The people at the castle had heard what had happened to Aldain and Tory. They were waiting to see both of them, they had to see for themselves they were not badly wounded. Cade and Becca could have run to the cave in minutes but Malcolm posted guards at the mouth of it. He was adamant that no one bother them as they recuperated. He said she would just have to trust him.
Becca didn’t think it would be wise to stand their ground against several dragon shifters, but she fumed and threw Malcolm a look that would have made a mortal man fear for his life.
As Aldain and Tory were convalescing everyone at the castle tried to stay busy. Her mother put together fruit and veggie trays for her and found out what foods Aldain liked so she and Becca could make some of his favorite meals. In an earlier conversation Aldain had mentioned to Andrew how he was going to make a vegetable garden for Tori, so he spent his time finding a good spot and was out hoeing the area. He planned to fence it in when he was finished.
Malcolm found himself drawn to Tori’s friend Cassie. Cassie seemed the oddball, she was basically kicked out of the kitchen. Becca hated a crowded kitchen while she was cooking so having her mother help her was all she needed. Aldain had house staff that took care of cleaning inside the castle and a gardener that took care of outside. She really didn’t have anything to do.
Malcolm took pity on her so he offered to take her on walks throughout the garden and the glen. He checked on his friends daily but after that he gave her all of his attention.
He was mesmerized by her chestnut colored hair. Her lips were full and made him wonder how they would feel under his. She had freckles across the bridge of her nose and was perfectly proportioned with a tiny frame. He felt like a giant next to her. His protective instinct came to the forefront when he was around her.
Heather, Aldain’s mother, would always look at them with a knowing smile upon her face. She wondered how long it would take before Malcolm realized that he too had found his mate. She contemplated telling him herself but decided he needed to find out on his own. She knew if everything went as it should there would be another wedding soon and Tori’s friend wouldn’t be going back to the states.
Several days had passed and Tori and Aldain were going home. Aldain’s wounds were completely healed, you couldn’t even see a scar on his side. Tori just enjoyed being with him as he convalesced. As much as she enjoyed their time together, she really wanted to get back to the castle. Her parents and Cassie were going to leave soon and she wanted to spend their final days with them.
Malcolm made sure everyone was tucked inside the castle when they flew into the glen. He had left clothes for them in a backpack inside a small grove of trees. They dressed quickly and walked to the castle hand in hand. It felt good to be heading home. The good memories they had of their cave overshadowed the bad, but they both felt the need to be around people. Humans and dragons were both social creatures. They both missed friends and family. Aldain was surprised that he missed as many people as he did. Being married to Tori was starting to change him in so many ways and it was all good as far as he was concerned.
They walked through the door and everyone converged on them at once. Tori’s mother started to cry and hugged her like she was a little girl; it was extremely comforting to her. After her mother finally let go of her, her father gathered her into his arms. He said in a choked-up voice. “My baby, My baby. I am so glad you are safe.” Tori’s eyes welled up with tears. She could never before remember seeing her father being so emotional. Tori made the rounds hugging and being hugged by everyone.
Aldain was being hugged almost as much. His mother was the first person to grab him. Her body shook with emotion, knowing her son came close to being killed. She tried not to cry but fought a losing battle as tears streamed down her face hugging him to her tightly. Aldain ran his hand down her hair, “Shhh ma I am fine. Please don’t cry. You know I hate it when you do.”
Heather couldn’t help herself, his remark made her chuckle. When her husband died and she thought she was alone and her tears were falling, Aldain would catch her and hug her close. He would do anything to make her stop crying because it tore his heart out to see her sad.
Andrew and Cade gave him quick hugs also. It was their way of showing him how much they cared about his well-being. They were men so weren’t going to bear hug him, but it warranted more than the normal handshake.
Everyone wanted to hear about the fight but Malcolm refused to give any kind of elaboration. He didn’t feel it was his place to go into detail. The most he said was that Alec was dead by Aldain’s hands. If they wanted to know more they would have to hear it from Aldain.
Aldain skirted over some of the details; he told them enough to placate them. He felt uncomfortable as all the women looked at him with hero worship in their eyes. He did what any dragon would do for his mate; there was nothing more to it. He got a look on his face that had his friend Malcolm smiling a huge smile at him. It wasn’t often he saw Aldain looking like he wanted to run. He was enjoying his discomfort though he would never admit it to anyone.
They all sat down to the exquisite meal Becca and Amanda had fixed for them. Aldain would never say this in front of his mother, but he thought Becca’s meals tasted better than hers. He would go to the grave with that thought.
After the meal, Andrew took Aldain out to see the vegetable garden that he had made for Tori, Aldain was impressed. Andrew had picked a prime growing spot that he knew Tori was going to love. He thanked Andrew and again Andrew looked at Aldain,” I was going crazy with the two of you somewhere we couldn’t go. It is the least I could do. Besides this is one of those times actions speak louder than words.” Aldain knew this was Andrew’s way of telling him how much he cared for them. It gave Aldain a warm feeling as he cleared his throat when they were heading back to the castle.
A few days later, Tori’s parents were getting ready to go to the airport. It was time for them to go home. Tori was going to miss them, but she knew she could see them anytime she wanted. They promised her they would come see her whenever her father could get time off work. She sighed. The surprising moment came when Cassie told her that she wasn’t leaving just yet.
Malcolm had invited her to the island because he wanted to show her around. Cassie was gone so long she was sure she didn’t have a job to go back to and oddly enough she really didn’t care. She felt something for Malcolm and wanted to get to know him better. He told her he had plenty of money so he would take care of all her needs. At first, she wasn’t sure she liked that idea but Heather told her it was the Scottish way and if she didn’t let him take care of her it would be an insult to him. Cassie didn’t want to insult him so she agreed.
Tori squealed with delight when she heard this. She told Cassie when she was done spending time with Malcolm she could stay with her at the castle as it had plenty of bedrooms; she could choose one as her own.
She looked at Aldain after she invited her. He smiled, “Absolutely you can stay here.” He had said to Cassie that he had a feeling he would be seeing much more of Malcolm now that she was here.
His family was growing and it made him feel wholesome and happy. He basked in the feeling of it. Only time would tell how much more it was going to grow; Aldain smiled in anticipation. ‘The more, the merrier’ he thought
End of Book 1
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The Vampire’s Embrace
The Gift of Blood:
/> Book 1
Lucy Lyons
© 2017
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 1
Ashe lay on the roof of the music building looking up at the foul grey clouds as they raced across the sky. Her head lay on her backpack and her feet rested on the raised lip of the flat roof. Anyone looking up would only be able to see the worn soles of her shoes peeking over the ledge. A book lay open across her stomach: a collection of short stories for her English literature class. Though it was November, Ashe wore nothing more than a simple t-shirt and a pair of tight jeans with holes in the knees and up the thigh. She was never bothered by the cold. In fact, she loved the winter and the quiet cool months leading up to them.
Ashe was in the first semester of her final year at college. While those around her were preparing for their lives after graduation, Ashe found herself feeling just as lost as when she had first stepped onto campus three years ago, everyone had told her she would find her passion in time and to take as many different classes as she could until she found the ones that fit. However, in all this time nothing had sparked her interest in the slightest. She liked to read— she knew that much— and she liked to play the piano in the music building below her, but those two things alone did not make a future. She wasn’t enrolled in any music classes. She only liked the building for its practice rooms and easily accessible roof. Besides, she had been reading books and playing music long before coming to college.
What she needed was something to wake her back up. She sighed and stretched her arms out in front of her. The bell in the tower of the campus cathedral started chiming out the hour, its somber melody ringing out across the quad and distorting against the sides of buildings before it reached Ashe’s ears. She had a few minutes yet until class. She sat up, letting the book tumble off her stomach as she reached for her backpack. She tossed the book inside and zipped it up then got to her feet, dusting the concrete grit from the back of her jeans.
The door to the roof was set in at an angle, like the trapdoor to a tornado shelter. Ashe yanked it open with a grunt and slid herself in through the opening. When her boots hit the metal rungs of the ladder, she reached up again to close the door behind her. She wasn’t really supposed to be up there, but the door to the roof was never locked and she hadn’t gotten in trouble about it yet. She climbed down the ladder into the vast room that comprised half of the music building’s third floor. Once used as a rehearsal studio, it was now filled with dusty old boxes and empty instrument cases. Ashe often took loose sheets of music from the boxes and tried them out on the pianos downstairs. Their melodies were often macabre; sometimes atonal, and Ashe could see why they had been hidden away in the unused part of the building.
Ashe could almost feel the energy crackling in the air outside. It wasn’t a matter of if it would rain, but rather when. The wind whipped her long auburn hair in front of her face and she tucked it behind an ear so she could see. Students hurried between buildings with their coats clutched close, hoping to get inside before the downpour. Ashe set off towards the lecture hall with a small smile on her face. She liked the idea of a coming storm.
Angry red marks glared at Ashe from the paper. They slashed down the page like cuts wet with blood. Ashe glanced up at the students filling the lecture hall around her, but no one was paying her any mind. They never did. At the bottom of the last page was her failing grade and a message from the professor: SEE ME. The way it was written, in all caps with two sharp underlines for emphasis told Ashe this was just the beginning of her headaches. Three years of college and she was still just dragging herself along. She swept her long hair to one side and shoved the paper into her backpack. As she stood up to leave the lecture hall, a pen toppled onto the floor. She stooped to pick it up and hooked it onto the collar of her loose black V-neck so that she wouldn't lose it a second time.
She hadn’t studied for this test, not really, and if she was being completely honest with herself she could have done better. But her midterm on medieval European folklore had come at a time when all she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and sleep all day, hiding away from the world’s crap. Days like that happened more often than Ashe would have liked to admit, especially since going to college and realizing that the drama didn’t stop after high school. She kept to herself mostly and could count on one hand the number of people she bothered to keep in touch with. Campus was small, but her world was microscopic.
Ashe was nearly out the door when Professor Sharp called her name. She debated pretending she hadn’t heard him, but she had tried that tactic before and the man had followed her out into the hallway making the situation all the more embarrassing. This time she stopped and turned around, facing her professor with a poorly-hidden scowl on her face.
Her mythology professor was like a library come to life, not so much in his vast knowledge of all things related to folklore and myth, but rather in his appearance. He wore a corduroy jacket of a dusty brown with matching brown leather elbow pads sown in. His trousers were of the same fabric as the jacket. Though he couldn’t have been much older than Ashe’s father, his hair was a uniform white as if he had personally watched the centuries go by instead of merely studying them.
The man gave Ashe a searching look through his thick wireframe glasses. “You know I have office hours after class,” he said. “And if there’s anyone who could benefit from them right now it would be you.”
“I was going to go to the library,” Ashe replied. “There’s a book I need for my next class.” This was not entirely the truth, but Ashe was not prepared to spend an afternoon listening to her professor’s motivational words about the value of education and the rewards of hard work. She already knew what her problem was—she just wasn’t that interested in mythology.
Professor Sharp smiled. “I’ll make sure you still have plenty of time to get to the library when we’re finished. Walk with me to my office.”
Ashe hated how the professor refused to give up on her, even after a semester and a half of unimpressive grades. It made it that much harder to disappoint him. She begrudgingly waited as he shuffled his papers into his brown leather shoulder bag and followed him out the door.
“You know, a lot of lessons can be learned from folklore,” the professor said as Ashe walked with him through the hallway. “For example, the dangers of pride and the value of friendship and asking for help.”
“I’m not proud,” Ashe said, though
immediately she regretted it. The words made her sound childish, insolent.
Professor Sharpe chuckled good-naturedly. “I didn’t say you were. I just think it would be good for you to reach out to your fellow students a little. Share the burden of studying for my impossible midterms and maybe make a friend or two along the way. It wouldn’t hurt.”
Ashe felt the prickle of anger, though she knew she had no reason to be angry. Professor Sharp may think people were the answer to all life’s problems, but Ashe knew just how much trouble they could bring. It wasn’t that she hated other people, but that she was trying to protect herself. Her past had taught her all she needed to know about the follies of relying on others.
As they rounded the corner to the professor’s office, Ashe could see someone already there waiting for him, someone she had never seen on campus before. If she had, she surely would have remembered. He was tall and a little gaunt, but the arms crossed in front of his chest looked stronger than his thin build would otherwise suggest. The dark circles under his eyes on an otherwise pale face made him look like he was in desperate need of a good night’s sleep. A lock of raven hair spilled over his brow, which he brushed to the side as he looked up to greet the professor. His smile made Ashe feel naked, as though any small move would betray just how fast her heart had started beating upon seeing him. Worst of all, she had no idea why she was feeling this way.
“Peter,” the professor greeted the student with a wave of his hand.
“Professor Sharpe,” the student nodded.
Ashe slowed as the professor approached the waiting student, not wanting to draw attention to herself or be unnecessarily pulled into the conversation. She was still trying to puzzle out the strange effect the man had on her.
Adored by The Dragon: (The Dragon Lord - Book 3) (The Dragon Lords) Page 20
