"Why are you continuing this?" Damascus asked Gabriel as they filed into the SUV once more.
"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked. He tried his best to imitate his most innocent expression, however, Damascus could see right through it. Gabriel knew what he meant dammit.
"Why are you bringing in a human to the kingdom? There is no way that she will be able to continue her firm outside of the kingdom limits. You have always made a point of secrecy," Damascus said. As much as craved to be near her, he knew that their worlds could never meet.
After seeing Amara at the banquet the night before, his dreams had been filled with a certain blonde with water blue eyes. It was a dangerous game that Gabriel was playing. For the kingdom as well as for Damascus. He had amazing self-control, however, each time that he was around her, he could feel a crack in his armor against her. The thought scared the hell out of him.
"I believe that she is the right person for the job. However, if you are whole heartily against it, I will take it under advisement," Damascus already knew what that meant. Gabriel would listen to his argument but in the end he was still the King and would do as he saw fit.
"I just think that you are playing with fire," Damascus said.
"She was a bit of a spit fire, was she not?" Gabriel chuckled at the reminder of her comment to him. Even though Damascus and himself were more than double her size, she had no problem putting him in his place.
"Something like that," although if Damascus was honest with himself, her spirit both surprised and earned his respect. Although it was one thing to deal with two dragons in her conference room, it was an entirely other animal to move one’s work to a kingdom full of Dragons.
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"I could go for a drink. What about you?" Leslie said to Amara as she leaned against the door frame. Amara had just received the document from Gabriel's team. The list of responsibilities that he wanted her to take over was extensive. She had only gotten through half the list before Leslie popped into the doorway.
"I think I need one after reading this," Amara said as she laid the paper down. She had decided to print the document to make notes on and any questions she might have while reading it. She could use the break though.
Amara walked over to her closet and grabbed her jacket from its hanger. Leslie followed behind and closed up the office as they left. There was a small bar not far from the building that they work. They frequented it often when they were overloaded with work and needed to let off some steam.
They took their usual seats at the bar and greeted the bar tender.
"Evening ladies," Morgan said from behind the bar. "Rough day?" He asked as he dried his hands off on a towel that he kept tucked into his waist band.
"To say the least," Amara answered.
"So, something stronger than beer?" Morgan chuckled as he read Amara's pleading look. Morgan nodded and headed to the other side of the bar to make the ladies drinks.
"So, what is on the list anyways?" Leslie asked as has she hung her purse up behind her.
"Well for starters, we would have to relocate close to their headquarters," Amara said. She thanked Morgan for the drinks as he placed them in front of Amara and Leslie.
"Whoa, really?" Leslie asked.
"Secrecy must be a big deal to Gabriel Eros and his team. Although I still don’t understand why," Amara said. She took a sip of her drink and let the liquid burn down her throat.
"I mean, at least it isn’t too far, is it?" Leslie asked, playing devil’s advocate.
"Forty-five minutes from our current office space," Amara answered. She had already googled after reading the first line. "It was written in fine print that Gabriel would pay whatever the remaining amount was on our lease," she added.
"For how long though? Indefinitely?" Leslie asked.
"I have not gotten that far in the paperwork yet. I did read that I could bring my team if they wished," Amara had no doubt that Gabriel had already looked into Amara's "team" meaning her and Leslie. Since the other marketing manager had already left, they were a two women show.
Amara and Lelsie talked over the paperwork for some time. Running through their thoughts and what they were willing to agree to, if they ended up agreeing to working for Gabriel solely. It was also written in the agreement that Amara would not take on any other clients while employed by him.
After a couple hours, Leslie said that she was going to head out. "Do you want me to drop you by your place first?" Leslie asked. Amara did not live far from the bar. She shook her head.
"I am going to stay for a little bit longer and then head home. Get some rest Leslie," Leslie gave Amara a quick hug before leaving. They were employer and employee but also friends and Amara valued Leslie's input. It seemed that this decision was also going to impact her as well. Luckily Leslie was young and did not have a husband or kids yet to worry about moving somewhere new in order to take a job.
Amara motioned for one more drink from Morgan who nodded to her on the other side of the bar. She liked Morgan's bar; he didn’t hover or try to hit on Amara. Instead, he would answer any questions they asked for his opinion on and then moved onto the next customer.
Amara took a sip of her last drink and watched the bubbles as they rose to the rim of the glass. Was she compilating taking the job that Gabriel offered? It would be a valuable addition to her portfolio, but the secrecy and discretion was on another level that she was unaccustomed to.
Also having to move and give up her prime real-estate where her office was currently located. They had waited for months trying to get the spot from the previous business that had been there. It was a day to celebrate when they had finally gotten that call from the realtor.
"Hello, gorgeous," a male voice said from behind Amara. She rolled her eyes at the intrusion. She was in no mood to deal with some drunkard trying to hit on her. Amara slowly turned around in her seat and made sure a F off was clearly written on her features.
The man must have been really drunk not to catch the hint. "I think you are lost," Amara said. Normally she would not be so rude, but her nervous system had been thrown off as of late and this was the last irritation that she wanted to deal with.
"If by that you mean lost in your eyes, then you are correct," the man laughed at his own pick up line. Amara almost threw up in her mouth. She glanced down the bar at Morgan and nodded to the man who had approached her. Morgan looked over and nodded before walking over to the other end of the bar.
"Hey buddy, leave the other patrons alone. I got a business to run," Morgan said. It was a polite way of saying bugger off. The man still did not catch the obvious hint. He moved closer to Amara, which made her uneasy and Morgan as well by the way he went for the side counter. He lifted it quickly and grabbed the man under his arm.
"Whoa," the man said as Morgan showed him out. Morgan was back in a couple minutes and apologized to Amara.
"Thank you for handling it," Amara said. There was no need for Morgan to apologize. At least he was able to make the man leave before a real scene was caused. Amara decided to drink her last drink a bit slower to give the man time to leave.
After another hour she bid Morgan goodnight and grabbed her stuff. It was only a ten-minute walk to her apartment. The weather wasn’t too cold yet as it was still September. Amara pulled her jacket close at the nip in the air and began walking towards her apartment.
It didn’t take long for the hairs to raise on the back of her neck. Someone was following her. Amara tried to pick up the pace, but not make it obvious that she was trying to run. She hoped that she could get to her apartment and inside before the person could try anything.
"Come on gorgeous. I just wanted to ask for your number," shit, it was te man from the bar. Amara didn’t care about making it obvious. She began to run towards her apartment. She was about halfway there and hoped that the man's drunkenness would cause him to stumble on himself.
It would seem that luck was not on her side this evening. The footfalls behind her grew louder the closer that he got. Suddenly the night was alive with the roaring sound of a motorcycle engine. The noised caused the man and Amara to look over at the nearby alley. The man was only two steps from Amara and the alley cut between them both.
An angry set of lights came from a jet-black motorcycle. The engine roared to life again and the motorcycle jumped towards the man.
"Whoa buddy, careful where you are pointing that crotch rocket," the man slurred. He appeared nervous now that he was being watched. The man on the motorcycle let the gear out and again it lunged toward the man.
Amara watched in awe at the man wearing a black shirt and jeans with a black as night helmet intimidate the man who was chasing her. After the last lunge the drunk man ran off in the opposite direction. The motorcycle slowly pulled up so that its rider was next to Amara.
There was no mistake about who was on top of that bike. Damascus. It looked as though he had not learned his lesson after his last accident.
Damascus pulled his new bike next to Amara. He had tried to keep his distance and watch her from afar but when he had seen the man chasing her down the street he had cut off and came down the alley. The man was lucky that all he had done was rev at him and give a good lunge. Everything in Damascus's body told him to dump the bike and grab the man and beat him into the ground for thinking that he could chase a defenseless woman. Amara no less. Damascus's chest rose and fell rapidly. He looked at Amara through his visor. She said nothing but just stared at him in return. A nearby car honked and startled her from the trance she had been in. "What the hell?" she asked. Damascus was trying to control the urge to still run after the man. He threw up his visor and his bright eyes showed in the darkness around them. His bike was still running. He hadn’t completely talked himself out of taking off after him. "What do you think you are doing?" Amara tried again to get a response from him. W
"Where have you been?" Gabriel asked Damascus as he stormed through the front palace doors. Gabriel had just finished up a few last-minute tasks in his office and was headed towards his own set of rooms when he heard heavy footfalls through the foyer. To his surprise it was Damascus. Walking with his head down. Deep in thought. The sight was unsettling to Gabriel. He knew that when Damascus was deep in thought it usually meant that he was battling within himself. But from what? Gabriel did not know. Damascus only grunted in answer. Gabriel raised an eyebrow and fell into step with his friend. Damascus was certainly going through something. "Please tell me that you have at least behaved yourself?" Gabriel asked. "I did not injure anyone during my outing if that is what you are asking," Damascus said, "Although it would have been warranted," Damascus added under his breath. Gabriel laid a hand on his friend's shoulder, which caused Damascus to stop walking and finally look up at his f
Amara set down the paper that Gabriel's people had sent over. She had finally finished the list. She stared down at it. Was she truly going to take the job? What reason did she actually have other than she wanted a chance to be near Damascus? She felt stupid for even thinking it. She had strange dreams the night before. A monster towered over her, but she had not been frightened. Instead, she had felt safe and protected. Like the monster was there to take care of her. It was absurd of course. Amara pushed her chair from her desk and walked out to the small desk that Leslie occupied. Leslie looked up from the computer screen that she had been monitoring. "Have you finished?" she asked Amara. Amara only nodded and walked over to the small coffee machine that sat on a hidden counter behind a narrow wall. When she returned Leslie was staring at her expectantly. "And? Should we start packing up our things?" Leslie asked. She had left the decision up to Amara the night before. Leslie wou
"What the hell did you bring her here for?" Damascus was angry. Amara could hear it in his voice. Her eyes remained closed, but she could hear the voices around her. "She needed to know what she was going to be involved with. The only way to make her believe was if she saw it for herself," Gabriel answered. Damascus swore under his breath. Amara must have been laid out on a couch. She could feel the velvet fabric underneath her palm. She felt a movement as someone came to kneel next to her. She wondered if it was Leslie, but instead a large, calloused hand covered her forehead and gently stroked. Amara's eyes instantly opened, and she was staring into a set of very dark brown eyes. Amara, waking suddenly had surprised Damascus, so had his own movements of putting his hand on her head. When there he could not help but rub his thumb along her smooth skin and soft hair. They sat frozen just staring at one another. Neither making the first move to separate. Gabriel watched the pair wi
Damascus did not step back when Amara took a step towards him. Instead, everything in his body wanted to close the space between them. He waged war within himself. Every fiber of his being wanted to be close to her, but his logical side said that he needed to keep that distance firmly in place. Damascus sighed and took a step back. He could see the rejection and hurt Amara's eyes as she turned forward and looked out once more. "Why do you do that?" she asked quietly. Damascus almost wondered if he had imagined it. "Do what?" he asked. It was the most they had spoken since the meeting. Other than the other evening when he had been short with her and Amara and stormed off into her apartment complex. Amara sighed and shook her head, "Never mind. We can return to Gabriel. I saw what I needed to," she turned on her heel and walked back into the castle. Gabriel and Leslie were still seated on the couches. They stopped speaking when they saw Amara and Damascus return."That was not very
Leslie had been quiet for most of the drive back into town. It was completely opposite from the nervous chatter she had on the way to the Kingdom. The word still felt odd in Amara's mind. A Kingdom full of dragons and she had just agreed to pack up her business and move them there. "Are you sure that you are fine with this?" Amara finally asked Leslie. Leslie was quiet for a moment. "Amara, I have something that I need to tell you," Leslie said after a long moment of silence. "What?" Amara glanced over from the road and looked at her friend. "The reason that I am not as freaked out as you are because I am also a dragon," the words caused all the air to release from Amara's lungs. She felt as though she had been punched in the gut with the information. "How? I mean obvious that would mean you were born that way, right? How have I never known this?" Amara asked. Her mind was beginning to spin once more. "Please pull over if you need to. We do not need to end up in a car accident.
Damascus stalked around the training field. He was beginning to feel his body temperature reach an unforgiving level. He took a few calming breaths to ease the rise of his Dragon from pushing through. He couldn’t tell Gabriel the reason for his anger when he himself could not even truly explain it. His mind and body were at war with one another. Damascus had been so trapped in his thoughts that he had not realized that his solidarity had been disrupted. "I heard we are getting a new marketing manager within the Kingdom. Also heard it is the human girls from the neighboring city," Ebony broke through Damascus concentration. "Hmph," Damascus grunted as he kept is pace around the field. Ebony quickened her step to keep up. Damascus was unsure why she was making it a point to discuss this with him. They usually only discussed training techniques and even though the interaction was few and far between. Damascus usually exchanged thoughts with Cain or one of the other leading dragons. "
Amara and Leslie both stood with their eyes wide as they looked at the space that Gabriel Eros had given to them to use as their office space. It had already been set up almost exactly as they had in the city. The movers must have worked all night or maybe another team had done the set up. Either way it was amazing that it had been two days. Gabriel met Amara and Leslie at the front door of the castle. He had already sent trucks to pick up their belongings from their homes and moved them to a home in the kingdom. Amara and Leslie had opted to share a home. Since they were in a city full of dragons they had chosen to stick together. "Wow," Leslie said. Repeating Amara's own inner sentiments. Amara had yet to see Damascus since arriving in the kingdom. It appeared that he was going to keep distance between them. Rather than let that sting, Amara had decided to move on and do what she did best, think about work. "I am sure that even our pens and papers in our desk have even been put b
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