by D. F. Jones
“He had to wait till your twenty-third birthday,” Ash said, appraising her.
“I’m not twenty-three yet. There must be another reason.” She stretched, then noticed the ugly soft blanket wrapped around her.
“What do you mean you’re not twenty-three?” Ash snapped.
“My birthday is in two days. Where the hell are my clothes?” she demanded with red cheeks.
Ash motioned for the men to leave. “They are in our room.”
She watched the men leave. “What do you mean our room?” She needed to straighten Ash out.
“You are mine. My mate. I know you feel it.”
She assessed her precarious position. “Ash, I realize you saved me from a horrendous situation but it doesn’t give you rights to me. I have lived a lifetime under absurd arrogance, furious dominance and ridiculous conceit, so although I admit I’m attracted to you, I have no intention of living with you.”
Ash leaned down, placing his hands on the couch. His breath warmed her face as he spoke. “You are mine. I will claim you on your twenty-third birthday, not before. In the meantime, you will sleep beside me, eat with me, and acquaint yourself with your new home.”
“Listen, you sanctimonious bastard, I appreciate you saved me, but you don’t own me. I’m leaving.” She pulled the blanket close to her, pushing past the large furry creature at her feet to head for the door. She never heard or saw him move but she walked right into Ash’s large hard body. He caught her hands when she intended to hit him, allowing her cover to slip down. Her breasts pushed up against his tanned chest. The electrical current raced between them, bordering on pain, fusing something deep inside her, branding her soul with fire as it imprinted with the soul of another. Ash. “Make it stop,” she pleaded.
“I cannot stop it. It will pass, but this is only the beginning. Hold on to me, Robin, let me ease your pain.” He turned to Thorn. “Leave us.”
The large wolf jumped down and left the room, leaving Robin to deal with the enormous man holding her. Lightning arced from his body to hers. She sobbed, feeling his stomach tighten in a protective response as unseen threads bound them together. She felt every one like a tiny noose around her heart. Her soul. “What’s happening?”
“Our magic is merging.”
She shook her head. “I don’t have any magic...”
“You are a descendant of the druids. You have magic, but it lays dormant until your twenty-third birthday. I believe yours surfaced early to save you from Samuel.”
“I’m not a druid.”
“You are. You feel the magic flowing between us.”
“So, you’re a druid too?”
“No, Robin. I am a dragon. We mate with human druids, though it has been over a thousand years since a female with magic has surfaced.”
Robin clutched his arms. “I might’ve believed the druid heritage but a dragon? That’s where I draw the line.”
“It’s true.”
She pushed against his chest. “You’re delusional. I need to go.”
Ash had her locked in place. He seemed irritated more than mad. She had survived this long on her wits and wasn’t going to let them fail her now. She let out a deep breath. “Maybe I was a little hasty. Can I ask you some questions?”
Ash relaxed against her. “Yes.”
“What is Samuel?”
“He is a dark dragon.”
She would have laughed but the memory of Samuel’s teeth made her push back, allowing some space between her and Ash. “Dragons drink blood... like vampires?”
Ash shook his head. “No. A dragon that waits for his true mate does not drink druid blood.”
“But he drank from Eddie...”
“He was showing off. He wanted you afraid. The adrenaline in your blood. Your fear gives a dark dragon a more fulfilling—experience.”
“What does druid blood do?”
“After five-hundred-years, a dragon loses his—passion for life. He can stick to his values and wait for his true mate or he can turn dark. Drinking druid blood gives him a temporary high, allowing him to pursue those passions for a short period.”
“Passions. As in sex?”
“Yes.”
“So, druid blood is Dragon Viagra?”
Ash rubbed his forehead. “There’s more to the high than sex. If the druid is over twenty-three, he has access to her magic while her blood courses through him.”
“So, Samuel would not have killed me?”
“No, he would make you a slave, drinking from you and violating you till the day you died.”
Robin tasted bile in her mouth. “Did—my mother have druid blood?”
Ash’s face softened. “Yes. He would have assigned you a human husband before you were too old to bear children to ensure you reproduced.”
“How do you know this?” she snapped.
“There are few women with druid blood. I’ve been looking for a thousand years, and you’re the first one I have come across since they annihilated the druid temples.”
“Druid temples?”
“Yes, there were three. Two were destroyed. The last disappeared.”
“How does a temple disappear?”
“The druids of that time possessed the magic to shroud or move the temple. We thought they would resurface but there were no signs until I saw you.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“In the days of old, when a druid female matured to her twenty-third birthday, she was brought to the Rule Clan to see if she was a mate to any of the dragons. If she wasn’t, she was free to marry a human. The dragons protected her family.”
“There are no male druids?”
“No. The mages have been extinct for two thousand years. They started several wars and tried to enslave their female counterparts. The druids ensured all future children born of magic would be females unless born to a dragon couple. Those children are all male and are dragons.”
Robin blew out a long breath. Her brain was on overload. She couldn’t deny what she saw. Samuel was a monster but a blood-drinking dragon? She was thinking Samuel dosed her, and she was on some kind of PCP high. She looked at the door. “Can you grab me some clothes?”
Ash nodded. “Wait here.”
As soon as Ash left the room, she opened a window that exited onto a large wooden deck. Running naked through the woods wasn’t her ideal getaway, but the crazy around here was off the charts. She wrapped the blanket tighter around her as she darted for the trees.
A forceful wind blew her over, which made her scramble for traction in the grass. She flipped onto her back, pulling her blanket around her as the surrounding air shimmered to reveal the black dragon. Its pupils were as dark as its scales.
She screamed as spiked claws reached for her.
The door to the cabin burst open. Ash ran out, flanked by Conner, Draco and Thorn. He shifted into a huge copper dragon, with spikes adorning his tail. The end had dual curved blades.
Ash raised the scythe of a tail in the air as he roared at the black dragon.
The black dragon hissed fire in a roar of thunder and heat. The blanket covering Robin burst into flames.
She watched in morbid fascination at the flames surrounding her. She felt the electrical current tingle under her skin as the fire burned, avoiding her skin.
The black dragon launched into the air, followed by Ash.
The copper tail swung in an arc, slicing into the scales of the black dragon. Blood streaked across the sky to land on the forest below. A bellow of pain was cut short as the large copper body grappled the black one, sinking its claws into the falling body. The earth shook with their collision. Ash ripped into the neck of the black, severing the head before spitting it on the ground. He shifted, and covered in blood, he walked toward her naked.
Thorn held another blanket in his mouth, and he brought it to her. She covered herself, before crying into his soft fur.
“Robin, are you all right?” Ash asked as he ran a hand over her b
ack.
She shook her head, keeping it buried in the wolf’s fur.
“Will you release my brother and allow me to take you inside?”
Her head snapped up. “Your brother? You call your pet—brother?”
Ash smiled. “Thorn is a dragon cursed by a Mage and locked in this form.”
“You just turned into a copper dragon?” Robin sniffled.
“Yes.”
“I like the wolf better.”
Ash smiled. “A wolf is part of your world. I am sure a dragon form is—”
“Scary as all shit... yeah.”
“Robin, I could never hurt you.”
“I know. It’s weird, but I know you won’t hurt me. I felt your anger at the black dragon.”
“Samuel.”
Her head whipped to meet his gaze. “That was Samuel?”
“Yes. I doubt any other black dragon knows of your existence. When a dragon turns dark—he turns on his clan. He becomes solitary. He becomes consumed with his own ambition. His own self-righteousness.”
“Why don’t you do something about the black dragons?”
“We went to war. We suffered massive losses on both sides. A truce was called. One that’s now broken.”
“Why?”
“The truce was an interim agreement. One that we knew would be short-lived by our standards. Once the druids resurfaced, the truce was over. The war will begin.”
“You will fight because I was born?”
“Robin, your mother was a druid. Samuel kept her, allowed her to die. It is unlikely she was the first. We were not vigilant and have failed not only your mother but those before her.”
“My mother never showed signs of having any power. She worshiped Samuel.”
Ash nodded. “She may not have been a mate, but she had druid blood. We’ve been looking for the lost bloodlines, but until you, we could not find them. It appears Samuel had better luck.”
Conner approached. “It makes me wonder if any of the other black dragons have found a druid bloodline and are breeding them for their purpose.”
Ash nodded. “This changes everything. We need to talk to Legion.”
Conner nodded. “I tried. He’s too far away for telepathy. I think he’s in the caves.”
Robin’s eyebrows went up. “Did you say telepathy?”
“Aye, lass,” Draco said.
Robin turned to the dark-haired man. “You’re Scottish?”
Ash cleared his throat. “Technically, we all are and we share our knowledge with one another. We take on the speech pattern of the area we are canvassing. Draco is new to North America. He only awoke a few weeks ago.”
Robin blew out a breath. “So, he was asleep in these caves for...”
“About a thousand years.”
Robin put her head into her hands. “Yeah. I think I need a time out.”
Ash scooped her up and raced into the house.
She was curled in a ball on the bed when the tears began to fall.
Chapter 3
Robin woke to the sound of a wolf howling. She bolted upright in the bed, until Ash put his fingers on her stomach, pulling her back against him. “Is that Thorn?”
“No. He’s sleeping outside our door. He seems concerned about you.”
Robin looked down at the satin nightie she was wearing. “Is he all right? I mean, does he miss being human or a dragon?”
Ash trailed a finger over her face. “He no longer remembers either. He sees only through the eyes of a wolf although he remains immortal.”
“Why would a Mage do this?”
“Thorn killed him. In his dying breath, he cursed him.”
“Why did Thorn kill him?”
“Because he had abducted our clan leader, Legion, and was siphoning his magic. Thorn sacrificed himself to save Legion.” He tipped her chin up. “I find it endearing that you’re concerned for Thorn. You have a genuine affection for him and want to help him.”
“How are you reading my mind?”
“I feel your emotions. I can read your mind, but I choose not to before our bonding. You have had so many choices taken from you. I will not intrude without your permission.”
“You can read any living being’s thoughts? Thorn’s for example?”
“Thorn no longer thinks like a dragon or a man. I see the images in his mind. He thinks of us as his pack mates.”
“Is there no way to help him?”
“As the Mages have passed, only a druid with greater power could break the spell.”
“But there are no druids with greater power,” she said in a defeated tone.
Ash kissed her cheek. “A druid’s power grows as she learns her craft. Why do you wish to help Thorn?”
“I know what it’s like to be something you’re not. To have others think you are beautiful and have a perfect life when it’s a lie.”
“You are surprising and a welcome gift. I did not realize how much I needed you till this moment.”
“Ash, you can turn into a dragon the size of a house. You can fly. You’ve known nothing but freedom. Why would you need me?”
“While I can fly, I no longer enjoy it and freedom is nothing without someone to share life with. I had forgotten passion. Love. Lust. These gifts are something only you can give me.”
“Do you mean, my magic?”
He pulled her close. “No. You.” He kissed her with a desperation that filled her with sorrow. She shivered when his hands slipped up her arms.
Ash stilled. “You fear what I am.”
Robin looked into his metallic eyes. “I don’t fear you. I fear the connection between us, that I will exchange one prison for another—one monster for another.”
Ash hissed. “You think me a monster?”
“You’re not human. I guess I’m not human either. If we aren’t monsters what are we?”
Ash blew out a slow breath. “You fear what you do not understand. Let me show you. Stand before my dragon. Reach for him. Let his love surround you. Give us a chance.”
The sorrow in his voice tugged on her heart. “Okay, Ash. I can’t make any promises, but I will try.”
Ash rolled off the bed. “That’s all I ask, put on the clothes on the chair and meet me outside.” He left her as she rose from the bed.
She dressed and went downstairs, pausing when she opened the front door.
He was laying down with his wings folded to his side and his tail wrapped around him. The sun glittered off his scales like crystals over copper. They moved as he breathed, creating a cascade of sparkling light. He was magnificent. Beautiful. A creature out of a fairy tale. She approached slowly, stopping before she reached his large body. He shimmered in her mind.
It is safe to approach me, Robin. I will never hurt you. You are my life.
She sucked in a breath. “How did you do that?”
Telepathy is a trait of our species.
“I’m not a dragon.”
A dragon can create a telepathic bond with his intended, but as your powers grow, you may gain the power of transmutation.
“What does that mean?”
You will be able to take on dragon form.
Robin put her hand against the warm scales. “Are you saying I could fly?”
It takes practice, but yes. It will be an honor to teach you when you are ready.
She admired how his scales shimmered at her touch. “You’re beautiful.”
The dragon smiled. His long tongue slid over sharp pointed teeth to lick her arm.
Robin laughed. “You licked me.”
You make me happy.
Robin felt the connection between them tighten. The winding of a spool bringing the threads closer and closer together. She looked down. “You had curved spikes at the end of your tail. Where did they go?”
The scythes are retractable and only for battle.
She walked the length of his tail, trailing her fingers along the scales, careful to avoid the spikes that adorned the top. “It’s amazing
that no one knows you exist.”
Our magic is powerful but with that power comes sacrifice. We must wait for a woman with magic that can bind with ours.
She frowned. “What happens if you don’t find her?”
We turn dark. Then all hope is lost. A black dragon cannot mate. Cannot produce young.
“You said they destroyed the druids. Why would the black dragons attack them if they needed their blood to—you know?”
The blacks did not destroy the druids. The mages did. They feared the alliance the druid women had with the dragons. They wanted us all destroyed. They killed the druids hoping to bring around our eventual destruction.
“You said you made a truce with the black dragons.”
Yes. With the druids gone, the blacks had no way to achieve their temporary high. One of the few druid women left cast a spell, sending her power across the lands. She said we had to destroy the Mages or they would seek and destroy the women born of the power. We made the truce with the blacks and destroyed the Mages. There was nothing to fight over, so we went our separate ways. Both clans have been searching for women with druid power ever since.
“I wonder why it took so long for you to find one of us?”
Legion believes there had to be many women with the power before it would surface.
Robin swallowed. “What do you want from me, Ash?” She watched in fascination as the surrounding air shimmered, leaving him naked and standing before her.
“I want only you.” He held out his hand. “Let me show you. Let me take you flying.”
She felt her skin tingle. Excitement a living flame beneath her skin. “I’d like that.”
Ash backed away with his human form shimmering, then the copper dragon raised his tail, wrapping it around her back, pulling her toward his body.
She put her hands on his side. “How do I get up?”
Climb onto my tail. I will lift you.
Robin did as he asked, nestling on the base of his neck with her legs on either side. “I’m ready.”
Ash put his wings out, flapping them up and down before launching into the air.
It took her a moment to move in rhythm with his wing strokes. The ebb and flow of air and his power made her feel like a princess surveying her lands. Forest and beauty lay in every direction. This was freedom. This was life. She felt the tears roll down her face. She lay her head against his powerful neck, needing the warmth of his skin.