by Lola Gabriel
But what could he do? He had no idea where she was, and he couldn’t send Shem the text message too quickly and give the whole thing away. Even now, after four hours, he wondered if it was still too quick, but he couldn’t bear to wait any longer. He was afraid that the potion would work faster than Shem had told him, and besides, he couldn’t handle the thought of Morgan as a prisoner, alone, afraid. The worst part was, he knew that if Shem had told her what was going on, she would think no one was coming for her.
He had already told her that his parents would never step in in a situation like this. And the way he had acted this morning, Morgan would never believe he would come for her.
He had felt himself falling for Morgan last night, over dinner, over drinks. And when he had made love to her, he felt their dragons connecting, the start of the sacred bond between true mates. But he had ignored the feeling, telling himself it wasn’t real, and instead of being honest with Morgan, he had apologized for his behavior and told her it wouldn’t happen again.
He had thought that was what she wanted to hear. She had never shown any interest in them being anything more than friends over the years. But now, he was starting to think she had felt the bond too, and by pushing her away, she felt he had rejected her.
If he had just told her the truth, she never would have left the cottage and she would be safe with him now. And that was when Draven knew what he really had to do. If he wanted Morgan to be his mate, and he wanted that more than ever, he couldn’t just save her. He had to end Shem. Because while Shem lived, Morgan would always be in danger.
Finally, Draven pulled his cell phone back out of his pocket and began to type out a message to Shem.
“My parents have agreed to the deal with one condition; the contract only stands if you are being truthful about Morgan’s life. If she dies, the deal is off.”
Draven hit send and then he waited anxiously for a response. He had added the condition as an insurance policy for Morgan’s life, in case Shem was lying and had already killed her.
The cell phone beeped and Draven opened the message.
“Morgan is fine.”
A photo accompanied the message. Morgan was sitting on the ground inside a metal cage. Draven hated seeing her like that, but at least it meant she was still alive. As he looked at the photo, feeling the mixed emotions flooding through him, another message came through. The message contained directions to the meeting point, and a simple instruction: “Be there at 5:30. Come alone.”
Draven’s dragon instincts kicked in as he reread the instructions. Come alone. Why did Shem want him to come alone and not bring his parents? He knew he was walking into a trap then. He was being set up, lured in by Morgan. But why? Slowly, the truth came upon Draven. Shem knew his parents would never agree to this, but he figured that if he swapped Morgan out for him, they might agree to it to save their son’s life. Draven still highly doubted they would agree to that deal, but it made sense that Shem would think they would. Surely most people would believe someone would choose their own flesh and blood over ruling the pack.
None of that mattered, though. All that mattered was Draven getting to the meeting point and rescuing Morgan. He needed to be on his guard, as he was sure he was going to be ambushed at the meeting point.
He read over the directions again, memorizing them, and then he put his cell phone away and brought on the turn. He felt scales erupting over his body and then wings tearing out through his back. He roared, sending a plume of flames into the air, and then he took flight, heading for the meeting point, heading for Morgan.
9
Morgan looked up as footsteps approached the cage once more. Shem was walking toward her, flanked by Marty and another man she didn’t recognize. Shem stepped up to the door of her cage and unlocked it. He smiled in at Morgan and beckoned for her to come forward. She debated ignoring him, but she knew if she did, he would simply drag her forward and if she was going to meet her death, she was going to do it with whatever dignity she could maintain.
Her legs shook as she walked toward Shem but she got to him in one piece. He stood to one side, gesturing for her to leave the cage.
“Stay on either side of her. Don’t harm her unless she tries anything,” he said to Marty and the other man.
They got in position and Shem nodded.
“Good,” he said. “Marty, you know where we’re going. Lead the way.”
Marty started to walk and Morgan did too, her feet working almost independently of her mind. Her mind was screaming at her to run, but she knew if she did, they would catch her and any chance of a dignified end would be gone. Her feet seemed to understand this, and they carried her forward, each heavy footstep taking her closer to her inevitable death.
“How are you going to do it?” Morgan asked, glancing back at Shem, who walked behind her. “Fry me? Decapitation? Silver poisoning?”
Shem frowned, looking confused for a moment, and then Morgan saw his face change, a smile spreading across his lips as understanding dawned on him.
“You still think he won’t come for you, don’t you?” Shem said. “Oh, Morgan, you’re such a cynic. He’s coming for you. As I said, the enchantment always works. You are Draven’s one true mate, and the fact that he lied to me and told me his parents have agreed to his terms tells me he knows it now too.”
“He’s really coming for me?” Morgan said in a small voice.
Shem nodded. Morgan felt a strange mixture of emotions. She was elated to learn that her feelings weren’t imagined. She really had felt the sacred bond forming when Draven had made love to her. He did feel the same as she did. But the elation was short-lived, because Draven was coming to save her, except he wasn’t. He was walking into a trap. Draven’s love for Morgan would get him killed—or it would change the fate of the entire dragon population, depending on the course of action Draven’s parents chose.
Morgan didn’t voice her concerns. What was the point? Shem wouldn’t be swayed by an emotional plea, she knew that much. And she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing how much his words had affected her. She just forced herself to keep walking, facing frontwards now, her head held high.
The men didn’t walk her far from the cave. They moved her in front of a huge oak tree. She could still see the cave mouth from here and she knew why. Even if they injected Draven with something to suppress his dragon side like they had her, he wouldn’t be as easy to drag around as she had been. They needed to be close to the cage.
Marty and the other man each took one of Morgan’s arms, pulling them behind her back. They weren’t particularly rough with her, but their grips were firm and Morgan knew if she tried anything, they wouldn’t hesitate to tear her arms out of the sockets. They bound her wrists together behind her back, and then Marty dropped to his knees and secured her ankles. He stood back up.
“You need to move backwards until your back touches the tree trunk,” he said. “Do you want to do it the nice way, or do you want me to throw you there?”
“The nice way,” Morgan said quietly.
She hated that she wasn’t fighting this, but what good would it do? She couldn’t turn and the three men could easily overpower her without even breaking a sweat. Marty nodded his head.
“Wise choice,” he said.
He put his hands on Morgan’s waist and lifted her from the ground, walking the few steps until her back touched the tree trunk. He set her down.
“Don’t move,” he said.
The other man had another length of rope, which he now wrapped around the tree trunk and around Morgan. He made several loops around the tree and Morgan and then he tied off the rope behind her. Marty tugged on each of the ropes and then nodded when none of them so much as slipped an inch.
The three men retreated, ignoring Morgan’s questions now. Within moments, she was alone. She knew they were watching, though. They weren’t really going to just leave her here for Draven to rescue.
Morgan stood in place long enough that her f
eet began to ache and her arms became sore where they were pressed against the rough bark of the tree trunk. She heard a flapping sound from the sky and she looked up. She saw Draven in his dragon form, circling the area. She hoped he had spotted Shem and his men hiding amongst the rocks and foliage. He began to swoop down and he landed before her. His dragon was large, a brilliant ruby red color. Even in her current predicament, Morgan felt her heart race as Draven turned back to his human form and began to run toward her.
“Morgan, listen,” Draven said urgently as he approached her. “I know you hate me, but you have to forgive me. I don’t have time to explain, but it’s important.”
“Draven, no,” Morgan said, shaking her head frantically. “It’s a trap. You have to get out of here.”
As she spoke, she saw Shem, Marty, and the other man creeping out of their hiding places.
“Draven, look out!” she yelled.
Draven spun around and saw the three men advancing on him. Morgan watched as his shoulders tensed up. Marty broke away from the other two men, darting forward, a syringe in his hand. Draven turned back into his dragon and roared, a plume of fire flying from his mouth and nose. Marty caught fire. He screamed for a moment and then his screams faded as he dropped to the ground, burning. Morgan had to look away, unable to bear the sight of the charred flesh. She retched as the smell of cooking meat and singeing hair floated to her on the breeze.
Shem and the other man had turned into their dragon forms while Morgan was distracted by Marty. They advanced on Draven, who roared again and shot out another plume of flames. Shem and the other dragon met his plume with plumes of their own and all around Morgan, fires caught in the trees.
The three dragons sprang toward each other, and for a moment, all Morgan could see was the flashing of scales, the bright yellow flames. She could hear angry roars and pained roars and she had no idea which noises were coming from which dragon. Her heart raced, her palms sweating.
She tried and failed to loosen her wrists. Instead, she began to bend her knees and then straighten them again, moving herself up and down the tree trunk. She ignored the screaming pain in her wrists as her skin was scored away on the bark. She only hoped it was having the same effect on the rope that bound her to the tree.
Morgan screamed when a plume of flames came toward her. As she was about to be scorched to death, the rope holding her to the tree trunk finally gave way and she threw herself to the ground, lying flat as the tree she had been bound to only moments ago burst into flames.
She shuffled forward on her belly, staying low, trying to decide what the hell she could do to help Draven. She really wanted the syringe Marty had carried. If she could inject it into Shem or the other dragon, it would at least make it a fair fight for Draven, but she knew the syringe couldn’t have withstood the fire that had rained down on it. She needed another plan, but she couldn’t think of anything she could do with her wrists and her ankles bound.
She looked up as a crash shook the ground beneath her. The purple dragon, the dragon that had been the man she didn’t recognize, lay on its side, its breathing ragged. Huge claw marks split its belly open and Morgan knew it wouldn’t be coming back from that. That left Draven and Shem. For the first time since this whole nightmare had begun, Morgan allowed herself to feel a spark of hope inside of herself. She allowed herself to believe that Draven might survive this.
Morgan managed to get herself into a sitting position. She saw Draven and Shem circling each other. Shem started to blow out a breath of flames and Draven matched his move. The flames met in the middle and both dragons kept up the stream of fire. The flames began to creep closer to Draven and Morgan knew he was losing the fight.
She wanted to call out to him, encourage him to hold on, tell him she loved him, anything, but she was afraid she would break his concentration and she bit her tongue, keeping her fear inside of herself. The flames reached Draven, wrapping themselves around his chest, and tears stung Morgan’s eyes. Draven roared, a sound filled with pain, but something else too. Determination.
Draven’s plume became bigger and stronger and suddenly, the flames were no longer dancing around him. Instead, they were rebounding back on Shem. The plume of raging hot fire engulfed Shem and he fell to the ground, turning back into his human form, burning and screaming.
Morgan didn’t look away this time, although she kept her eyes firmly on Draven. Draven stood over Shem’s lifeless form for a moment and then he turned back into a man. Morgan saw the burns covering his chest, but as she watched, they began to recede as Draven healed himself.
Once the burns were gone, Draven ran to Morgan’s side. He threw himself onto the ground in front of her.
“Morgan, listen. I know things between us are seriously messed up. But you have to forgive me, because…”
“I forgive you, Draven,” Morgan interrupted him. The tears still flowed down her face, but now, they were happy tears. “Of course I forgive you.”
Draven leaned in and kissed her. His lips brushed hers, gently at first and then more insistent. She kissed him back with a ferocity that confirmed to her once more that their sacred bond was real. It was so real, she felt it despite the fact that her dragon had been suppressed. As she thought that, she realized she could feel her dragon stirring within herself once more. Draven pulled back from the kiss.
“Do you feel it? Your dragon?” he demanded.
“I…yes. Draven, what’s going on?” Morgan asked, his intensity worrying her a little bit.
Draven relaxed visibly in front of Morgan’s eyes.
“The potion Shem gave you wasn’t just to suppress your dragon. If the effects of it weren’t reversed within twenty-four hours, then you would have died. That’s why I needed you to forgive me so badly. I had to kiss you to reverse the effects of the potion,” Draven explained.
“Thank you,” Morgan said, her heart sinking once more.
Draven had saved her life, but he still didn’t love her. The kiss had only been to reverse the effects of the potion.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Draven asked her.
Morgan looked down into her lap and shook her head.
“Nothing’s wrong. Will you untie me, please?” she said.
Draven reached out and touched her chin, gently pushing her face up so she was forced to look at him.
“Tell me what’s wrong, Morgan,” he said softly.
Oh, what can it hurt at this point? Morgan thought to herself. He’s not going to let this go until I tell him anyway. She smiled sadly at Draven.
“I haven’t been entirely honest with you, Draven. This morning, I didn’t get upset because we had sex last night; I got upset because for you it was a mistake. For me, it was anything but a mistake. And just now when you kissed me, I thought for a moment that maybe you felt the same way about me as I do about you, but now I know why you did it,” she said.
“No, Morgan, you don’t understand,” Draven said. “I needed you to forgive me so quickly because the kiss only works to reverse the potion if it’s true love’s kiss.”
“You mean…” Morgan started.
She trailed off, too afraid to let herself hope she had understood what Draven meant. He smiled and nodded his head.
“I mean I love you, Morgan. And I know now you’re my one true mate,” he said.
“I love you too,” Morgan beamed.
Draven leaned in and kissed her again, his arms wrapping around her, pulling her against him. This time, she let herself get lost in his kiss, in their love. When the kiss finally ended, Morgan was left pleasantly dizzy, her whole body warm and tingly.
“I should untie you,” Draven smiled.
He began to work on the knots in the ropes.
“You know, Shem said something to me. I didn’t dare to believe it at the time, but now, I think he was right. He said that the enchantment can’t be fought. He said that you came to me because you thought you had a plan to fool your parents, but that really, it was the enchantment
leading you to me,” Morgan said.
Draven finally freed Morgan’s ankles and then he started on her wrists. He smiled up at her.
“I think he was probably right,” he agreed. “I can’t believe it took an enchantment to make me really see what was right there in front of me all along.”
“Better late than never,” Morgan smiled.
Draven freed her wrists and she wrapped her arms around him, kissing him full on the mouth again. When they parted, Draven stood up and helped Morgan to her feet. Already the wounds on her wrists had healed and she felt better than she had ever felt before in her life.
“So, what happens now? What do we tell your parents?” she asked.
“The truth, I guess. But not all of it. Just the part where Shem used you to lure me in and we ended the bastard,” Draven said. He pulled Morgan against him. “I’ll never let you out of my sight again, Morgan.”
She laughed and pulled away slightly so she could look up at his face.
“I’ll hold you to that,” she murmured.
“Come on, let’s get back to the cottage,” Draven said, kissing the tip of Morgan’s nose and then releasing her.
She stood back and they turned. They flew into the air, flying off to start their new lives together.
Epilogue
One Month Later
“How are you feeling, son?” Draven’s father asked him as he finished buttoning up his suit jacket.
“Nervous. Excited. Happy. All of the above,” Draven laughed.
“You have nothing to be nervous about, son. You are going to make an excellent mate and an excellent leader. You dealt with Shem, something your mother and I have been trying to do for years. You saved this pack from certain danger and you did it all for love. I can’t think of a better trait for a leader or a mate,” his father said. He clapped Draven on the shoulder. “I’m proud of you, son.”