Our race was born many thousands of years ago when there were more magical and mythical beings. Like pure dragons. They lived to protect and serve. Then one day the dragons started dying. The mages from the Coven of Shadows came up with a solution. It was to combine dragon essence with a human soul. Basically creating this super being and giving them the ability to take human form and dragon form. Dragon shifters.
Since that time only a select handful of dragon shifters had sealed the soul bond with a human. All lived in the human realm and lived like humans. Such a thing was frowned upon, but allowed in certain circumstances. But never, never if you were from the royal bloodline. Like me.
As a son of the king who’d ruled Pandir for the last thousand years it was against the law for me to even contemplate it.
But... I didn’t care. It was my life and I wasn’t going to spend eternity doing what someone else told me. I’d do what I fucking well wanted and right now it was to find Ariyah. She didn’t have to go. I never wanted her to.
I never did. Of course she wouldn’t have known that because I never said and leaving was probably what you did after going home with some guy you didn’t know.
I wished like hell I’d been awake or heard when she left so I could have stopped her. I couldn’t believe I’d tamped down my essence to such a low level. That wasn’t like me. And the wards?
Fuck, those wards should have been powerful enough to keep the Elk out. I didn’t know how they would have got past them.
I really didn’t want to deal with that shit now. And I wouldn’t...
I damn well wouldn’t. Something was definitely brewing. The Elken wouldn’t have just come here. They were either looking for something, or checking something out. Whoever sent them must have been paying well for them to venture to a dragon shifters home. My lair. Shimmering in and out, and I could have been dead to the world.
I shrugged into my shirt. “I’m going to find her.”
Jupe put his hand out to stop me as I was about to walk past him. “Eric, the Elk. We need to deal with that. They were here for something.”
“Yeah sure, but I’ll deal with that later.”
“Eric.” He said my name with more insistence.
I rested my hand on his shoulder. “Look, Jupe, you’ve been a good friend to me. So I’ll spare the time to tell you this. There was something special about this girl, something that took me to that level where I sealed off my essence.”
The corners of his lips turned down.
“Fine,” he smirked. “But, Eric you aren’t thinking straight. Elk in your house is not something to brush under the rug. I think they were watching you. Plus you seemed to miss the bit where I said I was on my way over here anyway. Amanda Drinkle’s going to be thrown out of her home in about five minutes.”
I winced widening my eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me that first?”
“Because of the Elk and the state of you with no magic. I don’t think you realize the seriousness. You have things in this house that could be dangerous if the wrong hands take it.”
While he was right about that, and not wrong to worry about my unusual collection of artifacts and charms, Amanda losing her home topped all of that in my book.
“How is she losing her home?”
“She couldn’t keep up the monthly payments after she lost her job and she was too embarrassed to tell us. She called me in tears earlier.”
That news was the only thing that could deter me from finding Ariyah.
Amanda was a client. We’d known her for a very long time. She was a former drug addict trying to make her way back from the darkness. She came to me years ago when she had disputes with her step family over their inheritance. They didn’t want her to get anything after her father died because she was his daughter from a previous relationship. I sorted it out for her and she was able to get something. Recently she’d lost her job and she had two kids.
Without a second to spare I secured my grip to his shoulders and shimmered out of the room, going through the thin veil of time and space that allowed me to teleport. That wasn’t dragon magic. That was me. That was one of the tricks I’d picked up over the years.
Chapter 5
Eric
I took us to the alleyway just behind Amanda’s house so we wouldn’t be seen.
“Damn it why can’t you ever tell me when you’re going to do that?” Jupe scowled grasping his stomach like he was trying not to heave.
“Man up,” I smirked.
He held his hand up to me.
Usually it would have been funny to watch him try to regain his composure but time was of the essence. A look to the street confirmed we were running out of it.
There were two bailiff’s outside of Amanda’s house and they were taking her things out of her house. When I saw that I stepped out from the alley. Doing so allowed me to see Amanda herself and her two boys, both under five. They were standing by the oak tree on their lawn. All three were crying.
This was the kind of thing that got to me deep. My father always told me I tapped into too much of the humanity that ran through my veins. He favored Caleb over me for a very long time. In some ways I was sure he still did. Didn’t matter that Caleb would kill him for the throne and the chance to rule the kingdom. Like he actually did. My brother actually tried that, but it was to his detriment.
I rushed up to Amanda, completely surprising her. Jupe followed behind me.
“Eric,” she gasped through tears. The poor woman was shaking and crying. The two kids clung onto her legs.
“Why didn’t you tell me this was happening?” I cut straight to business.
She looked embarrassed. “I couldn’t. It’s too much. It’s all too much.” She ran her hand through her thick dark locks which were a complete mess.
“How much is too much?” I raised my brows.
“Twenty thousand. I took a loan on the house to set up my business then I lost my job and couldn’t pay. There’s no way you can negotiate this in time, but thanks for coming.” She looked from me to Jupe. “I have to find a shelter or something. They may take my kids.”
There was no way I was going to let that happen. Not any of it.
“Jupe, take the boys to the little café down the road. Get them whatever they want. I’ll take care of this.”
“Consider it done.” Jupe nodded.
“What are you doing?” Amanda searched my eyes.
“Never mind about that. Who’s in charge here?”
“That guy.” She pointed to a tall man with a huge gut. He was just putting up the foreclosure sign on the door. “Eric what are you doing? It’s too late. I lost it.”
“It’s never too late.”
I had money. The old legends were true about dragons. They loved gold and anything of value. A number of precious stones had passed through my hands in the two hundred years I’d lived in the human realm. That was how I made my wealth. For a while I live life to the fullest and finest. Spending everything then the time came when I got bored doing that. So I decided to help the people I was so fond of and became a lawyer.
I knew you shouldn’t help everyone but there were some who appreciated it.
People like Amanda.
“Eric you’ve been very good to me, very good.” She nodded.
I had been, but it wasn’t just her. I was a pro bono lawyer. All my legal services were free. Services that most lawyers charged a fortune for, but I got into this career, for lack of a better word for that purpose. It seemed to be the one thing that served as a good distraction for me. Put simply it gave me something to do. Jupe too. He had no reason to leave Pandir other than because of the fact that he was my friend. Since we’d lived in the human realm we worked together helping one helpless soul after another.
“Clearly I haven’t been that good to you if this happened.” I gave her a friendly smile.
Pride, it was one of the things I didn’t like about humans. Pride was one of those things that got them in trouble. Amanda h
ere was a classic case of pride. She let pride get in and the potential injury to herself respect way before any thought occurred to her to ask for help.
I would never do that. Especially if I had children. Young babies like she did who didn’t need the horrible experience she just gave them.
“Please... tell me what you’re going to do.”
“You already know. It’s the only thing I can do in this situation.” I regarded her stunned expression with her hands shaking and lips trembling. More tears streamed down her cheeks.
“You can’t. You can’t do what I think you’re saying.”
“Watch me.” This was what I meant about pride. She’d rather keep it than allow me to make the payment. That really was all I could do.
She held my gaze with her sad eyes, not quite believing what I was offering.
“Come on,” I put my arm around her.
“Thank you Eric. Thank you so much. I can’t thank you enough. Thank you. I’ll pay you back as soon as I can. I will, I promise I will. I have no one, no one who would do this for me. ”
“It’s okay, and I’m here. Don’t think about anything else right now.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Let’s do this.” I ushered her up the path where the head bailiff stood. She could barely walk.
He frowned when he saw me but adjusted the expression to mild interest when I gave him my best don’t-fuck-with-me look.
“Hi, my name’s Eric Baverok. I’m here to pay the debts, Miss Drinkle’s debt.” I released Amanda even though she was still shaking and stood a little taller. This guy was the same height as me, but I had more muscle.
“The whole debt, just like that. Sounds a little fishy to me,” the bailiff smirked.
I stepped closer into his personal space and assessed his emotions. As I did I truly wished I could do a thing or two to teach this guy a lesson. This asshole was loving this whole thing. Coming here to throw a woman and her kids out of the house. It made him look like the big bad wolf in front of his workmates. All the men around here that were going in and out of Amanda’s house with her things. Her possessions.
As one came through the door with one of the boy’s toys I stopped him.
“Take that back upstairs.” I ordered in a similar fashion to how I spoke to the dragon warrior soldiers who served under my command in my father’s court. The man instantly stopped and looked to his boss who’d grown angrier by the second.
“Who do you think you are?” The boss challenged.
It was so obvious that he had an ulterior purpose in this. No normal person would challenge an offer to help the way he did.
I didn’t have time for pussyfooting around and shit.
Much as I shoved the Elken to the back of my mind I knew I had to deal with it, but first I wanted to find Ariyah. I didn’t really want to waste any more time than necessary.
He was about to continue giving me lip but I stopped him with a firm hand to his throat. Amanda gasped and the guy who had the toy walked right back into the house with it.
“Let go of m—” he struggled.
I smiled a wicked smile and tightened my grip, hoisting his miserable body into the air. I knew this display of my strength was so far from blending in. However, I didn’t give a flying fuck.
“Listen to me, pal. There’s no problem here.” I spoke in a low even tone and patted his chest. “Where do I sign to make this little problem go away?”
One more time, I tightened my fingers showing I meant serious business and he nodded.
I released him and he fell, dropping to the ground, shuffling backwards on his hands. He reminded me of an insect. He righted himself quick though and got some paperwork he’d folded up from his back pocket.
I took it and filled out the section he’d crossed out. The section that would have allowed Amanda the chance to make some kind of payment.
Asshole.
I signed it giving my bank payment details and handed it back.
“Pleasure doing business with you. You have any questions let Amanda know. Now get your men to fix her place back the way it was.”
Amanda looked so happy.
I gave her a curt nod before going back down the path.
It felt good to do good. Now back to present problems.
Or rather, my present concerns.
Finding Ariyah.
I looked back to Amanda just to check everything was all still okay but something caught my eye, making me stop midstride.
There was a dark mass just under the willow tree of the neighbor’s house across from me.
It looked like a sphere. It stayed for about a second after I spotted it before it disappeared.
Jupe was right. I was being followed, but that wasn’t an Elk.
It was something else. Something, or someone with dark magic.
Chapter 6
Ariyah
I couldn’t stop thinking about Eric.
I thought I could focus on my work by staying off grid for a few hours. I went home, back to the apartment I was staying at with my best friend Gabrielle who so graciously allowed me to live there for free for the last few weeks.
Gabrielle and I went way back to college. We roomed together then and had a blast. She was like a sister to me, and I guess I was the same for her. We had some very striking similarities in our lives in the sense that she lived in foster care until she was eight then she was adopted. She was one of the good stories people heard about. Placed with a family who loved her to no end, Gabrielle had a good life and her family were the kind that would do anything for her.
It was her story that made me think of going into social care. Her story and then of course there was mine. My very bad story. The combo meant I had a second hand taste of what the good life could be like, and my experience to possibly help troubled kids like me.
That was what I was supposed to be focusing on instead of dreaming about Mr. Perfect and Gorgeous in every way who I’d spent the night with.
I couldn’t believe I’d actually went home with him and had the most amazing night of my life.
It also meant that I was in two minds about going back to the club now.
Or rather, thinking more on the side of not going back. I wanted to see him. God knew I wanted to see him, but it would be weird.
It could be weird and I didn’t think I could bear the thought of seeing him with someone else, or worse shunning me. That was a possibility. It was what men did when they were done with you. After they got what they wanted.
I made a connection with him last night so it would really hurt me to see him do that.
It was all those thoughts that raced through my mind all morning as I looked over my files on my newest case.
It was for a five year old boy who’d just been placed with a foster family. Things were going well, and they wanted to adopt him. I was supposed to look over the reports for the six months he’d been with them and arrange the next steps which would probably take them on another six months journey of assessments and other things.
I’d been pouring over the files in the archives department for three hours, hiding away from everyone as I made my notes.
Half an hour ago I thought a break was in order so I resurfaced to the onsite coffee shop of the Social Services building. To me it was just as good as Starbucks and they made the best cookies.
I was sitting at a table in the corner skimming over my notes which I planned to type up later for the report.
“My God, there you are.” Gabrielle’s voice made me jump.
She rushed up to my table and beamed at me, suspicion in her eyes as she looked at me.
“Hey.” I smiled trying to act nonchalant.
She slid into the chair in front of me, her long black wavy hair bouncing and her large brown eyes wide with anticipation. “Don’t you hey me, Miss Lady. You wouldn’t believe what happened this morning.”
“What happened?” I straightened up quickly.
“No, you tell me
where you were last night first.”
I didn’t think I could have bit back the smile that tugged on my lips if I tried. Even if I tried very hard I would have failed.
With that Gabrielle knew exactly what happened.
“Ariyah, you little devil. You tell me now what happened? You were with a man. My cards never lie.”
I rolled my eyes at her and shook my head. “Your cards?” It was more of a rhetorical question.
Gabrielle was great but she thought she was a witch. A Witch and psychic. Some days she was both, some days she chose to be one or the other depending on what she felt like.
I mostly humored her because it was funny. Especially on the off chance when she was right. Like when she cast that love spell on Connor Donovan back in freshman year and he asked her out. Her excuse for things not working out between them was that the spell wore off.
“My cards never lie.” She gave me a saucy smile. “So, who was he? Before you tell me, I’m gonna let you know that I would be very happy if it was the guy you were telling me about. Tall, dark and broodingly gorgeous.”
Eric wasn’t the kind of man a girl saw and forgot to mention to her very best friend in the world. No way. I absolutely told her about him from the first night I saw him. Honestly, talking about him was what got me through the last few weeks.
Part of the fantasy. Something would happen with Stephan and I’d instantly talk about Eric. But up until last night he was just Mr. Gorgeous.
My cheeks warmed. I should have been bursting to tell her, bursting to let her know that I was with a man who made me feel like a queen. If only for one night.
Somehow though, it felt more private. Like I shouldn’t talk about it. It was special. To me. But, this was Gabrielle. I couldn’t keep secrets from her, never could.
“It was him.” I answered barely above a whisper.
She gasped and squealed eliciting curious glances from the people on the neighboring tables.
His True Love Page 4
