by Leela Ash
A lid two feet across rolled open. Revealing a great eye, its pupil slitted like a snake’s. Red flames swirling within, setting its yellow iris alight with a dancing fire.
Mate.
No words pierced the void’s stillness. The ‘word’ echoed in her mind, making her body shiver with its force.
“I need your help.”
Slowly, its great fanged head rose, as if the weight of the world pressed down upon it.
I will wake you and you will be saved.
Nostrils flaring, it dipped its head.
“No! Stop! I can’t go without Jamie!”
That one. You are better off without him.
The fire in its eyes roiled.
“‘That one’ is you.”
Without warning, its head whipped away from her. Jaws the size of a car snapped at the wounds in its shoulder.
You are better off without us.
“Hey! Look at me!” She smacked the creature’s chest, startling it out of its self-mutilation. “I Claimed you. Both of you. I want both of you, and I’m going to save both of you.”
Like the sound of an earthquake, a deep, rumbling growl bubbled up from its throat.
We are the Protector. It is you who should be saved.
Before it could fall back into despair, Maya seized that thread. “Sounds good to me! In fact, Jamie wants to save me – but he needs your help.”
Two burning eyes studied her, wary.
Trick.
“Maybe. But it’s also the truth. He can’t save me without your power.”
I can save you. You will wake and…
This again. Time to pull out the big guns. “You know that I’m pregnant, yes?”
A wordless keen of sorrow and longing was her only answer.
“My child needs a father. My child needs you.”
Each word struck it like a hammer’s blow. Great shivers passed through its enormous, scaled body.
“I don’t want to raise a Shifter child alone. I can’t. I need you and Jamie too. Please, I’m begging you!”
Back and forth its tail lashed. It hissed, twisting its head from side to side. Despair fighting against its nature, its urge to protect.
Maya waited, letting that silent battle play out.
Finally, its agitation stilled. Burning eyes turned to her once more.
We will go to him and you will see the truth of my words.
“Okay.” Not the resolution she wanted, but it was still a step forward.
The Dragon crouched and extended a leg for her to climb onto its back. Yet, the sight of those bloody wounds held her back.
“I can’t. I’ll hurt you.”
We deserve that.
“No! I won’t hurt my Mate!”
With a sigh, it rose. One paw rose above her head. Long, clawed toes spread wide and for a second, some cowardly corner of her mind feared that it would squash her flat. Instead, those deadly weapons closed gently around her, wrapping her in their unbreakable grip.
I will carry you, then.
Wings spread wide and it leapt into the void. No wind whipped past her, no ground swept beneath them. Yet, a sense of movement, of flying, filled her. Jamie grew nearer… near…
Something hit them, a force like an invisible wall of damp cotton.
With a roar, the Dragon breathed. A wall of flame leapt out, lighting the unending darkness. Maya caught a glimpse of thin, wiry forms writhing away from that light.
And once more, they sailed forward. Closer and closer to her Mate…
…until the Dragon settled down beside a still form and uncurled its claws.
“Jamie?” Maya darted to his side.
“Maya? What…” Stiffly, he sat up, his eyes dark and troubled. When he saw the Dragon, licking its bloody shoulders, he winced.
“We need to get the two of you back together properly.”
We do not.
Fiery eyes peered, not at her – but at the man.
Say the word and I will wake her and save her.
“Okay. That sounds…”
“Jamie, no! If you send me away, you’re lost. I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but I think I’m the only one who can get you two talking to each other again.”
Dragon and man exchanged tired glares. “Hate to say this, lady, but I think I’m lost anyway. Might as well send you back.”
“To a cage? Captured by the Fangs of Apophis? Oh yeah, that’s a great option.”
Jamie sighed. His Dragon huffed a small flame.
Our Mate is with child, the Dragon announced sadly.
“Oh hell, Maya, I’m sorry.” Jamie buried his face in his hands.
“Well, I’m not,” she snapped. A little pleased to see both of them wince. “I want this child. And I want you – and your Dragon – to help me raise them. So… unite! Transform! Do… whatever Shifters do!”
“Don’t you see?” He pointed at the little cord that ran between the three of them. “We’re not tied anymore, my Dragon and me. You’re the only thing holding us together. Without you…” He shrugged, face pale. “Nature would take its course. I’d become a Worm.”
Flattering to know she meant so much, but… “What does that even mean? How can I do that? What am I?”
You’re our Mate.
“I know.” She hated to rain on the Dragon’s parade, since it seemed cheered by the fact that it could answer one small question. “But what does that mean?”
You’re our Mate!
Her grimace brought a weak smile to Jamie’s face. “Welcome to my world. Arguments with this guy are such fun.”
Back to the facts. “What is a Mate?” The Dragon perked up. “I know that a Mate is a woman Claimed by a Dragon.” Beaten to the answer, its head drooped. “But why does the Rite of Claiming change things?”
Jamie shook his head. “Supposedly, it doesn’t. It just clarifies things. Let’s me know that I’ve found the other half of my soul.”
That sounded significant. But for the life of her, Maya couldn’t figure out how having a third ‘half’ of a soul standing around would unite two other warring ‘halves.’ And what the hell was a ‘soul’ anyway, if it could be split up like that? Stupid, imprecise, unscientific terminology. Even ‘soul math’ didn’t add up! She needed something clearer.
Something simpler? What had Jamie told her, back in that dream club?
Dragons are protectors. That’s us, in one word. Our heart, our soul, our reason for being. We protect our loved ones. Take that away from us and we Fall. We become Worms.
“Wait. I think I understand.” Shivering with excitement, she scooped up Jamie’s hands. “What do you love?”
“Um…” As he hesitated, his Dragon gave a threatening growl.
“So, you don’t think you’re a Dragon?”
“What? No, that’s not what I said.”
“Yes, it is. Earlier, you told me that Dragons are all about protecting their loved ones. That if you take that away from them, they Fall. Before that, you said you didn’t have time for love. So, if Dragons need to protect loved ones and you don’t love…”
“I’ve cut myself off from my Dragon. My soul.” His face clouded as the truth of that accusation settled upon him.
“I’m your Mate. That’s why I tie you two together. I’m the last thing you pretended to care about.”
“Maya.” The pain in his face made her heart ache. But she had a plan.
And it was going to hurt.
“I mean, I care for you. I do.”
“I know. This string wouldn’t be here if you didn’t.”
“I just…”
Heart hammering, she moved on to the next stage of her plan. “You’re just confused. It’s been a long time since you’ve been in love. Heck, maybe you never have loved. You’re worried, you’re nervous. You need time to think this over.”
“Yeah,” he confessed. Not seeing the trap she laid for him.
“Okay, then. I’ll give you time to think things over. I hope you h
urry, though, because a lot of lives depend on it.”
Turning to the black Dragon that towered over them, Maya bowed. “Thank you. You are beautiful, and wonderful, and I am honored to be your Mate.”
We should Protect you, the mournful creature sighed.
“I hope you will, soon. But, for now, please wake me.”
“What? Maya, no!” Jamie leapt to his feet, grabbing her elbow. “I need…”
“You need time to think.” As the Dragon reared, raising a claw above her head, she kissed him on the lips. One short, sweet touch to remind him of the joys they had shared. “You know what has to be done. Now you just need to decide if you’re willing to do it.”
Claws swept down, rending the dream world apart.
Tearing her love away from her, perhaps for the last time.
Chapter 16.
Pain roused her. Not the agony of a great wound – just a myriad of aches and pains born from sleeping on a hard floor.
Nothing had changed.
Maya sat up, stretching, trying to ignore the faint disappointment that clouded her mind. Silly as it was, she’d dared to hope that she’d wake to rescue. Jamie, truly a Dragon once more, ripping apart the cage that bound her.
Stupid. The puzzle she’d given him wasn’t the sort that could be solved in a heartbeat.
A number of soldiers slept in the bunks that surrounded her cage. Must be night then. A light always burned here, and without windows, it was hard to tell the time of day.
On stiff legs, she stumbled around the edges of her tiny prison. Circulation returned, gradually. And as the pain faded, boredom replaced it. Lucian Fowler hadn’t tortured her – a fact for which she should probably be grateful. Things could surely be much worse. Still, being locked up with no books, no tv, no radio, no internet… One afternoon of that had driven her nearly mad.
Hope made the waiting even worse. Each second offered a hope of rescue. That hope then died, every other second.
For the first time, Maya saw Fowler’s point: hope could be a curse.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, she gave up and lay down again on the concrete floor. With no insulation, cold seeped up through its hard surface. She rolled her blanket around herself and tried to sleep once more. With no success.
When the change came, it happened with a speed and violence that left her dazed.
In the distance, an explosion and a roar. Bestial, furious, deafening. The cry of an enraged t-rex.
Alarms rang, sending mercenaries spilling to the floor, grabbing for weapons and clothes. Officers screamed orders, men charged about… as that bellow of rage sounded once more.
Maya slipped her blanket over her head and kept still. Praying that everyone forgot they had a potential hostage in this cell.
Gun-fire rang out all around the building, chilling her to the bone. Dragon armor was thick, yes. But could it truly withstand that kind of attack? Or would her next glimpse of Jamie be his corpse, riddled with bullets, lying on the ground?
A whoosh… and the night air filled with terrible, agonized screams. Sounds that would haunt her dreams. Men spilled back inside the barracks as flame lit the world outside.
Chaos and confusion reigned. Soldiers panicked, Shifted, and suddenly, the barracks were filled with howling Wolves. Several streamed into the yard, and she heard their mournful howls fade into the distance. About half held their ground.
Until something slammed into the roof. One half peeled back like the lid of a tin can. Maya couldn’t see the attacker, but she knew who he was. The rush of wind as he passed, the buffets of his wings as he rose for another attack, all gave him away.
Jamie.
Her Dragon.
He had finally come to protect her.
His assault – unstoppable, overwhelming – broke the Fangs’ morale. The remaining Wolves and Bears poured outside, chasing their smarter colleagues.
Only one creature bucked the tide, fighting its way inside through the stream of fleeing Shifters.
Pale white scales covered its long, sinuous form. Around its maw dangled scores of thick strands, like the tentacles of an octopus. At her first, horrified glimpse, Maya thought it was a centipede. Then she got a good look at its head, so like a Dragon’s, and the black eyes that glittered with rage.
Worm. Fallen Dragon.
Lucian Fowler.
The one thing on this island that understood how important she was.
As it darted toward her, thin claws scrabbling at the concrete floor, Maya pressed herself against the back of the cage. A few minutes. She had to buy a few minutes. Lost in the heat of battle, Jamie had probably forgotten her…
But it was she who had forgotten.
What Dragons were. Where their souls lay.
What mattered to them more than life itself.
As the Worm scuttled forward, a dark form hurtled down through the shattered roof, pinning it to the ground. It writhed, squealing, its thin talons slashing harmlessly at the chest of the majestic creature that loomed over it. Lips rolled back from the Dragon’s flame-wrapped maw. Then, its head flashed down, jaws snapping. A sickening crunch, a shriek… and Lucian Fowler died.
Trembling, Maya could do nothing but stare.
Jamie’s head rose. Those burning emerald eyes studied her. Then, steely talons sank into the Worm’s still form and he rose, wings beating, carrying his prey aloft.
High above, a Dragon’s roar of triumph boomed.
Wails and yips echoed it, as the remaining Fangs fled into the woods.
Chapter 17.
All morning, Jamie flew passes across the island, searching for enemies. Maya remained with the families and hostages.
Among them were Judith’s family, a short brown-haired man and three small kids that pelted over, shrieking with joy, when they spotted their mother.
Maya stayed away. Someday, she could forgive Judith. One look at her children’s adorable little faces and her heart knew she would have done anything to save them. Her head, however, was not as forgiving. The pain of the betrayal was still too sharp.
By noon, reinforcements had arrived. Four choppers to begin ferrying Kin back to the mainland. A Pack of Wolves and another Dragon, one of Jamie’s Flight, to mop up the last of the Fangs in hiding.
Jamie glowered at them as they jogged over from the helipads. “Finn Donnelly? Seriously? My Alpha sent that dolt? What is he playing at?”
Maya ignored his harsh tone. Though he wouldn’t admit it, her Mate was in a great deal of pain. Not from the Fangs’ attacks – from the damage his own Dragon had done to itself. She could see it in the way he flew with slow, heavy beats of his wings.
A burly blonde man who stood head and shoulders above the other Shifters trotted up. “Wolfe.”
“Donnelly.”
They didn’t shake hands.
Despite the coolness between the two men, the big guy flashed her a warm smile. An infectious grin she couldn’t help but return, even if that made her Mate’s scowl deepen. “What’s the situation?”
“Fine. Lot of people who need transport. Lots of information in the Fangs’ headquarters that we could use. A few stragglers in the woods who need to be hunted down.” Jamie folded his arms across his chest and scowled at the other Dragon. “I’m not sure why Lorde sent you.”
That would be Brandon Lorde, Maya reminded herself. The Alpha of the First Flight.
“To do all those things,” Donnelly replied.
“Doesn’t he think I can take care of trivia?” Light blazed in his eyes, setting them afire.
Donnelly wasn’t fazed by that. “Sure, but clean-up is the point where traditionally, you lose interest in a project and wander off. I’m here to make sure everything gets taken care of.”
Jamie stiffened. Their eyes locked, and now light blazed in Donnelly’s eyes too, transforming them into burning blue sapphires.
She didn’t know Dragons, but she recognized what that meant. Wolves stared each other down to establish dominance.
If Dragons had an Alpha, they probably weren’t too different.
And Jamie was in no shape – physically or spiritually – for this kind of pissing contest.
Time to put an end to it.
“Hi!” Maya chirped, stepping between the two of them and interrupting the glare that bound them. “I’m Maya Graham. We haven’t been introduced.”
Both Dragons startled, jumping back as if she’d slapped them. She held out a hand.
The newcomer took it in one of his enormous mitts and shook it gently. “Finn Donnelly. From the First Flight. Pleased to make your acquaintance, though you may want to head over to the pads. Extraction will begin soon and I’m sure you’re anxious to get away from this place.”
“Thanks, but I’m going to be staying for a bit.”
“Wouldn’t recommend it. Things won’t be safe until we find the last of those Fangs.”
“I can protect her,” Jamie growled. “She’s my Mate.”
“Your Mate?” The blonde man’s face went blank as he considered that. “You have a Mate?”
Beside her, Jamie seethed. Eyes bright, he vibrated with annoyance and readied himself for a challenge.
None came. After a moment of silence, Donnelly simply shrugged. “Huh. You’re full of surprises today. Congratulations.”
That last bit was aimed at her. Maya thanked him, wishing desperately she understood what history these men shared.
Ignoring Jamie’s defensive glower, Donnelly continued as if nothing had happened. “I’ll get to work then. One last thing.” He held out an ungainly cell phone with a long antenna. “Lorde wants an update. Now.”
“Fine.” Jamie took it. “Maya, I need to do this. Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she assured him. “I’ll be here when you’re done.”
One last suspicious glare at Donnelly, and he retreated to another room.
The blonde Dragon watched him go. Waited as the door closed, hands folded behind his back. And then kept staring at the door for several moments, until they heard the soft, indistinct mutter of words.
All of this left her uneasy. Did his Flight distrust him that much? Unsure what to say or do, Maya waited.
Once he heard Jamie speaking, Donnelly turned those bright eyes on her. “Pardon me for asking, ma’am, but are you human or Shifter Kin?”