me?”
    Everyone raised their bowls solemnly. I fell into the background, unobserved and forgotten, as the men turned to talk of other things. The women headed to the makeshift dance floor. Even Bae was engaged in a deep conversation about “tire rotators,” from what I could make out. I dragged my Alpha tail out the back of the tent. A hurt little girl.
    A kitchen boy handed me a bottle of makgeolli. The alcohol was flowing faster than water tonight. I gulped it down greedily on the beach, and Wolf and Demon finally faded into a dark shadow staining the back of my mind.
    Musical laughter and thudding footsteps echoed amongst the beach reeds. Hot pain scalded the back of my throat: Rafael and Miao. Clad in little more than swimsuits. He was holding her; she was laughing, throwing back her head as he twirled her beneath a sea of stars.
    I clumsily tried to get to my feet and fell. Both Weres heard, of course. Miao grabbed Rafael’s face and tried to turn him back to her.
    “Why worry? It is only some drunk. The beach will have many of them.”
    “You should go back to your friends.” Rafael stood rigid and alert. I shivered as the wind rustled across my skin, carrying my scent back to him. “I want to be alone tonight.”
    Miao rolled her eyes. “They were right about you. You break the hearts of many women, two in your own pack. Good riddance.”
    Rafael said nothing. She left him gazing out at the black sea.
    I crawled with as much dignity as I could back toward the tents. Then a hand, warm and gentle, touched my shoulder.
    “Citlalli?”
    I still shivered when he said my name.
    Rafael swished the near-empty bottle with a slight smile. “Haven’t gotten any better at drinking, I see.”
    “You haven’t gotten any better with women.”
    His face darkened with anger.
    “Go home. Shouldn’t you be with your sister? The one who’s afraid of the night?” He kicked at the sand, and I saw his Wolf flash in his eyes. “The one you stopped the war for?”
    “Shouldn’t you be hunting Khyber?” I snapped. “Instead of destroying the pack your creator worked so hard to keep?”
    “Yeah,” Rafael growled through white lips, “Jaehoon was my creator. Not yours. Don’t think you get a free pass on this, just because you’re a Triad. Why the hell did