Damascus's hands had shook slightly as he had fastened the helmet on Amara. She would be his first passenger on his bike ever. He knew that he would not be able to go the same careless speeds that he normally went while he was alone. She was too precious of cargo to chance something happening and Damacus would never be able to forgive himself. If Gabriel knew that he had taken his bike rather than a car he would be chastising him. Gabriel had offered the dresses as a reason for Damascus to go over to Amara's and ask her on a date. But Gabriel's idea of a date was a nice quiet dinner. Damascus had no idea how to behave on a quite fancy date. So he stuck closer to what he knew. Adrenaline. Damascus pulled the large motorcycle away from the curb and took great care to go slow and let Amara gt accustomed to sitting on the back of the bike. He had not fully thought though his plan as riding together put Amara's entire front pressed against his back. Even though he was wearing a riding
"Sorry," Damascus said a little breathlessly. Amara had to get past her own drumming in her ears to make sure that she heard him correctly. "You do not need to apologize," she said. "I did not bring you up here to do that," Damascus tried to explain himself. It helped her to know that he was feeling something between them as well. Something that he had a hard time controlling. "You do not need to apologize for kissing me," Amara tried to give him a small smile so that he believed the words that she said. "This is completely new to me, and I do not know where we go from here," Damascus admitted. New for him? Amara was confused. "You have never kissed a woman before?" she asked. It was the second time that she heard Damascus chuckle. She realized that she liked the sound and hoped that he would start to do it more often. It lit up his face and she could feel it released some of his tension. Although the idea of him kissing someone else did have a bit of jealousy sting runn
Amara walked over and let her weight fall onto the couch next to Leslie. "Was it a good ride then?" Leslie asked. A smile still firmly planted on face. Amara rolled her head and looked over at Leslie without lifting her head from the back of the couch. "It was," Amara finally said. Leslie had put on a reality show in the background. Although for the life of her, Leslie could not explain the plot to any of it. "I made some chicken and rice in the kitchen if you care for some," Leslie said to Amara. Amara thanked her and walked to the kitchen to grab a bowl. They were content to sit on the couch and talk about the ridiculousness of the show that was currently running.*****************************************************************************************************************The next morning, Amara woke after a heated dream about a certain man in a motorcycle helmet. The dream had left her feeling unsatisfied. The idea of a helping hand was not foreign to her. She was still a virg
Damascus had left Amara and Leslie after seeing that they made it home. They had taken off shortly after lunch to get ready for the event being held at the castle that evening. Amara had confided in Damascus that she was a bit nervous to be in a room full of Dragons who might not be able to accept the fact that there was a human living among them. Gabriel had already told Damascus about Leslie. He was aware that she was one as well, but up until now she thought that she was alone. Damascus was glad that she was no longer on her know. He had met several Dragons who had grown up that way and it changed them for the worst. They became bitter and angry when they found out about the Kingdoms and turned their hatred on their own kind. However, Leslie seemed nothing like the others and he was thankful for that. Damascus had left his and Amara's conversations surface level for the remainder of the day. He knew that she was nervous enough without adding in any conversation about their relati
Amara and Leslie stood on the left side of the stage as Damascus had instructed. Amara could feel her palms perspiring. It was not the first time being in front of a large audience, however, her audience was never a room full of Dragons. "It will be alright," Leslie finally said. Amara could only nod in answer. The stage was a smaller one than the banquet she had recently held, and it was in the main dining hall of the castle, which again was smaller than the large venue, but it also made it so there was less room to hide. What are you doing? This is not who you are. Remember who you are, a small voice inside of Amara's head said. She squared her shoulders then. That is right. She fought tooth and nail when she was younger and again in her adulthood to make herself what she was today, without anyone for help until Leslie came along. "Please help me in welcoming Amara Hayes and her assist Leslie Howard to the Divine Kingdom," Gabriel finally announced to the crowd. There was applaus
Both Amara and Leslie were slow to rise the next morning. The event the previous evening had gone well into the night and since the rest of the Kingdom seemed to move at a more leisurely pace, Amara figured that a couple more hours of sleep wasn’t going to hurt them. Amara met Leslie in the kitchen once more, "Last night was nice," Leslie commented as she fried up some eggs on the stove top. Amara sat in the chair at the island and agreed as she check her email on her phone. Nothing new since the evening before so Amara placed the phone face down on the counter. "So, what is going on with Damascus?" Leslie finally asked. "He was standing next to you when I came back with food but excused himself pretty quickly after that," Leslie commented. Amara had noticed as well, and Damascus hadn’t returned for the remainer of the evening. It stung Amara slightly, but she had agreed that they were going to take this slow and Amara figured that he had enough socializing for one evening. Damascu
Damascus had decided to take Amara to a small restaurant that sat near the edge of the Kingdom. He had assumed she had not eaten yet and since their first ride had ended somewhere secluded, he picked somewhere more public instead. Not that he was trying to publicly announce that they were seeing one another, if that is what one called it, but a part of him did want others to know that she was under his protection, which he hoped would stop any negativity that might make its way towards her. Damascus turned off the bike and helmet Amara down from the back. "This looks nice," Amara said as she took the helmet off after Damascus had unclipped it for her. The restaurant was small but homey. It sat nestled between a bookstore and what looked like an antique shop. "It may not be much, but Lester serves a mean steak," Damascus said as she gathered the helmets in his hands. "Oh, did I not mention?" Amara looked at Damascus with the most convincing look she could muster. "What?"
I am sorry. Were you and your father close?" Amara asked. "No," Damascus's short answer surprised her. She thought back to Leslie's comment in the kitchen that men like Damascus usually had some sort of back story that caused them to be closed off. Amara wondered if his father was that reason. "The closest thing I had to a father was a gardener at one of the foster homes that I lived at when I was ten," Amara decided to change the topic quickly. "He used let me plant the flowers each spring," she thought about the flower gardens that Jackson used to keep."How long did you stay with them?" Damascus asked about the foster parents. "Three years, then the couple had a child of their own and did not want any outside influence on their child," Amara shrugged. She had been accustomed to moving so much at that time that it had not offended her. Of course, as an adult she wondered how a family could take in a child and then toss it just as quickly. "That must have been lonely," Damascus co
Damascus walked back into the room. Amara was sitting up in the bed and looked at his with a questioning look. "Is everything alright?" she asked. "Yes. I just had to call Gabriel and check in," Damascus said. Suddenly Amara's eyes went wide. "I am the worse friend in the world. I haven't even checked in with Leslie," Amara suddenly jumped from the bed and walked over to Damascus. "Is there a phone I could use to call her?" Amara asked. Since her cell phone was lying on the ground somewhere back home, she wasn’t able to text Leslie. She had been so caught up in the events since they had arrived at the Dragonhold Kingdom. "I have already asked the butler to see if the driver can go pick us up a couple of new phones during our stay so that we do not have to use King's Christian's personal phone. To be honest I don't trust having personal conversations over other phones," Damascus explained. See saw the confusion in Amara's eyes and explained further, "They could have some kind of r
"Why would you help us take the throne back?" Henry asked. "It is your rightful place. Your child was stolen from you, my guess, in an attempt to do just that. Remove you both from the throne," Gabriel said. "Even if that were true, we have already relinquished the throne and a new King and Queen have taken over," Willa responded instead. "Do either of you know the condition of the Eternal Kingdom?" Gabriel asked. He assumed that they had been keeping tabs on the Kingdom, but then again, they were far enough outside of it that they might not. "It was made clear that we were no longer welcomed by my cousin and his wife," Henry answered."Cousin? Why did I not know that?" Gabriel asked himself more than Henry. "Distant cousin, but yes, Alexander Bardin is in fact a cousin of mine," Henry said. "But they have yet to produce an heir," Gabriel said. He was still unsure of how they were able to take possession of the throne and keep it for as long as they have without having a child o
Leslie and Gabriel filed into a large SUV. There was already a driver and passenger in the vehicle which left the backseat for the two of them. Gabiel had told her that there was a good chance they had found her parents and wasted no time getting everything ready for them to leave. Leslie wondered why the King was going. It seemed like something that he could just send her and the team to go rather than risk him being away from the Kingdom for too long. "I feel really good about this," Gabriel said as he looked out the window. Leslie hadn’t realized that she was staring at him again. Leslie wondered if he had felt her eyes on him. "That makes one of us," Leslie said under her breath."Faith, Leslie. Faith," it was the first time she had heard her name on his lips, and it did something to her insides. They had spent a number of hours together the last few days and in that time she decided that she actually like the King. He was charming and funny. He always had a joke to spare. Lesl
King Christian had allowed Amara and Damascus the day to themselves, but he requested a meeting the following day. He had some questions, and he wanted answers. Amara and Damascus stood in his office. Each chose to stay rather than be seated in the chairs across from his desk. "First off I wanted to start by saying congratulations to the mum to be," King Christian said to Amara. She smiled a tight smile and nodded her head once. She wondered if the King was going to toss them out of the Kingdom after finding out the truth. That was if he had found out the truth. "Second of all, there has been another attempt at a breach on our territory line. The wolves seem very persistent in their goal of getting to you Miss Amara," King Christian was turned in her direction. He had yet to acknowledge Damascus other than when they had first walked in. "So, I am giving you the same opportunity that I have given to your mate. I want to know why they are so desperate to get to you. There must be a r
"What have you thought of our Kingdom so far?" Gabriel asked Leslie. "It is nice. All the people seem nice as well. Apart from their King picking out my lunch," Leslie said. She had more of a teasing tone so Gabriel knew that she wasn't actually upset about it. "He sounds like a real jerk if you ask me," Gabriel responded. Leslie chuckled. "Ill make sure to let him know," Leslie said. For some reason she found it easy enough to talk to him. Even though he was a King of a city full of Dragons. "Do you think Amara and Damascus made it to the UK alright?" Leslie asked. Gabriel wondered why Amara hadn’t checked in with Leslie yet. He didn’t think it was because of her news. "Damascus called me earlier. They made it safe and sound," Gabriel said, hoping it helped Leslie. She creased her brow that Damascus had reached out to Gabriel, but Amara had gone silent on Leslie. Was Amara mad at her for pushing her to go to the UK. Leslie hoped not. She itched to take out her phone and text her
"How would they have known where we were going?" Amara asked anxiously. Damascus had just told her about the wolves at the territory line. "Unfortunately, flight plans cannot be encrypted," Damascus explained. It was the only way that he had been able to explain that the pack was able to narrow down on where he and Amara had been headed. He knew the pilot and stewardess wouldn’t have said anything, but flight planes were easier to get a hold of if one knew where to go. "So, we are in the same situation as home. Why did we leave again?" Amara asked, her sarcasm was a coping mechanism, and she tried not to let it slip but she was worried about them being so far from the Divine Kingdom. She wasn’t sure about King Christian and how far he would be willing to help protect them. "It is still distance from the entire pack. The Alpha probably reached out to a pack here in the UK to scout it out," Damascus at least hoped that was the case. He had half a mind to just set the Crescent Moon pa
Damascus entered the room, but there was no sign of Amara. Damascus sense heightened and his heart rate picked up. He heard the shower running in the adjoining bathroom. He quickly walked over and tried the door. It was unlocked and he pushed through to check on Amara. Amara stood in the glass shower; she was washing her long blonde hair. She looked over her shoulder at Damascus but turned away and continued to message her scalp. Damascus stripped his clothes quickly and opened the glass door. His arms circled his waist and drew her closer to him. Even though Amara had been irritated when he left, some of her irritation had went down the drain along with the water. "Can you forgive me for my behavior tonight?" Damascus asked as he kissed her shoulder. "For which part exactly?" Amara asked not turning around. "All of it. From the way that I reacted like a jackass finding out you were pregnant and again after my nightmare," Damascus said. Yet again he had been so consumed by his ow
Damascus spread his wings as he soared through the air. The breeze helped him to catch his breathing. He had felt trapped in the castle. He hated having to leave Amara, but he had not been able to regulate himself to keep her safe. The last thing he needed was to lose control and shift with her so close. Damascus flew through the air for a little while longer. As he descended to the ground once more, he noticed that a figure stood near his clothes where he had placed them on a bench near the back of the castle. Damascus landed but waited to shift back into his human form. The figure started walking towards him and when they finally came into the moonlight, he saw that it was the King himself. Damascus shifted and reached for his clothes. Once dressed he bowed towards the King. Damascus had not even considered the idea to ask before shifting. He was used to being able to do it as he pleased within his own Kingdom. "Apologies, your highness. I did not ask permission before taking to
Damascus knew that he was dreaming but it did not make the situation any less real in his mind. Amara and what he assumed was their child in her arms were trapped behind bars. Damascus was tied to a chair in the center of a filthy room. His breathing was labored as the faceless men around him took turns beating on his battered face and body. "Damascus," Amara cried. Damascus looked at her through his one eye that had not been closed shut from his face swelling. She cradled the child to her chest as she watched the men work over his body. Just then one of the faceless men bent over and blocked Amara from his view. "I told you that you were worthless. You couldn't even protect your mate and child," the man said. The voice was haunting familiar. His father. Damascus growled at the man and tried to lung for him. The man stood back and laughed at Damascus's failed attempts. "I may have been an asshole, but I never hid who I was. You, on the other hand, have her completely fooled. That