by Anya Nowlan
She didn’t consider herself a daredevil. All her climbs were planned and she rarely ever climbed alone. In Shifter Grove, she hadn’t found anyone quite into the sport yet and, frankly, she doubted she’d be great company with a dragon on her brain anyway. But that didn’t mean that she was any less safe – in her mind, anyway.
Suddenly, the mountain trembled a little. It wasn’t even enough to shift Pearl’s grasp, but it certainly made her stomach knot and her hands push against the stone a bit harder. She clung to the rock until the shuddering stopped, feeling the wobble go right through her. A frown crumpled her forehead and she looked around, as if expecting to see the source of the disturbance.
All day, she’d been hearing odd noises and loud clattering sounds. It was almost as if the earth was being turned somewhere, mountains being pushed and pulled and giant boulders being displaced. But that sounded silly even to her. She’d figured it must have been a series of small rocky avalanches further on in the mountains and she’d be safe as long as it wasn’t too close. But if it was close enough to shake Lying Dragon Peak then it had to have been something more serious than just noises in the distance.
With a bit of a pout, she looked up. Her destination was just another fifty or so feet above her – a good while of climbing – but she couldn’t risk it.
“Not this time, Lying Dragon,” she said, grinning a bit at the name she’d given the mountain.
She was just beginning to take her first steps downwards in an attempt to lower herself to the ground, when the mountain quivered again. This time, it wasn’t just a gentle shake but one that grew more and more violent.
“Fuck,” Pearl cursed, looking around frantically for a place to secure herself better.
She clicked her second safety carabineer to a hook she’d attached to the cliff and hung on for dear life as the mountain groaned and creaked below her. Pearl felt the little ledges under her feet give away one after the other, leaving her hanging only by her hands and the harness hooked to the side of the mountain. She scrambled to find another foothold.
Pearl glanced down again and the sight that greeted her kicked the air out of her lungs. The mountainside she had climbed up was rapidly disintegrating into dust below her, somehow falling inward and away from her into the belly of the mountain. She screamed as she felt the solid stone crumble and tear loose from the rest of the mountain, dragging her down along with it.
All she could do now was try to hold on to something and hope that the inevitable didn’t happen and that the rock wouldn’t crush her. Her hands gripped the stone so hard she could feel her skin tearing and she pressed herself against the wall as she toppled down into the depths of the mountain. Faintly, she could hear herself squealing as the air rushed by, and then the afternoon sun that had been shining too brightly was suddenly replaced by the bleakest darkness.
Her carabineers were still attached to the mountain as she came to a sudden, violent stop. Pearl slammed hard against the ground, her little piece of mountain still mostly in one piece underneath her. Smaller stones and plenty of dirt fell down around her and on top of her, making her cough and wheeze for breath. With her eyes shut tight, she expected another huge pile of rocks to tumble down upon her and kill her on sight – but it never came.
When she finally dared to open her eyes, Pearl found herself keeling precariously on the precipice of a gorge. A bit of the wall she had been climbing before the mountain decided to break apart had managed to get stuck between larger boulders, keeping her safe from immediate death – for now. She was only hanging by her carabineers and safeties, her toes over the edge, hanging over what looked like solid blackness below.
“Oh my god…” Pearl whispered.
Looking up, she could still see sunlight through a murky blanket of dust. The mountain had partially collapsed into itself, revealing empty shafts within that had gobbled up much of one side of the mountain. Somehow, she had got lucky enough to not be introduced to what lay below. But by the way the pocket of dirt and rock she was nestled on creaked and grumbled, she was sure that wouldn’t be the case for very long.
Bruises and cuts covered her body. She knew she had to have been hurt, that her body had to have been covered in extensive wounds, but she couldn’t feel them yet. Adrenaline was pounding through her veins so fast and hard that she thought she’d pass out from the excitement. Experimentally, she moved one of her hands but was met with a threatening creak right away. The best she could do was to lay very, very still and hope that someone, somewhere, had noticed that half the fucking mountain had just disappeared and came to investigate.
Pearl felt something press against her chest. She frowned, inching her hand closer to it – she’d forgotten that she was still wearing the dragon stone. When her fingers curled around the chain she was wearing, she closed her eyes with a sigh.
For a moment, she wondered whether she would sink so low as to believe in dragon magic. She also had to wonder whether lying there, inches from death, was the best time to call for Ares. But hadn’t he given her that necklace with the promise that he would come if she needed him to? And didn’t she really, really need him now – or anyone really?
But, she had to be honest with herself, if there was one person she wanted to see before she tumbled to her graceless death, it was that abhorrent dragon. What that said about her state of mind was something she didn’t really want to think about.
Ares, help.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Ares
Few creatures – other than the dragons themselves – had ever been introduced to the delicate workings of a dragon’s psyche. Deep down inside, they were basic creatures, as all humans and shifters were. They were driven by a few guiding principles, and whenever one of those was questioned or endangered, they would lash out. For dragons, those things were their mate, their hoard, and their pride. Hurt one and feel the burn of dragon fire, hurt two and give up any notion of physical safety right then and there.
Ares felt like all three had been taken from him in one fell swoop and he was damn sure he wasn’t going to stand for it.
He could feel something was wrong even before he heard Pearl’s call. His entire world convulsed and tremors ran through his mighty body, stopping him in his tracks. The dragon looked up, listening intently. He could hear a shockwave of sound go through the surrounding mountain ranges, much like the ones he had been creating when dismantling Sleeping Dragon Hill. It was an avalanche of some sort, somewhere, but far away.
Before he could think about what he was doing, he had taken flight. The sun glinted off his golden scales and twinkled off the gold streams in the rocks. It seemed to be of little importance now. He was already flying towards the source of the sound when he heard Pearl’s call.
It went through him like a lightning bolt. His innards twisted and a hiss rose to his jaw, a strangled roar restrained deep within him. His fire burned and jostled within him and each muscle became tense and rigid, fearing the worst. Ares hadn’t expected her to use the pendant. He knew she was far too proud to call for him if there was nothing wrong, so she had to be in danger – and that thought terrified him.
He flew as fast as he could, sure that he was getting closer to her. Her scent and her presence, combined with the magic of the dragon stone, led him straight to her. It didn’t hurt that there was a big column of dust rising from the exact spot he felt her presence from.
Ares could see the gorge that the collapsed mountainside had created. His heart thrummed at ten times the speed as he hovered above the black depth, desperately searching for Pearl. For a second, he feared the worst, but then he saw her deep down in the rubble. She was clinging to a tiny piece of earth that was somehow still hanging from the crevice.
I’m here. Don’t worry, he projected towards her.
Pearl glanced up and Ares saw surprise etched on her features. She looked devastatingly gorgeous even when she was terrified out of her mind. He couldn’t stay there for long – his wings beat up more dust a
nd soon he wouldn’t be able to see anything at all. Even worse, each gust of wind from his wings could have been the final push needed to shove Pearl down into the immense blackness.
Unhook the carabineers.
“What!? I’ll slip and fall!” Pearl spat back incredulously.
Trust me.
“Why should I?”
It was a valid question and one he’d have to answer later, but now wasn’t the time.
Just do it.
The gorge was wide enough that he could swoop in and grab her if needed, but he couldn’t take her and the heavy rock without fearing he would hurt her. Instead, she would have to put her faith in him and trust that he had her, even when he had done everything to convince her of the contrary over the last few days.
“If you let me fall, I swear to god, I will come back to haunt your scaly ass!” she hissed.
Then, she undid the first carabineer and immediately slipped a bit lower on the rock. Ares readied himself, watching her struggle with the second one. She would tumble over the edge as soon as she unhooked it – the angle of the rock didn’t really allow for a lot of grip. As her hands were struggling with the carabineer, Ares began his descent, packing his giant body as tightly as he could.
He swooped below the rock just as she undid the second safety and slipped off the rock with a scream, only to tumble down between his wings a second later. She clung to his scales as he burst upwards, the heavy movements of his wings and his body scraping against the rocks and bringing rubble down around them. The mountain shook violently and roared louder than Ares ever could.
When they burst up and into the sun, the mountain folded into itself and crumbled into the gaping maw in the ground, gobbling up the rock, dirt and ground that had made up Lying Dragon Peak.
Are you alright? Ares projected, glancing over his shoulder.
Pearl’s gray eyes stared back at him, half terrified, half burning with excitement. He liked that look on her.
“I’m flying on the back of a dragon! How do you think I am!?”
His dragon let out a small murmur of agreement, strong wings carrying them away from the hole that had once been a mountain at increasing speed. He didn’t stop until he reached Shifter Grove and didn’t even try to hide himself from the curious eyes of the inhabitants. He had bigger issues to deal with than a bunch of shifters seeing him fly over town (again).
Ares flew straight to Pearl’s little cabin and touched down gently in front of it. He lowered himself to the ground, his belly smushing against the soft grass, and extended a wing to the side so she could climb off. Gingerly, Pearl slipped down his side and stood up, though still obviously trembling. His golden eyes took in the sight of her and he could see all the wounds she had from the fall and the way she’d had to scrape across his rough scales to stay on his back.
It was all his doing and he knew it. If it hadn’t been for his work at Sleeping Dragon Hill, he doubted the mountain would have collapsed like that. Unwittingly, he had put his mate in more danger by trying to make things better than if he had left well enough alone.
I’m sorry.
Pearl looked shell-shocked, surprised and hurt all at once.
“What for, exactly?”
He let the shift take him and, soon, he was standing before her as the man, not the dragon. The dragon coiled itself tightly within him, satisfied that it had managed to save Pearl, but terrified at what it would mean for them.
“Everything,” he said earnestly.
Ares didn’t know what he had expected but he certainly wasn’t prepared for what Pearl did next. With tears brimming in her eyes, she threw herself into his arms and he embraced her tightly, burying his face in her hair. It was dusty and grimy and she still smelled like absolute heaven. For a moment, he doubted if he could ever let her go.
They stood like that for a while, just inhaling each other’s scent. Pearl was shaking in his arms and he could feel tremors run through him as well, when the full realization of what could have happened dawned on him. He had not been far from losing his mate, and that was a terrifying thought.
“I need to explain some things to you,” Ares said with a quiet voice.
“You think so?” Pearl asked, keeping just the tiniest edge of sass to her voice.
Ares grinned. At least almost dying hadn’t injured Pearl’s sense of self too badly.
“I do,” he said.
With that, he plucked her off the ground and into his arms, carrying her into the cabin. No way was he going to let her get out of his sight again. Besides, he had a lot of explaining to do, and he wanted to make sure she heard all of it before he went off and did something stupid again.
Even if his dragon would have strongly objected to his action being called anything less than perfect.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Pearl
Pearl toweled off her hair, standing in the doorway that led out of her bathroom and into the small living room. Ares was sitting on the couch, looking both apprehensive and entirely too handsome for his own good. His eyes were glued to her, though she had to wonder what he was seeing. She was wearing a big, fluffy white robe that filled all her curves and, in her own opinion, made her look shapeless at best. And yet, he still eyed her like he was going to eat her up as soon as she’d let him.
“Feel better?” he asked, patting on the couch cushion next to him.
“Yes,” she admitted.
It had been Ares’s idea that she should take a shower before they delve into the specifics of the day. He’d needed to make a few calls to let Diesel and Warren know what had happened and that people should be careful around the collapsed mountain – Lying Dragon Peak as Pearl had so graciously told him.
The shower had given her time to think. There were cuts and bruises all over her body. She was surprised nothing was broken and that she could go on to fight and climb another day. All things considered, Pearl thought she’d gotten pretty lucky, compared to the very possible alternative of tumbling to her death. But in addition to her lucky escape, she’d also been thinking of the man – the dragon – who had made it possible.
He’d been there when she needed him and as much as her stubborn pride wanted to say that it didn’t matter, she knew that things weren’t so simple. Of course it mattered that he’d come for her. Of course it mattered that he cared. She sat down on the couch and Ares handed her a cup of chamomile tea. She sipped at it gratefully, leaning back on the cushions.
“So, I’ve been an ass,” Ares started.
“You have,” she confirmed, trying to hide the small grin that wanted to tug at her lips.
“Blunt as usual. I’ve been MIA lately and I’m sorry for it. Honestly, I didn’t think I deserved to be around you.”
That made her stop and look at him in surprise. He, Ares Goldplains, the heir to one of the greatest fortunes in the world and a legitimate rock star, thought he didn’t deserve to be around her? She had to keep herself from feeling around for the tiara that must have sprouted out of her head – he made it sound like she was some sort of princess!
“Why?”
She was beginning to hate that word, but it was really the only one that came to her. He looked troubled. His brilliant blue and gold eyes sought out hers and, like several times before, she felt herself slipping easily into their mysterious depths. Pearl could have stared into them forever.
“Because you need a man you could lean on, who would make you better and help you build yourself up when you can’t do it yourself. I’m not that man – yet. I know I could be, but saying that I am ready now would be lying to you and me both.”
“So what’s missing?”
Ares scratched the back of his head and he looked damn adorable.
“You know me as Ares Goldplains, the cocky musician who’s always got everything he’s ever wanted, right?”
Pearl nodded. Ares and his older brother Apollo had created rather similar personae for themselves in the public eye. Both were known for their extravagan
ce, their partying and their capability of turning even the dullest of moments into an adventure worthy of weeks of tabloid chatter. Of course, Apollo had spent more time in the public eye and Ares had kept himself on the down-low since splitting from the Gold Dragons.
“Well, I don’t have everything I want. I am not the eldest of my brothers, which means that, at best, I’m a safety net in case both of my older brothers perish before having sons of their own. The family fortune will never be mine. I left the Gold Dragons because someone needed to guard our main hoard, and that’s mostly what I’ve been doing for the past few years. A part of it is mine, a ridiculously large part by any human standards, but for a dragon… It is not your hoard unless it is your hoard.”
Pearl listened in surprise. She could see the hints of pain etched on his features as he spoke of his position in the family. She’d never imagined that dragon family politics could be so similar to the ones in regular families – weren’t the middle sons always the ones in search of who they were?
“When I met you, I knew you were my mate. Or, at least, my dragon knew. I tend to be slow on the uptake sometimes. So I chased you and wanted you and when I had you, when we spent that night at the waterfall together… It was magic. It was everything I had ever been told love could be, and more. But when we talked, it became more and more clear to me that before I was at peace with my dragon and my future, I couldn’t be the kind of man you needed me to be. The kind of man you deserved me to be.
So, I figured it would be kinder to just disappear until I sort my shit out. Build my own hoard. Be my own man, my own dragon. I’ve been digging for gold, as ridiculous as that may sound. I know there’s some in these mountains, and I know I can find it. Then, when I’ve become the dragon I know I can be, I could stand beside you. I never imagined that I might hurt you even worse in the process.”
Ares rested his head on his palms, his long fingers coiling in his hair. Pearl put down the tea mug and placed her hand on his knee. She knew that feeling when you weren’t what you thought you could be. She knew the hesitation that came with it, the self-admonishment and even shame. And she knew she couldn’t let him go through it when she knew he didn’t have to – at least not alone.