Eternal

by Rebecca Royce

  She’d die in this cave. At least, she’d been kissed, twice. Both times by Dougal. Gods, she could have loved him. Strong, capable, a leader of men. The kind of guy she’d learn to love as the mating grew between them. Only he didn’t feel it for her. Broken Werewolves didn’t attract mates, so who could blame him for his lack of reaction? Whatever genes went askew in her were not meant to be passed on.

  A noise intruded and she opened her eyes. Dougal ran into the cave, still shirtless. Built like a man who used his body as a tool to survive, he had muscles to spare. A nice view for her last sight.

  He held two sticks in his hand. The closer he got to her the more she could see both held sticky goo on the ends. Not a technical term. She wasn’t at work, so who cared? Sticky goo applied to the substance.

  “Did you find it?”

  “Two things.” He knelt next to her. “This to close it,” he held the stick in his right hand, “and this for the pain.”

  “What for the pain?” She hadn’t followed his description. Maybe her mind had started to slip.

  “The stuff used to make the dragon drugs. Obviously, those taking it are not feeling any pain.”

  She shuddered. “No. I won’t take the stuff. It’s totally addictive. My sister is stuck on it. She and her husband have robbed my family blind for years to keep up the habit.”

  “Well, that’s going to stop.” He growled and she would have smiled if it didn’t hurt so much.

  “What do you plan on doing about it? The whole thing is very complicated. Your brother told me at his mating ceremony he plans on putting a stop to it too. I don’t know how anything can change, short of killing her. She’d addicted. Once you’re on, you’re never off.”

  “If Devon is handling it, then it’ll be taken care of. We Owens men live by our word.” He shook his head and the funniest expression crossed his face. He almost looked...confused. Finally, he spoke again. “Listen, taking this once, it’s not going to make you a drug addict. You’d have to get to keep taking it. One time? Not likely. I won’t let you ever have any more. End of story. You’re in pain. Stop arguing.”

  He painted the sticky one over her open wound. For a second nothing happened and then the burning started. She cried out, trying to wrench from Dougal, anything to wipe the stuff off.

  “No. Stop.” He held her with his free hand. “It’s closing. It’s working.”

  “It burns.” She hated the sensation. “Like the boiler. I’m going to turn to ash.”

  “No, you won’t. It’s not the same. Open your mouth.”

  A sweet taste touched her tongue. Seconds later, the fire in her body stopped. In fact, she felt nothing. Caitlyn wasn’t sure what happened. She might have been floating over her body.

  Everything felt so easy. She stared at Dougal’s face and while she did some of the tension left his features.

  “Did you encounter any problems?” she asked. Dougal stripped off his pants. Then, he smoothed the hair off her forehead and lay next to her. “What are you doing?”

  “You’re cold, even if you aren’t feeling it at the moment. I’m going to warm us both.” She stared sideways at him for a second before she let out a fresh burst of giggles.

  “What’s funny?” Once next to her, he pulled her into his arms.

  “I can see your penis.”

  “Gods.” He covered his eyes with his free arm. “You are really feeling the dragon gook aren’t you?”

  “I think I am.” She giggled again. Maybe she could stay feeling like this. Who cared if Dragons waited for her outside? Who cared if she’d always be alone? Right then, she felt wonderful. “So did you?”

  “Encounter any problems out there collecting this stuff? Yes. There is a dragon out there. It doesn’t seem particularly interested in me.”

  “What do you mean?” She hummed. What was the song in her head? Something so lovely, her mother used to sing it when she was a little girl.

  “I’m not sure. All I can tell you is the dragon looked right at me as I smashed an egg and did nothing except watch me run away.”

  “Well, your explanation really makes no sense.” Her lids felt heavy. She didn’t want to sleep.

  “I have no idea where they went with the boat.”

  “Do you think they drowned? Their deaths would be such a shame. I liked all of them. I’d hate to have their deaths on my conscience when I feel like myself again.” She turned her head to look at him. “I don’t right this second. Feel like myself, that is.”

  “I know.” He played with a strand of her hair. . “You could rest if you want.”

  “Not even a little bit tired. Kind of euphoric actually. Maybe this will be interesting for my studies. I can speak about the drug from personal experience.”

  The cave was quiet save for the sound of her humming, which she couldn’t seem to stop. If it bothered Dougal, he didn’t say anything. He smelled like cloves.

  She must have said it aloud, because he said, “Always interesting how we can’t identify the scents on ourselves. We can smell everyone else, yet not our own aromas.” He rubbed his eyes. “You smell like I remember home.”

  “I haven’t lived there in so long.”

  “Doesn’t matter. You still do.”

  “I thought you were my mate. Pretty stupid, huh? The gods are never so kind to me.”

  He jolted. What did his movement mean?

  She’d no sooner uttered the words before she drifted. With no idea where she floated, she just went with the sensation. She was reasonably certain she didn’t actually leave her body. Hallucinations. In the real world, she lay on the ground in a cave pressed to the man she’d thought about for sixteen years.

  The sound of her mother humming the song moved her forward through nothingness to...something. It didn’t make sense, but then it didn’t have to. Hallucinations were by nature illogical.

  Pain flooded her head, and she jerked to a stop only she didn’t because she wasn’t really anywhere anyway. Except there she was, standing in the basement of her parent’s home watching the worst day of her life. The day everything she’d thought she knew about life, werewolves, and who she was changed drastically.

  She saw herself standing there, the little girl she had been. Her mother had asked her to go to the basement to see if the boiler was lit. The kitchen had suddenly gotten cold. Her father wasn’t very good at fixing things and her mother had her hands full with all the little kids.

  Caitlyn knelt on the floor. She saw the flame beneath the device was lit which meant it should have been working. What was going on? She sniffed the air. Something smelled off.

  “Mom?” She called. “I think there might be a problem.”

  “Obviously there’s a problem, Caitlyn. Which is why I sent you to check.”

  Caitlyn growled low, lest her mother hear her. “Thanks, Mom.”

  She bent and stared beneath the boiler again. The flame flickered. So it was lit, only it wasn’t working one hundred percent.

  The grown version of Caitlyn watched herself with a certain amount of detachment. Amazing she could feel so calm. In about five seconds, the basement was going to explode. How long had it been filling with gas? Why hadn’t her parents smelled it? Probably because they never went into the basement. They’d never had the greatest noses. Things went the way they went, she supposed.

  Boom.

  Chapter Five

  Dougal held Caitlyn as she shook. Detoxing was the part of drug abuse, which really sucked. Users went up and then they came down. The good news was her wound finally healed. It was not bleeding, fully closed and hardly red. She wouldn’t have an infection.

  I thought you were my mate.

  He closed his eyes and tried to breathe. He thought so too. His knowing it didn’t mean, however, they could actually go the mating route. What did he have to offer a mate? A lifetime of waiting for him to get home from an endless war or news of his death by dragon? What could he do if he ever made it home to support her?

&nb
sp; He turned on his side to stare at her sleeping face. Her color wasn’t good. Then again she was in the middle of a drug withdrawal. How good could she look?

  How did he not notice her beauty? He barely noticed the scars and only when she pointed them out. No, she was perfectly her.

  Her eyes fluttered open and she looked for him. “Am I okay?”

  Such an innocent question. Where any of them ever okay anymore? “Yes.”

  “I don’t feel right.”

  “Your body is ridding itself of the drug. If you want more, I’d be okay with it considering the level of your injury, since another couple of hours of pain relief would be fine. You’d feel better again.”

  “No.” She grabbed at his arm with soft fingers. “This stuff is so addictive.”

  “I know.” He traced the slope of her nose. “Which is why I didn’t give you anymore.”

  “Thanks for everything you did. I see I’m wearing clothes again.”

  “They dried, so I put them back on you. And welcome.” Of course.

  She struggled to sit and he slowed her. “Easy.”

  “I need to sit. Unless you tell me the room is really spinning.”

  “Nope.” He rubbed her back. There really wasn’t anything else to do. They had no boat and they were trapped in a cave on the worst possible dragon island with a purple sentry outside waiting for them. No, he corrected his thought. Not them. The thing hadn’t cared one bit about him. Though it didn’t make any sense, he couldn’t shake the nagging thought the dragon wanting Caitlyn.

  The idea was ridiculous. What could a purple dragon want with her? What could it want with any of them? A dragon never turned away from the chance to kill. The one which struck the night before went for her too.

  “Hey, beautiful, I have a question.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t call me beautiful.”

  “Tough.” He really didn’t care whether she liked it or not. Dougal would call her whatever he liked.

  She rolled her eyes. “You had a question.”

  “Have you had any particular dealings with the dragons before?”

  “Dealings? No. Of course not. I mean how could I have?” She shook her head. “We look at their secretions under microscopes. The most I’ve ever had to do with any of it before yesterday when I saw one for the first time. Why?”

  “No reason, really.” He wouldn’t make her more upset. If she thought the beast wanted her specifically she might freak out. The last thing he wanted was her wound to open.

  Where is the fucking boat?

  If it didn’t get there soon, he’d have to go kill the thing and who knew how many others the fight would draw out? Hiding in a cave was really not working for him. Caitlyn was in the cave, and he needed to protect her.

  “Obviously you had a reason for asking.”

  “Sure.” He smiled. Those smart eyes of hers would never missed a beat. “I’m not interested in sharing my thinking.”

  “Well. Your response is frustrating as hell.”

  “I can be difficult.” He wanted to tease her, almost a compulsion to do so. Anything to make her smile. The mating dance—dammit, he’d wanted to avoid entanglements, yet here he was falling for her.

  She hadn’t answered so he looked over at her where she stared, straight ahead in the cave. The light from the entrance let him see her perfectly. Although he’d not been keeping track of time, he knew it to be early evening. They were going to need to eat soon. Caitlyn in particular would need sustenance to keep going after her ordeal.

  “I have a problem.”

  “Oh?” He wanted to kiss her and he was going to do so really soon. His hands itched. By the gods, how did Werewolves survive the pull? Did anyone ever hold off?

  “I have to pee.”

  He stood. “Come on.”

  “No. I don’t want you to watch me.”

  “I’m not planning on it. I’m going to bring you to where you can take care of business and guard you. I’ll keep my back turned.” This was the most ridiculous conversation and the fact was it hadn’t stopped him from wanting to kiss her. Gods help him.

  She rose on shaking legs. “There’s some evidence the dragon drug can be addictive after only one use.”

  “You’re too tough for that.” He hoped. If he’d made Caitlyn a junkie, it would put him on the list of worst males ever. Of course, Dougal might already be there.

  He helped her walk to the back of the cave. He’d gone back himself once when she’d been out cold for the same reason. “The corner is probably the best place.”

  “Um. Thanks.”

  She was so ridiculously cute. Gods. “Welcome.”

  “Turn around.”

  “Oh. Right.” Dougal looked away. He wanted to point out he’d already seen her naked. Still, if she wanted modesty he’d give it to her. Somehow he wouldn’t think about how as her body had heated next to mine and she’d dozed in her drugged out stupor, he’d realized how completely right it felt to have her long legs wrapped against his own. How she was soft everywhere...

  “Okay, I’m done.”

  “Great.” He took her hand back with his. “We’re going to have to figure out what to do. Obviously, we can’t stay in this cave.

  She cleared her throat. “No, obviously not. We have to go out so I can see the egg fields.”

  “No. Absolutely not. Whatever the plan was when there were a dozen of us on a boat is not going to happen with only us here. I have to keep you safe and I can’t do it out there.” Where the crazy purple dragon waited...

  “You’re being absurd. I’m here to do a job, and I can still do it. Even if I feel like hell. Danger was always part of it.”

  “No.” Before he’d realized what he’d done he backed her to the cave wall. “Risking you is not any part of any plan ever. And screw you if you thought it was.”

  “Wow. Why are you yelling at me?” Her eyes were huge. He should feel badly for raising his voice. This was nether the time nor the place. Yet, his heart pounded hard and his blood pumped fast in his veins. He could either run for hours or do something about what was really bothering him.

  “Do you remember what you said to me?”

  “Um.” Her throat clenched. “When specifically? I must have really made you mad.”

  “Not angry, no.” He claimed her with a kiss. The demand and need for her was terrible idea. He wanted her.

  When he lifted his head, her eyes fluttered open slowly. “I did something to make you want to kiss me?”

  “You told me you thought I was your mate. Only now you don’t think so.”

  Her cheeks pinkened, an improvement to her earlier paleness. “Obviously, I was drugged or I’d never have wanted to make you uncomfortable.”

  “Do you think I kissed you because you made me uneasy?” He pressed his forehead to hers. “We’re going to work on whatever’s been done to you emotionally. I’m not sure how we will with me here and you back home in your lab, I only know we will.”

  “You’re not making any sense.”

  “I’m your mate. You’re mine. End of story. You don’t go out there with only me to protect you from the dragons. I don’t care about eggs, drugs, or fire. Do you understand?”

  “No.” She shoved him with surprising strength. “You don’t get to mess with me like this. We both know I’m unmateable. You saw it yourself. I don’t heal.”

  “You think I care whether or not your skin knits in changes? Only in as much as I worry about you getting hurt.” He leaned back. “It’s nothing. We all have something.”

  “No. We don’t. You can shift and heal your wounds. I’ll always be a walking reminder of how things can go wrong. Every person who ever looks at me will...”

  He growled, interrupting her. His nerves were truly frayed. “Fuck whatever they think. Weren’t you listening this morning when Davey, the jackass who shot you, babbled?”

  “For the brief moment you let me speak to him? Sure, I paid attention. Why? What does he have to do wi
th this?”

  “His sister is mated. To a blind war hero.” He waited. No understanding appeared in her eyes.

  “Yes? And?”

  “For someone so smart, you’re being dense. He didn’t heal, beautiful. He shifted and his eyes didn’t turn back on. Do you understand? Things are different. All kinds of Wolves are coming home with injuries they’ll never heal from.”

  “Other than this insanity, I was never in the war.”

  Dougal took a deep breath. It was difficult to let go of ideas he’d held onto for a long time—like the one telling him he had no business being anyone’s mate. He couldn’t expect Caitlyn to simply alter her belief system in one conversation.

  “You were burned when your basement boiler exploded. Fire. Like the dragons. Same difference. I’m not a scientist, I’ve never been very smart about this stuff. Maybe there were some Wolves who were never going to heal. We didn’t know because we were living really cushy lives. Not too many Wolves were regularly getting blown up. Either way, I want you.”

  ****

  Caitlyn had to still be asleep, dreaming in her drug-induced haze. In real life, Dougal Owens wouldn’t be saying these things to her. No way could she have the kind of happiness he offered.

  “Dougal, I think you’re confused. If I was really your mate, you would have known it when you met me, when you saw me yesterday. You didn’t...”

  “Who says? Where did all these rules come from? Fairytales? How could that be possible? The first time we saw each other was probably when you were an infant in your mother’s arms in my living room or something. It’s nonsense. I’d taken down a dragon minutes before you walked in a room. Whatever system in my body controls this stuff was probably a little off.” He shook his head. A muscle ticked in his upper jaw. “Enough.”

  His mouth pressed to hers. It was the third time he’d kissed her. If their lips had locked when she’d been drugged—apparently when she’d also told him about the mating—she didn’t remember.

  He thought they were mates.

  Dougal pulled back to look at her. “Stop thinking so hard when I’m kissing you.”