Trapped by the Dragon

by Riley Storm

  “Were you…were you jealous of Liam, earlier?” she asked quietly. “You got very stiff and irritated when he came over. As if you felt…threatened.”

  Rane was quiet. He’d felt it too. His entire being had surged with a desire to protect Natasha, to fight Liam off and claim her as his own. It had come out of nowhere, his dragon half going berserk, and he’d barely contained its immense fury.

  “I don’t know—yes,” he said, throwing all caution to the wind halfway through his denial. “I was. I didn’t expect it, but I was,” he said, spreading his arms wide.

  Natasha nodded, falling silent again, her eyes dropping from his as she was lost in her own thoughts.

  Something occurred to Rane then, a change in perspective that he hadn’t realized.

  “Do you think about our kiss?” he asked, knowing the answer already, but wanting to hear it.

  “Yes.”

  Rane nodded. This was not how he’d expected things to go this night. Or at all, with Natasha. When they’d met, she seemed to standoffish and distant, so unimpressed with having to be around him, that he’d half expected her to reveal she was part of Loiner’s crew, a dragon hater, determined to get rid of him. Yet now here they were, talking about a spur-of-the-moment kiss they’d shared, that neither of them could stop talking about.

  “What about it do you think about?” he pressed, trying to understand her thoughts, to hear her more.

  “That you’re a good kisser?” she joked, smiling lamely up at him in an effort to deflect the question slightly.

  Rane just stared at her, waiting for her to continue. He appreciated the compliment, but they both knew that wasn’t what he’d meant.

  “Lots of different things,” she said quietly. “I don’t know what to make of it. To make of a number of things right now. That’s why I left this morning, I couldn’t be in such a situation with you. Not then. I needed some clarity.”

  “I understand,” he said.

  “Do you?” she asked with a quiet laugh, both of them knowing he was just saying the word to be nice.

  “Perhaps,” he suggested awkwardly. “Perhaps the best way to make something clearer, is to do it again, and see what happens a second time?”

  He stepped closer to her.

  She didn’t back away. The moon was out now, its light shining down on the pair, showing him the wideness of her eyes as he bent down.

  There was still no resistance, so Rane decided, in a moment of courage, to just go for it.

  So he did. He kissed her again, there in the darkened alley between several of the outbuildings. It was just the two of them under the moonlit sky. She didn’t back away, and this time their kiss lingered on for much longer.

  There was no frenzied passion like before, but instead a quiet demand, a need, for the other’s touch. He could feel it in the press of her lips, the hunger of her mouth as their tongues pressed against each other, warm and inviting. Natasha’s hands linked behind his neck while he pulled her in by the small of her back.

  When they eventually parted, they were both breathing just a little bit harder. She bit her lip. He took a deep calming breath through his nose. Neither of them spoke for several long moments.

  “So,” he said at last.

  “So.”

  “Are things any clearer?”

  Her throat worked as she swallowed again. “Not really,” she said quietly. “Other than the fact that you’re a good kisser.”

  “That’s good, I guess,” he said, chuckling awkwardly, unsure of what else to say. “Care to try again? Third time’s the charm, right?”

  Natasha’s eyes opened in merriment and she started to laugh, pulling him into a hug. He grinned, leaning down all the way to her level and accepting it, but almost immediately he felt her stiffen against him.

  “Natasha?” he asked quietly. “Everything okay?”

  She was silent for a moment. “I need to go, Rane. I’m sorry. I have to go now.”

  He opened his mouth to protest, but she was already disengaging herself from him and rushing farther down the alleyway. Rane was so caught off guard he didn’t even pursue.

  “What the hell?” He looked behind him, up the alleyway. Was it something he’d said, or had she seen something? But there was nothing there. Everything was silent.

  Well, that was weird.

  For a moment, he almost went after her, trying to chase her down, to see what was wrong. What he’d done wrong. But he didn’t, recognizing that another line had been crossed between them that night, and she probably needed time to process it.

  Not that she’s the only one who is confused.

  Rane hadn’t planned on anything like this happening between them. His only intent had been to learn more about how the academy worked, to better understand the witches and their way of life. Now here he was, possibly falling for one of them.

  How the hell was he supposed to handle this? Rane hadn’t a clue.

  “But I do know someone who does…” he said thoughtfully to himself.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Natasha

  She hurried down alleyways between outbuildings, passing the blacksmith, the stable and a storage warehouse.

  Winterspell had modern amenities such as running plumbing, electricity and the like, but they were also so remote from everywhere else that they had a weird hybrid way of life. In the summer they planted and tended fields, and some of the witches learned how to handle animals and more. It was an odd mix, but she wouldn’t change it for anything.

  Especially because just then, it gave her a warren of alleyways and small lanes to rush through as she attempted to get back to her quarters without being intercepted by anyone.

  “Initiate Celland.”

  The cold, harsh voice stopped her in her tracks just short of the final dash inside. She’d been so, so close.

  “Master Loiner,” she said politely, turning to face the one person she’d wanted to avoid more than anything.

  The person she’d seen over Rane’s shoulder at the mouth of the alleyway as they had hugged. Natasha didn’t bother asking the Master how or why she’d come to be standing at that spot at that exact moment. It didn’t matter. She was about to get a strip or five torn off her back.

  “Listen, I can explain. It wasn’t what it seemed. I just, and the dragons earlier, that was pure accident, I didn’t mean to bring more of them back, but what could I have done, they were there, and we were fighting, and then I told them without thinking…” she trailed off as Loiner said nothing, simply watching.

  And…smiling? Natasha swallowed nervously, wondering just what the Master had in store for her as punishment for everything she’d done this day.

  “I’m proud of you, Initiate.”

  Natasha’s jaw dropped open. “What?”

  Loiner’s train of surprises didn’t end there as the Master laughed. Not evilly, but genuine. The sound made Natasha’s spine tingle. This was not good. This was not good at all.

  “You thought I would be mad at you for this? Why, how could I be, when you’ve taken such initiative!”

  Natasha’s eyes opened and closed slowly, her jaw working as she tried to find words. “Pardon me, Master, but I’m not sure what you mean. I…I brought a bunch more dragons back here.”

  She knew how badly that must mess up Loiner’s plans, that it would grant the dragons even more power and strength as their numbers swelled and they regained their footing. So why wasn’t the Master furious at her for it?

  Not that I feel sorry for doing it. Those poor dragons…

  The faces of the group she’d found raced through her mind’s eye. Disheveled, unshaven, dirty and on the verge of starving, every single one of them had been in rough shape. One of them had barely been able to fly back, only her sheer grit and willpower getting the dragon form aloft before it had crashed into the courtyard.

  Those people had needed her help, and she didn’t regret her actions one bit. If Loiner was going to toy with her before puni
shing her for it, then so be it, but Natasha decided then and there, she was done apologizing for doing the right thing. Whatever Loiner meted out, she’d take it. For them. They’d earned that much at least.

  What is going on with you? Since when did you become a dragon defendant?

  “Forget that,” Loiner was saying. “The dragon numbers were going to go up anyway. That is of no real concern to me. What is, is the way you’ve taken this assignment to heart.”

  This was about Rane, she realized. Because Loiner thought she was still trying to use him, to get close to him—for her. Which meant that what she’d seen tonight…

  “I just ordered you to get close to him, Celland,” Loiner said with a smile, stepping closer. “But you, you took the brilliant next step. I’m impressed with your drive. Pretending to be romantically involved with him, that’s a brilliant step. I’d never considered it, but you, you did, all on your own.”

  Natasha swallowed, nodding her head. “Thank you, Master.”

  She hadn’t yet determined if Loiner was being serious, or if she was going over the top to show Natasha that she’d caught her, and that the Initiate had better remember her place. That actually falling for Rane was a very, very bad thing to do.

  “I thought it would be smarter this way,” she said. “Easier, even.”

  Loiner nodded. “Yes, it probably is.”

  Natasha’s mind was racing as she tried to keep up with the line of thought, to not give her panic away. To not reveal that her feelings for Rane were anything but fake. Clouded and confusing, yes. But definitely genuine.

  “So, very well done,” Loiner said, coming up and clapping Natasha on the shoulder, guiding her along as they headed inside. “Giving it all to the cause. I’m not sure anyone else I’d assigned this mission would have done it as well as you. Many of them would not be willing to sacrifice their body for something like this.”

  Sacrifice my body? What the hell is she talking about? Panic rose anew inside Natasha.

  “Pardon?” She needed to know what Loiner meant.

  “Oh don’t be so modest, Celland,” Loiner chided her with a knowing smile. “I know what you’re planning. I just urge you not to take too long before doing it. If you hold out too much, then the dragon will likely move on to someone else. Someone less strong-willed than you, who doesn’t believe in the cause. We can’t have that.”

  “Before doing…what?” she asked.

  “Taking things to the next level,” Loiner said sternly. “You can’t stop now, you must know that. The dragon wants you, I could practically smell it. Give him what he wants,” the Master said lewdly. “After all, you’ve gone this far. Once he takes you to bed, it should be easy to get the secret from him, to find out just what he’s plotting.”

  “Oh. Right,” she squeaked. “Sleep with him.”

  “If you can just get past the fact that they are alien and disgusting, perhaps you can only see the visual. Their human disguises are at least not repulsive to the eye,” Loiner said. “Though knowing what’s underneath, I shudder at the idea of bedding one of them. Good work on taking that step.”

  She thinks I’m going to have sex with Rane?

  “I can’t rush it either,” she said, not ready to think about going that far just yet. Not for any reason. “If I make it too easy, he’ll just see me as fun,” she said. “I need him to continue to care for me.”

  Need…or want?

  Natasha shied away from that thought. First things first. Get rid of Loiner, and then she could start to figure out a way out of the mess she’d created, in a way that hopefully wouldn’t result in both Loiner and Rane hating her.

  “Good idea. Still, don’t take much longer. The Coven and Circe weaken with every passing day, growing more attached to these alien barbarians. They must not remain here any longer than absolutely necessary. You are crucial to this plan, Initiate. Do not fail me,” Loiner finished in an icy tone, her eyes hard and cold. Devoid of any of the earlier emotion.

  “I won’t, Master,” she said respectfully, feeling the chill enter her bones.

  “Good. Because I don’t need to tell you what happens to those who cross me.”

  Loiner smiled evilly, then she was gone.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Rane

  The early morning light was just starting to shine through the numerous windows in the hallways of Winterspell as Rane paced along their length.

  For once, he hadn’t been up stalking the halls looking for any witches trying to sneak in. Since the night he’d chased one of them out, things had been all quiet on that front, leading him to wonder if they had abandoned that plan, or were just waiting for Rane to fall back into a sense of complacency.

  Last night would have been the night for them to try it, he thought to himself, his booted feet taking him toward Damien’s quarters. He paused outside, not for the first time, trying to summon the courage to knock on the door. To open up to someone else about the turmoil he was feeling inside, to see if they could help him sort it out, to understand just what was going on.

  For whatever reason, it was proving far harder to seeking his kin’s help than it should. It was this hesitation to knock on the door that had sent Rane off into the hallways three times already, to pace for another twenty minutes or more. Imaginary conversations of what would happen if he did knock on the door would flow through his mind. He knew what he wanted to say, yet he was having an impossible time finding the strength to say it.

  Rane snorted. It was ironic that he, a dragon shifter, would have trouble finding strength. Strength was his source, the root of his power. Yet it was abandoning him now, leaving him powerless. What was he supposed to do?

  “Dammit,” he muttered, turning to go as his insecurities got the better of him again.

  At the same moment, the door opened to reveal Damien. The other storm dragon recoiled in surprise, not having expected to see someone on the other side.

  “Rane?” the older shifter said, thick eyebrows coming together. “What is it? Is something wrong?” Damien peered out into the hallway, but nobody else was in sight.

  “Uh, hi,” Rane said.

  “Can I…help you?”

  Just speak. Tell him what’s going on, and talk to him. It’s that easy!

  It should be that easy. But it wasn’t. It was far more difficult to open up about emotional things than Rane thought it should be. Male shifters never really talked about these sorts of things with one another.

  “Sorry,” Rane said. “Didn’t mean to disturb you and Anna.” He turned to hurry down the hallway but didn’t get anywhere before a hand grabbed his shoulder and held him back.

  “She’s not here,” Damien said gently, his blue eyes filling with concern as he spun Rane back around. “What’s this all about? I can tell something is troubling you, my friend. Come in.”

  Reluctantly, Rane followed him inside, dropping into a chair as Damien did the same. He eyed the other storm dragon who was just waiting for him to speak, not pushing him, not rushing him into anything. Just sitting calmly, reserving judgment until Rane spoke.

  As the silence stretched on, though, Damien realized he was going to have to start things off. “At first, I thought this was maybe about the party planning,” he joked. “But I think you’ve got something else on your mind, haven’t you?”

  Rane nodded.

  “What is it, my friend? You’ve come this far. Ask your question, because it’s clearly vexing you and I want to help.”

  Rane inhaled. “How did you…when things were…between you and Anna,” he said, the sentence making no sense at all.

  Despite that, Damien grinned at him, then he started to laugh. He smothered that quickly, waving a hand at Rane. “Sorry, sorry. I’m not laughing at you, but at myself.”

  “Oh.” Rane had no idea what he was talking about.

  “Anna,” Damien said quietly, repeating her name. “I take it by your question, there’s somebody that you’ve been spending a lot of time w
ith?”

  Rane nodded. “Yes. What was it like, with her? With the politics, and the two of you? I saw it from the outside but…”

  “But not how it affected the two of us,” Damien finished. “Yes. It was difficult, I won’t lie. That Loiner woman hates us all with a passion I simply cannot understand. It made things really difficult, as you saw. It put a strain on us, absolutely. But…” He laughed softly. “This is going to sound crazy, but we didn’t care, because what we were feeling toward one another was so strong it didn’t matter.”

  “But you only knew each other for a short time,” Rane interjected.

  “Yeah. That’s the crazy part,” Damien said. “We still have only known each other for a few weeks, Rane, but I can’t begin to tell you how, or why, but it’s just like everything we feel for each other is—”

  “Completely out of proportion to what it should be for something so new?” he supplied. “Stronger than it has any right to be?”

  Damien sat back in his chair. “Yes,” he agreed. “Yes, exactly all that. It made no sense. It makes no sense. It was like something that was…that was real.”

  “Real enough to feel?” Rane asked, leaning forward eagerly. “Like an actual force was pushing you to that other person?”

  “Precisely,” Damien said in a whisper. “You speak like you understand, Rane…”

  “I don’t understand a damn thing,” he confessed, unable to wipe a smile off his face entirely. Gods, it felt so good to share this with someone else who understood. Who could believe in what he was trying to express. “What does it mean?”

  Damien exhaled slowly, looking skyward as he did. “Now that, my younger friend, is a much, much better question. I’m still trying to decipher it, to understand what it means, how it’s even possible. But the fact that you and whoever are feeling it—”

  Rane held up a hand. “I…I don’t think she’s feeling it. Not the same as I am, at least.”

  “You two are not together yet?” Damien said, frowning.