by Maggie Walsh
Micah continued to laugh as Taylor, Jesse, and Raffy disappeared from sight. Gabriel shook his head and gave Micah a playful push on the shoulder. “What?” Micah laughed.
“Don’t encourage him. He’s bad enough without you laughing at all his antics,” Gabe said as he followed Micah down the hall toward the kitchen.
“Oh please. You can’t fool me, cousin. I know you love everything about him. Even all his crazy-ass rambling.” Micah chuckled, stepping into the kitchen.
Micah and Gabe froze in the doorway. Standing in the kitchen along with all his wolves were the fae king and the dragon lord. Micah knew instantly who was who. He stood straighter, shoulders squared and head held high. He released the power within him into the room to show his dominance. The wolves all froze and raised their chins, exposing their necks in submission. The fae king looked around at them and then turned his attention to Micah. His eyes narrowed and he pulled himself up to his full height.
“You must be, King Ryland,” Micah stated in a strong voice. He shifted his eyes and looked at the other stranger in the room. “And Lord Dare Davis.” He gave a slight nod.
The men nodded back at him. “Yes, and you must be, Alpha Angel. Thank you for returning from your trip early to meet with us,” the king answered.
Micah walked further into the room with Gabriel flanking him. “You’ve met the rest of my men. This is another of my enforcers, Gabriel Angel,” Micah said. Gabriel nodded at the men. Micah walked to the fridge, opened it, and grabbed a bottle of water out of it. He turned back to the room. He leaned casually against the counter crossing his ankles as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. “So my Beta tells me that you have come here to ask for my help. What can I do for you, Ryland?”
The king’s brows raised slightly at Micah’s lack of the use of his title. He gave Micah a small smile. “Dare and I have come to this realm because two of our own have come here and disappeared. It is imperative that we find them.”
Micah stood still and just studied the man in front of him for a moment. There was something about this king that Micah couldn’t put his finger on. Something familiar. “I don’t see how I can help you with this. I don’t know anything about your realm or how big it is. But this, Earth, is pretty big.”
“I understand that. But you are the one I seek for help. I have had a vision of you. You are the one we need,” Ryland said.
“So let’s get to the point, shall we? How is it that I can help you?” Micah asked and took a lazy sip from the bottle or water. He was trying to show these men that they didn’t intimidate him.
“One of my fae and one of Dare’s dragons have gone missing. I know I don’t need to tell you what danger lays before you if the dragon falls into the wrong hands,” Ryland said with authority. The wolves all started to growl. Micah held up his hand and they all relaxed slightly.
“Pull back your power, or leave my lands,” Micah said calmly. He never changed his relaxed pose.
The king sighed and his face softened. He nodded his head at Micah. “I apologize.”
“Stop beating around the bush and tell me how or what I can help you with.” Micah remained on guard internally, but on the surface he looked annoyed.
“Six years ago, your time, I allowed one of my fae to come to this realm to find his mates. I have heard nothing from him since. Until recently. I have felt his pain and have heard his cries. Now, I feel his happiness. I am hoping that means he has found his mates. Dare and I sent one of his dragon warriors here to search for Noah when I felt his pleas for help. But now the warrior has vanished. We can’t allow him to fall into the wrong hands and I need to find Noah to make sure that indeed he has found his mates and that he is happy,” Ryland explained.
Micah’s eyes widened slightly at Ryland use of Noah’s name. “I do know of a fae named Noah. But how do I know that what you tell me is true? That you don’t plan on hurting him once you have him?” Micah asked.
“Noah is my son. I will not rest until I know he is safe.” Ryland sighed and ran a hand down his face.
“Then it is another Noah. Because the Noah I know isn’t royalty,” Micah said.
“He doesn’t know,” Ryland said softly and looked down at his hands.
Micah raised a brow at the king’s confession. “How could he not know?”
“When Noah was born there was a lot of turmoil in our realm. I was afraid for his safety. I was afraid that one of my enemies would take Noah and try to use him against me. So he was raised with a trusted friend, but close enough so that I could make sure he was safe and watch him grow. He is safer not knowing. Many years later, I had another son. I sent him to this realm when he was six months old. I didn’t want to, but I needed to make sure that he was safe. If one of my enemies gets their hands on my other son, they could take over my realm. So I needed to keep them both safe,” Ryland explained as he paced the kitchen. “In my vision I saw you rescue Noah. You were there along with others. So I ask you, Alpha Angel, if you would be so kind to help me?” He stopped pacing and turned to look directly into Micah’s eyes.
“This is all fine and good, but enough of this. We need to find my brethren before it’s too late. Your world is in danger. Will you help us or not?” Dare asked in a cold voice.
Micah just stared at the two. Then suddenly he stood up and started to growl. All the wolves started to growl with him. He and Gabriel moved fast as they bolted to the entrance of the kitchen. Jesse and Taylor walked in and stopped as Micah and Gabriel grabbed them up into their arms. The rest of the wolves moved to stand in front of the four, placing their bodies between them, Ryland, and Dare.
“What’s going on, guys?” Jesse asked.
“You need to leave, baby. You and Taylor need to leave and go up into our room until our meeting is over,” Micah explained.
“But I thought I heard someone mention Noah. We want to help,” Jesse said as he ran his hands up Micah’s chest comfortingly. Micah started to relax slightly at his mate’s touch.
“You are the Alpha’s mate?” Ryland asked from across the room. Jesse turned his head and looked around the wall of wolf bodies blocking him. His eyes went wide and his breath caught at the sight in front of him. The fae king was big. And beautiful. Jesse felt himself drawn to him. There was something familiar about him. “Yes, I am Jesse,” he said.
“It is very nice to meet you, Jesse. I am King Ryland and this is Lord Dare Davis.” He motioned to Dare. Dare stared at Jesse as if in awe. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.
“It’s very nice to meet you both, too. Are you here for Noah? Please don’t take him back to your realm. He just found his mates and he’s happy now,” Jesse said softly.
Ryland smiled softly at him. “No little one. We don’t want to take Noah away. We just want to find him and make sure he’s okay.”
“Please go upstairs, baby,” Micah pleaded.
Jesse turned back to face Micah. “It’s okay, big guy. Ryland and Dare aren’t here to hurt us. I can feel it. They just need our help. Please my mate, trust me. I can feel that this is the right thing to do.” Jesse pleaded.
Micah stared deep into his mate’s eyes for a moment and then nodded. “Okay. We’ll help you as long as you tell us the truth. No hiding anything from us. That’s the deal, take it or leave it,” Micah said to Ryland.
Ryland smiled at Micah. “We’ll take it.”
Micah looked at Taylor and gave him a pointed look. “Taylor.”
Taylor nodded. “Yes, Alpha.”
Micah walked Jesse to a seat furthest from the fae king and dragon lord. Jesse sat and looked to the king. “What is it that you need from us, Ryland?” Micah asked.
He smiled at Jesse for a moment and then turned his attention to Micah. “As your beautiful mate has already stated, Noah is fine now and he is with his mates. I hope I am accurate when I say they will protect Noah, and keep him safe?”
“Of course. They will give their lives to protect him. One of his mates is one of m
y wolves. He will do anything to protect Noah,” Micah answered.
“Good. Then all we have to worry about is finding Brett, my lost dragon. If he is found out by the wrong people, this whole world will be over,” Dare said.
“That’s the second time I’ve heard that. Micah, you never did explain that. I thought the dragons were all extinct?” Jesse asked.
“Our world has always believed that the dragon shifters were just a fable. No one has ever seen one or met one. The old story was that there was a big battle between the dragons and hunters. It was said that all the dragons were wiped out. But some believed a few survived but hid their existence from the world,” Micah explained.
Dare huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. Jesse looked at him. “What happened?”
Dare was quiet for a moment. He took a deep breath. “It was thirteen hundred years ago when the war of the dragons started. The original dragons were all gone already, but there were still the shifter versions around. It was kept a secret, like your existence is. There were thousands of us. Then one of my kind shifted to save a village girl from being raped. Our kind was found out and the humans started to hunt us. They soon found out that the only way to kill a dragon was to behead one and burn the remains. Otherwise, a dragon is immortal. We cannot die except for beheading,” Dare started to explain.
“Same with the fae. Only beheading can kill us. We used to walk this realm, but when we were found out, I called everyone back to our realm to protect them,” Ryland said and stared at Jesse. Micah didn’t like how the fae king kept looking at his mate. He started a low growl. The king’s eyes shifted to Micah’s and then flicked back to Dare.
“But, you said that dragon blood was deadly, Micah?” Taylor asked.
“That’s what I have always been told,” Micah said and shrugged. “Dragon blood is deadly, if ingested. To humans it means nothing. To fae, it helps their powers grow. To shifters it makes them gain extreme strength, but then drives them insane. To vampires…it is deadly. If a vampire ingests dragon blood it will petrify a vampire within minutes. It is the dragon’s tears that all beings have to worry about. If a dragon’s tear lands on something, whatever it is will start to burn. That burn will grow until it takes over whatever it has landed on, until it is nothing but ash. Dragon’s tears can kill everything. That is why it is so important for us to find my missing dragon, Brett,” Dare explained.
“So where have you been all this time?” Raith asked.
“The hunters were starting to lose the battle with the dragons, so they made a deal with the vampires. They already had super-human strength and could disseminate on top of us and behead us. Our numbers were down. All our women and children were slaughtered. All that remained were myself and twenty others,” Dare said in a sad voice.
“Oh my gods,” Jesse said and jumped up. He walked over to Dare and touched his arm gently in a comforting way. Dare’s head snapped in Jesse’s direction and his eyes landed on where Jesse rested his hand on his arm. Micah grabbed Jesse around the waist and pulled him back. Jesse sighed and shook his head.
“Thank you…young one,” Dare said in a whisper.
Ryland cleared his throat. “So anyway, when the dragons were down to Dare and twenty others, they came to me in hopes of asylum. Some of my fae were killed trying to help protect the dragons, so when Dare saw me searching one of the battlefields for remains, he approached me. The few remaining dragons were brought into my realm where they have helped train my warriors, and they were given asylum. We found out that a dragon’s blood helped to make a fae’s powers stronger. Also that their blood is immune to their true mates. No matter what species. As well as their tears. So for about eleven hundred years now, Dare and his dragons have been in my realm, where they are protected.”
Micah remained quiet. Everyone could see his was thinking. He walked Jesse over by Taylor and Gabriel and placed him behind them, then he started to pace. Raith smiled at his Alpha’s action. Even while in deep thought the leader first protected his mate. With Taylor’s new found powers, they were all pretty certain he was indestructible. Micah paced back and forth, deep in thought as everyone watched and exchanged glances now and then. Finally Micah stopped in front of Ryland. He looked into the fae king’s eyes. “What can cause a fae to lose their powers? Even briefly?”
Ryland took in a sharp breath and raised his head higher. It was apparent he didn’t want to share that information with them. “Nothing,” Ryland said and looked away.
Micah looked at Ryland for a moment and then turned. “Then we have nothing further to discuss.” Micah walked to Jesse and took his hand. He started to lead them out of the kitchen.
“Phoenix blood,” Ryland answered in a whisper.
Chapter 6
Micah stopped and turned to look at him. “Mixed with phoenix tears. It is the only thing that can take away a fae’s power for short periods,” Ryland said, defeated.
“Thank you.” Micah walked over to the king and for the first time since walking into the kitchen he held out his hand to the man. The king looked at his outstretched hand for a moment and then raised his hand. He grasped Micah’s and the two leaders shook. “Your secret will be guarded by me and my allies. Noah’s other mate, Leader Storm Winthrope, and one of my best friends, Prince Dante Calebrese, will be informed, but I will ask them to keep this information to themselves. I give you my word.”
Ryland nodded. “Why did you want to know this?” he asked.
“Noah said that this doctor, this witch, would inject him with a red water and it would cause his powers to go away for a few weeks. One of the shifters they were holding was a phoenix.”
Ryland’s eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. “Someone held Noah against his will and injected him with phoenix blood? Where is this witch?” Ryland’s eyes were starting to glow blue, his face turning red with rage. Micah didn’t move. Taylor stepped up next to Micah and reached out a hand and placed it on the king’s arm. Immediately, King Ryland relaxed. He looked at Taylor is shock. Taylor smiled at him.
“How…?” the king asked in confusion.
Taylor shrugged his shoulders. “Beats the hell out of me, Ry. But I can tell you this.” Taylor tapped him on the chest with the back of his hand. “That cute little hottie, Noah, is safe now. We rescued him and he’s with his mates now. If it weren’t for his astro-projectile thingy he would probably still be there with those sick shits.”
Everyone started to chuckle except for King Ryland and Lord Davis. The king looked at Taylor as if he were an unknown species. “Did you just call me Ry?” the king asked in amusement.
“Yes,” Taylor stated plainly and walked away. He walked over to Gabriel and leaned against his chest. Gabriel’s arms went around him and he kissed Taylor’s head.
The king looked at Taylor with amusement and respect. “You’re the one,” he said it as a statement.
“What do you mean?” Micah asked in concern.
“The prophecy was told of a great power that would be bestowed upon the guardian of the heart. You are that guardian,” the king said to Taylor and bowed his head. “Thank you, guardian. I will forever be in your debt. Along with all my people. My life for yours.”
Everyone’s eyes went wide as they looked between the king and Taylor. “Taylor isn’t a guardian. He’s a human. Well, he was until a few months ago. Now he’s some kind of super hybrid omega,” Xander said.
“No, he’s the one spoken of in the prophecy. I’m sure of it now,” the king said, as his eyes flicked between Taylor and Jesse. There was a softness in his eyes.
“What prophecy?’ Micah asked.
“The prophecy states that there will be a great war on Earth. The war to end all wars. The paranormal world will rise up and fight against each other until none remains. Unless they can come together, put their differences aside and fight as one. If not, all of Earth will perish. In the prophecy it speaks of six powerful leaders, that if they can join together in an alliance to battle against t
hat which wants to destroy everything, that they can win this war. What this destroyer doesn’t understand is that he will set in motion a wave of such destruction that there will be nothing left to lead. Not even him. As our kin all fight against each other, the humans will be caught in the crossfire. All will perish. The one factor that the evil one doesn’t understand or know about is the heart. The heart is made of pure goodness. All who encounter the heart will fall under its spell. Its goodness and love is what will bring these leaders together. But the heart is weak. It has not come into its full power yet. When it does, it will be one of the strongest, most powerful entities to ever walk the face of the Earth. It is the heart that not only brings everyone together to fight this evil, but it will keep everyone in peace after the battle is won and these six leaders reign together.
“Because the heart is weak and doesn’t even know who he is yet, there is a guardian that was chosen by the gods to protect the heart. Someone so special that the gods created this guardian specifically for the purpose of protecting the heart. It is said that the gods bestowed upon the guardian as much of their own powers as they could. This guardian will defend not only the heart but everyone the heart cherishes. The guardian’s powers are limitless.” The king stopped speaking and looked at Taylor.
Taylor’s eyes were open wide and his face was as pale as a ghost. “And you think I’m this guardian?”
“I know it. You touched me and all my powers left me. Phoenix blood mixed with phoenix tears may be able to take away a fae’s powers, but nothing can take away the powers of the fae king. Nothing but the one true guardian. And that is you, young Taylor,” the king stated with conviction.
“But, what is the heart? You said he, so does that mean the heart is a man? Who is it?” Micah asked in shock.
The king held Micah’s gaze. “The prophecy didn’t say what or who the heart was. Only that it was created from love on its strongest, purest level. A love so strong, it created a living breathing symbol of peace. That it would bring Utopia to the world.”