Haunted By Her Dragon (The Dragon Guard Series)

by Mills, Julia

  “My mate was one of the rare white dragons. Not long after we were mated, he returned from battle, unable to shift back to human form due to a serious injury. I nursed him in the healing caves for almost a week until he was able to shift again. While I cared for him, he shed this scale.” She gently stroked the scales within the locket. “I’d placed it with all the other broken scales, but my Gareth found it, and had this locket made for me. On the day he gave it me, he explained that only once in every white dragon’s life did they produce the rare heart scale. Most shed it without ever knowing. The fact that we had been together when he’d shed it was our special blessing from the Universe.

  “We had many happy years together and were blessed with a son. I believe you’ve met him…Devon?” Sam nodded. “Even though Gareth has gone on before me, I hold a piece of his soul in mine. We will be reunited in the Heavens again one day.” She beamed with love and pride while talking of her family.

  For the first time since this entire thing started, Sam let her tears flow freely, surprised that not a single one was in sadness, but all were happy tears for hope and love. Siobhan held her hand as once again, warmth that defied explanation made its way up her arm and she was filled with a calm sense of well being. “There is one more thing I need to talk to you about, Love,” the elder woman began, and Sam wiped her eyes on her sleeve while she listened. “I know the girls explained a lot to you about our kin, and I can tell that you have not completely come to terms with what the future holds for you and our Lance, but I feel it is my responsibility to make sure you know that our lifespan is considerably longer than that of humans, and that if you decide to officially mate with Lance, yours will be also.”

  Sam sat for a minute contemplating what she’d just learned and wondered if her life would ever be normal again. She snorted in the most unladylike fashion when she realized her life had never been normal, so why start at this point. Siobhan grinned like she knew what Sam was thinking, which she probably did, and actually giggled when Sam had snorted.

  “So are we talking a hundred years longer or something?”

  “Actually, we are talking about a thousand years and that is just in this life. None of us knows what the next life holds.” The Healer said so calmly that Sam had to do a quick rewind of the conversation to make sure she had heard correctly, and then she was sure her eyes were going to bug out of her head. “ONE.THOUSAND.YEARS? REALLY?”

  Siobhan grabbed both hands, but Sam was pretty sure the warmth trick wasn’t going to work this time. “Yes, dear but there is nothing to fear. You will have your mate and all his brethren by your side. Days filled with love and family.”

  “It all sounds really cool, but don’t you guys get arthritis or diabetes or high blood pressure?”

  Siobhan laughed, “No, Samantha, we do not. We are designed to live long, bountiful lives protecting our kin and any other that may need our help.”

  “If you say so, but I was thinking eighty was going be a lot of years, I definitely need to think about the whole thousand year thing.” Sam tried to make light, while inside she was freaking out.

  “I promise I did not tell you to scare you or make you doubt what I can tell you feel for him,” she motioned to Lance still lying motionless. “But to make sure that you know everything about us.”

  “Well, thank you for sharing. I truly appreciate it. It’s just gonna take a little time to fully absorb it all.”

  On the third day, she could no longer keep Sydney from visiting Lance. The negotiations and promises were over. As soon as they got down stairs, she was once again completely amazed by the little girl’s maturity and loving nature. Syd sat beside Lance’s bed with her books and dolls, reading and acting out story after story. There were times when she was talking or singing that Sam could actually feel love flowing through their connection, and had to believe that meant he was making his way back to them.

  Sydney visited at least once a day from then on. There were times it appeared as though she was actually carrying on a conversation with him, but Sam chalked it up to a little girl’s imagination. Grace had spoken with the judge handling Sydney’s case and now the four of them, Aidan, Grace, Sam and Lance, were listed as her guardians. The order would remain in place until her safety was no longer an issue. If Sam had it her way the child would remain with them forever. Them? Forever? Was she really considering making a go of it with her Dragon Man? She shoved it into the ‘Things to Think About Later’ part of her brain and moved on.

  The huge incision across his chest visibly healed more every day, until on the sixth day, the stitches had dissolved and all that was left was a jagged puffy pink scar. Further proof that all she was being told, no matter how unbelievable, was the truth. His heart beat was strong and steady, although still slower than she liked. Siobhan assured her it was normal for all dragon shifters. All of his brethren, as she had been told they were called, were in and out every day all day, and Kyndel came down a few extra times to administer the ointment that was her granny’s recipe. Sam had never believed in herbal remedies, but then she had never believed men could turn into dragons either.

  Max, whom she had met at the hospital, his sister, and two men came to visit during Lance’s convalescence. Their mannerisms were anything but normal. The large, darker skinned one with onyx eyes actually sniffed Lance’s arm, and looked to Max. She was sure the silent communication thing was happening between them, but it was different than when the dragons were doing it, completely inexplicable, but different nonetheless. Max and his group were big and muscular but leaner, more compact, more graceful than Lance and the others. The dragon shifters were graceful, but the others were just…more so. They were very polite and seemed genuinely concerned for his welfare, but she could not help feeling that they had secrets of their own.

  Her hand to forehead moment came when Devon came down just as Max and crew were leaving. She must have been looking at them with a questioning look because the usually quiet Guardsman asked, “You can tell, can’t you?”

  “What?” She asked, trying to school her features.

  “You can tell they aren’t human. You’ve been around us long enough that you are starting to notice the difference,” he stated so matter-of-factly that it took her a minute to respond.

  “Busted,” she shrugged, and waited for him to go on.

  “They’re werepanthers.” She knew she was looking at him like he had three heads but couldn’t stop, so she waited. “Like we change into dragons, they change into panthers.”

  He smiled like it was every day a person found out that there really were people that could turn into something more. She had thought they were something more, but confirmation was something totally different.

  “You okay, Sam?”

  “Okay is a relative term, but I will be as soon as you tell me what else is out there, and why the darker one smelled Lance’s arm.”

  Devon thought for a moment and then agreed, “But if he,” he motioned towards Lance, still unconscious, “gets pissed, I’m blaming it on you.”

  “Deal,” she agreed.

  “Juan Carlos was ‘scenting’ to see if there was silver left in Lance’s body. He told Max that it was almost all gone.”

  “I think I need some of those supercharged senses you guys all have,” she laughed, trying to relieve the tension.

  “You will,” he responded, but she decided to let that go for another time.

  She listened as he told her about more things than she had ever even imagined. They talked into the wee hours of the morning. If he had not looked her straight in the eye, or stalled even a second before answering one of her million questions, she would’ve sworn he was messing with her (kind of like her initiation into the family) but he didn’t and she knew he was being blatantly honest. When she finally rested that evening, her dreams were full of all they had discussed. She added to the list of things she was going to wring Lance’s neck over when he woke up.

  The last night before she had
to return to work, Royce came down to visit. As he was getting up to leave he asked her to come outside for a minute. Scared that Lance might wake up while she was gone, she stood, but didn’t move until one of the younger healers that had been making the rounds told her he would keep watch and come get her if there was any change.

  As they made their way through the house, she noticed it was completely abandoned. “Where is everyone?” she asked.

  The big guy didn’t answer, just kept moving through the house. When they reached the French doors leading into the backyard, she saw lights and heard voices. Royce threw them open, and everyone she had met over the last week screamed, “SURPRISE!”

  In the course of all the craziness, she’d forgotten her own birthday. Not that she ever really celebrated it, but at least she usually remembered the day. It was incredibly touching that these amazing people had thought of her. They were accepting her into their fold, making her one of their own, even though she still held out that she would be returning to her life as soon as she knew Lance was healthy and the threats against her and Sydney had been eliminated.

  For a brief second, she wondered how they had known, and then got so caught up in the festivities it was several hours before it dawned on her that she had forgotten to ask. Figuring it would have to wait until later, she made her way back down to Lance. The young Healer had been replaced by Jace, a newly ‘transformed’ member of what they called the Dragon Guard. He seemed like a good kid, but looked no older than the high school kids she had taught CPR to over the summer. She knew sooner or later her brain was going to explode from all the new things she was learning, and she hadn’t even touched on the ‘special language’ she’d heard them speaking. It reminded her of the Gaelic she had heard Charlie’s parents speak the few times they had visited.

  She gave Lance his nightly sponge bath and realized she was actually holding her breath, waiting for him to open his eyes. She longed to hear, “Doc,” in his low baritone rumble that worked its way under skin and made her pulse race, and to feel his lips on hers. Taking a deep breath, she wiped across his chest with a clean cloth to remove the bath oil infused water, and marveled again as ‘Lancelot’ as she had started calling the dragon on his chest, responded to her touch. She thought back to her dream that had featured the amazing beast and recalled every detail of his massive body. Something about that dream seemed real. At the time, she’d dismissed it as her lack of sleep, but after all she had learned in the last week, she had to wonder if it was real. Had he actually flown past her window, watching and protecting her even in his dragon form? Kyndel and Grace had said that she was the mate of not only the man, but the beast. Could that really be true? Why would she doubt that if she was willing to believe the rest?

  Her hands moved along Lance’s amazing body, touching every muscle, caressing the definition of his eight-pack, making her mouth water with the need to taste. She knew she should feel bad that she was getting excited while he lay there unmoving. Recovering from an almost fatal injury, but her body had a mind of its own. It also didn’t help that the longer her hands massaged his tanned skin, the stronger the feelings of lust coming through their connection grew and the stronger the electric current between them ran. Somewhere in his healing sleep as they all called it, he was aware of what was going on and knew she was caring for him. It was just something she knew, without explanation.

  Siobhan had explained that it was a combination of the massive amount of silver that had infiltrated his body, the way his dragon had drained his strength to keep Lance up and ‘fighting’ that was prolonging his healing time. Sam would have thought it might’ve had something to do with the huge blade they had removed from his chest, and said as much to the elder woman. The Healer had just laughed, and told her that he had healed from much worse almost overnight. It was completely inconceivable that everything they had shared with her was true, yet she was watching it happen, living every moment of it, and not able to dispute one thing she had learned.

  Deciding it was truly masochistic to continue torturing herself any longer, she rushed to finish. Her resolve almost evaporated as his cock jumped when her hands came near, but she reminded herself that if nothing else, she had taken an oath to care for the sick and injured, not molest them where they lay. She laughed at her own silliness and the way she was hiding behind her profession. The three women she was quickly coming to call friends had warned her that as the mating bond grew, so would her need to be with her mate. They had not been lying. There were times that just looking at him made her nipples pebble and juices flow. More than once she’d had to excuse herself to the ladies room to splash cold water on her face and take a few deep breaths. Even then, she could still smell his masculine scent on her hands and clothing where they had come in contact with his sensual skin. It was a tantalizing aroma that reminded her of the air right after a lightning strike, cool and fresh, but electrically charged with an undertone of musk that sent her pulse racing and her temperature rising. The man was a damn drug, and no matter how hard she tried to deny it, she feared she was addicted.

  Settling into the huge recliner Royce had brought down for her the first night, she dreaded the morning. It meant leaving Lance and Sydney, and the place she was quickly becoming to think of as a second home. If anyone had told her a couple of weeks ago that she would ever enjoy sharing her space with anyone, she would’ve called them a liar, but now she was finding it hard to think of her life without these people. She had no clue what that meant to her plans for the future. Siobhan had expressed how desperately their clan needed healers, especially ones that could treat human mates and dragon kin. Could she do it? Could she leave behind all that she knew and go to only God knew where, and live with people that could do things she’d once thought only existed in books and movies? The longer she thought, the more she realized the real question was...could she live without Lance?

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Three weeks? Three fucking weeks? And Samantha wasn’t even in the house after all that time. Rayne had decided it was okay for her to return to work, and Lance hadn’t been awake to go with her. Thankfully, the Commander had her under constant protection either by those of their clan or Max’s men. He and his dragon were having a difficult time rationalizing that they were not the ones protecting her, and in the last few hours. Every few minutes he’d had to convince both man and beast that no one would dare touch her. It was one of the most difficult things he’d ever done, and it pissed him off more than he wanted to admit. All of him, body, and soul needed to be near her. Needed to hold her. Needed to connect with her. He didn’t even care that all of his brethren were going to razz him relentlessly. He just wanted Sam as soon as possible. Being without her for those long weeks had left a huge dark hole in his soul that only her light could fill. He needed her to feel complete. He needed her more than he needed his next breath. For what seemed like the hundredth time while Siobhan poked and prodded, he talked himself down from certain madness. His dragon pushed and chuffed, but there was nothing he could do. His brethren, especially Royce, would just kick his ass if he tried to move before the Elder Healer gave her permission. He’d been warned, and from the look in their eyes, they meant what they said. He sat as still as possible and endured the exam. Whatever it took to get the hell out bed and to his mate was what he was going to do.

  He’d never been out that long, even when he’d damn near had his arm and leg blown off in the Gulf War. What was even weirder was that he had no recollection of what had gone on outside of his healing sleep. He hadn’t felt like he was floating. Hadn’t had any dreams. He hadn’t even fantasized about Sam. It was just one big, black blob of nothingness. Siobhan had explained that it was because both he and his dragon had been completely drained, and the silver had simply taken over. The Elder Healer had explained in detail how Kyra, and as many healers as could make the trip, had chanted to keep him from crossing over into the Heavens, but it was when she spoke of his mate that he was filled with a pride he’d
never known.

  “She is truly a gifted doctor and an amazing woman, Lance,” Siobhan stated. He could see that his Doc had made quite the impression on the Elder Healer. “But she is struggling to come to terms with all she has learned, and the impending changes in her life.” She looked at him, and he braced for the lecture he knew that look prefaced.

  “Grace and Kyndel did a good job of explaining how our kin came about, dragon shifters, and mates, but it would have been better coming from you. Having a mate means her needs come before yours, even if your needs are just your fears rearing their ugly little heads.” He attempted to interrupt to defend himself, and she stopped him cold with a pointed stare. Nodding for her to continue, he settled and took his verbal punishment, because he knew she was right.

  “I was there when Alexander brought you to the lair. I know the responsibility you felt, and still feel to this day at the death of your family, but you have to put that behind you. The Universe has given you a mate, a woman made especially for you, your perfect compliment in every way. It is the dream of every dragon, be he Guard or not, to find his mate. You my boy cannot let your past get in the way. Andrew is still out there, and this human criminal that is apparently somehow in league with him, but that does not change the simple fact that your future has come to you, and you have to grab it with both hands and live it. It is time. It is what your mother and sisters would want for you.” She paused, and he knew she was giving him a chance to respond, but his surrogate mother had literally stolen the words from his mouth.

  “She does not know the story of Andrew and his betrayal, so that is up to you to explain or not. I also have not shared with her my beliefs about Sydney. Samantha loves that child, and I can tell that you are falling for her charms as well.” She winked, and he knew it was for his benefit. “Our beliefs about her origin need to come from you.”