Bk 1 Dracones Awakening

by Sheri-Lynn Marean

  Tierney swore and ran a hand through her hair, pissed and filled with guilt. She should have told Sami and Jax about seeing Marcius in Sin’s memories. “Listen, Sami, I need to tell you something. I meant to tell you sooner, but I forgot.”

  “What?”

  She wondered if saying something earlier would have stopped Jax from going, or made any kind of difference? “When I saw Sin’s memories, I saw Marcius meeting with Arlow.”

  At her words, Thaniel frowned, but she couldn’t deal with him at the moment, although she knew she’d have to have a talk with him soon.

  “What? No,” Sami groaned and rubbed his face with his hands.

  “I’m so sorry, I meant to tell you,” she whispered.

  “Even if you’d told us before, I doubt anything would have stopped him. Whatever Marcius said—is what made him leave,” Sami said after a moment.

  Tierney took a deep breath before telling him the next part. “Also, Jax tried to get me to promise not to follow him.” She stared at Sami, whose eyes widened in understanding. “I feel stupid for not figuring out what he was trying to do sooner.”

  “Well, when someone is telling you they don’t want to be around you, I can’t imagine it’s easy to forget what they are saying, and concentrate on what they’re not saying,” Sami said with understanding.

  Thaniel stood silently watching them, and though Tierney knew he had no clue of what they were talking about, she wasn’t up to explaining.

  “Ah,” Thaniel interrupted, looking nervous as he caught their attention. “Jax also called M-Marcius a traitor.”

  Sami nodded wearily. “Marcius is the traitor. Sure explains a lot—the asshole.”

  “So how the hell do we find Jax now?” Tierney tried not to let her fear get the better of her but it wasn’t easy.

  Sami shook his head. “Dunno. I’m attempting to trace where he last used his cell. I got nothing with Zander’s phone, but that doesn’t mean I’ll get the same results. If we’re lucky, Jax didn’t turn his off as soon as he left.”

  “If we’re lucky.” She groaned.

  Sami stood up. “I’m going to go check my programs.” But before he could start out of the room, his gaze landed on her choker and he hesitated. “Do you think Kyrian told the truth, about the soul stones?”

  Tierney touched her choker, and the stones pulsing with life made her wonder and hope. “No idea.”

  “Well, if Kyrian’s right, and Jax is your soulmate—” Sami didn’t finish but Tierney understood. “Then one of these is for him.” she said, but how could she use them to find Jax? “I’m going to go talk to Kyrian.” She glanced at Thaniel. “Hey, why don’t you come with me?”

  Surprised, Thaniel nodded, and Tierney called Kyrian. Then they walked over to the picnic table to wait for him. They didn’t wait long. A minute later Kyrian stood in front of them, in human form and Tierney wondered what kind of powers or abilities he possessed. “Thanks for coming,” she said, and then explained what they believed had happened to Jax. “Can you help me use these?” She fingered her choker.

  “May I touch?” Kyrian asked.

  Tierney swept her hair out of the way. Reaching out, Kyrian rubbed each glowing stone. He cocked his head, as if listening for something, and then glanced at her. “This one is for Sami. He’s close by and not in any … physical distress.” He held the stone between his fingers.

  Tierney frowned at his emphasis on the word physical. “What about the others?” She almost wished she hadn’t asked when sorrow flickered in his eyes.

  “These two aren’t too far away. I’m sorry, they’re in physical and mental distress, and this one here, the faint one, is too far away for me to pick up much.”

  Shit! Tierney fought her rising panic. She needed to find them, and the fourth stone just had to be her brother.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Kyrian said, and she eased down onto the seat of the picnic table.

  Tierney forced herself to calm down. “Can you teach me how to read—how to use these stones to track them?”

  Kyrian nodded. “I can try.”

  Thaniel sat quietly while Kyrian tried to teach her how to tap into the magic of the stones. It took a lot of concentration and a few hours later, Tierney stopped, frustrated. Which a groan, she rubbed her aching head. “I suck at this.”

  “No, I just may not be the right person to help you. But—” Kyrian stopped.

  “But?” Tierney frowned, desperate to find Jax and hopefully, she’d stumble across her dad, since she couldn’t look for him. Plus, she needed to find her brother as well. Though that would have to wait for the time being.

  “But he wants me to help.” A deep, growly voice made Tierney jump.

  Heart racing, she glanced up into Soroyan’s scowling face. “You’re back.”

  Soroyan ignored her, turquoise eyes glowing as he stared harshly at Kyrian. “Don’t you?”

  Kyrian nodded. “I fear you may be the only one with the kind of power to merge with Tierney’s, and teach her how to access the magic in these stones.”

  At his brother’s words, Soroyan snorted and turned away. “No.”

  SOROYAN REALLY DIDN’T want to help. After being stuck with Tierney the other day, he found himself thawing towards her, and he didn’t like the change. Only his hatred had kept him going for the last four of his five hundred years, and now, this fierce female had begun to chip away at his defenses.

  He found it hard not to like and respect her, which scared the hell out of him. His hatred was wavering, and he didn’t know how to live without it. If he helped her like Kyrian wanted, she might be his undoing.

  “Please.” The moisture in her amethyst eyes made him even angrier. He let out a low growl, shot a glare at Kyrian, then stalked around the picnic table.

  “Turn around,” he growled at Tierney, causing Thaniel to quiver in fear. Loki! He didn’t mean to scare the young male. Pursing his lips, Soroyan clamped down on his anger and sat beside Tierney. It was an effort to pull his eyes from her and study the choker. Then his eyebrows pulled into a fierce frown.

  The pulse beating in her slender neck awakened something long dormant in him, and his heart started to beat faster. He licked his parched lips, suddenly unable to take his eyes off the soft, pale skin in front of him. The intensity of her striking eyes resting on him, set off a chain reaction within his body. Warmth unfurled inside him, an unfamiliar sensation after being cold for so long.

  Shaking his head clear of unwanted thoughts, Soroyan glanced at his brother. Did Kyrian realize what contact with Tierney was doing to him? Probably did, the bastard!

  “Little brother, if you want me to do this, you need to go. Now,” he ground out, his blood starting to boil.

  Without a word to him, Kyrian inclined his head and stood up, glancing over at the Were-leopard, who was watching them with a combination of wonder and wariness. “Thaniel, let’s walk and talk about your change. Maybe I can help make it less painful and help with your control,” Kyrian said.

  With a quick glance at Tierney, who nodded and smiled at him, Thaniel stood up

  Once they were gone, Soroyan reached out to the choker around Tierney’s lovely neck, avoiding her eyes as he fought the insane urge to run his fingers over her skin. Would it be as smooth as it appeared? Then he wanted to punch himself at his thoughts.

  Drawing on his power, he touched the glowing stones. A sudden shock of pain pulsed through him, startling him. “Give me your hands,” he rasped, letting the choker go.

  Although he was the one to ask, Soroyan found himself nervous at touching her. All these years he’d kept to himself, and everyone, aware he wanted to be alone, respected his decision, rather than risking his wrath.

  When he took her hands into his, an overwhelming power—not his own—shot through him like a lightning bolt. Unbridled, it coursed between them, and he almost snatched his hands away as blood surged straight to his cock, making him rock hard.

  Soroyan’
s breathing grew ragged, and he dragged his gaze up to her eyes. No longer amethyst, they glowed a deep pool of purple, and the glimpse he caught—a peek into her soul, shook him to his very core. Suddenly he wanted to help. To please her. Anything to experience more.

  “Now what?” she asked, startling him back to reality.

  His lips twitched as he fought not to grin. “Concentrate on Jax, call to him.”

  Tierney did and Soroyan fought to regain control of his emotions as a violent wave of jealousy swept through him.

  “You, ah—” He coughed and tried again. “You need to use your … love, for him.” Soroyan couldn’t get enough air.

  Tierney stared at him as she concentrated on Jax once more. Soroyan fought his thawing emotions. He really didn’t want to feel the depths of her love for Jax while she stared at him. “Close your eyes,” he barked.

  TIERNEY CLOSED HER EYES and thought about how much she loved Jax, and everything he made her feel. How he completed her, and was the other half of her soul.

  Intense power flowed between her and Soroyan seductively, and at her thoughts of Jax, the magic leaped, like a caress, to one of the stones against her throat. “Where are you?” she repeated the thought and felt the familiar connection she shared with Jax open up. But a half-second later—like a flipped switch, it closed again. Opening her eyes, she stared at the anger on Soroyan’s face and blinked. “What happened? He was there, then he disappeared.” Her face paled. “You don’t think he …?”

  Soroyan grimaced. “No, I don’t. Maybe he doesn’t want you to find him.”

  Tierney ripped her hands away from him and glared.

  Surprise and shock filled Soroyan’s face. “I’m sorry.” He surprised her even more at the words coming out of his mouth. Somehow, she knew that he never apologized to anyone, but it didn’t matter. His apology came too late. Tierney jumped to her feet and hurried away. His words had hit way to close to home.

  That night, she tried to use her power and the soul stone to connect to Jax again. Then, when she didn’t get anything, switched to her father’s stone. She wasn’t sure if it would be considered trying to find him, but hoped that it wouldn’t. After all, she was only trying to contact him. When she didn’t feel any pain, or any compulsion to let the stone go, she figured she was safe.

  For the longest time nothing happened. Then suddenly the stone flared with power—with life. Her magic, and the magic from the stone converged and grew stronger, causing pain to fill her body. Then she realized that what she was feeling, was not caused by the magic itself. It was actually the pain her dad was feeling at that moment. There was so much unbearable agony, it left her breathless and in a panic to go to him.

  Relief mixed with worry inside her. Time seemed to be ticking by a lot quicker, and instinctively, she knew that his time was running out. “Dad?” Once again she was shut down. This time though, she realized that Zander had indeed shut her out.

  Maybe what Soroyan had said was correct. Her dad would want to protect her, and so would Jax. Finally exhausted, Tierney closed her eyes, but sleep eluded her as worry consumed her mind. Unanswered questions swirled around, driving her crazy. She also hated that Soroyan had tried to help her and she’d freaked out on his ass.

  Tierney dragged herself from her bed and wandered downstairs. She started to go to the kitchen, but light from down the hall caught her eye. It came from Thaniel’s room and since he was on her worry list, she went and peered into his room. She frowned. The bed didn’t appear slept in. She looked to the corner and where she’d found him before. He sat on the floor in the corner with the blanket, staring at her with wide eyes.

  “Hey, can’t sleep?” she asked.

  Thaniel shook his head.

  “Me neither.” Tierney glanced around the large room before looking back at him. “Are you okay down here, by yourself?” She’d seen how alone he’d been in his life, and now she realized how lonely he must be, all by himself. It made her sick to realize she hadn’t given it much thought until now.

  “Y-yes.” Thaniel lowered his head to his knees and while she didn’t believe him, she also didn’t want to call him a liar.

  “Ah, look, don’t take this wrong, but … I’m going to get a drink and head back up to my room. If you want, you’re welcome to come up. The bed is really big, or there’s the couch—” Tierney shrugged uncomfortably. She didn’t want to come across as if she were propositioning him, but hated herself for not thinking about how scared he might be down here.

  Thaniel just continued to stare at her from under his hair.

  “Okay, so—” Tierney turned away, not sure what else to say or do.

  Back in her room, she climbed into bed and snuggled under the blankets. Ten minutes passed and Thaniel didn’t appear. She rolled to her side and tried to relax, then flopped on her other side unable to sleep. Her thoughts drifted back to Jax. Stop thinking about him, you will drive yourself crazy!

  With a force of will, she switched her thoughts to Thaniel and sniffed back tears. Geez, I really can’t blame him for wanting to stay away from me. Still, she wished she could reassure him that they wouldn’t hurt him or kick him out. Although after a lifetime of everyone proving to be untrustworthy, what did she expect?

  The fear and expectation that they would do just that saddened her and made her all the more determined not to let him down. Gah! The only time she saw him sleep was the first night. Thoughts of Jax slid back into her mind. The stuff both he and Thaniel had survived, no one should go through that. Where are you, baby?

  She didn’t understand why Jax had agreed to meet with Marcius. Demon spawn, the last time Marcius had showed up, he took the boys away for the worst year of their life. Unfortunately, this time might end up being even worse. Fear that she might never see her dad or Jax again consumed her, and she was unable to hold back the tears any longer. Burying her head in her pillow, she let them flow until a moment later, she sensed someone in the room.

  She opened her eyes to find Thaniel standing beside the bed, looking uncertain and ready to flee. Tierney wiped the wetness from her face. “I’m sorry. I don’t normally cry like this.” But lately she’d been crying a lot, way too much in her opinion, and she wished she were stronger.

  Thaniel didn’t say anything, but he seemed taken aback at her apology, and from the glimpse she’d had of his life, Tierney realized that he probably expected her to yell at him. That only saddened her more. “Course, I seem to be doing a lot of this these days.” She gave him a wry smile and after a moment he blinked and relaxed.

  “You miss Jax,” he said and it wasn’t a question.

  Tierney nodded as more tears trickled down her face. “Yeah.”

  She could sense how uncertain Thaniel was, but the next moment he lay down on the floor with his blanket. Surprised, Tierney leaned over and gazed down at him, but when he turned and looked up at her, his hair fell away. She had been about to smile at the unobstructed view, until she caught sight of a brutal, jagged scar with a burn. It ran all the way up the right side of his face and suddenly she wanted to cry again. Who did that to him and why? She hadn’t seen anything in his memories about how he got it, but so many of his memories flew by too quickly to catch them all.

  Both the scar and the burns on his face and arms looked old, so she figured they must have been from before he changed into a Were. She wanted to ask about them, but didn’t know how he’d react, and from her past experience with Jax, she decided to hold her tongue. Maybe when Thaniel knew them better she’d ask.

  Still, he’d been hurt him badly, and it was no wonder he hid behind his hair. Hiding her own shock, Tierney gave no indication that she’d even noticed. “You know, there’s plenty of room up here. I won’t touch you.” She didn’t want to scare him away, but it felt weird with him on her floor, while she slept in a comfy bed.

  “I’m okay, thank you,” he said and his quiet voice tore at her.

  So many emotions swirled around inside her, and she couldn
’t stop the tears leaking from her eyes once again as she lay at the edge of the bed, looking down at him. Beautiful, luminous, pale-blue eyes stared at her. After a moment, his hand crept up and hovered near hers, before he pulled away, scared.

  “It’s okay.” She held her hand out and waited until he took it. When he did, she lightly kissed the knuckles, and rubbed it against her cheek, before entwining her fingers in his. “Thank you,” she whispered, sad at the shock on his face.

  The next morning, while Tierney and Thaniel finished breakfast, Sami rushed into the kitchen. “I got it,” he said, out of breath. His eyes were bloodshot and his hair stuck up everywhere.

  “Did you even sleep?” Tierney frowned. Sami just looked at her and blinked. She shook her head and pushed a plate of food in front of him. “Eat. And you got what?”

  “I cross-checked the last place Jax’s phone pinged off a cell tower, with a listing of caves in the area.” He grinned.

  Hope bloomed in her chest. “You did?”

  “Yeah, I hacked—never mind. I found some caves I want to check.” Sami absently ran a hand through his hair.

  “Why caves?” Thaniel asked, confused.

  “Oh, well, Tierney saw Zander in a labyrinth of caves …” Sami’s voice trailed off as Thaniel stared at him, wide-eyed. “Ah, doesn’t matter, we gotta get going.” Sami didn’t even glance at his food.

  “Fine, you eat while I get some weapons,” Tierney said, heart pounding at the thought of finding Jax, and possibly her dad.

  “No, we don’t have time.” Sami pushed the plate away.

  “Sami!” Tierney stopped him with a fierce glare.

  “What?”

  “You need to eat.” Her look dared him to say no. Sami stared at her for a moment before sighing and finally sitting down. “You need energy,” she said, voice softening as she pushed the plate back in front of him.

  “Humph,” he snorted, but picked up his fork.

  Thaniel quickly got up and Tierney shook her head. Uh, no, no way. She did not want him hurt or caught. “Thaniel, you’re staying here.” Then she left the kitchen.