The Dragon's Mate, page 8
Jabari tipped his head to the side. “You do not owe me anything. Nadim was very clever, and I was a fool. I left our realm of my own freewill. I... had I stayed, I would never have suffered, this is true. However, I also wouldn’t have met my truemate.” He dropped his arms to his sides.
“Ah, you fucked up with her. This I know very well. See this beauty?” Nikai shifted, motioning to the pink dragon.
“This is where he’s going to tell you how he was tricked by Nadim as well and missed out on the first few thousand years of my life as well. So, let’s skip all that and... well, would you look at that?” Lula pointed up to the sky.
He caught his breath as he watched a huge pink dragon appear with a black panther on her back. They landed soundlessly several yards from him. His mate jumped down from the dragon, looking back at her as if they were speaking. As he watched, she shook her entire body until something small went flying, gold flecks sprinkling the air.
“Rude kitty,” a tiny voice yelled.
The black panther stood and stared at him. He wasn’t sure what to say or do. His heart was beating like crazy and if he’d been mortal, he might’ve feared the organ would explode. He’d wanted to see her animal so many times, had dreamed of what she’d look like. Yet, she was even prettier than he’d imagined.
He lifted his right hand, waiting for her to come to him. She moved like a stalking animal would its prey. Jabari hid his smile, knowing he’d let her stalk him anytime. In the grey realm, her black coat shined liked the most precious onyx he’d ever seen. His fingers itched to touch her fur and see if she was as soft.
Before she reached him, a blast of fire hit him in the side, knocking him off of his feet. His dragon burst from him, swooping his mate into one clawed hand to protect her from whatever had attacked him. His eyes went to the male who’d claimed to not be the same as his twin. The black dragon stood in front of the pink dragon while the other pink dragon was facing off against two golden dragons.
Another break in the sky appeared. His heart stuttered at the instant recognition. ‘Mine.’
Reaching out through a path only a child and a parent would have, Jabari locked in on the girl, not knowing her name. ‘My name is Jabari. Your mother is here, but I need you to protect her.’
The female’s dark eyes snared his. ‘You protect my mother. I will take care of the beotches who thought to harm her and my family. Go inside The Keep behind you. They cannot breech its walls and tell Koa you’re my father. Where is Mina?’
Jabari wasn’t sure who Mina was, but he’d be damned if he ran behind some walls while his child fought dragons. A huge beast flew around him. He blinked and blinked again, wondering what the fuck he was seeing.
“That’s my mate. Isn’t he magnificent? Now go and make sure you keep my mother safe. She’s been through a lot, and I’d hate to have to eat you if she gets hurt, daddy. Nope, not that. Daddio, Hmm, gonna have to think on it a bit. Let it marinate.”
His daughter’s mate was a wolf-dragon, which apparently was a mix of the two beasts. Jabari wasn’t how he’d come to be, but the beast flying with his child sure as hell looked like a huge wolf in all ways except for the fact he had a wingspan that was as remarkable as well, as his own. Shit, he didn’t even know such an animal was possible.
Since his own mate wasn’t making a sound, his top priority was seeing to her first. With no other recourse, he headed for The Keep, taking the passage his daughter had shown him, shifting at the last second to human with Asia cradled in his arms in her panther form. There was a warmth, almost jelly feel when they entered through the opening.
Magic. Powerful magic protected The Keep.
He conjured up bedding to lay Asia on, brushing his hand down her side, checking for injuries.
Asia’s sides rose and fell with her even breaths, and then the panther shifted into the woman. A gloriously naked woman.
“What happened?” she asked in a whispery tone.
He looked over his shoulder to keep from ogling her perfect body. Goddess, she was beautiful, even more so than she’d been the night he’d met her. The sound of roars was muted, but there was no mistaking a battle raged outside the walls.
“Let me up, Jabari. I need to... help.” Asia pushed herself into a sitting position, yelping as she looked down.
Jabari opened his mouth to offer his assistance, but his amazing mate was already clothed before he could. His sigh was heartfelt because she truly looked delicious without a stitch on.
“Who are the gold dragons, and why are they fighting our people?” she asked.
Satisfaction filled him that she included herself amongst them. “I’m not sure, Hirra. One of the golden dragons attacked me as soon as you arrived with Belle. I wasn’t even aware of their presence, and neither was Nikai or Lula, to my knowledge. The one hit me with flames while I was entranced by your beauty. I hazard to guess by the shocked expression on our friends faces, they too hadn’t seen either dragon coming.”
Asia scrambled onto her knees and ran her hands down his sides. “Where are you hurt? Dragon fire can hurt and even kill other dragons.”
His dragon trilled, the happy sound rumbling out of him at the feel of their mate’s hands on their body for the first time in way too long.
“Oh, am I hurting you?” Asia attempted to move away from him.
Jabari grabbed her by the waist, holding her in place. “No, don’t stop touching me.” He shuddered, unable to contain the movement.
“Are you two gonna do the hokey pokey right here in the courtyard?”
His mate dropped her forehead onto his chest. Her laughter was a balm to his ragged nerves. Jabari searched for the source of the voice, noticing a tiny female at the foot of the bedding. He lifted a brow. “And who might you be, female?”
The tiny thing puffed out her chest and shook out her dress. She then did something he hadn’t seen in a very long time. She bowed to him. “I am Mina. My family has always looked after your father’s family. However, your uncle, not that one, but the other one, he banished us with magic we were unaware of. We found this realm with Lord Mkikoa. He is quite lovely, the Lord. Although, he has his issues, he allowed us to stay and have a safe haven here. You’re your child, Egypt, arrived I sensed the dragon within her. After some time, it became apparent she was of your royal line. I admit, I was a little hard on her at first, but that was because she was hiding her dragon, or so we thought. Anyhoo, we are now best friends, and you are here, and you can now take us home if we wish. However, I don’t want to go back to Dragon unless of course Egypt does.”
Jabari rubbed his temple, jumping at the feel of the ground shaking under them.
“What the hell is going on around here?”
Mina jumped behind Jabari, tiny feet working their way up until he was sure she was hiding under his hair. He jumped between Asia and the male coming toward him. Although he could see an aura of power ringing him, Jabari stood his ground.
“Nadir?”
Another boom from outside The Keep made them both look at the battle. Asia cried out, jumping to her feet. “Egypt,” she cried.
“Egypt?” the male asked. “Wait. What the fuck is going on? Stay right here, the three of you. Yes, you too, Minilina.”
Jabari found himself sitting on the bedding with Asia in his arms as if he’d sat himself there. He looked at her puzzled face. Mina tugged on his ear, annoying the fuck out of him. “What?” he growled.
“That’s Lord Mkikoa. He’s very bossy, and it’s best to let him handle things. He’ll spank the bad dragons, and everything will be fine.” Mina jumped from his shoulder, gold glitter fluttering in her wake.
Through the large opening, there were two black dragons, two pink dragons, and the freaky wolf-dragon fighting a half dozen golden dragons. From the looks of the golden ones, he was pretty sure they were all female and pissed as hell.
Lord Mkikoa was a big male; Jabari would give him that, but he didn’t smell dragon on him. However, he walked into the battle with his white, blond hair blowing behind him as if it was electricity in itself. In a booming voice, he yelled one word. “Stop.”
The gold dragons pulled up short, their flames dying instantly. The male snapped his fingers and pointed at the ground by his feet. Jabari tipped his head to the side, waiting and watching. Surely six full-grown dragons wouldn’t be listening to him by... well, shit. They all swooped down, cracking the surface with their massive size. Now that they were closer, he noticed they were much larger than his people.
“What is the meaning of this?” Mkikoa waved his hand in the direction of the hovering dragons.
The golden dragons hung their heads, none speaking. His daughter shifted, landing softly with the wolf landing next to her but staying in his form.
“Koa, I have a confession to make. One time I stepped outside The Keep walls and encountered one of these beauties. Maybe they thought I was challenging them?” Egypt said, walking up to Koa.
The male shook his head, holding out his hand. Jabari wanted to bite the male. That was his daughter, not that... that male’s.
“They know better than to harm any who are inside or outside The Keep. I didn’t want you to leave the protection of The Keep because I didn’t want to lose track of you. Which I obviously did.” Koa looked down at Egypt, then ran his hand down her cheek.
“I’m sorry I left without telling you, but I didn’t want you to take me to the Dragon Realm. Although as you can see, I did find my family.” She waved at the dragons around her, then looked into the opening meeting Jabari’s gaze. “I haven’t formerly met my father, though. Mainly because, well because of this tussle.”
“I must apologize for my nieces. You see, my sister mated a dragon and had these little rascals, and they, for some reason, think they own this entire realm. Shift girls.” Koa snapped his fingers.
Jabari held Asia’s hand as they walked out of The Keep. They, along with the others, gasped at the tiny things that took the place of the huge dragons. Shit, they were babies.
“I know what you’re thinking. We thought they were twins, but there were triplets in each egg. So, yeah, they’re tiny in this form, but quite large in their dragons. Of course, I think when they become adults they’ll grow out of their immaturity, Goddess willing.” He waved for the girls to come forward, kissing each on the cheek. “Tell them you’re sorry for trying to hurt them.”
Several of the girls muttered ‘Sorry’ while a couple said, ‘We didn’t try to hurt, only maim’, which made Lula snort.
Egypt’s mate shifted. The male was even larger than Koa. “Wait, they were hatched not birthed?” Xian, his daughter’s mate asked.
Koa laughed before he answered, but Jabari wondered the same thing. Hell, he hadn’t known any dragon laid eggs to birth a child.
“No, Goddess, what the hell? I meant inside. Don’t you know about the birds and the bees. A female releases an egg. A male has sperm that swims up and fertilizes said egg. After a gestational period, depending on the species, or realm, a child is born. In the case of my nieces, my sister had two eggs or so we thought. However, our kind is very different to any of yours. Well, I’m not sure about that one.” He pointed at Xian.
“Hey, I’m a wolf who bonded with the daughter of Satan who is also half of something with kick-ass wings. Hence my wolf with wings.”
Koa flashed in front of Xian, his eyes turning white. “What is this female’s name?”
“None of your business. She’s one of ours, and we protect what’s ours. Besides, you fuck with her, you meet her big brother. Trust me, he makes Satan look like an angel.”
“Alright, I think our work here is done. Egypt, are you and Xian ready to return to Earth, or you going to chill here? I need to get going because my baby needs me to save her from her daddies who are driving her nuts.” Lula pointed at her head.
“I think it’s time we all return home.” Jabari looked down at Asia. “Where is your home?”
Asia looked around, then up at him. “Fey. The Fey realm is where I’ve lived for the last few years, but... I’m not sure where I belong. Egypt was taken from there a couple years ago in Earth time and brought back here. But for her, it was twenty years. Now, she has a mate, and I don’t know what I have.”
Jabari tipped her face up to his using his thumb and forefinger. “You have me. You’ve always had me. We have a lot to talk about, Hirra. I have a lot to explain and even more to apologize for, but not here. Egypt, where are you and your mate planning on going?” he asked, tearing his gaze away from Asia.
“We’re not sure if Xian would be able to live on Fey with his bond to Liv and having part of her essence in him. She’s one hundred percent good, but the whole Satan for a dad might not be accepted by the Fey Realm itself. We’re not willing to risk it until after Jenna has spoken with the Goddess, but we’ve been too...err, busy to find out.” His daughter ducked her head against her mate’s chest.
“Mate, it is up to you where we go. If you want to be near our daughter, I can ensure we have a safe place there. If you want to go to Fey, I’m sure I can secure that as well.” He met Nikai’s gaze, getting a nod of approval there.
“There’s a cave my dad and I had used when I was younger. Belle fixed it up for Egypt and I for our mating. There is plenty of property surrounding it that you can secure a place for the both of you, and honestly, I didn’t plan to take up residency near the others. I love my parents but being in close quarters with the elders was making my wolfagon’s hackles rise too much.” Xian shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal that he was putting space between he and his parents.
“That sounds like a good plan. Not too close to you two though,” Jabari said, lifting one brow.
Egypt rolled her eyes.
Asia groaned.
Jabari looked at the mixed group of shifters and realized these were the people he’d choose to call his. One day, he’d travel home to see his parents and his grandparents. His siblings would be grown and possibly have kids of their own. Yet, the people who mattered most to him were the ones who would fight for him, die for him. This crazy, ragtag bunch, they had been willing to battle a group of golden dragons they didn’t know were children, that were bigger than them, for a virtual stranger. No, he wouldn’t be getting a place next to his daughter. That was a torture no parent needed, especially not a newly mated one. Yet he wanted to be close to her, not only for his sake, but because he knew his mate needed it.
CHAPTER TEN
Asia shifted back into her panther and climbed onto Jabari’s back. What the heck had she been thinking? How had she believed the vamp’s story, when his depravity was nothing but cruelty and pain, totally opposite to all that was Jabari.
‘Because he was a master manipulator, Hirra. I spent countless time with him as one of my watchers. I did not think to look closer at him and see if he was more than another mindless follower of Virote. I’m sure he didn’t either.’
Like always, it fell back to that night. They needed to discuss what happened because she still had a blank space. ‘I know you’re right, and I know what you say is true. I just wish things could’ve been different.’
Lula led the way with Nikai and Belle taking up the rear while Egypt and Xian flew between them. She was pretty sure Mina was riding shotgun on somebody. The tiny brownie was a handful, but she was grateful her daughter had somebody who’d been a friend while she’d been away for so long.
Riding on the back of Jabari was different than the female dragons. For one, the others were female. For two, this was her mate. She really wanted to enjoy the experience instead of thinking about what might have been. Time couldn’t be erased or turned back. Well, maybe it could, but shit got fucked up when you screwed with it.
The slip into Earth hit differently this time. Usually one of the pink dragons ensured she was prepared with happy juice, so she didn’t get sick, so she was prepared for a little nausea. Most who traveled through realms in a piggyback fashion needed help or suffered, but when they landed on Earth, she was steady. In fact, she felt renewed as if she’d just visited a spa and was well-rested.
Asia slid off of Jabari, meeting up with her daughter in the middle of the dragons after she shifted. Goddess, she was a gorgeous young lady. “I’m so proud of you,” she told her.
Egypt’s smile lit up her face. “I’m proud to be your daughter. You know that, right?”
She briefly closed her eyes, took a second to breathe and try to get her emotions under control. When she was sure she wouldn’t break down into sobs, she said, “I’m sorry I wasn’t better and that I didn’t get us out of there.”
If it hadn’t been for her daughter’s attempted suicide, there wouldn’t have been a chance for either of them. Of course, Egypt wouldn’t have died from what she’d done. It was her way of trying to save them, hoping she could escape and get help. Fate had worked in their favor.
“We are not going there, mom. I believe the Goddess had a plan. She just had to work around some roadblocks. You know, kinda like swerving instead of busting through the boulders in our way.” Egypt tucked a strand of hair behind Asia’s ear.
Laughing, Asia did the same to her daughter, an action she’d done since Egypt had been a child. “You’re far wiser than me.”
Her daughter waggled her brows, looking over at her mate. “Actually, if you think about it, I’m closer to your age now.”
It was shocking to hear her daughter speak a truth that she’d forgotten. Since Egypt had been taken when she was a teen and spent over twenty years away from her, she would technically be in her thirties. Asia had been eighteen when she’d had Egypt and spent the following years as Kenneth’s captive. Add in the time on Fey and the two years they spent searching for the children... shit, her daughter was correct.
