Love of A Dragon (Exalted Dragons Book 1)

by K. T. Stryker

  The shift of tone was so abrupt that Ashe felt the need to explain her earlier comment. “When I said I had a boyfriend, I didn’t mean—”

  Will laughed so suddenly that it startled Ashe. “I know,” he said still smiling. “I’m only messing with you. I didn’t mean to ask if you were single with that last question. It just sort of came out that way and I know it made things awkward.”

  Ashe was relieved. She felt a smile pushing her dimples into view. “What was it you were saying about microfiche?”

  Will chuckled and continued the tour, resuming their chatter that had nothing to do with the library they were walking through. Ashe learned that Will had grown up in the town and started working in the library straight out of high school. Though there were plenty of other jobs he could have taken, his work at the library kept him close to the memory of his father who had been a pillar of the community and whose name dotted the town records in reminder of his legacy. Ashe had been careful to skirt the answers she couldn’t give, and lie when there was no other choice. Though she didn’t think Will was a threat in any way, she had to be careful. She wanted to make this new life work out and couldn’t afford any mistakes.

  They ended the tour back at the front desk, which was just as quiet as it had been when she had left it. The computer beside hers was still unoccupied.

  “Any questions?” Will asked.

  Ashe recalled something from Will’s tour that had stuck in her head. “Why are the town records under such security? I mean, key cards seem pretty modern for a building like this and I doubt there’s much to be gained from sneaking into a place like that.”

  Will smiled awkwardly. “I was mostly making a joke, a lame one. Since I work back there, and you made it clear you have a boyfriend, I just wanted to put distance between—”

  Ashe cut him off. Things were already uncomfortable enough on that subject without Will’s attempts at humor to smooth over his mistake. “You don’t have to explain. But do you really use a key card?”

  Will flashed a thin piece of plastic from his breast pocket and winked. “You wouldn’t imagine the cloak and dagger stuff that goes on here.”

  Ashe laughed. If there was one thing she felt she didn’t have to worry about it was anything of intrigue ever happening in the sleepy little town. The real threat was somewhere out there in the rest of the world, hopefully separated from her by the miles they had traveled and nowhere near finding her or Peter.

  Before he left her, Will said, “By the way, that shade of blue really suits you.”

  For the first time Ashe felt glad she had chosen to wear the midnight blue blouse she had on today. She smiled and thanked him for the compliment. Will seemed like a good person, one she could count on. She was also looking forward to introducing him to Peter as the two shared an interest in history and had the potential of becoming friends. Things were finally looking up, Ashe thought. Maybe they had found their home.

  “We’ll have to get a deep freezer,” Peter said, descending into the basement of their rental house and gesturing to a corner. “We can put it here.”

  The house itself was tiny, a one-story box containing little more than a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and small living room that doubled as the entryway. But it had a basement, which was paramount. Peter didn’t know how the weather was in the summer and he might have need of a cool, dark place to wait out the brightest hours of sunlight each day. At least he would be safe until the theater was completed, as the light there was entirely artificial and harmless to his vampire skin.

  “I’m going to take up hunting again,” Peter explained. The freezer would allow Ashe to keep the meat from his kills so it wouldn’t go to waste. The blood he would keep for himself.

  “You can’t be serious.” Ashe looked sick.

  “Not humans,” Peter quickly clarified wondering if Ashe had actually thought he meant such a thing. “Wild game. The woods are full of them. Without your father to get human blood for me, I’ll need to rely on what I can get myself.”

  As soon as he mentioned Ashe’s father, he felt a pang of homesickness pierce through him as though he was feeling Ashe’s own emotions. Disjoined images filled his head of Ashe’s childhood that she had never told him about before. He had the eerie feeling he was seeing Ashe’s pure thoughts and fought against the involuntary intrusion.

  “I can get pheasants and rabbits, and even deer when they’re in season. It’s not ideal but I’ve managed on worse for longer.”

  “But the last time you couldn’t get human blood you nearly went crazy,” Ashe said, the fear in her voice making Peter feel guilty.

  He saw another flash of Ashe’s thoughts, this time an image of his teeth bearing down on her neck.

  “We were living on frozen cow’s blood and there wasn’t nearly enough to go around. This time is different. It’s just me. I’ll have more than enough to stay in control. Besides, I would never hurt you. You know that.”

  He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, wishing Ashe could know what it felt like to live with his curse. She still thought of it in far too simplistic terms, its complexities lost to her and near impossible to explain in words alone. Sometimes this gap in understanding seemed too large to bridge and Peter wondered if their relationship would truly last. He had seen a hundred years of history before Ashe had even been born. He had fought in wars, in both the human and vampire realms, and had managed his thirst for blood through it all. Sure, there had been lapses of control and years which he wished he could wipe from his memory, but Ashe hadn’t been there then. She was what made all the difference. She had to believe that. Things were different now. He wasn’t a monster.

  “I know,” Ashe replied. There was a calm coming off her like the soft glow of a lamp. The storm of whatever doubt she had been feeling had passed. But Peter did not feel reassured. In fact, he was disturbed that he could sense the changes in her emotion like this. He should not be able to pierce through the veil of her private thoughts.

  They went back upstairs and Ashe busied herself with one of the moving boxes. She hummed a classic rock tune as she worked, her auburn hair falling down over her face as she bent down to take something from the box. She tucked the stray strands behind her ear with her delicate fingers, exposing once again the soft paleness of her cheek. Peter marveled at how exquisite she was and hungered for her in a way that had nothing to do with the blood in her veins. He wanted to feel her body against his and the rapture of physical bond that he had never shared with a living human before. He could have her now if he wanted. In fact, he could have had her the day he met her. The ability to influence human attraction was one of the abilities that came with Peter’s curse. It was useful for hunting and feeding, but Peter would never use it. He was afraid of the consequences, that he would lose sight of himself in the throes of passion and do something he regretted. He couldn’t run the risk of hurting Ashe like that.

  “Are you going to keep staring at me or will you help me unpack?” Ashe said with an amused expression on her face.

  Peter snapped out of his brooding. There was no reason to waste his thoughts on something that could never happen. He went over to help her.

  “How’s the theater coming?” Ashe asked, handing Peter a stack of vinyl records. Peter wondered when she had found time to pack them, and if there was a record player in one of the boxes that went with them. No wonder the trunk had been so full.

  “There’s a lot of damage,” Peter replied. “We had to rip out all of the hardwood flooring in the main theater and we’re still trying to figure out how to fix the wiring for the lights. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought the place had been vandalized on purpose. There are even holes in the walls that look like they were made by bullets.”

  “Let me guess, you think the town’s dangerous and you want to leave,” Ashe said. Peter could tell she was only half-joking.

  He shrugged noncommittally. He couldn’t deny that the thought crossed his mind. “I did find th
is, though,” he took out the flyer from where he had folded it into his wallet. He handed it to Ashe.

  “Thinking of joining the church?” Ashe asked.

  Peter shook his head. “Have you seen this insignia before?”

  “No.” She handed it back.

  “Maybe I’ll go by the library and do some research.”

  Ashe’s expression brightened. “Will might know. I’ll ask him.”

  Peter caught the brief image of a good-looking man in a denim shirt. Jealousy burned in him for no good reason. Though he felt bad doing it, he tried to probe further into Ashe’s thoughts for clues as to who this man was and how she might have felt about him. He hit an abrupt wall and stopped trying. Jealousy would only lead to conflict.

  “Who’s Will?” Peter asked as he stuffed the flyer back into his wallet.

  Ashe unearthed a record player from one of the boxes. “He works in the town records at the library. He’s about our age, I mean my age. I think you two would get along well. You should come by sometime and say hi.”

  Peter thought it might not be such a bad idea, if not to make a new friend but to check out this guy and see if he was someone to be worried about. Though there was no reason for him to feel threatened by Will, he still needed to make sure that Ashe was his.

  Ashe had her back against the wall as she looked around the room trying to decide where to put the record player in her hands. Peter could feel the burning inside of him, the desire for her that was too strong to ignore. He took the record player from her hands and set it aside, advancing on her like a wolf to its prey. Ashe watched him with wide eyes, her lips slightly parted. Peter could almost feel the frantic beat of her heart reverberate through the room.

  Peter roughly kissed her, pushing her against the wall hard. She had nowhere to go but towards him, her body melting against his as their bodies entwined. He could sense the thrill that she felt knowing that they would soon be closer they ever had before. Peter could almost taste the desire on her tongue. Her thoughts and emotions flooded his brain, the love she felt for him and the electricity of her attraction. He could tell Ashe had been waiting so long for this moment. It was up to him to make the leap, though there was a chance he could hurt her in the fall. But at the moment none of this mattered. He only wanted Ashe.

  Then an image swam up from the depths of Ashe’s consciousness, of a tall, blonde man smiling at her. Will.

  Peter pushed away from Ashe in surprise. The image disappeared immediately leaving only blackness. He barely registered the look of hurt on her face as he turned away without explanation. Why would she think of him, a practical stranger, in such a moment like this? Ashe loved Peter, didn’t she? There were no words to describe the pain Peter had felt at seeing the man’s face in Ashe’s thoughts.

  “Is something wrong?” Ashe asked as Peter tried to control the rage growing inside him.

  “I made a mistake,” Peter replied.

  Ashe put her hand on Peter’s back but he shrugged it off. “If you’re worried about hurting me...” she started.

  Peter kept his back turned to her. “It’s not that simple.”

  “Then let’s talk about it.”

  Peter didn't think there was anything for them to talk about. He looked into Ashe’s thoughts and been surprised by what he had found there. If Ashe knew he could invade her privacy at will like that, it would no doubt tear an irreparable wound in their trust. It wasn’t so long ago that he had reassured her that he couldn’t read her thoughts. He hated that this was happening now, of all times. It was quite true that ignorance was bliss.

  “I’m hungry. I’m going out,” Peter said pocketing his keys. He left the house abruptly and headed straight for the woods. He would hunt for a few hours and come back with a clear head. In the state he was in now, his words would only lead to fighting.

  The ground was soft from spring rains and the trees were showing the first green of the year. The weather was still overcast enough for Peter to feel safe going out during the day. Summer would not be so carefree. He wondered if he and Ashe would still be here in the summer, or if the past would have caught up to them by then and they would be on the run. Or worse, dead.

  Peter clenched his fists. It did no good to entertain such black thoughts. He turned his attention on his surroundings and soon honed in on a rabbit trail off to his left. A rabbit would be a good challenge for him after a long time away from hunting in the wild. The fresh blood would do him good.

  He tried to focus on the task at hand, but his mind still worked over what had happened at the house. Peter had no real reason to feel the jealousy that he did. The human brain was not a perfect machine. Thoughts wandered. Peter knew that Ashe loved him, but being in love didn’t mean that one didn’t have eyes. Peter could admit that Will was good looking and it would have been impossible for Ashe not to notice this fact. It could have been a fluke that she had thought about Will at the moment she had. Even as Peter told himself this, he felt the jealousy bubbling back up.

  What he should have been worried about was the sudden ability to read Ashe’s thoughts and emotions, not just the messages that she projected to him willingly. His telepathic ability should not have been developing so rapidly. He would have to keep an eye on anything else out of the ordinary. If things got bad enough, he would have to call someone with more knowledge of such things that could help him. It would be a risk to reach out to other vampires, as any contact could be picked up by those trying to find him. But if he had to, he would do it. Peter couldn’t let himself become a risk to Ashe.

  There was a crackle of branches in the brush ahead. Peter stilled. The scent of warm animal blood wafted towards him on the breeze. He waited for the creature to bolt but it didn’t. It didn’t seem to know that it was being stalked. Peter crept soundlessly forward and stopped a short distance away. A small brown wood hare poked its head out from the bushes, its nose twitching below two glossy black eyes. It seemed to regard Peter with curiosity and he could sense no fear coming from it. The hare hopped a little further out towards him and stopped at a clump of maple seedlings that had sprouted up out of the forest floor. It nibbled at the soft green leaves unaware of the danger only feet away.

  For a short time, Peter just watched the hare. He wanted to give it time to enjoy the last moments of its life. Those maple leaves would be the last thing it ever tasted. Peter had never been given a last meal. He had always needed blood ever since he first emerged into the world over a hundred years ago. He didn’t know what it was like to eat real food, to enjoy a variety of tastes and textures. He almost envied the hare.

  Peter decided that he had given the animal enough time. He sprang forward with superhuman speed and caught the hare around the scruff of the neck. It let out a high-pitched squeaking scream but Peter soon silenced it. He was sorry to kill such an innocent creature, but that was part of nature. He was the predator and the hare was the unfortunate prey. At least he had killed it before it could feel any pain. He wasn’t cruel like so many others of his kind.

  The animal was still warm as he sunk his teeth into its flesh. Blood pooled in his mouth and dribbled down his chin. The taste was not satisfying, but his body responded instantly to the fresh blood. When had finished feeding, he wiped his mouth clean and started back for the house. He carried the hare with him.

  CHAPTER 3

  After weeks of catching snippets of Ashe’s thoughts and emotions, Peter knew he needed outside help. The breach of trust was straining his and Ashe’s relationship. As Peter worked through the morning he contemplated who he could trust with such information. He decided on someone untouched by vampire politics, a neutral source of knowledge who had helped him out in the past. The first person who came to mind was Winnie. She wouldn’t tell anyone she had been in contact with Peter or knew where he was. Even if he reached out to her his location would be safe. Besides, Winnie had met Ashe and knew that whatever Peter did, he did for her.

  Things were a bit complicated with Win
nie, however, and Peter couldn’t count on her one hundred percent. As a sentinel, she held no stakes in petty blood feuds and was only interested in keeping tabs on the vampires and making sure they did nothing to put the humans at odds with them. In short, sentinels’ most fundamental job was to prevent all-out war between vampires and humans. Winnie had only helped Peter in the past because Landon’s clan had been doing things to bring attention to themselves. This time, the fight was between vampire clans. Winnie had no obligation to help either side. Even if she knew that Landon’s family were closing in on Peter’s position she would do nothing to warn them. She would only help Peter out with his telepathy issue and provide any information on that subject that he required. Outside of that, he was on his own.

  At lunch, he ducked into the back hallway and called Winnie on his cell phone. He couldn’t risk being overheard by either Jerry or Greg.

  She picked up after far too many rings, but Peter felt immediately better upon hearing the old woman’s familiar voice.

  “Didn’t think you’d miss me so soon,” she said. Peter could hear the pleased smile in her voice. He imagined her in that dusty old shop of hers among cobwebs and rusty antiques.

  “Don’t flatter yourself,” he replied jokingly. “By the way, how’s my mirror doing?”

  “Still hasn’t sold. I’m starting to think I should have asked for cash for those earrings instead.”

  Peter recalled the ruby earrings he had given Ashe as a present last Christmas. He had traded an antique mirror for them, or at least for the favor of tracking them down. The earrings were well-known heirlooms of the oldest matriarch of Peter’s vampire clan, and though they belonged to his family they had been missing for quite some time until he had enlisted Winnie’s help in finding them. It was a shame Ashe couldn’t wear them now, but they couldn’t afford to advertise their affiliation with his clan. There was no telling who could be watching them.