by Dahlia Rose
“Like that Asian serpent you were fighting?” Raven asked.
“Yes, he is part of the Shen abomination. Their ancestors were a regal court themselves,” Raul explained. “But the Shen want to rape your planet and use your women to replenish their army.”
“For what purpose?” Raven asked, unable to believe what she was hearing.
“To kill our planet and take over yours. We ran them from the barrens on our home and they see yours as vital now. They want to claim what was never theirs,” Raul replied. “Now we hunt and we fight until we can find their king. Cut off the head of the snake and the rest will fall.”
“Won’t another king rise?” Raven asked. This story was almost unbelievable, but then she had to remind herself she was sitting across from a man that could become a creature the size of a semi truck.
“No, a new king hatchling can only be created every few hundred years and this time when we wipe them out, they will be gone for good,” Raul said firmly. “They are raising an army, using human women to bring their abominations into the world. The solider hatchlings grow quickly—think of how cockroaches reproduce and grow.”
“How old are you? I mean, how old can you and others of your kind become?” Raven asked curiously. This was the anthropological find of the century. She could learn so much from him and from his world.
“I am only one hundred—young to most. Some of my brothers on the court are almost eight hundred human years. The king himself is close to two thousand and going strong except he is starting to gray, but he is a fine warrior.” Raul grinned.
She leaned forward, excited by all he was telling her. “Take me there.”
He shook his head. “I can see the excitement in your eyes, the new discovery, but the world can never know about us. I must protect my people.”
“So humans are not allowed to visit your world?” Raven asked.
“I didn’t say that. Some dragons have taken human mates. They keep our secret while you…” Raul shook his head. “You may not.”
That irritated her to no end. Just because she was excited about this discovery did not mean she wouldn’t keep it secret. Though she did have to admit that humans did have a tendency to destroy what they didn’t understand. She put that aside for the moment and focused on the problem at hand.
“The serpent said he would return for me, that he had my scent?” Raven questioned. Her stomach rolled when she remembered how his tongue had flicked out through his smile before he ran into the tree line.
He sighed. “You are under my protection now. They are like snakes; they can taste the air. He has the flavor of you—sweat or perfume. Either way, they do not like interference, especially from humans. He will see you as either one of two things: a gift for his king to seed or to kill.”
“So the king is the only one who can lay eggs?”
“Yes. The others cannot breed soldier-worthy offspring, but that does not stop them from trying and defiling human women.” Raul gave her a look and she could see the seriousness of the situation etched across his face and in his eyes. “It’s more than just laying eggs. The host is defiled. The barbs of their genitals cut into… It’s not pretty. Some of the women we’ve found after the birth…well, it was humane to end their misery.”
She pushed back from the table in shock. “You killed them?”
“They were dying slowly and painfully,” Raul explained.
She felt anger surge inside her. “Or was it to keep your secret? If they survived they could tell.”
Raul was up and out of his chair so fast she hardly saw it. He caught her by the shoulders and gave her a little shake. “Why would we protect this world if we do not value your lives? Those women were destroyed from the inside out as they were raped and mutilated and then something inhuman was torn from their bodies. Would it be right to leave them to suffer and bleed for something that was not their choice?” He pushed her away. She saw the look of disgust on his face. “Believe what you want, female. I owe you no explanations.”
“You should’ve said that you didn’t give a damn when I was saving your life. I could have walked away and left you to fight on your own,” she shot back
Raul’s emerald green eyes were cold. “If I was to die then it would be in the honor of my people. I would be with the gods who charged us with protecting your kind and my name would be written among the stars. So you may have saved me now, but my end will come eventually. I thank you for what you did, but know this: I owe you nothing more than saving your life from the Shen.”
“Oh, I think we’ve established this relationship very clearly,” she said stiffly. “What’s the game plan from here?”
“First, I need to get to my home. This was where I was going when it attacked me,” Raul explained.
“So they know where you live?”
“Not necessarily. He may have seen me doing my patrol and reacted, or they may have a base of operations in the wilderness,” he said. “But when I get home I will contact my brothers of the court. Tell them what happened and hear their thoughts on if we should search this area for the king’s base of operation.”
She shook her head. “Okay, so you don’t know where the king is?”
“Hawke’s wife, Daisye, her father owned a textile plant in Alabama. They were going to use the smoke stacks to house the king until we stepped in,” Raul said. “By the time we got there and fought them he was already gone. Daisye lost her father because of them so we know the consequences to our people the longer he stays hidden.”
“Do the human mates get to travel back and forth from your realm to this one?” Raven asked.
“As long as one of us is with them. Kalv’s wife Ginna is due to give birth very soon. With this new threat of the Shen attacking at random, the dragons that have human wives are keeping them very close to home.”
“Do you have a doctor for when she gives birth?” Raven wondered about their medicine, their family infrastructure and more. This was why she became an archeologist and minored in anthropology. She didn’t only want to find objects from the past, she wanted to know where the objects came from and how those people lived.
“We have healers and, if necessary, we can get a doctor from this world to come,” Raul said.
“I can be that. I can help with her delivery. My mother believed that I should have a well-rounded education.” Raven smiled, hoping that this information would give him incentive to take her to Paladin. “I was trained and registered as a nurse by the time I was twenty and while we did six months in Peru on a dig, we had to deliver a few babies. I went back and trained in midwifery.”
“Archeologist, anthropologist, nurse and midwife. You are quite accomplished for one so young.” Raul grinned. “You should have men falling all over themselves to be at your arm, calling at your window to court you.”
“This isn’t medieval times. Guys don’t act like that anymore.” Raven looked down shyly and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Especially when you’re a bookworm with a brain. I’m not the type that guys like.”
“I think you may be wrong there,” he murmured. “Anyway, we need to leave because he will track you here.”
“This isn’t my home. I’m just staying in this cabin until I finish my thesis,” Raven said. “My mother’s friend loaned it to me and it’s at least an hour from where I was camped. Can they track me that far?”
“And further,” Raul said. “Not only you, but me as well. Trust me. We won’t be staying at my home long.”
“Are you going to shift into your dragon form and fly us there?”
Raul grinned. “I think we should take your truck.”
“Okay.” She was disappointed and it showed on her face.
He cupped her chin and gave her a crooked smile. “Don’t worry. You will fly with me one day when I am sure I can trust you with our secret. My home is about three hours from here by the road. Gather what you need because you cannot return until the danger has passed.”
She weig
hed her choices. Either stay and be at the mercy of a serpent dragon with a vendetta or go with Raul and find out more about his world and culture. “I’ll go pack,” she said and went to the only bedroom in the small cabin. There she threw some clothes in the suitcase she’d brought. All her research material and flash drives with pictures, notes, and research data went into the carrying case that held her laptop. She’d learned how to pack light from her mother. Raven reminded herself to call her mom and let her know that she was okay. As much as she wanted to tell her mother everything, she knew that to gain Raul’s trust she had to keep it all to herself. Besides, her mother might just think she was crazy anyway. Still, it was her adventure and Raven was willing to embrace it wholeheartedly. She zipped her bag and walked out to the small living area where Raul waited.
“I’m ready,” Raven said.
“So little?” Raul asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Women tend to travel with many things to primp and look pretty,” Raul said.
“You’ll learn soon enough that I’m not an average woman,” she said and moved past him.
“This is going to be very interesting,” he murmured, but she still heard him and couldn’t help the grin that crossed her face.
They got into the truck and she gave him a sidelong glance before starting the engine and pulling away from the cabin that had been her home for the past few weeks. Raul was still shirtless and barefoot in the chilly night. He didn’t complain, but she turned up the heat in case he was cold. The night had been an interesting one and there was still more to come it seemed. She was on the way to the home of a dragon.
Chapter Three
Three days later as the sun rose to light a cloudy sky, Raul was very aware of the woman living in his home. It was one of many that the Paladin dragons owned. It was one of the things that Orin made sure of when they breached this realm. When they were in their human guise and living among the people they protected, they had to fit in with their surroundings. The large brown and tan brick house had more floor-to-ceiling windows than actual walls, earning it the nickname “glass castle” by many. The house was built on a cliff that overlooked acres and acres of dense forest. This made it easy for him to fly home in his dragon form without being seen.
He had no problem living the solitary life and even enjoyed it, but now there was this problem of the female named Raven who saved his life and he was in debt to her for that. Raul didn’t know how he felt about that either. If she was just another human he had to save from the Shen then so be it, but somehow he knew Raven was different and he didn’t like it in the least. He saw his brothers succumb one by one to love. First it was Orin, then Kalv, and then Hawke. His king, even, still longed for his mate, the love he lost over two hundred years ago. Because of this, he saw how emotions were a weakness that could defeat even the strongest of men. He would protect Raven with his life, but never would he allow her to invade his heart.
“I’ve never seen anything so…” Raven seemed at a loss for words.
He followed her gaze to the view through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. He’d seen that view so many times he almost forgot how majestic and beautiful it was.
“Is it not to your liking?” Raul asked.
“Are you kidding? It’s a freaking glass palace.” She whirled around to face him. “Seriously, not a day goes by that this place doesn’t surprise me.”
“We dragons like to see the world around us,” Raul explained. “This is smaller than some of the other homes that we own here in your realm. Hawke owns a mansion twice this size on the British aisle.”
“Even so, how do you manage to own a house like this? Do you have a job?” Raven asked.
“No, Paladin has abundant natural resources, especially jewels that are very valuable here in your world,” Raul explained. “Hawke has a head for numbers, and, using his knowledge, he has managed to make us quite wealthy in human terms.”
“Do you mine your resources?” Raven questioned as she walked around the room.
“No, we only take what is needed. You humans have injured your planet so much by taking its natural resources that sometimes we wonder how long your race will survive,” Raul said. “On Paladin, there is no war other than protecting our home from the Shen. There is no hunger or want because each family has a fair share. A dragon courting his mate can go into the mountains and find a gem and take it to the black smith to be made into a bonding gift for his woman. We live in peace the best we can.”
“It sounds amazing,” Raven sighed. “I wish it could be like that here.”
“I’ve found that the majority of humans love to hoard their wealth instead of helping others; the rich keep getting richer while others struggle to survive.” Raul shook his head sadly.
“It’s easy for you to say when you have all this,” she pointed out sourly.
“Hawke makes sizable donations regularly to food pantries and other resources for the poverty-stricken humans of your world. This is done all over the world by dragons that protect each sector.” Raul smiled at the tone she had just used. One of the things humans hated most was their faults being pointed out to them.
His house was similar to the one Orin owned. Huge picture windows faced panoramic nature scenes and landscapes both upstairs and down. The blinds were a deep maroon color and remote controlled. A flick of a switch could open or close them to allow for privacy. Raul usually kept them open because he loved to watch the sun rise and set. In a fierce storm, he would stand by the windows and watch lightning slice through the sky. Nature at its fiercest was one of his favorite times. Raven took a seat and sat back in one of the cream-colored microsuede chairs that graced the living area. The house had been built on the foundation of an older house that had stood there previously. The natural hand-carved marble fireplace was the centerpiece of the room. He walked over to it and in a few minutes had a roaring fire going. Outside, the clouds looked turbulent and instinctively he knew the day would be filled with rain.
“How is your room? Is it to your liking? I notice that you stay up most of the night. I’m sure you are tired,” he said.
“My room is wonderful, but, remember, even though I’m on the run from a serpent army, I still have to work on my thesis. I really could go for a nap right about now though. Do you mind if I sack out in front of the fire? It’s gorgeous and calming.” She yawned and raised her hands over her head.
Raul noticed when she yawned how her shirt rode up, exposing a small swath of chocolate brown skin and accentuated the curve of her breasts. He swallowed thickly and desire made his cock thicken between his legs.
“Very well. Blinds closed or open?” Raul asked.
“Open. It’s going to start raining soon. I love weather like this.” Raven smiled.
“Imagine, you could have been stuck outside while it poured,” Raul teased.
She shrugged. “I would have still enjoyed it. I was practically raised in a tent, digging for the past with my mom.”
“Explain to me why it is so enjoyable to search for relics in the dirt?”
“Because I believe our past can help explain and define our future. Maybe even help us to avoid some of the mistakes that were made long ago.” Her eyes lit up as she spoke, and Raul saw just how much she loved what she did by the excitement clear on her face. “The city of Pompeii was wiped out by a volcano, yet some researchers have found entire houses preserved in the volcanic rock. They found people in different stages of panic and some not panicked at all. Some mothers were found holding their children to protect them, some families were gathered in one room as if they resigned themselves to their fate, and others were doing everyday things like cooking. One has to wonder why they didn’t flee. The volcano just didn’t erupt over night. There had to be signs, right? Maybe they were told nothing would happen and they were caught unawares. Who knows, unless we study them?”
“What were you searching for when you found me?” Raul asked.
“Signs that the Ame
rican Indian Mohican Tribe migrated to these areas,” Raven grinned. “I already found a few arrowheads and some other things that could be from that time. If I can find something more definitive from their lives it will give me an answer that I’m on the right track.”
“I think I would like to join you on this exploration after this is all over. You’ve made me curious now, and I always give into my curiosity,” Raul said with a wink.
“Really? I…I mean on the exploration part, not the curiosity part…” Her face turned a bright shade of pink and she let her words drift off as she looked down at her lap.
She was flustered and knowing that made a slow smile cross his face. “You’ll find out, now won’t you?” He went over to a chest in the corner of the room and brought out an afghan and spread it over her lap. “Sleep, Raven. We’ll talk more later.”
“What will you be doing?” she asked.
“I have to call my dragon brethren and let them know what has happened over the past few days. Maybe the Shen king is close by. Either way, we’ll investigate in hopes of ending this war before it gets any worse. Then, like you, I shall rest.”
“Okay, later tater,” she said and lay back against the sofa.
He watched her eyes droop and close before he went upstairs. In that fragile, supple female body lived a warrior. How many women would have seen what she saw and still run to help instead of run the other way, screaming? Raul entered the master bedroom and sat on the king-sized bed heavily. His shoulder was healing, but it still gave him a dull throbbing pain off and on. He vowed to find the Shen serpent that injured him and rip him limb from limb. He scooted back until his back was against the headboard. He pulled his cell phone from the drawer of the bedside table. Who’s in this realm? he thought. Orin was in Paladin with Valencia and so was Kalv and his mate. Hawke was at his mansion in England, plus Lleau and Aki. Raul hit the speed dial for Hawke and waited.
“Raul, this had better be good,” Hawke practically snarled.
