“What kinds of tales are you after, Lucy? I’ll try and think of some of the more interesting ones,” Damcho offered. He was secretly pleased she wasn’t with Philip; he knew she was safe at this moment and wanted to keep her here.
“Well, I heard an interesting tale about a curse placed on someone by the Monpa people. They turned into animals. The girls were swapping stories and I thought I’d ask you where it came from,” Lucy lied.
Damcho looked at her suspiciously; he knew she had not spent time with the girls since she and Philip became an item. Still, he had heard the tale, what was the harm in telling her?
“Yes, I know the story you mean well. Centuries ago, there was a tiny village where everyone helped each other. One family did not share this community spirit. They used to undercut others in trades and grew incredibly selfish. The more money they had, the greedier they became. The villagers resented this greed; they disliked the bad intentions this family had. They were intimidated and upset. They felt like prey. One night, the head male of each family met in secret, to hatch a plan to prevent the selfish family from taking over. They placed a curse on the male line; until they were truly selfless, each male would turn into a tiger, sometimes at will, sometimes uncontrollably. One night, there was a terrible accident. The head of the family killed his wife when he was in tiger form. The family moved away. To this day, I don’t know what happened to them. I don’t know if that family is alive anymore. The village thrived thereafter. It was my village in fact.”
“Wow! So all Phil – I mean the male – would have to do is to be truly selfless. That is fascinating! How would you do that?” Lucy babbled excitedly.
Damcho frowned openly. “Philip?” he demanded. “Did you hear this from Philip? Has he descended from here? If he has, he will die, there is no other way.”
“N-n-no!” Lucy stammered.
Damcho turned and stormed out, He was proud of his job, but he was more proud of his village. He was furious that Philip was here. He had to tell someone. He was sorry for Lucy, but there was going to be a sacrifice, he didn’t know what else to do.
Lucy was in a blind panic. She knew that if she did nothing, Philip was going to die. In haste, she left a note for him to find. She had to fix this before it was too late.
Packing a small rucksack, she ran in the direction of Damcho’s village, completely disregarding her own personal safety.
Shortly after Lucy’s disappearance, Philip returned to his bed, intending to spend the rest of the morning in it, with Lucy. Instead of finding a beautiful girl waiting for him, he found a note.
Dear Philip, it read. I’ve made a terrible mistake; I revealed your identity whilst trying to find more out about the curse. I’ve gone to sort things out now, stay safe. I’ll be back soon. Love, Lucy xxx
Philip was worried; he had no idea where she’d gone or who she’d been speaking to. Thoughts raced through his mind. She wouldn’t be this worried if she’d told Charly or Kevin. She wouldn’t ask them about the curse anyway. It must be a person from the village, someone who spoke English. Damcho! Dressing hurriedly, he too ran towards the village.
Lucy made it to the village without incident and desperately tried to find Damcho. The village was silent; it appeared almost deserted. Perhaps it was too late. Where was Damcho?
Looking around for Damcho, she did not hear the silent gathering standing behind her. Quick as a flash, the villagers attacked en masse; covering her head with a cloth and binding her arms and legs together. Lucy didn’t even have time to scream.
Lucy was terrified; she hoped with all of her heart that Philip wouldn’t come looking for her. She wanted him to be safe; this was her fault, her problem and she would suffer the consequences. She knew for the second time in Bhutan, her life was in danger. This time, however, she was sure she was going to die. This time, her regrets were far fewer; recently, she was the happiest she had ever been. They had removed the cloth covering her head. She could see a pole on a wooden stage. She assumed she would be tied to it, but she wasn’t sure of anything else.
“Lucy! What are you doing here?” Damcho cried. He had heard the commotion. He came to the village intending to call a village meeting and share the news about Philip. He had already met with the men; the women must have caught Lucy.
“I came looking for you; I wanted to stop you from sharing the information about Philip. I love him, Damcho. He’s a good man. He doesn’t deserve death, I want to save him.”
Damcho looked worried; “Lucy, you shouldn’t have come here. I’m scared for you. I’m going to try and change your fate.”
“Damcho, please, I know you’re a good man too. What’s going to happen to me? I’d like to know, I hate surprises.”
“Well. I don’t want to say really. You don’t deserve this. I have a horrible feeling they’re going to stone you. I’ll be back soon, I promise I’ll try.”
Damcho hurried off, worried about the consequences of his actions. Almost as soon as he went, the female villagers came to get Lucy. Knowing her fate, she became immediately terrified, still refusing to scream; she didn’t want Philip to risk his life. Tears poured silently down her cheeks. They carried her through the village to the stage and as Damcho predicted, tied to the pole, before an audience. Where was Damcho? Whom was he talking with to try to save her?
Meanwhile, Philip was running as fast as he could. Where was she? He hoped she was okay. He didn’t know what he’d do without her; she was his soulmate, she completed him. He loved her with every fiber of his being. He hoped Lucy knew how truly special she was. He got to the village in double quick time, also finding it eerily deserted. Philip was suspicious; he knew the Monpa people were sociable. Where were the children playing, the woman chatting and cooking outside?
He looked frantically for Lucy. Too nervous to shout her name, he ran around searching for her. He spotted a wooden stage with a pole; looking on with horror, he saw Lucy being carried to it. Automatically, he took his tiger form. He saw the audience, but didn’t care. He only wanted so save Lucy. Powerfully pacing, he got to the stage just in time, as the rocks started pelting. He would willingly die for the woman he loved. Covering her with his body, rocks hit him from every angle. In agony, he stayed there until he passed out with pain. His final thought was of Lucy and her perfection, before everything went black.
Lucy for the first time screamed. “Philip! Philip I love you, save yourself!” She thought it was too late; she could see consciousness fading in his eyes and he slowly passed out. His form changed before her eyes, the rocks stopped coming and the villagers stood motionless. Was he dead?
Damcho ran onto the stage, waving his arms. Lucy couldn’t understand what he was saying; he was gesturing wildly and talking in Bhutanese. She began sobbing, crying in desperation for the love she’d lost. Philip was dead; he had to be. He was losing so much blood and she couldn’t even help him.
Suddenly, the villagers gasped and Damcho turned to Lucy. “Lucy, are you okay? Did any stones hit you?”
Lucy could only shake her head, crying too much to be able to speak.
“Lucy, I think this will be okay. Look at his hair and teeth.”
Lucy looked down at the man she loved. His auburn hair was now a darker shade of brown, his teeth less pointed and sharp. He was changing, becoming less tiger and more human. She was even more convinced now that he was dead.
“Lucy,” Damcho began, “I think the curse has broken. Philip tried to save you, without hurting anyone. He was willing to die to save your life. I told the villagers what I think happened. They don’t want to hurt an innocent, good man. Let me check his pulse.”
Damcho bent down as Lucy held her breath in hope.
“He’s alive, Lucy. He’s going to be okay. When he comes round, I’ll check his eyes. Now, let me untie you.”
Damcho untied Lucy, apologizing for his behavior earlier; he was truly sorry for being responsible for this, though secretly thrilled the curse appeared to be broken.
/> As soon as Lucy was free, she fell upon Philip, sobbing from a mixture of fright and relief. “I love you, I love you. Please wake up,” she pleaded, between sobs.
As if he heard her, Philip stirred slightly. He opened his eyes and Lucy was startled to see they were a dark shade of hazel, no longer emerald green. It was then she knew the curse was truly broken. They were both going to be free together, forever.
* * *
In the months that followed, Lucy and Philip grew closer than ever. The curse was truly broken and they were the happiest they had ever been. Lucy found it difficult at first to wake up to hazel eyes, rather than the bright green ones she fell in love with, but she soon adjusted. She had never felt so loved or wanted; she was truly content.
Lucy and Philip decided never to return to England, instead choosing to travel the world together until they felt at home. She called her family and told them of her plans. She told her mother she had fallen in love and her mother seemed genuinely thrilled for her; she was even planning to visit them in Thailand. Rob didn’t return her calls; he had met someone the day Lucy left. Lucy was happy for him too; her life was so perfect it was hard not to be happy.
For the first time, Philip felt truly free. Their futures planned and their love was true. Leaning forward, Philip kissed Lucy, her delight radiating as a sign of things to come.
The End
Taken by 2 Dragons
Shifter Menage Romance
About the Book
“Stop haunting me in my sleep, mother! You’ve been gone three months now, and still you’re going on about this?!”
“Nathan Luther, Nathan Luther, Nathan Luther…” the name she keeps repeating in my dreams and a place called ‘Furth im Wald’.
The only problem is Furth im Wald is all the way over in Germany.
So I finally decide to make the trip, only to discover that ‘Nathan Luther’ isn’t a person, it’s two people: die-on-the-spot sex gods, Nathan and Luther. And these two men just can’t stop sending me signals!
Things are just so perfect...
Until they tell me that they’re dragon shifters and they need me to travel back in time with them to break some kind of evil curse or I will die...
Great! I knew this whole thing was just too good to be true!
Chapter 1
“Hannah, you must go to Furth im Wald, you must find Nathan Luther. He is the only one that can save you.”
As Hannah reached for her mother, she started to float away; always near but never close enough to touch. Why couldn’t she ever reach her mother? Straining to reach her, pushing against the incredible weight that seemed to hold her down, Hannah stretched her arm out until she was sure it would dislocate if she went any further.
“Nathan Luther, Hannah. Nathan Luther.” As her mother finally floated away into the ether Hannah woke from the dream that had been plaguing her ever since her mother passed away. Pushing her black hair back from her face she looked around her dark room.
“Seriously, Mum. This is how you haunt me? Why are you still haunting me, anyway? You’ve been dead for three months now! I have no idea who Nathan Luther is. The internet has no idea who Nathan Luther is. If the internet says they don’t exist, well then, they must not exist!” She spoke out loud, knowing that if her mother had actually been present she’d have never spoken to her that way. Hannah wasn’t actually sure if her mother really was haunting her. Perhaps it was her own psyche, her own thoughts harassing her while she slept, leftover guilt for not being there when her mother slipped away in her sleep.
She was starting to think the dream wasn’t going to leave her alone. Not until she went there. Going to her mobile phone, she flicked through screens until she found her banking application. Logging in she saw that her balance was finally in the positive. Her small inheritance from her mother wasn’t enough that she could term herself as rich, but at least she wasn’t going to starve for a while.
Curious, she looked up flights to the nearest airport to Furth im Wald and saw that she could get a hotel and a flight for less than some of her friends spent on a weekend out to the city. Making a snap decision, she booked the flight and the hotel and suddenly realized she wasn’t even sure which date the flight was for. Looking at her mobile again she saw she had less than 24 hours to pack and get ready. She thought about her best friend, Annie, as she started going through her clothes.
“She’s going to be so chuffed I’m going on an adventure on my own! Or in a mood. One of the two, but oh well, I’m going” she said as she giggled to herself.
“You are going to Germany in a few hours? On your own? With all of those hot guys, the even hotter women and without me? You little cow!”
“I take it that means you’re just a little shocked?” Hannah replied to Annie. They were sitting in a pub not far from Hannah’s apartment, having a pint before Hannah left for her trip to the airport. Hannah smiled at her blonde haired friend. Annie’s brown eyes had lit up when Hannah told her what was happening and she seemed really happy, adding to Hannah’s own sense of excitement.
“Just a bit, love. Just a bit. What brought this on?” Annie asked, taking a sip of her drink.
“You’ll laugh, you really will. That or send me away.” Hannah said with a laugh but growing serious, thinking about how to word what was happening. “I’ve been dreaming about Mum a lot. She’s the one that told me to go to Germany. I’d never even heard of Furth im Wald until I started dreaming about her. So I looked it up, it’s famous for dragons apparently. I dismissed it but I keep having the dream over and over, every night so I finally gave in.”
“Ah, right, I see why you’re rushing off then. A bit creepy but it seems that either your dear old Mum or your brain is telling you to go. Just make sure you call me every day!” Annie looked at Hannah sternly, but her face brightened as she cracked a smile. “How are you getting there? Do you want me to drive you down?”
“That would be great actually. I was just going to take the train but that takes ages doesn’t it? Thank you so much and thank you for supporting me! I really do appreciate it!” Hannah smiled at her friend. For the first time she was starting to feel nervous about her decision. Some friends of Annie’s came in and Hannah drifted into her own quiet world, imagining scenarios of what might happen when she got to Germany, wondering if there’d be pitchforks and burning torches in her future. Dismissing the thought, Hannah reminded herself Germany no longer lived in the Dark Ages. They didn’t burn witches anymore.
Hannah’s flight went well and she checked into her room without any problems. She loved the town, combining old world and new to create a unique culture that Hannah adored. She took a quick nap before heading out to explore, only to wake up panting because, yet again, her mum had been in the dream. This time, she’d been telling Hannah to go to the Dragon’s Inn.
“Great,” she said to herself, “at least Mum’s saying something different now I suppose.”
Hannah had spent most of the flight asking herself just exactly what she was doing. Losing her mind she suspected, but she’d resolved to pay attention to what was going on in her dreams since they’d brought her here. Going down to the front desk she asked if anybody knew how to get to the Dragon’s Inn. One of the girl’s there looked a bit confused that Hannah had asked for directions, but gave her what she asked for.
Dismissing the odd looks, Hannah left the hotel and went out in search of the place that she at least knew existed. Taking her time, she wandered the streets she’d been directed to go down and finally reached her destination. She understood the looks now; it was the German equivalent of a biker bar in America. Shiny chrome and black motorcycles lined the front, loud music seemed to roll out of the inside and loud voices seemed to be roaring over each other.
Hannah looked down at the white linen dress she had on, the sandals that were serviceable for walking but still pretty and wondered, once again, if she’d lost her mind. She wasn’t really going to go in there? Hannah pulled her shoul
ders back, took a deep breath and thought that this is where her mother wanted her to go; she must have a reason for it. Taking one more breath Hannah tucked her handbag against her side and walked in. Everybody in the place went quiet, staring at her. Lovely, one of those places.
Chapter 2
Staring back, Hannah saw denim and black leather everywhere her gaze fell. Even the chairs were covered in denim and black leather. The tables were all painted black with the yellow head of a dragon stylized in the middle. Biting her lip, looking momentarily terrified and a second away from fleeing, Hannah heard a voice calling her name and looked over at the bar.
Two blonde gods stood there, beckoning her to them with a smile. At this point Hannah had fled to Germany in an attempt to appease either her brain or her dead mother; she still wasn’t sure which she believed. She as in a biker bar in a strange country and now two of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen in her life were calling her name, wanting her attention. Either the whole thing was completely implausible or she was dreaming. She didn’t feel as though she was dreaming, she was starting to believe her mother really was haunting her. To hell with it, maybe there was a perfectly reasonable explanation as to how these two men knew who she was! Perfectly reasonable, she assured herself.
Plastering a smile on her face, steeling herself once more, Hannah walked over to the two men that were apparently the barmen. She sat down on a black leather covered stool, feeling almost guilty for sitting on the yellow dragon head and smiled at the men. Looking at them expectantly, waiting on the explanation, Hannah was shocked when they spoke.
“You’ve made it then, great. We can get started.” A man with jade green eyes spoke in a tone that implied she’d understand what he was on about.
“She looks a bit confused Nathan, perhaps she doesn’t know what’s going on?” this man had eyes that were such a light shade of brown they were almost yellow. Those eyes were smiling at Hannah, asking for her trust without speaking the words. For some reason, she wanted to give him whatever he asked for.
Jacob (Alexander Shifter Brothers Book 3) Page 65