Awakened By Flames: A Hot Paranormal Dragon Shifter Saga (Hidden Realms of Silver Lake Book 1)

by Vella Day

  How she found the strength to talk, she didn’t know. “Holy smokes, that was beyond amazing. Was it everything you thought it would be?” she asked.

  “Much more than everything, my beautiful mate,” he said as he slid a hand down her back and stroked her butt cheek. “I just want to stay here in our own little bubble forever.”

  Kaleena snuggled against his chest. “Sounds like a plan.”

  They lay wrapped in each other’s arms, bursting with love. She needed to tell him before he fell asleep. “Finn?”

  Kaleena smiled, knowing what she was about to say would wake him up. She lifted her head and stroked her hand through his hair.

  “Mmm?” He gave her a little squeeze.

  “I love you, my mate.”

  Finn’s eyes came open, and the light amber in them glowed again. “I love you too, beautiful.” He smiled and kissed her lightly as he rolled her onto her back. Gently, he slid into her and began a slow rhythm as he made love to her once more.

  Just as they reached their peak, Finn nuzzled her neck, and she heard him whisper, “Forever and always, baby.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  The sun was out in full, but there was a decided chill to the air. Kaleena pulled the borrowed jacket Finn had lent her around her shoulders.

  “I bet your folks will be so excited to see you,” she said as she slipped into the front seat of his car. He bet she was happy for the wind-blocking warmth. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

  He rushed around to his side and got in. “I’m sure they will be and probably a little bit shocked too. They only kind of believed me when I told them my dream was real. Hell, I wasn’t sure that I truly believed you existed until after I walked through that portal in Tarradon and met your dad.” She reached out and rubbed his leg, igniting his wolf—and his dragon.

  “I’m glad you took my plea seriously. Not being able to mate with you would have been worse that spending the rest of my days in that stinking jail.”

  He looked over at Kaleena and smiled. “You exaggerate, but I’m flattered. It’s why I can’t wait for my parents to meet you in person and see how wonderful you are. I definitely didn’t want their last memory of me to be that of a rather eccentric son.”

  “You’re anything but that. You’re brave, honorable, and fearless.”

  Her words had him puffing out his chest a bit. “Trust me, I wasn’t any of those when your father picked me up and flew me to the city.” He’d been scared shitless and probably less than honorable in some of his thoughts.

  She laughed. “The first time flying is always the worst.”

  “I’ll admit having huge claws wrapped around my body was a bit unsettling. I had no idea if he’d drop me or not.”

  Kaleena grinned. “Poor Finn. I am sorry I wasn’t the one to initiate you. A bit of warning for you could have gone a long way.”

  “True.”

  The drive to his parents’ place took about three minutes.

  “You live close to each other,” she said.

  “We do. Everyone in the complex is a shifter, whether they are bear, wolf, or a lone tiger. It’s not required that they stay here, but most do.”

  “Interesting. We don’t segregate like that on Tarradon.” She dropped her head against the seat. “I have to tell you that I’m a bit anxious. What if they don’t like me?” She sat back up and twisted toward him.

  Finn glanced over at her. “Are you kidding? They’ll love you.” Just like I do.

  She drew down the visor mirror. “I should have brought the pink lipstick. This red is kind of garish.”

  “You are beautiful with or without makeup.”

  He pulled into his parents’ driveway. He then jumped out of his side and braced against the cold wind. What a change from her realm. Kaleena must feel the cold more than he did since she was used to being warm. He rushed to her side to open her door, but she beat him to it.

  She stepped out and rubbed her arms. “Sorry. I didn’t know you were going to do that.”

  This was the first time he’d driven her. “I was raised to be a gentleman.”

  “And I like you being one.” She slipped her arm through his, and with their heads down they scurried to the front. Finn was a little nervous knocking on his parents’ door without calling first, but he wanted to explain things to them before they had a chance to contact the others.

  When he depressed the handle and pushed, the door opened. They stepped inside, and he welcomed the heat. “Hello? Anyone home?” he called.

  A shriek sounded from the kitchen, and a second later his mom rushed out. “Oh, my! It’s really you!” Tears streaked down her face as she hugged him. She leaned back and clasped his shoulders. “I can’t believe you survived! Your dad will be so happy. When we didn’t hear from you right away, we thought the worst.”

  “I’m sorry. I had no way of calling home. Is he here?”

  “Yes.” Before she called his name, she looked over at Kaleena. “I’m Celia, by the way. You must be Kaleena.” She nodded. “It’s no wonder my son was willing to leave his life behind to go after you.”

  His mate actually blushed. “Thank you. I owe him my life.”

  Familiar footsteps sounded, and his father shot down the hallway. “Finn? Is that really you?”

  “In the flesh.” Seeing his parents again made him swell with joy, but it was tinged with sadness knowing their reunion would be short-lived.

  His dad hugged him hard. “Missed you, son.” He leaned back and studied him. “Let me take a look at you. You don’t look any worse for wear.”

  “I’m good—really good.”

  He wouldn’t tell them that a dragon had almost killed him nor that Kaleena—also a dragon—had slain the beast. They both decided it would be best for now to keep that part a secret. Telling them their own son was now a dragon would be too much to share right away.

  Kaleena said that those from Earth couldn’t sense a dragon shifter, only other dragon shifters could, so their secret was safe.

  “This is Kaleena,” Finn said proudly. “My mate.”

  His dad smiled. “Well, well. So nice to meet you. So what kind of shifter are you exactly? Or are you one?”

  Well, shit. Way to go, Dad.

  Kaleena looked over at Finn. What the hell. They’d find out sooner or later. “Kaleena is a dragon shifter.”

  Their eyes widened. “Really? Like the one that nearly killed your brother?”

  “Yes, but he was a bad one.” Finn stabbed a hand through his hair. “Can we have this conversation later?”

  “Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry. Of course.” His mom placed a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “Have you two had lunch?”

  He was hoping she’d ask. “No, and we’d love some.”

  Mom looped an arm through his and leaned her head against his shoulder. “I can’t tell you how worried I’ve been about you. I can’t believe you really traveled to another realm.”

  “Let’s sit and I’ll tell you everything.”

  They entered the kitchen. He and Kaleena sat at the counter while his dad pulled out a carton of milk from the fridge and poured them each a glass.

  “If I’d known you were coming,” his mom said, “I would have prepared a meal.”

  “That’s why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to go to any trouble. You know what I would really like though?”

  “Name it,” she said.

  “A PB&J sandwich.”

  “Really? You come home after being gone four days and that’s all you want?” His mom loved to cook.

  “I’ve had a hankering for it ever since I left.”

  Kaleena ran a hand down his arm. “If I’d known, I would have made you one.”

  Finn smiled at his mate. “When we return you can fix one for me.”

  “Deal.”

  “One peanut butter and jelly sandwich coming up then.”

  As she busied making them lunch, his dad faced them. “So, Kaleena, tell us about yourself.”<
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  Finn had warned her she’d get the third degree, and she said she’d be ready.

  “I work for the family’s mining business, which is called SinCas. It is owned by both my family, the Sinclairs, and my uncle’s family, the Caspians. One digs for gems and the other for metals. I run the Public Relations Department for both.”

  “Mining? Sounds a lot like the United States.”

  “It might surprise you to know that much of Tarradon looks like it does here. We have cars, cell phones, and even high-definition televisions.”

  Actually, what he’d seen of Tarradon didn’t look all that much like the States—at least landscape-wise. If he had to pick a country, he’d say it resembled Scotland, with its acres of lush grass and rolling hills. Not to mention the castles.

  “That’s remarkable,” his dad said.

  Finn wanted to take the pressure off her. “Kaleena went to school in Colorado to study business.”

  I thought we weren’t going to say that many Tarradons had visited Earth, she telepathed.

  Oh fuck, I forgot. Finn jerked at the mental intrusion. Even though he knew that once a shifter mated, the two of them could communicate telepathically, it still surprised him.

  She rubbed his arm then squeezed it before letting go.

  “I had no idea. So do many Tarradons come here?” he asked.

  “Not many,” she said.

  Good save, he telepathed.

  She glanced over at him and smiled.

  His mom placed the plates with sandwiches in front of them. “Finn tells me that you were in danger on Tarradon.”

  This time he’d let her tell them what happened. “Yes, but it’s a long story.”

  “We’d love to hear it.”

  For the next ten minutes, Kaleena gave a rather sanitized version of how she’d been held captive, and how Finn managed to free her.

  His mother’s eyes were wide the entire time. She looked over at him. “So a white lighter, as they call their witches, changed your face?” she asked him.

  “Yes, but it only lasted a few hours.”

  “That’s remarkable.”

  “Her family then helped us reach a safe house.” He decided not to go into detail about how Nessa swooped in and snatched them off the field behind the castle in the nick of time. “We believe the man who took her is furious that she escaped and will try to retaliate. Instead of holing up until he can figure out what to do, we thought we’d come here.”

  His father patted him on the back. “Good call. I’m glad you did.”

  “Me too.”

  His mom sighed. “Chelsea will be so excited to see you. She’s been so out of sorts with you gone.”

  Finn’s heart cracked. He’d worried his twin would be having issues dealing with their broken twin link. He knew he was having a hard time with the separation, but seeing Chelsea would make it even harder to return to Tarradon. “I miss her too.”

  Mom grabbed her phone. “I’m going to call her now. Maybe she can get off work and stop over. How long are you staying?”

  Kaleena grabbed his arm. “We have to leave tonight,” she telepathed. “There’s been a development on Tarradon. I just got word.” She rubbed her finger over the necklace her sister had given her.

  He’d wondered why she’d suddenly turned quiet. “What happened?”

  “I don’t have any details. Tory just said we need to return.”

  “When? Right now?”

  “No, at midnight.”

  Damn. “I had planned to stay a while, Mom, but it turns out something just happened back in Tarradon, and we have to leave tonight.”

  “Oh, no,” his mom wailed. “Can you stay for dinner at least? You know your brothers will want to see you.”

  “We can.”

  “I’d love to see them too,” Kaleena said.

  When the rest of Finn’s family arrived, Kaleena hit it off with all of them, especially Chelsea who was a lot like Finn—warm and friendly. They spent almost two hours chatting and sharing stories, but eventually it was time to leave. His parents and siblings were even better in person than what she’d seen through Finn’s eyes growing up.

  “It’s almost eleven forty-five,” she telepathed Finn. “We have to go now.”

  “I know.”

  Finn stood. “I hate to break up this family gathering, but Kaleena and I have to be getting back.”

  Chelsea clasped his hand. “Kaleena’s still in danger there, right?”

  “Yes, but there’s just been a new development. As much as we had planned on staying a lot longer, we have to straighten this out.” He hugged his twin.

  “When will you be back?”

  Finn dragged a knuckle down her cheek. “As soon as I can, I promise.”

  “You’d better.”

  His mother hugged him next. “Is there any way you can communicate with us to let us know you’re okay? Tarradon sounds so much like here that I thought maybe there was some kind of device you could use.”

  He smiled then quickly sobered. “If anything bad happens, I’m sure Ophelia will let you know.”

  “How can Ophelia find out?” his mother asked, glancing between the two of them. “Does she use some kind of magic?”

  Finn smiled. “Yes.” He kissed her cheek. “We really need to go. The portal won’t stay open for very long.”

  That wasn’t true, but Kaleena didn’t want to tell them that she could create the portal at any time. Not only didn’t she want to delay any longer, it was safest at midnight and noon when the Guardians would be watching on their end.

  After one more round of handshakes and hugs, they finally left. Once they stepped out of the house, the cold air made her shiver. Without speaking, they rushed to his car. They’d spent the entire day and evening with his family and hadn’t had the chance to discuss what Tory’s message might mean.

  Finn started the car and peeled out of there. “Do you know anything else?” he asked.

  “Tory didn’t say, or maybe she wouldn’t say. Nessa caught the man who drugged me. That’s all. They think he has information we can use.”

  He drove too fast down the dark street, but he never once went off the road. Those who lived on Earth were definitely better drivers than on Tarradon. With the population mostly made up of dragons, the top choice of transportation was flying. Hell, even those who owned cars didn’t use them all that much. When they did chance traveling by car, they were often a danger to others.

  “I still don’t understand the need to rush home,” Finn said. “The man who drugged you will be punished, and Rathan will still be at large.”

  “I know this is hard to believe, but Christian—that’s his name—says he wants to make amends.”

  He glanced over at her. “And you believe him? Most criminals say they are remorseful so you’ll go lighter on them.”

  She dropped back her head. “I know, but he seemed different, almost caring when he carried me out of the bar.”

  “What happened when you got outside?” Finn asked.

  “I passed out. When I awoke, I was in that horrible cell.” The image made her groan.

  “It’s still not going to be safe when you return. It doesn’t matter if this guy cops to being the one to have drugged you or not.”

  “True, and I know I won’t be safe until Rathan is put to rest, but I had the sense he was willing to give us information about what my cousin is planning to do next.”

  “I see.”

  From his tone, he didn’t. Kaleena rubbed his leg. “As wonderful as it was to be with your family, this wave of guilt keeps hitting me. I wasn’t born to run away. I need to fight for what is right.”

  Finn didn’t answer. He pulled into his driveway and cut the engine. “You need to do what you have to, and I won’t stand in your way.”

  She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

  Finn flashed a sexy grin, and then wagged a finger at her. “You better!” He pushed open the
car door. “Come on, we need to gather our things.”

  They had come to Silver Lake with the understanding that he’d show her his town, and they could have a fun time together, but Tory’s urgent call had changed all that. If she ever confronted Rathan again, Kaleena would do her damnedest to make him pay—with his life.

  Once they gathered their gear and stepped into his front yard, she removed her magical dragon scale and created the portal.

  “Can anyone with one of those scales do that?” he asked, his voice tinged with amazement.

  “No. Only the Guardians have the power. Ready?” She held out her hand, and let out a breath when he placed his hand in hers.

  They stepped through the swirling circle of air, right into the bedroom of the underground mine.

  Kaleena set down her case. “Finn, I really am sorry our trip was cut short. I know how much you wanted to spend time with your family.”

  He pressed a finger to her lips. “It’s okay. I understand it’s something you have to do. I’ve spent my life surrounded by men who possess the same kind of drive.”

  “You are the best. I love you, my mate. Have I told you that before?”

  He chuckled. “Yes, and I love you too, beautiful, but I have no problem hearing it again.”

  “We can return to Earth just as soon as this mess is cleared up.”

  He dropped his bag and stepped closer. When he leaned in and kissed her, it was as if the Royals didn’t exist and life was blissful.

  A second later a knock sounded on the door. “It’s Tory—time to find out what’s really going on.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “We need to head over to the SinCas building,” Tory said.

  “Why?”

  “Because the rest of the family is gathering there.”

  “Okay.”

  Tory faced them. “I don’t think flying is wise right now. No telling what kind of patrols Rathan has. I’ll drive.”

  “You’re probably right,” Kaleena said. Besides Finn had taken his maiden voyage yet, and she doubted he really wanted her to carry him.