by Stacy Lee
Dare To Be Loved
by
Stacy Lee
Patronus
Book One
Dare To Be Loved
Copyright © 2014 by Stacy Lee
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events: to real people, living or dead: or to real locales are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and their resemblance, if any, to real-life counterparts is entirely coincidental.
* * * * *
Dedication
To B.J., C.J., T.J., and D.J. with all my love!
To you, you know who you are. The one person who has stood behind me through everything I have ever done. Good, bad and ugly!
You are my predestined.
Prologue
Naveen Marnie Hannock
My breathing is heavy as it pants out with the exertion of escaping. I hit the edge of the clearing with my clothes clutched to my chest and his gun heavy in my hand. I didn’t want to take it, I don’t know how to use it, but I couldn’t leave it there for him to shoot at me. So I grabbed it when I grabbed my clothes.
“Naveen! When I find you, you will pay for that!” My hated first name helps me run faster, pushing myself blindly through the woods of Yellowstone National Park. My uncle always used the name while he ‘taught me a lesson’. Any other time I was ‘hey Brat, get me this… do that right, you little shit…do something useful and make me something to eat, you worthless piece of trash.’ I shake off the memories and push myself to run faster. I can hear him coming behind me, his breathing is ragged from pain and exertion. My body hurt from his beating but I’ve ran five miles a day for the last ten years of my life, not to mention running from my Uncle since my mother died at age four. The only thing hindering my progress was my bare feet, nonetheless I push on ignoring the jabbing pain from the rocks and sticks that liter the ground and soon leave the sounds of pursuit behind.
Not allowing myself to slow down I slip my shirt over my head then do the same with the long skirt. Thank God it had an elastic waistband enabling me to keep up the speed while I struggle to cover my nakedness. Once clothed I even out my stride to pace myself and run blindly into the unknown forest leaving tremendous pain and certain death behind me.
Chapter One
Dare Beyers
“Oomph.” The blow that lands squarely against my ribs knocks the air from my lungs. I pull my bound hands closer to my stomach to protect myself while I try to find a way out of this mess. My dagger and other weapons were taken when they caught me sleeping. It was the only way the Stroli would have gotten me in this position to begin with. My breed require less sleep than most but it had been three days of solid hunting and I was on my last leg. I figured a few minutes wouldn’t hurt since the tracks in this area were several days old.
I was wrong.
I send a burst of power into the ground forcing it rumble. The Stroli before me stumble, but don’t fall like I’d anticipated. If they’d ease up on the abuse I might be able to expend a little magic to remove my bindings, however I wanted to wait till the last minute to try it otherwise it could backfire on me. I hated using magic. Give me a dagger or sword and I was a happy man. Magic had too many stipulations and exceptions to be trustworthy. Something always went wrong when I practiced magic.
“The mighty Dare isn’t so mighty, is he?” One of the two Stroli above me grinds out, his deep voice more of a growl than anything. Having fought this race for years is the only reason I can understand the bastard.
“Go to hell.” I bite out when another foot lands across my back. A flash of pink in the forest behind the Stroli attracts my attention. A light blonde head with wide frightened sapphire eyes and a bruised cheek peeks out from behind a tree. Instantly an overwhelming need to protect the small woman washes through me. Her bright pink t-shirt and long white skirt a beacon in the shadows for anyone who would be paying attention. In this part of the forest nothing good would be paying attention. Thankfully the bastards in front of me were only focused on me. I forcibly turn my concentration back to the Stroli, nothing inside me wants to look away from the small terrified woman.
Facing the Stroli I view them as she would for the first time. Pale white skin covers their face, torso and arms, too white and translucent to be considered normal. Blue and violet veins are visible to the naked eye stressing exactly where the blood flows throughout their deformed bodies. Arms twice as long as a human, clawed hands that drag the ground by their animal like feet. Their powerful legs covered in fur are reminiscent to that of a grizzly bear, only longer and skinnier. The torso and head the only thing with a real resemblance to a human and even that was grotesquely deformed.
Another blow comes from behind me arching my back in pain. The woman steps out from behind the tree, a gun aimed at my attackers. Her hands shake, the weapon wiggles in her grip, but her mouth is set in determination. She takes aim and fires off a shot completely missing her targets and hitting the ground an inch from my head. Dirt sprays up in my face forcing me to take my eyes off of her and my enemy.
Slowly the Stroli turn to face her. She takes a step back, horror etched across her pretty features when she takes in their full frontal appearance for the first time. In panic, or fear, she fires again, this time taking one of the Stroli in the shoulder knocking him to the ground. A normal bullet wouldn’t kill him, it would barely puncture the skin, but the force of the blast would hurt like hell. Something similar to a mid-range bullet hitting a human’s flak jacket, it didn’t puncture the protective armor but left one hell of a bruise.
With her distracting them I roll to the left, grab my dagger and free myself. Launching my tender body forward I catch the Stroli advancing on her off guard decapitating him before he even knew I was behind him. The second is still writhing on the ground moaning. I approach him to kneel by his head.
“Give my love to the Devil.” I plunge the dagger in his throat, with a quick jerk left then right his head rolls away. Wiping the knife off on his fur I rise and turn to the little bitty creature in front of me.
She has the gun raised in front of her chest aimed directly at my heart. After seeing her shoot I wasn’t too worried about her hitting me, but I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with a bullet wound today. Even if the damn thing would heal quickly on its own, they weren’t an experience I’d recommend because unlike the Stroli it would puncture my skin.
“It’s alright now. Put the gun down.” I’m not a gentle man but I try to lower my voice to placate her. Her expression spoke of the horrors of seeing me decapitate two creatures and she wasn’t likely to thank me for it judging from the fear in her eyes. By the way her gaze narrows on me and how her grip tightens on the revolver, I don’t think I managed my desired effect.
“Who are you and why were those… things beating you up?” Her voice is surprisingly even and strong for the amount of shaking her body is doing. Inside, my forgotten conscious rears its ugly head and demands I comfort her, calm her, protect her. I shake it off.
“Who I am is of no significance.” Humans were not to know about us. To keep humans in the dark about all supernatural races was part of my job as a Patronus. “I have been searching for these two for the last few days to end them. They took out a few hu…um… people a few towns over and I have been tracking them. They ambushed me a couple hours ago. You know the
rest.” Normally I wouldn’t bother explaining my actions to a human, however the woman had just put her life in danger for mine. It was the least I could do.
As I speak I take a few measured steps towards her. Her attention is on the dead Stroli behind me giving me the chance I need to disarm her. I leap forward to grab the gun and twist, popping it free from her easy hold, never touching her. Immediately I step back tucking the gun in my waistband. “Now, any more questions?” Her cute little nose scrunches up in anger and her face turns crimson as she glares at me. She was cute when she was angry. I haven’t felt the need to laugh in a long time and desperately try to keep it under control now. I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate it.
“If you would have asked I would have given you the damn thing.” She bites out and crosses her arms, pushing her breasts up to stand at attention. My body grows instantly hard. What the hell? I shake my head and step away from her to grab a lighter from my pocket.
“Stand back.” I flick my Bic and ignite the two bodies, destroying the evidence of a supernatural presence. Sometimes I wish I had my brother Cash’s ability to start fires instead of being able to control the earth. Not that I would use it any more than I do the magic I have, but it’s an amusing thought. The carcasses go up quickly in a flash of orange before the ash settles on the scorched ground. I kick it around removing any trace the creatures have been here. My job was done. “Thanks for the help.” I wave over my shoulder, grab my weapons, replace the lighter and start off towards the small temporary base camp I have with my brothers not far from here.
“Wait. You can’t just leave me here! Please, I’m lost. Can you at least show me the way out?” Surprised, I stop and turn back to her. Scanning her body again, this time I pay a little more attention now that I wasn’t being kicked around.
A bruise covers the right cheek of her otherwise beautiful face. Dark purple prints spread out over her petite neck like someone had tried to strangle her. Her light blonde hair was matted and tangled, twigs and greenery stuck in the knots as if she’d been ducking through or underbrush or sleeping on the ground. The sleeves of her shirt don’t quite cover handprints on both arms and was splattered with blood that might have been from her or whoever hurt her, then again it could have been from the Stroli she shot, but that was doubtful. The long white skirt she wore hung to her ankles, it was ripped in places and the bottom was caked in dirt. Upon closer inspection it’s now obvious the rest of her was also filthy. Anger suddenly blooms in my chest at the mere thought anyone would dare hurt this marvelous creature. The last thing I notice is her bloodied feet. The woman was barefoot in the forest? What the hell is that about?
I meet her gaze to determine the fear she was showing earlier hasn’t diminished but grown even brighter in those sapphire depths. My heart tugs painfully at seeing her so frightened. I quickly search the clearing for threats then realize it’s me she is scared of.
“What happened to you?” I ask sternly but not threateningly. She only shrugs, her eyes flashing defiance. I turn to leave, if she didn’t want to answer, I couldn’t make her. I have to fight to get my feet to move. Nothing inside me wants to leave the woman here.
“Wait.” Her voice rises with her panic. “I got into a fight with someone. I got away but stupidly ran into the forest not thinking about how I would eventually need to get out of it. It’s been two nights and you’re the first person I’ve found. Some kind of animal was chasing me when I came upon you and those things. Please, don’t leave me here.” Resisting the urge to sweep her into my arms and comfort her I keep my back to her and force myself to take a deep breath.
Something embedded inside me was screaming for me to grab her and run straight back to camp to claim her. My body wanted her, my mind was almost onboard with the notion, and the clawing feeling of losing control with her even before we made it there was gnawing at me.
I never lost control, ever.
“If you can keep up, you can follow me.” I growl out then advance into the forest at a jog. A nagging feeling running with me.
****
We jog silently through the forest till nightfall. I haven’t had any sustenance in close to three days and my mouth is so dry it feels like it’s full of cotton balls, my stomach aches with its hollowness, my body is sore and the pounding of my feet only enhance the pain. Somehow I keep up with him. If I lost him I would be stuck in these woods forever or till I died of starvation. The man in front of me is big enough to instill fear into every inch of me, however he is my only option at the moment and no matter how frightening his look, death alone is worse.
His six foot two frame swamped my meager four foot eight, his arms were as big as some of the trees we passed, his legs even bigger. His shoulder length ebony hair highlighted his tanned face and rugged looks. The stubbly growth on his jaw suggested he hadn’t shaved in a few days giving him a more feral quality. But it was his haunted emerald eyes that drew me in, even at a distance. The minute I saw them from behind the tree I knew I had to help him no matter how terrifying those beasts were. No matter how big he was. No matter what animal had chased me there. I was the only other person there and I had to help him.
Something about those sad green eyes called to me, made me want to wrap my arms around the man, to kiss him softly and show him there was gentleness in this world. The desire to do so was irrational and impulsive, something I wasn’t when it came to men. I hated men. I was deathly afraid of men. I didn’t want any man touching me in any way, shape or fashion. And I didn’t know this man from Adam! Hell, he hadn’t even given me his name! It didn’t matter, nothing mattered. Fear, rational thoughts, a lifetime of phobias, all of it disappeared when I looked into those emerald eyes. I wanted to touch this man, hold this man, love this man.
I shake my head at the insanity of that thought, forcing me to stumble forward. A strong hand grabs my arm steadying me. Sparks ignite from his touch to travel quickly to somewhere deep inside my belly. He rapidly yanks his hand back like I burnt him, causing me to wonder if he felt it too. As if he is trying to lose me his pace picks up to an all-out run. I let out a tired sigh and follow him.
He wasn’t even breathing hard and we’d been running for hours. I wasn’t sure how much longer I would be able to keep up with him but for now I push myself forward. I was surprised he wasn’t sore from the aggressive attack of those beasts but then again he probably wouldn’t show me if he was.
A small camp comes into view not ten minutes later prompting me to silently thank the cosmos. He slows his pace to a sprint, then a walk, then stops all together at the outside edge of the camp.
“Can I ask you something?” His deep voice rolls over me provoking my pulse to jump from only the sound. His emerald gaze stays on the small camp while mine roams his large body. Fear mingles with an untapped desire deep inside me. Damn, I needed to get a grip. I bend at the waist and plant my hands on my knees to pull in gulps of air. If I didn’t look at him, I wouldn’t want him. Yeah, right.
“What?” I pant out between breaths.
“Do you have a birthmark in the shape of a star?” Everything in me locks up to the point even my ragged breathing stops. How the hell did he know about my birthmark? It certainly wasn’t visible to him. I mean, it was on my inner right thigh, it hasn’t been visible to anyone except Dirk a few days ago and even then I don’t think he had seen it. He was too busy trying to pry my legs open to notice. So how does this complete stranger know?
The mark has been there my entire life but it had changed with age. It started green with a design in the middle that looked like a calligraphy letter ‘D’. After age ten the letter and color began to shift, sometimes looking like a brown star with the letter ‘B’ in skin tones in the center, sometimes appearing like a green star with a ‘D’ and sometimes seeming like both, with the colors mingled together. A year ago it had settled back on the ‘D’ permanently taking on the color of an emerald. It has been the same ever since.
“I take it from your silenc
e you do.” He says on a long sigh that conveys his agitation with my muteness.
“I do.” I squeak out then cringe. I couldn’t show him my fear. Fear inspired men to do horrible things. “I mean, yes, I do.” I state this in a stronger more even voice and purposely stand to my full height.
“I was afraid of that. Follow me.” With no other option, and because I’d followed him this far, I obey the obvious command. Without giving me a glance he starts forward at a fast clip, not sprinting but not really walking either. We enter the camp at a rapid pace heading straight for a tent at the end of a line of six. It is bigger than the others, the flap held open with a tie, and inside I can see five very large men gathered around a makeshift table. “Wait here.” He throws this over his shoulder as he enters the tent. Five sets of eyes look up to scan down my body, taking me in with different amounts of surprise, caution, interest and humor. The flap closes leaving me standing alone in the darkness.
A few large men wander from tent to tent, laughter can be heard coming from inside the one closest to us. Some of the men eye me curiously but don’t make any effort to come closer. After a few minutes I flop my tired body on the ground to wait. Smells of cooking food waft towards me stimulating my stomach to protest loudly to its empty state.
The tent flap abruptly opens behind me and I try to scramble to my feet. A hand lands on my shoulder stopping me. I turn my head to face a young man of about twenty with kind grey eyes and a slow, easy smile.
“How long since you ate something?” He asks curiously. I look away from him.
“Two, maybe three days.” I whisper embarrassingly. The day Dirk took me from my home I’d just finished lunch but that had been over three days ago. I tried to find food but the only thing I found were little round berries. I had no idea what they were or if they were poisonous or not so I left them alone. Besides, every time I got near them a growl would come from inside the forest from some animal and I would take off running again.