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Chapter 56: Avani
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
CooperIf you're wondering, the timeframe here is between the two epilogues of The Arena, which means, there are more deaths to come.
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The Dark Protector Chapter 57: Merethyl
One minute, I was cooing at the baby dragon, the blue one and the next, she screeched and fell over dead. I was still trying to figure out what happened when I heard the terrible screeching from the red dragon. Then both of the red dragons fell to the ground and blood began pouring out of their eyes. I tried to save them. I tried. I kept pushing my healing power into them. I pulled on the earth element, begging the earth mother to save them. It wasn’t until Avani grabbed me that I realized there was nothing more that I could do. I’m clinging to him, sobbing at the senseless loss, when I hear heavy paws and wings whoosing into the building. “What happened?” Kayid says. Avani doesn’t let me go, but I feel him turn to them. “The Chief. This is what happened to that dragon at the arena. He must be the one that killed them. We need to get that human doctor here. He needs to tell us what we’re working against and how we can try to save them next time, but I guarantee you, there are more
The Dark Protector Chapter 58: Avani
My mate is so sweet, so kind. Seeing something like this takes a lot out of her. It takes a lot out of me as well, watching as dragons, even if they are lab-created dragons, are murdered right in front of you. As I lift up into the sky, I feel Merethyl lay down, letting herself relax against me. I begin to purr, wanting to soothe her more, wanting her to sleep. Her panic had caused a subtle change in our daughter’s heartbeat. It may be something that other parents would never realize because they don’t hear it, but I did, and I needed my mate to calm. Once she did, our daughter’s heartbeat went back to normal. It’s a risk taking her to Cedric’s pack. Zephyr had recognized that Mere was pregnant because of her actions, but now, our daughter’s heartbeat is strong enough that if you are listening for it, you’ll hear it. However, if I can get this human doctor, Everett, to come with us, Kaylani may be joining us as well. If so, she’ll figure it out sooner or later. The flight takes near
The Dark Protector Chapter 59: Merethyl
I slept on the way back to the laboratory. I didn’t get much sleep last night and the stress took a toll on me. I know Avani is worried about me and our little girl, so I took the opportunity while we flew back to sleep some more. I can tell that Avani is feeling better now that I’ve gotten some decent sleep and have food in my stomach. That is, until we land and he hears that they caught a hunter. “Ishir, care to join me?” Avani says, inviting Ishir to go ‘interrogate’ the hunter. I have no such desire, knowing that whatever they do, it won’t be pleasant. When Ishir nods and walks to Avani, I turn to Everett and Kaylani. “I’ll take you to the dragons.” “Thank you.” Everett says. As we walk, Everett looks at me. “I don’t want to presume, but, are you an elf?’” I look at him. “What gave me away?” He smiles self-deprecatingly. “The ears.” “Ahhh.” “Well, that and the regal way you carry yourself. I guess I have an image in my head of elves being majestic and other worldly. You fi
The Dark Protector Chapter 60: Avani
Being a shifter, I don’t get squeamish or queasy seeing blood or violence. I know my mate does and that’s why I’m glad she’s not here. Bajaro has a vicious streak to her. I like it, it makes me want to know if she’d be willing to guard our daughter after she’s born and Mere or I have to leave her. Anyone who has no qualms about literally tearing an enemy limb from limb is good enough to watch my child. I’m not exactly sure that Mere will agree, but I’ll ask her. Thankfully, the hunter gave us what we needed before he bled out. We got the coordinates to another facility that has dragons. As we head back to where Merethyl, Kaylani and Everett are, I think about our next steps. Ishir is the brains of this operation. It’s what he does. He’s a hunter by nature, but he’s also really good at searching for and finding missing shifters and other supernaturals. He also supplements that by helping humans find their missing loved ones. They pay a lot to find their missing children, and I happen
The Dark Protector Chapter 61: Merethyl
I’m staring at the paper that Bajaro handed me. It’s a drawing of a dragon’s head and it shows how to insert what looks like an explosive device. I look up and realize Kaylani’s hands have stopped moving. Avani has rolled his eye back to look at her and they are having a silent conversation. “Show me.” I demand, my words sharp with my fear. ‘Merethyl, you need to calm down.’ Avani says in my head, but I ignore him. I step up to Kaylani. “Show me.” I say again, this time with less snap in my voice. She takes my hand and puts it where hers was a moment ago. There’s a place near what you would call his temple where a scale, not larger than the tip of my pointer finger, is soft rather than the hard covering I'm accustomed to. Soft like a human’s skin. Soft enough to inject an explosive device the size of a pill into his brain and kill him. I push the fear of that thought away and walk to the other side. ‘What are you doing, Merethyl?” He asks me. I look at him as I walk around his
The Dark Protector Chapter 62: Avani
When we find the next laboratory, it’s much the same. We get there in time to free the dragons but then they die in front of us. Over the next month, we find two more laboratories and each time it’s the same thing. We can’t get to the dragons fast enough. Even with Everett trying to get into their skulls, we just don’t have enough time. We’re all sitting outside the most recent laboratory. I’m holding my mate once again as she cries. Her stomach is now protruding to the point that it’s impossible to hide her pregnancy. Everett is consoling Kaylani. Thankfully she responds to him. I was worried the first time that she’d cried, concerned that she'd begin her dragon’s lament. Nothing is more heart-wrenching than a dragon’s cry, except when my mate cries. “We have to do something different.” Bajaro says, watching sadly as I console Mere. “What do you mean?” Shiv asks, coming to stand beside her and putting his arm around her. This entire process has brought all of us closer together. “
The Dark Protector Chapter 63: Merethyl
I watch as Avani rips the bottom of the laboratory floor down into the tunnel where we are. Kaylani does the same and dust and dirt come raining down around me. As soon as there is a hole big enough, she leaps through. I hear screaming and yelling as Kayid grabs Everett and Shiv grabs me, leaping through the hole that Kaylani created. As soon as we’re inside the room, they release us and begin fighting. The space is small and there are so many of us in here that Everett and I are pushed against a wall. Kayid and Shiv put themselves front of us, acting as shields. I realize that there are several hunters in here, guarding the ones that have control of the laboratory. When I hear shots ring out, I reach out with my element and grab the bullets, arcing them around our group and sending them back into the group of hunters. I hear them screaming and several fall to the ground, presumably dead. Kaylani snarls, a sound I’ve never heard from her before. Her talons come out and I hear the h
The Dark Protector Chapter 64: Avani
Watching the Chief finally die, hearing the gurgling of his breathing as his lungs filled with blood was a highlight of my life. This man caused nothing but pain for me, my mate and the entire supernatural community. He deserved to die. The sound of rustling clothing makes me focus a moment before I hear the scream. I can’t see in front of me because I have the Chief impaled on my talons, so I retract them and the moment he drops to the ground, I see him. I scream for Merethyl but it’s too late, he’s already swinging the board in his hand toward her head. She goes flying into Everett and Kaylani who are on the floor. I slam my fist into the man’s face before racing over to Merethyl. If anything happens to her, if she’s dead….. Everett is already touching the side of her head. “Fractured skull,” he says, not looking up at me. He continues to gently touch her scalp. "it feels like her brain is hemorrhaging,” he continues to talk to himself, just like he does when he’s making notes a
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The Dark Protector Epilogue 2: Avani
After Enki was born, Merethyl and I spent one more week together, letting Merethyl readjust to the loss of dragon DNA in her system. I had noticed it after Gaia’s birth, but I’m noticing it even more now, her body is absorbing dragon DNA every time she gets pregnant. She still had some dragon tendencies after Gaia, and now, after delivering Enki, she has even more. Her ability to cdonnect to me mentally, sift through my memories and thoughts, is nearly as strong as mine. It doesn’t bother me that she has the abilities that she has, it’s more that I’m worried about the long term effect of her body taking on the dragon DNA. Once things are settled with this assassin, I'll be taking her to visit the doctor. When we get back to the elf lands, I know I can’t stay long. I’ve been out of the hunt for two months and Ancalagon is still missing. But, when we arrive and my little girl, now nearly 8 months old, comes toddling out of the castle, her arms raised to me, I refuse to leave without sp
The Dark Protector Epilogue 1: Merethyl
Four months later We still haven’t found Ancalagon. I’ve searched with Avani periodically, but between our daughter needing her mother and my belly starting to grow with our son, I’ve stayed home more than I’ve gone out with him. A few months ago, Ishir started finding shifters that had been murdered. At first, it was a rare occurrence, one in the first month. We assumed that it was some sort of lucky hunter kill. Then there were three more in the month after that, then more. Lately, it feels like Avani and Ishir are finding a dead shifter or supernatural every few days. Not only that, but the ones they are finding now are apex predators or leaders of their supernatural groups. Avani had told me that they had found a high priestess of a coven along with a very powerful warlock. Avani has refused to allow me to leave the pack lands in the last month and has asked Kenna and Bajaro to guard us. Kenna is happy to stay here. She wants to protect her mate, even though Yhendorn doesn’t lik
The Dark Protector Chapter 75: Avani
Being loved and cared for by my mate goes a long way to making me feel better. I’m still distraught, still angry that I can’t find my son, but at least now I feel like I have the strength to start again. I fly Merethyl to Cedric’s pack lands. I already knew that Zephyr wouldn’t be here. She hasn’t stopped and unlike me, she doesn’t have a rider to care for her. I know Mere thinks that Ishir is her mate, but without being claimed, the draw to her son, the need to protect him, will be stronger than the draw to her mate. When we arrive, I pull Mere into my lap. She is all that is keeping me sane, having to be here, listening to this when I should be out searching for my son. I know this meeting is important, but I’m struggling with this feeling of helplessness and weakness. ‘You’re not weak,’ Mere says in my mind. ‘Or helpless, and they may be able to help us. It’s good that we’re here.’ Kaylani begins telling us that the most recent dragons that they have found are hybrids, all of th
The Dark Protector Chapter 74: Merethyl
Zephyr told us that she had left Ancalagon with the mountain goat shifters, while she went into town. She was oddly vague about where she was or why she was gone, but it doesn’t matter. Ancalagon should have been safe. He’s nearly a year old now. When she had returned, Zephyr said she could smell death and the paralytic. The hunters had killed all the goats and paralyzed Ancalagon so they could take him. Zephyr had been frantically searching for a day, when she finally gave her dragon’s call, knowing she needed help. We began searching immediately, Avani tearing apart every hunter’s lair and laboratory that we could find. He had contacted Ishir to get more intel, but he wasn’t able to tell us much. He gave us a few more laboratories, but most of them had been destroyed when Kaylani, Cedric and Ishir had hunted them down, rescuing the dragons. I had to split my time, hunting for Ancalagon and taking care of my newborn. I love my time with Gaia, but I worry about my mate every moment
The Dark Protector Chapter 73: Avani
I walk Merethyl to the stage that is set up for the event. As his only living relative, she will be leading the coronation ceremony for Yhendorn. She looks gorgeous as always, but dressed as she is right now, the royal blood in her is much more obvious. She was meant to be a queen. I’m just the lucky dragon that gets to claim her as MY queen. She stands beside Yhendorn, who also looks regal in his dress robes. Merethyl begins speaking in elvish. I don’t understand the words, but I understand the intent as I sift through her mind and feel the words she’s speaking. A peace settles over the people, an acceptance of their new King. I look out over the elves, watching as they begin to sing and chant in Elvish. I look behind us at where Kenna is laying, being here for her mate in her dragon form. The air around us begins to feel magical and I look over at Bajaro. She’s holding Gaia and I swear, my daughter looks like she’s paying attention. Maybe she is, both Mere and I have the earth as
The Dark Protector Chapter 72: Merethyl
After Avani dropped me and Gaia off on the mountain and went to get me some clothes, it wasn’t long before I hear an eagle’s call. I look up to see Shiv and it’s only a moment later when I hear Bajaro in her hyena form and Kayid in his fox form yipping as they run up the side of the mountain. As soon as she gets to the top, Bajaro shifts and walks toward me. “Please tell me you’re going to let me hold that little one.” I walk to her, putting Gaia into her arms. She immediately starts to purr, gently rubbing her face over Gaia’s. “Bajaro, meet Gaia,” I say, stroking my daughter’s hair. “She’s beautiful. She smells like you and the earth dragon,” Bajaro says quietly. I can tell that Avani was right. She will want to be a surrogate mother to Gaia and will protect our daughter with her life. “Speaking of the earth dragon, where is he?” Kayid asks. “He went to get me some clothes.” I say, watching as Bajaro begins humming a strange tune that I’ve never heard. It’s a gentle but hauntin
The Dark Protector Chapter 71: Avani
We stay in our cave for another week after Gaia is born. We carefully take her out every day, making sure she has fresh air. Merethyl lays her in the grass and then will use her element to grow flowers around her. My mate is back to normal now. As much as I loved having her desire for me run as deeply as mine does for her, there’s a reason she’s my mate. I need the balance that she gives me. So, I'm glad she's back to normal again. “We need to head back to the elf lands, love,” I tell her. “I know. I’m just enjoying this time, with only the three of us. But Yhendorn has waited long enough to take over as king and it’s time to introduce our daughter to my family and to your son.” “I wanted to discuss something with you before we return,” I tell her. “What’s that?” “You know that the Chief’s son is still out there. I need to help hunt him now that you’re back to your normal self. I don’t know how you feel about me leaving…” “No! I won’t let you go alone. What if something happened
The Dark Protector Chapter 70: Merethyl
I love being in our cave of treasures. I can feel the metals singing to me, calling to me. I feel their differences, their density and weight making their song different. The gemstones also have their own feel to them. I’ve found a couple that I like, that seem to speak to me louder than the others. But mostly, I love having my mate here with me. I can’t get enough of him. There will never be enough of him. He is everything, the world is nothing without him, my mind, my body, my soul are incomplete, empty without his touch, his caress, his presence in my mind. I’m just starting to wake when I feel the first pain. I look down, my stomach large and swollen. As I watch, I see the muscles in my stomach contract, sending another shooting pain up my side. I look around. Avani isn’t here. Our child, I need to protect our child. I rub my stomach, cooing at our daughter. I can feel her mental presence in my body. She is agitated and irritable. She wants out. “Not yet, baby girl,” I coo at h
The Dark Protector Chapter 69: Merethyl
The scent of evergreen and cinnamon fills my nose. I’m so drawn to the scent that I try to burrow myself deeper into the warmth where the scent is emanating. I hear voices, men’s voices, speaking around me. There’s a deep rumbling sound and it reverberates in my body, making me hum. Then I hear a female voice. My eyes flash open and I snarl. “MINE!” I snap at the beautiful woman that is standing too close to my mate. That’s who I smell, who I feel inside me, in my mind, in my soul. My mate. I feel him begin to purr behind me and my body calms, relaxing back against him. His hand touches my face, moving the hair away from me. I lean back against him, rubbing myself against him. “Merethyl, do you know where you are?” “With you, my mate, my love, my life.” “Yes, you are with me. Do you know where WE are?” I open my eyes again and the beautiful woman is still here. I growl at her. “I don’t want your mate, Merethyl. I’m here to help you. Do you know who I am?” “The water dragon.”
