by Julia Mills
“You sure you don’t need any help?” Kyra asked, staring longingly at the greenhouse.
Anya swatted at her friend’s arm, “Like you would be any help at all.” They both laughed and Anya added, “Get over there and have fun. I’ll holler at you when I’m done.”
Kyra gave her a quick hug then turned, “You’re the best,” she yelled over her shoulder as she practically ran in the opposite direction.
As Anya turned towards the house, she caught sight of the pasture where her pops had taught her to ride. And then, like he knew she was thinking about him, her favorite horse, Romeo, trotted into view. Unable to stop herself, she ran to the gate and threw it open just as the horse met her halfway, nuzzling her cheek. The look in his large charcoal eyes told her he had missed her as much as she had missed him.
Pulling him to the fence, she climbed up a rung and then slung her leg over Romeo’s bare back. It was as if they had never been apart. He galloped for several laps around the pasture and she could feel that he was as happy as she with the wind blowing against their faces. It was almost as good as old times. All too soon, her ride came to an end as Jed walked out of the barn with Romeo’s feed. She thanked the man for his help with her dismount and for taking such great care of her ‘friend’. Making her way back to the house she decided to ask Devon about bringing her horse to the lair.
Anya walked in the kitchen door of the only house she had ever remembered living in and welcomed the smells of home. She was happy to see that Dot had been watering the herbs that sat in the window above the sink and loved the fact that no matter how long her parents had been gone she could still feel their presence. Making her way to the back of the house and up the steep wooden staircase, she thought about Devon and sent him a wave of love through their mating link.
Over the past few days she had been able to talk with Siobhan and had learned so much more about dragon culture, specifically what it really meant to be mated to a Guardsman. Anya had been amazed at the depth and richness of the centuries old race. There were things that the Elder Healer told her that seemed familiar, but most of it was new and incredibly interesting. Anya considered herself extremely blessed to have been literally made to be part of a race of ancient warriors.
As she walked into her room an eerie feeling of déjà vu came over her and the marking on her wrist tingled. She stopped and felt her surroundings like her mom had taught her; nothing more than memories of her childhood and the happiness that had been shared filled her senses. Shaking off the weird feelings, Anya retrieved two suitcases and a duffle bag from the closet and stuffed them full of clothes, accessories, and old pictures. When her room was all but bare, she headed downstairs and into her pop’s office.
Leaving her bags in the hallway, Anya headed directly to the huge painting depicting the landscape outside the very window she stood beside. Carefully sliding the framed canvas to the side, she quickly entered the combination to the safe and took out the heirloom hair combs accented with teardrop opals. Tears filled her eyes as she thought of all the women that had worn the very combs she held in her hands on the most special day of their lives. She reached to shut the safe and once again the marking on her wrist tingled. Trying to ignore it, she spun the dial on the lock and pulled the painting back into place. Instead of fading, the tingling spread up her arm and when she looked at the marking, it appeared to be raised.
Several things happened at once. Devon’s voice sounded in her mind, a dark shadow blocked the sun from the window, and Kyra burst into the room yelling her name. Before she could ask what was going on, the little witch had her by the arm pulling her down the hall and out the kitchen door. With all the commotion she couldn’t make out what Devon was shouting in her head or what Kyra was babbling on about. Grabbing the wooden railing before she fell down the stairs, Anya looked up to see four full grown dragons landing in the pasture beside the barn. She had read tons of books when she was growing up, most of them containing dragons, and not one of the descriptions did what she was looking at justice.
The largest of the group, which by size alone she figured had to be Royce, was a brilliant royal blue with green highlights. There were two silver dragons, each with unique black markings. They had to be brothers and therefore, Aaron and Aidan. But it was the white dragon whose scales seemed opalescent in the sunlight that drew and held her eye. She felt the connection she had with the beautiful beast and knew it was her mate. He was absolutely gorgeous, and as he touched down, she got a look at the curved horns protruding from his head, the imposing row of spikes that started at the nape of his neck and ran to the tip of his tail, where a huge three-sided spade looked as if it could take out a forest with one swipe.
Her inspection of the majestic creatures was short lived as the air around her filled with magic and in the next second Devon was striding towards her in just a pair of jeans, closely followed by Royce, Aaron, and Aidan. She smiled at her mate, still awestruck from what she had witnessed, but the look that he gave made her take a step back. The brick of the house dug into her back as she took in his furrowed brow, downturned lips, and the way he marched up the four steps and placed his hands on either side of her head.
Anya started to speak but Devon lips were on hers before she could think of what to say. He kissed her long and deep, holding her captive with just his mouth. Lost to his kiss, she was shocked when she found herself once again thrown over his shoulder and hauled back into the house. Acting like he knew his way around, Devon walked them straight into the family room and placed her not so gently on the couch, kneeling in front of her. He placed his hands on her thighs and leaned so close she could see blue and green flecks swirling in his turbulent grey eyes.
Their staring contest lasted about five seconds, but felt like a lifetime. She had just started to smile when Devon opened his mouth, “What in the hell are you doing in the middle of fucking nowhere by yourself?”
She felt the smile fall from her face, but not before the thought of kicking him in the balls crossed her mind.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Devon knew he was acting like a raving lunatic, but the harder he tried to keep his mouth shut and hear what Anya had to say, the harder his dragon pushed to take action and the madder he got. How many times had he told her not to go anywhere without him until Andrew was caught? What the fuck had she been thinking? He knew he would never get answers as long as he kept talking, but there was a disconnect between his brain and his mouth, and apparently his mouth still had loads to say.
“Dammit, Anya, were you trying to get yourself captured or killed?”
The look on her face said he should’ve found a way to shut up approximately ten seconds earlier. Her eyes widened, her lips flattened, she took a deep breath and he heard her counting in her head. When she spoke it had a low and ominous ring to it and a part of him thought he actually heard her growl. “Yes, Devon that’s exactly what I was trying to do. I wanted to get captured again because it was just a freakin’ party to be scared out of my mind twenty-four hours a day and made to practice screwed up magic. Oh, and let us not forget being in a coma and thinking I was gonna get eaten by some damned black fog. Best time I ever had.”
She pushed against his chest hard enough that he had to stand to keep from falling on his ass. Anya stood and stepped around him, her voice getting louder every few words. “It couldn’t have been because I knew how tired and busy you were, or how much you wanted us to be able to be mated this week. It couldn’t have been because I wanted to keep a promise to my mom and not have you have to bring me out here to get these.” She thrust her hand out and in it he saw a pair of absolutely gorgeous combs. The exact combs she had told him about. He immediately felt like a dick for losing his temper.
“Of course it had to be because I’m some ditzy broad that you have to watch over all the time” She stood in the doorway and he watched the rise and fall of her shoulders as she took several deep breaths. When she turned the tears in her eyes nearly brought him to hi
s knees. But it was her words that cut him to the quick. “You’re never gonna change and that is why this,” she motioned over her shoulder towards him, “is never gonna work.”
Unable to move, he watched her walk out of the room and heard the kitchen door slam as she left the house. He sank to his knees, and that is where Aaron found him almost thirty minutes later.
“Are you praying or did she kick you?” Aaron joked, but Devon could see the concern on his face.
Not sure how to answer, he spoke the truth, “I fucked up–she ripped out my heart and I’m praying for a way to make it right.”
Aaron sat in the chair beside where Devon still knelt and gripped his shoulder. “You know I got nothing, but I will admit that seeing you lose your shit and not act all Zen makes me feel like you might actually be human.”
Devon snorted and Aaron continued, “But I seem to remember some advice you gave the old guy and it seems like it might work for you too.” His friend squeezed his shoulder before letting go and standing. “You better grovel, my man, and make it good.”
He sat in the same spot for a little while longer and then ventured out to the backyard where Kyra and his brethren were sitting around talking.
The little witch was the first to look up and nodded towards the greenhouse as she said, “Your girl’s in there. Said she wanted to be alone.”
Without a word he walked towards his mate. He wondered if pirates doomed to walk the plank felt like he did in that moment. The sound of singing stopped him dead in his tracks just beyond the corner of the little structure. It didn’t surprise him that Anya had a beautiful voice and it made him feel a little better that the song was a happy one. He listened for a moment longer and realized he was only avoiding the inevitable. He had royally screwed up and it was time to face the music and beg for forgiveness.
Thinking back, he could never remember a time when he was scared of anything before Anya. He and his brethren had battled damn near everything there was to fight, and there had been times the outcome was not a forgone conclusion. But never once had he felt the true, blood curdling fear that was coursing through his body at that moment.
Taking a deep breath, he walked the last few steps and pulled open the door. He knew she heard him from the slight stutter in her melody, but she picked right up and kept her back to him, paying particular attention to a large, flat, clay pot of herbs she was weeding. Her hands deftly pulled the unwanted greenery while leaving the fragrant herbs untouched. It was obviously a task she had performed many times and one that brought her comfort.
Devon had to admit to himself that he had avoided listening to her thoughts or reaching through their link for fear of what he would hear, but listening to her sing and watching her do something she enjoyed made him drop his guard and slowly traveled into his mate’s mind. It wasn’t surprising to him that she was reasoning through what had happened. For the most part, she was giving him the benefit of the doubt, which made him feel just a little more like shit than he had before. Saying a real quick prayer, he closed the distance between them and touched her shoulder.
Anya spun around and speared him with a look that made him second guess his decision to mend fences, but Devon knew it was now or never. “I’m so sorry for what I said and how I acted. If you’ll give me a chance, I really want to explain my actions.”
Seconds ticked by as his mate simply stood and stared. He had stopped listening to her thoughts right before he began speaking and refused to invade her privacy any more than he already had, leaving him to read the emotions as they flashed through her eyes. Most of them were nothing he ever wanted to see again and he chastised himself for putting them there. At least she was still standing there and hadn’t smacked him in the face, something he counted as a blessing. He pressed on, “You know we’ve been digging through the wreckage of that damned mansion for almost four days with no sign of Andrew. I’m not sure I explained how strong Rian’s ability to connect with other dragons is, but he’s super powerful, and if anyone can sense that fucking traitor then it’ll be him. Well, today he felt him. It was subtle, almost like a whisper, but it gave us a starting point instead of just digging around aimlessly like we had been.”
“Aaron, Aidan, and I grabbed every piece of equipment we could and got about ten feet down when Rian got a serious ping on his radar. I’m sure having the traitor’s brothers around helped, but anyway, this time Rian heard a specific thought–one that has us all a bit jumpy. The stupid son of a bitch is about to dig his way out and we have no idea which way he is heading, but he is planning something big as revenge.”
He had Anya’s attention. She was listening to his explanation and in that moment, it was as much as he could hope for. She had taken off her gardening gloves and had her hands folded in front of her body acting as a barrier between them. She had yet to smile, but she also hadn’t told him to go to hell. Put one in the win column.
“I tried to reach you through mindspeak but when you didn’t answer, I figured you were resting but Royce said he couldn’t reach Kyra either. Then Aidan said Grace had said you two left together earlier in the day and still weren’t back. I have to admit I kinda lost my mind.”
“Kinda? Yeah. Kinda.” Was all she said and each word was punctuated with a roll of her eyes.
“Roy and I raced back to the lair, saw the notes you and Kyra had left, and took to the skies. It wasn’t until we were already in the air that I realized Aaron and Aidan were with us.”
He stopped and thought about his next words very carefully. “I’m sorry, really sorry Anya. I know that doesn’t fix what I did. I know it’s happened before and I can’t promise it won’t happen again. Heaven knows we’ve been together less than a week and I’ve already had to apologize three times for the same damn thing, but I swear on my life, I’m trying to give you the space and independence that you need. And I’d like to tell you that it will get better after Andrew is caught, but I won’t lie to you. All I can promise is to try to respect your wishes and most definitely not make an ass out of myself again.”
“Hell, ask any of my brethren. I bet none of them can remember the last time they even heard me raise my voice. They all call me the ‘Zen One’, but since you came into my life the calm flew out the window. I’m restless when you are not by my side, I spend every minute we’re apart wondering what you’re doing and praying that you’re safe. The guys even made me come home the other night because my thoughts were bleeding through my link with them. Know how long it’s been since that happened?” She shook her head right away and he had to hold back his smile when her hands fell to her sides.
“At least a hundred years ago–and it’s all because of you, mo ghra’.” He took a step forward and was rewarded with a tiny grin, but then she raised her hand and placed her palm flat against his chest.
“I know you’re trying, Devon. Believe it or not, I can feel it right here.” She laid her free hand over her heart. “But that does not change the fact that you barged into my home and yelled at me for being there. Not only is that about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of, it’s humiliating. It’s like you don’t trust me to take care of myself or think I’m incapable. Well, I’ve got news for you mister, I’ve been doing it for a long time and I have no plans of stopping any time soon. I may not be a witch or a dragon or anything but a simple human, but my parents taught me a thing or two, and aside from your crazy ass traitor and his stupid wizards, I’ve done a damn fine job of staying out of trouble.”
To emphasize her point, Anya propped her hands on her hips and raised one eyebrow, and he could tell from her stare she was daring him to say otherwise.
A knock on the door had them both calling, “Yes?” and then chuckling as Kyra walked in.
“Sorry to interrupt, but Jed and Dot are out here and we have stalled them as long as we can. Dot felt the magic in the air and saw the shadows so they came over to meet your ‘beau’.” She made air quotes with her fingers and winked when she said beau, which caused Anya
to giggle.
He looked at her and before he could ask she explained, “Jed and Dot were my parents’ oldest friends and part of their coven, not to mention they take care of the house and farm since Mom and Dad died. They’ve always been like another set of parents. We better get out there and meet them before they end up in here with us.”
Anya reached down and grabbed his hand as they headed for the door. She hung back when Kyra exited and turned on her heel, looked him square in the eye, and whispered, “This discussion is far from over.”
Devon groaned a little inside but realized she was still holding his hand as they made their way into the waning sunlight. He was further encouraged when she introduced him to the older couple as her fiancé. Everything seemed to be going fine until he heard Royce’s voice in his head, “This mating shit ain’t easy, is it Bro?”
“There’s the understatement of the year.”
His older brethren’s laugh echoed in his head just as Jed said, “You better take good care of our little one, I know a spell that…”
“None of that Jedidiah,” his wife scolded and swatted his arm as everyone else howled with laughter.
CHAPTER EIGHT
It had been two days since her fateful trip to the farm, and two days since what Anya was calling the ‘defining moment’ in their relationship had occurred. Fighting with Devon sucked and Anya knew she had overreacted, but dammit, she was not going to be ordered around by anyone. No matter how sexy he was or that he made her wet and needy by just being near.
Kyndel, Grace, Sam, and Kyra had commiserated while they celebrated her last night of freedom. They all had tales about the pigheadedness of dragons as mates, especially Kyra, whose story made Anya’s look like a schoolyard spat. Luckily, each had attested to the fact that it had all been worth it. Their words were sweet, but it was the love she heard in their voices and the genuine affection she saw when the couples were together that gave her hope.