Cyrus climbed up next to Chief, while Zane drove. Pelant was stuck in the back with the others, to Cyrus’s relief. Right now, Cyrus didn’t have time for dominance games.
“What other details do you have, Chief?” Zane asked.
“Single vehicle. A truck swerved off the road and into the side of the mountain. Got covered in a small avalanche of snow. Another set of motorists called it in—they can’t dig out the truck on their own.”
Sucking in a breath, Cyrus felt his body go cold. Mark drove a truck. But no, Mark was working at the hospital today. He was safe. Cyrus had to believe that.
Cyrus couldn’t believe that, because every fiber of his being was telling him that Mark was trapped in that truck.
“Hurry, please,” he said to Zane. “Hurry.”
“I can’t go any faster, not unless you want us to be stuck in the side of the mountain,” Zane said.
Chief’s radio squawked. The dispatcher’s voice came through. “There’s an avalanche coming down now,” she said. “I’ve ordered the bystanders away from the scene, but the snow is going to bury the truck.”
“No,” Cyrus groaned, holding his head.
How long would Mark have? He’d already been partially buried. Was he running out of air? Was he scared?
Cyrus couldn’t stand it. “Dammit, Zane, hurry!”
“I’m going as fast as possible,” Zane said. “Next time, you should drive.”
“Forget this,” Cyrus said, yanking off his boots.
“What the hell are you doing, son?” Chief asked.
“I’m going to save that person.”
“Barefoot?”
“Bare of everything.”
Chief’s mouth fell open as Cyrus removed the rest of his gear and clothing.
“Pull over,” Cyrus said. “I have to get out.”
“Are you—are you going to—”
“I’m going to save that person the best way I know how,” Cyrus said. “Are you going to pull over and let me out, or what?”
Zane slowed the truck, and Cyrus clambered out. The ground was cold on his feet, but he barely felt it because already he was changing, shifting into his dragon form. He saw the looks of astonishment on Chief’s and Zane’s faces, and smelled the acrid scent of piss as Pelant, in the back, lost control of his bladder.
Maybe Pelant would leave him alone, now.
None of that mattered, though. Cyrus had to save Mark. With a huge beat of his wings, Cyrus was in the air, traveling along the highway. Not far, now, he thought to Mark in his head. I’ll be there soon.
Mark
Mark woke to a pounding headache. The cab of his truck was bathed in a bluish white, and he couldn’t see out the windshield or the passenger’s side window. There was a tiny bit of visibility beyond his own window, but all he could see out of it was the snow-covered ground.
There were sounds of people shouting. He couldn’t make out their words. He tried to answer them, but his throat was too dry. He was freezing in here—how long had he been unconscious?
He tried to move each of his legs. Other than feeling stiff, they were mobile. Same with his right arm. His left arm, however, gave him a sharp pain when he tried to rotate the wrist. He’d probably broken or sprained it in the accident. Now he felt like an idiot for driving around in sketchy conditions, but at the time, he’d only wanted to escape the knowledge that he was a dragon.
He flicked the keys in the ignition. The engine wouldn’t start, but the battery was fine, since all the lights came on. He could at least get heat, until the battery ran out.
It was time to get out of the car. He didn’t know why those people were just shouting at him—why didn’t they come help get his door open for him? It was awkward using his right hand to open the door, but he levered open the catch and pushed.
Nothing happened.
Don’t panic, he thought. Just keep trying. He wasn’t completely buried if he could see slivers of the ground outside his window, so there was no reason to freak out. Yet.
He shoved again with his left shoulder, but it jarred his wrist and he bit back a cry of pain. Okay, so that wasn’t going to work, especially because the door didn’t even budge.
The shouting outside got even louder.
Mark couldn’t be that buried. He turned on the ignition and swiped the windshield wipers back and forth. At first nothing happened because the snow on the windshield must have been too thick, but then they moved some of the snow aside.
Mark gasped. His truck was hood-first in the side of a mountain, and when he looked up, he saw a wall of snow coming down on top of him.
He put his arms over his head and ducked, not knowing what would happen on impact.
Cyrus
Cyrus heard the avalanche before he saw it. There was Mark’s tiny gray pick-up, dwarfed at the foot of the mountainside, and all that snow, sliding down toward him. A small group of humans stood some distance away, shouting and waving their hands. Cyrus couldn’t tell if they were asking for help, or trying to warn him away because he was a dragon.
The avalanche continued its descent, as if in slow motion.
Cyrus roared, as if he could prevent the avalanche by will alone.
But Mother Nature answered to nobody, dragon or human alike. It was why the Floods had been so devastating—once they had begun, the dragons were powerless to stop them.
Putting on another burst of speed, Cyrus reached the truck right after the avalanche. “No,” he growled.
He wasn’t going to let this continue. Mark was in there. Cyrus breathed out hot air, he breathed his fire, giving all his energy and power forward to saving the man he loved.
Slowly, the mound of snow, taller than a man, taller than his dragon, began to melt.
The bystanders on the road, who’d come forward again once the avalanche fell, began to cheer as huge chunks of snow melted away.
The fire truck pulled up, and not far behind it was an ambulance.
Cyrus slowed his fire, cooled it so as not to hurt the little pick-up, or Mark inside it. As soon as the snow was cleared, he darted forward and looked inside.
Mark was there, a tired smile on his face, as he awkwardly opened the driver’s side door.
“My hero,” he breathed, tumbling out.
Cyrus shrank down to his human form. Naked, he held Mark in his arms.
Zane rushed to Cyrus’s side. “I’ll help him get to the ambulance. You get dressed, because the news crews are on their way.”
Cyrus pulled on his pants and the white t-shirt he wore underneath his gear, then his suspenders. He nearly had his coat on when a news van pulled up, and the woman in the passenger’s seat was already filming. He’d gotten dressed just in time.
“I have a headline already,” the anchor said, jumping out of the van. “Local dragon hero, saves lives.”
Cyrus grinned for the camera, but his attention was already on Mark. Chief came up and put his hand on Cyrus’s shoulder. “I’ll handle it, son,” he said. “You know you’re completely outted as a dragon though, right?”
“It’s fine now,” Cyrus said, nodding. “I hope that I can stick around and make a life work here.”
“When I’m done with this story,” the news anchor said, “everybody will be begging you to stay with us in Prospect.”
He didn’t care so much about everybody. There was just one somebody he wanted to ask him to stay.
Mark
The emergency blanket wrapped around Mark’s shoulders wasn’t half as warm as he wanted it to be. While the EMTs messed with his arm and wrist, Mark waited for Cyrus.
He came over in his sexy firefighter’s outfit, and Mark felt his heart skip several beats.
“Thank you for saving me,” Mark said.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Cyrus answered, touching Mark’s chin.
Mark leaned into the contact. “I have something to tell you. Something I just found out.”
Cyrus squatted down in front of M
ark. His gray eyes were open and expressive. “Tell me anything. Whenever you’re ready.”
“I learned—” Mark stopped, took a deep breath. He twined his hand with Cyrus’s, hoping Cyrus wouldn’t pull away.
Cyrus drew even closer.
Reassured, Mark continued, “I learned something about myself today. And I had already felt bad for how I treated you at the hospital, but this news made me feel like the biggest hypocrite in the world.”
“Look, I shouldn’t have lied to you—”
“No, I’m not done. Jenny—no, this isn’t Jenny’s fault. But my test results came back negative for dragon DNA, or so I thought. But there’d been a mistake.”
Cyrus sat back, his gray eyes searching.
Mark squeezed Cyrus’s hand and continued, “I don’t know how it’s possible. It doesn’t make any sense at all. But apparently I have dragon DNA. Somehow I’m related to the dragons, the very beings responsible for Eli’s death. And I realized…I had no control over my ancestry. I didn’t participate in the Dragon Floods, just like you didn’t. And my blood, I can’t change that. It’s who I am.”
Cyrus nodded. “It doesn’t change how I feel about you. I still love you.”
“I hoped so,” Mark said, smiling. Warmth radiated out through his core, keeping him stable, keeping him close to Cyrus. “I love you, too. Not despite of who you are, but because of who you are. All the parts of you are perfect for me.”
He shifted toward Cyrus and said, “Is it all right if I kiss you?”
“If you’re okay with the news van nearby, then I am.”
Mark laughed, feeling lighter and warmer than he had in years. Scooching toward Cyrus, he placed a kiss on Cyrus’s lips. “Thank you for being here. I’m so sorry I hurt you earlier.”
“It’s okay,” Cyrus said. “I’m sorry for lying about being a dragon.”
Mark nuzzled his head against Cyrus’s shoulder. “How did I get so lucky?”
They sat like that for a few minutes as the crowds dispersed. The news van, having gotten the story from Cyrus’s fire chief, left.
Mark turned to face Cyrus. “How is it possible, though? How can I be a dragon? My parents weren’t dragons. Eli wasn’t a dragon. How could it happen to me?”
“There are latent dragons,” Cyrus said. “It’s just a trick of genetics. And some of those latent dragons left the dragon kin so that they could live among humans. Some of them fell in love with humans and wanted to make lives with their human mates. Over the years, the latent dragons were forgotten.”
“Wow.”
“But I used to work with those dragons,” Cyrus said. “I was never high up among my kind because I wasn’t into the politics, but if a latent dragon came to us, they were sent to me.”
“And…what would happen then?” Mark said.
“I know how to call forth the hidden dragons inside. It can be difficult for some, but do you know what makes it easier?”
“What?” Mark asked.
“True love.”
Mark’s heart fluttered as Cyrus pressed his lips to Mark’s again.
“Mark?” Cyrus asked. “Are you interested in meeting your dragon form?”
He would do anything that would make him closer to Cyrus, make him feel more complete. Cyrus made him more complete, and now that would be in every way, in both of his forms. “Yes.”
Epilogue
Cyrus led Mark to the edge of the pond behind his house. At the bank, trees were scarce, and brilliant grasses were punching up through the snow. Winter wasn’t over yet, but already there was the promise of new life.
“I’m nervous,” Mark said, squeezing Cyrus’s hand.
“That’s normal,” Cyrus said. “But you trust me, right?”
“Of course I trust you.” The smile Mark gave him made Cyrus’s heart soar. It was better than flying, better than doing cartwheels through the sky, to be with this man.
“Are you ready to fly?” Cyrus asked. Mark had been nervous, but Cyrus knew what he was doing. Back when he’d lived with his kin, he’d coached those with latent dragon forms on how to bring forth their dragon. All it took was faith and love and a kiss.
He stepped forward and took Mark in his arms. Mark was waiting for him, lips slightly parted.
They were already naked, not wanting to ruin their clothes during the shifting process, and Cyrus could feel Mark’s hardness against his hip. Tempting, but there would be plenty of time for that later. A lifetime, in fact.
Mark kissed him eagerly, and while they kissed, Cyrus breathed heat into Mark’s mouth. Heat, love, and dragon power would call up Mark’s dragon.
Mark gasped, a look of surprise and wonder on his face. He stepped back, out of Cyrus’s arms.
Cyrus grinned at him. “You can do it, my love.”
Mark hunched over onto all fours, then gasped again as the air shimmered and sparked around him. He disappeared beneath the protective aura that came into place during a shift, and then, just as quickly, a glistening red dragon stood before Cyrus.
Mark.
He stomped his front feet and stretched his wings. Cyrus bent forward and brought out his own dragon. He pumped his wings and noticed how Mark studied him, them mimicked his movements.
Mark was a natural. As soon as Cyrus launched into the sky, Mark was right there with him.
It was just like Cyrus’s dream—he was soaring above the forest with a red dragon at his side. This was perfect.
“Prospect is beautiful from up here,” Mark said in his rumbly dragon voice.
“Everywhere is beautiful, when you’re a part of it,” Cyrus answered.
The two dragons circled and wheeled around in the sky, knowing that if not today, then tomorrow, the world would be ready for dragons and humans to peacefully coexist once more.
The End
Bonus Story: Bearly Knocked Up
Evan Williams glanced out across the crowd of people who had gathered to witness the graduation ceremony at the prestigious college he had chosen to attend. Truth be told, he had only invited three people himself, but he doubted they would make an appearance. For the duration of the last two years, he had entirely cut off ties with his friends and family back home, choosing, instead to focus on his career. Though his parents had seemed understanding, his best friend since childhood, pudgy young man named Dakota, had been furious. Evan was somewhat ashamed to admit that the situation had not quite been resolved before he severed communication. He knew in his heart that Dakota would be unlikely to forgive him, but… well. He had discovered some things about himself in the past two years that he was certain those back home would be unwilling to accept.
Looking across the crowd, he sighed softly. His parents were noticeably absent, though he couldn’t say he had expected otherwise. Where Dakota would have sat, family from the next row over had begun to spill over. The man in Dakota’s seat was a handsome specimen, and though Evan was unhappy that his loved ones could not make an appearance, he was pleased to be treated with some eye candy at the very least. He drew his lip between his teeth, watching the man as he awkwardly fidgeted in the seat-- which was too small for his broad, muscular form. Abruptly, the man looked up, meeting Evan’s gaze with a small smile. Evan reddened immediately, looking away and inhaling shakily.
It was coming close to time for the ceremony, and Evan knew he would be one of the last to cross the stage. He closed his eyes, leaning back in the uncomfortable seat he had been assigned to. He almost drifted off for the duration of the ceremony, only perking up when his name was called. Embarrassment jolted through him as he realized he would have no one cheering as he crossed the stage-- would be faced with the dead silence of his betrayal. He swallowed thickly, rising from his seat and moving to accept his degree from the Dean of the school. As he expected, there was silence-- at least, up until he gripped the degree in his hand. A loud and somewhat familiar whooping sounded from the crowd, and Evan wheeled around, eyes widening much like a deer in the headlights as he noted i
t was the man in Dakota’s seat. Though the man had initially seemed much the brooding type, that seemed to have melted away as Evan met his gaze.
“Way to go, E!” The man called out, using Dakota’s childhood nickname for Evan himself. Evan’s eyes widened in disbelief, and he hesitated on the stage a moment longer than was strictly necessary. The Dean cleared his throat, attempting to usher the young man along and across the stage. He obligingly began his journey once more, unable to ignore the pounding in his chest as he made his way back to his seat. The man in Dakota’s seat cheered once more before settling down, and he gave Evan a thumbs up as the younger man looked towards him. Evan was utterly confused, and that much was obvious. He had no idea who this man was, and how he seemed to be so familiar with Evan himself. The ceremony was coming to a close, and Evan lingered in his seat as those around him dispersed to be with their families. He swallowed thickly, eyes widening in surprise as the mysterious and handsome stranger rose from his seat, taking long strides in Evan’s direction. Evan shrunk back in his chair, wondering if this was some sort of prank. “Damn, Evan, way to make us both look like nerds. It’s like you don’t even recognize me.” The man announced, crossing his arms over his broad chest and quirking a brow at the new college graduate. Evan opened his mouth, hesitating for a brief moment longer before speaking.
“Who…?” He started, cutting himself off as the stranger looked towards him with an almost wounded look.
“Aw, hell. I haven’t changed that much, E. I know I used to be a fat kid, but come on. It’s still me! Dakota! Don’t tell me you forgot about me…” He trailed off, and Evans widened to an almost comical extent.
“You have to be joking. Dakota?” He sputtered, rising from his seat and stepping towards the other man. Dakota looked relieved, pulling the much slimmer man into his arms and giving him a tight squeeze.
“I knew you’d get the hint.” He murmured, drawing back long enough to consider the man before him. “A college grad, man, wow. I guess these last two years really paid off for the both of us.” He smiled, mussing up Evan’s meticulously brushed hair. Evan squeaked indignantly, trying to flatten his hair back down.
Arrested by the Dragon: Gay Police Paranormal Romance Page 13