Forever Fated Mates: A Shifter Romance Collection

by Meg Ripley

  “That’s not the only thing you should be worried about.” There was a warning tone in Varhan’s voice. “He’s been spending time with Kaylee.”

  “They had a day out while she showed him around. It’s not like they’re getting married.”

  The wizard’s reply was merely a snort.

  “What?”

  “Archard is a very determined young man. There’s something about him I can’t quite put my finger on, but he strikes me as the sort of person who can accomplish anything he sets his mind to.”

  The sound of a chair scraping the floor leaked through the door, and Archard envisioned Julian rising to pace the room. The soft creaking of the floorboards enhanced that image. “Isn’t that a good thing? Kaylee’s not very different, really.”

  “That’s just the problem,” Varhan replied. “Julian, you have no idea just how powerful your daughter has the potential to be if she sets her mind to it. Her gift for languages could very well translate to a gift for spells. They’re all about using the right words and the intent behind them, after all. It makes me wish I hadn’t shown Archard that spell.”

  A long pause made Archard move closer to the door in case he missed something.

  “And then there’s the other thing.”

  “Which you should’ve told her about a long time ago,” Varhan insisted. “You can’t keep her in the dark forever.”

  “You think Kaylee could perform the spell?”

  “She could,” Varhan admitted, “and I know she’d jump at the chance. She came to me and asked me specifically, saying she wanted to go herself. I don’t know if Archard was influencing that, but we can’t let her go. No matter how capable she is, the force of being thrown back to Charok could still kill her.”

  “Damn. Then we just have to hope we really can trust Archard not to tell her, no matter what’s going on between the two of them.”

  Archard ground his teeth together in frustration. They didn’t trust him enough to explain Kaylee’s powers to him, yet they hoped he would keep his promise. He wanted to burst back through the door and tell them what fools they were, that he would do absolutely anything—even die himself—if it meant keeping her safe.

  Instead, he turned and moved quietly down the hall. He resolved to bide his time, learn the spell, and leave.

  11

  Kaylee dove into her bedroom and turned the knob as she closed the door, hoping to avoid any telltale signs that she hadn’t been in there all afternoon. She felt as though she could finally breathe again, and she threw herself on her bed, gasping.

  She hadn’t meant to spy on the three men in the library. Her intention had simply been to retrieve an old file from one of her digs the previous year so she could use it as a reference in a paper she was working on. But when she’d heard Archard’s voice resonating through the wooden door, she’d stopped in her tracks.

  Staring up at the ceiling, she tried to reconcile her heart with her head. It made perfect sense that Archard should want to go back to his home world. But couldn’t he also want to stay with her? The time they’d shared and the kiss that had practically made her heart explode meant something to her. Did it mean anything to him?

  And then there was Varhan’s betrayal. He’d only admitted to Kaylee that there was a way back to Charok after she’d practically dragged it out of him, but he’d also been quite clear that she wasn’t to attempt it. Why should Archard be any different? Why should he be allowed not only to see the spell, but to learn it? Why should her father and Varhan put his needs above hers?

  Exasperated, Kaylee launched off her bed and crossed the room to the window. She slid the glass and then the screen aside, letting in the cool October air. It was almost time for Zimryr once again, and there was no doubt in her mind the holiday would be a much different one than all those she’d experienced before. Her life was already changing faster than she was able to keep track of.

  She needed time and space to think, and her room wasn’t going to do it for her. Kaylee lifted first one foot and then the other until she perched on the windowsill, hoping her body still remembered how to do this. With a shake of her head, she felt the vertebrae in her neck grow and multiply as her spine stretched. Her legs grew thicker and heavier, and a tingling sensation crept along her arms as her skin split into pale green scales. Her hair hardened and shortened until the back of her head bore only spikes. She was forced to go ahead and jump out the window as her wings sprang from her back, and she spread them to catch herself as she soared into the night.

  Kaylee turned and headed out toward the back of the property, where the area only grew more rural and she was less likely to be seen. It was a black, moonless night, but as her eyes adjusted, she began to see the trees and farms below her. She tossed her head in the wind, feeling the fall air cool the heat that naturally radiated from within. This was exactly what she needed. How long had it been since she’d let herself go?

  With a smile curving her reptilian lips, Kaylee tucked her wings at her sides and did a barrel roll through the air, tumbling toward the Earth until she once again caught herself. The worries that plagued her disappeared for a while as she remembered this other body she’d been hiding away for so long, and she whipped her tail to explore its length.

  But as she caught an updraft and swooped into a circle, Kaylee suddenly sensed that she wasn’t alone. She paused in the air, looking. She hadn’t seen anything specific, just a dark shape that blotted out the stars overhead. If it’d been one of her cousins, he or she would have called out to her. Her mother or father would’ve done the same. Detecting nothing, she decided to continue in the direction she’d been going only to find her path blocked.

  “You’re quite magnificent when you don’t think anyone’s watching.”

  Kaylee couldn’t see the form in front of her as much as she could sense he was there, but she recognized Archard’s voice. She flew backwards a few feet, squinting her eyes in the dim light to find the details of his dark, charcoal-colored body. “What are you doing out here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing,” he challenged.

  “Fair enough. I came out here to think.”

  Archard flew in a slow and lazy circle around her, his dark body absorbing the starlight. He was barely more than a silhouette, with a few scales coming into relief every now and then. “I had similar reasons. What did you need to think about?”

  Perhaps it was the kiss or the gentle way he spoke to her. Kaylee couldn’t explain it, but being near him made her a different person. She’d hidden secrets from numerous people all her life—even those she was close to—yet she couldn’t do the same around him. “I’m going to Charok.”

  He paused, his wings moving just barely enough to keep him in the air. “What do you mean?” His voice had changed from curious to harsh.

  “I heard your discussion in the library.”

  “Kaylee…”

  “Don’t talk to me like that! I’m not a child, and you have no right to scold me for eavesdropping. It was purely an accident, but I’m glad it happened.” She darted off into the night, further from her home.

  Archard followed her, keeping up with her easily. “Is that your excuse for everything? That it’s an accident?”

  She knew he was referring to the spell that’d brought him and his family there, and she felt a dagger of anger in her heart. “It was, whether you believe me or not. But if Varhan is going to help you get back to Charok, then I’m going, too.”

  He dodged around her, his body gliding through the air until he stopped short directly in front of her. She tried to go to the left and then the right, but he blocked her any way she turned. “Kaylee, you can’t. It’s too dangerous.”

  Kaylee bolted upwards, but she hadn’t spent enough time in her dragon form. Archard was right at her side. “I can if I want to,” she finally retorted when it was clear she wasn’t going to lose him anytime soon. Her wings were growing tired, and she glided down toward a clearing in the woods.


  They touched down, Kaylee less gracefully than Archard. The ground was hard, but she refused to let out the grunt of pain that built in her lungs. For a moment, she considered shifting back to her human form, but she didn’t want him to have more of an advantage over her than he already did.

  He advanced toward her, his eyes sparkling with anger. “You don’t understand. You could die.”

  “I don’t care.” As she said the words, she realized how true they were. “This is something I have to do. I can’t explain it in any rational way, but I know I have to go to Charok. I’ve spent so much of my life searching for something, and it’s very hard to find when you don’t even know what it is. Varhan says it’s because I’m a star child, but I think there’s more to it than that. I’m supposed to go to Charok.”

  Archard touched her shoulder with one clawed hand. “I can’t let you. Besides, you don’t even know where the spell is.”

  She let out a puff of steam and backed away from him, turning her back. “You forget that I’ve spent my entire life here. I’ve explored every nook and cranny of that house, and I know all the secret hidey-holes. Trust me, I can find it.”

  “There’s more. You don’t understand.”

  Kaylee whirled back around to face him. “Then make me understand.”

  He advanced slowly, his eyes locking with hers. Even in dragon form, she wasn’t immune to him. Kaylee’s heart thundered while her blood carried sparks of excitement through her body until she was painfully aware of every move he made.

  “I don’t think I can make you understand,” he finally said, his voice a soft contrast to the sharpness of his white teeth, “but I’m asking you to trust me. You can’t go.”

  She pulled away, fighting against this spell he’d cast on her. “I thought you would be on my side. You said you wanted to go, too.”

  “I am on your side, but you simply can’t go! I won’t allow it.” Archard’s voice roared into the night, waking the daytime birds in the nearby trees and sending them fluttering off to a quieter place.

  “What did you just say to me?” This unexpected, overprotective behavior was ridiculous. “Just because we had a little moment together doesn’t give you any right to boss me around, Archard.”

  A dragon’s sigh sounds more like a hiss, and Archard’s held a hint of regret. “Yes. Fine. You’re right. Just please, please promise me you won’t do anything foolish.”

  Kaylee shook her head, trying to understand how she’d ever thought there was something between the two of them. She could never have true feelings for someone so controlling. “I don’t have to promise you anything.” Kaylee shot up into the night sky and away from the clearing as fast as she could.

  And Archard didn’t follow.

  12

  It’d been a few weeks since Kaylee had spoken so bitterly toward him in that clearing in the woods. She’d said nothing in the meantime about going back to Charok, and he was beginning to think she’d finally given up on the idea. He’d hated that he couldn’t tell her the truth about why she couldn’t go, but Julian and Varhan had been right in keeping the spell a secret from her.

  Unfortunately, she had also given up on him. By the time Archard came down for breakfast, Kaylee had always come and gone before him. On the rare occasions when she hadn’t beat him to the kitchen, she kept her distance as she poured her coffee and grabbed a bagel. She refused to even look at him. Archard had tried to make casual conversation with her, knowing better than to bring up the subject of Charok, but even his subtle “Good morning” or “How’s the weather?” wasn’t good enough for her. This seemed to make Jake pretty happy, considering the smug look he always wore on his face. No doubt, he thought the distance between them was his own doing.

  After a dinner that wasn’t any different from the rest, with Kaylee sitting as far away from him as possible and making excuses to leave the table after only a few minutes, Archard paced irritably in his room. The soft knock at the door made him hopeful, but it was only Kieran.

  He strode in, looking concerned. “Are you all right?”

  “No better or worse than I’ve ever been since we got here,” Archard grumbled. He gestured toward the desk chair.

  Kieran sat, his gaze still focused on Archard. “I’m not sure that’s true. You seemed to be doing quite well for a couple of days shortly after we got here, and then your attitude went downhill again.”

  Archard glared at him, but he knew he was right. “There’s been a lot on my mind.”

  “Still wanting to go back to Charok?”

  He couldn’t reveal the truth about the spell, not if he was going to keep his promise to Varhan, but it was no secret that he wanted to leave. “I don’t belong here.”

  “I think you could if you wanted to. Just listen.” Kieran put up a hand to stop Archard from arguing with him. “I know you feel obligated to your family’s legacy, but there’s nothing left to guard.”

  “If that’s true, then why do I feel such a need to go back there? Why do I feel like I’ve left my post and something bad is going to happen if I don’t take it up again?” Archard brought his hands together, weaving his fingers and squeezing until his knuckles whitened. “I’m so torn. I know I have to go back, but…”

  “But?” Kieran pressed.

  Archard groaned. “You can’t tell Callan what I’m about to tell you.”

  “All right.”

  “You know how Lucia told us about what it was like for a dragon to find his mate? That there would be this indescribable feeling that comes over us; something we can’t resist or deny? Something that pushes us even harder than the occupations handed down to us have?”

  He bobbed his head. “Of course.”

  “I think I felt that with Kaylee. At first, it was kind of an anger, but then it turned into something else. I’m not the same person when I’m with her, but then again, maybe I’m the person I’ve always been meant to be. I want to shift, and I want to protect her from any dangers that might befall her. Hell, I even want to protect her from herself. I can feel the pull of my duties on Charok, but I feel the pull that Kaylee has on me as well.”

  Kieran laughed softly. “I haven’t felt it myself, so I don’t suppose I can say, but it certainly sounds like you’ve found the one you’re destined to be with.”

  Archard pounded his fist into his thigh. “Then why does she hate me so much?”

  “I don’t think she hates you at all. I’ve seen the way she looks at you when you’re not watching. She’s probably going through the same thing you are, and the two of you need to just sit down and talk about it. Or, you know, find some other way to show how you feel about each other.” His grin lifted his beard.

  Archard gave him a playful punch on the arm, but he knew his cousin was probably right. “Fine, then. But if she tears me into pieces and leaves my charred remains on the lawn, then it’s your fault,” he laughed.

  Leaving his room, Archard went to find Kaylee. The library was empty, and her car was still in the garage. He headed back upstairs and down to the end of the hall, but just as he raised his fist to knock on her bedroom door, it swung open.

  She stared at him, surprised, and then tried to shut the door again.

  Archard easily stopped her with a booted foot on the threshold. “I know you’ve been shutting me out, Kaylee, and now you’re doing it literally. I just want to talk.”

  “I can’t talk right now.” She stared down at his foot, her mouth pursed.

  It was then that Archard noticed she was hiding something behind her back. “What do you have?”

  Her eyes widened, and she scooted a little further behind the door. “Nothing.”

  Archard knew better. Kaylee couldn’t hold the door for long, and he pushed his way inside. She backed away from him, still holding her hand behind her back. He advanced across the room, hoping he was wrong, but there was only one way to find out. Archard grabbed her in both arms.

  Kaylee pushed at his chest with her free hand, but it was
no use. His hand closed on the book behind her back. He kept his left arm around her while he looked at it, his breath stopping in his lungs. It was Varhan’s spell book.

  “I’m putting this back where it belongs. You shouldn’t have it.” With a little regret, he let go of her. He was angry, but he still liked the way she felt in his arms.

  She glared at him. “Fine, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve taken it quite a few times already. I just put it back when I’m done with it and Varhan never knows the difference.”

  “He’s going to now,” Archard promised. “I should’ve told him right away about your plan, but I hoped you’d let it go.”

  “Tell him all you want, because I already know everything I need to know. I’ve got all the ingredients and I have the spell memorized. I’m going to Charok, Archard.”

  “No, you’re not,” he insisted. “This spell could kill you.”

  “Then it’s worth the risk. Stop trying to get in my way; you’re no different than anyone else here. You think you know what’s best, but you have no idea what’s going on inside me. It’s like there’s a string on my heart, and it’s yanking on me constantly.”

  Archard took a deep breath and set the spell book down on her dresser. She couldn’t take it again without him seeing it. He walked slowly toward her, knowing she was likely to dodge around him and try to run away again, and he stopped when they were face to face. Archard desperately wanted to reach out and touch her face, to brush back her hair with his fingers, to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her tightly against him once again. But he kept his arms firmly at his side. “I do understand that. I know that feeling more than you could ever imagine. That same sort of string is pulling me in two different directions, and I don’t know which one to follow.”

  She tipped her chin up at him, and he swore he could see hope in her eyes. Did she know she was one of the forces that pulled at him so hard?