Hidden Dragon

by Harmony Raines

  Jax closed the gate behind them. “I’d help you build a cabin up here.”

  “Are you sure you can spare the time?” Fleur asked. “Won’t your harem miss you?”

  “If I give them a smoldering look, they’d come up here and help me build anything I wanted.” Jax furrowed his brows, his eyes darkening as he pursed his lips.

  “I’m immune.” Fleur shook her head and laughed at him as she followed him through the gate and then helped him shut it and secure it. Not that it was fit for purpose. The next storm to break over the mountains would likely break it to pieces.

  “All I want is to meet the one.” He looked sideways at Fleur as they trekked deeper into Woodacre. “What about you?”

  “What about me?” Fleur asked, shielding her eyes from the late afternoon sun as she looked up at a tall pine tree. “These trees have been here for so long. I bet they would know if there was a ruined house up here.”

  “You are changing the subject,” Jax told her.

  She sighed, wanting to think of log cabins and campfires, not an elusive mate who would want her to breed babies, while she wanted a career and to carve out her own life. “I don’t know. I can’t ever see me being a wife, let alone a mother. I want to live my life first. I want to see the world.”

  “Finding your mate does not mean you won’t have a life of your own. When I find my mate, I’d be supportive of whatever she wanted to do.” He stopped walking and Fleur turned to face him.

  “But not everyone is you, Jax. You know that’s why women practically throw themselves at you.” She waved her hand up and down, pointing at him from his head to his feet. “You are the ultimate package. You have it all, good looks with a generous spirit.”

  “And I’m sure fate has the perfect man picked out for you.” He inclined his head toward the thickening trees. “Want to run bear foot with me?”

  Fleur snort laughed. “I take it back. You are a goofy guy.”

  “And that is why we get along so well.” With that, Jax shifted into his bear and leaped forward, crashing through the undergrowth. There were no well-worn trails across Woodacre, it was as if the place had been lost in time.

  Fleur watched as the large grizzly loped off into the trees, then she released her own bear and followed. She didn’t know what fate had in store for her, but unlike every other shifter she knew, Fleur was in no hurry to find out.

  Chapter Two – Fleur

  Fleur ran after Jax, her bear thrilled to be free out here on the mountainside. Being a bear made everything so simple. All her bear craved was food and water and a nice warm den. She gave no thought to career paths and standing on her own two feet or carving out a future for herself.

  With some effort, Fleur decided to embrace her bear logic and ignore all the nagging thoughts that crowded in on her lately. This afternoon was a gift. A time to enjoy freedom, when she would normally be catching up on paperwork. She pushed away her concerns about Mr. Preston and whether he was about to tell her he was closing his real estate business. She didn’t want to dwell on what this might mean for her future.

  Her bear was in complete agreement and slammed those thoughts out of her head as she weaved in and out of the trees, following the trail made by Jax as he forged a path through the undergrowth. They were going to enjoy their visit to Woodacre, and not dwell on the future, or the past. The weather was glorious, and Fleur needed to get outside of her own head and just enjoy herself.

  Jax ran to the south, heading uphill, yet as they ran, something pulled Fleur to the northwest. It was as if a voice inside her head was beckoning to her.

  A sense of unease swept over her. Whatever was out here wanted to reel her in like a fish caught on a hook.

  Fleur stopped running and shifted back to her human form before pulling her phone from her pocket and studying the shaded area on the map. A few minutes later, Jax’s bear, realizing Fleur was no longer following him, retraced his steps and came to stand in front of her, his head cocked as he studied her.

  “We need to go this way.” She pointed to the northwest, even though the map indicated the ruins were more to the south. “I have a feeling. I know it sounds stupid, but I can’t shake it.”

  Fleur shrugged at Jax, who shifted back to his human form, his face clouded in concern. “Are you okay? You look pale.”

  “I don’t know,” Fleur answered truthfully.

  “Maybe we should go back to the car. I can come back alone and take a look around then give you an update if I find anything.” Jax placed his hand on her arm and guided her back toward the gate where the sanctuary of her car awaited.

  “No!” Fleur shrugged him off before turning an apologetic smile on him. “Sorry, I’m not sure what came over me.” She looked over her shoulder toward the direction she needed to go. “I can’t walk away from this.”

  “Walk away from what?” Jax asked.

  “Whatever it is that is whispering my name.” Fleur patted Jax’s hand that still rested on her shoulder. “I have to go and take a look.”

  “Then let’s go.” His hand slipped off her shoulder. “I’m not letting you go alone.”

  Fleur inhaled deeply and as she let it out, she flung her arms around his neck. “Thank you.”

  “Come on.” Jax gave her a sidelong look of concern but there was also something else mingled in with it. Something she could not define.

  Swinging around, she shifted in midair and led Jax in the direction of…what? Fleur had no idea what was calling her, all she knew was it reminded her of a story her dad once read to her about a siren. Was the voice in her head pulling her toward her doom?

  The two bears ran side by side, Jax not letting his sister out of reach, let alone out of sight. Could he sense something she couldn’t?

  Pushing her senses out further, she felt something brush her mind. It was new and yet familiar.

  Panic gripped her as the first flicker of recognition hit her.

  Her bear slid to a halt and Fleur fought for control. She wanted to turn around and run away from the thing that was in front of her.

  Fate.

  Her fate was before her, only a hundred feet or so more and she would come face to face with it.

  Jax pushed her on as her bear swung her massive head around to stare at her brother. He knew. Or at least, he suspected what was happening.

  Her mate.

  Jax took the lead, pushing through the undergrowth. She wanted to call him back, to tell him not to venture any closer. At least, the human side of her did. The bear side of her wanted to explore further. Her primal need to find her mate pushed her on, not allowing the human mind to take control.

  They were so close. Any minute now they would burst out of the trees and he would be there. Her mate. Her fate. Her destiny.

  But as they crossed the tree line and entered a clearing, there was nothing there, only nesting birds who flew off in alarm.

  Jax stopped and lifted his head, sniffing the air. Could he sense a presence, too?

  There was something here. Something old.

  The hackles stood up along the length of Jax’s back. Unafraid, he took a couple of steps forward, his nose to the ground like a sniffer dog.

  Fleur’s bear followed, but she didn’t need a scent, she could sense what was here. Only what was supposed to be here…wasn’t.

  Confused, her bear looked around, but all she could see were trees and shrubs. There was nothing here. No ruins. No mate.

  An eerie shiver passed through Fleur. No one had been here for years. There were no tracks through the undergrowth. Not even a trail left by creatures searching for food. It was as if there was a large keep out sign that every creature obeyed.

  There is nothing here, Fleur told her bear.

  Our mate is here, her bear replied, but she didn’t know where.

  Jax walked forward, placing each paw carefully on the layer of rotting leaves, searching for the same thing Fleur could sense. He wore the same frustrated expression when he returned to
Fleur’s side. With a sigh of exasperation, he shifted into his human form.

  “We’ve haven’t found the ruins. But there’s something else here. You can sense it, too, can’t you?” Jax asked, studying her face.

  Fleur nodded, not ready to answer the questions Jax wanted to ask. How could she when she had no answers? But Jax was here because she asked him to accompany her. She owed him an explanation. But what explanation was there?

  She’d made a mistake.

  No, we haven’t, her bear replied firmly. This is exactly where we are supposed to be.

  So, where was he? Where was her mate? If fate had led her to this very spot, where was the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with?

  Fleur needed to talk this through, or else she would always be called back to this place.

  The air shimmered with charged electricity as she shifted back into her human form. “I don’t understand.”

  “What do you feel?” Jax asked.

  “I don’t know exactly, it’s as if I was being pulled here by some invisible force. An irresistible force.” She gave him a weak smile. “I thought my mate was waiting here for me.” Her brow wrinkled. “Is that what you felt, too?”

  Maybe it’s a shifter trap, her bear suggested anxiously.

  “No, that’s not what I can feel.” He hunkered down and placed his hand on the ground. “It’s something else. Something…old.”

  Fleur tried to think of a clever retort, but her brain was too consumed with the need to drop to her knees and dig in the dirt until she found what she was seeking. “It’s down here.”

  As she said the words, the ground beneath her feet shook as if the very mountain moved. Which was impossible, she knew it was impossible. However, that didn’t stop the earth from crumbling as a sinkhole opened up ten feet away from her, sucking in a small pine tree and a holly bush as it grew bigger.

  “Fleur, give me your hand.” Panic laced Jax’s voice as he stretched out his hand to grab hold of her. She froze as the ground beneath her feet gave way. The need to disappear with the dirt, to slide down into the hole opening up beneath her feet, overwhelmed her.

  What she wanted, what she desired, was down there.

  “Jax.” At the last moment her instinctive drive for self-preservation kicked in and she leaped toward Jax, her hand reaching out for him, but it was too late. Her fingers brushed against his and she slid downward along with the dirt and stone. Down into the deep unknown.

  Yet even as she struggled to breathe, a thrill of excitement filled her. This is exactly where we are supposed to be, her bear said in her head.

  No, it’s not. I’m not dying today. Fleur fought against the inevitable, clawing at the sides of the sinkhole that was now five feet wide. As she slid further down, she could hear Jax calling out her name, but she was powerless to stop the slide into the underworld.

  And an underworld it was. Once she’d slid through a layer of dirt and stone, she hit a pocket of empty air, before thudding to the ground. Instantly alert, she forced herself to stand ready for whatever was down there.

  But she wasn’t afraid.

  Because we already know what is here waiting for us, her bear said confidently.

  She was right. But Fleur wasn’t ready for who, or what, her mate was. Because there, rising up on its haunches, head pulled back as it stared down at her, was a dragon.

  He’s magnificent, her bear practically drooled at the sight of the shimmering scales and flaming fire which lashed at his throat.

  He’s a dragon. I didn’t know any more dragons existed. Fleur took a step forward, her hand outstretched as the large dragon head snaked down toward her. She wasn’t afraid, which might be stupid since he could incinerate her on the spot if he wanted to.

  But he didn’t want to. He was her mate. She could see it in his eyes.

  Fleur swallowed down her panic as the dragon opened his mouth slightly and breathed out a plume of hot air. Instinctively, she took a step back as the dragon breath swept over her. “Nice.” She fanned her face as the smell of sulfur caught in her throat.

  The dragon bowed his head and looked at her with his amber eye. Fleur looked right back, refusing to be intimidated. If this was her mate, she didn’t care that he could turn into a mythological creature and burn her to ash if he chose to.

  “Can you shift?” Fleur asked, because as magnificent as the dragon was, she couldn’t exactly have a conversation with him or take him home to meet her parents.

  The dragon stepped backward, his head swooping from side to side as he moved. His feet were massive, with sharp talons like a bird of prey.

  I’ll be his prey, her bear said dreamily.

  I always thought you would be happiest with another bear as our mate, Fleur said.

  So did I. But no one mentioned dragons. Her bear had a point.

  Their conversation ended as the air charged with electricity. The dragon was about to shift, and they were about to see the other side of their mate for the first time.

  What if she didn’t like him? Surely, she should have a choice as to who she lived the rest of her life with. But the pull of her mate eclipsed those thoughts. There was no getting out of this mating bond. They were meant to be together.

  The hairs on the back of her hand stood on end as the air began to shimmer around the dragon, like a heat haze on a hot summer’s day. She held her breath, waiting for the dragon to disappear and be replaced by a man.

  Will he be wearing robes? her bear asked. Or maybe a suit of armor. We could have our very own knight in shining armor.

  But as the dragon disappeared and the man who was her mate slowly materialized in his place, Fleur’s attention was drawn to the pile of shiny gold coins and jewels beneath his feet.

  “Dragons really do have a hoard of treasure.” Fleur’s eyes fixed on the treasure before she lifted her head and saw another kind of treasure. Her mate.

  He looked her up and down, and then said, “Why are you wearing men’s pants?”

  “And hello to you,” Fleur said hotly. This was not how she expected her first meeting with her mate to happen. She hadn’t expected unicorns and rainbows, but neither had she expected to be standing underground, covered in dirt, with a large man, clothed in what looked like peasant clothes, looking at her with disapproval.

  I’d still take him to bed, her bear swooned.

  Unfortunately, despite everything, Fleur’s body kind of agreed. Heat crept over her skin as she caressed his broad shoulders and chiseled chin with her gaze.

  But she had never let her heart rule her head and this was not going to be an exception. Because if her mate disapproved of women wearing pants, he would also disapprove of his mate carving out a career of her own.

  But if he thought she was going to stay at home and breed him a flock of baby dragons, he was sorely mistaken.

  Chapter Three – Doran

  She was his mate. Of that he was certain. As for everything else…

  He looked around, unsure of where he was. Or how he got here. His brow creased as he fought to remember anything before being woken by the nearness of his mate only minutes earlier.

  No. Nothing.

  That wasn’t true. Doran. His name was Doran.

  Oh, he also knew his mate must be in some kind of disguise because she wore pants and a coat made of fabric he’d never seen before. Perhaps it was a cloak of invisibility made by a sorcerer?

  “Where are we?” Doran asked, looking up at the ceiling above his head. It had collapsed in on itself when he woke up and spread his wings.

  “We are underground,” his mate began as she took a step toward him

  “Underground where?” Doran asked.

  “Woodacre. The area of land above us is called Woodacre. How long have you been here?” She stepped carefully over his treasure, trying not to displace the gold and jewels. Doran leaned down and picked up a handful, letting them trickle out of his hand.

  “These are mine.” He scooped up two handf
uls and let them pour back onto the pile. “I can sense it. It sings to me.”

  “Yes, at least I assume so since dragons are meant to have a pile of treasure. According to fairy tales. Although singing treasure was never mentioned.” His mate stopped a few feet away from him. She was tall, her hair pulled back from her face. A face that had paint on it. Doran leaned forward to inspect her red lips, trying to control the urge to grab her around the waist and pull her close so that he could kiss those painted lips.

  “There are fairies here?” he asked absently.

  She frowned, a line wrinkling her flawless brow. “No, a fairy tale is a made-up story. One you read to a child at bedtime. At least my mom used to read them to me.” She pursed her lips, her eyes moving to one side as if she were seeking more words to speak. “Did your mom read you stories?”

  “No. At least, I don’t think so.” He forced his concentration onto one pinpoint in time as he tried to remember a fragment of memory. Any fragment. But all he had was his name. His name and his treasure.

  “Perhaps we should get you to the hospital if you have amnesia,” his mate suggested.

  “Hospital?” The word was new to him.

  “Yes. A doctor should check you over for a concussion.” She tapped her head. “In case you banged your head.”

  Doran placed his hands on his head and felt it for any signs of cuts or bruising, there were none. “I feel fine. No pain.”

  “Can you remember your name?” she asked.

  “Doran. Doran Halberd.” He searched his mind for any new connections this memory might have triggered. None.

  “Well, Doran Halberd. I’m Fleur.” She held out her hand to him and he studied it for a moment before he slipped his hand into hers. The shock of recognition hit them both instantly but neither of them let go, instead, they clung together like two sailors lost at sea.

  “It is good to meet you, Fleur.” He nodded with respect. “You have strange customs. Where I come from only men wear pants and shake hands.”

  “And where exactly do you come from?” Fleur asked.