by S. E. Smith
“I got a call late one night. Carmen and Scott had been shot. Scott was dead and they weren’t sure Carmen would make it. A hit had been set up on the politician and his family. Carmen took three bullets meant for the politician’s ten year old son. Scott rushed in to cover her and was shot. The family was able to get away. Carmen and Scott were left bleeding on the tarmac of the small airport,” Ariel looked up at Mandra whose hand was frozen on her collar bone. “The other bodyguards left them like a piece of trash to the sons-of-bitches who shot them. They were both still alive and the others just left them knowing they would be killed.”
“What did you do?” Mandra asked.
“I took an emergency leave from the Air Force. It is the military on my planet. I knew by then I would never make it into the Space Program and decided I would finish out my tour of duty before getting out. Trisha was in the hospital recovering from a helicopter crash and my sister was fighting for her life. I had already put in my request to not renew and had some leave built up. I was able to finish it out while trying to take care of both of them,” Ariel said.
“Something else happened that you are not telling me? What is it?” Mandra asked calmly.
Ariel tried to turn away but Mandra would not let her. He splayed his fingers along her cheek to keep her facing him. He needed to understand why she would leave him. He also needed her to understand what would have happened to both of them if she had been successful.
“Eric,” Ariel whispered closing her eyes. “Eric happened during that time as well.”
“Who was this Eric?” Mandra asked in a deeper voice.
Kill this male. He hurt my mate. Kill him, his dragon growled out dangerously.
Hush, let her tell us. It is important that we understand her so she does not run from us again, Mandra hissed out fighting his own jealousy at the mention of another male.
“Eric was my fiancé. We were going to be married… mated,” Ariel said looking up at Mandra warily as a low growl rumbled out of him. “We were engaged to be married for four years. I wanted to be a vet when I was growing up. I loved taking care of animals and working with them. I thought for sure that was my life ambition so I majored in the sciences and math all through high school. One summer I had a chance to work with the local vet in an internship through our high school. Unfortunately, the first time I helped with surgery I passed out. Dr. Baumgartner thought I would get over it but by the end of the summer I was restricted to caring for the animals and not allowed anywhere near his surgery. He got tired of having to call my folks to come get me after I passed out or threw up so much it was stressing the animals out. That was when I decided to follow Trisha. We already had our pilot’s licenses for non-commercial flights due to both our dads so it was natural to focus on flying. Trisha always dreamed of going to the stars and since we did everything together, we figured we would do that as well,” Ariel shook her head at how naïve they had been. “We both graduated from college and enlisted into the Air Force. I was the better pilot but Trisha was better at physical tests. I didn’t make it into the program but she did. During this time, I volunteered at a local animal shelter when I could. I met Eric when he brought in a litter of stray kittens. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew we were in love.”
Mandra’s low growl turned to a loud rumble. He jerked his eyes down to where he was gripping the cloth so tight his knuckles were white. He looked at Ariel when she touched his chin with the tips of her fingers.
“I realize now I was just infatuated with him. What I feel for you is much deeper,” she whispered. “I needed someone during a critical period in my life when I was feeling a failure. Trisha had married and seemed happy, Carmen was married and deeply in love, and I… I wanted to be loved like that, too. I should have broken it off the first time I realized there was something wrong but I kept thinking if I tried harder or loved him more he would feel the same. At first, it was a subtle remark about my friends. I didn’t see Trisha much and as time grew I seemed to have less and less time to talk to her. Then, it was how I dressed when I wasn’t in uniform. The clothes he started buying me and telling me I should wear. It didn’t seem like a big deal and it made him happy. Then, it was spending more time with him and less at the shelter. I didn’t even realize how he was slowly beginning to isolate me from everyone and everything I loved. He said if I loved him I wouldn’t talk to the men at work. He told me if I needed to go to the store, I needed to wait for him and he would go with me. It began to affect my work so I just told him what he wanted to hear and continued talking to the guys like I always did,” Ariel looked over Mandra’s shoulder ashamed that she had let someone manipulate her so easily.
“He found out,” Mandra murmured.
“He found out. He accused me of not loving him. If I did I would have done what he told me. He said I would need to work harder to prove I loved him as much as he loved me. He never hit me but by then all my close friends were gone and there was no one I could talk to about my feelings. I was confused and hurt that he thought I betrayed him when I felt like he was being unreasonable. It was my fault for not realizing sooner that he was being abusive. It took Trisha and Carmen’s near death to make me realize what was happening,” Ariel said in an emotionless voice. “He told me if I went to them we were over. He told me I would never amount to anything without him and no one would ever want me.”
“What did you tell him,” Mandra asked in a deceptively calm voice.
We are going to kill him, Mandra growled out silently to his dragon. He felt the agreement from his dragon and his symbiot as they both snarled in anger.
“Nothing, there was nothing to say because by then I believed him,” Ariel said sadly. “I packed my clothes and left everything else and walked out.”
“Good!” Mandra growled catching Ariel’s chin in his hand and brushing his lips across hers possessively. “You are mine! You are our mate! Why did you leave me?”
“Because of Carmen,” Ariel whispered leaning into Mandra. “I promised her I would help her avenge Scott. She was determined to leave and I couldn’t let her go alone. She wanted me to stay but I refused. I can’t let her go. I know if she ever gets back to Earth she is going to die going after the man who was responsible for Scott’s death but she doesn’t care. She refuses to let it go. I hoped what happened to us, coming here, would change her mind but something else is scaring her. I think… I think it is your brother, Creon, but I’m not sure.”
Mandra nodded and began undoing the hooks holding the front of her shirt together so he could continue wiping away the dirt. “Creon will take care of your sister from now on. Let him worry about her. It was suicide to think you could travel back to your world in a shuttle.”
“I know. I hoped you would catch us before we got that far but Carmen was determined. I had to do something. I wasn’t even sure I could fly the damn thing,” Ariel choked out hoarsely as she felt Mandra’s fingers brush her hard nipples. “Mandra… I missed you.”
Chapter 14
Mandra glanced down at the sleeping figure in his arms with a sigh of contentment. His mate was not aware of the changes in her but he and his dragon were. Last night, as he made love to her, he watched the thin veins of her wings and the rose color of her scales ripple across her back and shoulders. She was not ready yet to transform but soon she would be. He needed to make sure she fully understood what it would mean if she tried to leave him again. He would find her. He could never let her go. Her dragon would mourn for her mate and so would Ariel. The loss would eat away at all of them until their will to live would simply disappear.
He pressed a kiss to her brow before gently untangling himself from her arms. Zoran had returned late last night with Abby and he needed to meet with his brothers about the threat to their mates and to their world. His uncle needed to die. That was all there was to it. His treachery was unforgivable. He murdered his own brother, sought to torture and kill his nephew who thought of him as a second father, and was plotti
ng to bring their world to war again with the two species they had fought against long ago.
“Where are you going?” Ariel murmured lifting her head up.
Mandra smiled down at the tangle of blonde hair that didn’t quite cover the new dragon’s mark on her right shoulder. At the rate he was going she was going to be covered in his marks. She was the most beautiful thing in his world and he would do everything he could to protect her.
“I need to meet with my brothers. Zoran and Abby returned late last night. There are matters that must be taken care of,” Mandra said leaning over to kiss his mate’s exposed shoulder.
He groaned when he felt her fingers lightly skim over the tip of his cock. With a low growl, he pushed her over onto her back and buried his face in the curve of her shoulder. He fought the urge to rip the bedcovers off and take her again and again.
“You make me lose control when I am around you,” Mandra groaned as he wrapped his arms around his mate’s soft body. “I want you again.”
“We could give each other a shower,” Ariel whispered against Mandra’s cheek.
“I am already late,” Mandra growled out disappointed. “When I return, I promise.”
“Your loss,” Ariel replied letting her tongue dart out to lick it along the rim of his ear as he pulled away.
Mandra’s dark growl of frustration caused Ariel to chuckle. She had to admit she wouldn’t mind sleeping in a little longer. It had been a long night and she suddenly felt sleepy again.
Me too, a soft voice echoed in her head.
Ariel jerked upright looking around frantically. What the hell?
Not hell, the voice responded sleepily. Me.
Who is me? Ariel asked hesitantly not really expecting an answer.
Your dragon, the voice responded before it faded away.
Ariel sat frozen in the middle of the huge bed wondering if she had just lost her mind or if something deep inside her just talked to her. Her dragon?! Ariel remembered a faint memory from last night. It was just as she was about to have an explosive orgasm. She remembered feeling like something was moving under her skin and in the faint glow of the moonlight coming in through the windows, she could have sworn she saw scales rippling over her arms. She thought it was a hallucination but now she wasn’t so sure.
She watched as Mandra came out of the shower drying his long hair and dressing quickly. He glanced over at her and smiled. She smiled back tentatively as she rubbed her arms. She looked down and noticed she had goosebumps on them.
“I will try not to be too long. I have placed guards at the door for your protection. If you wish to go anywhere, just tell them. They will escort you. It is for your safety after what has happened to your friends,” Mandra said urgently.
“I know. I think I will go see Abby. I want to make sure she is alright,” Ariel responded with a nervous smile; And ask her a few questions. Like, have you noticed any scales on your arms lately or heard any voices talking to you?
“That would be good for both of you,” Mandra said as he brushed a light kiss over his mate’s swollen lips. “But, make sure you get some rest. I have plans for you later.”
..*
Ariel looked silently out the window of Mandra’s living quarters petting the small, striped creature she found earlier when she was returning through the garden. It had grown dark and there was lightning flashing in the sky. It began to rain about an hour ago but the heaviest of the storm seemed to be out over the ocean.
The guards had taken one look at the creature she found and snarled but Ariel had hushed them and made them stand back. The creature was about the size of a raccoon back home but looked more like an overgrown gerbil. It had small rounded ears on the sides of its head, huge black eyes with long lashes, and orange and black stripes on it. There was a long cut on its back leg and several puncture wounds along its neck and back. Ariel had removed the jacket she was wearing and after several attempts was able to bundle it up. One of the guards wanted to just kill it. He took a hasty step back when Ariel glared at him fiercely. Precious moved over the creature, healing the wounds while she held it gently in her arms whispering nonsense to soothe it. When Precious was done, she bundled it up in her arms refusing any help in carrying it and returned to Mandra and her living quarters. There she bathed and checked it over carefully.
“Thank you, my friend,” Ariel said leaning over to give Precious a kiss on the top of its golden head that was resting on the arm of the chair she was sitting in.
Warmth spread through her in answer. Ariel turned to look back out at the storm. There was so much she didn’t understand. Her visit with Abby seemed to have given her more questions than answers. Abby told her, Trisha, Cara, and Carmen that she could turn into a dragon. Ariel wondered if that was what was happening to her. She had enjoyed her visit but it had left her more confused than ever. She wanted to understand the voice in her head and the tingling feeling she had been getting, for one thing.
She was also concerned with how her sister had fared with Creon, for another. Mandra told her Creon would take care of her sister but she was worried how Carmen would handle that. She had been amazed when Carmen actually laughed and joked with them this afternoon. It was the first time in three years that Carmen actually seemed a little like her old self. There had been something different about her sister. A light rose color tinted her cheeks and there was a light in her eyes that Ariel didn’t remember her sister having even with Scott… a sense of wonder, confusion, and even a touch of fear.
Ariel could understand the fear. She was feeling a little of it now. How could her body be changing? How was it possible to change into another creature? It was something like out of a comic book series. A bite and … Her eyes widened as she began piecing together some of the things that had happened between her and Mandra. He bit her. He said something about a dragon’s fire. That was when she began getting that tingling feeling under her skin, like something was there trying to get out.
That is me. I want my mate, a soft voice murmured.
Are you real? Ariel thought silently not sure what in the hell she was doing.
Of course. My mate call to me. He want me. I want out to be with him, the soft voice responded.
Ariel sat frozen for a moment until the small creature in her lap pushed at her hand again with its head trying to get her to stroke it again. What did it mean ‘it wanted out’? What would happen to her when it did get out? This was confusing as hell.
What…happens when you get out? What…happens to me? Ariel asked hesitantly.
A soft chuckle washed through her as her ‘dragon’ picked up on her fear and curiosity. You always there. Inside me. We are one. I am in you and you are in me. We together forever. But, I need my mate as you need yours. It is the way of the gods and goddesses. They make magic for us.
I… Ariel began when a soft knock on the door caused her to start. Don’t go anywhere!
A soft giggle was her only answer. Ariel placed the striped creature down on the chair, smiling softly as it curled into the warmth from where she had been sitting and made her way to the large doors. She opened them and stood back in surprise. Kelan stood in front of her waiting impatiently. She wondered what was going on. A guard had been around earlier asking if she was alright, what she had eaten when she had been with Abby, and if anything unusual had happened while she was there.
“Kelan, is everything alright? Has something happened to Mandra?” Ariel asked raising a hand to her throat at something happening to the big lug.
Kelan shook his head. “May I enter, Lady Ariel?”
“Oh, yes. Just call me Ariel. What is wrong? You look upset,” Ariel said stepping back so Kelan could enter.
He stopped just inside the door and turned to look at her for a moment before he took a deep breath. “Trisha has disappeared. I need to know if you know where she is. She knocked one of her guards out and escaped out the back doors of the palace. We have searched everywhere for her in the palace and the city but
cannot locate her. I need to know what was said that could have upset her.”
Ariel studied Kelan noticing how upset he was. This guy really cared about Trisha. If Trisha was half as confused as she was right now she knew exactly where her friend would go. She would disappear until she could deal with it. Each of them handled things differently. Trisha would disappear into the wilds where she felt the most comfortable. Carmen would close down and pull away from everyone. Ariel, well she had a tendency to strike out and run.
“We found out Abby could change into a dragon today. Will Trisha be able to change into one too?” Ariel asked wanting to know the answer for herself.
Kelan glanced at Ariel before looking away. “Yes. She is my true mate. She survived the dragon’s fire. Her body has gone through the transformation but it is not complete. Her dragon grows stronger each day inside her and it will soon become impossible for her to deny it. When that happens she will transform.”
“Don’t you think you guys should have told us about this before you just decided to do this dragon’s fire thing?” Ariel asked angrily. “We should have had some say in it. Do you have any idea of how frightening this is for us?”
Kelan flushed. “We do not have a choice. It is impossible to deny this part of ourselves when we find our true mate.”
Ariel bit back a retort. This was not a conversation she should be having with Kelan but with Mandra. He was definitely going to get a piece of her mind when she saw him. Instead, she focused on her friend.