Even in dragon form, her stomach felt queasy. Pushing the reason for her nervousness from her mind, Tirah took to the sky and concentrated on flying and not falling.
As Tirah neared Cass’s village and was about to land, she felt the presence of her mate elsewhere. Tirah quickly changed direction.
***
Saber was perched on an outcropping, which protruded from the side of the mountain overlooking the village, when he caught a whiff of honeysuckle. He lifted his head and warmth consumed him as the love of his life flew toward him like a glorious vision. His spirits rose at the welcomed sight since he hadn’t made any headway with Cass. His friend claimed to be fine, or as fine as could be.
Having recently been in a bad place himself, Saber suspected there was more going on and it had something to do with Ashara.
Then he remembered the conversation between Tirah and Mihel in the cabin. How Casin had locked their mother away, claiming she was a rebel working against the Ilyium. It sounded crazy, yet was it?
Saber shook his head. She couldn’t be. Not that he had a problem with it if she was.
As Tirah drew near, Saber shifted into his human-form and smiled, letting his love show through his eyes as his new mate landed. She shifted into her luscious body and then blushed at his hungry stare.
“I will never grow tired of looking at you,” he said, then frowned as he realized how long he’d been gone. “I’m sorry. I lost track of time.” When Tirah had offered to fly here with him, he’d been about to say yes, then noticed how tired she appeared. They’d had a lot of late nights, and hoping she’d get some rest while he was out, he declined. Now, he worried that she might be sick.
Tirah smiled at him. “You’re late and I missed you. Did you talk to Cass?”
Saber nodded and glanced down at the village. “Not that it did any good.” With a sigh, he rubbed his temple.
“Are you all right?” Tirah asked.
“I just wish I knew what was going on. If he’s turning rogue—” Saber pulled Tirah into his arms and then grew alarmed at how nervous—scared—she was. “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
Tirah shook her head. “No, not sick. Though I do have some news.”
Saber waited, worry slithering through him. What if she said she was leaving again? As if reading his mind, Tirah cupped his cheek. “It’s all right. It’s actually good news. I hope.”
Saber raised an eyebrow, and Tirah inhaled a deep breath, and then let it out. “I’m pregnant.”
Saber blinked and his heart nearly stopped. “What?” Surely he heard wrong?
“I said, I’m pregnant,” Tirah repeated quietly, watching him closely.
Saber swallowed hard and his palms grew sweaty as he remembered that first time he’d made love to Tirah. He should have known. Actually, subconsciously, he probably did.
“You’re not happy,” Tirah said, pulling away.
“No. No, I am,” he said, not letting her go. Saber drew her close and held her, needing to feel her against him. “How did this happen?” he asked, talking to himself.
Tirah, arms wrapped around him, chuckled. “Really? Do you need me to explain it to you?”
Saber snorted. “No. It’s just, dragonkind don’t normally get pregnant so easily. Most couples are together many years before they manage to have any Young, if they’re even able to at all.”
Tirah looked up into his eyes. “You don’t sound happy.”
Saber masked his emotions. “You just took me by surprise. I’m happy,” he lied, then nuzzled his face against her fiery hair and inhaled her scent. Happy? Oh gods. No, I’m not happy. I’m terrified. All these years he’d dreamed of finding his mate and having his own Young.
He’d been stupid. A stupid idiot for dreaming of such a thing. A Young. Saber tried to calm his racing emotions and savored Tirah’s hands under his shirt. What if I drop it? Or … what if I fail to protect it and it dies, like Maya, like …
He thought about his lost siblings, mother, friends. Panic began to build as he mentally listed all the things that could go wrong, and he wanted to groan. With their enemies, it wasn’t a good idea to bring another innocent into this world.
“I wonder if it will be a boy or a girl?” Tirah asked, and Saber, about to claim her lips, stilled. His eyes grew wide. Tirah looked up at him sharply. “I can feel it, you aren’t happy.”
“I … I am. Just give me some time, please.”
“Time?” Tirah pulled away and crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, how is this for time? You have exactly until this Young is born.”
Saber shook his head, feeling completely alone. “No, please. I don’t want to fight. I’ll be fine, I … this is … what if …”
“What if what?” Tirah snapped.
Saber thought of all the years he’d lived and all those he’d lost. He wouldn’t be able to bear it if he lost his mate, and how much worse would it be to lose a Young? “What if I’m not a good father?”
Tirah blinked and dropped her arms to her side. “What are you talking about? Why wouldn’t you be a good father?” Then she shook her head and closed the distance between them.
Saber shuddered as her arms wrapped him in her warmth. Her love.
“I’m scared too. But if there is one thing I know, you will be a wonderful father. In fact, I fear if we do have a girl, she may never be allowed out of your sight,” she said, then snickered.
Saber growled. “You’re correct. She’s going to have to find a helluva male if she ever plans to mate.” Then he thought about it. “Yeah, she’s never going to mate.”
Tirah chuckled, and Saber’s lips found hers. “I’ll be happy, I promise, just, let’s go home, please? I need you.”
Tirah went to move away to shift, but Saber tightened his hold on her. “No, let me carry you, please?”
As if sensing his need to be close to her, Tirah nodded. “Of course.” She closed her eyes and smiled as Saber’s power washed through her as he shifted into his dragon. She reached up, pulled his head close, and staring into his bright-blue eyes, kissed him. “I love you.”
“I love you as well. Thank you for mating me, and for making me a daddy. I’ll try not to drive you too crazy until this child is mated off.”
The End of the Beginning
<<<>>>
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Dracones Awakening
Chapter One
Fate is a twisted bitch. Tierney leaned close to the tank of her shiny new Ducati and raced down the highway in rural Washington. Dark clouds above hummed with the promise of snow, though at the moment only a faint mist fell. It was just enough to make the roads slick and perilous. Her mood volatile, she accelerated around the next curve, not caring about the danger as she sought escape from the fear threatening to overtake her.
Mind in turmoil, she had hoped the chill wind and fast ride would ease her stress, but it failed. Tierney shuddered and nausea rolled through her at the memory of her recent vision. She’d seen her dad, a Fallen Angel, surrounded by black robed figures. It was their enemy, the Ilyium.
She should be used to the horrors of life. Afte
r all, her mother and little brother died when their village was attacked when she was seven. They fled their homeward of Tartaria through a magical portal to Earth, and now, after fourteen years, she worked with her dad and two best friends as private investigators.
They didn’t need the money, but it appeased their supernatural need to help others. Though their more mundane work was spent investigating cheating wives and husbands, they also tracked missing spouses, runaway teens and abducted children. The satisfaction of finding and bringing a missing child home to frantic parents, helped to balance all the cases that ate at them. The ones that drove sorrow into their souls and filled them with anger—the murderers and child molesters.
After she exited the highway to a tree-lined, rutted track, Tierney spotted two sets of fresh tire tracks and grinned. Looks like my hunch might just pay off. This case may be closed before it even gets started. If Shay’s here, that is. But her grin faded the further in she rode. A canopy of trees blocked the darkening sky, and the eerie, dark forest made her dragon senses crawl with unease.
An immortal Dracones, born of another Dracones and a Fallen, Tierney had so far lived in human-form. But she had a dragon, another part of her that dwelled inside as well, and it was itching to get out. Now that she had turned twenty-one, she was due to go through her Awakening within the next twelve months. It would allow her to shift into her dragon form at will. She so couldn’t wait. Then she’d be able to kick ass on a much larger scale.
Dracones and Fallen could communicate telepathically and were also gifted with heightened senses. Stronger and swifter than humans, they healed extremely quickly. Most had other abilities as well, though some didn’t surface until closer to their twenty-first year. As far back as she could remember, Tierney possessed enhanced empathy, and could calm or soothe others. When she entered her teen years, she began to read minds. She used to think her gifts were cool, but now, after the ability of foresight gave her a terrifying glimpse into the future, she was no longer so sure.
Senses screaming that she wasn’t alone, Tierney slowed her Ducati and searched both sides of the dense forest. She gave herself a mental shake when no one popped out of the shadows. Enough with the paranoia. She let the thundering of the Ducati soothe her, and soon the trees thinned out and she rumbled into a spacious clearing. Huh, go figure. My hunch paid off. A green Saab and a blue Chevy pickup sat in front of a faded, plank-board hunting shack.
The door to the shack swung open as she pulled up and stopped beside the two vehicles. Daniel, whom she recognized from the investigation files, stepped out onto the rickety porch. His eyes were wide with panic as he held a gun up in shaking hands. Great, just what I need, a gun-toting idiot with no clue how to use the thing. She set the kickstand and climbed off the bike.
“Who are you? This is private property, you’re trespassing.” Daniel glared at her and she had to resist the urge to rip the gun out of his hand. Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to point a gun at someone unless you plan to use it? She shoved her annoyance away. His short blond hair, and sweet baby-face made his attempt to appear menacing fail big time.
Though she had been itching for a fight, now really wasn’t the time. With an eye on the nine-millimeter Beretta in his hand, she pulled off her helmet and pushed her long black hair out of her face as she strode forward. She stopped a few feet from the shack. “The safety’s on.”
“Wha—?” Daniel glanced at the gun with dismay, before looking back at her with clueless brown eyes.
“Shay,” Tierney called, ignoring baby-face as she looked toward the door.
“Leave her alone, go away,” Daniel said, panic tingeing his voice.
Tierney sighed. I’m really not in the mood for this crap. “Chill, I just want to talk to her.”
Though she usually kept her mental shields up around humans, a precaution to prevent her from going crazy over their haphazard thoughts, she now lowered them. How did this woman find us? I love Shay, I can’t lose her. Daniel’s thoughts screamed in her head while Shay’s worries came to her from inside the shack. Why can’t my parents leave me alone?
“Shay, you need to come out and talk or I’ll tell your parents where you are,” Tierney called to her.
A moment later the door creaked open and Shay stepped out beside Daniel. Tierney bit back a smile. The recent photo Shay’s parents had given Tierney depicted a stylish, but shy, slender young woman with long brown hair, and brown doe eyes.
The young woman in front of her now, looked anything but stylish or shy. She wore a tight pink t-shirt, crisp new blue jeans, and rubber mud boots a couple sizes too large. Her long hair had been cut into a shoulder-length bob with blond highlights, and there was an air of stubbornness to her.
“Go back inside,” Daniel said to Shay.
Shay ignored him. “W-who are you? What do you want?” Her gaze darted around the clearing before focusing back on Tierney. Is she alone? Are my parents here as well? How did she find me? Damn this bra itches …
Tierney wanted to roll her eyes but didn’t. “Yes, I’m alone. My name is Tierney. Your parents hired me to find you.”
Anger lit Shays face momentarily, before a blank mask slid into place.
Daniel glared at Tierney. Why can’t anyone leave us alone? I won’t let her take Shay. “She’s not going anywhere,” he said, voice rising with fear.
Shay shook her head. “No, I-I won’t go back.” I always obey my parents. I do everything they want, but for once I want something. I’m not doing it, not this time. Again, Tierney bit back a grin at the thought that Shay had likely never defied her parents’ wishes in her life, until now. “Shay, you need to talk to them.”
“They arranged a marriage for me,” Shay said. I refuse to marry the arrogant ass that they picked out. Geez, the guy thinks he’s God’s gift to women. Besides, I love Daniel.
Tierney sighed. She really needed to get going. “Not my business, but, you’re twenty, right?”
Shay nodded.
“Aren’t you old enough to decide who you marry?” Tierney asked. Shay nodded again. “So stand up to them, or not.” Tierney shrugged. “I’ll give you until noon tomorrow to contact them before I tell them I’ve found you.”
“Ah, all right.” Shay blinked in surprise.
Tierney narrowed her eyes. “If you run again, I’ll find you, and I won’t be happy,” she said, careful of her wording. Certain words tended to bind her to them.
“I won’t,” Shay promised, and though Daniel pursed his lips, he nodded as well.
“Treat her well, Daniel.” Tierney shot the guy a last warning look before walking back to her bike.
“Thank you,” Shay said. I can do this…
Tierney grinned to herself as she heard Shay’s resolve to fight for what she wanted. It may be her job to find people, but she couldn’t stand overbearing parents that ran their children’s lives for no other reason than to be controlling.
Tierney climbed on her bike and checked her phone. After finding no new calls or texts, she started the Ducati and headed back the way she had come. Damn. Where are you Dad? It’s been seven days. Zander was supposed to be gone only two. Worried sick, she absently scanned the sparse trees and brush until a sudden, eerie cold claimed her and her surroundings wavered. Frowning, Tierney braked hard, set her foot down and looked around. She scowled. A faint light circled the ground in front of her as if a flashlight were illuminating the way. What the fuck? She watched the light for a moment before raising her eyes to the darkening sky, which now appeared different than it had just moments before.
Tierney blinked as the sky suddenly turned wavy, then like one picture superimposed over another, it lightened. Another set of lighter, fluffier clouds appeared, along with the faint silhouette of a bird. The more she focused on the bird, the clearer it became.
The large, black, ghost-like raven circled above her head once, then twice and a third time. Tierney shivered at the feeling that it was watching her. But then suddenly the sky ju
st returned to normal—no sign of the bird. And she was no longer cold. Fabulous, now I’m imagining things. Still scowling, she gave the bike some gas and refocused on the dirt track.
A moment later Sami’s voice filled her head. “Tierney. Where the hell are you?” he asked telepathically. Sami was one of her best friends, and like a beloved brother to her.
“Sorry, I’m on my way home. You hear anything from Dad or Jax?” She looked both ways before turning onto the highway.
“Nothing on Dad, and Jax texted. He’s running late.”
Huh, no surprise. Wonder if he’ll even show? “All right, thanks, Sami.”
Tierney swore impatiently when she ended up behind a slow old man, driving a rusty pickup truck. There was a steady stream of oncoming cars in the other lane. Finally, when the last car went by, she sucked in a breath, exhaled, and gunned the Ducati. She blew past the truck and kept going, while acid churned in her gut as she worried over her dad, Sami, and his brother, Jax.
After a thousand years of war with their vicious enemy the Ilyium, the number of Dracones and Fallen on Tierney’s home world had substantially dwindled. Some, like them, even fled to other realms. While the existence of all the different supernatural beings was well known on Tartaria, on Earth they kept their presence secret in fear of Human reaction. They didn’t need any more enemies.
Until last month that is. She silently swore when she thought about the two well-hidden, Fallen males who had recently been murdered. The count was now down to seventy-five Fallen, and fifty-three Dracones here on Earth, at least that her dad knew about. The recent murders stunned them, then they found evidence at the scene which led them to believe either a Fallen, or Dracones, had betrayed them. He or she might even be helping the Ilyium.
When her dad told her he planned to head to Olympia for two days, she didn’t think anything of it. He often went on business trips. But when he mentioned he was meeting someone claiming to have information about the traitor, his words filled her with dread. A moment later everything went black.
Saberthorn (A Paranormal/Fantasy Dragonshifter Romance): Dragonkind ~ 52 Realms Page 22
