Werebear's Nanny_A Paranormal Romance

by T. S. Ryder

  The men grumbled to one another, but Asa didn’t let that bother him. They were just cranky and tired. They all were. He wiped a hand across his brow.

  “Let’s try it—”

  The scream of a female voice cut him off. He looked up to see the distant form of a dragon flying overhead. It banked in a circle, something hanging and squirming from one of its claws. Even from this distance, Asa recognized the fiery red hair. The dragon dangled her some more, making his heart leap to his throat, then it wheeled about and took off.

  Asa cursed. He jumped back on his bike and spun it around to follow after the dragon. He kept an eye on it as he dodged over the narrow roads. The dragon dove suddenly, disappearing from sight, but Asa knew where it was going. A few of his men pulled up beside him on their bikes as he continued. Within an hour, they were at Dreok, the city-state ruled by King Leon.

  The gates were open, and Asa drove straight in. The dragons and their humans stared at the bikers. A few of them pointed openly but Asa ignored them. He didn’t stop until he got to the palace grounds.

  Willow sat on a fountain’s lip, her eyes wide, her hair windblown. Beside her was a dragon who called himself The Spear. A rather pretentious name, but he was notorious for holding grudges. And Asa knew that he would never have been able to get Willow if she was in the city, but that would wait. For now, he just had to get her back to safety.

  He put the kickstand into place and headed towards Willow and Spear. Her hands were bound together. The big dragon smiled at him.

  “Well, if it isn’t the wingless dragon gang,” Spear drawled. “What brings you here, Asa?”

  “Considering that you made sure that I saw you with my human, you already know that.” Asa kept his voice calm. “Just give her back to me and I’ll be on my way. No need for this to turn bloody. We all know what happened the last time you and I fought.”

  Meaning that Asa had trounced the other dragon thoroughly. This had to be his way of trying to get back at him. Had he hired someone to kidnap Willow? No . . . the dragon wasn’t smart enough for that. More likely he saw her outside the gates and decided to take advantage of the situation.

  “Your human? More like my human.” Spear thumped his chest. “I captured her fairly. A human wandering the woods. I just picked her up.”

  “She’s mine and you know it,” Asa responded. His flames were heating up and he fought them back. Just wait. If he attacked first, then he’d be in big trouble. Just coming to the city without prior permission from his king put him in a bad position. His men fanned out behind him and he made a gesture, a silent order for them to stay back and not attack. “I laid my claim on that human, and it’ll be in the records. I’ve got my phone on me. All I have to do is pull up the website and we’ll have this sorted out. By law, you can’t lay claim to a human that has already been claimed.”

  Willow yanked at the ropes holding her wrists. Her gaze never moved from his. He didn’t care if she was trying to run away. It was only to be expected, considering the fact that he had stolen her from her home. He wasn’t going to just hand her over to this creep, though.

  Spear dropped a hand to Willow’s shoulder. “You have a claim on her? I don’t see any brands. Maybe I’ll put my mark on her, huh?”

  Willow made a strangled noise in her throat. She lunged forward, sinking her teeth into Spear’s arm. The dragon yelped and yanked back. His face darkened and his hand flew. He struck Willow across the face, sending her tumbling back into the fountain.

  And that was enough. Asa charged forward, releasing his inner beast as he did so. Black scales sprouted from his skin, covering him in a hard protective casing. His whole shape changed form. He whipped his tail around, lashing across Spear’s face before releasing a jet of green-tinged flame into the other dragon’s chest. Spear stumbled back, then snarled. He shifted and charged at him. Just like last time. Asa could have laughed. How predictable.

  Asa flipped himself over, his smooth back scraping along the dirt as Spear tripped over him. The black dragon’s claws struck out, ripping scales from Spear’s soft underbelly. Spear roared and turned, but Asa was already back on his feet. He jumped onto the other dragon’s back, grabbing each wing and twisting them to the sides. Spear let out a pained cry and whipped around. His teeth pierced through Asa’s leg and he yanked. Asa, in turn, gripped the wings harder. He kicked at Spear’s face with his free leg and used his tail to knock the other dragon’s feet out from under him.

  Spear let out a whimper and released Asa. He dropped to his belly and tucked his head between his hands. Asa released him and backed away, on edge in case he tried to attack again. When the bronze dragon didn’t move, Asa shifted back into his human form and marched over to Willow, who was still half-submerged in the water. Her eyes were wide in her skull as she looked at him and Spear, who slowly shrunk back to his own human form.

  “The human is mine.” Asa turned his back and helped Willow from the fountain. With a directed puff of flame, he burned through the ropes. “Are you okay?” he asked in a low voice.

  Eyes still wide, she nodded. Silently, he led her over to bikes and lifted her onto the back of his before mounting. Her arms wrapped tight around his middle as he wheeled about and headed back towards his own city.

  Now that he no longer had to worry about fighting for her, he allowed himself to consider how she ended in this situation.

  She wanted to get away. That much was clear. The only way Spear would have been able to capture her was if she had managed to find her way out of the city. Running around in the woods? More like trying to run away from him. And while it did make him a little angry to know that she’d just take off like that, it made sense. There was a reason why he had never taken prisoners for all these years. Humans didn’t like to be stolen away from their homes.

  By the time they got back to the city, she was shaking. He didn’t drive to his home, though. He made a gesture to send his men back to their homes and went to the palace. There, he quickly found Shante. She was in the gardens, her feet up while she stroked her pregnant belly.

  “Asa.” Shante’s brow rose at the sight of him. “What brings you here?”

  “I want you to arrange a trade. To ransom Willow back to her family.”

  Willow gasped. “What?”

  Shante got to her feet. “What’s brought this on?”

  “I’m not going to keep a human that hates me.”

  “But I don’t hate you.” Willow shook her head. “I just . . . I just don’t want to be a slave.”

  “Arrange for the ransom. In the meantime, I think it’s best she be kept in the palace.” Asa turned on his heel and started walking away. He thought he heard a murmured thank you from Willow, but didn’t turn back.

  His fires flickered low, and that only made him angrier. His body ached from the fight with Spear. A nice relaxing soak in the hot springs beneath his manor would help with that. It wouldn’t ease the tightness that was winding its way around his heart, though. What was he feeling like this for, anyway? It wasn’t like he’d gotten attached to her . . . How could he have? And yet, the thought of never seeing her again made it hard to breathe.

  Would she keep in touch if he gave her his number?

  No. Those thoughts weren’t even worth entertaining. No woman wanted to be with a man who would keep her as a slave. As for how she got out of the city in the first place . . . Well. Did that really matter? She wasn’t staying. Why should he care about her anymore?

  Chapter Five – The Ransom

  Willow knew she should have been happier than she was. She was going home. Even if she left right away, at least she would be going somewhere on her own terms. She could go to whatever city or village she wanted. She wouldn’t be kept as Asa’s property. If there was one thing she certainly was not going to be, it was a slave.

  But leaving . . . It wasn’t as exciting as she had hoped. In fact, she was feeling downright miserable about it. So what if it had only been a few days since she was taken
from her own village? Minus the whole dragon kidnapping thing, she had felt better in the dragon city than she had in months. Maybe even years. If she had had the chance to talk to Asa, she would have told him that she didn’t want to be sent back, that she’d gladly stay on as a paid worker. She’d even consider helping them with the sheep.

  The thought of having to train a new puppy, though . . . She had lost Jax so recently and she didn’t want to replace him. She knew she’d love the puppy, but . . .

  She shook the thoughts from her head and peeked at Asa from the corner of her eye. He had driven her down with Shante in a sleek black vehicle, and now they waited in a large plaza where all the ransom exchanges took place.

  Willow licked her lips. “Asa?”

  He didn’t look at her.

  “I know that it’s . . . it’s not exactly the best time or . . . whatever.” What did she even want to say to him? “I guess I just wanted to thank you . . . for setting me free. You’re a good man.”

  Asa glanced at her, surprise clear in his eyes. “Well . . . for what it’s worth, you’re still under my claim, even if I’m sending you back. No other dragon will be able to take you again. Next time, though, maybe don’t put yourself in danger for a bunch of sheep.”

  “The sheep keep us alive. I did it for the village.”

  Asa didn’t respond to that. A puttering blue car came into view and Willow’s heart lurched. A sense of relief washed over her and she ran forward. It wasn’t until she actually saw her parents that she realized she had missed them. With the adrenaline of being captured and the wonders of the city, she had only thought about everything that they had done to make her want to leave.

  Now, though, as her mother rushed to embrace her, Willow’s eyes burned with tears. Why had she wanted to leave? They needed her. She had an important role in the village, looking after the sheep. Her father’s strong arms wrapped around her and she buried her face into his shoulder.

  “There, there.” Her mother stroked her hair with a trembling hand. “Are you alright? Did they treat you poorly?”

  “If they’ve hurt you, I’ll gather the warriors of the village and bring back their heads on pikes,” her father growled.

  They all knew that there were no warriors in the village and even if there were, humans simply couldn’t fight against dragons. She shook her head, though, touched by the thought. “I’m fine, Papa. They were very kind to me.”

  Her mother cupped her face in her hands. “You are sure? They did not treat you badly?”

  Willow shook her head. “The dragon who took me, Asa,” she gestured back to him and gave him a watery smile. His expression was stoic in response. “He was very good to me. He wasn’t going to ransom me back to you. He was going to keep me as a maid, but when he saw how miserable I was, he decided on this ransom.”

  Her father sighed. “You sound . . . taken by him.”

  Willow’s eyes widened. “No, Papa. I’m not. But I think he’s a good man.”

  “Good.” Tears flooded his eyes. “I am glad. I pray he continues to treat you well.”

  Continues? Willow’s heart dropped.

  “The ransom was too great a price,” her mother whispered. “My darling little girl, we can’t buy you back.”

  She couldn’t breathe. Her lungs weren’t working and she backed away from her parents. The tears ran down their faces and she knew they weren’t that good of actors. But were they really upset that they had to send her back, or were they upset because of guilt? She hoped it was guilt. She hoped they would choke on it.

  “You can’t pay the ransom?” she repeated, her voice raised. “Why? I’m your daughter. What sort of price is too high for you to pay to get me back?”

  She had thought she was needed. She thought she was wanted. But apparently, neither was true. She thought of all the times she was left alone, thinking that she had wanted to be – or at least that she didn’t want to be around them. At the time, she thought that was just how she was built, but now . . . Now she had to question everything.

  “Don’t be angry,” her mother begged her, but the familiar flash in her eyes was really saying ‘Don’t be unreasonable.’ “You know that your brother is getting married and your sister is pregnant. And since those dragons have stolen half the flock, we have nothing to fall back on this winter. Darling, we just don’t have the funds.”

  Shante came forward. “If the price is too high for you to pay all at once, we can put you on a payment plan. A little a month with Willow working in Asa’s manor to help pay for it as well. As for your flock, we haven’t taken any sheep from you all year. Willow made sure of that. Certainly, you owe her that much to take her back . . . Although it will be much easier to take your sheep once she’s gone.”

  Willow didn’t know what exactly Shante was doing – probably trying to make the sale to get her parents to take her back, but Willow knew she needn’t have bothered. She could already see that her parents’ minds were made up.

  “You never saw me, did you?” Willow backed away a step. “I have given everything to you. I should have left years ago. You don’t care about me. You didn’t care when I first started working with the flocks, you didn’t care when people came praising my training techniques, you didn’t even care when you let my dog get killed . . . and don’t you dare pretend that you care about the sheep. If you did, you would have—”

  To her horror, she started to cry. All her childhood fears were realized. Her own parents didn’t love her. She turned on her heel and rushed back to the dragon’s car.

  “We can’t afford—” her father started.

  “Shut your mouth.” It was the first thing Asa had said. The fury in his voice almost made her wince. “Both of you are disgusting. I have watched this village for a long time, and even I, coming to steal and plunder, have seen your child do far more to protect this village than either of you. As for price? No price is too high for a child that you love. You should be willing to sell your souls for her. And instead, you can’t even pay fifty gold a month to have her back someday?”

  Willow couldn’t even look at them. She was too heartbroken, too humiliated.

  “These negotiations are over,” Asa continued. “And you’ll be lucky if I don’t take all your children and all your possessions. Next time I come, I will burn you to the ground.”

  He threw himself into the driver’s seat of the car. Willow climbed into the back, Shante climbing in behind her. She held her breath, trying desperately not to cry as they drove away. She didn’t hear her parents protest at all.

  I should have known better.

  Her body was wracked with sobs by the time they were back in the city. Shante left the car and Willow stayed where she was. She let herself completely break down. Hating them. Hating herself. They didn’t love her. That’s all there was to it. She was the unwanted child, the disappointment. No matter how hard she tried, they didn’t care. Everything she had done seemed so empty and hollow.

  I should have just left. I should have turned my back on them and left.

  The seat shifted and she jumped. Asa slipped in next to her and abruptly all her sorrow turned to fury. She started to beat on his chest. What amount had he demanded? Probably more than all the village was worth combined!

  “It’s your fault,” she shouted. Who else was she supposed to blame? “They do love me – they just couldn’t pay your price! I hate you!”

  Asa didn’t speak. He didn’t move to stop her from beating him. Another sob ripped up her throat and she collapsed into him, not caring if she was seeking comfort from the man she had just been accusing. After a moment, he wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  “You are worth more than all the gold on the earth,” he whispered. “I didn’t ask for even a fraction of your worth. They know nothing, Willow. Parents rarely see their children for what they are instead of what they want them to be. You are worth the world. But them? They’re not worth a single tear.”

 
“They’re my parents.”

  Asa kissed her forehead and enfolded her in his arms. “I know. You will be the queen of my household, Willow. Or I will take you wherever you wish to go. From this day forward, I am yours to command.”

  She buried her face in his shirt, breathing in his smoky scent. Even though her heart still ached, the pain eased a little. She closed her eyes, letting his strength warm her. Odd that her capturer would be the most comforting person in her world right now . . .

  Chapter Six – Deepening Feelings

  Days passed.

  Willow never talked about the disastrous ransom again. For his part, Asa did his best to put it from his mind. Every time he thought about those people abandoning their daughter, treating her as though she was nothing, his fires leaped and roared to the point where he wanted to burn down the whole village. He might have, too, if he had thought that it would help. But he knew that it would only make Willow blame herself, and he didn’t want to cause her any more grief than she had already been through.

  Asa relaxed in the hot springs, enjoying the scent of the mineral water. His knotted muscles eased in the hot water and his eyes were just starting to drift shut when the soft pattering of footsteps made them open again.

  “Oh!” Willow’s fair skin flushed red when she came into the room. Her gaze dropped to the water where his nether region was and he couldn’t help but grin. He’d been noticing her giving him the eye quite a bit lately and enjoyed the attention she gave him.

  “You can come in.” He eyed the robe she had wrapped around herself, wondering what it hid beneath. “I’m wearing trunks.”

  Willow fidgeted a moment. “I just . . . Well, I spent the whole day cleaning. Those attic rooms are disgusting. And I saw mice, so you’re going to have to get some traps set.”