by Alice Brown
Blain nodded.
Both men turned abruptly at the sound of the doors quietly opening, but to Dominic’s disappointment, only Natasha emerged through them. His dragon sulked deep within himself.
‘I want to see our mate! Not her,’ his dragon, Ivormantis, pouted at him.
‘I know, I want to see her, too, but you need to be nice to Natasha. If it wasn’t for her, we may not be here. Then what would our mate do without us? Did you think of that?’ he argued back to the stubborn creature within.
Ivormantis just huffed at him before curling up and sulking.
“How is she, my love?” Blain asked his mate, concern coating his voice.
Natasha hugged her arms closely to her body, her worried gaze shifting down to her shoes. What was she holding back from them? What was going on with his little elf mate? Ivormantis suddenly was back up, taking keen notice to everything going on around them.
“There’s a lot more to Meldamiriel than what meets the naked eye. I was trying to explain the situation to you when she showed up. You see, Melda is a very rare breed of elf. She is an Omega Elf. A single being more powerful than any living creature known; nevertheless, a danger just the same. Her own kind wished to keep her locked away and protected from the world. And while she would be worshiped and revered, it is no life to have. Others wish to harness her powers for the ultimate weapon.” Natasha took a chance and glanced up at the two warriors standing in the room.
“What kind of Omega Elf?” Blain inquired. Dominic was grateful for him asking questions, since his own tongue had seemed to forget how to work.
“She controls all four elements and is a shapeshifter. She’s able to shift into any animal that she wishes to.”
One question had yet to be asked, and Dominic desperately needed to hear the answer, no matter how bad it was.
“Why…why did she show up in the state that she is in?” He couldn’t help choking on his words because he feared the answer.
Natasha looked over to him, biting her lower lip for a moment. She paused, wondering how Dominic would handle hearing the truth. “Because she was running from a clan of vampires. Their leader, Alec Bullock, is nothing but a cold-hearted bastard. I’ve dealt with him and his clan before. Alec craves nothing but strength and power, and he’ll do anything to succeed in achieving what he wants most. And right now, he wants Meldamiriel.”
“They attacked her?!” Fury raged inside of him at this statement.
Concern for his injuries had Natasha quickly trying to calm this big dragon shifter warrior down. “Dominic, please calm yourself. Meldamiriel is fine; she’s stronger than you think. You need to relax before she sees you, or you’ll frighten her. She’s very skittish around larger people, especially men.” But as she stated this, Dominic’s eyes were no longer on her. They seemed to be locked on something behind her. His body started to lose some of its tension as he took a slight step forward before quickly stopping again. She turned to see Meldamiriel half hiding behind the cracked door.
“Natasha?” she asked wearily, her big, worried eyes locked onto Dominic’s large frame as he stared at her. One look at the huge man standing next to Natasha’s mate and Meldamiriel didn’t know what to think. He was good looking, there was no doubt about that. He was just so big! She knew he had to stand well over six foot. But it was those gorgeous hazel eyes and strong jaw that caused her to catch her breath. His eyes gave her the impression he wanted to eat her for dinner and she didn’t want to be on the menu tonight.
Natasha and Blain exchanged glances and then looked back and forth between Meldamiriel and Dominic for a moment. Both dragon and man sensed she was scared and leery on making her next movement as his hungry eyes watched her way too close for comfort.
Natasha was the one to make the first move. Quickly making her way over to her best friend and gathering her in her arms, Meldamiriel clung to her for dear life as they slowly made their way into the room and back over to the two men. All the while, Natasha was whispering to her calmly that she had nothing to fear and she was perfectly safe here in Blain’s castle. Nothing would get her, and no one would harm her or frighten her.
“Melda, this is my mate, Blain Barrymire,” Natasha introduced lightly, gesturing to the man with a patch over his eye.
“It’s nice to meet you, Meldamiriel,” Blain said with a kind smile, giving her a slight nod of the head, knowing a handshake might put her over the edge, and not wanting to do anything to frighten the wee elf any more than what she already was.
Meldamiriel nodded back as well. “It’s…it’s nice to meet you too,” she said shakily.
“And this big guy here is Dominic Mantasillion.” Again, Natasha came across very light-hearted and gentle, while carefully turning a tightly clinging Meldamiriel to face Dominic. The tiny elf trembled in Natasha’s arms as she came to face the large dragon shifter. Sadly, she had heard a few too many horror stories about dragons eating elves, though she had always hoped they were just stories, something that truly didn’t happen in real life. Then again, vampires were supposed only to exist in books and yet they were whom she was running from at the current moment.
Ivormantis sensed her fear toward him and his human half and urged Dominic to be very careful in handling her.
‘You dare to frighten her away, or so much as mark her perfect skin with the tiniest scratch, and your spine will be the least of your pain that you have to worry about dealing with,’ Ivormantis threatened deeply, his stern voice rumbling with his warning.
‘I would never even dream of laying a harmful hand on such a beautiful and fascinating creature,’ Dominic growled back inwardly, being careful to keep all signs of his difficulties hidden within so as not to spook her. At the rate he and Ivormantis were going at it, he feared Ivormantis losing his temper and trying to force his way through, would truly scare the living daylights out of his mate.
Ever so gently, Dominic took Meldamiriel’s tiny hand in his much larger one and bent slightly to kiss the back of her fingers. It was only a whisper of a kiss, to show she had nothing to fear from him. The pain shooting down his spine was excruciating, but it was well worth it when he glanced up to see one corner of her mouth trying to turn up.
‘I bet her smile is magnificent!’ Ivormantis declared.
Dominic smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Meldamiriel.”
Meldamiriel blushed deeply at his formal conduct. After all, here she was, just a small elf that lived her life on the run. A mighty dragon warrior such as himself shouldn’t even be thinking about her. She couldn’t help looking up to her best friend for guidance on what to do at this moment. She wasn’t a socialized person, one of the prices she had to pay for being who she was. In situations like this, it caused her no little amount of stress that she wasn’t sure what to say or do next.
“You must be hungry,” Dominic stated, as he stood straight. “I know I’m starved.”
Meldamiriel’s eyes widened as a look of horror crossed over her features. Turning, she tugged on Natasha’s shirtsleeve until she bent down to her level. “Do they still eat elves?” she whispered into her friend’s ear.
Natasha glanced up at Dominic, clearly seeing that Ivormantis was getting anxious and hard for Dominic to keep under complete control. She tried not to laugh. The longing, burning look in Dominic’s eyes for her friend spoke volumes and was clearly visible. Oh yeah, he’d eat this little elf, just not in the same way she was thinking.
“No, Melda, he won’t eat you; at least not that way,” Natasha stated quietly with a smirk, thinking about what the big dragon would like to do to her tiny friend.
Meldamiriel’s eyes widened even more as she began to shake. “You mean they actually still do eat us?!” She turned her horrified eyes over to Dominic, causing him to stumble at the distress he saw in her.
Natasha sighed deeply. At one time, Meldamiriel loved to crack jokes all the time, back before her life became complicated. Obviously, this wasn’t the time and place for
any kind of jokes.
“No, Melda, dragons don’t eat elves; that was a myth started long ago to scare children. That’s all,” Natasha stated this out loud as to help Dominic understand what was going on. He looked to Meldamiriel as if he wished to say something to help soothe her, but wasn’t sure what. Natasha stepped in for him once again. “Dominic was just merely asking you to join him in eating dinner.”
“Oh,” Meldamiriel breathed a sigh of relief. Turning to look up at Dominic and seeing the worried look that had taken up residents in his features had her feeling guilty. “I’m sorry, Dominic.”
“It’s alright, sweet love,” he said kindly, offering her a reassuring smile.
“I think some supper would do everyone some good,” Blain spoke, he had fallen silent as he watched everything play out before him. Stepping up to his mate, he wrapped an arm about her waist. “Come, love,” he said, gently moving her from Meldamiriel’s grasp. Natasha instantly picked up on what he was doing and willingly went with her mate, leaving Dominic and Melda to themselves.
Meldamiriel chewed on her lower lip, nervous at not knowing what to do, or even which way to turn, without Natasha to cling to. She knew Natasha and Blain needed their own time together, but couldn’t Natasha just lock her up in a room instead of leaving her to deal with this huge dragon shifter all on her own? The man made her feel uneasy on so many levels it wasn’t even funny and she was quickly draining her own power in keeping control of her body so she wouldn’t shift over into one of her animal forms. She had a habit of shifting whenever she felt out of sorts or threatened. She usually shifted into a bunny or some other small creature that was easy to get away and hide.
“Shall we?” Dominic suggested carefully, offering his arm out to Meldamiriel. He yearned to be able to touch her as Blain did Natasha, but knew he had to be careful as to not frighten the poor skittish creature away from him.
‘You’re too big! Why must you be such a large brute?’ Ivormantis demanded.
‘Me?! Have you looked at yourself lately? Do you not realize the size that you are? If she saw you, you would scare the shit out of her!’ Dominic threw right back at him.
‘There is a difference! I am dragon: kind, gentle and lovable. What is your excuse?’
‘Oh, would you shut up! Besides, you can’t come out anyway. Not without paralyzing me and causing you to never to fly again.’
Ivormantis blew fire out at him in frustration, causing his insides to burn like hell. He bit down on the roar of pain threatening to break through, forcing himself to keep his features schooled so Meldamiriel didn’t suspect anything.
‘Quit! You fool, that hurts!’ Dominic barked.
‘It’s supposed to. Teach you a lesson in doubting me!’
‘If you just give me a little time, I can get her to be comfortable around us both. But these things take time. She needs our support and comfort; not the two of us fighting among ourselves. You don’t want us to push her away, do you?’
Ivormantis huffed. ‘Fine, do it your way…for now.’
Dominic rolled his eyes mentally at his dragon’s antics. Why did these creatures have to be so damn stubborn?
“Thank you,” Meldamiriel finally said, breaking in through his train of thought as she cautiously took hold of his arm.
He smiled down at her for taking the step to walk with him, all the while gloating inwardly to his now pouting dragon.
They walked slowly down the halls of the castle, both for his sake from being in pain and tired from his trip, and to make sure she had no difficulties keeping up with his long strides. He knew she was nervous, he could even feel her hand shaking on his arm, making him wonder what all she had been through to make her so frightened of people. He needed to find something to do to help ease her.
“Where is it that you’re from, Meldamiriel?” he asked calmly, keeping his tone of voice low and steady.
“I was born and mostly raised in Canada,” she stated meekly.
“Does your family still reside there?”
“No, they died when I was very young. Natasha has raised me on her own since her parents passed away when she was ten. We’ve learned to survive solely on each other.”
Dominic’s heart broke. He knew Natasha had a difficult past before she met Blain, but never had he thought that she had practically been a mother and sister since the young age of ten, not to mention having the council after her because of her then hidden powers. But what had sweet Meldamiriel done while Natasha was off in her training and on work?
“Did you go with Natasha during her training and practice with her?” he questioned.
“Oh no, I don’t even know one end of a gun from the other. But the bow, now that’s a different story. No, while she was away she left me to stay with her grandma, knowing I would be safe with her.”
“By the way, how is Nana?” Natasha asked, as she glanced over her shoulder at her two friends.
Meldamiriel’s gaze dropped and Dominic’s heart fell with a sinking feeling of dread. This poor young woman had truly gone through far too much in her short life.
“Bullock and his men got her while I tried to get away. She wouldn’t let me stay with her,” Meldamiriel choked out the words as tears gathered in her eyes, threatening to spill down her cheeks. Dominic watched her carefully. He could see her fight to keep her emotions under control. He could easily guess that she was an emotional being. Being an Omega Elf would make her just that much more. As he watched her fight to keep the tears at bay, he yearned to take her in his arms, lay her wee little head on his chest, and assure her that he would fight every demon she ever had. He yearned to promise her that she could cry on his shoulder any time she needed. But he couldn’t. She was still too scared of him, so he silently watched her as she wrestled with her emotions.
A sadness started to seep into Natasha’s eyes before she quickly schooled her features and spoke again. “It wasn’t in vain, you know? It was the agreement she and I had if the situation came down to it, and I think we both knew sooner or later it would happen. She loved you as if you were her own and would have done anything for you within her power.” Her grandmother had been a demon, and where most people would have automatically assumed the old lady to be mean, the girls both knew better.
Meldamiriel couldn’t hold back the tears any longer as sobs shook her shoulders. She just stood there shaking her head. “Tasha, why does everyone have to die because of me?” she exclaimed out in a cry.
Dominic realized they had stopped walking at some point, and he was just gazing down at her helplessly, not knowing what to do, not knowing what she would allow him to do. He recognized and knew she was his mate, but obviously, she didn’t recognize him as hers. Or if she did, she was too damn scared of him to admit it. He desperately wanted to take her in his arms and hold her until every last ounce of her pain melted away into him. Her troubles were for him to bear, not her. She should have the chance to live a worry and stress free life where all she had to worry about was maybe what they were having for dinner that night. He was the warrior, and he was her mate. It was his duty, his pleasure, to face the world and keep her demons at bay. He watched as Natasha came up and wrapped her arms around her tiny friend, rocking her back and forth and whispering words of comfort into her ear.
“Shh, sweet little Melda, everything’s going to be alright,” Natasha chided. “And not everyone dies because—” she was cut off there.
“Oh no? Then why did momma and daddy? Your parents…and now grand mamma? Even Dexter! I only have you left now,” Meldamiriel exclaimed before burying her face deep into Natasha’s shoulder as she sobbed out her feelings.
Dominic’s blood boiled at the mention of this Dexter character. Who was he? And what did he mean to his Meldie?
‘Wait, Meldie?’
‘Yes, she is as sweet and innocent as a perfect melody,’ Ivormantis stated.
‘But what about this Dexter?’
‘Either way he is dead, and we are now here with
her.’
‘But maybe she still has feelings for him.’
‘Do not be troubled by something so small. She is our mate, she will come to love us in her own time. Despite this Dexter.'
He could actually see Ivormantis wrinkling up his nose at saying the other man’s name.
“Could you please have some soup sent upstairs, and a sedative? I think it might be best to get her resting for the night. We can try all of this again come morning,” Natasha stated.
“Of course, love,” Blain said, watching as his beloved turned to guide Meldamiriel out of the dining room and upstairs.
Dominic moved to follow, but stopped short when Blain’s hand gently landed on his shoulder. He looked over to his lifelong friend in confusion. Why was he stopping him from following and being near his newly found mate? Opening his mouth to argue with his friend, he found himself quickly silenced.
“I think tonight it might be best if they just have each other. There seems to be more to this story than any of us know. Let her rest tonight and tomorrow she will be all yours with no one stopping you. I promise you that, my friend. Besides, your own body needs rest.”
With a heavy sigh, Dominic had to admit Blain was right. It most likely would be best just to wait and start all of this over again come tomorrow morning. But both he and his dragon hated the thought of not being able to be near his mate until sunrise. Tonight was bound to be long and rough.
Dominic paced back and forth in his room. It was directly across from Meldamiriel’s room and he couldn’t get his mind to leave the thought of her for even one second. His body and mind were tired beyond belief, but sleep refused to claim him tonight. He could still sense her pain and anguish through the walls, surrounding him, reminding him there was nothing he could do.
“I’ll find a way to fix all of this. I promise you, sweet Meldie,” he whispered to himself.
‘And how exactly do you plan to go about doing that, oh great human?’ Ivormantis was in rare form by this time.
‘I haven’t figured that out, yet. We may just have to wing it day-by-day.’
