A massive paw swept my legs out from under me and I fell onto my right side. My momentum cause me to roll. Claude did me the favored of stomping on me and stopping me cold. Since I landed on my stomach he flipped me then bit into my belly.
A scream ripped from my mouth so loud it tore my vocal cords. Pain unlike anything I had experience raced from my soft belly through the network of nerves and to my brain. The result was a complete shutdown of all logical thought. All I was left with was screaming, pain, and more screaming.
Somewhere in the back of my head I registered the concern from my Tua. There was also rage that came from somewhere else, somewhere other than me and my Tua.
Claude tore another chunk out of me and this time I was sure it was more than just muscle and fat he grabbed. That did nothing to ease my concerns or pain though, so my screams continued.
Everything was blood and darkness, pain and screams. The weight lifted off me and Claude stopped. A thought entered my pain addled brain wondering if he decided to just sit back and watch me die. The pain I felt had me hoping I died quickly.
“Terry! Pull from us, all of us. Max it out so you can recover and fucking do it now!” Izzy shouted at me through our link.
I didn’t think, just did as I was ordered. A cool wave washed over me as power flooded my veins. The pain lessened and my mind returned. I marveled at how much of a difference just ten more percent from each of my Tua made.
“Terry?” Tabitha sent. “Are you okay?”
“No, not really, but I think I’m better,” I thought back.
“Damn you, Terry!” Miranda sounded angry, and more than a little sad. “I thought you were going to die.”
I felt like I still might die, but I didn’t say that. The wounds inflicted by Claude seemed to be healing far too slow. Something was wrong.
“The wounds he inflicted on us are not healing either,” Izzy thought to me.
The lack of weight on my chest and the fact that no big ass werebear thing was eating me brought another thought to me. I looked up expecting to see Claude, but he was not there. I looked down and lost my shit.
“What the fuck! What the fuck!”
“What is it, Terry?” Miranda asked.
“That son of a bitch tore open my gut. I can see my intestines!”
“Calm. The. Fuck. DOWN!” Izzy shouted. “You will be fine. Right now we have another concern to worry about.”
“What? What could be more important than this? There is a damn chunk missing from my intestine. I’m looking right at it!”
“We know what they did to Cassie,” Tabitha thought. The calm tone of her voice grounded me and let me think clear.
“What did they do?” I asked.
“Cassie is a dragon,” Tabitha replied.
“A dragon? As in a weredragon? Is that even a thing?” I asked.
“It is now,” Izzy said. “But it gets worse.” Izzy spoke audibly as she and my women came into view along with Doctor Nguyen. “She wasn’t responding before she took off.”
“That could be nothing,” I said. The way my luck was going it probably wasn’t nothing. “Where is she now?”
“She flew over there, grabbed Claude, then took of into the sky. We don’t know where she went.” Izzy said.
“I guess we should find her. Someone help me up please?” I asked.
Izzy came to my side and lifted me off the ground and set me on my feet. When she let go I started to tip over so she grabbed my shoulders.
“I think I should have left you on the floor,” She said.
“I’m up now and my guts aren't falling out so it's all good. Let’s catch us a dragon,” I said.
Claude slammed into the ground with a thud and bounced a few feet from us. I looked up and saw the most amazing creature ever. Cassie was no larger but covered in scales. They were green on most of her body but became a pale blue on her chest and belly. Wings that spread out ten feet to each side pumped in a lazy rhythm keeping her aloft.
As I stared she sucked in a deep breath tilting her head back as she did she then thrust her head forward and a gout of crimson fire lanced out of her mouth.
“RUN!” I yelled.
I spun and ran away from Claude keeping one arm wrapped around my middle. Doctor Nguyen stood a few steps behind me so I scooped her up with my free arm. The flame whooshed behind me and a blast of heat smacked into me. I didn’t have the strength to get away so I dropped landing on Doctor Nguyen shielding her.
The heat from Cassie’s fire washed over me singeing my hair and burning the skin on my back. It lasted for just a second and was gone. I looked back just as Cassie landed on the charged husk that was Claude. She threw her head back and let loose a high pitch scream that sounded like metal scraping against metal. It reminded me a lot of Godzilla.
“Cassie!” Doctor Nguyen ran to the dragon girl. “Cassie, are you alright?”
In response the dragon swept one of her large wings out knocking Nguyen to the ground. Then she let another scream-roar out.
“Cassie!” I shouted.
The girl stopped mid roar and looked at me. Her eyes were a myriad of colors that danced and swirled. If things were different I could get lost in those swirls for eons. But the lives of my Tua, Doctor Nguyen, and maybe even Cassie were at stake. Maybe after I could explore that possibility.
When did I become a selfish harem hound? I wondered.
Since Cassie wasn’t trying to kill me I decided to try and reach her. “Hi, Cassie, how are you doing? Did Claude hurt you?”
The dragon did not respond. I took a step toward her with the thought that maybe contact would bring back the blond girl. The dragon didn’t like my action. It sucked in and I noticed a spot in the center of her chest where a red glow seeped out between her scales.
“Oh shit!” I mumbled.
Something hit me from the side knocking me off my feet and carrying me away from where I stood. A flame shot out from the dragon passing through the spot I had been standing. Heat slammed into me as I was driven into the ground.
Pain shot out in all directions from my middle. I writhed on the ground while the wounds Claude inflicted on me were letting me know how agitated the tackle made them. Before I could recover a hand gripped my throat like a vice and hauled me up.
Cassie held me up so my feet dangled off the ground. Since she was shorter than me she had to look up at me to look me in the eye. Smoke wafted from her nose as she stared me down. “Why do you call me?” She hissed.
“I. Don’t know. What. You mean,” I croaked out. The lack of air from her hand tightly wrapped around my neck and the pain from my gut made the world start to darken. I was going to pass out and I welcomed it.
A slap across my cheek jolted me awake. “Why?” The dragon asked.
Chapter 39
I didn’t have an answer for the dragon. My eyes darted around looking for something, anything, to help me. They landed square on Miranda’s singed back. She lay on the ground unmoving next to Cassie’s feet. It must have been her that saved me from the fire, and she paid the price for her actions.
“Claim her, Terry,” Tabitha’s voice
“What?” It was getting harder to think.
“Take her into your mind space and claim her!”
“Oh. Right.”
Everything went black as I reached out for Cassie’s mind. It was easier than it had been with Tabitha and Izzy because I just followed the connection we already shared. A nude Cassie appeared, but she wasn’t standing in front of me like the others had. This Cassie was on the floor rolled into a ball and scooting away from me. She whimpered and her eyes were open wide. Fear filled her beautiful green eyes and it broke something in me to see her so scared. I wanted to reach out…
“NO!” Screamed the dragon as it flung me away breaking our connection.
I hit the ground and rolled. Both arms wrapping around my stomach as once more the pain spiked. I didn’t get a chance to recover as a flame struck the ground right ne
xt to me. I darted away from it without thinking. The result was another spike in my pain.
Cassie started screaming and her hands went to her head. Flames shot out randomly going all over as she shook her head around. A particularly impressive gout was shot straight up and must have hit one hundred and fifty feet.
I reached out again to try and stop her. My consciousness raced along the thin line of our connection. I touched her mind and was flung back.
I was snapped back into the world of color and light stung my eyes. A blurry Cassie beat her large wings once. She was going to leave. Just fly away to escape and cause who knew what kind of harm. I couldn’t let her run off and kill someone.
I ran and my vision sharpened with the spike in pain. The dragon beat her wings again gaining a few feet of altitude. I leapt into the air with my arm outstretched. She beat her wings away taking off like a rocket. My finger closed a round her ankle.
I was jolted into the darkness. Cassie lay in the fetal position on the ground and she was crying.
“Cassie?” I took a step closer and stopped I didn’t want to spook her and get booted again. “Can you hear me, Cassie?” I asked in as pleasant a tone as I could manage.
“What is going on?” Cassie mumbled. “What is happening to me?” I heard the screeching roar of the dragon, but it sounded far away and echoed through the darkness for what seemed like an eternity.
“It’s me, Terry. Do you remember me?” I asked.
“Terry?” She looked up and I saw her beautiful green eyes rimmed in red puffy eyelids.
“Yeah, I’m here for you, Cassie. There is nothing to be afraid of.”
She sniffed once and her eyes focused on me. “You have to leave, Terry,” Cassie whispered. “If she finds you…” her face scrunched up and more tears began streaming from her eyes.
“It’s going to be okay, Cassie.” I wanted to stay back to make sure she didn't kick me out, but I couldn’t. I crossed the distance between us in two quick steps and dropped next to her. I scooped Cassie up and held her tight to my chest. “I have you now, Cassie. I promise nothing is going to hurt you.”
As those words left my mouth I knew the invitation to become Tua was now sent. But I also felt Cassie as a Tua even though she hadn’t joined me. She almost felt like she was mine, but …
The dragon roared again and it sounded closer. The sound came from off to my left which was also where I still felt the connection, the Tua.
“How can you feel like you are mine and yet not mine?” I asked.
“It’s her!” Cassie wailed. “It’s not me, it is her!” She raised her arm and pointed to the left directly where I felt the connection.
The screeching roar came again, only much closer. I stood pulling Cassie up with me. As I turned to face the direction she pointed out I pulled her behind me. Cassie pressed her body against mine and I was reminded of just how nude we both were. It made me wish things had not been so complicated.
We waited for the dragon. While we did so I tried and failed to ignore the breasts pressed against my back, simultaneously enjoying the sensation and feeling like a scum bag for taking advantage of her. It was a hard razor to walk along while trying to not fall to either side.
For the first time since having made the dragon's acquaintance I was glad to see her. While I was sure that I was going to have a fight on my hands it was better than feeling guilty about enjoying the supple body … Best not to think about it.
Green scales reflected blue light that came from nowhere. Her powerful wings beat first carrying her to us then slowing her so she could touch down softly. She folded the massive wings behind her and the tops tucked down around her chest and shoulders.
“Cassie?” I asked.
The dragon tilted her head like she had before. The swirl of color in her eyes took on an orange hue. I had no clue if that was a bad thing or good. Hell, it could mean nothing at all for as little as I knew about the dragon.
“Tabbitha?” I sent to my serpent. No response came. I had the impression that she was too far away, but I could feel her physical presence below me and to the rear. She wasn’t getting farther away. Whatever that was I was on my own.
The words, I am never alone, echoed through my mind. I focused on the gates and realized they were still wide open. I shut them down. My Tua were injured, and while not as bad as me, they still needed to heal. An ache spread from my middle as soon as the gates were closed. It was the first time since coming here with Cassie that I felt any of the pain from my wound. I pushed it down, there was still work to do.
I took a step in the direction of the dragon. She Didn't move so I took another. Cassie grabbed my arms stopping me.
“What are you doing?” She whispered. “You can’t go over there.”
“It will be okay, Cassie. Just stay there and know that I will not let anything happen to you. Okay?”
“I don’t know,” she hissed.
I spun and faced Cassie, my Cassie. An understanding came to me then. The force, or magic, or whatever that connected me to my Tua allowed me to see into their very souls. The question of how I could love my Tua after so short of a time was a simple thing. I saw them for who they are. The connection allowed me to see into their very souls. While I had only had a fraction of a connection to Cassie that was enough to make my next words the absolute truth.
“I love you, Cassie.” I gave her a moment to let it sink in. Her eyes went wide as I watched and her cheeks took on a pink hue. “I will lay down my life before I let anything happen to you,” I finished.
I bent down and pressed my lips to hers. To my surprise Cassie wrapped her arms around my neck. I wrapped her up in my arms and pulled her close. Our tongues danced as our nude bodies were pressed together.
I cut the kiss short. My connection to Cassie had been accepted but it was not complete. “Stay here, Cassie. I have to finish this.”
I turned away from the naked beauty which was really hard to do. The dragon waited for me as I walked to her. I stopped a foot away and waited. Neither of us moved and I’m sorry to say that my patients gave out before she did anything.
I reached up to place my hand on her shoulder thinking physical contact would get the ball rolling. She smacked my hand away. That brief touch as her hand hit mine did nothing which made me doubt my plan. But I tried again.
“Look, you may not know this, but you are part of the woman behind me. At least I think you are. I’m trying to unite you so you can both be whole, I think. So how about helping me to help you?”
I took her lack of response to be a yes. I reached out again and found no resistance. My hand landed on the dragon's shoulder but nothing happened. At first.
The dragon looked down at my hand then she frowned. She pushed against my chest shoving me back. Her claws lashed out and tore deep lines into my chest. She roared that metallic sound at me then sucked in a deep breath.
I spun and ran. “Run!” I yelled but my heart was beating so hard I couldn’t hear my own voice over the thump thump.
Fire hit me, surrounded me, and passed me. The warmth of it surrounded me enveloping me not in pain, but peace. I stopped tuning and stood up straight. Once the light of her flames died down enough I saw that not only had I not been burnt but the claw marks on my chest were gone. I realized that they had never even hurt me.
The me I saw was that of broad shoulders and thick chest. I had a six pack and thick muscular legs. Finding my women had changed what I looked like and even how my body worked, but not who I was.
When I turned to face the dragon I was the scrawny kid Miranda had met at Arnold’s. I walked up to the lovely dragon and dropped to my knees.
“I don’t know if you really are a part of Cassie or not, but I don’t think you want to hurt me.” I took in a deep breath. The outcome of the situation rested on my words and feelings, I was sure of it. “I come before you as who I am, who I have always been. I ask that you will judge me on my deeds, on my thoughts, and on my heart. If you f
ind me worthy, I ask that you join with us. Become stronger and make us stronger, become my Tua and know that you will never be alone.”
I looked into her eyes and waited. The colors swirled taking on several different hues before settling on the same shade of green as Cassie’s. Flecks of blue, orange and red flitted in and out but the green remained.
The dragon knelt before me and placed her forehead against my chest. Warmth flooded me from the spot our bodies met. I wrapped my arms around her.
“I love you, my dragon,” I said.
The wind rushed past my face whistling as it did. Light blinded me, but the presence of my dragon warmed me. She held me tight as we fell through the air. Before I returned to darkness I saw her face. Her eyes were closed and I felt through our link that she was not conscious, but she wore a small smile on her lips. I smiled too as my eyes closed. Before darkness claimed me I felt the jarring impact of us hitting the ground.
Chapter 40
I woke up in a soft bed in a dark room. Warm bodies surrounded me and I felt my wolf and serpent. To my surprise I also felt my turtle. Izzy was on the other side of Miranda.
I pulled myself free without waking my women. Being able to do so told me that they needed the rest after our ordeal.
The first thing I did was head to the bathroom which was right where I thought it would be. We were back in our underground lair. I took the longest piss of my life. While I washed my hands I looked myself over in the mirror.
The wound to my stomach was mostly healed. There was some scarring, but not much. I also saw that the image of myself I saw in the dark place was what I looked like now. I chuckled. It was amazing how much I had changed in so short a time. The smell coming off of me was also amazing, amazingly horrid.
I stepped into the hot water and sighed. The water washed away the grime and soothed my aches. It was by far the best thing I experienced ever.
“Is that so?” Came Miranda’s sultry voice. “Then I guess Tabby and I should give you a moment alone with the shower, huh?”
Shiftless: Tuatha Series Book 1 Page 24