Rescued by Ryland

by Lisa Daniels

  “Um, I just…” Serenity sighed. “Would you like something to drink? Have you eaten anything yet?”

  “Water, please. And I am fine.”

  Serenity gave him a knowing look before directing him to the couch in the living room. “Please sit down. I’ll be right back with your water.”

  He nodded, then moved away wordlessly.

  Serenity joined him a minute later with a small tray of food and the water. “Eat before you get too hungry.”

  Ryland cocked an eyebrow at her, but there was no smile on his face. “What has happened? Why did you decide not to go to the hospital? And why are you packing?”

  Serenity ran a hand over her forehead. “I'm not hurt enough to need the hospital. And I’m going to go back to the east coast.”

  Ryland clenched his teeth, making his jaw even more defined than normal. “Are you too afraid here now?”

  “Not afraid, just…”

  He moved close to her and took her hand. “I am so sorry for failing to protect you, but please don’t leave.” His eyes begged her.

  Serenity pulled her hand away. “I just don’t know…”

  “What’s wrong? What can I do to convince you to stay? The idea of you leaving is…”

  Serenity looked at him. “Ryland, what do you do for a living?”

  “Oh.” There was an immediate change in his expression as Ryland closed his eyes. “I'm an actor. A fairly successful actor. A job that I did not choose and one I do not enjoy.”

  “Then why do you do it?”

  “Because what else can I do that will give me the tools to take care of everyone? My parents chose this career, and now it is too late to change paths.”

  “No, it isn’t.”

  “So you are going to leave just because of what I do?” His expression was slowly shifting into one of anger.

  “I'm leaving because–”

  His voice was like a low growl, “You promised not to get possessive.”

  “I do not want to own you!” She moved away from him. “I wouldn’t even mind sharing you, but I can’t stand the idea of losing you. You are everything that I didn’t think I would find, and a few things that I didn’t want, but there is no way I can possibly keep your interest. How could I?” She stood up too fast, and immediately stumbled.

  Ryland quickly stood and caught her. “I don’t understand what you are saying. If you leave you will lose me. If you stay, I… I don’t want to lose you. I have already lost so many people, I don’t want to lose you, too.” His hands were gripping her shoulders, but Ryland’s eyes seemed to be focused on something else. He moved his head and looked at her. “Please, don’t leave me.”

  Serenity looked into the clear blue eyes. “I don’t want to be hurt any more. Men who can get someone else always do.”

  “I don’t want anyone else. I don’t want to say goodbye. And I want to protect you, not hurt you.”

  “But you will get bored of me. I know you will.”

  Ryland put his hand under her chin and looked into her eyes. “A woman who can accept that I am a shifter, and prefers the outdoors to stores. A woman who puts more emphasis on her mind because it is more important than her looks, even though she is stunning. The man who thinks he will get better than that is a complete fool.”

  Serenity began to fight back tears. “I want to believe you, but experience tells me that isn’t the way life works.”

  Ryland let go of her and took a deep breath. “If it is a matter of your heart versus your head, all I can do is tell you that I am not like the men who hurt you before. I cannot force you to believe me. If you choose to leave, I will not stop you, but is that something you can live with? For the rest of your life? Is this something you can throw away without trying?”

  “I…” A tear rolled down her face. “I–” The tears began to fall faster.

  Ryland looked at her, waiting for her to collect her thoughts. When the tears started flowing, he reached out and pulled her to him. “It’s okay. I promise that it will be okay. Whatever you decide, life will go on. It will just be colorless without you.” The last sentence was said in a hush that she almost couldn’t believe he had said.

  Slowly she wrapped her arms around him. The tension in his body was released and he kissed her on the top of the head. “I promise to take care of you. I promise.”

  Serenity clung to his shirt. “Ryland, I'm scared.”

  She could feel his voice through his chest. “Me too. But I’m also excited in a way I haven’t been in so long.” He stroked her head. “You are worth the risk of getting hurt.”

  Serenity pushed into him. “I don’t think I am. I’m so–”

  The hand moved from the back of her head to under her chin. Carefully he turned her face toward his. “Human. But I won’t hold that against you if you won’t hold my heritage against me.”

  Serenity couldn’t help but giggle. Quickly trying to hide it, she looked away. “The only thing I hold against you is how little you have told me about yourself. If I would have known what you did earlier….”

  “Last night never would have happened, and you would have dug further into yourself. My world would have remained nearly colorless and bland. I do not like my job and the rest of the time I am responsible for so many other people. You were the first thing in my life in forever that was not a chore or obligation. You didn’t want me because of a preconceived idea of who you thought I was – you were interested in me for me, and that is nearly impossible.”

  “You are quite charming.”

  “You don’t need to lie to me. I know I can be difficult and–”

  “Stubborn.” She gave him a slight smile. “Nearly as stubborn as me.”

  “Yes, very nearly.” His eyes moved down to her mouth as he brushed away a tear.

  Serenity leaned her face into his hand. “Okay. I’ll stay. But don’t hide anything else from me. Please.”

  “I wasn’t hiding it. I honestly do not like what I do. Would you want to talk about most of your classes when you didn’t have to?”

  Serenity shook her head. “I get your point. It came as such a shock and I just…”

  “It’s okay. I should have realized that something like that would be difficult, it’s just that it doesn’t seem that way to me.”

  “I understand. I’m sorry.”

  “You’ve decided to stay, so it’s okay. Just promise you won’t freak out again. Be more like the brave woman who had no problem dealing with me shifting into a bear.”

  Serenity frowned, “Yeah, that’s a good point.” Her cheeks flushed and she began to feel embarrassed. “There was something far more unusual about you than you being a very successful actor.”

  Ryland nodded.

  “How can I make it up to you?” Serenity looked up at him. “I’ll do anything because I was being incredibly stupid.”

  “Go to the hospital.” He didn’t even wait to respond.

  “Oh, seriously. You promised not to drag me away.”

  “You said anything.”

  Serenity groaned, “It’s too late to go tonight.”

  Ryland looked over at a clock. “I guess you are right.” He leaned over and picked her up, catching her completely off guard. “If you are really against going to the hospital, I guess I will need to stay here for a week or so to take care of you.” Before she could answer, he kissed her. “But I think that I want to spend that time in your bed. With you.”

  Serenity nodded. “I’ll still owe you then because I want that, too.”

  Ryland laughed as he carried her into her bedroom.

  The End

  Annora’s Dragon

  By: Lisa Daniels

  Chapter 1

  Competition and Criminals

  Annora looked around, her blue-green eyes taking in the picturesque landscape. Had she been anyone else, her breath would have been taken away by the way the rising sun reflected against the ocean and the brilliant colors of the sky. Annora noticed none of these things
as she scanned the horizon. Her thoughts were focused on one thing only – finding the dragon that had burned down the villages of King Salmon and Marked Tree. The inhabitants of King Salmon had largely escaped with their lives, but the people of the small town of Marked Tree had not been so lucky. She had known many of those who had died. While she hadn’t been exactly friendly with them, the people had always treated her well, despite her profession. Dragon hunters were not popular. They were considered boorish, brutal, and generally cold. The people of Marked Tree had not felt that way; they had always been understanding that you did what you had to do to make a living. It was an easier sentiment for the people of Marked Tree to understand since that was the way most of them lived.

  Initially, she had refused the request of King Salmon to hunt down the dragon, but after it decimated Marked Tree, she took up the contract. What Annora did not tell her employers was that she would go after the dragon with or without their payment. After all, if you could get paid while getting revenge, it provided a little extra incentive. Dragons were among the toughest creatures to kill, and there were times when the fight didn’t seem worth it. The odds of dying were significantly higher than surviving. It’s probably why dragon hunters were so wild and unpredictable. And they were incredibly expensive. You had to be either a certain type of desperate or a large amount of crazy to join this profession.

  Annora was neither of these. Dragons had destroyed three of her homes by the time she was 12 years old, leaving her an orphan after the second attack. She never questioned what she should become. For her, the job was a vendetta.

  That had been 15 years ago.

  As the woman stood on the cliffside scanning for the familiar outline of a dragon, a few strands of her wavy, chestnut-colored hair passed over her vision. She seemed not to notice, her attention too intent on finding the one thing she was after. Standing there, any passerby would have thought she was a strange statue – a fair woman wearing men’s clothing and carrying a pair of weapons. The sword was angled up so that she could quickly remove it from the scabbard. A dirk was located slightly higher on the right side. Men who saw her often laughed, believing that she didn’t understand that real sword wielders carried the sword on the left side to make it easier to remove with the dominant right hand. Their laughter lasted only as long as it took Annora to level the sword at their throats, her left hand firmly grasping it with a level of expertise that few others had.

  Annora’s eyes sparkled as her cold smile told the men she knew how to use the weapon just as well as they. “Yes, it should be on the opposite side of the dominant hand. Why do you think it’s on my right side?”

  No man who ever tried to challenge her during these encounters was ever able to use a weapon afterward.

  Men were easy when you were accustomed to dealing with dragons.

  The breeze on the cliffside caused her dark-brown braid to sway, the only sign that she wasn’t a statue. The dragon hunter didn’t feel it gently tapping against the small of her back as she took in the horizon.

  Then she saw it. The creature was smaller than most she had seen, but that didn’t mean anything when it came to dragons. Females tended to be smaller than males, but they were far more vicious. Of course, the dragon may have been young still and was testing out its strength and power for the first time. Annora watched the graceful arch as the dragon soared over the water in the distance. A wry grin spread across her face as she imagined how much fun the dragon was having. Probably the same look it had when it decimated Marked Tree.

  She was about to move when a movement at the bottom of the cliff caught her attention. For a second, she thought she had seen wings. If there were two dragons, she would have to reconsider the agreement. Either she would require more money or turn it down.

  Shaking her head, Annora knew that she couldn’t do anything without confirming a second dragon. The fact that the dragon on the horizon was playing indicated that it did not realize that another dragon was nearby, and dragons did not tend to be stealthy. With that kind of power and size, stealth was hardly a necessary (or practical) skill to have. Considering how territorial they were, there were only a few reasons why two would appear in the same area together. This kind of distance between them made no sense. It was likely that the wing belonged to something else, perhaps a griffin or siren.

  Taking a step forward, Annora looked over the cliff. To her surprise, a human was walking along the beach, his eyes also on the dragon in the distance. Her eyes flicked up to watch the movement of the dragon on the horizon, then back to the man. He was tall with curly black hair that moved with the breeze sweeping along the beach. For a moment she stared at his figure as he moved along the edge of the waves in the same direction as the dragon. It was obvious that the man was a fighter. The way his muscles pressed against his clothing was easy to see even from the cliff top. Even if she hadn’t been able to see the tensed muscles in his arms as he stood and folded them to watch the dragon’s progress, the broadsword on his back left no question that he was a warrior.

  She completely forgot about what had caused her to look over the edge in the first place.

  Competition.

  It was the only thought that mattered amidst the jumble of other words floating through her head as she gazed at him.

  Her eyes swept over his figure one more time, taking in the details. Best to know the competition, she thought, unable to admit even to herself that he was rather pleasing to watch from such a distance. He quickly unfolded his arms and turned toward the cliff face. Annora was startled for a moment and backed away where she would not be seen. Giving her head a shake, the dragon slayer turned and quickly moved back into the woods following the same direction in which the dragon had gone. She was going to have to work fast with someone else also after it. There was no way she was going to let anyone else take this kill because it wasn’t just about the money. Annora was going to make it suffer for what it had done to the people of Marked Tree.

  Annora walked into Defiance, a bustling town and port. She had only been there once before, nearly five years ago, and it had grown considerably since then. The change was a bit unsettling. Had the woman known that it had changed so drastically, she would have gone to Kildeer. However, that was another three miles out of the way, and she didn’t want to go so far out of her way just because of a bit of discomfort. Not at this hour. Not when someone else appeared to be after her kill.

  She didn’t notice any of the merchants or customers going about their lives as she headed toward what had once been a small and inviting inn. To her disappointment, that inn had burned down three years ago. In its place was a merchants’ guild. Glaring at the building, Annora saw someone approaching her from the corner of her eye. It was getting dark, and she wasn’t accustomed to so much light, but it did make the shadows and movement much easier to detect.

  “Hello…” Annora slowly turned to look at the man addressing her. He was about to say something, but stopped when he got close. “Oh. Hello, ma’am. What do you think?”

  Annora watched as the man folded his arms over his chest. He was clearly a merchant and he was looking up at the building with a sense of pride.

  Usually she would just turn and walk away, but she did need some information as she had no idea where to go for the night. She attempted a small smile when he looked at her. “It certainly looks nice.” The woman’s mind was scoffing at him as the man returned her smile with a huge grin.

  “Nice!” He laughed. “There is no building in this magnificent town as costly or luxurious.”

  Annora simply blinked at him. “Well, that is something, then.” She fought to keep her tone from being too sarcastic.

  The man didn’t seem to notice. “It’s mine, you know.”

  Suddenly Annora didn’t feel like asking this man for assistance. “Good for you.” Her tone was nearly monotone as she gave him a condescending look. “If you will-”

  Ignoring her words, the man pressed on. “And I dare say you are
quite a pretty thing, aren’t you?” He winked at her. Annora merely stared back at him, her cold eyes warning him not to continue. The man seemed oblivious to the warning. “I’ll tell you what. If you will give me the pleasure of your company for, oh, let’s say three days, I will-”

  Annora spun on her heel, her braid hitting the man’s arm with an audible smack. Ignoring whatever he had to say, she walked purposefully back the way she had come.

  Unsure of where to find lodgings, the dragon hunter headed toward the water. The town was located at the mouth of the Allia, the longest river in Senones, a country that, until recently, had been backward. After the Cremera War, though, Senones had been growing rapidly, having benefited from aiding the victorious country of Volsci. Annora didn’t know the politics behind it, nor did she care. The only thing that mattered to her was that the small town she once understood was now yet another place she planned to avoid in the future.

  As she reached the port, a hand fell on her shoulder. The woman’s instinct was to draw her blade, but she could hear someone gasping for breath and saying her name.

  “Annora! My gods, but I never expected to run into you here!” There was a very melodic laugh and the tension eased from Annora’s shoulders.

  Turning to face the woman, Annora tried to keep her face straight. “Hello, Bree.” She could not help the way one of her eyebrows raised and the corner of her mouth likewise went up.

  There was another laugh as the curly-haired, redheaded woman placed a hand on her hip and stood up straight. Dramatically, she expelled a long breath, “Wooooo, but you are a hard woman to catch.” She beamed from ear to ear. “Don’t know what brought you here, but damn, it is good to see you. It’s been, what? Three? Four years?”

  Annora couldn’t hide a small smile. “It’s been a year and a half.”