The Dragon's Secret Bride

by Jasmine Wylder

  A deep quiver began within her. With every movement, it grew and her body became less and less her own. Control left and a new wave of feelings overtook her.

  Another gasp dragged through her throat. Virgil's rhythm changed to match her rising intensity. Emmie's eyes locked onto the pure gray of his eyes as her body lifted and an explosion burst through her cells.

  Virgil’s mouth opened part way as his body contracted and the two froze together, barely moving as surges of energy ran through them.

  It was a few minutes before Emmie remembered the cold around her, her clothes lying chilly beneath her. She turned and curled her body into Virgil’s not ready to give herself up to the reality of the cold that was even now moving in.

  Chapter Six

  Emmie got no sleep after Virgil dropped her safely at the Ward Ranch. She couldn't stop seeing his gray eyes and feel his hands on her. The prospect of Virgil leaving and her body and mind continuing without him seemed an impossible thing.

  The day dragged on. She made her rounds and thought she saw the same pack of coyotes or wolves that she’d seen before, but they were gone before she even remembered her missing rifle.

  Every moment was filled with thought and she couldn’t manage to keep her mind focused on any task for more than a few seconds. She wondered where Virgil was, how far away, if he’d made up with Max or if something bad might have happened to him. When she finally crept into bed that night her head was so foggy and her eyes so heavy that she slipped into bed and into a full sleep within only a few minutes.

  She was so heavily and deeply asleep that she could not understand what was happening as she woke in the middle of the night. There was a pounding sound, it was dark, and she could barely make sense of it until she looked out her window and saw Virgil’s face.

  It was a moment before she could conceive that she wasn’t dreaming and was able to get up and open her window. Her smile disappeared when she saw the serious look on his face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Max, Otis, and Levi are on their way over. I tried to reason with them earlier, we even made it out of town, but Max is stubborn and dangerous.”

  Emmie put her hand on Virgil’s arm, “It will be ok. We have another rifle inside, and another in the barn, we’ll be safe here.”

  “No,” Virgil’s face went tight and Emmie watched him closely. “There’s something you don’t know about me… about the four of us.”

  Emmie felt a sinking feeling creep through the pit of her stomach. The way he said it and the look on his face were telling her that any or all of her worst fears were most certainly true.

  “Emeline,” Virgil braced himself on the side of the house. “You know how I told you that the cattle were taken by animals?”

  Emmie nodded waiting for further explanation but nothing came.

  "That was you? You're telling me that you did steal the McGilligcuddy cattle?”

  “Yes, and the other morning too,” Virgil squinted his eyes.

  “Other morning?”

  “The morning you came out—”

  “—No,” Emmie interrupted. “I saw wolves remember?”

  “Exactly,” Virgil exhaled the word slowly.

  “I don’t understand,” Emmie’s face screwed up. Whatever her worst fears had been they hadn’t revolved around Virgil stealing cattle and for a moment she had felt vaguely relieved.

  “Remember you shot one in the leg?” Virgil lifted his brows as if this would be the final clue, but Emmie shook her head without understanding. “You shot Levi.”

  “But I didn’t… I shot…” Emmie’s thoughts drifted by as she saw the look in Virgil’s eyes. She was looking at two pieces of a puzzle that made no sense. Unless…

  “You are telling me—”

  “—Yes, that is exactly what I’m telling you. That is why they are so dangerous, why we need to get you out of here.”

  Emmie stared at him for another long moment.

  “Emeline, please.” Virgil’s voice was so full of conviction and momentum that she felt she had no choice but to move.

  “Ok,” She nodded at him before running to get her boots.

  “You should get the extra rifle too,” Virgil turned to look out over the land behind him.

  “I can’t leave Silas without one, I’ll get the one in the barn,” Emmie instinctively understood that there was no time for more explanations, no time for changing out of her night dress, no time to think twice.

  Emmie shimmied out of her window while Virgil gripped her arm, then the two of them made their way down to the dirt and grass below.

  As soon as her feet hit the grass she knew something was wrong. When she turned, she saw all three of them before her. She had no weapon, only Virgil and they didn’t stand a chance against three.

  Emmie tried to calculate how long it would take her to get to the barn but it was impossibly far.

  “You’re becoming rather predictable these days,” Max looked at Virgil.

  “You should leave,” Virgil’s voice was strong and Emmie guessed that his voice was showing a strength his mind could not be so sure of.

  “I’ll leave when I get what I came here for,” Max walked forward with an arrogance he certainly hadn’t earned from his last fight with Virgil.

  A crack came from Emmie’s left. The front door of the house swung open, slamming against the wood behind it. Silas stood in the doorway with a shotgun lifted to his shoulder.

  “You should stop right there,” Silas spoke slowly and Emmie watched as Max’s smile grew larger.

  “Dad,” Emmie had to warn her father that at any moment a wolf could be attacking him but just as she finished the word Max shifted with a leap into a full-grown wolf. A crack rang out into the night and Emmie began running toward her father.

  A shriek came from her other side and she turned her head to see Virgil shift and pounce on Otis. As her head spun back to her father another flash of color moved in front of her and Emmie found herself rolling on the ground, long, sharp teeth snapping at her face.

  Emmie put both feet up to the belly of the wolf then pushed with a great effort. It didn’t last long but just long enough for Emmie to see the place where she’d shot him a few days before.

  Gathering all her strength Emmie kicked at the back leg of the animal. Her foot made contact and a yelp of pain went up.

  She looked up again to see Virgil jump on Levi as Otis lay in an unmoving heap on the grass.

  A loud growl issued from the front porch and Emmie turned to see Max as he took notice of his brother’s lifeless body.

  Max turned from Otis to Virgil and lunged at him. Just as Max made contact with Virgil, Levi also turned to make it two against one on Virgil. Emmie stood and ran with all her might at the injured wolf. They tumbled over closer to the front porch where Emmie could vaguely see her father’s body laying broken. She looked up as Levi lunged for her.

  She saw the movement as if in slow motion, the seconds drawing out, Levi jumped for her and Virgil turned from Max striking out at Levi with such force that the injured wolf flew through the air and thudded unmoving against the house.

  Max jumped again but Virgil was ready for him this time. Within a few seconds, it was over. Emmie ran to her father's body trying without success to find a pulse. Her eyes filled over her only parent, now dead.

  Emmie turned toward Virgil who had just changed back into himself. His eyes were full of everything she felt.

  “He’s gone,” Emmie looked at Virgil pleading for him to contradict her.

  Two heavy tears rolled down her cheeks, then without a moment’s thought, Emmie picked up the discarded gun still on the porch, cocked it, and fired. Virgil swung around to see Max sprawled out on the ground just as he’d been before Emmie had taken her perfect shot.

  Chapter Seven

  The graveyard in Cool Water Gap was not in the center of town with the church. It was out ways but Emmie had always gone there regularly to visit her mother's graves
ite.

  Now as she stood over her mother’s grave she looked at her father’s grave too.

  “I miss you,” She whispered the words to both her parents who now, after all these years, were together again.

  Pushing a tear off her cheek she turned back toward the ranch. Virgil stood with his serious eyes and mouth, his body tense and set, waiting for her, watching over her.

  He walked her out past the small makeshift gravestones, some good and some rudimentary. Red was just outside the small enclosure and Emmie swung herself up onto his back in one fluid motion.

  The sun was shining down on her skin and she lifted her face up to it, closing her eyes for a moment.

  When she opened her eyes again she turned them to Virgil.

  "I'll race you home," Before she'd finished saying "race" she'd given Red a signal and begun off toward the ranch. Red was strong beneath her, his hooves thundering along the ground. The wind brushed across Emmie's face and she looked back over her shoulder to see the sleek gray wolf easily keeping pace with her.

  She shook her head wishing that for once she and Red stood more of a chance to win. When Emmie pulled up to the ranch first she shook her head at Virgil.

  “What?” He raised his hands. “You won. You must be happy with that.”

  Emmie pushed her lips together and studied him, “No. You let me win. That’s not the same thing.”

  Virgil feigned ignorance of his rigged race and Emmie walked past him into the house to set the table for dinner.

  They slept with the windows open as the summer came on and their bodies intertwined as the easy summer breeze flowed over them both.

  As the sun began to break, Emmie woke. She walked free and naked to the window, standing in awe at the beauty of something that happens every morning. She leaned her head against the windowsill and breathed in the fresh air of a new day.

  Emmie turned to watch the man sleeping soundly in her bed. His body was strong and lithe, his face perfect in the grip of a deep and dreamless sleep.

  She felt an overwhelming sense of love flood her senses as she watched him. She walked to the edge of the bed and looked down into his face, wishing she could see his gray eyes once again.

  “I love you,” Emmie whispered down to the sleeping man.

  She crawled back into bed and pulled herself close to his body.

  Emmie’s mouth found Virgil’s and they fit together perfectly.

  “Good morning,” Virgil smiled a sleepy smile as his hands slid over Emmie’s warm skin.

  “It is a good morning,” Emmie smiled back. She rolled herself on top of him, her thighs fitting around him as if they’d been made for just that purpose.

  Emmie bent down but before her lips could touch his, Virgil lifted a finger to them.

  “What?” Emmie stopped, her eyes locking with his.

  “Just wanted to say,” He whispered close to her face, “that I love you too.” Virgil released his finger and lifted his head, no longer willing to hold himself away.

  *****

  THE END

  Auctioned to the Dragon Warrior

  Description

  Brighid is a virgin at the College of Atlantica, destined to marry a priest she is repulsed by. One the day that she is meant to marry him, though, she is abducted by an alien species of man who can turn into dragons–the Viles. Have her fortunes gotten even worse?

  She soon finds out when she is purchased at auction by a dragon by the name of Eirrick. A warrior with more muscle than anybody she had seen before, he's more terrifying than she could possibly imagine… so why is it that she dreams of his touch?

  Eirrick has his choice of women. But he wants a wife, and that wife is Brighid. He'll convince her that he's the one for her, no matter what it takes. He wakens a fire of desire in her that she has never known. And he has sworn not to touch her until she wants him to… but how can she admit that she does when she has been taught all her life that desire is a man's prerogative, and shameful for a woman to have?

  And the priest that had laid claim to her at the College will not give her up so easily. When he declares war on the dragons, will Eirrick decide that one fragile human is worth fighting for? And can Brighid trust a man who can turn into a beast?

  Chapter One

  Brighid

  The bright sun was stifling, made all the worse by the thick, heavy dress that clung to Brighid’s neck. As a virgin in the College of the sea goddess Atlantica, she rarely stepped out into the sun, much less with her face uncovered.

  Though the heat made her want to vomit, her chest was cold, as if her heart had turned into a block of ice. Brigid sneaked a peek at the other girls standing in a line beside her. They all wore the same uniform as she did, thick black gowns that swept the ground and went to their chins and just past the wrist. Their hair was down freely, indicating they were ready to be taken as wives. All their eyes were ringed with kohl. It looked almost fearsome on the girls. In the morning many of them would have kohl streaking their faces.

  She would be one of them. All the girls were being picked by Atlantica’s priests to wife today, and she already knew who would pick her. Jyah. He was one of the high priests and never had a wife before, so he would be among the first to pick. There was a slim chance one of the others would pick her first but unlikely. Everybody knew Jyah wanted her and given his rising prowess on the battlefield, nobody would want to anger him by claiming what he already thought of his.

  Brighid's hands clenched. Perhaps it would have been better if she had thrown herself in the well where disgraced virgins were sent to be tried and drowned by Atlantica herself. It would be better than this fate. Perhaps in the morning she'd dive into it, or step from the high towers of the temple. Or perhaps Jyah would not be as terrible as she feared.

  A large transport ship, shaped like a bow with stylized propulsion systems like wings coming from the back, descended from the sky. Brighid shuddered. So they had arrived.

  The eunuchs and old maids of Atlantica, who guarded the girls’ virginity and punished those who broke their oaths, activated the energy barriers that would separate the virgins from the priests. They had all spent a decade of their lives out in space protecting the Lantian Realm from intruders, especially the great Beasts of Viles. Now that they were looking at the beautiful faces of human women once more they could hardly be expected to control themselves. It was a good thing they were being married, else they might become just as terrible as the Viles.

  The priests left their ship in a long line of swirling robes and armored bodies. They stood on transit disks and as they floated to the surface they formed a battalion rank.

  Brighid watched only long enough to see Jyah among the others. Even though priests spent their decade fighting, he was an exception. Four months ago he had been grievously wounded in battle and brought to the College for the virgins to tend to. That was when Brighid met him, while tending to his wounds.

  That was when he decided he wanted her.

  Her stomach churned as the High Priestess greeted the priests and thanked them for their service. She closes her eyes as the first warriors were called forward to choose their brides.

  Please, she begged the Ocean Mother, don't let me end in his bed.

  As if in answer to her prayer, a screech split the air. Brighid’s head snapped up. Jyah stood right in front of her. His face turned to the sky and his hand gripped the hilt of his long sword. Brighid followed his gaze. Her breath caught in her throat as plumes of fire burst in the sky.

  “Dragon!” someone shouted.

  The girls screamed. The priests drew their weapons. Brighid stared, fascinated, as the graceful shapes ducked and wove through the air. She knew in the back of her mind that she should be running. She should be utterly terrified.

  Half a dozen of the great beasts veered around and dove for the girls. They scattered. Brighid was frozen. From fear? It didn’t feel that way. Fascination? Not that, either. Just frozen.

  The dragon didn’
t seem real until its claws were wrapped around her. Even then, there was no fear. The sharp edges of its scales cut into her dress and the talons were none too gentle but as it drew her against its hot belly and beat its wings at the priests that charged it, she didn’t feel how she ought to have. Full of terror. Pleading to be released.

  Through the crowd, she saw Jyah rushing towards them.

  With a final beat of its wings, the dragon took off again. More of its fellows were rising above the scurrying crowd, dodging this way and that as the priests threw spears at them. Girls writhed and screamed in their claws and Brighid wanted to laugh at them.

  Don’t you see that the priests would do the same as the beasts?

  She gazed at the ground as it got further and further away and wondered, if she prayed hard enough, Atlantica would make the dragon drop her so she would be dashed on the dirt. Her morbid thoughts shocked her from the daze that had taken hold of her. She struggled in the dragon’s grip. A rumbling vibrated its chest. A growl or laughter?

  The dragons wheeled about like a flock of birds. A cavernous mouth gaped open before them and Brighid screamed. But when they passed through the mouth it didn’t close. Instead, it turned into a giant, glittering cave. The dragons set down and pushed their catch into the center of their circle. Brighid clung to the other girls, her stomach churning.

  But that numbness that had taken her when she first saw the dragons crept back into her and she couldn’t make herself weep like the others.

  All around them, the dragons’ wings got smaller. Their bodies twisted and condensed until what looked like men surrounded them. All had hair that was coarse and blond, braided into chunks down their backs. Many had tattoos and all had scars. Viles, a species of alien that could transform from a humanoid appearance to the dragons that had taken them.

  “We’ve got a good bounty for the auction. And all Atlantica’s virgins.” One of them laughed. “Abelard was right, the risks were worth the rewards.”

  All around her, the other girls started wailing. And no wonder. The auction was well-known. The Viles gathered up stolen women and children and sold them as slaves. Brighid knew what sort of slave that they, as virgins, would become but she still couldn't work up the tears that had her fellow sisters gnashing their teeth. If anything, their dramatics were getting annoying.