Saving Cinder

by Maggie Hemlock

  “Cinder Aldred is my mate. MINE.” He growled.

  “Listen to this guy, Cinder. Should I check your ass for his brand?” I laughed.

  Reggie curled his massive veiny fingers into fists. The blue vein on his forehead bulged. The first rule they taught us in group was when you’re agitated pause. Anger and irritation clouded judgement. I wasn’t angry, but he was. Reggie walked hot-head first into my arena.

  He threw a punch. I leaned back and caught his forearm. Shocked, he stumbled forward. I planted a fist in his stomach. My middle knuckled cracked under the pressure. Adrenaline surged through my veins. The gold locket burnt hot against my flesh. The storm inside brewed with tropical winds and torrential rains.

  Reggie swung with his other hand. I swerved, but he caught the tip of my chin. Pain rattled my brain for a second, but when the world cleared every cell in my body was hyped on fight hormones. Fuck, I loved how good it felt. Adrenaline was the body’s natural drug and nothing synthetic came close to its high.

  “Fly!” I shouted to Cinder as I fell back taking the lizard with me.

  Cinder was gone before we crashed into the dock. It buckled but didn’t splinter under our joint weight. Reggie was on top of me, but the bigger a dragon the more time it takes him to find his feet. I shoved him hard and he rolled to the edge of the dock. I was the first man up. I gave him a few good kicks to the ribs with my dragon steel toed boot before putting some distance between me and him. I needed to give Cinder time to get far enough out at sea to lose Reggie for good. I’d catch up with him and Cookie later.

  Reggie found his footing and charged forward. I snatched the rim of a barrel of fish heads left over from the day before and splattered it over him. He roared and huffed covered in the decomposing flesh and brain matter.

  “You stink to high heaven, man.” I laughed.

  He swung. I saw Stacy out of the corner of my eye. She winked at me. It was time to use the locket. I ran my wrist over it through my gray t-shirt and said her name. The sky darkened over the harbor and the winds howled. The vein grew in Reggie’s forehead. Then his fingers shifted to claws.

  Shit!

  I planned to be long gone before Reggie’s metamorphosis into a giant lizard. Reggie roared as his face quickly became that of his inner beast. Fire shot from his yellow reptilian mouth. I hit the dock. It soared over me singeing my hair and leaving my back raw.

  “This is how we die.” My wolf growled. “We’re going to die doing the first favor Rhett ever asked for and all because you like poking giant lizards with sticks.”

  The howling wind soothed my raw flesh. Reggie raised a wing to keep his balance as the dock swayed under the pressure of the incoming hurricane. Rain fell in big fat drops one at a time at first. Soon each one was inseparable from the last. Reggie roared through the torrents of water and lunged forward. I rolled right into the talons and toes of a huge green dragon. Reggie was yellow.

  Cinder roared something I didn’t understand. Despite Clarence’s best efforts I never learned to speak dragon. We didn’t dare speak over the Moonscale Flight link despite us both technically belonging to the group. He scooped me up. Reggie swiped a massive taloned foot at him. Cinder headbutted the foot out of the way. A second later, I fell onto the deck of my boat. Cookie landed gently next to me no worse for wear. I scurried to my feet pushing with every drop of adrenaline against the rain to reach the navigational panel, but Cinder didn’t land. He scooped up the ship in his front feet and flew towards the eye of the storm.

  “Let’s hope he doesn’t beach us and wreck the damn ship like Brendan did!” My wolf grumbled.

  I howled into the wind as my heart pounded in my ears. Its echoes rang louder than the rain. It was one hell of a morning and I looked forward to the next time I saw Reggie again. Hopefully the hurricane cut the bastard down to size.

  “Come on, Cookie. Get below deck, girl. Don’t want you swept away.” I scooped her up and headed downstairs to ride out the storm.

  Chapter Seven

  Cinder

  Seth’s musky raw scent wafted into my nostrils through the rain. He was all adrenaline and testosterone. The man smelled like a wild streak. Maybe I stayed cooped up too long, but something drew me to him. I’d never act on it, but damn, if I were a century younger and hadn’t met Sivan yet I’d be on his boat with my tail in the air.

  “Freedom arouses you,” my dragon chuckled.

  He spoke in proverbs, but his tone was anything but. Seth was likable and from what I witnessed a badass too. Not many Alphas drew on the power of nature to fight their battles. True weather witches and magi were few and far between.

  Rain beat on my scales and made the boat slippery between my toes. My talons raked against its sides but didn’t puncture the vessel. Calm settled over the sea as we reached the eye of Seth’s storm. I paused in place to catch my breath. My heart pounded inside my chest and I gripped the boat tighter. I glanced over my shoulder at the hurricane beating down on my hometown. Cornwall was full of dragons and dragon-built buildings. No one would get hurt as long as they were smart enough to go inside.

  “We hold our freedom between our toes,” my dragon mused.

  With his words of encouragement, I pushed forward towards the other side of the storm. Storms were nothing new to dragons. Our waterproof scales kept us warm even during the coldest winds. The winds picked up buzzing in my ears and rattling my brain. Seth howled from inside the boat challenging the wind itself.

  “We should marry a man like him. He’d take us on adventures. We’d make love under waterfalls. We’d fly through hurricanes just because we could.”

  I pushed the thought away. Seth smelled like a mated man. Just because he rescued us from a sticky situation didn’t mean we’d have a whirlwind romance straight out of the smutty books I secretly read late at night.

  “It’s nice to dream though.”

  What happened to waiting for Sivan to be reborn?

  “Sorry.”

  It’s okay. I’m lonely too. I’ve never been so lonely as the day Augustus announced our engagement to Reggie. We’re not alone now. A prince sent us a rescue mission. Sivan’s ancestors still smile upon us.

  We passed through the storm, but I flew on. Returning to the sky felt too good to give up too soon. Eventually, when my stomach growled, I set the boat down on the water. Seth and the curly fuzzball came on deck to watch me circle until I timed my shift and landing perfectly not to crush the boat or land in the water.

  Panting I landed on my very human feet. A toe poked through one of my sneakers. I laughed and wiggled it in the salty air.

  “Your suitcase is below deck. Took it down there so the storm didn’t snatch it away.”

  “Thank you!” I met his blue-eyed gaze for the first time since we met.

  Seth was tall for a wolf. He had broad shoulders which his wet shirt clung to. The water-soaked cotton hugged every muscle of his chest and abs. Cookie circled his bare feet sniffing and inspecting the deck for changes.

  “You alright?” He asked when I didn’t say anything else.

  He didn’t rake his eyes across me like the men in the stories I read. Disappointment poked at me, but I knew when the fresh feeling of freedom wore off, I’d miss Sivan again.

  “I am thanks to you! You covered the asshole in fish heads!” I laughed.

  Seth laughed too and the sound wrapped around me. Attraction wasn’t new to me. I dated here and there before I met Sivan. It was a foreign feeling now, though. Seth stepped forward reaching out for something. Unable to stop myself I closed the gap between us and laid one on him. The wolf stood frozen to the spot as my lips pressed against his and my tongue darted into his mouth.

  “Thank you for freeing me!” I panted breathlessly when I pulled away.

  Red marked the Alpha’s cheeks. Making an Alpha shifter of any sort blush wasn’t an easy task.

  “Anytime,” he smirked.

  “Is your mate going to kick my ass for kissing you?” I asked
stepping out of his personal space.

  “I don’t know if she would,” he reached forward and plucked a leave from my hair. “She’s on the other side of the door now. She’d likely fall on her ass laughing if she saw it, though.”

  “I’m sorry,” my heart dropped into my stomach. “May I ask a rude question?”

  “No, I’m not straight. I’m bisexual. There. You didn’t have to ask.”

  “I know that. You smell bisexual to me,” I laughed. “I wanted to ask if she was your true-mate.”

  “Yeah. Let’s skip the apology stuff. Mine’s gone. Yours is gone. We both know it sucks. How about I set the navigational system and you keep an eye on the skies for anyone stupid enough to follow us.”

  “Alright, but will you look at my shoulder? I messed it up last night and it still doesn’t feel the same. The shift didn’t do it any favors either.”

  “What’s your pain tolerance?” He stepped close enough for his scent to hit me.

  “Umm… Decent I guess.” I laughed and tried not to look at him.

  “Look up!” He pointed to the sky and took hold of my shoulder.

  A second later I roared as pain tore through my shoulder for the second time in as many days. I reared up to stomp his foot and knock him away, but he met my gaze. His wolf lurked under the surface. Seth pulled his wet shirt off and slung it over his shoulder. Through the clouds sun rays danced on his muscular chest and stomach. I bit my lip as he gripped my shoulder again. The muscles in his arms flexed as he forced my stubborn dragon bones back into place. A second later, before I realized what he did, Seth tucked my arm to my chest in a sling made from his shirt.

  “Thanks,” I said. “My head’s spinning a bit.”

  Seth put a hand on my good shoulder to stabilize me. I leaned into his strength for a second before pulling away.

  “It shouldn’t hurt for long, but if it does, I have some brandy below deck.” He headed off to the navigational dashboard. “There’s food downstairs if you’re hungry. Help yourself to whatever you like, but remember we have to make it to the island on that food. If you eat it all now, it’s fish for every damn meal until we reach the island.”

  “Got it,” I grinned at him.

  My knees shook like jellyfish tentacles as I walked downstairs. The first room was a tiny kitchen that I had to duck to get into. I opened the fridge which took up most of the space to find it fully stocked. Not wanting to be a pig I grabbed a banana and made a modest sandwich. A smile tugged at my lips every time the sea breeze brought Seth’s scent to my nose.

  “You dirty boy. You have a crush on the wolf,” my dragon teased.

  Shut up. So, do you.

  Chapter Eight

  Seth

  Back on the open sea I stayed at the navigational panel and kept an eye on the skies. The sails were impenetrable, and the motor fireproof even to dragon’s fire. Clarence paid well and not only in cash for the favors I dealt in. Still, I didn’t let my guard down. Adrenaline still pumped through my veins from the fight the day before. With Carter’s kid aboard the boat things needed to go perfect long enough for me to deliver him to Brendan and Rhett in one piece. Then I’d figure out the rest.

  “Like what to do about how sexy he is?” My wolf asked.

  Stop that, furball.

  “He started it.”

  The kiss was a heat of the moment thing. He’d just broken free from an arranged marriage.

  “You liked it.”

  Shut up.

  “I miss her too, but I miss having friends who don’t only want to talk about ‘staying cleaning’ coping mechanisms. I really do. I miss the feeling of fur sleeping against my chest and someone to talk to late at night.”

  Not now.

  He fell quiet after muttering something about me being a dragon sized asshole. As with most shifters, his words and thoughts echoed my own, but a relationship wasn’t in the cards for us. Certainly not with Cinder. He was sexy and crazy in equal parts, but he was Carter’s kid and maybe a domestic violence victim to boot. Forced marriages fell under several domestic violence acts in the states. Not that Europe paid much attention to what the crazy stateside shifters did.

  The night before Cinder slept in the cabin and Cookie and I took our place up top. Cookie slept easily, but I lay awake listening to Cinder’s gentle breathing and the steady beat of his heart. The world was huge in some ways. Sailing across it took months and months at times, but then Carter’s lost kid dropped into my life. He wasn’t a kid anymore, but below deck rested one of the reasons Carter tried to escape reality for a long time.

  “I made breakfast,” Cinder announced coming on deck.

  This morning he wore jeans and an oversized t-shirt that clearly didn’t belong to him originally.

  “How’s the shoulder?” I asked.

  “Not too bad. Still a bit stiff, but I can rotate it without too much pain. You hungry?”

  “I never say no to a home cooked meal.”

  “Scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast isn’t a feast,” he laughed.

  Damn it. Don’t laugh like that until I get you to the island.

  “It’s a feast as long as I don’t have to cook it.”

  “Alphas,” Cinder sighed. “Do you want me to bring it up or are you coming down for breakfast?”

  We both looked skyward as if Reggie would hear us say the deck was unguarded and take advantage of the situation.

  “I’ll bring the food up.” Cinder rubbed the back of his neck and turned to walk downstairs.

  My eyes locked to his firm round ass and the gentle sway of his hips. I forced my eyes back to the navigational screen. The radar was clear of ships for the next forty miles. We’d be okay. If Reggie came, I’d put him to rest at sea. Then maybe the angry sea gods would leave innocent people alone.

  The locket burnt against my flesh signaling the return of the spell to its resting place. I held it between my fingers and reveled in its heat. The locket was the only piece of Stacy I found when the waters calmed. She went above and beyond on her weather research. She knew how to survive and manipulate hurricanes, but weather was never predictable. Her spell to capture the storm worked but cost her life.

  “Where would you like to eat?” Cinder appeared above deck holding a giant gold serving tray with our plates and two large glasses of orange juice on the side.

  “Where’d the tray come from?”

  “Sivan’s parents. They gave it to us as a wedding gift. They’re gone now too. Stupid Alps.” He muttered the last words under his breath.

  “Let’s buckle down over here. I want to keep an eye on the radar.”

  “You know some ships bypass radar detection, right?” Cinder asked.

  “Yes. Mostly rich merchants who can afford to shield their ships from pirates.”

  “You work at sea, right?” Cinder asked.

  “Obviously.”

  “Have you ever seen a pirate?”

  “Not that I can recall.”

  “Makes you wonder what they’re really up to with those shield charms then, doesn’t it?” He smirked and handed me my plate.

  “Better safe than sorry.”

  “Or they’re running something dirty.”

  “You know something?” I arched a brow.

  “Not really,” he shook his head. “I’ve always liked to poke around life and find the holes where conspiracy or adventure might hide.”

  “You did that a lot on your blog,” I told him.

  Cookie stretched out on her stomach between us. Her eyes followed our hands as we ate. After a few minutes of watching her mouthwatering misery I gave her a piece of bacon.

  “I miss the blog. Sivan did most of the writing, though. We’d stay up all night talking about the craziest things until something stuck. Then he’d add it onto whatever adventure post he wrote next.”

  “He was good at it,” I said.

  “What about yours? What did she do?” He asked.

  I took a deep breath. Most strangers didn�
��t ask about dead mates. Not that I made a habit out of hanging out with many widowers.

  “Sorry? Was that too much? I wasn’t thinking. I don’t have many chances to talk about Sivan these days. My parents don’t want to hear about him.”

  He spat out the word parents like it burnt his tongue.

  “It’s not too much. Stacy died doing what she loved. She was a storm chaser out to make storms less dangerous. Dragons have it all figured out, but not everyone’s a dragon. Stacy wanted to stop the storms or change their paths, so they stayed at sea.”

  “She sounds awesome. I’m surprised the four of us didn’t cross paths while they were alive.” Cinder’s eyes lit up as he spoke. Up this close and personal I finally got a good look at Cinder without worry tinging his features. He was short for a dragon and had a lean muscular built hiding under his too big t-shirt. Forest green eyes sparkled under well-kept brows. His dark blonde hair was askew atop his head from the wind. His smile complete with Carter’s dimple was his best feature, because it lit up his whole face.

  “In a different universe, where they were alive, we probably would have eventually.”

  “How’s breakfast?” Cinder changed the subject. “I didn’t know how you liked your bacon, so I made it dragon style: singed.”

  “It’s great. I like bacon just about anyway on anything. It’s a universal food,” I laughed. “Cookie’s the picky eater.”

  “That I don’t believe for a moment.”

  We laughed and fell silent as we enjoyed the rest of our breakfast. Cookie quickly learned that Cinder was more of a sucker than me and would sneak her bacon when he thought I wasn’t looking.

  “How long have you had her?” He asked.

  “She’s not mine, but she’s been with me since yesterday. She’s a gift for my niece and nephew.”

  “I can’t believe I’m meeting the Moonscale Prince. Sivan and I used to daydream about stumbling onto his island by accident and being the first to explore the little forgotten piece of paradise.”

  “That’s what I did. Well, sort of. Brendan shipwrecked me or at least his dragon did.”