“How is Queane? Did she make it back?”
“She’s fine,” he answered quickly. “We heal much faster than you do,” he added. He looked over his shoulder, simultaneously spinning around for her to see. The bruise on his back had decreased in size by half.
“What did else did he say? Is he angry with you? Is he exiling you? Will he have me killed?” her questions flooded out of her mouth quicker than she could mentally process them.
He tried to calm her. “Allison,” he said wrapping his arms around her, “it’s okay.”
“It’s not okay,” she replied quickly. “None of this is okay. I should have stayed back at the caves… or maybe I should have gotten on the ship. I don’t know. But, now… what’s going to happen? What’s going to happen to me? To you? To us?”
“Well,” he said with a quiet laugh, “if you’d let me talk I’ll tell you exactly what’s going to happen.”
She shut her mouth and looked up at him. She still had so much nervous tension running around inside her, that she wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to remain silent.
“You’re going to come back to the caves with me,” he said softly. “And we’re going to start out life together.”
She stepped back, eyeing him. She was waiting for the “but” or the “if” but they didn’t come.
“I can’t go back,” she said weakly.
“You can.” He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him. “It’s okay, Allison. You can come back.”
“But Kasma…”
"He wanted to know if you could be trusted if you could be one of us. And you showed that you can and you are."
“But I didn’t! I left! And I got Queane kidnapped in the process.”
“But then you stood up for her—you protected her. Throughout the entire battle, you were on our side just as much as you were on theirs. You weren’t worrying about who was going to win, you were worried about saving innocent lives—both ours and theirs. You’ve proven that you can be like us; that you are one of us. You’ve shown that you value life, that you value friendship and loyalty. And that’s everything we believe in.”
Her vision blurred again from the tears that were filling her eyes. She squeezed him tightly. “Really?” she asked.
He kissed the top of her head and pushed her back at arm's length, "that is, if you want to, of course."
“Are you joking?” she asked. She jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. “That’s what I want more than anything, Hakona. I just want to be with you. I want to be right here, in your arms—forever.”
He leaned in and kissed her. The feeling of their lips coming together sent a wave of emotions running through her. She was happy, excited, and above all, she felt safe. The warmth of comfort he gave her filled her to her core.
Even being there, amidst the destruction that surrounded them, she felt at peace. She had no way of knowing what would happen going forward. She didn’t know if others from Earth would return.
But, the one thing she knew for sure was that she was going to be with him. That’s all that mattered. As long as they were together, she would always feel the way she did in that very instant. It was pure bliss, and she never had to let it go.
About the Author
Jamie Phoenix enjoys writing Science Fiction and Paranormal Romances. She has been writing stories for as long as she could remember. Jamie really enjoys cooking up a good story that readers will enjoy.
Her recipes for books usually include 2 cups of steamy romance, a dash of an alpha male, 1 strong heroine and a generous amount of happy endings. Mix. Serve. And Enjoy.
When Jamie's not in the her office writing, she's in the kitchen cooking and creating new recipes.
Chapter 1: Don’t Look Back
Holly awoke with a start, heart pounding and a scream building in her throat. As she came to and realized where she was and what was happening, the scream died down, but she was far from calm. Her nightmares were terrible, but the reality of her life wasn’t much better.
She pressed a hand to her chest and dragged in a deep breath, holding it while she counted slowly to five and then exhaled for another five count. It was a trick she’d been using to help counter her anxiety since she was a small child, but it only sort of worked these days. There was just so much to be anxious about.
Outside her door, she could hear voice, but she knew they belonged to Dante and his friends. His ‘pack’ as he called them. A high, feminine giggle rose above the rest of the voices, and Holly closed her eyes and let out another breath.
It wasn’t even noon yet, but Holly already knew what the scene would be like when she went out into the living room. Dante, her boyfriend of five years, sitting in his chair holding court. All of his pack crammed into the tiny living room, hanging on his every word and vying for his attention. Some blonde or redheaded woman sitting on the arm of the chair, draped all over him like it wasn’t well known that Dante had a girlfriend.
He never stopped them, and Holly had enough bruises from trying to tell him how disrespectful it was for him to flirt with other women in the house they lived in together, so she knew she wasn’t going to say anything.
“Where’s Holly?” someone asked from the other room, and Holly froze. She much preferred it when people didn’t pay attention to her in this house, especially when it meant that Dante would come looking for her.
“Probably sleeping,” Dante replied, and it was clear from his tone how much he didn’t care.
“She’s such a frail little thing,” said the woman. “She probably needs the rest.”
There was a ripple of laughter, and Holly felt her face burn hot with shame. She clenched her hands into fists and focused on her breathing.
“Well, she can’t help that,” Dante was saying. “She’s not a shifter. She’s not made to big and strong. That’s why she needs me.”
“She’s so lucky to have you, Dante,” the woman practically purred, and Holly didn’t need to be in there to know that she’d be touching him, stroking fingers down his arm or through his hair, playing to Dante’s ego.
“Try telling her that,” Dante said in reply. “Silly cow don’t know how good she’s got it.”
There was more laughter, but Holly had had enough. She closed her eyes and willed the tears to stay put, pulling her pillow out from under her head and covering her face with it. In her head, she counted as she breathed, willing her hurt and anger and resentment to cool. There was no way she could go out there acting like she was upset. Dante would rip her apart and all of his friends and floozies would bear witness.
She couldn’t take the humiliation, so it was better to just get over it now, in the privacy of her own room.
When she thought that she was under control, she removed the pillow and sighed. Slowly, she dragged herself out of bed. Each movement felt heavy and sluggish, and she wondered if she was getting sick.
Honestly, it didn’t matter.
“Holly!”
She flinched instinctively at Dante yelling her name.
“You’d better not still be asleep in there. Lazy cow. Get up!”
“I’m up!” Holly called back, careful to pitch her voice loud enough to be heard, but not loud enough that he’d think she was yelling at him.
When he didn’t say anything else and there was no sound of footsteps approaching her room, she sighed with relief and made herself move faster.
Her room was the smallest one in the already tiny house, just a bed pushed against one wall, a dresser for her clothes, and a mirror on the other wall. There were no windows and the door led directly into the living room where Dante usually was. It was like a prison cell, and that wasn’t lost on her.
Holly dressed simply, pulling on a pair of shorts and a shirt that was large enough to almost hide the shorts entirely. She felt less exposed like that, and if it weren’t so hot out, she would have pulled on a jacket over the shirt to hide the bruises on he
r arms. She looked down at them in disgust. The finger shaped bruises littering her tanned skin were just proof that her life hadn’t gone the way she wanted it to, and he hated them.
There wasn’t time to dwell on it, though. If Dante got impatient and had to come in and get her, she’d only have more bruises to deal with.
She yanked a brush though her hair and then tied back the riotous mass of dark curls with a headband to keep them out of her face.
A quick glance in the mirror revealed that she looked tired and pale. Dark circles were heavy under her eyes, and her skin was sallow and ashen. But then, she always looked like that. Too little sleep, too little sun, too little reason to smile. Her mouth was almost set in a permanent frown, but there was nothing to be done about that.
Before Dante could call again, she pushed out of her tiny room and stepped into the living room, glancing around quickly.
It was just as she had pictured it in her head. Seven of his pack members sitting on the few pieces of furniture in the living room, and a woman, a blonde this time, draped over Dante in his chair. She was actually in his lap this time, one arm around his shoulders, and Holly swallowed hard and didn’t make eye contact.
“There you are,” Dante said. “What did I tell you about sleeping so late?”
“I’m sorry,” Holly murmured because that was easier than trying to argue with him.
“Don’t be sorry. Just do better. Do we have any bacon?”
She didn’t say that he could have easily gone to check that himself. Instead she glanced up at him and then back down at the floor. “I don’t know.”
“Well, go check,” Dante said, like it should have been the most obvious thing in the world.
The woman in his lap hid a laugh behind her hand, and Holly felt her cheeks heating up. So she fled into the kitchen.
She’d been up for all of fifteen minutes, and already she wanted to cry, but that wasn’t any kind of record.
A quick glance in the refrigerator revealed that they were out of bacon, and Holly’s stomach clenched. Dante wasn’t going to like hearing that, and he was very much a shoot the messenger kind of guy. Especially when the messenger was Holly.
“We don’t have any,” she said, stepping back into the living room.
“Why the hell not?”
“I think…” Holly trailed off, staring at the floor.
“I can’t hear you when you whisper like a mouse, Holly,” Dante said. “Why don’t we have any bacon?”
There was a dangerous edge to his voice, and Holly dearly wished she could just go back to sleep and take her chances with her nightmares. Already the rest of the pack were averting their eyes, so skilled at pretending that their leader wasn’t about to reduce Holly to tears right in front of them.
Holly lifted her chin and looked at him, trying not to tremble. “I think we ate it all,” she said because that was safer than saying what had actually happened was Dante and his pack had eaten it all. Marginally.
“We did?” Dante asked. “You sure you don’t mean you did? While I was at work, you weren’t here eating all my food like a freeloader?”
“No,” Holly replied honestly. While he was at work, she cleaned the house and did the grocery shopping and made sure the bills were paid and whatever other chores Dante laid out for her.
“And now you’re lying to my face.”
There was no way out of this. If she told him she wasn’t lying, then he would get in her face for calling him a liar. If she said that he was right, he’d get in her face for eating all of his food. There was no way to win, and that was an accurate summary of her life in a nutshell. There was no way to win.
She’d thought Dante was dangerous and smooth in all the best ways when she’d left home to be with him, but now she realized that there was no such thing as dangerous in a good way. Danger just got you hurt and trapped.
“I-I’m not lying,” she said because if she was going to get it either way, then she figured she might as well keep her dignity. Although that was easier said than done when she could feel the woman’s eyes on her the whole time.
“So you’re calling me a liar, then?”
“N-no. I just…”
“You just what? You just what, Holly? You thought you could get away with eating all my food? You don’t do anything around here? You sleep all day while I work to make money to keep food in this house, and then when I want to eat it, it’s gone. Because you’re a freeloader, and you’re useless. Why do I even keep you around?”
Holly was going to cry, she just knew it. “I don’t know,” she whispered.
“What?”
“I don’t know! I don’t know why you keep me around if I’m so useless!”
In the silence that followed her outburst, she knew she'd made a mistake. Lashing out at Dante never did anything but make things worse, and that sick feeling of fear only intensified.
He looked at her, dark eyes cold and hard. "You don't talk to me like that," he said. "I do too much for you for you to stand there and talk to me like that."
Holly flinched, already expecting to be hit. To be made an example of in front of his pack. The tension in the room amped up, because all of them knew what was about to happen. They could probably smell her fear and Dante's anger. None of them would do a thing to help her, either. They'd sit there and pretend like they hadn't seen it, just like always.
Dante narrowed his eyes at her and then shook his head. "Get out of my sight, Holly. I'll deal with you later."
That never meant anything good, but Holly fled anyway, taking the opportunity that was presented to her. She shut her door behind her with a click and then climbed back into the bed, curling up and listening over the pounding of her heart.
Someone said something, too low for her to hear, and then Dante laughed, though it was a harsh sound. The woman murmured and then the laugh softened, and it was like another blow.
Looking back, Holly couldn’t even pinpoint when things had started to go so bad, just that they had ended up like this. She missed the days when they were different. When she was the one in Dante’s lap while he held court. When he said he loved her and it felt like he meant it. When he didn’t use her fear and human nature against him.
People always told her that shifters were just like humans, only with extra powers and animal hearts, but Holly stopped believing that a long time ago. Most shifters were bullies who liked to use their advantages against humans.
She was living proof of that.
At some point she must have dozed off, still curled into a tight ball on her bed, because when she opened her eyes again, the house was quiet and her limbs were stiff. She stretched and groaned softly, listening hard before she moved again.
The house was only this quiet when no one was there, and something like hope leapt into her heart, foreign as it was.
Carefully, she crept to the door, careful not to step on any of the floorboards that would creak. Holly pressed her ear against the door and listened hard, but there was no sound from the living room.
Swallowing hard, she eased her door open and peered into the living room. Empty. From the sound of it, there was no one in the kitchen or the other bedroom either, and she heaved a sigh of relief.
Dante leaving her punishments for later always meant that they would be worse, but for the moment, she was alone and safe.
Not that it would last long because who knew when he would come back.
Honestly, she was so tired of it. Tired of living her life on the knife edge of terror. Tired of being treated like a criminal and a burden by someone who had promised to love her, who had taken her away from her family with pretty words and bald faced lies and then turned into a monster right before her eyes.
Why was she even still there?
...why was she still there? At one point she’d hoped that there was something she could do to make Dante go back to being sweet and loving, but nothing worked and he mocked her for trying. When he came home, he was going to hit
her and blame her for his bad mood and then try to kiss her and tell her she had to do better.
It was a cycle that never broke between them, and nothing would ever break it as long as he was still there.
So why are you still here? went the voice in her head, and the reality of it hit her like a ton of bricks.
As long as she was there nothing would change.
She had to get out.
All at once it was like there wasn’t enough air in the room, and her chest heaved as she fought for breath. The idea of running was terrifying. She’d already run away from her family, and they’d made it very clear that if she left she shouldn’t bother coming back. They wouldn’t have any sympathy for her, either. They’d told her that she shouldn’t trust a shifter in the first place, but Holly had been convinced it was love and gone anyway.
Now she didn’t have any friends or anywhere to go, but she knew she couldn’t stay where she was.
A second later she was bolting back for her room. She grabbed her duffel bag and began shoving her clothes into it. All she really had were clothes and a few things that she’d brought with her from home when she’d come here to live with Dante.
She knew he had a stash of money hidden in his bedroom, but she wasn’t allowed in there, and she didn’t want anything from him anyway. Stealing from him would just give him more reason to come after her.
Holly gathered up everything she had and counted out her change. If she was lucky, she’d have enough money to take the bus away from here. Maybe wherever she ended up someone would take pity on her and help her get to another state. Just far enough away that Dante wouldn’t want to waste time finding her. After all, if she was so useless, then he shouldn’t even want her back, right?
He could just have whatever women he wanted and be free of her.
Checking to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, Holly drew in a deep breath. She hadn’t been afraid to walk out on her family, but she was terrified of this. Five years was a long time to be with someone, even someone like Dante, and as awful as things usually were, it was a constant. It was what she knew.
Hakona: Dragon Warrior (Scifi Alien Dragon Romance) Page 17