From the Ashes (Black Harbour Dragons)

by Jadyn Chase

  I nestled against the beast as he flew over the water back toward Black Harbor. I could smell it in the air. The closer we got, the stronger the aroma of burning meat and cement. It’s the only way I could describe it. That damn city had a stench of never-ending fire and ash. While I hated the idea of going back, I was happy to be going back with Maverick.

  13

  Maverick

  It felt good to have my wings slicing through the wind again. With Addison curled up against my body, and her arms around my neck, I glided through the air. I wish I could stay up here forever, but that wasn’t possible. Even worse? I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it back to Black Harbor.

  I didn’t know what came over me as I dove off that cliff after Addison. What did I know? She didn’t deserve to die crashing into those rocks just under the waves. She didn’t deserve to fall to her death when I was perfectly capable of flying. It hurt like hell, scaling midair like that. The process, in general, was nothing to sneeze at, but coming off of that gas and the serum made it feel like the first time all over again.

  I felt weak. My head was spinning. The wind didn’t feel like it was keeping me afloat anymore. It felt like an anchor on my back. We were so close to the shore. I could see the long dock and abandoned warehouse off in the distance. My eyes felt heavy. Addison began to slip from my grasp. I tried my best to stay up, but I just couldn’t take it anymore.

  I roared into the air as we fell into the ocean. The cold water shocked us both as Addison’s screams sent chills down my body. Staying awake wasn’t even an option as I sunk under the current. I could hear her calling out to me, but there wasn’t anything either of us could do.

  Serenity and peace danced around me as I felt like a feather drifting in the breeze. I didn’t have to be anything but happy as visions of a family and me, that probably belonged to me, lived happily on some land in the woods. I liked the woods, and I liked this family. To my surprise, Addison came out of the house as I worked in the yard. Her belly was enormous as she called something out to me. I smiled and told her I’d be right in. Then I woke up.

  Smells of sage, cinnamon, and salt water greeted me as I opened my eyes. I expected to be floating in the shallows or washed ashore somewhere along the coarse sands of Black Harbor. However, I was in a bed. A comfortable one at that. Turning over to my side, I expected to see Addison lying next to me, but she wasn’t there. I was in this bedroom alone.

  My eyes took a while to adjust. The room’s beige walls were plain, but the door was thick, heavy and dark. I was groggy as I swung my legs over the side of the bed. Once again, I’d been stripped of the clothes I had on. The warmth of the floor was a stark difference from the cold one of the lab. I was glad not to have woken up there. Shaw and Eric would have taken turns torturing me.

  Honestly, I didn’t feel scared. Comfort covered me like a blanket as I made my way toward the door. I heard Addison’s voice, but she wasn’t as calm as I was. She was begging for her life.

  “Please,” she cried, “I didn’t know.”

  “No, no, no,” a woman’s voice countered, “You steal from Aya, now Aya steal your life. No, no, no. No Anthro steals from Aya. No Scaler steals from Aya. You will die.”

  “Please, I swear. Trevor gave me eight vials to create the serum. I didn’t know it came from you. I didn’t know they would bring Maverick into my lab. I didn’t know what Eric would do with it. That one you have is one he created, distorted from my original formula. It’s a gas,” Addison continued to plead with the Emerald Siren.

  Her long hair, down to her feet, swayed as she moved around Addison mixing and stirring some concoction with a mortar and pestle, talking to herself.

  “She’s not lying Aya,” I interrupted her, “She didn’t know that the base of the serum belonged to you until I told her it did. She doesn’t know that Scalers have to come here if they want to shave them. People like Trevor wanted a shortcut.”

  “That is no shortcut to take. That is why it will never work the way they want it to,” Aya told me.

  I shrugged as it made no difference to me, “I know that. I told her as much. She’s cutting out a journey every Scaler must take to get rid of their scales because if they make it to the end of it, that means it’s truly something they want. No quick fix. No easy way out.”

  “I didn’t know,” Addison continued to cry.

  I went to her, lifting her chin up to me, I kissed her tenderly while removing the ropes that bound her. Turning to Aya, I told her, “I owe her my life. It’s only right I save her.”

  Aya stood there, freckles around her eyes like a mask that wrapped around her neck and down her body as she walked around in a sheer silk gown. She could always get the truth out of anyone. She nodded, “Fine but where the other vials, girl?”

  “Whatever’s left of them are back in the lab,” Addison said, “I didn’t have time to go get my stuff and clear out both labs. I had to get back to Maverick. We didn’t have enough time.”

  “But you have enough time to love, yes?” Aya eyed us both. I could feel the irritation burning from inside of her. She decided to let Addison go, releasing her from the ropes that bound her to the chair. Those brilliant light blue eyes with flecks of emerald stared us down. I didn’t have anything to say as she nodded, “Exactly. You do love, but all the while they turn something special into death. We must destroy it. We must destroy it now.”

  “We can bring other Scarlet Wings with us,” I offered, “I just need to get back to Bart.”

  “No,” Aya shook her head, “You love her?”

  The question shocked me; so blatant and upfront. I answered as if Addison wasn’t even there, “Yes, I care for her deeply. I owe her my life.”

  “Bart will kill her. We must destroy the lab. I need to see where it is to make sure it’s all gone. No remnants of my elixir shall remain. I must destroy it all,” Aya insisted.

  Addison interjected, “I think I should come along. I don’t want you two getting lost inside there.”

  “Do you have wings?” Aya asked her.

  “No, but-”

  Aya cut her off again, “Do you breathe fire? Or have scales and talons?”

  “No, but trust me it can be pretty complic-”

  Aya held her hand up to silence her, “Then you slow us down. You already make him crash into water on the way here. He was very heavy to pull out of water in scales. I’m not doing again. You stay here and wait. When Maverick come back, you go with him to settle up with Bart and rest of Scarlet Wings. Maybe he’ll let you live.”

  I knew Bart, and the odds of him letting any Anthro live were slim to none. I didn’t want to think about that right now. We had something bigger ahead of us. Destroying that lab and everything inside was my primary focus. I’d deal with Bart later.

  “So when do you want to head out?” I asked Aya.

  She glanced toward the door, inhaling deeply, “The tide too high. We leave at dusk.”

  “Okay then,” I agreed, “We’ll leave at dusk.”

  14

  Addison

  “What happened?” Maverick asked me once we were alone.

  I sat down on the bed, exhausted and not wanting to talk about much of anything at the moment.

  “Addison,” he said in a softer tone, “Talk to me. What happened over the water? One minute I was flying high and the next?”

  “Well, the short story is we fell, and Aya saved us,” I told him.

  “Why did she tie you up?”

  “When she pulled us out of the water, you were mid-scale. You hadn’t come down from your other half so she made you drink something and you had a reaction to it. I asked her what was wrong and she accused me of giving you something, something that I stole from her. I’ve been using those vials Trevor gave me for years now. I had a case of them, but the last two were used on you and the girl, Avery. We both know how she ended up.”

  “Has Eric ever gotten his hands on any of them?”

  “No. I’ve given
him one or two once they were empty or just about. Only enough for him to do testing but never enough to break it down chemically.”

  Maverick sighed running his fingers through his hair, “That’s probably what he’s working on right now.”

  “If he was able to break the formula down, he would have gotten rid of me a long time ago,” I said.

  Maverick looked at me with a raised eyebrow, “I don’t know about a long time ago, but definitely wouldn’t have kept you on once I arrived.”

  “How was I with you?” I giggled. I had an idea that I was lenient, and far more caring toward Maverick than I was to Eric, but I hadn’t any idea it was so blatant to everyone else.

  “Well, you remember,” he smirked moving closer to me on the bed. “I could smell how wet you got when we exchanged those words about kindness and mercy.”

  “Oh, you mean when you had your fingers around my throat?”

  My center grew moist just thinking about it. Heat rushed to my cheeks, and Maverick leaned on the bed beside me, propping himself up on his elbow while delicately tracing my silhouette with his fingertip.

  “You weren’t scared? I was ready to kill you.”

  “I’m not going to lie. I was a little bit, but that didn’t last long. My nipples got hard, and I think I had to change my panties after that. It was a feeling like never before.”

  “You mean like now,” he motioned with his chin to my hardening nipples. I was horny thinking and talking about it. I nodded, and he licked his lips. The subtle groan coming from the back of his throat signaled something deep inside of me.

  I pushed myself away from Maverick, moving closer to the top of the bed. He followed me with a seductive glare in his eyes.

  “Not here,” my eyes darted toward the door. “What if she hears us?”

  “She doesn’t care and she won’t. I’ll be quiet if you will,” he said kissing me tenderly on the lips. His tongue slipped inside my mouth, chasing my tongue, silently commanding my body to embrace his touch. My face moved to one side as his mouth traveled down to my neck. The softness of his tongue played against the roughness of his hands. Those magnificent hands that grabbed my breasts. He squeezed them gently before running his lips and tongue over them. Flicking my nipples with his tongue, I tried my best to keep my moans quiet.

  The longer he played with my breasts in his mouth, the further south his fingers roamed. Once he was at my center, I parted my legs to give him easier access. It's access he took with two fingers at first and then three. In and out, he stroked the inside of my walls until I climaxed onto his fingers. Just as I was about to cry out in ecstasy, he slipped his fingers out of me and covered my mouth.

  I licked them, sucked them; I didn’t mind the taste of my flesh. A part of me wanted to know what he would be like. I was nervous. My hands were shaky. The heaviness of his hardened cock in my hands almost made me not want to proceed, but I wanted to please him as much as he did me. I began stroking him like a timid baker scared of kneading dough.

  With a forcefulness I didn’t expect, he took my chin between his thumb and index finger, snatching my face to look him in the eyes. He directed me, “If you’re going to do that, don’t be scared. Grab it! Like this.”

  He wrapped his hand around mine, squeezing his erection and moving my hands up and down in a slight twisting motion. He let go once I found my rhythm. His eyes closed and he rolled onto his side allowing me to have my way with him. He understood I was learning and he wasn’t afraid to teach me.

  The more I did it, the more comfortable I got. I peered down at it. It was reddish pink, staring at me, teasing me, taunting me, begging me to taste it. So I did. I moved fast, shuffling down to take him into my mouth. His cock was smooth against my tongue with a hint of saltiness but sweet at the same time.

  “Watch your teeth,” he whispered.

  I opened my mouth wider and used my tongue to guide me up and down his shaft and under the rim of his head. He moaned and groaned as his pelvis writhed against my face. He was enjoying himself, and I was a master. Well maybe not a master, but I was indeed better than I expected my first time around.

  I continued to lick, suck, and slurp every inch of him until I felt his hands on my face, pulling me up to straddle him. I wasn’t expecting to dive right in, but once I felt the pressure of him at my opening, I locked my knees on his sides, pushed up and then slid down. The pressure was too much for me to remain upright, so I leaned forward.

  Maverick cupped my bottom in his hands, slowly moving me back and forth, up and down. I began to get comfortable enough with his size so I could sit straight up again. With my hands planted on his chest, I moved my shins off the bed to sit with my feet planted on the mattress instead. I bounced up and down vigorously until I climaxed again.

  Once I came, Maverick pulled me back down on top of him. My breasts pressed firmly against his chest as he rolled me over to my back and placed his feet on the floor. Pulling me to the edge of the bed, my waist tilted down, and he pushed up. The spot he hit in that position was indescribably blissful. I came every time he hit it. With a smile on his face, it’s as if he knew that did it.

  He continued to thrust in and out of me with his hands grabbing my face; he bent down to kiss me. But, on his way back up he let one hand wrap around my throat, while the other flicked the little nub just above my walls. With every push and pull of his cock inside of me, he squeezed my throat a little tighter. He dove into me a little deeper. He fucked me a little harder. I could barely contain myself, I orgasmed all over him. Watching him, he looked down to see himself moving in and out of my sex which only seemed to push him further. His pupils dilated. His strength and speed increased. Smoke began to billow from his nostrils.

  He pulled out of me and flipped me onto my stomach. Maverick didn’t let my feet hit the ground. Instead, he wrapped his arms under my thighs, spread my legs far apart like handlebars, and took me from behind. I could hear the soft tapping of my flesh against his lap. The wetness of my body reacting to him and every pleasurable moment we were experiencing. It sent me into a euphoric state. I didn’t care anymore. I didn’t care if Aya or anyone else could hear us. I just enjoyed the moment of Maverick pummeling my pussy into a heavenly rhapsody.

  “Oh Maverick,” I cried out.

  I could feel him lean over me, whispering into my ear, “Addison.”

  The sensual vibration of my name dripping from his lips nearly made my eyes roll to the back of my head. We moved again. This time Maverick turned me around to face him. He lifted me into the air before sliding me back down onto his erection. Spinning me around, my eyes remained locked on his until my back hit the wall. He let one of my legs drop with the other folded over the crux of his elbow. He moved up into me. Up and down. Up and down. Back and forth until we were thumping hard against the wall.

  Every single muscle in his body flexed as he pounded in and out of me. A vein bulged just under his skin. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and we moved one last time, back to the bed. He slowed his rhythm down immensely, taking long deliberate strokes. I clenched tight around him, making him moan with as much pleasure as he brought me. Our bodies slowed to a melody only our hearts knew. We moved in sync, with each other, around each other, in and out of one another until finally, we climaxed together.

  Laying next to each other, I knew he’d have to go soon. He’d have to go back to The Rock with Aya and burn that place down. I didn’t want him to go. I didn’t want him to go and get hurt. There was no way of telling what Eric had been able to do in the last few hours since we left.

  “Stay here,” I whispered to him with my head on his chest.

  Maverick stroked my hair, “I have to go back there. You know I do. I can’t leave Shaw and Eric with that lab. Who knows how much of that gas he’s cooked up? I can’t risk that. Besides, Aya wouldn’t hear of that either. It’s her concoction you based the serum off of, to begin with. It’s up to her.”

  I had to accept that my work was indeed a shor
tcut of something Aya had already constructed, and Trevor hadn’t been as honest with me as I was with him. As much as I thought I cared about him, perhaps he was a bit more selfish than I ever wanted to admit. Trying to solve a problem for him, I created a monstrous one for the entire Scaler species.

  15

  Maverick

  While I wished for nothing more than to lay beside Addison reveling in the afterglow of our love, I had a job to do. In the grand scheme of things, I was right. I was right that the Anthros were up to something and that we needed to attack. But I had to admit that if I’d listened to Preston and gotten more intel, there might have been a better way to find out what they were up to. There wasn’t time to go back to the Heads of Clans to tell them what Eric and Shaw were up to. Aya certainly didn’t want to wait.

  The sun set quicker than I had anticipated as she knocked on the door signaling for me it was time for us to go. The expression on Addison’s face tore into me. I didn’t want to leave her here, but she’d done all she could to help Aya and myself get into The Rock undetected. The map she drew us was perfect. Since that was it, I kissed her softly on the lips and with a single wink I told her, “Just watch out for the fireworks. We’ll be right back.”

  I left before she had a chance to say anything. I didn’t want some long drawn out goodbye because I knew that I’d be right back. While I understood the danger set out before us, going in with Aya by my side put my nerves at ease.

  The tide was low as we stepped out of Aya’s dwelling under the docks. Rolling my neck around, back and forth, I flexed to begin scaling, but I stopped. I stopped to watch Aya. There was something spectacular happening right in front of me, and I couldn’t move until she was done.

  Aya stepped into the water with her bare feet. That honey brown complexion glistened in the setting sun as the winds picked up her sheer gown, revealing an amazingly built body to accompany all of that hair trailing down her back. Her curls spun and twisted themselves into a long braid while the gills around her neck grew exponentially around her and down into a V over her breastplate. Silver and teal scales erupted all over her body as thick shimmering pearl colored wings sprouted from her back. The tail of white hair matched the same hues as its Anthro form while a trail of gold scales covered her underbelly.