by Jenna Payne
*****
Three months on, she had gotten used to both her pregnancy and her new shifter powers. She enjoyed transforming, and dashing through the forest around their home with Blaine, their scales grazing the tree bark as they ran at fifty miles an hour, wings withdrawn as to not damage them on overhanging branches. In her dragon form she could take a break from the aching feet and other pains that came with carrying a child. She felt free. She was free, freer than she had ever been.
Not only had she adapted to all the extreme physical changes she had undergone in the last few months, but to her delight the elders had finally begun to accept her as one of their own. She was no longer the outsider, pregnant with the bastard child of their King. She was one of them: a dragon shifter, a creature she once thought had only existed in fairytales. But all too quickly her due date arrived. The dragon within her decided he was ready to enter the world.
One morning Blaine found her, hunched over the bed in pain, grasping her stomach as her muscles clenched together, forcing the child from the comfort of her womb. Her contractions began to get closer and closer together. Kara screamed at the excruciating pain she felt. As she moaned in agony her scales pulsed, appearing for seconds at a time in random sections on her body. She looked down to see the unborn child within her scratching at her stomach from the inside, claws visible through the thin layer of skin and muscle that separated him from the real world.
“Please, get Blaine, I need him here,” she screamed, her claws morphed and dug into the side of the bed on which she lay.
“We have to get you to the birthing chamber now, Kara!” one of the elders called from the distance. Kara was in no state to respond and soon she was being carried by several people through the long hallways to the underground section of the sanctuary. She had never been allowed down there before.
They burst through a rickety wooden door and laid her gently on what felt like a stone slab covered by a sheet.
“It won’t be long now, sweetie,” said Abigail, one of the elders.
Abigail held Kara’s hand as she pushed and pushed, praying this monster child within her would get out and stop this crippling pain.
“I can see him now,” said Abigail, her voice echoing around the room. At that moment Blaine burst through the door and hurried to her side.
“I came as soon as I could, honey. You are doing so well,” he said.
He tightly grasped her hand, giving her courage and strength to muster one final push. She felt the baby slide out of her and into the arms of someone else.
“He is perfect,” Blaine cooed.
Kara looked up to see Abigail holding a tiny bundle of reptilian flesh and blood, wrapped in a soft blue baby blanket. Kara held out her arms, tired and sweating. Blaine brought the newborn over to her and they sat on the bed in silence, staring down at their perfect little dragon prince.
This was not the adventure that she had dreamed of; it wasn’t a path she could have ever imagined she would take. But she sat there in the midst of her new family and was happy at last. Caressing the forehead of her new son, Kara finally felt at peace. She had finally been accepted by his people as one of their own. She found herself part of an ancient dragon clan, in love with their King, and having given birth to a dragon prince.
It was a new, wonderful adventure.
THE END
Bonus Story 4 of 40
Forbidden Love
Jeremih
“My son, we must discuss a matter.” I glanced behind me as my father’s baritone voice echoed across the marble floor of the great room. I had been looking out over the gardens as the servants readied for the party my father was throwing to welcome the delegates of nearby covens. Every three months he held meetings for the covens to discuss ways to keep the peace between all three in Rochester. Before the actual discussions and negotiations, he would host an extravagant party to welcome the coven leaders and the members of their court.
“Yes father?” I asked as I turned around to face him. Nicolai was in many ways my exact copy, apart from the years that showed in the silver of his once blond hair and the wrinkles, only heightened vision could make out, around his eyes and the corners of his mouth. That and his yellow eyes were different from my golden ones. Otherwise we had the same square jaw, intense brow, hawk like nose, and high cheekbones.
He came to a stop directly in front of me. We had the same strong build, though I was slightly taller than my father, another product of his age. “It is time you take the position as leader of this coven Jeremih. You have sat in on enough council meetings and coven delegations and I believe you may be ready.” I hid my surprise because I knew he would take it as some form of weakness. I couldn’t deny that I had been wondering when my father would recognize that it was time he step down.
“Are you certain father?” I asked him and he nodded, his brows wrinkled together as he formulated some thought.
“Yes Jeremih, you know that I am old for our kind and it is time I passed on leadership to you. You have proven yourself to be smart and observant, but I would like to test you,” he said slowly. Yet another surprise. What trial would he have me do?
“I need to know that you are cunning and capable of truly leading. You are aware of the troubles we’ve been having of late?” he asked and I nodded.
“Yes, the hunters are back and they are threatening all vampires in Rochester. What would you have me do about this?” my father tipped his head towards me and gave me an obvious look.
“What would a leader of a prominent coven of vampires do?” I glanced out at the gardens once more and saw all of the preparations taking place. A leader wouldn’t let our way of life get destroyed, I wouldn’t stand for it. A leader would go out and meet the problem head on to eradicate it.
“I would gather a team and hunt those who hunt us, to ensure our survival and that fear doesn’t spread throughout the race in our region,” I said resolutely, and my father nodded with the ghost of a smile touching his lips.
“You always know the right thing to say and how to say it. But I need to see action from you. You know your people and you know their strengths, gather your team and report back to me before the party tonight.” With that, my father turned on his heel and walked from the room just as silently as he came in. Our coven did have its own militia and I knew just who I needed. I turned around to open the balcony doors and quickly crossed the space to the stone railing to jump over it. I landed lightly on the ground below and ran through the gardens to the training fields. My father’s estate was large and many of the vampires in our coven frequented the grounds much like if it were a palace or town center.
I slowed my pace when I reached the stables as I heard the sounds of someone practicing their archery. The stable doors were closed. I neared them and heard the whiz and thump of an arrow hitting its target, which must have been mounted on the doors. I knocked twice and entered after the familiar voice of Alistair bid me to enter.
“Brother!” Alistair greeted me with his customary huge grin. I smiled as I walked towards him. He was dressed in riding clothes, and had a quiver of arrows on his back and his new modified bow in hand. Alistair wasn’t actually my brother, but my closest friend for a long time. He had a shock of naturally white hair that was pulled back into a bun and his handsome features were enhanced by his oddly, amethyst-colored eyes.
“Having a bit of target practice I see?” I gestured to the huge dummy hanging from the stable door, it had more holes in its silicone body than I cared to count.
“Yes, I’ve just engineered these new arrows. After release, it ejects the arrowhead which propels it even faster into the enemy’s body, where it can release any toxin I injected into the arrowhead,” Alistair explained. He was the only vampire that hadn’t completely switched to more efficient weapons.
“Bullets can do that also Alistair,” I said, and he rolled his eyes.
“Bullets are boring. I’ve modernized my bow and arrows, that’s all I need,” he said
, and I chuckled.
“Which is why I am here. I need you for a special task,” I informed him, and Alistair perked up in excited curiosity.
“So get on with it, what do you need?” he was impatient, as always, to get to the point.
“I’m putting together a team to track down the hunters that have taken up residence in Rochester,” I said, and Alistair grinned eagerly.
“Oh you know I do love a bit of hunter tracking. We should make it a sport,” he said, and I laughed.
“One day perhaps. I must go and gather the rest of my team. Meet me at my father’s study in an hour and be ready for anything,” I said, and Alistair sprang into action, gathering his arrows and dismounting the dummy from the door. I left the stable through the back entrance and continued on to the training grounds.
**
Alina
“Hey Lina! Come take a look at this.” Brody called me over to the body of the fang he just killed. We were out at a local nature preserve in Rochester and the vampire had been hunting for humans. They usually stuck close to seedy areas where they could hide and hunt easily. “I shot it from that tree there. He was hiding pretty good too, but I just knew something was up there.” Brody boasted his kill while I walked over and watched the unnaturally long-lived body quickly decompose into dust.
“Which round did you use to kill it?” I asked, and Brody unloaded his clip to show me, while he pulled out a vial to collect some of the vampire dirt. I took out a bullet that was made from copper and loaded that with what Brody was collecting. It was strange how he had figured out the best way to kill a vampire; with their own kind’s poisonous DNA.
“See that. I told you they’d work like a charm.” I put the bullet back into the clip and handed it to Brody. “It’s pretty much renewable too, the more vamps we kill the more ammo we have to kill more with. My genius will make us the baddest hunters on the continent.” I rolled my eyes, Brody had a severe narcissistic complex, but I couldn’t deny that his discovery and innovation helped us out a lot. All we had to do was shoot one with the poisonous DNA inside the bullet and it was dead.
“You did good Brody. Now really impress me, and kill more of those fangs alright?” I patted Brody on the shoulder and he got fired up to go hunt more vampires down the trail. We had just recently found out that this park was one of their feeding grounds and my team was all over exterminating it. It was silent in the tree-shrouded preserve and I knew I wouldn’t hear any sounds other than the occasional vampire body hitting the ground. My team had specialized weapons made to be both silent and visually discreet. I was confident that my team of fifteen highly trained hunters could clean up the preserve fairly quickly so I decided to take a break.
I walked over to a tree stump and sat down so I could pull out a granola bar and some water. I was getting tired of granola bars. Our commanding officer, so to speak, was sending my team out more and more frequently now because we were getting the most kills. Rick had high expectations of us, but I felt a burnout coming soon. The guys were getting less excited to go out hunting, Brody for one was becoming more weirdly erratic and overexcited, meanwhile I was just getting sick of staring at trees and dead vampires.
After I finished my lunch, I pulled out my compact to make sure my earpiece was still well hidden behind my curly black hair. The wire I also wore underneath my parka was tucked away too. My shooter was still strapped to my arm under my sleeve so I was all set.
“Hey Lina, we have a problem by the deer path… we need five hunters over here, Brody, Kevin, and Ron are nearest to you.” Jackson’s voice sounded from my earpiece and I quickly jumped into motion. I pulled put my phone and used the tracker to get to Brody, who was closest to me, so we could meet up with Kevin and Ron then head to Jackson’s location.
Jackson and I sometimes didn’t see eye to eye and he tried to take lead from time to time. I was the first female lead in a hunting team and Jack thought I was too laid back and not really fit to lead. I proved myself often enough to keep him quiet and earn his respect, but we still had our disagreements. It was getting darker as the sun was setting and with the lack of light I grew confidence. My team worked best after dusk as I had hand picked guys that were stealthier and knew how to innately blend in with the surroundings once night fell. The vampires did have the advantage when it came to seeing in the dark, so I made sure my team had an advantage also.
I met up with Brody on the trail and then radioed Kevin and Ron to take a wide berth and meet us by the deer path. We were all dressed inconspicuously enough, but we couldn’t be too careful. I didn’t see what the ‘problem’ was that Jack needed us near the deer path for. The tracker was completely dead apart from showing all fifteen of my guys. I put my phone away while Brody and I walked silently through the preserve. All of a sudden a bullet whizzed right by my ear, and Brody and I dove for cover behind trees.
“What do you see?” Brody asked me, he was only two feet away from me behind a thick sequoia and I was crouched in a ditch in between its thick roots. I glanced around the base of the tree and saw a vampire standing out in the open with a gun visibly holstered at its hip. It was tall and characteristically pale, dressed in a black jacket, dark jeans, and black boots. It was scanning the trees for us. I slowly lifted my arm and pulled back my sleeve to reveal my shooter. The barrel rested on my knuckles, and all I had to do was pull the trigger for a clean shot.
I took the shot and the bullet flew silently through the air and hit directly in between the vampire’s eyes. Its head flew back and it hit the ground with a thud. Its body started to age and decompose, but then Brody and I heard running as two more vampires showed up to investigate. They were both armed as well.
So the vampires had finally decided to fight back. I quickly reloaded my shooter while Brody made quick work of one, but he had to step out into the open to do it. The other started to shoot at him and Brody retreated into more tree cover. I waited for the vampire to follow him back and once he was directly across from me, I shot him in the temple and he went down. Afterwards, I ran to catch up with Brody and hurry to the deer path.
When we got there, it was an all-out silent war. Both sides had weapons that barely made a sound and both sides moved with stealth. Kevin, Ron, and Jackson were taking cover while Brody and I were coming up behind the four vampires shooting at them. We made quick work of the vampires and I called a retreat order as the sound of rustling trees could be heard in the distance. There was no wind, so that meant the vampires were tree hopping to try and ambush us from above. We all sprinted from the preserve and loaded up into our trucks to rendezvous at a nearby diner. We had lost our element of surprise, we needed to start strategizing.
**
Jeremih
“The hunters withdrew from the nature preserve, though we don’t think they’ll stay away. We’ve let them know that we’re fighting back now.” Alistair waltzed into our safe house located near the nature preserve which had always been safe hunting grounds for our kind from all three covens. He was followed by half of the fifteen vampires I sent him with.
“Did you dwindle their numbers at all Alistair?” I asked and he shook his head slowly. I cursed and then stood up from behind desk I was sitting at.
“They are highly specialized, I saw one woman take one shot and it killed Roland instantly,” Alistair said, and I began to pace. We couldn’t lose this battle with the hunters before it even began.
“Then they must have some special agent in their bullets that can kill our kind. We shall use poison laced rounds as well then,” I said, and Alistair nodded.
“That would be wise. I think we should continue to focus our forces on the hunting grounds. This new team of hunters is surprisingly adept come nightfall,” Alistair said, and I waved away his comment dismissively.
“Of course they are, they’re hunters. They know their prey. Did you say they had a woman on their team?” I asked, and Alistair nodded.
“Yes, she was skilled as well. I’d say she could h
ave been the team’s leader. She called for them all to retreat and they followed her order.” I pursed my lips. It seems the hunters had evolved over time.
“Well then we’ll just have to make sure we capture this woman eventually. No doubt she will break easier than a male hunter would and we can get the information needed to drive them out of Rochester or to eradicate them completely,” I said, and the men with Alistair all bristled with anticipation. “Do not let tonight’s loss color your outlook on this battle with the hunters. We will prevail,” I said simply, and I could see the resolve steel in the remaining vampires. I needed to send word to the rest of my team. My plan was working as expected so far. It was a good thing I sent the less skilled vampires with Alistair, yes it was a risk, but we had to know what we were up against.
“Jeremih, a word?” Alistair called me out of my reverie. I looked up and discovered that all the men had left spare for Alistair. “I think we should wait on our next attack and simply follow their movements, learn where their base is for future exploitation. We simply have to know more than they think we know,” Alistair said, and I nodded. He was wise when it came to battle.
“You’re right Alistair. Do what you think is best on your next patrol, but be careful,” I said, and he nodded once before flashing me a grin and leaving. I exhaled deeply and walked over to my desk. The safe house we were using was a cabin in the woods, surrounded by other bunkers for the men to sleep come sun up. We could survive and operate fully during the day if we wished, but from history and habit we’ve always been people of the night.
Just as I was about to get up to oversee the modifications to our ammunitions, my phone rang and I saw it was my father calling. I hesitated to answer the phone, but did anyway. “Father,” I answered lightly. I heard a door shut on the other end and my father’s voice.
“Jeremih, how was the first ambush?” he asked, and I decided to simply tell him that it was successful, because according to my plan it was.