River Run Wolf

by Harmony Raines

  Throwing herself in front of them might not be enough. But she had to try something.

  Rushing forward, she plowed into the man, who landed on the ground, the breath pushed out of his lungs. As she bore down on him, his eyes widened, but not in terror. Which kind of disappointed her bear.

  He does know I’m as capable of killing him as any dragon, right? her bear asked.

  But before Sage could answer, the man lifted his hand and rubbed it lightly over her fur. “Black tips,” his voice rasped as he spoke.

  Sage looked sideways to snap at his hand. It was then she saw it. The Stone Claw tattoo.

  Her bear eased back, and Sage took a chance and shifted into her human form. Immediately she pulled her sleeve up and said, “My ancestor was Chin Shan.”

  He didn’t speak. He simply stared at her, his mouth open.

  “Stop this!” Sage yelled as the bears bore down on Thorn and Emilia, prepared to strike. “Emilia is a descendant of Jared. He protected your people. He died for your people.”

  Sage didn’t know if that was exactly true. However, it got the guy’s attention.

  “This is the daughter of Jared?” the man asked, his voice filled with reverence.

  “She is, and she means you no harm. We came for information, not to cause trouble.” Sage wanted to demand he let Emilia go, but she didn’t want to make the situation worse when it hung on a knife’s edge.

  He spoke to the others in a language Sage didn’t know, his voice a command they obeyed. With snarls and snapping teeth, the bears backed off, but they did not shift back into human form. Instead, they stood like sentinels around the perimeter of the clearing. Those that could stand.

  Was it wrong that Sage felt a certain satisfaction that they had managed to overpower so many of the Stone Claw Clan despite being outnumbered?

  “You have things under control,” Patrick stated as he approached her across the clearing. “I thought if we shifted, it might put them at ease.”

  “I doubt it.” I flashed him a smile. “But it’s a good thought.”

  Her own thoughts then turned to Emilia, who was still on the ground. Still in dragon form.

  “What have you done to her?” Thorn asked roughly. He had shifted, and his human form was hunkered down, stroking Emilia’s snout.

  “We have been taught to put all dragons under Ancient Slumber as soon as they appear,” the chanting guy said. Sage took a moment to assess him. He was old, perhaps in his seventies, which made her feel bad for knocking him to the ground. However, he was spritely with vigor and energy that belayed his apparent age.

  “And how many dragons have appeared?” Sage asked hotly, not a fan of the act first, ask questions later. Because how could you ask a question of a sleeping dragon?

  “None.” He bowed his head. “Until now.”

  “How do we wake her?” Thorn asked, swinging around, fists clenched at his sides.

  The bears took a step forward, their teeth bared, but the Stone Claw man put his hand out to stop their advance. “It will wear off. I can also mix a potion to revive her.”

  “No,” Thorn snapped. “I don’t trust you not to poison her.” Or harm the baby. But Thorn didn’t mention the dragon-child growing inside his mate.

  “I will drink the potion first, so you can see it is not poison,” he promised. “We would not hurt a daughter of Jared.” He looked at Emilia sadly.

  “Thorn,” Sage said gently. “Let him put this right.”

  A sigh from Thorn was followed by a nod. “If it won’t harm the child she carries.”

  “It will not. I give you my word.” The old man nodded, and Thorn eyed him with suspicion but let him go.

  “I’ll come with you,” Sage told him. Patrick moved to follow her. “Stay here with Thorn.”

  Patrick nodded but didn’t look happy watching his mate walk off with a strange man who may or may not mean them harm.

  “You are a daughter of Chin Shan?” the man asked as he left the clearing and followed a narrow trail. In the distance, Sage caught glimpses of huts. Was this the Stone Claw village?

  “I am a descendent, yes. After he put Emilia and Magnus to sleep, he took a potion to get rid of his memories.”

  “How do you know this?” the man asked as he reached a hut and entered inside.

  Sage hesitated before following. The hut was not large but there was little inside except for a straw bed and a table with some kind of apparatus used for distilling medicines. “Emilia and Magnus told us.”

  The man swung around and aimed a piercing glance at her as if trying to seek out a lie. “The dragon outside is the descendant of Jared Dumas?”

  “Yes, I already told you that.”

  “And she is also the same dragon Chin Shan put into Ancient Slumber so that my people could return home?” The old man sat down hard on a hand-carved seat and put his hand to his head in disbelief.

  “What dragon did you think Chin Shan put to sleep?” Sage asked.

  “Not the children of Jared.” He shook his head, looking pale. “What betrayal.”

  Sage’s stomach felt hollow as the old man pushed himself to his feet and busied himself with vials and bottles of strange-looking, and smelling, liquids. Jared was revered by these people and Chin Shan had put his children to sleep to aid the Stone Claw Clan. The same clan Jared had fought to protect and died for.

  “Your people didn’t send the dragon children away for your own safety, did they?” Sage asked quietly.

  “No, they helped them leave under cover of darkness, and then over many months and years, those sworn to silence moved all of Jared’s treasure to the caves in the hills so they could be safe. The dragon Karim hunted them. He knew when they came of age they would hunt him down for what he did to their father.”

  “I see.” Sage rubbed her hand over her eyes.

  “Emilia, she is your friend?” the man asked.

  “She is. We came here together to find answers about the past. The wolf shifter, Patrick, he is from the River Wolf Clan.”

  “Then the circle is closed.” The old man smiled and held out his hand. “My name is Chin Lee. My ancestor was the brother of Chin Shan.”

  Emotion welled up inside her. This man wasn’t just part of the Stone Claw Clan, he was part of her family.

  Chapter Fourteen – Patrick

  Patrick stood guard over Emilia. It was the right thing to do. That didn’t mean he would rather be at Sage’s side, protecting her, helping her.

  So it was with a great wave of relief when he sensed her presence returning to the clearing.

  She looked upset, as if she’d been crying, and his fists clenched at his sides, ready to do harm to whoever hurt her.

  “Are you all right?” Patrick asked when she joined them.

  “Yes. This is Chin Lee. His ancestor was the brother of Chin Shan.” She caught the look Thorn flashed at Chin Lee. “The Stone Claw Clan had no idea that Chin Shan planned to put Emilia and Magnus to sleep.”

  “The Clan was sworn to protect the children of Jared,” Chin Lee said humbly.

  “Well, they failed once. Let’s hope they don’t fail again,” Thorn said, stepping closer to Chin Lee. “Do you have the potion?”

  “I do.” Chin Lee held the bottle up in his hand and took the stopper out before placing it to his lips. In a flick of his wrist, he tipped it up and took a gulp before he replaced the stopper. “Perfectly safe.”

  “It’s all right, Thorn, we can trust them,” Sage said gently.

  Thorn looked at Emilia in anguish. “Why doesn’t she wake up? I’m here. I woke her before.”

  “You are her true mate?” Chin Lee asked with great respect.

  “Yes. Thorn is the one who woke Emilia from the Ancient Slumber spell Chin Shan cast,” Sage explained. “Why hasn’t it worked again?”

  “Because you are bound as one. The jolt of first recognition between true mates would have been enough to wake her. But now, your lives are entwined, your souls are entwined.�
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  “And my hands will be entwined around your neck if you don’t restore her.” Thorn’s usual mild personality had been transformed as he watched his mate lying prone on the ground. Patrick could understand how he felt. If anything happened to Emilia, he would kill and maim to get her back.

  He held his breath as Chin Lee went around to the front of the dragon and gently opened her mouth. He used his mouth to unstop the bottle and then poured the contents onto her tongue.

  The effect was almost instantaneous. The dragon’s eyes flickered for a moment and then opened wide, her massive head lifted off the ground, nearly knocking Chin Lee over. She took a breath, the sound of fire brewing inside her rattling through her body.

  “It’s okay.” Thorn stepped forward and placed his hands lovingly on Emilia’s scaly head. “They aren’t going to hurt you. It’s over.”

  Smoke puffed out of her nostrils and the menacing rattle ceased, although her eyes narrowed as she stared unblinking at the bears and Chin Lee.

  “It was a misunderstanding,” Sage said to her friend.

  “Why don’t you shift, and we’ll talk.” Patrick was the voice of reason once more, the bloodlust he had experienced when Sage was in danger passed. But he, too, wanted answers, and he intended to get them. It was the least the Stone Claw Clan could do after such a violent welcome.

  Thorn stood up and took a couple of steps away from Emilia, giving her room to get up and stand on four feet. Her tail switched with menace and she leaned her long neck forward and puffed smoke at the bears. It covered them like the clouds covered the mountain peaks.

  Then she shifted back into her human form. Her expression matched that of her dragon, filled with suspicion. “Is that how you treat everyone who comes to visit your village?” she asked sharply as the bears melted into the trees surrounding the clearing and the air popped and sizzled as they shifted into their human forms.

  Patrick smiled to himself, despite the seriousness of the situation. Those bear shifters obviously didn’t want Emilia, either human or dragon, to know who they were. But he was certain Emilia’s dragon hunted by scent and could easily track them down. If she wanted to.

  “No, daughter of Jared. It is not how we welcome people to our village. But old habits die hard and we have been schooled in the art of protecting ourselves from a dragon attack.”

  “And when was your last dragon attack, Chin Lee?” Emilia asked. Perhaps the question was a real one and not simply asked to make a point. For all they know, the Stone Claw Clan could have been attacked when they came back home.

  “This place has never been attacked. But we all learn the tales of our ancestors, and so we are made ready. Each generation, two people are charged with learning the Ancient Slumber spell. There is always one of us in the village.” He bowed his head. “But if I had known who you were, I would never have cast it.”

  “That doesn’t make it all right,” Emilia told him, but her anger was slipping away. “Will you answer our questions? Since you all know so much about dragons.”

  “I will. But allow me to offer you our hospitality and offer you food and drink.” He turned and walked toward the trail leading to the village. They all followed since this was why they had made the long journey.

  “What do you think of him?” Patrick asked Sage as they dropped back behind the others. Emilia seemed to stalk Chin Lee, making her aware of her presence with each step.

  “I like him. I think he is genuinely sorry for what happened. They still revere Emilia’s father. The news that Chin Shan harmed Jared’s children hit him hard. It was a betrayal.”

  “Made by your ancestor, not you,” Patrick reminded her.

  “It still smarts. As if someone slapped me across the face.” Sage glanced ahead and then back to Patrick. “Do you think I’m wrong to trust them?”

  “No. I believe what happened in the clearing was a misunderstanding. They had every right to be wary of a dragon flying overhead. For all they knew, it could have been the same dragon that ravaged them on the River Run Mountains.” Patrick fixed his gaze on Chin Lee. “He is not so different from Lupe.”

  Patrick remembered all too well the night when his granddad and others from the village tried to shoot down three dragons. It could have ended so badly. But it didn’t, and those old wounds were now healed, just as he hoped the wounds Emilia carried for the Stone Claws, possibly made deeper because of the attack today, would soon be healed.

  “I keep forgetting about the night Lupe tried to attack the dragons.” She smiled at the thought. “Old men don’t grow up, do they?”

  “No, they don’t.” Patrick didn’t believe his granddad would ever grow up. Nor would he want him to. “So you and the old man are related.”

  “It seems as if we are. His great-great-something granddad was Chin Shan’s brother. I always wondered if Chin Shan had any family in the Stone Claw Clan. I could accept what he did a whole lot easier if I knew he did it for the sake of his family.”

  “How do you feel about that?” Patrick asked as they reached a small hut. Thorn and Emilia waited outside while Chin Lee went inside.

  “I’d like to meet my relatives,” Sage admitted. “But it doesn’t change me. I thought it might. But my brothers and I grew up half a world away from this village.” She cracked a smile. “I can cope with moving to your village, Patrick. But I don’t intend to move here.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Emilia said. She looked pale and tired. “I like having you around and there’s no way I’m visiting here again.”

  “You’ll feel better once you’ve eaten and rested,” Thorn told her.

  “Says the man who was ready to bite their heads off.” Emilia arched an eyebrow at him. “However, you might be right. This is a beautiful place.”

  “And you are like royalty to the Stone Claw Clan,” Thorn leaned forward and whispered over her shoulder.

  “I wonder if they usually capture royalty and try to put them to sleep.” Emilia’s expression clouded as she recalled the events of earlier. “But I can’t blame them for their reaction. Chin Lee said the original members of the Stone Claw Clan who returned here never got over the attacks.”

  “PTSD,” Thorn said solemnly. “I suppose they then passed that fear down generation after generation.”

  “But that ends today,” Patrick said. “Now that they know you are not the bad guy. Or girl.”

  Emilia shrugged. “We still don’t know if there are other dragons out there who are bad. Just as I woke up when my mate passed by, other dragons might be bad.”

  “Harlan, Ruby’s dad, was telling me they had a run-in with a bad dragon a few months ago and Alex’s father put him into Ancient Slumber.” Thorn cast a sideways glance at Emilia.

  “It’s difficult to hear anyone was put under that spell. But you must remember my father was killed by another dragon and we were sent away for our own safety. What if that dragon was Karim, the same one that was searching for me and Magnus? We could be dead by now.” Emilia was right. Although Patrick could tell she didn’t like the solution, she was smart enough to know sometimes the only way was to remove the danger to others in a semi-permanent way.

  Chin Lee ducked out of the hut with a large bottle of a pink liquid. “We should go and meet the others. No doubt news of your arrival has spread through our village.”

  “I hope that doesn’t mean we have to defend ourselves again,” Patrick said. He wasn’t sure if he would be capable of diffusing the situation again. He’d gotten lucky when he pushed Sage forward to confront Chin Lee. It could have all ended so much worse.

  “They will not hurt you. Emilia is the daughter of our most revered dragon and in her womb she carries a new generation. Sage is one of us by blood. And you two are one of us because you are fortunate enough to be their mates.” Chin Lee made it all sound so easy, so simple. Of course, it could be an elaborate plan.

  Or it could be an excuse for a party, his wolf said in amusement as they rounded a bend in the trail they w
ere following and caught sight of the faces of many villagers who were outside of their homes, waiting for the small group to arrive.

  “Well, this is embarrassing,” Sage said out of the side of her mouth as the people surged around them.

  “Smile and enjoy it,” Patrick said. “You and Emilia are celebrities here.”

  “I don’t want to be a celebrity,” Sage answered. “It doesn’t feel right. Not with everything else that’s happened.”

  “Sometimes you have to do what is right for others rather than what is right for you.” Patrick nodded as he placed his hand possessively on her elbow.

  The people shook their hands and welcomed them into the village, where a party atmosphere ensued. Even though it was only early morning, food and drink were brought out. Chin Lee opened the bottle of pink liquid and poured it out into glasses that other villagers provided.

  “Here’s to the restoration of balance between our clans.” He raised his glass and drank, and the others did the same.

  “What is this?” Sage gasped as she took a drink.

  “Sake,” Chin Lee replied. “Homebrewed.”

  “Chin Lee is famous in the village for his sake,” one of the female villagers said as she offered rice and vegetables to them. She giggled and whispered, “Not in a good way.”

  Sage giggled, looking more relaxed, while Emilia sniffed the pink sake suspiciously and shook her head. “It would not be good for my child.” Sage wasn’t sure it would be good for any of them, but she drank it all the same.

  Thorn drank his and said, “I’ve never tasted anything like this, and I’ve traveled all over the world.”

  “Is that a compliment?” Chin Lee asked, refilling everyone’s glasses.

  “I’m not sure.” Thorn sniffed the pink liquor and drank. “But the more I drink, the better it tastes.”

  “Then drink up!” Chin Lee poured more liquor into his glass while someone started singing a song about the voyage of the Stone Claw Clan.

  Patrick leaned back and put his arm around Sage. “Either you really are a celebrity, or they are trying to get us drunk.”

  Sage leaned across and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m willing to be a celebrity for a couple of hours, but this Stone Claw Clan girl is not getting drunk. I have questions, and I want answers.”