“The straps made it easy,” she told him. “Once I was up high enough, I started clawing at his eyes, and yelling for Jack to run.”
“You clawed at his eyes…” Kirall’s mind started to race. General Terron’s face was scarred, and he had lost an eye with no one knowing who or how he had been injured.
“Yeah, I figured if he couldn’t see Jack, then he couldn’t hurt him. I was wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“I wasn’t fast enough with my hands. He caught my arm in his mouth, yanking me off his back then threw me across the room leaving Jack defenseless since he hadn’t run.” She ran a finger over the scars on her arm. “After that, he went after Jack. I can still hear Jack’s screams, and the hissing laughter that monster made. I somehow got up, and managed to rip Jack out of his grip with my uninjured arm before he could tear Jack’s throat out, but then I slipped, and all three of them were on us. I rolled over, making sure Jack was under me. So they clawed at my back, trying to get me to release him but I wouldn’t. One of them even stomped on my left leg, snapping my femur, but I still refused to let go. I wasn’t going to fail Jack too.”
“Autumn, you were only ten,” Kirall said softly.
“I’m not sure why they stopped,” she continued, not hearing him. “Don’t know why they left, but suddenly they were just gone and it got so quiet. Jack wasn’t even crying anymore. He just lay there in my arms, looking up at me with those beautiful, blue eyes of his. They were filled with so much pain and so many questions, but he only asked me one.”
“What was it?” Kirall asked.
“Where are Mom and Dad?”
“What did you say?”
“That we would all be together soon.” She gave Kirall a watery smile as she spoke. “He gave me this small, beautiful smile, and then just faded away. I kissed his cheek and closed my eyes. I knew I would be with them soon. Instead, I woke up in hell…and I guess it was what I deserved.”
“Hell? What is hell?” Kirall demanded.
“A place where people go to be punished after they die.”
“But you didn’t die!” Kirall all but shouted at her. “And you did nothing that deserved punishment.”
“I didn’t protect my family!” she shouted back. “The most important people in my life!”
“You were fighting with Varana, Autumn! There was no way you could have protected your family from them. That you were able to survive is unprecedented.”
“I…” she began to argue back, then gave him a startled look and whispered. “You believe me?”
“Of course I do.” Kirall didn’t understand why she thought he wouldn’t.
“No one else ever has.”
The lost look in her eyes had Kirall’s heart breaking. “What did they believe?”
“That it was the teenagers they found, not ‘giant lizards’ like I kept telling them. They blamed it on all the surgeries I had to have.”
“Surgeries?”
“Yeah, they had to put metal rods in my arm and leg because the bones were shattered, and it took multiple surgeries to repair my back. I kept having nightmares. I would wake up screaming and try to run away. They couldn’t restrain me on the bed, not with my injuries, so instead they medicated me to the point where I couldn’t move or speak.”
“They did what?!!” Kirall was outraged at the thought. “How long did they keep you like that?”
“I’m not sure. At least until my back was healed enough so I could lie on it. That’s when they started easing me off the meds. But when I continued to insist it was ‘giant lizards’, and not teenagers, they determined the stress had been too much and I had lost my mind. So they gave me different drugs. Drugs for crazy people. They hurt so much. It felt like they were killing something inside me, something I needed to protect. I wanted to scream for them to stop, but I couldn’t.”
“These drugs…silenced you?”
“Yes. It was like they created this wall between my mind, my body, and my soul. I couldn’t connect anything, couldn’t explain anything. I could see and hear, and physically I could eat and swallow, if they put it in my mouth. They forced pills down my throat and every time they did, I’d scream in my mind. Then I’d hear the ‘lizards’ laughing at me, and I swore I’d never scream again.”
Kirall now understood why she was so adamant about controlling her sounds, about not screaming. She associated them with pain and defeat.
“How did you break through?” he asked after several long minutes. “The wall the drugs created.”
“I couldn’t, I tried and tried, but I always failed.”
“Then how are you here?”
“Because my insurance ran out,” she told him quietly.
“What? Insurance?”
“It is what paid for all my treatments, for my care. After I maxed out, I became a ward of the state, and was moved to an overfilled, understaffed facility that didn’t always hire the most…reputable people. The guy who was supposed to be giving me my meds started stealing them instead, and slowly the walls started to come down.”
“So they let you go.”
“Not right away. First, I had to convince them that I was ‘cured’, so I told them what they wanted to hear. That it was crazed teenagers that attacked and killed my family with knives. I was even able to describe the knives because the sheriff and doctors had talked about them when they were in my room, and thought the drugs had knocked me out.”
“So they believed you.”
“Of course. It’s what they wanted to hear, and then there was the fact that it was financially beneficial for them to release me.”
“Financially beneficial?”
“It would save them money if I was gone,” she told him. “So they discharged me.”
“How old…how old were you when they just thrust you out into the world? Abandoning you.”
Autumn’s eyes widened. Surprised he understood that. She’d been terrified. If not for the help of an amazing social worker, she didn’t know what she would have done. “Eighteen,” she told him quietly. “I’d just turned eighteen.”
Kirall couldn’t imagine being on his own at such a young age. He’d been under his parents’ protection until his first Heat occurred at one hundred. While he’d sometimes chafed at their restrictions, he’d always known he was safe and protected. Autumn hadn’t had that. His anger began to burn at how badly she’d been treated. “And you had no one there to protect you?”
“There was one person, a social worker. She did what she could to help me. She got me into the classes I needed, then found me a place in a homeless shelter where I could stay and get at least one hot meal a day. I was able to get a job at a cafe washing dishes, and eventually moved up to waitressing. It’s where I met Kristy, and once I got my G.E.D., I was able to take a second job, move out of the shelter, and in with Kristy.”
“How old are you now, Autumn?” Kirall asked quietly.
“Twenty-two.” She frowned at him. “Why?”
“You are so young to have survived so much.”
“Have I? Survived, that is?” she asked because sometimes she wasn’t sure she had, especially when the nightmares came. When that happened, she was thrown back into all that pain and confusion, and found herself having to fight her way back out again.
“You have, Autumn,” he told her firmly. “The Varana you attacked is one of their strongest and most-feared males. You injured him, something no one else has ever been able to do.”
“You know this…Varana?”
“Yes. He is General Terron. He leads the Varanians, but I don’t understand why he would attack you and your family.” He slowly lifted a strand of her hair, looking at its unusual white tips. “Unless for some reason he thought you were a Dragoon.”
“A Dragoon? You mean because of my hair?”
“Yes. The Varana are always trying to expand their territory by eliminating weaker species and taking over their planet. Dragoons are the only ones that can truly defeat them. That
is why they attack our young before they are able to shift and protect themselves. They also attack Others that they think might be our mates.”
“They are trying to wipe you out by killing your children and mates.”
“Yes, but they will not succeed,” he told her confidently. “We eradicated them from Terceira, and we will continue to do so, wherever they appear.”
“Terceira, that’s where you are coming from?”
“Yes. The Varana had taken over the planet, killing most of the inhabitants. It took some time, but we were able to drive them out.”
“Just you and Dacke?” She couldn’t hide her astonishment.
“No, there were others on Terceira. They are returning home on different ships.”
“Was…” Autumn wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
“Yes, General Terron was there.” He watched her slowly nod, and saw fear filtering through her eyes. “He fled like the coward he is. He will never get near you again, Autumn. Will never be able to harm you. My vow.”
“Thank you, but you can’t make that vow, Kirall,” she told him sadly.
“Of course I can!” He reared back as if she’d struck him.
“No, you can’t,” she argued, wanting to reach out and touch him, but refusing to let herself. She wasn’t going to let him give her false hope that she might be safe, even if it was only for a few hours. “After tomorrow you will be gone. I will return to my life, remembering nothing about our time together, except that it was ‘pleasant’, and you…you will return to your world, find your mate, and never concern yourself with what might have happened to me.”
“That’s not true!” Kirall roared, sitting up.
“It is,” she sat up too, “and it’s okay. The only reason you’re here is because of your Joining Heat. You told me that yourself. I survived before you got here. I’ll survive once you’re gone.”
Kirall found himself struggling to control not only his Beast, but also his Dragon as neither liked what she was saying. Did she really believe they would just go, leaving her unprotected and forget about her?
That was never going to happen.
She had become too important to all of them to let her go.
Just the thought of her forgetting their time together had his Heat rising so fast it overwhelmed him.
“You are no longer alone, Autumn,” he growled. Gripping her waist, he pulled her up as he rose to his knees. “We are with you,” his Beast told her, gold filling Kirall’s eyes.
It should have shocked her, this swift change in him, the feel of his Beast’s hands and claws around her waist, but it didn’t. What did shock her was that his eyes had started to elongate, and suddenly his Dragon was staring directly out at her, his eyes reminding her of the crystal she’d given to Jack so many years ago. Black scales began covering his face and neck, and Kirall’s features began to change. His mouth and nose extended while his laminae turned into hard, sharp points.
Slowly, Autumn reached out. She wasn’t worried about being bitten, but didn’t want to chance it either, for the teeth in Kirall’s Dragon’s mouth looked deadly sharp. Carefully, she touched his snout. Surprised at how smooth and soft his scales were. They were interlocking, and formed the most amazing, shimmery skin and felt nothing like the fish scales she’d expected.
Moving her fingers up his snout, she traced where one of Kirall’s eyebrows should have been. It was now a hard ridge that went from the inner corner of his eye to the outer corner, seeming to protect it before it disappeared back into his hair.
Smoky, crystal eyes watched her intently, assessing her as she touched the corner of his eye.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispered, lightly kissing the place where her fingers had been.
Kirall’s Dragon coughed softly, and Autumn tipped her head to the side letting his snout brush against her neck. His hot, moist breath caused her to shiver. Not with fear, but with need. When he reached the curve where her neck met her shoulder, his rough tongue swept out, tasting her.
“Autumn…” The deep gruffness of the voice had her twisting her head slightly, and for a moment she saw all three of Kirall’s beings in his face before his features settled back into his Other form.
Kirall looked down at Autumn, and for the first time felt his three forms truly become one being. It was what mated pairs said happened when a Dragoon found its mate. Not only did the mated pair become one, but so did all their forms. It was what allowed a mate to ascend to a higher level.
Suddenly it all made sense, and he couldn’t believe he hadn’t realized it earlier.
The sudden onset of his Heat.
The way she was able to calm his Beast.
The way his Dragon accepted her.
He wasn’t in a Joining Heat.
He was in his Mating Heat.
It didn’t matter that Autumn was an Other.
She was his mate.
He felt his Heat rising, and knew it was time to fully claim his little Other in the way Dragoons had been doing it since the dawn of creation. Then she would be their mate forever!
Autumn’s eyes widened as she watched Kirall. So many emotions were flying across his face that she couldn’t tell what he was thinking, let alone feeling. Was he upset that she had touched his Dragon?
“Oh, little Aud-um,” he growled, his eyes glowing slightly. “Now you are going to get everything you’ve been asking for.”
Autumn’s breath hitched at the dark promise she saw in his eyes, but before she could reply she found herself spun around and on all fours. Kirall’s thighs slid between hers, spreading them wide as he settled in behind her. He pressed his chest against her back, his weight supported by his hands on either side of her.
“Do you willingly accept me, little Aud-um?” he asked, moving her hair over to one side so he could lick the same spot his Dragon had and whispered, “In all my forms?”
Autumn found she couldn’t answer as Kirall’s Heat surrounded her. The feel of his tongue, tracing the same path as his Dragon, had her womb clenching and her channel flooded with need.
“You must say it, Autumn,” he told her, lightly raking his teeth over her neck.
“I accept you!” she gasped. “All of you!”
“That’s good, little one,” he growled, “because I wasn’t going to let you refuse me.”
With that, Kirall rose up, his hands gently tracing the scars that covered her back. It still enraged him that she had been so severely injured, but he no longer saw her back as damaged. Instead he saw it as a tribute to her deep love for her brother.
“You are so beautiful, little one,” he whispered. “So strong.” Autumn looked back at him, giving him a disbelieving look. “It is true. You willingly sacrificed yourself trying to protect someone you loved. That you didn’t succeed does not matter. You gave everything you had. It is all any of us can do.”
Autumn felt her eyes fill at Kirall’s words. For so long she believed she was weak and a failure. For Kirall to tell her she was neither touched her deeply. She was about to tell him that, when she felt something move along her hip. She knew it wasn’t one of Kirall’s hands because she could still feel them on her back.
Looking toward her hip, her eyes widened when she saw something thick and black working its way along it.
“Kirall… is that…?”
“Yes. My Dragon wants to explore you, wants to caress and pleasure you as much as I do. This is the only way he can. He would never harm you, Autumn.”
“I know that, it just surprised me.” She shivered, then dropped her head between her arms, and watched, feeling his tail lightly caress her stomach. He wrapped around her again before paying attention to each breast, squeezing and teasing them until her nipples ached.
“Oh…” she cried out softly.
“That’s it, Autumn,” Kirall told her, rubbing his hands over her ass. “Let us hear your sounds of pleasure. That’s all we want to give you. Pleasure. Never pain. Never again.”
Au
tumn knew that was true. She felt safe and protected wrapped in the embrace of Kirall’s Dragon. Still, she tensed when he brushed against her cheek. She expected the tip to be sharp since it was meant for defense. Instead, it was covered in scales as smooth and soft as the ones she’d touched on his face. She watched in amazement as the scales slowly receded, revealing the deadly-looking spike she’d expected. It was then safely encased back inside the soft, interlocking scales.
She immediately understood. His Dragon was trying to reassure her that his touch wouldn’t harm her. “I know,” she whispered, knowing he would hear her, and was rewarded by him running his tip along her bottom lip.
She let her tongue slip out of her mouth to run along the covered tip, returning the caress. His bands responded by tightening around her. When he slipped further into her mouth, she welcomed him by closing her lips around him. Behind her, she heard Kirall groan, and realized he was able to feel what his Dragon was feeling, that they were truly one being.
“Yes, Autumn,” his hands tightened on her hips, pulling her back so his cock could slide between the cheeks of her ass. He groaned when they squeezed him in return. Reaching around her front, his hand slid into her curls. “You are so wet already, little Autumn. Does it excite you that my Dragon desires you?”
With her mouth full, Autumn could only mumble her answer.
“That he wants to fuck you as much as I do?” He began to stroke her clit in the way he knew she liked. “We are going to, Autumn. But first, you are going to come for us. We are going to show you just how much pleasure we can give you.”
Autumn pressed back against him, seeking relief from the need building in her as his fingers strummed faster and faster against her clit. She was so close to coming, but she wanted more. She wanted Kirall’s cock deep inside her. Wanted him pounding into her, filling her, the way she knew only he could. But she wasn’t willing to give up the treat in her mouth to tell him.
“That’s it, Autumn,” he encouraged, feeling her body start to tremble. “Come for us. Give us more of your sweet nectar. Coat my fingers with it.” He began pressing even harder against her clit. “Give it to us, and we will fill you like you’ve never been filled before. We will give you what you’ve been wanting from all of us!” Kirall ground his hips against Autumn, his fingers pinching her clit. His Dragon finally relinquished her mouth, his bands tightening around her keeping her close as her orgasm ripped through her.
Bound By Heat - Dragon Shifter Page 10