Earthbound (Dragons and Druids Book 2)

by Leia Stone

“Keegan got it from Isaac. He thinks if you can stay on your own during the heat, you won’t shift. As long as Logan is far enough away from you. The key opens the door to a little cottage Isaac built at the top of the waterfall. I thought you might want to make your own life decisions.”

  I did. I snatched the key from the counter and nodded. “Thanks, girl.”

  She smiled and looked at my banana poised to go in my mouth and then laughed.

  I rolled my eyes, chuckling. “I’m going to shower.”

  She nodded. “Don’t forget to shave.”

  “Shut up!” I laughed.

  But our talk and the key in my hand had nerves bunching in my stomach. What would it be like to make love to Logan Sharp? My dragon tightened inside of me at the thought, sending waves of warmth through my body.

  Freaking amazing, that’s what it would be like. I’d never trusted a guy like I did him, never felt so totally at peace in the relationship. For once in my life, I didn’t want to run.

  Chapter 8

  After showering and shaving, I had dinner with the group. Everyone was present except Logan, Keegan, and Gear. Gear had called asking me some personal information like the address on my driver’s license and what year, make, and model the car was, but then he hung up without another word. I took that as a good sign that he was going to be able to get it back for me. I missed my pencils and sketch pad; I was itching to draw. I wanted to draw the canary-yellow sorcerer that Dom had killed, Griddish, and even Hemlock.

  I wished everyone a good night. Nadine promised to keep Hemlock well cared for and away from Mittens. We weren’t yet sure how those two would do together.

  I finally caved in and used our bond. ‘Where are you?’

  I was heading for the waterfall. I didn’t want to hike up it in the dark and break my neck. This key was burning a hole in my pocket and my dragon was burning my skin at the thought of spending tonight with Logan. I was so ready for this. I just hoped he was too. All guys were, right? Anytime was the right time with them…

  ‘I’m helping Keegan with something. I’ll come say goodnight in a bit,’ he answered.

  I reached the waterfall—the crisp water crashing into the pond below was mesmerizing. I took the trail to the left and started my short but steep hike up.

  Inwardly, I rolled my eyes at Logan’s comment. ‘Helping Keegan with my dragon heat problem?’

  There was a long beat of silence. Too long. Then finally he answered: ‘Nadine?’

  ‘Yep, and I can handle my own urges, thank you very much. So tell Keegan to uninstall that app.’

  Seriously … tracking my ovulation? How creepy could he get? I guess since he was gay it made it a little less creepy … but still.

  Logan groaned inside my head. ‘If you shift, which your dragon will with me around, then the druids find us. You’re not trained yet and we don’t have your staff. We’re just trying to keep everyone safe.’

  I was out of breath; I’d reached the top of the waterfall. Sure enough, there on the riverbank was a shipping container house. It was blue with a large sliding glass door that opened up to the outside.

  Keegan and Logan were standing outside of it, peeking in through the glass. “Looking for this?” I held up the key.

  Both of the boys spun around quickly, clearly caught off guard. The trickling sounds of the rushing water had cut off my approach.

  “Nadine!” Keegan growled, looking at the key.

  I put one hand on my hip. “Keegan!” I pointed my finger at the alpha. “No more tracking my cycles. You’re not my gynecologist. I can handle my own body, thank you very much!”

  Keegan’s cheeks reddened slightly. “Sloane, the reality of a female dragon is—”

  “You have a penis, Keegan.” I cut him off. “Don’t even think for one second you know anything about my reality. Stop mansplaining. You can go now.”

  He gave Logan a sharp look and left in a huff.

  I stepped up to my mate. “We’re partners in all this, right? Isn’t that what the word mate means?”

  Shame colored his face and he nodded. “I was just trying to get some different plans in place, and then I was going to talk to you about it. Last time it all happened so fast, and to be honest it was hard to control myself.”

  I nodded and side-stepped him to unlock the large sliding glass door. Once it was open, I spun to face him, unzipping my jacket. “Logan, I don’t want to control anything anymore. Life’s too short for that.” Dom had almost died and who knew how much time any of us had.

  His eyes flashed to green dragon slits as I backed into the small house and let my jacket fall to the floor. He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.

  “Sloane…” His voice was barely human. “I would never take advantage of a female in heat.”

  I rolled my eyes, unzipping my pants. “I’m not in heat yet. Check your app if you need to.” It was true. I was close, but not for another day, maybe two. I let my pants drop to the floor and he practically jumped inside the house, shutting the door behind him with a whoosh.

  Standing in my black lace panties and soft blue t-shirt, I walked over to click on the gas fireplace. This home was cozy and romantic. It had a simple bed on the floor surrounded by white mosquito netting, and a small kitchenette with enclosed bathroom area.

  When I spun around, Logan was still standing rigidly by the door he’d just closed, his eyes glowing like lit-up emeralds, dancing with the reflection of the fire.

  “Shy all of the sudden?” I teased.

  At that, he stepped forward, taking my face into his hands. “Sloane, I need you to know something.”

  His scent wrapped around me, my heart picking up speed as his body pressed into mine.

  His thumb stroked my bottom lip as he looked down at me with a half-lidded gaze. “I’ve never loved anyone the way that I love you,” he whispered. “It’s all-consuming. From the moment I started dreaming about you, until now. You have this way of taking over every part of me.”

  Holy romantic hotness. Do me now.

  My lips crashed onto his, as his hands cupped my butt and hauled me up to straddle him. I parted my lips as his tongue entered my mouth with a warm sweetness that made me moan. A bright color below caught my eye, and I looked down to see our magic dancing between the two of us, teal and purple, like a star ready to combust. He walked me over to the bed and lowered me gently into it, taking his shirt off in a swift, one-handed move. I raked my fingers over his tight chest muscles and down to his abs. My dragon flared to life then, sending a spark of heat between my legs and I moaned as Logan leaned down to peel off my panties.

  “You know … there was a saying in the village I grew up in as a kid,” he murmured.

  Why is he talking? More kissing.

  “What’s that?” I asked, as he dropped his pants and I pulled off my shirt.

  He gave me a lopsided grin. “If you can keep a female in heat satisfied, then she won’t shift.”

  A slow grin crept across my face. “You better get to work, then, Logan Sharp.”

  And get to work he did. Twice.

  The next morning I sat up, and looked over at my sleeping mate. Mate. That word held so much more meaning now that we’d fully come together. Last night the walls had glowed with purple and green magic as we made love. Nadine had snuck in before giving me the key and had stocked the place with water bottles, food, and condoms. Ya know, the usual stuff. All the way up here on the top of the waterfall, it kind of felt like we were on vacation, not a care in the world—for a short time.

  My phone beeped with a text and the sound woke Logan. Taking a look at the screen, I groaned. Sophie.

  - Get down here princess. The obstacle course is getting cold.-

  “Who is it?” Logan’s voice was gruff with morning sleep and it made my toes curl.

  “Sophie just wants to torture me some more,” I told him, and got off the bed. I started brushing my teeth at the kitchen sink. The bathroom only consisted of a composting
toilet and river water shower, heated by solar panels, so the kitchen sink was where you had to brush your teeth and wash your hands.

  Logan came up behind me, wrapping his hands around my waist before starting to brush his own teeth. “I don’t know. I think she’s got the right idea. I heard about what you did with that knife.”

  I rinsed my mouth and grinned as Logan finished brushing his teeth.

  I chuckled. “I fell on my ass!”

  He stepped closer to me. “You thought outside the box and didn’t panic. Those are the skills you will need to survive this lifestyle.”

  Lifestyle. Being a dragon. And a fire druid. We hadn’t talked about that yet, the fire druid part. I think it was too much for both of us.

  The close proximity of his hips to mine had a searing heat running down my spine to my groin. I broke out in a sweat as a slow grin crept across Logan’s face.

  “What?” I asked, as I fanned myself desperate for air.

  “Your heat has begun.” At the word “heat,” my dragon rustled inside of me, begging to break free.

  I placed a hand on my hip and looked him up and down. He was the finest male specimen I’d ever seen. “You better do something about it before I light on fire,” I panted.

  “As you wish.” He scooped me up and took my hot lips into his cool mouth.

  He just made another unknowing Princess Bride reference. Sigh. I was keeping him forever.

  The next two days were filled with lots of sexy Logan time, and lots of Sophie kicking my ass time. Separately of course. My dragon stayed happily in her human skin “cage” after Logan lulled her to sleep each night, keeping my heat at bay. Gear had run into an issue getting my car. He was followed trying to come back, so he headed to Utah to confuse them. Eva still wasn’t answering our calls, but we left coded voicemail messages hoping she would get the point and come back—that we had a better way to find the remaining skyborn, than just looking blindly. Meanwhile, I’d been learning basic things about nature from Isaac, about different tree species and how to recharge in Mother Earth. I was now barefoot most of the day. I had to hand it to Sophie, she’d been teaching me some worthwhile skills. I even took Ruben down in a drill one morning. That man was the biggest person I’d ever met, so I was pretty proud.

  I was just walking back to the house I shared with Nadine—or that I used to before I shacked up with Logan at the waterfall—when shouts stopped me in my tracks.

  “Enough torment, Danny. I’m sorry.” Keegan’s voice was all growly.

  Danny sighed. “Keegan, what kind of relationship can we have without trust? Not one that will last, that’s for sure.”

  “I do trust you! I took a magical oath to keep the Skyborn secret. I couldn’t have broken it if I wanted to!” Keegan shouted.

  Danny’s voice was low, controlled but emotional. “I don’t trust you. Not with my heart. Not after you so casually tossed me aside, and then picked me back up only at the request of your employer.”

  Keegan must have been in shock. He didn’t speak for a full minute, and when he did it sounded as if he was fighting tears. “Is that what you think of me? Jesus, Danny, I’m in love with you. Letting you go felt like ripping a limb from my body but I was bound to my magical oath. I’m sorry I hurt you, but can’t you move past it?”

  Silence. Holy shit.

  “I don’t know,” Danny said in a small voice.

  Keegan growled, an honest to God wolf growl. “Well, let me know when you do!” I heard the crunching of dirt and the ripping of bones. Keegan was shifting.

  I was about to walk back the way I came and come back later when Danny turned the corner hard and nearly walked right into me.

  “Shit!” He grabbed his chest. “You scared me, Sloane.”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, trying not to meet his eyes.

  He sighed. “You heard that? With Keegan?”

  I nodded. “I wasn’t trying to listen. I just sort of…”

  He shrugged. “It’s fine. I wouldn’t mind having someone to talk to about it anyway.”

  I nodded and sat down on the short cob retaining wall. “So … I didn’t join the group until you did. What’s the story with you and Keegan before?”

  He sat down next to me. “I had a crush on him for over a year. He would always come in to do business with Eva—we’d talk a bit, but nothing serious. I thought maybe he was still in the closet or was dating someone else, until one night he just asked me out.”

  His whole face changed then. Danny was a super good-looking guy, and seeing him fully smile, dimples and all, made him that much more attractive.

  “What happened?” I leaned closer. I loved a good relationship story.

  “Girl, I fell … hard. Hopelessly in love with him right from day one.” He looked sullen now, as if he regretted it.

  “But then there were red flags,” he continued. “Keegan answering his phone in the middle of the night and not telling me who it was, or running off for days on end and not telling me why. I was convinced he was having an affair, and he made me feel crazy … like it was all in my head.”

  Ouch. That was harsh. I understood keeping the skyborn a secret was important, but making your partner feel crazy because you wanted to keep the lie was low. Still, it didn’t sound like Keegan had much choice.

  “I’m sorry,” I offered. “So, you don’t think you can forgive him?” I didn’t want to pry but Keegan seemed pretty beat up over it, and if they got together maybe that meant his stupid “no dating in the pack unless you were mated” rule would die out. Nadine and Gear could even give their relationship a try.

  Danny shrugged. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I want to. But I’m so pissed.”

  I was about to reply when the sound of crunching gravel pulled my attention to the dirt road.

  “My car!” I jumped up. Driving up in my silver RAV-4 was Gear. In the passenger seat sat Eva.

  ‘Gear and Eva are here with my car!’ I shouted into Logan’s head using our bond. He’d been planning our trip back to the elf’s house with Dominic, going over routes and making sure we were well stocked.

  How the hell had Eva met up with Gear?

  I took off running, and one side look told me Danny was right next to me.

  ‘Eva?’ Logan was as shocked as I was.

  The second Eva got out of the car, I knew something was wrong. She was holding her arm at an odd angle, and crusted blood was dried to the side of her face.

  “Eva!” Logan called out behind me, and before I could move to help her, he was there taking her into a light hug. It was evident how much he loved her. Like a son embracing his mother.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t call. They burned down my bar…” she said with cold hard grit in her voice.

  Logan frowned as Danny and I gasped behind him. “Was anyone hurt?” I asked.

  Her supernatural bar in Flagstaff was her home and source of income. How dare they? I assumed they were the druids. My dragon pulsed with anger then, and Logan looked over his shoulder at me with green lizard eyes.

  ‘Calm down. You shifting right now, would be the worst possible thing to happen.’

  I hated being told to calm down when I wasn’t calm. It made me want to throw a fit like a toddler just to prove I could. Grabbing every ounce of maturity I possessed, I took a deep breath and felt my nerves calm. Being in heat made me edgy as all hell.

  Eva shook her head. “Everyone got out. They’ve been tracking me ever since. I was able to glean from your voicemails that Gear was out of town, so I did a spell to find him. Together we lost them and got back here.”

  “Lost who? Steven?” That Irish bastard was getting on my nerves. My dragon wanted nothing more than to rip off his meaty head.

  Eva shared a look with Gear. “Get the pack together. Things have changed.”

  And just like that, a cold dread washed over me. If Eva was asking for a pack meeting, there was trouble.

  Ten minutes later the pack was assembled, inclu
ding Isaac. We all met in one of Isaac’s many “dwellings,” this one a large recycled cloth yurt. The thick canvas cloth was stretched around some woven sticks, and at the top was an opening to let in light. I hadn’t gotten around to telling Isaac how talented and amazing he was with sustainable building design yet, but I wanted to. One side of the cloth was zippered open and tied back so that the pack could spill out into the forest.

  Isaac, Logan and I were in the front row, looking at Eva, who sat down on a polished wooden tree stump. She looked old and frazzled. In pain. Things I’d never seen her look before; it broke my heart.

  She looked at Isaac. “Ardan is initiating all of his hunters, making them into druids. They’re fighting in packs now. Packs of druids.”

  Isaac hissed and Logan stepped forward as if he was hoping he’d heard her wrong.

  “What? What does that mean?” I had yet to receive my supernatural dictionary, so I was still learning.

  Eva swallowed hard, holding her injured shoulder. “Hunters are pretty harmless, sweetie. They are glorified humans until their druid master initiates them and bestows power on them.”

  “Okay…” Just spit it out.

  Isaac stood, resting one hand on his staff. “So instead of having one powerful druid and his pack of idiots to fight off…”

  “We have a pack of powerful druids,” Logan finished as Keegan let a curse word fly.

  “So the druid race is doubling overnight?” I squeaked.

  Eva flinched. “Quadrupling.”

  “What do they want?” I asked. Sort of a rhetorical question, but I wanted to hear her say it.

  “The rest of the Skyborn. They think the time is ready to expunge the Earth of humanity and build their own world of purebloods.”

  I kicked the ground as a growl ripped from my throat.

  “That’s not all.” Eva stood and stepped closer to me. “Sloane, they want you. They know you’re a fire druid.”

  “How did…?” How did Eva even know what I was? We hadn’t talked to her.

  “How?” Isaac demanded. “How could they know? We only found out a few days ago from Grid—” He stopped speaking and his eyes fell to the floor.