Saved By Her Dragon

by Julia Mills

  Anya was shocked when the clock on the mantel chimed four times. What had felt like an eternity of pain had taken less than ten minutes. Hovering between consciousness and delirium, she reached for Devon with her mind and was glad to find him blessedly dreaming of children that resembled the perfect combination of them both. Lulled to sleep by the tick of the clock, she was immediately jerked awake when the fire that had threatened to overtake her just moments before returned with a vengeance.

  The ball of fire not only surged within her body but also all around. It felt as if the blood in her veins boiled and her heart would burst from her chest. A compulsion so powerful it broke through the pain forced her to her feet and drove her out the front door to the clearing just past the row of trees that surrounded Devon’s home. Anya fell to her knees, the sticks and pebbles digging into her hands and legs.

  Struggling to breath, unable to see more than shadowy shapes, she screamed for her mate with her mouth and mind. His answering roar assured that he had received her distress call and was racing to her side. Her vision darkened to a single fuzzy dot in the distance just as her lungs seized in her chest. She pitched forward, her cheek hit the ground, and darkness overtook her just as she felt Devon’s hands on her body.

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  Devon awoke to an empty bed and complete silence blanketing the house. He called to Anya through their bond, received no reply, and then yelled her name. He had made it two steps from the bed when her cry of pain and fear rang loud and clear in his head and his ears. Following their mating bond, he flew down the stairs, burst through the front door, and ran as fast as his enhanced speed would carry him until he found Anya in the clearing, naked and unconscious.

  Pulling her into his lap, holding her to his chest, he bellowed, “SHE’S FADING! I can feel it! Please help me, I think she’s dying!”

  The answering calls from all his brethren filled his head. Lance yelled, “I’m bringing Sam and we’re grabbing Siobhan.”

  Time stood still as he rocked back and forth, Anya limp and cold in his arms, barely breathing. He whispered words of love and comfort, pouring all his strength and healing powers through their bond while he prayed to the Heavens for her safety. The sounds of footsteps approaching from all directions reached his ears as Anya gasped and bowing up, pushed off his lap.

  Devon scrambled after her as blood-curdling screams poured from her lips. Magic stronger than he had ever felt filled the air, stinging his naked skin and making it difficult to breath. His brethren called their arrival through the haze surrounding them, but his eyes were glued to his mate as she lifted just slightly off the ground, as if hanging from invisible wires. He reached to pull her from her magical bonds when a bright light exploded, temporarily leaving him blind and deaf.

  Rough hands pulled at his arms and shoulders, dragging him away from the last place he had seen his mate. Everything went deadly silent but still he struggled against his brethren while he and his dragon roared their insistence to be with Anya.

  Aaron’s voice cut through the chaos, “Open your fucking eyes, Devon! You are not gonna believe this shit!”

  His eyes flew open. At first blurry, his sight immediately cleared, but what he saw had him not only doubting his vision but also his sanity. There, standing not fifty feet from where his bare ass sat on the cold hard ground stood a full grown, female, green dragon.

  She was absolutely gorgeous. Smaller than his dragon in height and weight, more compact but imposing nonetheless. The creature before him was absent horns on her snout or head possessing only a row of short but deadly spikes running the length of her spine and tail ending into a three-sided Caudal spade, not unlike his own. He had no doubt of the power lurking within her and could feel it begging to be unleashed. His dragon pushed hard at his confines, growling within Devon’s head to be allowed an up close and personal meeting with their mate’s new form. Her light green scales with just a touch of blue were an exact match for the woman’s eyes and glittered in the moonlight. One look into the glowing crystalline eyes trying hard to focus told him the gorgeous beast before him was his mate, even as his mind struggled to make sense of what had just happened.

  “Devon? I’m scared. What’s happening? Where am I?” Anya asked, her fear a living being between them. Hearing her fears and knowing that she thought she was once again trapped in magic, Devon stood and took a step towards her.

  The wellbeing of his mate took precedence over all else. Not caring who saw his nudity, Devon strode towards the beautiful creature that was his mate, speaking as he went. “I’m here, mo chroi’. I’m here. I know you’re scared but you’re gonna have to trust me and not freak out. Can you do that?”

  “Yes…but Devon…”

  “Stay with me, Sweetheart.” he interrupted, stopping a few feet from her paw and then adding, “Now, look down at your foot.”

  She resisted for just a second before following his instruction. He watched and listened as the beast before him lowered her head. The bond between them was deeper than before allowing him to see what she saw. The picture of a dragon’s paw shone large and bright in her mind while she worked hard to make sense of it. “Devon? But I…? What is…? Am I…?” she whimpered.

  He moved under her massive head, making eye contact and letting her see that he loved her just as much in that moment as he ever had and he would take her any way he could get her. “Yes, mo ghra’. You are dragon.”

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  Anya was shocked as every Guardsman and all their mates came forward, touched her paw, and offered their love and support. She could feel their confusion that matched hers, but she also felt their unconditional acceptance. She wasn’t sure if dragons could cry but knew her eyes filled with tears. Siobhan was the best, offering as much explanation as she could. “It would seem the mark on your wrist was a clue we all missed,” the healer chuckled. “We know you were adopted; now we just have to find out where your birth parents came from, other than the obvious Green Dragon Clan. I was a young girl, just barely mated to Gareth, when they were savagely attacked and all of dragon kin believed them lost to us forever. There are several books that detail dragon heritage in which I am sure I can find out more of your special lineage, mianach ini’on. I trust you two have things to deal with so I will go to research and return as quickly as I know more.”

  It was Kyra’s words that gave the most comfort and pretty much put her situation into perspective. “Well, we know what all that magic was hiding.”

  Nerves almost overtook her when Carrick and the other Elders appeared and offered congratulations. Malachi, the Spiritual Elder gave thanks to the Heavens for not only the first female dragon in nearly a thousand years, but also the return of the Green Dragons, long since taken from the Earth by their enemies.

  Carrick told of a story he had heard on several occasions, but until that moment had dismissed as fiction. He said, “An older dragon I was called to give last rites to told of a female dragon, one of the last and mate to the Commander of the Green Dragon Guard Force, which escaped the fighting when her clan was attacked. She took refuge in the caves high above her homelands where most never dared to venture.”

  “Soon after her exile, she realized she was pregnant and in due course gave birth. Unfortunately, without proper nourishment, the added strain of caring for her young, and a harsh winter, she fell ill. Using what little magic she had left, she concealed herself and her child from detection and left the caves. Her condition worsened as she traveled and she began to count her remaining days. Fearing for her child’s safety, she came upon a couple overflowing with white magic and kindness. With her last bit of life, she placed the child on their doorstep and hid in the bushes until she was sure they had retrieved the baby.”

  “Knowing her child was safe and would be cared for, she made her way into the woods and perished, returning to the Earth as is our way. I believe you may be that child, Anya. We, the Elders, will do whatever we can to assist you. Know that we are here for
you always, mianach ini’on.”

  Carrick stepped back and Zachary came close, also assuring her they would be assisting Siobhan in the search for her lineage. The oldest of the Elders confirmed Carrick’s story, letting her know he had heard it on several occasions and would contact anyone he knew that might remember. He also called her mianach ini’on, which Devon told her meant ‘daughter mine’.

  It was Riordan standing guard, looking every bit the General he was that shocked her the most. He knelt before her paw and looked up right into her eyes. His eyes took on the vertical slit of his dragon and he growled low in his throat, speaking directly into her mind and Devon’s, “You carry a heavy weight, beag amha’in, you bring hope where it was thought long gone. I will be your sword, should you ever need it. Your mate is formidable and one I admire above all others, but know that I protect you both and any that come from your union with my very life.”

  He unsheathed his sword, drew it across the palm of his hand and placed it on her paw, “This is my blood, willingly shed as will always be the case.”

  Without another word, he stood, shook Devon’s hand as she had seen the other Guardsmen do and then walked to the far edge of their circle, holding his sword at the ready as he had promised.

  Devon’s voice in her mind calmed the chaos, “They are all going to be here to help you with whatever you need. Whatever we need.”

  “What did Riordan call me?”

  “He called you beag amha’in. It means Little One.”

  They both chuckled at the way things had come full circle right before Sydney came running towards her. In all the confusion, Anya hadn’t realized that she hadn’t seen the little girl.

  “Anya! Anya! Look at you!! I knew you were something cool, just couldn’t see the picture,” Sydney screamed as her little blonde curls bounced all around.

  Without any fear the child climbed up on her paw and motioned for her to bend her neck. When Anya paused, afraid she would hurt the child, Devon instructed, “It’s just like bending your neck any other time, only now you have more of it to bend. Go slow and don’t let your head fall forward.”

  Following his directions to the letter, Anya lowered her head until it was almost on the ground, and her eyes were just shy of Sydney’s. The girl reached out and stroked the soft scales under eyes, cooing as she spoke. “You make a pretty dragon, Anya. I can’t wait to watch you fly.”

  “Me too, Syd. Thank you,” she thought towards the child and was rewarded with a huge smile letting her know Sydney had heard her words.

  As the sweet girl climbed down she said, “I love you, Anya.”

  “Love you too, Syd.”

  It was only a few minutes before Devon began shooing everyone away, telling them he needed to be alone with his mate. After another round of goodbyes she and her mate were finally alone in the clearing.

  It took several hours, coupled with her mate’s impenetrable patience and unyielding strength, but Anya finally came to terms with her new state of being. Along the way she learned to walk without leveling everything in her path, to lie down without falling over, and to spread her wings. She had asked to fly but Devon had chuckled and said, “Maybe you should learn to turn back into the beautiful woman I mated first.”

  And that was the hard part–returning to her human form. Devon told her to picture what she looked like as a woman and pour her dragon magic into that thought, which proved to be way harder than it sounded. She watched as he changed back and forth over and over, making it look effortless, but still she remained a dragon. Dropping to her haunches and huffing smoke, she complained, “I’m gonna be a dragon forever.”

  Devon laughed, which sounded really weird coming from a thousand pound dragon and said, “Then we’ll be dragons together.”

  “That’s not the point,” she whined, embarrassed at her weakness, but seriously scared she wasn’t going to able to change back.

  “Anya, open your mind completely to me. Just like it was when you first transformed,” Devon commanded, and without thought she obeyed.

  “See the image of me in human form?” he asked with his tone less stern.

  “Yes.”

  “See you standing next to me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Now, feel the path my magic takes.”

  She felt, as well as saw his dragon magic travel along an invisible thread and fill the picture with life. Her magic followed the same path, and from one breath to the next, she turned from dragon to woman and found herself in the arms of her mate.

  After showering, eating, and making love on every available surface, they fell asleep on the couch, only to be roused by a knock at the door. Grumbling about people showing up uninvited and unannounced, Devon opened the door to Aaron, Lance, and Rory with only a towel around his hips. Thankfully, Anya had kept the robe she’d worn after their shower close by and had thrown it on while her mate searched for his towel.

  Not waiting to be invited in, Aaron slipped past Devon and plopped down on the couch right next to her. “So how’s life, vibria?” He asked in a chuckle.

  “Vibria?”

  “Female dragon. You know…. your newest soul mate?”

  She hadn’t thought about it that way but she guessed he was right. There was a feeling of another consciousness residing in her soul and she stored that information along with several questions away for the next time she and her mate were alone. Not sure she should share the fact that Devon had found a small tattoo, the exact likeness of her dragon on the back of her left shoulder, she decided to wait. But she still smiled when she remembered how the marking had raised and moved against her skin as he had kissed it.

  Remembering Aaron was waiting for an answer, she hurriedly said, “It’s cool…weird…but cool.”

  “Yeah, I bet.”

  Devon’s shout interrupted their conversation, “What the fuck? When were you gonna tell me? The shithead is loose?”

  Lance backed away, raising his hands in surrender as Rory answered, “Don’t kill the messengers. Rian heard the traitor’s thoughts for just a second right after you put out the call that Anya was in trouble. He ran off to follow the trail as soon as he saw your mate’s dragon. Rayne and Aidan followed when you sent us all away.”

  Lance picked up the explanation, “The three of us have been hanging out, pretty much driving Sam and the girls crazy, waiting for information. Aidan finally sent word that they have a scent, so we headed this way to see if you two had come up for air.” He paused and turned to Anya, “The girls said to pack a bag and head over whenever you’re ready. And I should warn you that Sydney is about to go nuts waiting to ask you what it feels like to be a dragon, so be prepared.”

  “No worries,” Anya laughed and looked to Devon. “You better get ready and go catch yourself a traitor.”

  He shook his head as he walked towards her, sitting next to her before he responded, “Nope. I’m staying with you. We were just mated yesterday. You found out you were a dragon shifter and went through your first transformation. There is no way I’m going anywhere. My place is at your side.”

  Turning towards him until she was almost in his lap, Anya looked right into his eyes and said, “Devon Walsh, you will go with your Force and hunt down the stupid son of a bitch that has caused so much pain and hurt so many people.” He started to interrupt, but her index finger on his lips stopped his retort and she continued, “I know exactly what we’ve been through in the last twenty-four hours, but that does not negate the fact that the little shithead needs to be stopped and you guys are stronger when you work together. I’ll be fine. You can even drop me off at Lance and Sam’s on your way out and I promise to stay put until you get back, deal?”

  “Deal,” he reluctantly agreed, his eyes promising they would continue the conversation when they were alone.

  “Great!” Aaron clapped his hands as he stood and walked towards the door. “We’ll meet you lovebirds at Casa de Kavanaugh,” he called over his shoulder. “Head ‘em up and move �
��em out,” he said as he pushed Rory and Lance out the door, shutting it as he went.

  She and Devon looked at each other and in unison said, “Something’s up with Aaron?”

  Devon barked out a laugh as he pulled her onto his lap, kissing her neck before she could react. Still giggling, Anya pushed against his chest, “Hey, we’re supposed to be getting ready to go.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah…in a minute,” he mumbled against her neck in between kisses. When his lips touched her mating mark, heat shot directly to her pussy and all thoughts of anything but the delicious man she was destined to spend her life with evaporated. She sighed, letting her head roll to the side to grant him greater access. The bell on the beautiful necklace he placed around her neck jingled at the movement.

  She felt Devon smile against her neck right before, “See, told ya…” floated through her mind. Followed by, “Is breá liom tú anois agus go deo”

  Life just did not get any better…

  EPILOGUE

  It had been two weeks since Devon had bellowed his distress call across their mindspeak, fearing his mate was dying. Two weeks since Aaron had made a lame excuse to the woman he knew was to be his and had sped away into the night to help a brethren, only to see the first female dragon in nearly a thousand years. Two weeks since he had shared an incredible kiss with his mate. And…more importantly…two weeks since the one the Universe had made for him had run away, traumatized from what she had just witnessed and knowing the most guarded secret of his entire clan.

  Aaron had been happier than he thought possible when Dr. Charlene Gallagher had agreed to dance with him during the reception following Devon and Anya’s mating ceremony. The party was still going strong even though the couple had fled hours earlier. Dragons liked to party and especially if it was in celebration of something as monumental as one of their own finding his mate and making it official.