She was curious as to what this man wanted. She felt that his presence was something to be revered. Something to be joyous about. So, she sat respectfully quiet and waited, even if her curiosity was going crazy as a jumping bean in her mind.
A movement pulled her eyes to a large, completely white eagle that perched on a low hanging branch just behind the man. She had never seen anything like it. The feathers seemed to gleam with an iridescence and appeared as soft as Al’s favorite cashmere sweater.
They sat quietly for an indefinite amount of time. When the man pulled out a pipe and began to smoke a voice seemed to vibrate from every direction. It was deep and comforting.
“Alvena Irene Anderson.” It caressed her ears and mind. “You are the balance. Accept.”
“Accept what?” She asked in confusion. In response she heard the flapping of a large bird’s wings. She looked up in time to be blasted with white feathers and dust.
“Trust in the dragons, they will guide you and protect you.”
Arms came from behind Al and started dragging her back. She frantically looked around and saw a huge man with a scarred face and dressed all in black dragging her towards the opening of a dark alley. Al kicked and screamed. She saw the shadow of a dragon against the wall.
“Kai!” If he could only hear her, she knew he would protect her. He was the one. He was her dragon.
A fist backhanded her and she fell to her knees. She was jerked up and pushed towards the alley. Al swung out her arms reaching for anything that would stop her forward momentum.
“Kai!” She screamed again.
***
Kai had run to the city of Grosse Tete. There wasn’t much to the place, but he had found a gas station that was also a small general store. He bought a cheap duffel bag and filled it with bread, lunch meat, cheese, chips, candy bars, a box of donuts, and several bottles of water. It wasn’t worthy of a candlelit dinner, but at least Alvena would be able to eat and drink. On a whim, Kai had also grabbed a deck of cards and a surprise for Alvena. If she needed candy and flowers, a courtship, he would do his best to give it to her.
On the way out of town he passed a pub that looked like it had seen better days. It was out away from the town at a crossroads and looked a bit rough, but Kai almost stopped. A glass of courage sounded like a good idea. He wasn’t looking forward to talking with his mate after the scene he had made. But, he felt an urgency to get back to her. It had already been a few hours since he had left her at the cabin. With no idea of how the mercenaries had found her in New Orleans, he was nervous about leaving her alone for too long.
So, he pushed himself to the limit of his resources while partially shifted. He was lucky that he had the ability to partially shift, because his large dragon body would be unable to run through the trees without knocking them down. The partial shift allowed him to connect with his spirit guide and use his speed and enhanced senses. In today’s world of electronics and Internet, it was important for him to hide his full dragon. His brothers were lucky that they could shift into their full animal with little fear of being seen. It was a lot easier to explain away a strange wolf or grizzly. A circus was going through town or someone had a pet that had escaped. But, there was no explaining a several ton mythical lizard.
Even so, Kai counted himself lucky to have been gifted with the dragon guide. When he was able to shift, the speed and power, the enhanced sense of smell and hearing, and the flying, made it all worth it. Man, he loved the flying. No, he wouldn’t give up being the dragon, not even to be able to shift more freely.
As he neared the cabin, Kai wondered what he could do to explain his reaction to Alvena rejecting him earlier. He had been so wrapped up in the taste, smell, and feel of her. His mind had been lust muddled. He had not been thinking clearly. All he had known was that he had wanted to be inside of her, to be a part of her. He would have given almost anything for that to have happened. But, the look in her eyes when he had turned to rush out of the door haunted his every step. Would she still be at the cabin? Or did she decide that Kai was as much of a danger to her as the men who had attacked her and her friends?
When Kai approached the cabin, he still didn’t have any answers. His spirit guardian was unusually quiet. Normally he was very vocal when it came to Kai’s mate and what he needed to do. Kai had a feeling that the dragon didn’t like the look that Kai had put in his mates eyes any better than Kai did and had left him to stew about it on his own.
He circled the building looking for any signs of disturbance. He noticed that all of the curtains had been tightly closed. Only a crack of light could be seen in a couple of the windows. His mate was still thinking on her feet. Seeing no signs of a struggle or problems, Kai went to the front door. He found it to be locked. He knocked, but Alvena didn’t come to the door. Maybe she was in the bathroom or had gone to lie down in the loft. Or, maybe she had left. Kai sighed and reached down for the fake rock. He hoped that she had put the key in it for him. When he found it, he wasn’t sure if he should be relieved that she had planned ahead to make sure he could get in or if he needed to prepare himself that his mate had run from him. Better just get it over with. Kai thought just as he heard a scream from inside the cabin. He quickly inserted the key and swung the door open. He looked around expecting an attack, but all he saw was his mate on the sofa. She was flinging her arms out and kicking in all directions.
“Kai!” She screamed in her sleep.
He rushed to her side and tried to hold her arms down before she hurt him or herself.
“Kai!” She screamed again with tears running down her cheeks.
“Alvena. Wake up, lass.” He called out to her as he shook her by the shoulders.
She jerked awake and immediately started backing away from him. Her eyes were wild and unfocused.
“Alvena, love, look at me. It’s Kai. I’m here. You’re safe, lass.” Kai soothingly said to her. “I’m here Alvena. You’re safe.”
Alvena’s head jerked to him, tears streaming down her face. She looked around the room and then back to him again. The next moment she was in his arms. Her arms clinging tightly around his waist as she sobbed into his chest.
Kai held her tight and ran his hand up and down her back.
“It’s alright love, I’m here. You’re safe Alvena. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He continued to mumble nonsense into the top of her head as he buried his nose in her hair. He had never seen her so upset. Even with attacks and seeing a dragon for the first time, she had reacted with composure and acceptance. Only berating herself for not being as strong as she thought she needed to be, but never breaking down. It split Kai’s heart in two to see her in such turmoil. Kai was relieved when her sobs finally quieted. She hugged him tighter to her and curled into him more.
They sat quietly for some time before Alvena pulled back from him.
“I’m sorry Kai. I don’t know what came over me.” She said as she hid her face behind her hair. Kai reached out and tucked the hair behind her ear and lightly lifted her chin with his finger.
“Alvena, look at me lass. That was some dream you had.” He said as his eyes met hers. How had this woman in such a short time captured his heart? He felt strings attaching to his heart in such a way that he knew that he would never be able to escape. The fear and uncertainty in her eyes made him want to roar, made him want to burn her enemies. Another benefit of being a dragon – he could breathe fire.
“Yeah, it seemed so real. The large man with the scarred face almost got me to the alley.” She said in a quiet voice.
“What were you dreaming about, lass? Was it the attacks?” Kai asked, needing to hear what had scared her so he could reassure her that she would be safe.
“It was nothing. I think my subconscious was finally catching up with me and trying to process everything that has happened.” She said with little conviction. “I just don’t understand the old Indian.”
“Old Indian?” Kai asked with curiosity.
“Ye
ah, the old Indian at the fire.” She said distractedly as she seemed to be inside her own mind, working to remember the dream. “Balance. Trust in the dragons, they will guide you and protect you.” She mumbled. She looked at one of the curtain covered windows, focused far away from the small cabin. “I just don’t understand where the eagle came from.”
Eagle? Kai wondered to himself. Old Indian? What does she mean by balance and trust in the dragons, plural? There was only one dragon, him.
“Alvena, what do you mean? What did you see in your dream?” Kai asked. Alvena finally focused back on him.
“Oh. I dreamed of this large white eagle. It was completely white. I had never seen anything so beautiful or soft. It had looked so soft. It was on a branch behind the old Indian. We were sitting at a fire together. He was smoking a pipe. Now that I think about it, the smoke reminded me of you. It smelled all smoky and sweet. Just like you.” She blushed when she realized what she had said.
“Don’t stop, tell me about your dream, lass. It usually helps to get it out when you have such a dream.”
“It was really nothing, Kai. I feel foolish for reacting the way I did.” She said as she looked at the open front door. Kai realized that he hadn’t shut it when he had rushed in to protect her.
“Oh, I’d better close that.” He said with a laugh. “I heard you scream out and thought you were being attacked. Luckily I was in the process of unlocking the door when I heard you, or I would have busted the door in.”
“Unlocking the door?” She asked with a strange look.
“Yes. The door was locked so I got the key out of that fake rock where you had left it for me?” Kai answered. She looked around the room, pointed at the counter that divided the kitchen from the living area and then looked at the door.
“Kai. I’m a bit confused. I did lock the door, but I never put the key back in the rock. I had left it on the kitchen counter when we first got here.” She looked at him with uncertainty.
Kai thought about Alvena’s dream and about the key being in the rock. Thank you Great Spirit.
“Alvena, are you willing to have an open mind?” He asked her with hope in his voice.
“I guess.” She said with little conviction.
“I believe the Great Spirit was in your dream. For the Dásreach, the Great Spirit is symbolized by a large iridescent white eagle. I think the old man was a spirit guide and was there to ease you into the meeting with the Great Spirit. It’s not easy for humans to accept a talking eagle. I think the Great Spirit was trying to tell you something.” Kai stated. Alvena was shaking her head before Kai had even finished. “I also think the Great Spirit placed the key in the rock, so that I would be able to get to you when your dream turned bad.”
“Kai, that’s crazy. The dream was just my imagination going crazy over everything I’ve learned and everything that has happened.” Alvena argued.
“What about the key, lass?”
“Obviously, you or I must have put it back in the rock after opening the door. I only thought I placed it on the counter.” She defended.
“Lass, you accepted that I’m Dásreach and you have accepted that I shift into a dragon much larger than my human self. Why do you not want to acknowledge even the possibility of what I say?” Kai asked. He didn’t want to push her, but why else would the Great Spirit have approached her in the dream realm?
Alvena sat quietly for several minutes before looking at Kai.
“You’d better close that door.” She said. He glanced behind him and laughed. Kai got up from the sofa and went to the door, where he saw the duffel in the doorway where he had dropped it. He looped the strap of the bag over his shoulder while pushing the door closed and turning the lock.
“Why don’t we eat, while you think about this?” Kai said as he pulled a lamp table over to the sofa and dropped the bag on top of it. He unzipped it and began unloading what he had bought. “Sorry the bread’s a bit smashed.” He grinned at her hoping to make her more comfortable.
“No problem. I’m not big on sandwiches anyhow.” She responded as her stomach let out a booming growl of hunger. Kai laughed out loud at the shocked look on her face.
“Lass, I think your stomach doesn’t care.”
“I think you’re right.” She giggled. It was one of the most amazing sounds in the world to him, her laugh. His muscles relaxed at the sound and he felt his dragon relax back into his soul, both of them finally coming down from high alert.
Chapter 19
Al watched as Kai pulled up the end table and placed the bag on top. He pulled over a chair and sat cater-corner from her. Unzipping the bag he started pulling out what he had bought in town. Ham and Swiss cheese, okay, maybe she’d be able to eat a cold sandwich since he had gotten the only lunch meat she would eat. Next came two bottles of water. Al grabbed hers right away. She was so thirsty from all of the earlier activity. Normally she wasn’t much for water, but after not drinking anything since breakfast, she was thirsty enough to drink just about anything. Besides, she still had that copper penny taste in her mouth.
“Thirsty, lass?” Kai said with a chuckle. Al nodded as she continued to drink. “It’s a good thing I bought several bottles then.”
Al finished the bottle of water. She glanced down at the plastic container and picked at the label.
“Kai, I’m sorry if I upset you earlier today. You were so nice to teach me self-defense and… I…” Al couldn’t think of what she should say to Kai.
“Alvena, don’t. I was the one in the wrong. You had asked for some time and space. I practically mauled you.” Kai stated as he pulled more items out of the bag and set them on the table.
“No, Kai. Don’t blame yourself.” Al turned to Kai and looked him in the eye. “I need to be honest with you and myself. I want you. I don’t understand what is between us, but I do want you in a lust induced, all-consuming way.” Kai sucked in a breath and Al hurried on before she lost her nerve. “The truth is Kai, as I told you I’m really shy, but it’s more than that. When I was young, I had some bad friendships. And… simply, I have trust issues. Not just with other people’s intentions, but with myself. I don’t trust myself to be able to read people and know what I should do or what I should believe. So, over time, I have learned to pull back.”
“Oh, Alvena, I’ll be up front with you. When I say something, I do mean what I say.” Kai’s eyes softened.
“I want to believe that, Kai, I do. But, the truth is only you know what is really in your own head.” She rolled the water bottle in her hands. “I’m just now beginning to believe in people. The Book Worms did that for me.”
Kai stood up and came over to sit beside her. He reached over and took the empty water bottle from her hands. After sitting the bottle on the table, he took her hands in his.
“Alvena, I wish I could let you read my mind. I wish there was a way for you to feel the way I do about us. But, there’s not. The truth is, I’ve had my whole life to learn about the magic, the Great Spirit, and how Dásreach find their mates. This,” Kai motioned between the two of them, “thing between us, is natural for me. I trust it, because it is what I expected. But, I understand that you grew up with different beliefs and things are different for you.” Kai stood up and reached into the duffel bag. He pulled out a small bunch of what appeared to be wildflowers. “I want you to get to know me Alvena, to let this connection between us grow. I want the trust and companionship to grow between us as well.” Kai placed the flowers in her hands. He looked at her and waited.
They were slightly smashed, like the bread, but lovely all the same. He was making an effort to get to know her, to woo her.
“I love them, Kai. Thank you. Thank you for the flowers and for the understanding.” Al smiled at him.
“Oh, I have this for you too.” He pulled out a candy bar from the bag and handed it to her. Al looked down at the wrapper.
“My favorite! I love chocolate with almonds.” She smiled at him. “Chocolate and flowers, what every
girl likes to receive from a suitor.”
The smile that crossed Kai’s face was so wide and so beautiful that it stole Al’s breath. His happiness at her reaction was like looking into the sun.
“I’m glad you like them, lass. I thought, maybe, we could sort of have a date night tonight. You know, no attacks, no magic, and no unexplainable things. What do you say?”
“That sounds great.” Al said and meant it. This man always seemed to know the right thing to do or say to make her feel at ease. “So what do you have planned? There’s no TV to watch or places we could really go, right?”
“Well,” he said as he pulled something out of the bag, “I don’t suppose you’re up for some strip poker?” He said as he flashed a deck of cards and a wicked grin at her.
“Pft!” Al laughed out loud. “Not likely, Drago.”
“Drago, huh? Well, maybe I should challenge you to a game of strip Go Fish.” He said as that wicked grin got wider.
“I thought we were supposed to be having a nice normal, calm first date kind of thing.” Al said to him with a smirk of her own.
“What? You sayin’ you don’t flash some skin on a first date?” Kai asked and batted his eyes with a very non-believable angelic look on his face.
“Nope! Not even an ankle, big guy.” Al grinned. She loved this side of Kai, the playfulness and the humor. He always made her feel so comfortable. It had always been so easy to talk to him, even from the first moment she had looked into his face as she hung onto his arm and tried not to fall on her ass.
“Aw, shucks. I guess we’ll just have to play straight cards then.” Kai responded.
“Well, I don’t know very many card games. We just might have to play Go Fish.” She said to him as she looked down at the flowers still in her hand. “You know, I wonder if these would be able to handle the water from the tap. I don’t want to waste the bottled that we have.”
Finding the Dragon (Dásreach Council Book 1) Page 20