by Milly Taiden
Her mind tried to get her thinking about Tor and what it could mean for her to be one of his brothers’ mates. She refused to give that thought another moment. Not when she was so shaken already.
She sent a text to Lexi to make sure all was okay with her mom. Lexi replied just as quickly and told her she’d been sleeping and they’d given her more pain meds when she mumbled about everything hurting.
Someone knocked at her door. She glanced at her clock. She still had twenty minutes before her next appointment.
She got up to open the door but once she got there, something told her not to open it. She rushed back to her desk when the door slammed open, the wood hitting the wall and bouncing back.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Morgan glanced over her shoulder at a guy standing there. He wore all black, his eyes a deep burgundy and his skin the color of gold. She got to her desk and grabbed her phone but he was there, knocking it out of her hand before she got a chance to press a single key.
He picked her up by the front of her jacket, shaking her to the point her glasses fell from her face. “My mistress wants to meet you.”
“Oh, really?”
His eyes blazed a fiery red with flames licking at his irises. “Yes, she does. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”
She ground her teeth and slammed her knee into his crotch. “The hard way, asshole! Something you might never be again!”
He dropped her and doubled over in pain. She heard him gagging as if he was going to throw up. She winced and tried to ignore his pain. Block it out. Just block it out. She’d hit him as hard as possible, not caring for his ability to conceive for the rest of his life.
She crawled around him, trying to reach the phone he’d knocked out of her hand. She finally jumped to her feet, unsure where the damn thing landed and ran for the door. She yanked the door to the stairs open and hauled ass down the three flights.
A loud roar sounded at the top of the stairwell and she knew a very pissed off black dragon was coming her way. She ran to the lobby but none of the security were anywhere to be found. The phone had been ripped out of the reception desk. Goddammit!
Morgan ran outside and felt her heart stop in her chest. A van started speeding toward the front of the building. Not a single fucking person was outside at that time. She’d known the area was quiet with everyone in their offices during business hours, but dammit this was surreal. She remembered the deli around the block she always went to for coffee and knew there would be someone there.
Fuck. Now what? She darted around the corner and started crossing the alley, uncaring of the puddles of water splashing on her cream pants. She was halfway down the alley when someone landed in front of her, stopping her movement to get to the deli not twenty feet away.
It really wasn’t her day. She did the fastest U-turn known to man and almost landed on her ass trying to get away from the guy that somehow got from the damn stairs to the alley ahead of her. Fucking dragons and their super powers.
At that moment, she wished she had some kind of bat signal to get a hold of Tor. She got to the side of the alley she’d come from and stopped just in time to see the van being engulfed in flames. She gasped and glanced at Tor in his dragon of blue scales shooting and targeting fireballs at the van and those that ran out of it.
The guy behind her was no longer there. There was a pile of shredded clothes on the ground and then a big shadow went above her head.
She couldn’t believe how much bigger Tor’s dragon was compared to the black and red one. The guy’s flames were tiny compared to Tor’s. She was scared but wished she could grab something and beat the motherfucker down for making her run. She was still trying to catch her breath.
The fight was on. Tor’s dragon was angry. She could see it in the color of his scales, the blue tinged with orange. He sent missiles at the black who did a bang up job of dodging them and making some of them hit signs and buildings by changing course at the last second. The guy was clearly well aware of how the Drachen fought.
He came back with a quick attack, shooting blaze after blaze of red fire at Tor but she didn't hear him or feel him have any pain. Tor shot into the sky, pushing far and fast. The black followed. Then he headed east, so fast and far she couldn’t see them any longer. She didn't know what was going on, but she couldn't mentally reach out to know if either was in pain.
She glanced around the empty streets, the van was on fire and people suddenly came out of buildings, looking for whatever was making the racket. The sound of sirens came from down the road. Fire trucks surrounded the exits and stopped all traffic, not that there was any to begin with. Still, no sign of Tor.
Her heart bled from the thought of him being hurt. She couldn't believe he’d left only to get killed somewhere she couldn't help him.
She ran inside her building, looking to get away from the police officers asking questions and the curious onlookers. Already some were staring at her weird for her dirty, torn suit.
Upstairs, she waited what felt like an eternity, staring at her cell phone. She’d found it and her glasses on the floor, not too far from her desk. Her door creaked. Her gaze shot up and there he was, his clothes on haphazardly, but alive.
She jumped to her feet and flew into his arms. There was no hesitation. No questioning. She thanked every deity in the universe for his safety and met his gaze. There was so much anger in his eyes, anger and fear. Which she knew well didn't belong together but she could almost feel his worry like her own.
“Are you okay?” his voice was low and rough, like it had been run through sandpaper.
“Yes, you?” She gulped. “I was so scared when you flew away and I couldn’t see you.”
He held her closer and once again, the warmth in his body soothed the chill in her bones. “I’m fine. I knew I couldn't stay and kill him here, not near you.”
She frowned. “Why not?”
He cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead. “I couldn’t bear to see you suffer through his death.”
“I saw you get hurt several times with his fire balls but I couldn’t sense it.”
“I blocked it so you wouldn’t feel what I felt. I don’t ever want to know you are hurting. I’ll do whatever I have to do to stop it. Even if I have to block my pain to my last breath.”
She felt her lip quiver and kissed the hand cupping her jaw. “I wish I knew what to do.”
His shoulders slumped and for just a fraction of a second, she felt the pain of knowing he loved her but couldn’t have her. It was devastating.
“Your mark and your mate’s will show itself soon. Then we’ll know.”
She shook her head. “I already love you,” she admitted stubbornly. “I won’t magically fall in love with some other guy because a tattoo shows up on my skin.”
“You can’t fight the mate bond, love. Your love for your mate will grow and it will consume you.” His eyes glowed pure gold. “Until all you want is your mate, your family with him and no one else will matter. Not anyone in the past.”
She didn’t know what to say, so she stayed quiet and let the moment hang in the air. “I need to change and come back for another client I have tonight. Last minute.”
He nodded. “Let’s get you home. I’ll bring you back later.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Once they got to her house, she got rid of her glasses, took a shower and glanced at the clock on her bedside table. They had a few hours before she needed to go for that last minute appointment. Under the circumstances, she was tempted to call and cancel, but she knew her client needed closure and a last moment of peace.
She padded down the hallway to knock at Tor’s room door. He opened up wearing nothing but a towel. The image of where that got them last time flew to the front of her mind.
“Everything okay?”
“Uh, um,” she glanced at the water drops crawling down his body, disappearing into the towel and only god knew down to where. Though, she could imagine. “Yes.
Fine. I just wanted to tell you I’m going to take a nap. I know you didn’t sleep last night, I heard you walking around and was hoping you’d take the time and get some rest, too. After the ordeal at my office, I feel like you need some healing time.”
He gave a sharp nod, his gaze taking in her tank top and shorts. “That sounds like a good idea. I’ll do better if I do get rest now.”
She walked backward, hesitantly. If only she could change the future. If only she could know who her future mate was, then maybe she would be able to figure out where to go from there.
She’d been in bed, dozing in and out of sleep when her cell buzzed. She picked it up, wondering if it was her mother or Lexi.
Sure enough, the text was from Lexi.
M: Come to the hospital asap. Don’t bring Tor. There’s something about him you need to know. He’s been lying to you. He already has a mate.
Her heart froze in her chest. Could it be possible? She sucked in a hard breath. She’d known Lexi all her life. She was her best friend. She’d never lie to her. If she said Tor was mated, then he was the liar.
She slipped clothes on and got the new car keys Tor had given her earlier, leaving as quietly as possible without waking him. She couldn’t go back for her glasses now. Luckily, she could still see, just not as clearly as she did with them on.
She was trying to think of why he’d tell her he had no woman or why he wasn’t mated, when a van came up her side, got in front of her and stopped, making her hit the brakes.
She recognized the men coming out of the van. “Is everything okay, Rusty?”
“It’s my wife, you have to come now. She won’t last ‘til tonight.”
She wanted badly to say no, but her empathy stopped her. Rusty’s pain and his worry for his wife were real. “Okay, I’ll follow you.”
He looked like he wanted to argue with her, but nodded. She proceeded to follow the black van down the road and straight to a main street. She texted Lexi she’d be there later. First she’d see about Rusty’s wife. The woman wouldn’t live long. If only she could help her go in peace, then it would be worth any pain she had to endure.
Half an hour later, her back burning like someone had struck her with a hot poker, she got out of her car at a deserted farm. The old farmhouse was caving in on itself. She could see the beauty it had once been and knew it had fallen to a slow death, like Rusty’s wife.
Rusty took her inside to a room on the first floor. The room was tidy and full of wild flowers in different vases. A very frail woman, her head covered in a silk scarf, lay in the center of the four poster bed.
Morgan’s back burned like someone was lighting a fire back there. She winced at the pain but rushed to the chair by the woman’s side and grasped her hand between hers. The woman opened her eyes. “Am I dead?”
Morgan shook her head. “No, Helena. You’re not dead. I’m here to offer you some comfort.”
Helena glanced past Morgan at Rusty. “Thank you.”
He cleared his throat. “I would give my life for yours if I could.”
Helena smiled. “That’s not necessary, darling. In time, we’ll be together again.”
“Tell me about your marriage,” Morgan asked Helena.
“I met Rusty when we were both little kids. For a long time, I had no idea he even knew I existed, until I turned sixteen.” She chuckled, her laughter turning into a bout of coughs.
“Sixteen is definitely the age where boys realize girls should get their attention.” Morgan grinned, patting Helena’s hand and rubbing circles over the protruding veins.
“We’ve been together since. I could never give him the children he wanted, but he didn’t care.” She met Morgan's gaze. “I had cervical cancer at only twenty and had to have a hysterectomy. He always said I was all the family he needed.” Her eyes watered. “Until the cancer returned. Now he’ll be all alone.”
Morgan could sense Rusty’s pain at her back along with the fear in Helena of leaving him alone.
“I am not letting you go anywhere, sweetheart. We still have many years to live.”
“Oh, Rusty,” Helena gasped. “I love you, but you can be so dense.”
Morgan ignored the fire blazing at her back, ignored the sweat gathering at her upper lip and focused on Helena. On her pain. She pulled at it, soothing where she could and almost massaging the balls of torture the poor woman was dealing with.
Helena gave a small sigh of relief and closed her eyes. Her previously labored breathing calmed. Morgan turned to Rusty, sadness clogging her throat. “You were right. She won’t last long. I’ll stay in the house until she’s passed.”
“Come, I’ll make us some coffee.” Rusty marched out of the room. She stood and walked after him, closing the door behind her.
In the living room, she stopped when she saw the front door open. The other man from the van, she didn’t get his name, was there.
“She’s here,” the tattooed man said.
“Adonis,” Rusty said. “I never told you it was okay to bring her.”
Adonis. Morgan eyed the big guy with the tattoos, piercings all over his head and face, and decided his name was clearly not well thought out.
“You wanted someone to cure, Helena!” Adonis hissed. He eyed Morgan with an evil glare. “All I had to promise the witch was this girl. You were already bringing her here. Two birds. One stone. Get it, old man?”
Morgan’s back finally eased up. She was glad because it seemed she was in some kind of trouble and she’d left her cell phone in the car in her rush to get to the dying Helena.
“She helped Helena rest. For the first time in months, she fell asleep without pain, Adonis!”
“It’s too late to change anything. Sylvana is already here.”
Morgan glanced at the entrance where a new person walked in. She was tall, slim and beautiful with raven long hair and eyes. Her gaze found Morgan and stayed there.
“So, you’re the one,” the woman said in a soft, flinty voice.
“The one?” Morgan widened her stance, realizing this woman was evil not just from her aura, but from what she saw. Something Morgan had never experienced in her life happened then. She saw the past. She saw Sylvana’s past. The images were so fast through her mind, they were almost in a blur. Until it got to her and Tor. Then it was like watching a movie on fast forward. She saw, heard and captured everything as if she’d been there herself.
“Tor’s new play thing.”
Morgan grinned. “No. I’m not his new play thing. He’s an amazing man, but I would never play with him or his emotions.”
Sylvana raised her hands and shoved everything, people and furniture, out of the surroundings, leaving a large open space where only she and Morgan stood. This was the witch. The witch the crown had been made for.
“You are his mate, little human.” Sylvana gave a perfect evil smile. “Yes. I see you are surprised. It’s the truth. You and Tor. But now that will never happen because I’m here to get rid of you. Tor will never know happiness. Ever.”
“You never said she was going to kill her!” Rusty yelled at Adonis.
“How the fuck was I supposed to know? And what does it matter anyway? If she can save Helena?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Morgan shook her head and stared at the witch. Morgan should be afraid. She knew that, but something told her not to worry. That it would all be fine. “She won’t help Helena, Rusty. I’m sorry. She’s only here to kill me.” She glanced at Adonis being held back by a pile of furniture. “And you, too. She knows Rusty’s death will be watching the love of his life die.”
“Very good, little empath,” Sylvana said. “Now tell me something else. Has he fucked you?”
Morgan raised her brows. “I don’t really think that’s any of your business.”
For the first time since she arrived, Sylvana showed her emotions. Fury lit her eyes into pools of red. “He is my business. He’s been mine and will never know another woman as long as he lives.”
“Build all the walls you want, little empath. I already know he fucked you.” Sylvana raised her hands again and a circle of fire surrounded them. Someone whispered in Morgan’s mind. She struggled to listen until she realized it was her Tor.
“Focus on the furniture and move it, Morgan.”
“Tor?”
“You can do this. Move it. Hit her or she will kill you before I get there.”
She wanted to ask how he was in her head or how he knew where to find her, but instead she focused on a big handmade dining room table that looked to weigh a few hundred pounds. It was on its side. The table trembled the longer she stared at it.
“She’s going to kill all of us if we don’t get out of here,” Adonis said to Rusty.
“I’m not leaving this woman behind, not when she helped me. Besides, Helena is in bed, plugged into the painkillers!”
“Suit yourself,” Adonis yelled and tried to head up the stairs. She saw his intent. He was going to try and jump over the railing on to a sofa so he could reach one of the windows closest to him. He was suddenly pulled back down.
“You aren’t leaving us so fast,” Sylvana said to him. “Are you?”
Morgan shut off all the conversation and noise and called the table to fly. It moved so fast, zipping into the air flying at the witch, she almost missed it. The table hit Sylvana on the side, knocking her off her feet.
Sylvana glanced around, looking for the culprit. The earth started shaking. Loud screeching sounds came from the ceiling. Morgan knew that noise. She covered the top of her head and watched as the roof of the house was peeled back by a massive orange dragon.
A loud roar sounded and wings flapped as it shook the house, trying to bring it down.