by Lucy Lyons
It crouched between the trees, watching her with the rabbit. Ashe was not scared though. She could sense the understanding between them, two predators who knew well both the value of life and the necessity of killing. She tossed the dead rabbit towards the wolf.
“Go ahead,” she said.
The wolf eyed her for a while, its pointed ears twitching, then sauntered up to the rabbit and grasped it between its jaws. It turned around and disappeared back into the forest like a shadow. Ashe turned the other way. She still had to catch Peter.
Luckily he was not far, leaning back against a tree looking like he had all the time in the world.
“You’re slow,” he said before sprinting off. This time Ashe was close on his tail. The rabbit’s blood had invigorated her, making her even stronger than before.
She felt herself grinning as she caught up to Peter, and burst into laughter as she tagged him.
“Pretty good, isn’t it,” he said, starting to laugh himself.
Ashe had to agree.
“Better than gas station coffee?”
Ashe punched him. She couldn't believe he was already making jokes at her expense again. Peter stumbled back a few steps. “Ow, watch it. You’re a lot stronger than you were before. You could break an old man’s bones if you’re not careful.”
Ashe was glad to see some of the old Peter, and she felt some of her old self coming back as well. It felt good to laugh again.
“Ready to go back?” Peter asked.
“Yeah,” Ashe said, even though she knew there was no going back. Not really. There was only forward.
Ashe’s parents were standing outside the airport, David looking as always like a man from another time period with his long coat and brimmed hat resting low across his brow. He was little more than a silhouette in the night against the bright lights streaming out of the airport’s large glass windows, but Ashe recognized him immediately. She beamed as she saw him, practically running up to meet them with little regard for the luggage she had left behind with Peter. Ashe’s mother pulled her into a fierce hug, her wild red hair getting into Ashe’s face and tickling her nose.
“Mom,” Ashe said, trying to get free of the woman’s embrace.
“You’re so cold,” her mother replied and started vigorously rubbing Ashe’s back in an attempt to warm her up. “You should have worn a coat.”
Ashe wrestled herself free and held her mother at arm’s length. “It’s just how I am now,” she replied a little awkwardly. Though her parents knew about what had happened in Morris and Peter’s decision to turn her in order to save her life, Ashe wasn’t sure that her mother had really accepted it yet. The reality of it would probably set in after a few days, the realization that Ashe was no longer human.
Ashe’s mother frowned at her, eyeing her up and down in that concerned way only parents are able to. She seemed to be looking for anything else worth worrying about. Maybe a missing limb or an incurable disease. Except, of course, the vampirism, Ashe thought with a small laugh. That was definitely concerning, and definitely incurable.
Peter caught up with the luggage and set it down at their feet. “Everyone here?” he asked, looking around for his family who were supposed to be meeting them as well.
“Vanessa and Agatha were around here somewhere,” David grumbled. “And your mother and father went to call a taxi.”
There was a loud familiar giggle from behind them and everyone turned. Vanessa and Agatha had their arms linked with a tall, handsome man in a pilot’s uniform who was no doubt delighted to have such two beautiful women fawning over him. His face was beet red and he looked about ready to topple over in joy.
“My daughters, you know better than that.” Peter’s father stepped out of the shadows like a wraith, the sternness of his expression making up quite well for the shortness of his stature. Ashe and the others could only watch the scene unfold, feeling glad the man’s fury was not directed towards any of them.
The young man in the pilot’s cap began to apologize profusely, his face turning an even more alarming shade of red. The two women reluctantly let go of their prey, pouting in a manner that better fit a child than a woman of two-hundred years. As soon as he was free, the young man shot away into the crowd with surprising speed. Ashe thought that was the best thing he could have done. Though small, Peter’s father Otto was no man to cross.
“What have I said about humans?” Otto was lecturing as he led his daughters back towards the group.
“Peter was dating Ashe when she was still human,” Vanessa protested. “You didn’t say anything then.”
Ashe couldn’t help but smile. Vanessa was never the most tactful woman, but she sure had a lot of spirit which Ashe could admire.
“That was different,” Otto snapped.
“I don’t see how it is,” Agatha chimed in.
Otto looked like he could have punched a hole through one of the large windows behind him, but he held his tongue. Ashe suspected that his daughters would get more of a lecture once they were safely back home. Wherever home was.
She didn’t have time to ask Peter because a car had rolled up and Peter was already loading their luggage into the back. Vanessa chatted loudly to Agatha as they piled into the back seat. “It’ll be easier once they get married. Mom and Dad will be so caught up with introducing Ashe to everyone that they’ll forget all about us. I’m so glad we’re back in Prague. Those American men just aren’t my type.”
“Married?” Ashe asked.
Vanessa was too busy talking to Agatha to hear her.
Ashe turned to Peter, who smiled back shyly. “It’s not really a marriage, since us vampires obviously aren’t religious. It’s more of a formality. Sign a couple of papers, get entered into the clan registry...”
Ashe couldn’t believe that Peter hadn’t told her they were getting married until now. Of course, she had assumed she would spend the rest of eternity with him, but she hadn’t really thought about it in formal terms. She was going to become an official part of his family, his clan. It was all too much to take in and she felt like crying.
“Are you okay?” Peter asked, noticing the change in her.
She hugged him fiercely and gave him a kiss. “For a hundred-year-old, you’re pretty stupid,” she said. It was all she could manage through the rush of emotion.
“Then why was I assigned to be your tutor?” Peter replied.
Ashe laughed and got into the car with Peter close behind. He twined his fingers into hers, their hands resting together on the seat of the car. Ashe didn’t know what lay ahead, but she didn’t mind. She had Peter, and that was all that really mattered.
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Dragons of Paragon
A Dragon’s heart
Book 1
Jan Dockter
© 2017
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© Copyright 2017 by Persia Publishing - All rights reserved.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter One
Aldain Kincaid sat on the couch sulking. He would never admit that is what he was doing, but that is exactly what someone would call it. His friends Cade and Becca were basking in their love for each other, while he was alone, with no one to call his own. He would never admit he was jealous of their relationship but he craved that kind of relationship for himself.
There were many dragon shifters that never found their soul mate. They either married someone other than their soul mate or chose to remain alone the rest of their very very long lives. He fell into the latter category, he wanted all or nothing. His friends noticed that he wasn’t really acting like himself. By having them watch him every day for the last several months they have been living with him was obviously affecting him. He was glad to have them there. His castle was more than big enough to accommodate them and give everyone their privacy. The only places shared were the Den where the books were kept and the room that housed the satellite television.
Aldain thought of asking them if they wanted their own private den closer to where their bedroom was but he doesn’t want them to think that they are not welcomed in his home and that their company is not enjoyable. He really does enjoy having them there; it was the days like today he was having a pity party for himself wishing that they would snuggle up somewhere else. He knew that today wasn’t a good day for him because his face seemed to be in a perpetual scowl. Becca looked questioningly at him but said nothing. She respected his privacy enough to think if he wanted her to know what was bothering him, he would tell her. He knew it would never dawn on her that he was anything but happy for them. He loved Becca and both she and Cade knew this, but they also knew he could never love her as he would a soul mate and his love for her was more like a family member. There was a time he was willing to try and make a different kind of relationship with Becca work, but that was when Cade was treating her so badly she would cry herself to sleep every night.
Thank God, those days were behind everyone and everything worked out for them. He just wanted what they had and it wasn’t until he was around them long enough that he realized he really was lonely.
He knew he had to get out; he was getting so miserable that he couldn’t even stand himself. He looked over at the couple across from him, snuggled up to each other watching some kind of re-run on television. He quickly stood up from the chair he was in, and while heading for the door yelled, “I am going out for a while. I may be late so don’t hold dinner for me; I will eat while I am gone.” Without waiting for a reply, he shifted into his dragon form and flew away.
Aldain flew for what seemed like hours, then his stomach started to grumble. He seemed to have lost track of time. He was surprised to find that he was starving, he was so deep in thought wondering if he would ever find his soul mate. He flew to an island he saw and decided to see if he could find anything on it dinner worthy. He didn’t see any people on it but he did see wild goats. His mouth watered as he dove down towards them. The goats saw him coming and took off running in all directions, bleating warnings to each other, but a dragon was much faster than a goat. Aldain caught his dinner in his mouth, full of foot long teeth, and landed on the beach as he ate the goat whole.
When a dragon shifter gets extremely hungry, his dragon takes over to the point he is more dragon than human and the only thing on his mind is filling his stomach. If there was a human who knew about dragon shifters and saw anything like that, it would scare them so badly that they wouldn’t care about the human half. They would probably never want to have anything to do with another dragon shifter as long as they lived.
Aldain felt full and his dragon got sleepy so he stayed on the beach basking in the sun and again was thinking of his lack of a soul mate. He fell asleep.
The sounds of bleating woke him up. The sky was dark and the goats, while still a distance from him, were closer to him than was probably wise for them. Then he saw the long lush grass that his very large body was close to and understood why they were taking their chances. He shook his head to help himself wake up for the long flight back home. When he started moving the goats again started to run in all directions bleating, but Aldain knew he could eat when he got home and wanted to get there before the sun came up. He didn’t want to worry his friends and he wanted to sleep in his own bed.
He spread his wings, ran along the beach and took flight. It was a beautiful thing to see, a dragon in flight; Aldain was beautiful in his dragon form. His red scales were shimmering in any kind of light. His eyes were emerald green in human form, but in dragon form his pupils slit sideways like a cat and turned yellow. He has a set of black, wickedly sharp looking horns bending back from his head going almost halfway down his back. He has a mouth full of foot long teeth. His tail even has three spikes on the end. You could tell just from looking at him that his body was made to be the perfect fighting machine. His human form was just as imposing as his dragon form. He has shoulder length black hair and bright green eyes. He stands six foot four inches tall, and has wide shoulders and muscular arms. His waist tapers down to reveal a six-pack stomach and long, muscular legs. With every movement, you saw the perfect muscles formations. His physical body also looks like the perfect fighting machine. In either form, he was beautiful to the point of perfection.
He finally made it home in the wee hours of the morning. Everything was quiet; he quietly snuck into the kitchen to raid the refrigerator. He heard a sound behind him that startled him. He quickly turned to find Becca behind him.
Chapter Two
Wearing a robe and slippers, as it was getting colder out at nights, she padded over to him and hugged him. Aldain hugged her back then put her away from him and said, “Well thank you, but what was that for?”
Becca looked up at him with worry in her eyes. “I know something is going on with you. I figured maybe you could use someone to talk to, my shoulder is all yours.”
Aldain lifted a brow, “Well thank you for your kind offer, but I think you are a little confused. It is my shoulder you should be using not the other way around.”
Becca laughed, “Wow does that sound sexist or what? Who made the rules that only women use a shoulder to cry or whine on? Men aren’t machines, they need to talk too.”
Aldain smiled at her, “I will let you in on a secret. When men need to talk; if it isn’t something they would dare talk to a man about; would rather be holding a woman he cared for in his arms as he vented. A shoulder wouldn’t be enough.”
Becca gave him a questioning look, “Seriously Aldain, you know you can talk to me about anything. I love you. You kept me alive during a very dark time. I will always be here for you.”
Aldain would never talk to Becca about what was bothering him, so he offered t
o talk about something he knew she would be interested in. “How about I tell you the story of the Dragons of Paragon? That is the name of my clan.” Becca immediately took him up on that offer. After he made a mountainous sandwich, filled a party bowl with chips and took a two-liter container of orange soda out of the fridge, they both sat at the table. Becca sat opposite him, her blue eyes big with a look of excitement on her face. Aldain smiled, she loved hearing stories about anything magical or supernatural. Becca was still learning about that world since becoming a vampire herself.
He sat back and started telling her the story of his clan. “Thousands of years ago, when the Gods lived on Olympus…….”
Becca interrupted him, “What! Wait! They actually existed? The Gods of Olympus? Zeus and everyone?”
Aldain sighed, “Yes Becca they existed, and still do as far as we know. No one knows where they have disappeared though; when religious beliefs started changing, they decided to leave Olympus. Since humans were getting to the stage where they didn’t believe in the Gods anymore, they felt they were no longer needed nor wanted by mankind so they left. They just never told anyone where they were going.
Before I begin my story where I left off, maybe you will want to grab a notebook and take notes on anything I say. That way you can let me finish my story without interruption or we will be here forever, and you can ask me questions when I am done. Hmmm?” Becca took the hint and ran and grabbed a notebook and pen and promised Aldain she wouldn’t interrupt anymore and to please continue with his story.