by KD Jones
Chapter 24
Arena landed on a small clearing on the top of a mountain and shifted to her human form. The area overlooked the valley below and the view was beautiful and serene. Birds were chirping and the breeze was cool and brisk. This had been a favorite spot whenever she came to visit the ranch but since Reichardt had mated, she hadn’t visited as often as she used to. This would be the perfect spot for her to sit down and think clearly.
She thought about the female who had approached her, claiming she was carrying Blaze’s dragonlet. She knew Blaze. He would have told her if he was planning to mate another. Why had she allowed that female to get her so upset? She should head back and ask Blaze directly about it, to clear the air. The hardest part for her was trusting him, and her own instincts in knowing who he really was after all of these years. If the female’s words were true, then he wasn’t the male she thought he was and he didn’t deserve another chance.
She would go back and get the truth from Blaze himself. Just as she was about to shift back to her dragon form, she noticed a dragon flying in her direction. She didn’t recognize the dragon but could tell it was a male. A sense of danger filled her. She quickly shifted into dragon form and took to the air. Flapping her wings, she leaped off the ledge and took to flight.
The male dragon followed her and easily caught up to her. Maybe Reichardt had sent one of his warriors to look for her. However, the male moved to block her path, forcing her to alter her direction. What the fuck is going on? Furious, she took a deep breath to release fire on the ass, but he swooped down and swiped her side with his claws. The attack was so unexpected, she lost balance and began to fall. She had to work to get her wings spread out to catch a draft of air to ease her landing on the ground below.
Bleeding, she shifted into her human form and rolled onto her side, breathing heavily. The male dragon landed and shifted. “What in the hell are you doing?” she demanded, holding her wound with one hand. She tried to sit up.
“I’m making sure that I get what’s owed to me and make Blaze pay for keeping me from my destiny.”
“He’ll kill you for attacking me. In fact, all the kings will have your death ordered.”
He gave her a vicious smile. “That’s if they find you.”
He swung a fist at her face and she felt the contact. It knocked her back, and darkness soon took her. Blaze’s loving face was the last thing she remembered.
*****
“Marj, have you seen Cor?” Blaze asked the eldest female in his clan. She still looked young, like she was in her forties, but he knew she was several hundred years old. Her mate had died in the evacuation from Drakonia and she had been left to raise her grandson and granddaughter.
Marj shook her head. “I haven’t seen him since about early this afternoon. He was with Shanna and they had some kind of fight.”
Blaze looked around the line of cabins. Most of his clan were outside gathered around to find out what all the fuss was about. In fact, everyone was here except for Cor and Shanna. A sound coming from Reichardt’s pants had everyone turning to look curiously at the king.
Reichardt reached inside his pants and pulled out something that he placed by his ear. Then he spoke into it. “Reichardt speaking. She’s not there? Any sign of a struggle? No, leave it there. We’re on our way.” Then Reichardt put the communication device in his pants pocket.
“What’s going on?” Blaze asked.
“Arena’s guard found Arena’s clothes on the southwest field.”
“Where is that?”
“We’ll shift and fly out,” Reichardt motioned for him to follow him. Other warriors came as well, including several males from Blaze’s clan.
They all shifted and flew in the direction that Reichardt was heading. Within minutes they landed, shifting back into their two-legged forms. A warrior with dark hair stood with a familiar blue dress in his hands. Arena had been wearing it when they parted earlier that day.
Blaze moved past the others. He stormed toward the male and yanked her clothing out of his hands. He brought the clothing to his nose and inhaled deeply. He could smell Arena’s sweet natural scent — and a hint of hurt.
He knelt on a knee and leaned close to the ground. Another scent that was familiar to him came from a few feet away. “Shanna was here with Arena.” He followed the path of feet against dirt then dragon feet. “Arena shifted and flew away.”
His dragon was chafing, wanting to be released so that they could find their mate. He looked at Reichart. “Send someone to hunt down Shanna and Cor. I’m going after Arena.”
“Did someone chase her?” Malachi asked. He hadn’t realized the other king was there.
“She left alone. I think I can follow her scent.”
“Then let’s go. I’ll send warriors to look for your clan members.”
Nodding his head, he turned, shifted and lifted his wings to catch the breeze. The other two kings and another warrior shifted to follow him.
He would find Arena and then he would discover why Shanna had approached his mate.
Chapter 25
“Let me go!” Arena yelled, trying to break the rope tying her hands behind her back. Her legs were tied as well, making it impossible for her to shift. Her wound was bleeding again and she knew it wouldn’t be long before she lost consciousness. If she couldn’t shift again, she wouldn’t heal and could bleed out. It happened sometimes during battle with warriors. She turned pleading eyes on the female she now knew was named Shanna.
“Cor, this has gone too far. I thought you just wanted to make Blaze look bad in front of the others. She’s going to die if we don’t let her shift,” Shanna said from the opening of the cave.
Cor paced back and forth. “Why are you here? You were supposed to stay back at the ranch to make sure that the blame fell on Blaze for her disappearance. Why did you follow me?”
“I had second thoughts about things. At first, I thought we would be going back to our individual clans, us to Dyson and the others to theirs. But I overheard warriors talking about Dyson. He is no longer considered a king and in fact is being hunted for crimes.”
“What crimes? No one can take a crown from another.”
“I don’t know the details, but evidently, Dyson did some bad things.”
“Well, this new plan should take care of our problem then.”
“What new plan?” Shanna asked suspiciously, glancing over at Arena with worry.
“When she dies, we will pin the blame on Blaze. They’ll kill him and I will take leadership of our clan.”
Arena was fading in and out of consciousness due to the loss of blood but felt a cold streak through her body when she heard the male named Cor stating his plan. She began to wonder who her captor really was. Is he insane? She had to say something.
“Killing me won’t get you what you want. No one will believe Blaze would hurt me.”
The male and female turned to look at her. Cor stepped closer to her. “Why not? He’s a stranger to everyone here.”
“Two reasons.” Arena took a breath. She knew she wasn’t going to make it for long.
“What reasons?” Cor shook her to wake her up.
“He’s my mate.”
“I don’t see a claiming mark,” Cor pushed her head to the side.
Arena’s dragon growled, wanting to bust free. “I have his scent on me and mine is on his. Mark or no, he’s mine.”
“What’s the other reason?” Shanna asked, coming up to peer over Cor’s shoulder at her.
Arena smiled as she closed her eyes. “He’s the rightful heir to King Zocor. I already informed my second that I want to give up my rule to him. Once I die, they will back him up and come after you. You’re as good as dead.”
Cor slapped her before he moved away. “Lies. He can’t be related to Zocor. Why wouldn’t the king have claimed him?”
Arena didn’t answer because blood had begun to fill her mouth. Cor growled angrily and stepped outside the cave, leaving Shanna and
Arena alone. Shanna bent down and placed a cloth to Arena’s mouth, trying to help stop the blood.
“Is that true? Is Blaze really the son of Zocor?”
“Yes.”
“He told me something like that but I thought he was making it up to impress me. Blaze mostly talked about you. His queen. I hated you before I ever met you because I could tell his heart belonged with you. That’s why he never committed to me.” Shanna hung her head. “I’m not carrying a dragonlet either,” she confessed.
“Why did you say it?”
“Cor’s original plan was to upset you and make Blaze look bad so that he could take the leadership role from him. I thought I would be going back to King Dyson’s clan along with Cor, so I went along with it.”
“Dyson isn’t a king,” Arena told her.
“I know. I’m sorry for what I did.” Shanna looked over her shoulder to make sure Cor had not come back inside.
“Then help me escape,” Arena pleaded with her.
Shanna nodded in agreement and began to untie the ropes. She leaned closer to whisper in Arena’s ear. “Don’t move until I have him distracted. Then go out and dive for the sky.”
Arena nodded in understanding, wincing as the ropes snapped loose and her blood began to circulate. It hurt like hell. The pain helped wake her enough to help her focus on what she needed to do next.
Shanna stood up and walked out of the cave. Arena could hear Shanna talking to Cor so she got to her hands and knees before using the wall of the cave to pull herself to her feet. She wobbled but didn’t fall.
Keeping her hold against the wall she made her way to the opening of the cave. She could see that the sun was beginning to go down. How long had she been here? Was Blaze looking for her? He would be looking for her — she knew that. All she had to do was shift and escape, and get far enough away to stay safe until her mate found her.
At the opening of the cave, she slowly peered out and noticed that Cor’s back was to her. Shanna caught her eye and motioned for her to make her move.
Arena didn’t hesitate. She took off running for the edge, shifting in the process. Leaping off the edge in dragon form she struggled to get her wings out. For a moment she thought she wouldn’t make it but then her wings caught the wind and she lifted into the air.
“No! Come back here, bitch!” Cor yelled out.
Arena turned to look back and saw Shanna try to hold Cor back. He literally lifted the other female and threw her against the side of the cave. It looked like he might have knocked her out. Then Cor shifted and leapt off the ledge, heading her way.
Arena let out a dragon call, loud and clear. Hopefully it would reach anyone searching for her — and quickly. She hadn’t recovered from her injuries and wouldn’t be able to fight Cor one on one yet.
Mate will come for us, her dragon reassured her. She prayed that was true.
Chapter 26
Blaze heard the dragon’s sonar call. It was Arena. He knew it.
Our mate needs us, his dragon implored.
He redirected his flight in the sonar’s direction. The others followed him. Thoughts of what might be happening to Arena filled his mind and made him fly faster than he had ever flown before.
A few minutes later he caught sight of a female figure on a ledge near a cave on the ground. He shifted just as he landed and ran to the female. A few feet away he knew it wasn’t Arena. It was Shanna. He knelt down and turned her over.
“Shanna, where’s Arena?”
Shanna groaned as she opened her eyes. “Blaze?”
“Yes.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for it to go this far.”
“Where’s Arena?”
“She went east. Cor… he’s going to kill her.”
“I’ll stay with the female,” Reichardt offered, coming up beside him. “Go after Arena.”
Blaze stood up and ran for the ledge shifting into dragon form as he jumped off. Inhaling deeply, he picked up Arena’s scent. He also detected Arena’s blood. She was hurt. Fury filled him as he flew.
Two dragon forms appeared a few hundred feet ahead. They looked like they were engaging in mid-air battle. The smaller dragon—Arena—ducked to avoid getting swiped. When Arena seemed to lose her balance and began to fall, Blaze felt like his heart dropped as well.
No! He let out a roar of fury. The larger dragon — Cor — stopped his pursuit of Arena and turned to face Blaze. Blaze hit Cor’s dragon in the side hard, knocking him away. He glanced down and saw Arena’s dragon land a bit clumsily on the ground. The other two dragons — Malachi and another warrior he assumed was Arena’s guard — made their way down to her. He wanted to go to her, but first, he would take care of the male that had dared to attack his mate.
He returned his attention to Cor’s dragon just as the other dragon tried to claw him. Blaze dropped down and scored a hit on Cor’s underbelly. The dragon roared out in pain and fury. Cor tried to get him with his lower claws but he dodged Cor again and breathed fire on the dragon. Usually the scales protected dragons from fire, but with a fresh cut on the underbelly, Cor was more vulnerable.
They battled in the sky, each one taking a swipe at the other. Cor missed Blaze quite a few times. Blaze swiped Cor multiple times until the dragon was losing blood and strength. As their fight began to die down, they lowered in altitude, getting closer and closer to the ground. Finally, Cor fell to the ground, shifting to his two-legged form. Blaze followed him down and shifted. King Malachi approached the badly injured Cor.
“Arena?” Blaze called out in desperation.
“Her guard has her by the creek to your right. I’ll take care of this guy. Go see to your mate.”
Blaze didn’t have to be told twice. He ran to her. At the sight of another male near his very naked mate, his dragon growled.
The guard stood back and put his hands in the air. “I was just assessing her injuries. They’re healing.”
“Blaze!” Arena cried out at the sight of him. “You’re hurt.”
He knelt down and gently pulled her into his arms. “All is well.”
“No, it’s not. You’re hurt.”
She touched him gently to see where all his injuries were located. Leaning his head down to inhale her scent, he felt whole with her in his arms. “I’m fine. How are your injuries?”
Arena stroked his face. “It will take a few shifts before I’m fully healed, but the bleeding has stopped.”
“That’s good. We’ll shift and head back to the ranch. You need to rest and eat. We’ll shift again by morning.”
“Help me up,” she told him.
Blaze stood and lifted her to her feet easily. “Are you sure you can shift again? You could ride on my back.”
“I will fly on my own, thank you very much.”
He smiled at her sassiness. He leaned down and kissed her. “By the way, I’m going to be claiming you as my mate. Just wanted to give you a heads up.”
She snorted. “I’m claiming you, just so you know.”
“I love you, Arena.”
Arena smiled at him. “Love you, too.”
“Let’s go home, my queen.”
“Yes, please.”
Epilogue
Several months later
“This is the life,” Blaze said as he reclined on a lounge chair.
Arena rubbed sun tan lotion over his shoulders, enjoying the feel of his muscles beneath her fingertips. Just months ago, she had been badly injured. Her attacker, Cor, not been allowed to shift to heal his own injuries and was currently in lock up somewhere on the ranch in Arizona.
After Arena and Blaze healed, they wasted no more time and claimed each other as true mates. His clan had returned with the two of them to her clan and had assimilated. So much had happened — she had taken Blaze as her mate, her people finally acknowledged Blaze as Zocor’s heir, and they planned celebration of their mating.
Finally, they had made it to her favorite spot in the Maldives. Their people would start to re
locate to this island in a few weeks, but for right now, she and Blaze had the private beach all to themselves.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked him.
He turned to look up at her. “It is, but not as beautiful as you.”
She leaned down to kiss him. “Mate, you are a little biased.”
“I’m honest.”
For weeks now, she had waited for a perfect moment alone with him. There was something she needed to tell him. She wasn’t sure how he would react. Arena had grown silent and looked off into the distance.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, cupping her cheek to turn her to face him.
“No, everything is perfect. Absolutely perfect. But there’s something I need to tell you.”
“What?”
“You’ve been a blessing to me in so many ways, but you’ve given me something that I never thought would be possible.”
“Arena?” his deep voice sounded concerned.
She took his hand in hers and laid it across her flat stomach. “I’m going to have our dragonlet in a few months.”
“What?” He sat up quickly, almost toppling them both off the lounge. He lifted her and placed her in his lap. “Is this really happening?”
She nodded, tears of joy spilling down her cheeks. “Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Are you okay? We need to find a healer.”
Placing a finger over his lips, she shushed him. “It’s okay, honey. I have already seen a doctor, that’s a healer here on Earth. When I realized that I might be pregnant, I worried since I had difficulties with my previous attempts. The doctor is someone who knows about our people and has been very helpful in the past. I told him about my medical history and he thinks that I had a low estrogen level, which may have caused the miscarriages. We started treatments immediately. I didn’t want to tell you until I was far enough along and I had good news. The doctor says that I am healthy and the baby is too.”
He stroked her stomach. “You should have told me sooner. I am grateful to have you, but this…is a miracle. You are my miracle.”
