The Dragon's Mate, page 7
“Think,” she whispered. She remembered being in the clearing talking to Belle and Nikai. What had occurred to send her here, wherever here was?
The door opened, shielding her behind it. She held still, trying to gauge who the intruder was. Her panther raked at her, then the familiar scent of Lula wafted into the room as the door opened again.
“Asia Light, stop hiding behind the door and calm the heck down, you’re freaking the good doctor out.” Lula said, sighing loudly.
Why the dragon’s exasperation made her laugh, she didn’t know, but she did. Once she started, she couldn’t stop. She slid down the wall, laughing and crying until her bottom hit the floor. Lula came and sat next to her, silently giving her strength. The woman who must’ve been the one who came in before Lula sat down as well, but Asia didn’t look up.
“Okay, you done leaking all over yourself?” Lula asked.
A slight hiccup laugh was her answer, and then she saw a tissue in her line of sight. Asia lifted her head, taking the proffered item with a smile. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Can’t have you leaking all over yourself, now, can we? I’m Laikyn by the way. Or good doctor as Lula called me.”
Asia knew who she was. Since she was the mate to the alpha and had given birth to the four quads who had disappeared with Egypt. They’d all had a—sort of bond no parent should experience. “I remember,” she said. She’d met them when they’d come to Fey years ago.
“Good,” Laikyn agreed.
“Ah, you were worried I’d lost my mind. So, what’s going on here?” Asia blew her nose, uncaring that it was a little rude.
“Well, it appears we all have a lot of adjusting to do. Our babies have returned, grown ass men and women, who apparently led lives away from us. While I want to ask Jenna to magic them back to the way they were, which she can, I along with the other parents know that would be selfish.” Laikyn scooted next to Asia, resting her back against the door. Asia wondered what would happen if someone were to try to come in but figured they’d all hear long before they tried.
“I know it’s not fair, but dammit, I, we, missed so much. At least your children had each other. Egypt was all alone, and now she’s found her mate and I’m—I have nothing.” She shut her eyes so she couldn’t see the condemnation in theirs.
A low growl came from the alpha female. “Your child was safe in The Keep like a pampered princess, female. Our children may have had one another, but they were jumping from realm to vile realm, fighting, killing, barely surviving as they tried to find a way back to us. The horrors they faced are yet to be revealed to us, so don’t give me that bullshit that your child had it worse than ours. You had years with your child, while I had a measly four with mine.”
Asia shifted to her feet as Laikyn did. The wolf close to the surface within the other female. “I had years of horrors with Egypt, female. So many years where I spent every day, every night, protecting her from a male who claimed to be my mate. I hid her from him as best I could, taking his beatings so that he’d leave her alone, and even when I could barely walk, when bones were broken and lungs punctured, I’d get her out of her hiding place and take her out to play because she deserved a little happiness. I wish I could’ve done more. I wish I could’ve given her more. I failed her at every turn. Even when I took her to a realm that was supposed to be safe, I failed her. The only place she’s ever been safe was away from me. For twenty years, she found safety away from me, her mother. How do I live, where do I go now that I have nothing to live for?”
She couldn’t stay there with waves of pity rolling off either of the females. They had lives, and mates. Children who loved and wanted to be with them because they hadn’t failed them.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jabari stopped floating with the air current, his dragon tugging at him to go down to the surface of earth. ‘Up here we are free until we find the bastards who need to pay. We are vengeance.’
The stubborn dragon ignored him, pushing him downward. They’d moved away from the strange mountain with faces carved into the side and all the humans flocking to view it.
His favorite smell in all the realms hit him. Spiced apple, a scent he’d recognize anywhere and was one he’d only ever distinguished with one person. His mate.
The closer they came to the trees and human dwellings, he couldn’t help but notice how pronounced, the wonderfully intoxicating aroma became. He scanned the hills and valleys, searching for what he didn’t know. Dear Dragon’s Bones, she could be anywhere, with another male. If he were to come upon her and she was bonded with some—he couldn’t even finish the thought without wanting to burn the entire forest below him.
Other things began to flow into his memory bank. His recollection recognizing the different scents, filtering through them until he could place them as what they were. Wolves, lots of wolves. His long sleep, buried beneath the ground as he regenerated from miniscule drops of his blood, that must’ve slipped through a crack in the ground in the enclave’s dungeon, had taken him years to reform. He had to be thankful nobody had dug his sorry excuse of a body up during his healing, or they’d have probably sent him off to a lab for scientific purposes.
Following his mate’s trail, he wasn’t sure if he was happy that she’d obviously found a place with the wolves. She was a panther, and while most of her kind turned their noses up at mixing with other species, her Claw had sold her for their own gain. Asia would’ve been running for her life, and he’d ensured she wouldn’t have a reason to look back or think about the enclave, or him. He’d literally handed her to the wolves, erasing their time from her mind and implanting a compulsion for her to search them out. Jabari wanted her to be far from the vampires’ reach, which meant she would’ve instinctually felt safety with the Iron Wolves. Unlike with him in the filthy cage where he’d taken her innocence.
He circled the large property that smelled of fur, noticing magic of some sort ringing it for miles and miles. If he’d been in a substantial form, he might’ve felt a little zing from the power put into the protection that surrounded the property. ‘Good wolves. Protect your families.’
As he was making his second trip around, he saw a flash of dark hair running out of one of the buildings. His dragon zeroed in on the petite form of the female. A deep rumble shook him. ‘Mate’
She streaked across the parking lot, her bare feet slapping against the concrete. Jabari moved closer, monitoring her for injuries as she ran. Pain hit him. Her pain. ‘Fix mate,’ his dragon ordered. He ignored the beast, keeping up with her as she left the open lot and entered the woods. A door slammed shut behind them, female voices shouting for Asia to stop. He tossed up a small block, hiding Asia from their view. If his mate was running and she was in pain, he’d find out why and kill whoever hurt her.
They ran, or rather she ran. He stayed with her, keeping her safe for miles. Jabari kept waiting for her to shift, wanting to see her panther. The last two he’d seen had been in the enclave. Those he’d wanted to kill. Asia’s, he wanted to behold and connect with.
He became aware of the sound of water, worrying she planned to go swimming in something he wasn’t familiar with. Shit. Finally, she came to a stop at the edge of a cliff, bending over with her hands on her knees. Jabari floated to the ground a few feet from her, waiting to become solid. Her breathing was erratic, her heartbeat way too fast for a shifter. For the first time in all his hundreds of years, he was scared.
“Fuuuckkk,” she yelled.
Her curse startled him.
“It’s not fair, dammit. I fucking hate you. Ahh,” she screamed, tossing her head backward. “For years I suffered, taking what he gave me because I thought I deserved it. Why? Why did you make me, and my child go through that?”
His heart shattered. She’d had a child by another male. What had the bastard done to Asia that made this beautiful, strong, courageous woman fall apart? And where was her child? Jabari would find him, and he would kill him, slowly. His dragon growled, smoke billowing out of him.
ASIA FELL TO HER KNEES, dropping her head in shame. Goddess, she was such a cry baby.
She lifted her head, smelling sulfur. A startled breath left her at the sight of a male she was sure she’d never see again. A male she’d thought she’d made up. “Jabari?” she asked, blinking furiously.
When he didn’t answer, she let her head fall forward, a tear slipping down her cheek.
“Why are you crying?”
She jerked her head back up. “Are you really here?”
He dropped down in front of her, his hands cradling her face. “My Hirra, I have done nothing but think about you since I sent you away. Why are you crying? Who is the male that... this male who hurt your child? I will hunt him down and kill him.”
Asia stared into his dark eyes, seeing the male she’d known was her mate all those years ago. How did he know about her child and about them being hurt? She scrambled backward, falling as she tried to get away. Doing a crabwalk, she shook her head, knowing he was powerful beyond her comprehension. “Oh fuck, were you working with them? Was that what all this was? You get the panther girl pregnant and then what?”
She didn’t care that she sounded hysterical. Goddess, had he intentionally gotten her pregnant then sent her to Kenneth? Sent her and his child to be abused for years?
He got to his feet, looking larger than life. “You had my child? A male hurt you and my child?”
The rage vibrating through him was palpable. If she could’ve shifted, Asia would’ve, right then and there. Heck, she’d have run for her life, for the male in front of her was not only a dragon, but he was also a dragon who had lost all sense of humanity. The huge black dragon roared out of the almost gaunt male, bursting into the air with flames shooting into the sky farther than any she’d seen. Good Goddess, what had she done?
Opening her mind, she called out to Belle and Lula, then she reached for her daughter, knowing nothing short of seeing his child would calm the crazed dragon. Words wouldn’t do, so she sent them images and memories of what had transpired. An S.O.S that she prayed they heeded post haste, or else the dragon she’d mated with would burn the entire world in his anger.
“Well, you sure did mess that one up.”
She yelped at the sound of Mina so close to her ear. Bringing her hand up, she pulled the little brownie down, looking at the perplexed face of the female. “I didn’t do it on purpose, dammit. Shit, what the heck am I going to do?”
Asia looked around the woods, astounded to see she’d fled so far from the clubhouse and clinic where she’d woken up.
“Find your panther and wake her lazy ass up. You’re not a victim anymore, Asia. Stop allowing what happened to you, to define what you are and take control of who you will be. Or do you like being a victim? I mean, if that is what you wish, then by all means, don’t let me stop you.” Mina jumped from her palm, shimmering gold following in her wake, before she formed into a full-sized female.
“How dare you. You have no clue what I went through,” Asia growled, stalking closer to the other woman.
Mina stood her ground and nodded. “Ah, that’s where you’re wrong, panther. I know exactly what you’ve gone through and guess what?” She leaned closer so that her lips were next to Asia’s ear. “I’ve been through worse. Far worse. Do you see me standing on the edge of a cliff screaming? Well, okay, I did at one time. But I picked myself up, dusted off my ass, wiped my tears, and I killed a lot of people. It felt really fucking good too. And then, I became a protector. You, you were already a protector. You’re a mother, but now your child has a mate who will protect her. It’s your turn to find happiness, but first, you need to pick your ass up off the ground and stop boohooing. Bad shit happens to everyone, especially the good ones, like you. Like me. What makes us different than the whiners is that we have something inside of us that can, and will, help us kick some ass. Find your inner beast and let her out, Asia. Don’t keep her locked up any longer.” Mina touched her forehead.
Asia sucked in a breath. A little tingle began where Mina’s finger had been, then warmth spread throughout her. Her panther rolled within her. The familiar beast rising quickly. When she felt the fur pushing through her skin, she let it. She let the animal have her skin, let her panther free, and it was as if she had another part of her returned. Her cat chuffed. The loud sound of joy was repeated until she noticed a shadow overhead. Her panther stalked into the trees, looking for cover, climbing up the trunk of one until it reached the branches.
‘Asia, we found your... Jabari. We need you to come with us to help calm him.’ Belle’s voice was a command in her head. Her panther hissed in warning, not liking the female ordering them around.
When something tugged on her tail, she looked over her shoulder. Only slightly surprised to find Mina on her back. Did the brownie have no survival skills? She could eat her.
“Chop, chop. I taste really bad, so quit thinking that way. Now, stop being a bad kitty and let the dragon fly us to your mate.” Mina wagged her finger at Asia. Of course she had Asia’s tail in her hand acting like she was chewing on it as she did so, which made Asia want to take a bite of her.
Belle’s huge dragon made the trees shake with her wings flapping too close. Asia closed her eyes and opened the link to the dragon. ‘Come pick me up, but I’m in my panther form.’
‘Ah, pretty kitty,’ Belle murmured.
She wasn’t sure how Belle could see her, but then she leapt down from her perch, landing, and running swiftly into the opening. She thought the pink dragon would land so she could climb onto her back like she’d done many times before. Belle being, well, Belle, she flashed Asia onto her back, making her scrabble to hold on. “Dang it, female. I could hurt you with my claws,” Asia roared.
The huge beast below her sent her an image of her rolling big purple eyes and snorted.
Mina whooped like she was having the time of her life from on top of Asia’s back. Seriously, how was she not dead yet?
“I’m really hard to kill. Many have tried, none have succeeded.”
Asia wasn’t touching that with a ten-foot pole.
The world around them disappeared, making Mina squeak. Asia held on tighter to Belle with her claws gripping onto the scales beneath her. She really hoped Belle hadn’t been fibbing about her not being able to hurt her, ’cause she was sure her claws were sunk in so far, she might need to shift to get them out.
CHAPTER NINE
Jabari saw the huge black dragon followed by a pink one coming toward him. His mind scrambled, trying to place them. Were they who had hurt his female? Was the pink dragon his child? He inhaled, trying to take in the scents around him.
He recognized the scent of his home realm and family. The male dragon... his uncle, the bastard who’d tricked him into going with him to Earth all those years ago, gifting him what he thought was a family relic, when in truth was a cursed collar that kept him from shifting. The fire inside him roared hotter than ever.
“Do not think to shoot your flames at me or my child, Jabari. You may be my nephew, but hurt my daughter, and I’ll have no choice but to shut you down.”
“Geez, dad, I’m pretty sure I can take care of myself. You know, I’ve been doing it for well over three thousand years. Besides, I have my own child to get home to and those two growly bears who would be very upset if they had to raise Stellina on their own.”
Their conversation pulled him up short, his wings sending a current of wind that should’ve bowled the two other dragons at least back a little. “What do you want?” he growled.
“Earth is not the place to discuss family business, which is clearly is a volatile subject.” The male’s growl probably scared most beings.
He opened his snout to ask where he thought would be better when the other dragons zipped forward, snagging him in a strange vortex he had no way of escaping. His beast roared; their flames sucked back into their ignition box within them. They landed on solid ground, the three separating seamlessly. Jabari rolled, tucking his wings against his sides. The cells within him filled up, taking in nutrients from the air and ground as he rolled, yet he knew this wasn’t his home realm. Coming to a stop, he lay on his back, staring up at the strange sky cast in greys. Pain filled him with each cell of his starved body, fibers of collagen proteins and mucopolysachaside protein complex filling the hollow bones, making him stronger, making him what he was before he’d been taken and starved to near death. His dragon receded, allowing him to shift back to his male form.
He turned to the side, curling into himself. “Fuckkk!”
The strength to add clothing was too much at the moment, so he lay there, uncaring that two people he didn’t know stood and watched him. After long seconds of him taking deep breaths, waiting for the growing pains to subside, he got to his feet, adding low slung jeans to his lower half.
“Denim huh?” The male asked.
“They were what the humans wore. Who are you?” Jabari crossed his arms over his chest. “Where are we?”
“Oh for Goddess sake. This is your uncle Nikai, or King Nikai, whatever you wish to call him. I call him dad now. I’m Lula, your cousin, or something like that. Whatever I’m supposed to be to you. But let me be very clear of two things. One, I will kill you if you harm one hair on any of my friends’ heads. That is any of the shifters you were so close to moments ago. Two, I will kill you if you harm one scale on this old dude.” She hiked her thumb at Nikai.
“You’re Nikai, not Nadim?” Jabari asked, unable to stop the growl at the name of the uncle who’d sold him.
Nikai narrowed his eyes. “I killed Nadim myself. Before you say anything foolish, let me clarify something. I would kill him a hundred times if I could. We didn’t know, or rather I didn’t know about what he’d done to you. I’ve searched for you, but he... he had the help of magic that was forbidden in our realm. It wasn’t anything we’d seen nor thought to look for. For that, I apologize and will owe you and your mate for all you lost.”
