Bastian's cry moves everything into slow motion. I know his son or mate are gone, possibly both. I get just a touch of Roxy's magic so I know she's alive. This doesn't ease my fear. I'm almost at the door where the children were kept when Bastian walks into the hall with blood covering his chest. I glance into the room and see Ashrac's body. Rage fills me. Bastian reaches the room at the end of the long corridor first with me at his heels. I take in everything at once.My brothers and their mates surround Drakon. He's actually hissing and lunging at each of them in turn. Roxy's face is covered in blood but she's up and ready to kill him. I catch her eye and almost throw the halberd her way. I meet Acasia's gaze and without another thought toss her the halberd. In one motion she catches it and swings.After all the pain he's caused, it seems almost anticlimactic when Drakon's headless body slumps to the floor. Acasia goes to her knees and her wails are as heart wrenching as Bastian'
Betty stands above us on the stairs to watch as our son is born. It's been several hours since the egg began cracking. Tahr is beside me as we behold our miracle. At first, a small claw working against the shell is all we see. Our boy is chipping away at the egg from the inside. The small chirp like noise our son makes warms my heart. The hardest thing to do is to keep from tearing the outer shell away and pulling him against me.Roxy and Acasia warned me of this. As always they were right. The process seems to take forever and this impatient mother is barely holding it together.It's thirty minutes before our son lays inside only half of his egg and pushes the other half away. He's beautiful. I lean in and nuzzle him with my nose sending my warm breath over him. Tahr's rumble is sweet as he moves his own nose closer and sniffs our child to gather his scent.The baby is silver. He spreads his small wings and I see just a hint of yellow on the underside. Our laughter fills the tower.
PART FIVELooking down at the small white business card in my hand, I can't help wondering what I'm doing here. I've sunk so low even my best chess strategy won't save me. I glance up at "ODA" etched in white block letters on the glass door in front of me. Otherworld Dating Agency. Shrugging, I decide to go for broke. What the hell do I have to lose at this point? I open the door and shove it forward a little harder than I meant to. It slams against the far wall with a thud. A woman behind a large oak desk looks up and scowls. I grimace inside my head because I'm accustomed to that exact look from my mother when she's unhappy about something I've done. This won't go well."Mr. Ashrac?" she questions in a sturdy, direct voice, her blue eyes boring into mine. Her white hair is cut in one of those unattractive short styles that many women wear now. A boob, it's called or something like that.A low growl escapes my throat. "The proper title is Ashrac of the Red Dragon Clan," I correct.
The blade slices a centimeter from my brother's face, causing him to jump back with a grunt. "That's what you get for letting your guard down, brother dear," I say without hiding my satisfied grin."I might need to use the flat of my blade across your derri鑢e," he huffs back with a grimace. He lifts his T-shirt displaying a lean torso and a nice defined six-pack. He uses his shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow. He probably drives the ladies nuts with that move.The last thing I want is a mate like any of my brothers. They're womanizers, stuck on themselves, and quite selfish if I'm being totally honest. I love them but feel sorry for the poor women who fall for their crap. They each need someone special to show them what love actually is."You may try," I tell him while trying to remember to breathe. He's one of my toughest battle partners and I can take him easily but it's still a workout. I advance and beat his blade with mine to provoke him. It works and he charges. With a flic
She reminds me of one of my college professors whose nickname was Battleax. Flora is younger than my professor was, but she has the same look and demeanor. When I say "Sleep," she falls unconscious and slips into my embrace. I rarely use my ability to make someone sleep and often forget I have it. Thankfully it came in handy. I really didn't want to waste time listening to her whine. I'm on a schedule. I lift her higher in my arms. Her stocky body is actually as light as a feather, which makes me think she may be inadequate to carry my child. I rest her on the bed, ignore her ugly socks and footwear that flash when her skirt rides high, and quickly pack her a bag using a small tote from her closet. I barely look at anything while grabbing jeans and shirts that look comfortable. I finally locate her undergarments in the top drawer of her dresser. I hold up one of her bras-a black lacy thing.The woman on the bed draws my attention. She doesn't fit the image the bra invokes, but I tos
It takes me a few minutes to understand what's happened. Plain, stone, white walls surround me in a round room with one large floor-to-ceiling open doorway that leads to a balcony, which I can see because there's no covering to keep the light out. The bed I'm on is a canopy with gauzy pink material over the top. It flows gently with the breeze coming through the window. When I move, dust rises from the white comforter and I sneeze. It may be pretty but it isn't clean. I'm in a tower and the damn dragon kidnapped me.I leap from the bed and rush to the door. It's locked. I head out the door aka window and stop on the balcony, which appears to be a landing perch for a very large dragon. Rolling mountains eat up the landscape for as far as I can see. I remove my glasses, which thankfully made it through the kidnapping. There's a touch of blue to the east, or at least I think it's east, and I see what must be a large pool of water about a mile away. Nothing in the distance looks like home
The experiment works on paper, but in reality, I have squat. It's back to the drawing board and I'm not happy about it. At least I have a new supply of cell phones and laptops for parts. The last thing I have time to do right now is go pillaging for more. Sad but true.I look over the plans and make a few corrections before tearing the page off the table, ripping it up, and grabbing a new sheet. When I'm in my lab with a problem like this, the rest of the world falls away and time stands still. My back and neck hurt, and I check the time again. It's after midnight, and I realize I should head to bed. Just a few more mathematical changes and I should have this.It's after three when I finally make it to my room. I fly past her tower and it's quiet. I can't help wondering if she's settled in. This mating stuff is a lot of work and I guess I should have held off. Maybe I'll return her tomorrow... today. I shed my clothes, climb into bed, and gray mist washes over me as I enter oblivion.
Insufferable.He kidnaps me, brings me here, and deserts me. It doesn't help that he's too good looking for his own good. Okay, I'll admit he's more than good looking, but a man cannot survive on looks alone, and it will do him no good when it comes to winning me.I grab the sword I found yesterday and work it in my hand for a moment to warm up my wrist. I doubt my dragon will appreciate landing on his knees with a knot in his throat that won't go away completely for a few days. He's lucky I pulled the punch.I don't have long to wait, and I'm in my fighting stance when he storms into the room with a roar. Man, does he have a set of lungs when he can breathe.Flick, flick. I twist my wrist again ready to strike.He stops and drills me with eyes filled with perplexity. "That's my sword.""Mine now," I answer with seeming boredom."Give it back."I lift my arm to an en garde position ready to remove his head. And such a gorgeous head it is. His hair may be dirty but it's lovely.