Forbidden Love Series Book 4: From The Ashes

by Danielle James

  Prepare to die! He shouted in the vampires’ heads.

  It was all they could do not to laugh.

  I will have my revenge! He said as he sailed through the sky. No one moved, but watched as he came their way.

  A line of fire shot from the dragon’s mouth and all four men dove for the ground. As pitiful as Merrick looked, he still had fire power and fire was something that didn’t mix well with vampire. Rebel aimed his Glock and fired. The shot would have hit but Merrick feinted right at the last minute and the bullet hit nothing but air.

  Gage took two shots as well, but it seemed Merrick could still teleport. One second he was there, and the next he was gone.

  Angel tried to enter the dragon’s mind, but he had it closed off. But he felt Angel trying to get in because he growled out his fury and b-lined it for Angel’s head. Angel had speed on his side and moved just in time to miss the inferno that Merrick aimed at him.

  They all attempted to hit him, but Merrick was able to keep one step ahead of them.

  Antonio heard the commotion outside. He knew Merrick had arrived. The dragon who had taken his mate from him was outside trying to take his family away too. He had been prepared to lay in his bed and die, but knowing his family was in danger was a more powerful motivator than anything his sisters had tried in the last few days.

  Antonio gathered his strength and got out of bed. He grabbed his weapons and a little something he had kept hidden in his closet. Then one by one, he took the stairs.

  He finally made it to the door that lead to the beach and was able to slip out easily and unnoticed. The dragon was trying to evade a rainstorm of bullets, and his brothers were focused on delivering that storm. Antonio crouched down near the brand new gazebo and took out his toy.

  It only took him a moment to attach the device to the floor and then he stood and walked out into the open. “Hey, you fucking waste of scales!” he shouted at Merrick. “You think you are so big and bad! You have to pick on women to get your kicks! When it comes to fighting a real man, you got nothing!”

  “Antonio, no!” Rebel shouted, but it was too late. Merrick was fire-balling straight for him. When Merrick was only feet from the gazebo, Antonio pressed the little button on the trigger in his hand.

  ***

  “Antonio is out there!” Leigh shouted. “He is gonna get himself killed!”

  Frankie knew she was right. She could sit here and do nothing, or she could run as fast as she could and collect Antonio before it was too late. Her new speed would be almost invisible to Merrick and her new strength could carry Antonio easily. “Ok, look, I’m gonna go get him. Stay here!” she told the women.

  She made it to the door just in time to see the explosion.

  The gazebo blew with enough force to knock everyone down and rattle their brains. Antonio had been thrown about ten feet from where he was standing, but he had a clear view of Merrick also being tossed like a rag doll.

  The dragon tumbled through the air out of control and then vanished. And then he reappeared. He was more pissed than ever before and headed straight for his target.

  Antonio saw the massive dragon sailing right for Rebel like a missile from the sky. Rebel had just stood and was still trying to get his bearings. He didn’t see the dragon. Merrick was probably as weak as he was, but he was still pissed and it showed. The dragon would die a second time just to exact his revenge on Rebel for killing him.

  There was a female scream and then another, and Antonio knew the women had not stayed in the basement like they were told. Leigh had already run out to see that her husband was ok. He would protect them like he had been unable to protect Macy.

  Antonio picked up his Glock, the weight of it nearly too much for him to handle, but he managed to take aim. He fired true and the bullets hit the dragon in the side of it enormous head. The precise strike Merrick had been performing turned into a desperate flailing as the dragon began to fall back to the Earth. Rebel looked up just in time to shove Leigh out of the way, but the creature was still going to fall on him. Antonio didn’t think. He just acted.

  He used what little strength he had left to move at lightning speed to his brother. He slammed into Rebel hard, knocking him on his ass and out of danger. But he was not so lucky.

  Merrick’s body hit hard, smashing into him, and pinning him to the ground. Antonio knew his body was crushed beneath the weight of the dragon. He heard the dragon wheeze its last breath, and knew that he had killed the bastard.

  He tried to push at the dead weight, but had no luck. He was too weak and the dragon was too heavy. Antonio knew that his body was suffering some major damage. He couldn’t draw air into his lungs and he couldn’t feel the lower half of his body.

  Jacque and Angel were there with him, the two of them using their combined strength to lift the body off of him. Once the dragon was gone, Antonio tried to make himself breathe, but his body would not obey. He was only able to suck in a few shallow breaths at a time.

  He could see his family gathered around him, could see that they were talking to him. He could see the worry etched on their faces, but he couldn’t hear anything they said. It was like he was looking at them through blood stained, sound proof glass.

  He shifted his eyes to the side, and saw something amazing. Macy was there. She was standing alone, watching the events unfold. She was perfect in every way. There was no evidence that she had been murdered at all. She was wearing a long white skirt and a white peasant shirt. She was bathed in the most beautiful light as if she were the source of the light herself. She looked like an angel. She smiled at him and held out her hand.

  The instant that he made the decision to go to her, images began flashing through his mind. He saw himself before he had become a vampire, he saw his own change. He saw himself at Angel’s side in many flashes and then he saw his family now.

  He saw Leigh and her unborn child.

  He remembered what it was he needed to tell her.

  He pulled all of his energy to form words with his mouth. “Tell Leigh,” he whispered to Jacque, who brought his head down to Antonio’s lips, “Tell her to use her magic. Starving the baby. Must shift. Born in fire. Save her.”

  And then all his life bled from his body once again and his spirit went to Macy.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Jacque couldn’t believe his ears. Antonio had just died in his arms and his last words were about Leigh and the baby. He said she was starving the baby! Leigh would never do such a thing. He and his family watched helplessly as his brother faded away once again. His body began to shrivel up and collapsed on itself right before their eyes. In only a matter of seconds, his beloved friend was nothing more than ash once again.

  “Au reviour, Mon Ami,” Jacque muttered under his breath as a tear streaked down his face.

  “Guys,” Rebel said from behind him, “Seriously! Guys! Help!”

  Jacque stood and turned toward Rebel. He was bent over something on the ground. As Jacque approached, he could see that it was a body. Oh no, he thought to himself as his heart dropped into his stomach, not another!

  Rebel was holding Leigh’s face in his hands. “Breathe with me,” he was telling her. “Keep breathing.”

  Leigh was lying on the sand in a fetal position, her arms wrapped tight around her belly. She was trying to concentrate on Rebel, but then she jerked her head back and screamed out in pain.

  Jacque ran to her, dropping to his knees beside her. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “The baby!” Leigh cried. “She’s coming now.”

  Another scream. “Damn it Cowboy, you did this to me!” she cried out, grabbing on to his arm with her nails first.

  “Help her!” Rebel demanded of him, ignoring the pain she was inflicting on his arm. Jacque had been preparing for this for months.

  “Ok, we all know what to do,” he said. “Angel, go get my bag, Brea, round up the women and start making the kitchen into an operating room.” He watches as everyone snapped int
o action. It was then that Antonio’s voice echoed in his head. Use her magic, starving the baby, must shift… “Zut alors!” he cursed. “Change of plans,” he shouted.

  What do you mean change of plans?” Rebel asked him. The man was scared, no he was terrified. It was plain in every line of his face. “What are you doing? We practiced this!”

  He grabbed Rebel’s free arm and held him still. He leveled his eyes with his brother’s. “It was something Antonio said,” Jacque told him. “I think Leigh needs to shift into her dragon.”

  “You think?” he yelled. “Dammit! This is my wife man, this is my child! You had better damned well be certain! If she shifts she could kill the baby!”

  Jacque looked at Leigh as clinically as he could. Already she was burning up with fever. Her hair was soaking wet with sweat and her pain was excruciating. Her eyes were wild and searching. There was no telling how much longer she would be able to concentrate hard enough to shift at all.

  He got nose to nose with Rebel. “If she doesn’t, they will both die,” he said forcefully. “I cannot believe Antonio would tell me something that isn’t so.”

  Rebel looked at his wife and knew she was dying. He could not live without her. He knew that if she died and the baby lived, he would always blame the baby. He would never forgive himself if he chose Leigh and the baby died. She would never forgive him. But she would live. He made the hardest decision of his life in mere seconds.

  “Leigh sweetheart,” he said to her softly. “You need to shift. You need to dragon-up baby.”

  Leigh shook her head and cried out again from the pain. “No,” she managed. “No, protect the baby.”

  “It’s the only way,” he said.

  “No!” she shouted. Fire shot from her mouth and Rebel and Jacque had to duck out of the way.

  “Antonio said it was the way,” Rebel told her, crawling back to her and stroking her face. She was covered in sweat and her skin was blazing hot to the touch. “That was what he needed to say. You have to shift.”

  “He said the baby would be born of fire,” Jacque said. “It was his dying words.”

  Leigh couldn’t understand. All this time she had purposefully not used her magic to protect the baby, and now they wanted her to let it all out. Her belly felt like it was already on fire and the baby was trying to claw its way out any way it could. But even through the pain, she could feel her magic building. She could feel it trying to break free.

  “Ok,” she agreed. “But you better pray on all that is holy that my baby lives! I swear I will cut out your heart and eat it in front of you,” she warned. She leveled her eyes at Jacque. “I will make you beg me to kill you if anything happens to my baby.”

  “Tell the others to take cover!” Rebel said to Jacque.

  “I have had my mind open to Angel the whole time,” Jacque replied. “He has heard my every thought and is taking care of everything now.”

  “Ok Leigh, you let us know when you’re ready,” Rebel said.

  “Now is good,” she ground out, racked by another wave of pain. A stream of fire shot out from her mouth and licked toward the sky.

  “Now,” he repeated. “Better get to safety,” he said to Jacque.

  “Not a chance,” Jacque told him. “I told you I would be here for you and I will.”

  “You’re crazy!” Leigh shouted, throwing another blaze into the air.

  “I know,” both Jacque and Rebel said at the same time.

  “I’m scared,” she admitted.

  “I know that too,” Rebel said softly. He kissed her fast on her lips and moved away, giving her the space she needed.

  And then Leigh let go of the iron grip she had kept for so long and set her magic free.

  The force it let out knocked both Rebel and Jacque on their asses. Jacque heard Frankie scream for him from the house, but he held up his hand to let her know he was ok. Thankfully, Gage was there to restrain her from running out to help.

  Leigh’s body jerked upright and then to her feet as if she were a puppet on a string attached to her chest. Her toes were barely touching the ground and her arms went out wide to her sides. She stayed suspended there for only a second, but it seemed so much longer to those watching her with fear and worry. Her magic exploded out from her, wrapping her in a blanket of flames and mist. The heat that was pulsing off of her made Rebel sweat and it was oppressive and heavy. The flames shot higher and higher, twisting around her like a demented, flaming tornado.

  After what felt like an eternity but was really only a moment, the flames ebbed and Leigh stood there in her dragon form, majestic as always. Her black scales were shiny and flat against her body, her golden neck shimmering in the moonlight. But her eyes… her eyes scared the hell out of Rebel. They were not the eyes of the dragon that had grown accustomed to, but instead more human in their stare. They showed just how scared Leigh really was.

  Rebel ran for his wife. “No!” Jacque shouted, grabbing him by the back of his neck. “She’ll kill you right now.”

  “She is my wife!” Rebel shouted as he jerked away and ran for her again.

  Leigh dropped her head down, then shot it back up and roared. It was so loud, so painful, that the ground beneath her shook with its vibrations. Fire rolled out of her mouth and reached into the night sky. She snapped her head back around and met Rebel’s eyes. She told him without a word to back off, and he reluctantly did.

  “She has to do this on her own,” Jacque told him, gently pulling Rebel back to a safe distance. “Her body knows what to do. Have faith.”

  “Fuck you,” Rebel said, but his words lacked conviction. He was standing next to Jacque and watching in helpless horror as his beautiful, majestic wife screeched out again. He hated knowing there was nothing he could do for her, and he hated the useless, helpless feeling that surrounded him. Rebel wanted to do something, anything, to help her, but the fate of his family was way out of his hands.

  Leigh turned her huge body in a circle and dropped to the ground. Rebel wanted to run to her, but couldn’t make his feet move. He knew she wasn’t dead; she was panting heavily and growling softly.

  Then she kicked up one of her hind legs and fire shot out from her body. Something rolled away from her. Something on fire. The dragon looked at it and sat up. She dropped her face down to the little fireball and huffed out a huge breath, blowing out the flames.

  It was an egg. A dragon egg.

  “Guess you gotta learn to egg-sit,” Jacque laughed with relief.

  “Oh fuck me,” Rebel said in awe. His baby. His child. His little dragon. He took one step toward his new family and the dragon, his wife, snapped her teeth at him.

  He jumped back, not recognizing his wife. Her lovely eyes had changed. He could see it in her expression. This was not his wife. Not right now. This was a dangerous predator that would just as soon take off his head as let him near her and her young. His chest felt like someone had stabbed him in the heart and twisted the knife.

  “Don’t take it personal,” Jacque told him. “Let her get her bearings.” He gently patted Rebel on the shoulder and then continued to hold him steady, loaning him all the strength he could.

  Rebel kept watch, helplessly, from a safe distance. He watched as Leigh tended to the egg, sniffing it and licking it. Then, she opened her jaws.

  “No!” Rebel shouted, reaching out to stop her, but he was too late. Leigh’s mighty teeth crunched into the protective shell surrounding his young. Rebel ran to her, hell bent on stopping her.

  When he got within a few feet of her, she snapped her jaws at him again, keeping him from touching the egg or Leigh. He stopped in his tracks and dropped to his knees. The whole world just slid right out from under him. He knew his young was lost. Leigh’s dragon instinct had taken over and destroyed her young that was not pure dragon.

  She would never forgive herself, but he would be there for her.

  From the corner of his eye, he saw Leigh shift back to her human form. “Rebel!” she shouted.
But he could not go to her. Not after what he had just witnessed.

  “Damn it Rebel!” she cried out, “Help me!” Rebel stayed where he was and watched as Jacque ran to her aid instead. The whole thing played out as if he were watching it from a third person point of view. He felt himself detach from the real world and instead he was just someone floating by, watching the horror unfold like a bad movie.

  Jacque and Leigh huddled together around the broken shell of his young. The egg would have been nearly two feet across and almost the same height. He could hear them talking but couldn’t understand the words. He watched as Jacque pulled smaller pieces of shell away and reached into the shell. Rebel couldn’t see what he pulled out and he didn’t want to. He had already seen too many people die lately, and he didn’t want to see the bloody, lifeless body of his young. He dropped his head into his hands and began to cry.

  Jacque called for Frankie and she sprinted out of the house with her new vampire speed, carrying all manner of blankets and washcloths. Jacque took them from her and began wrapping the infant in them. Rebel picked up his head. Jacque was handing the bundle to Leigh whose smile lit up the whole night.

  Rebel rose onto shaky feet and began walking toward her. Leigh was a little unsteady on her feet, but she held strong while he made his way to her. She smiled at him and Rebel felt his heart knit back together. He could see that she was holding a baby, not a bloody mess. He had been wrong. His young was alive.

  When he was close enough, Leigh turned the bundle and Rebel got his first look at the child. Beautiful wasn’t even close to describing the baby in his wife’s arms. Eyes the color of grey pearls framed by thick lashes sat atop of a cute little nose and a tiny pert mouth, all wrapped in skin the color of milk. Hair the color of black silk and just as smooth curled on top of the head. There was a small strip of golden skin along the hairline that framed her face perfectly. “Meet your daughter,” Leigh told him.

  A girl. It was a girl. As beautiful as her mother, and more precious than anything he had ever known. In that moment, Rebel knew what it was like to feel perfect, unconditional love. It was stronger than the love he felt for his brothers, and even stronger than the bond he shared with Leigh. He knew that he would do anything to protect her. He would smash the face of the first boy to break her heart. He would play dress up and drink imaginary tea if she wanted. He would buy her a prom dress and walk her down the aisle when the time came. And he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would lay down his life for her.