He was hindering her escape, so she attacked him with fists flying. She seized a lamp from the top of the bureau and cracked it against his head. Totally stupid thing to do. The lamp smashed, but his head took no damage that she could see. She knew it was crazy to fight him, but she felt trapped and confused and she couldn’t help herself. She completely lost it. She whirled and kicked and screamed as she did battle. But she couldn’t seem to touch him. He had that glowing, sparkling aura all around him now, like a shield, and every time she encountered it, she felt heat and static and saw jewel-like sparks. She could not touch him as Ross. The creature was preventing it.
“Kate, stop. Calm the fuck down. Please.”
“Get away from me, you crazy beast!”
He opened the golden tunnel into her mind. She felt it happening; she threw up her mental walls. He glided past them even more easily than he had the first time.
Catriona. Kate. It’s me. It’s Ross. The Zrakon is bound to the Malloch heir when his father dies. It has happened that way for centuries. But it’s still me.
She tried to shove him out, but he hung on.
I need you. The Hunger is indescribable, and it’s getting worse. You must submit.
He not only looked like Ross, he sounded like him. People had an individual voice, and whether it was transmitted in sound or in thought, it sounded the same. “Are you truly Ross?”
Aye, truly I am.
“Why is this happening? Why can’t you touch me?”
I’ve waited too long, and now I can only touch you in Zrakon form. Last night, in the maze, that was incredible, but it has pushed him over the edge.
“But what are you?”
I’m a shape shifter. You know, like a werewolf? I’m the Zrakon and he is me. That is why you can touch both my mind and his. We’re the same.
Kate struggled to make sense of this. Like a werewolf? Were they real, too? “So, you and the Zrakon are one being?”
Not exactly, but close enough. Kate. Listen to me. You don’t have to be afraid of my Zrakon side. You and he are already friends. I gave you a command on Midsummer’s Eve. I told you to forget everything that happened that night. It was for the best, but there’s no longer any point in it.
“What are you talking about?”
Catriona. Remember. Remember it all now.
Kate felt something shift inside her head, and a host of images rolled before her like a film. No, it was far more intense than a film because everything that she saw had happened to her. Time sped up as she relived the events of Midsummer’s Eve: on the beach freeing Effie, her encounter with the Zrakon, the strange yet magical swim through the cold Scottish sea, sheltered against the beast’s body, wrapped up in his warm tentacles. The mental communication. The intimacy. The sensuality. The sparkling cavern where he had taken her. It must have been that cavern—the place of legend that Ross had declared unsafe and off limits.
The Zrakon had taken her to his lair, and then he had made her forget.
Okay, not much freaked her out, but this did. She retreated to the bed and sat down. She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself. She had swum with the Zrakon. She had breathed the air from his lungs. His tentacles had been wrapped around her. They had kept her warm in the cold sea.
It had been an amazing experience, but it had been stolen from her.
Something hot and wild uncoiled inside her. Ross had lied to her. Worse, he had controlled her mind.
“You fucking bastard. You stole a whole night of my life. How could you do that? How dare you invade me that way? Where do you get the power to erase part of my experience? Damn you! Get out of my room! Take your sea dragon and go straight to hell.”
He had the grace to look ashamed of himself. But what he said aloud was, ‘I can’t let you go, Kate. I’m sorry. It’s too late for that now.”
“You lied to me!’
“I was just trying to protect you. I wanted to break it to you slowly.”
“Break what to me?”
“You know—the whole mating with the sea dragon thing.”
“You can’t seriously expect me to fuck a beast.”
“Couldn’t you close your eyes and try? It’s me on the inside, and that big ugly beast has sensitive feelings. If you would just relax I’m sure I—we—could make it nice for you.”
She laughed wildly. “It’s not physically possible. That Zrakon is too big—and there are barbs on his dick. Have you looked at yourself when you’re in that form? That’s something that no human woman could possibly endure.”
“There’s a solution to that.”
“Really. And what would that be?”
“Maybe the spiny things, uh, retract or something. I don’t know. Damn. I have medical journals of all types in my office, but not a single scholarly paper on the sex life of sea dragons.”
Her eyes blinked rapidly. “It is you, isn’t it? This isn’t another freaking dream.”
It’s no dream. You can hear me when I speak to you telepathically.
“Yes, I can hear you! But you and your Zrakon want to use me for some mysterious purpose that has nothing to do with me. So don’t attempt to beguile me with illusions of human feelings. And get the fuck out of my head!”
In a sudden concentration of pure, raw power, she flung him out.
He must not have liked that, because there was another flash, another crack, and his body bent over and bulked up again. It happened fast. The human Ross melted away and exploded into the giant form of the Zrakon.
His lust must have exploded, too, because he came at her with that huge scary cock thrusting forward as if its only purpose in life were to slake its lust in her flesh. She shrank away from him, sick about her own helplessness in the face of male rage and physical supremacy. The Zrakon was bigger than ever. He filled and dominated the bedchamber. He dwarfed the sturdy old bedstead where she was cowering.
What had happened to the gentlemanly monster who had kept her warm with his body in the freezing Scottish sea? This Zrakon wanted to tear her apart.
Woman. The Zrakon forged the mental link again; it seemed she couldn’t keep him out when his energy and determination were so strong. You must surrender. That is the ritual. The females of this island have served the Zrakon since the world began.
This is the Way: Go to the cavern where the sacrificial stone is. You and the human will go together. He will bind you to the rock for the sacrifice. He must give you to me. And you must be willing, you must consent. Do you understand?
“I don’t consent, dammit!”
If you do not make the offering willingly, I will hunt you down and take you by force. There is no way to avoid your destiny. It was written long before you were born. You have until the full moon to prepare yourself.
He whirled, smashed through the doorframe as if it were made of straw, and stalked out of her room.
Kate stared at the wreckage around her—the cracked door, the broken lamp, the sea water soaking into the oriental rug—and, for the first time in years, she burst out in sobs. After a couple of minutes, though, the absurdity of it all struck her, and, with tears still pouring down her cheeks, she began to laugh.
“Be careful if you ever return to Scotland,” Gramma Molly had said to her before she’d died. “‘Tis a lovely, mad, unruly place that will surely set your brain awhirl.”
Chapter Twelve
In the morning, Kate rose, dressed and went straight to Ross Malloch’s bedroom, pounding on the door with her fist. She could hardly believe she had fallen back asleep after all the disturbance last night, but she seemed to rest remarkably well here at Mallochbirn. She wondered if that, too, was magic.
As soon as she heard a human voice within groggily ask who was banging on his door, she burst into the room. Ross was sitting up, looking bleary-eyed in his huge bedstead. He was naked. She ordered herself not to admire the sculpted muscles on his chest, and was thankful that he was mostly covered below the waist.
“I want an explanation,” she snarled. “Assuming you’re going to stay human long enough to give me one. And don’t you dare try to tell me I dreamed the whole thing.”
He held up a hand. “Please don’t come any closer. I’m no longer in control of the shape-shifting.”
Her anger felt like a fist clenching inside her. “He—you—told me I couldn’t leave the island. That I wouldn’t want to leave. Did you put some sort of magical spell on me? Am I a prisoner here?”
“It was more of a suggestion,” he said, sounding chastened. “Like a post-hypnotic thing.”
“Every time I’ve thought about leaving, the idea has gone right out of my head.”
“You’ve thought about leaving?”
“Of course. I’m here on vacation. I was going to drive all around the Highlands. I rented a car. Soon the car will be due back at the rental place in Edinburgh or they’ll charge me for another week, which I really can’t afford.”
“I should have thought of that. I can have someone return it for you.”
“What if I want to return it myself? What if I want to leave? Are you going to prevent me?”
“No. No, listen. Now that you’ve remembered everything, I’m sure the compulsion to remain here has been nullified, too. It’s just that—”
She stared at him stonily. “What?”
“He is not going to be happy if you try to leave. He—I honestly don’t know what he might do.”
“You talk about ‘he’ as though you were two separate beings. Is that what you are? Do you have Multiple Body Disorder?”
“It’s difficult to explain. I don’t understand it myself. He isn’t me, not really. I mean, I never even felt him until I was nineteen. And he’s existed for centuries, if the stories are true. Unless he’s some strange genetic disorder. As I said, there haven’t been any scientific studies done on the phenomenon. I guess, since this shape-shifting ability runs in my family, there must be some bizarre coding in my DNA, but—”
“I don’t need a technical explanation. I just need to know if you’re going to keep turning into a beast and trying to rape me.”
“I’m really sorry about that. I mean, rough sex can be fun at times, but I can understand why you might object to a gigantic snout and tentacles.”
She blushed at the reminder about the tentacles, which she didn’t find entirely objectionable.
“I would rather make love to your human self, but that seems to be impossible, with that aura that lights up around you every time I get too close.”
He looked more cheerful. “You would? You’d make love to me?”
She rolled her eyes. Had he forgotten what she’d done with him in the maze? “That was before I found out that you’d lied to me and put a spell on me. Now I just want to leave.”
“Kate. Don’t leave. Please. We’ll figure this thing out. There must be a solution, since the Malloch line has not died out in something like 900 years.”
“The male Mallochs haven’t died out. How about the women? What happens to them once they are raped by a giant reptile?”
“He’s actually a mammal.”
Kate was unprepared for the snort of laughter that took hold of her. The sea dragon was a mammal, not a reptile. “He has wings, or vestiges of them. Maybe he’s a fucking bird.”
Ross began to laugh, too. “I’m a veterinarian. Trust me, he’s a mammal.” He paused. “I love your laugh. Even when it comes out as a snort.”
It was such an unexpected compliment that she grinned at him. “I wish I could say I love your beast’s gigantic spiky penis, but the truth is, it terrifies me. You should be a plastic surgeon, not a vet, because I will need a new vagina after the Zrakon is through with me.”
“The Malloch women have lived to a fine old age and given birth to other children, so it’ll probably be okay.”
“Easy for you to say. Let me remind you that there’s a requirement that I be willing. That means that you and your monster have to earn my—” she paused, wanting to say “my love,” but love seemed like such a sentimental word to use in this situation. They had only known each other for four days. Maybe things had been different in ancient times, but no 21st century couple spoke of love after only four days. “—my cooperation. And at the moment, after discovering that you tricked me, I’m not inclined to give it.”
“I’m sorry for that. I—he—we didn’t want to scare you. I just wanted some time to get to know you, and for you to get to know me without the bloody Zrakon stomping and roaring and beating his chest.”
She pictured the Zrakon doing just that on the night they’d met and couldn’t stop herself from smiling. She also remembered, because now she knew what had happened on Midsummer’s Eve, that his chest was strong and oddly comfy as he had cradled her against it during their swim. “He is rather melodramatic, isn’t he?”
“He likes to show off. If he doesn’t start behaving, I swear I’m going to send him on tour in a bloody circus like the freak he is.” As he said this, he began to shimmer, and she backed up a couple of steps. His body started to enlarge and heat came pouring off him, driving her farther away.
“Stop that, Zrak,” she ordered. “Go back. You’ll have your chance, but this is not the time.”
The shimmer died away, leaving Ross looking normal. His grin was sheepish. “He’s getting more insistent.”
“No kidding. What if you lose control entirely? Will you stay a sea dragon forever?”
“I’d better not, dammit. I have a fucking life to live. There are a lot of people dependent on me. Not to mention animals.”
“Did any of your ancestors ever lose their human form completely?”
“No. All this drama is over getting the next heir. And having sea dragon sex, which seems to be all the Zrakon is interested in. He might be hundreds of years old, but he acts like a horny teenager.”
“So I not only have to fuck a sea dragon, I have to have his kid, too?”
“The child is human. It’s not like, you know, giving birth to a monster.”
“I am not sure I would classify you strictly as human.”
“Maybe not, but if it’s true that one of your distant ancestors married one of mine, then you’ve got a few drops of Zrakon blood in you, too.”
That was certainly something to ponder. “When is the full moon?” she asked.
He grimaced. “I looked it up. The moon is full tonight.”
Great. Just terrific.
Chapter Thirteen
Kate had prowled the castle like a ghost all day, spending even more time than usual in the library, looking for something, anything, about the Mallochbirn dragon. Hadn’t any of the women in the family kept a journal or written letters or recorded their experiences with the male shape-shifters who had lived in the keep for centuries? Damn them. Maybe they’d been illiterate. Why was it only males who’d received a decent education? At least modern society was correcting that error.
She was going to have to leave. Or try to leave. She had been compelled to remain on the island, and that, dammit, she couldn’t forgive. She was no uneducated maiden from the Dark Ages; she was a contemporary kick-ass chick who was damned if she would allow her freedom to be snatched from her.
Late in the afternoon, Kate packed her things in her backpack and marched down the stairs to the great hall. There was nobody about. Ross was in his office, holding his veterinary clinic, Mrs. Dumfries was in the kitchen, cooking something that smelled delicious, and she had no idea where Hamish and Jamie were. She hoped Ross had the sea dragon under control. She hated to think what kind of panic would ensue if he burst out during one of Ross’ examinations of the local dogs and cats.
She felt a little guilty for leaving when there was no one to say farewell to, but she told herself that it was better this way. She like everyone at Mallochbirn. She even liked the Zrakon when he was behaving himself. As for Ross, she didn’t even want to admit to herself how much she liked him.
She managed to escape the keep
without anybody interfering. The tide was on the way out, so the causeway was high and dry. She felt a little anxious as she set foot on the gravelly path that led to the mainland, but nothing came roaring out of the water to stop her. Half-expecting to be intercepted any moment, she hurried toward the village. She reached the other side uneventfully. Relieved and perhaps a little disappointed, she trudged up the hill toward the village. The first thing she intended to do was check on her rental car. It had been sitting unused in the inn parking lot for several days.
Before she got that far, though, she met the Rev. Lambeth coming in the opposite direction.
He was holding an animal carrier in his hand. From it was issuing loud, anguished cries.
“Good afternoon, Miss Beaton,” he said when he recognized her. “Is the laird at the keep?”
“Yes, I believe so. Is that your cat yowling? What’s wrong with him?”
“It’s Scrounge, yes. He’s been restless all day. He won’t eat or drink. The desperate cries started a little while ago. I think he’s sick.”
“And you’re taking him to Ross?”
“To the laird, yes. He’s a vet.”
Kate tried to reach the mind of the kitty, but the animal was too fretful. He was in pain—that much she could tell from the sound of his cries.
“I’ll come with you,” she heard herself say. She could attend to her rental car later. Besides, now that she knew she could leave the island without a huge sea dragon rising up in her path to prevent her, she wasn’t sure she actually wanted to leave.
There’s a full moon tonight, she yelled at herself. If you have any sense, you’ll get the fuck away from here.
But Prince yowled again, sounding truly anguished, and she knew she couldn’t go.
Ross was at the door to his office when she and Rev. Lambeth reached the old estate stable area. He smiled warmly at Kate, making her feel guilty. He obviously didn’t know she had tried to leave. “Hullo. I was just closing for the day.”
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