Destined for Time

by Stacie Simpson

  Rook glanced at his boots and shook his head then he tore the front of his pants wide open and put a knee on the chair between my legs. The roller coaster came to a screeching halt and there were no more questions plaguing my mind.

  The instant I saw his arousal, long and hard with a bead of moisture glistening on its tip, raw, hungry need had me spreading my legs in invitation. I reached out to grip his shoulders bringing him with me as I lay back on the thick cushion of the lounge chair. Our lips locked together as he pushed that tiny bit of soft pink material aside and guided himself into the tight entrance of my body.

  With short, quick thrusts he worked his way into my wet depths, setting me on fire as his hard flesh bore into mine. When he was finally seated fully inside my body we both groaned with satisfaction. Finally. How many times had I fantasized about this?

  Rook broke the kiss and looked into my eyes. It was just like before when I’d fallen into his eyes. Only this time, with his hard flesh filling me, the connection was more absolute. The warm energy didn’t just seep into me, it poured and it felt amazing.

  Rook didn’t give me a chance to question the feeling. He rose up high on his arms and began moving his hips rhythmically, driving his thick arousal into me again and again. Blissful sensations rapidly spread through my body until all I could think about was the orgasm hovering just out of reach.

  I brought my legs up along his sides and he hooked his arms behind my knees then planted his palms firmly on the cushion beside my shoulders. His strokes came faster, deeper, and I cried out from the pleasure twisting inside of me. The sound seemed to spur him on and he ramped up his efforts until I was out of my mind with the sensations ravaging my body.

  My heart was nearly beating out of my chest while wordless sounds of ecstasy fell from my lips and our lower bodies slapped together. He was losing his steady rhythm and I saw the desperation, the need for release in his eyes. We were both so close, riding the edge of rapture together.

  The next moment I tensed, spasms of pleasure tightening my slick inner muscles around his hard flesh as the orgasm crashed over me. He thrust once, twice, then we both cried out as we finally fell over that edge together.

  Rook’s black eyes held my gaze while he shuddered above me and his erection throbbed inside me filling me with his seed. That was when the thought hit me that I wasn’t on birth control and we hadn’t used a condom.

  Before panic could set in a powerful wave of energy overwhelmed us and I was suddenly standing outside The Gateway while Dragon spoke to Rook in that strange language again.

  “Wait!” I crossed my hands over my lower body then looked down twisting from side to side. I was fully dressed just as I had been the first time we stood here having this conversation.

  Rook stifled a laugh earning a glare from me, then he became very serious. “Dragon, Serafina needs us. I’m not sure where she is but I think she’s on the beach just past the pier. There should be a fire, go now and I’ll meet you there.”

  He didn’t ask any questions he just launched himself into the air transforming into a dragon mid-leap then disappeared from sight.

  “Where the hell did he just go?” I asked as Rook and I started running for the beach. He was pulling me along just as fast as he had last time and I was glad I’d picked sensible shoes today rather than my usual high heels.

  “Vampires can wrap themselves in shadows and disappear from sight,” Rook responded.

  “I thought he was a shapeshifter, how else would he be able to change into a dragon?” I was running out of breath as we came around the back of the resort and ran down the path leading to the pier.

  “He’s both, a hybrid; he and his people are known as nightshifters.”

  “And you’re going to explain how that’s possible as soon as this is over right?”

  Rook smiled down at me as we sprinted towards a torchlight I could see in the distance. “As soon as this is over, I promise.”

  A few more steps and we heard Serafina shriek in agony as a bonfire lit up near the pier. I stopped asking questions and threw all my energy into running as fast as I could across the sand.

  By the time we reached Dragon he was human again but instead of skin he was covered in scales and he was fighting someone with long black hair that was dressed just like Rook. Serafina was tied to a stake in the center of the bonfire with flames licking up her legs. She was still screaming but she was getting weaker by the second.

  Rook took a moment to evaluate the situation then grabbed a long wooden pole that had most likely held the torch and started scattering the wood piled around Serafina’s feet. He told me to start throwing sand on the burning wood and we seemed to be making progress when Serafina stopped screaming.

  “She doesn’t have enough time; I have to take care of Travali so Dragon can help her. With those scales covering his body the flames can’t touch him,” Rook said as he took off for where Dragon and the other man were still at each other’s throats.

  Travali? Both the troublemakers had shorter blonde hair, not long and black like Rook’s. I moved closer to the fight and caught a flash of a face.

  What the hell?

  Dragon was fighting someone who looked exactly like Rook. I remembered Doyle saying Rook came off the elevator but he didn’t smell right. Could this be what he meant? Could this be Travali impersonating Rook?

  The two men were growling furiously as they moved with inhuman speed, their bodies blurring as my eyes tried to keep up. Rook was looking for an opening but before he could jump into the fight the other man, Travali, landed a hard kick to Dragon’s midsection. Dragon grabbed his foot and twisted hard making Travali howl in pain as he went down in the sand face first. Then there was a loud crack as Dragon drove his foot into Travali’s back and his spine snapped in half. Travali cursed Dragon as he moved towards him with murder in his eyes.

  “Dragon! Serafina needs you now,” Rook called urgently.

  Dragon spun in the direction Rook’s voice had come from and forgot about Travali when he saw the bonfire surrounding his wife. He barreled through the fire taking the stake and Serafina with him as he rolled into the surf. Rook waded in after them and helped pull Dragon and Serafina back on shore.

  Rook checked her vital signs. “She’s breathing but she’s lost a lot of blood Dragon and the burns...” He trailed off but the look on his face was enough.

  Judging by the burns covering most of her body Serafina wasn’t going to make it.

  Dragon pulled her onto his lap and pushed what was left of her hair off her face. She didn’t make a single sound, not even a whimper. Dragon looked so lost my heart broke for him.

  “Dragon, you have to help her,” Rook implored and I looked at him like he was crazy. Serafina was beyond help.

  “What can I do? Look at her Rook.”

  Their eyes met and I thought I saw pity in Rook’s “You have to give her your blood. Now before it’s too late.”

  What? Could they really bring someone back who’d been injured this badly?

  Dragon looked back down at Serafina. “She’s lost too much blood. Her body won’t be able to fight off the virus.”

  Virus? I was getting more confused with every word they said but a second later it all became a lot clearer.

  “Do you honestly believe she would rather die tonight than live as a vampire?” Rook put his hand on Dragon’s shoulder. “She needs you to put aside your hatred of vampires and let your love for her guide you. Do what needs to be done to save your mate.”

  Dragon seemed to struggle with whatever thoughts were filling his mind then the scales melted away and he was nude when he said, “I’m so sorry Serafina. I can’t lose you like this.” Sharp claws sliced out of his hand and he slit his wrist. He brought it to her lips but his blood just pooled in her mouth. Dragon smoothed her hair with his free hand. “I need you to drink now Serafina, please don’t leave me, drink from me and live,” he begged desperately, but still she just lay there. He shook her and shout
ed, “Drink dammit, drink before it’s too late.” Tears of loss, fear and frustration ran down his face and I wanted to help but there wasn’t anything I could do.

  “Dragon...” Rook started.

  “No! I won’t give up on her,” Dragon snarled at him.

  I’m not really sure what happened next but suddenly Dragon’s eyes were mad with hunger and Serafina was drinking from his wrist like a rabid animal.

  “Fuck, he’s thrown them both into bloodlust. Stay back Angela no matter what happens,” Rook snapped as he produced a knife from somewhere on his body and sliced his own wrist open.

  Dragon’s head snapped up and Rook thrust his bleeding wrist against his lips. Dragon savagely tore into Rook’s flesh and I wanted so badly to make him stop. But when I took a step towards them Rook shook his head so I backed off and watched closely.

  The greedy wet sounds of the two mouths gulping in mouthfuls of blood were enough to turn my stomach. Then Dragon’s hips started moving and he was rubbing himself against his wife’s burned body. She was so busy consuming his blood that she didn’t seem to notice, not even when her blacked skin started peeling off as a result of his movements.

  My God, what was going on?

  “Dragon, you have to stop now,” Rook told him from where he was positioned behind him with his arm wrapping around to his mouth.

  Dragon didn’t seem to hear a word he said and I was worried that Rook might not be able to make him stop.

  Rook jerked his wrist free and Dragon roared as he attacked, but Rook managed to pin him to the ground a few feet away from Serafina. Dragon struggled to free himself and Rook shouted, “Fight it Dragon, fight it!”

  Dragon only struggled harder until suddenly an enormous black and red dragon erupted from his body in a fiery explosion of scales and claws that sent Rook flying through the air. The dragon took off into the sky and Rook scrambled to check on Serafina as he ripped his sleeve off and tied it around his wrist.

  He looked her over and gave a relieved sigh. “I think she’s going to make it.”

  I moved towards them hesitantly but before I’d taken three steps the air wavered and a shimmering light burst out of Serafina leaving another smaller dragon in her place. Rook’s eyes were wide, astonished, and I guessed anything that could surprise him that much wasn’t supposed to happen. I started to back away and the dragon locked onto the movement.

  “Don’t take another step Angela.” Rook’s voice was deadly serious and I froze.

  The dragon’s gaze moved to Rook and he murmured soothing words, crooning to calm the beast. Eventually the dragon lay down in the sand and Rook started petting her snout. About that time Dragon landed nearby nude but human once again and crept up to the dragon cautiously, obviously trying not to startle her.

  “Shhh, you’re safe now. Dragon will be back any moment,” Rook was whispering quietly while petting her snout gently.

  Dragon came up between them and Rook backed away letting him take over.

  “Hey there, I’m happy to see you’re still alive. You must be so confused,” Dragon told her quietly running his hand along her snout. She opened her eyes to meet his. “We need to get you inside before the sun comes up. Do you think your dragon is ready to let you come back out?”

  The dragon that was Serafina snorted and moved her head up and down. How could she think rationally enough to understand a single word he was saying right now?

  “That’s good.” He kept petting her, talking in a quiet soothing tone. “I need you to picture your human self in your mind. Think about your beautiful hair, all those smooth mahogany curls, and your eyes, the perfect blend of green and brown. Think about your soft hands and those long slender legs with just the right amount of muscle. Picture the mating mark spiraling down your arms and slashing across your back. Let me see your magnificent body, show it to me Serafina.”

  The dragon shimmered and faded into the night leaving Serafina crouched on the sand at Dragon’s feet. She looked up at him and smiled for just a moment then collapsed and the two men sagged in relief. It seemed impossible, but I couldn’t find a single burn marring her body.

  “Will she be okay now?” I asked them.

  Dragon flashed me a brilliant smile. “She will be more than okay. The virus that causes vampirism has phenomenal healing abilities. When she wakes again she will be the most beautiful nightshifter ever created.”

  “Travali is long gone so there’s no more danger from him but we should get her inside before the sun comes up,” Rook said nodding towards the lightening sky.

  I’d completely forgotten about the other man with everything else that was happening. It was a good thing Rook could still think about security with all this craziness going on around us.

  “I can take her. You should stay here with Detective Ruby.” His eyes met mine briefly then he said, “I’m sure she has some questions she’d like to have answered before she leaves.”

  Rook gave him a grateful smile and bowed with his hand fisted over his heart again. “I’ll check in with you when I wake up later. If you need anything before then you know how to reach me.”

  Dragon bowed in return and said, “Thank you my friend, for everything.” Then he gently lifted his wife into his arms and walked down the beach towards his home.

  Once Dragon was gone I didn’t know what to say. So much had happened but I hadn’t had time to sort through any of it. On one hand I was curious and I wanted answers but on the other I wanted to forget any of this ever happened.

  “You look like you’re not sure if you want to collapse or run away screaming,” Rook said with his head cocked to the side scrutinizing me.

  “That about sums it up.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about him being able to read me so well.

  I went with collapsing and landed on my back in the sand with my hands behind my head. Rook came to sit beside me with his arms linked around his raised knees. We were both quiet for a while just listening to the waves rolling on shore.

  Eventually I said, “I’m not on any kind of birth control.” I felt his eyes on me but I couldn’t look at him, I just kept my eyes trained on the horizon and the rising sun. “I just thought you should know,” I added quietly.

  Just as softly he replied, “When I reset time anything beyond the point we came back to was erased forever. There’s no chance you could be pregnant with my child in this time line.”

  I knew I should be relieved, but instead all I felt was grief from the loss of something I never even had. Needing to distract myself from that kind of thinking I told him, “I have so many questions I don’t even know which one to start with.”

  “How about we start with how Dragon and his people can be both shapeshifters and vampires,” he suggested. “I did promise after all.”

  “That sounds like a good place to start.”

  “Once upon a time...”

  “Is this going to be a true story or a fairy tale?” I interrupted, turning to see him smiling down at me.

  “Fairy tales are just true stories that humans have chosen not to believe in any more. Besides, this is Myths and Legends where dreams and nightmares come to life,” he quoted one of the catchphrases often used in the resort brochures.

  I laughed and settled myself more comfortably in the sand. “Okay, I’m ready to listen now.”

  “Once upon a time,” he started again, “in a faraway land, a large number of shapeshifter clans lived peaceful but separate lives. Then one day vampire hordes led by the evil Master Travali swept in and massacred the clans one by one. He started with the smaller animals but eventually took on the fiercest clan, the dragons.

  During that battle Travali managed to behead the Dragon King but his wife and son escaped unscathed. The young prince whom we know as Dragon was then named Dragon King. Seeing the mistakes his father had made, he rallied the shifter clans and they united to defeat the vampires.

  Victory was within their grasp when a wolf shifter named Bran betrayed them and helped Traval
i curse Dragon and all his people. While they were cursed they could not access the magic of their beasts. Without that magic protecting them from the virus that causes vampirism, Travali was able to change the cursed shifters into vampires.

  You might ask why he would do such a thing since he essentially gave them supernatural strength, speed and a whole list of other powers they wouldn’t have otherwise had, but the answer is simple - greed. In Travali’s mind death would have been too merciful for Dragon. Vampire sires usually have complete control over their new vampires. Travali wanted to use that power to make Dragon and his people into puppets to prove to everyone he was the stronger of the two. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t control Dragon or any of the cursed shapeshifters. Dragon and his people used their new abilities to slaughter the vampires and make Travali flee for his life not to be seen again for several centuries.

  Since Dragon and his people refuse to be called vampires they became known as nightshifters in the supernatural community. Only recently when the Phoenix Prophecy was fulfilled did they regain the ability to change shapes and tonight was the first time one of them was able to create another true nightshifter. Up until now the vampires they created where just that, vampires, but Serafina’s transformation has opened a new chapter in nightshifter history and we will have to wait and see how it turns out.”

  “Why were Travali and Bran here at the resort?” I asked rolling to my side and propping myself up on my elbow.

  “Senator Mitchell was a solar demon known as Garrek. He was also head of an interracial council that helps maintain the peace in our world. Garrek was very powerful and he insisted that all council members attend his wedding. As a council member we had no choice but to admit Travali and his guest.”

  Rook shook his head. “We knew this wedding would be trouble but I never thought this night would end with Garrek dead and Serafina becoming a nightshifter.”