She shoved a finger into his chest. “I’ve waited years…years Drake, for you, to be with you, to love you, but you think this ‘turning me’ might be too big of a step?” She knew tears were still rolling down her cheeks, but that didn’t stop her words or the finger pointing. “How about you man up, and call me when you do. Or, better yet, don’t, because I’m sure it will be too late.”
She didn’t say anything else, just turned towards the front of the house to leave.
An almost inhuman roar was her response, but other than flinch, she didn’t stop. She wasn’t sure she would be able to leave at all if she caught one last look of him. Minutes later, in her Rover, she finally was able to take a breath, but her emotions were hanging on by a thread. Peeling out of his driveway helped a bit. Seeing the road flying beneath her tires also calmed her.
Don’t think about it yet. Get home, then you can dwell.
The thick forest on either side of the road was almost welcome. As dark and dangerous as her mood was, she should have known better than to expect a smooth departure.
A loud pop, then the Rover swerved, Nadia had the frame of mind to pump the brakes, but that didn’t stop her from sliding off the road, into the shallow ditch and kissing the edge of a tree. She was thrown forward, but not harmed, thank God. Scared, more than anything, and feeling stupid now that she was sitting out here, wrecked, and emotionally pissed. She took a moment to survey her surroundings…in the dark, feeling a little stupid, a lot scared, and so unbelievably alone…her car a wreck and in a rut…just like her life.
“Good God, how much more miserable can I be?”
She tried laughing at herself, but ended up crying instead.
After a few minutes of feeling sorry for herself, she stopped. She was on the side of a private road, had wrecked and she certainly wasn’t going to be able to drive away from this. She needed to find a way out of this mess.
Climbing out of the vehicle was a bit precarious, but she managed, and then she got a good look at the front of her truck, as well as the blown out tire.
“Damn.”
Well, there was nothing to this. She was going to have to call Drake. “Shit.”
Seemed like her vocabulary was down to just the basics now, Nadia thought, as she grabbed her Iphone from her coat pocket, tapping out her passcode. She didn’t notice until she brought the phone up to call Drake, that there was no service.
“C’mon, really?!” She all but yelled at the offending piece of technology.
Birds chirped, and a breeze sang out as a response.
What the hell was she supposed to do now? Nadia shook her head and glanced around. Well, it appeared she would have to start walking, and hope that her signal would come back.
She trudged resolutely along, noting that the sexy heels that had seemed like a good idea earlier, weren’t so much now. The wildlife sounds around her were almost comforting, until Nadia realized that a light growling noise was interspersed with the regular cooing and cawing of the birds. She stilled instantly, and almost, almost, ran back to her truck to get the bat in the backseat.
Why didn’t you take it in the first place?
She glanced back and could only see her back bumper…a LONG ways away. She would never make it. A light sweat broke out on her skin. Her heart raced. She glanced back to the road in front of her, just as the bushes rustled on the right side, and a large, rotund shape walked out, growling softly deep in its throat when it saw her.
Nadia almost passed out.
A bear was calmly studying her from about forty feet away.
Chapter 19
Something was wrong.
For fifteen minutes, Drake had been trying to calm down, not that it was working, but he had tried, and now some niggling little breach had tapped into his protectiveness streak. The amazing amount of trust that she’d placed in him to ask him to change her, was thrust away, the love she shared with him was also pushed away. He couldn’t put a name to it, couldn’t describe it, he only knew it had something to do with Nadia.
Within seconds, he was outside, tapping the air with every ounce of his Druidity.
She wasn’t far, and something was deathly wrong.
Every thought he’d had was now put on hold. A darkness, something vile, and evil was close, and Drake had every intention of getting it away from his woman. She might be angry with him, but she was still his, and he would take care of her.
Within seconds, he was on his private drive, running into the woods, desperate for something, anything, to lead him in the right direction.
***
Nadia had never known fear this deep, this true.
The bear was ambling around in her general vicinity, never coming too close. It seemed to be testing her, seeing how easy it would be to make her break.
She’d been tempted to scream for Drake, knowing that he would be able to hear her, but she was frightened that the bear might take that as something aggressive and attack her. So the scream she wanted to send out was cemented in her throat, lodged there with her tears from their argument, and her hope that she would get out of this alive.
A snort broke into her musing, distracting her so that she stumbled and nearly fell. The bear clearly took that as a threat, and let loose a roar, so eerie, and terrifying, that Nadia instantly burst into silent tears. It began to come closer. And as it did so, Nadia stayed planted in the same position, trying not to antagonize it further.
The animal seemed sluggish, almost sick, and the closer it came, Nadia noted the somewhat frothy foam at its mouth. Rabies. The bear was infected with Rabies.
Shaking took over her body, along with the sudden, overwhelming urge to run. But Nadia ignored that, remembering a show once that said running would only incite further aggressiveness from the bear. So she huddled along the side of the road, while a raving, infected bear stalked her ever closer.
Suddenly the bear halted, turning its nose up, scenting the air.
Nadia immediately took note of this. What did it sense? Was another animal coming? Was it a car? But she nixed that last thought. This was Drake’s private road. No one would be showing up at this time of night.
The bear roared once more, causing Nadia to jump again. Then it began to run towards her. Without even thinking, she turned and ran, the silly heels forgotten as the need to save her own life cut in on everything else. Within seconds, she was knocked to the ground. Twigs, rocks and mud shifted under her hands, and as she looked up she could clearly see the ravaged, diseased eyes of the bear not five feet from where she lay.
The scream that had lodged in her throat before, came ripping out easily now.
Just as the bear roared again, and raised its large front paws towards her, Nadia caught a blur coming in from the right. The blur was Drake, and seconds later bear and man tussled right before her very eyes.
He would die! There was no way possible for him to defeat that beast. After having to bear the humiliation of him not wanting her to stick around for a lifetime, Nadia refused to witness his death.
“Stop! Please stop!” But the words came out distorted and wobbly thanks to her tears. She rose hastily, scrounging in the dark, feeling rocks and twigs, searching for something to use as a weapon, while the fighting continued behind her, human and beast, the snarling and growling rippling together to form a deathly orchestra of terror.
Another roar, clearly Drake, made Nadia look back to see him standing, the bear on hind legs, doing everything it could to gut him where he stood. The animal was fierce, terrifying, and enormous, the full moon shining down on its rippling furry body and snarling white teeth. One glance also revealed Drake, clearly in full change, fangs flashing, muscles large and impressive, while his eyes glowed hotly animalistic.
It was a meeting of the two most deadly things she’d ever seen.
Then the bear swiped at him, his claws cutting a swath of red across Drake’s chest. Nadia screamed, feeling utterly useless with no weapon, and instantly everything became cry
stal clear.
The man she loved was fighting for her, battling against something terrifying and deadly, so that she could escape.
But she wasn’t going to let him battle alone.
Since she couldn’t find a stick, she could distract the beast, and give Drake the upper hand.
Standing up, she let loose a long, loud whistle, gathering the attention of the bear and of Drake, who was clearly not happy about her intervention.
“Nadia, no!”
“You’re not going to die for me, you stubborn son of a bitch!”
The bear did exactly what she wanted; it turned and started for her
***
There was only one thing to do. He’d tried coaxing the bear with his abilities, when he’d first heard it roar, but since the Rabies was fully spread throughout its body and mind, the animal was relying on its basic survival instincts. Drake couldn’t get through to it, couldn’t persuade it to stop, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let it hurt Nadia.
He’d allowed himself to go fully through his change.
Now everything was sharper, focused, clear cut, black and white, no gray areas, no haggling, no dissecting. He was the same as the bear-a beast, intent on saving his woman. Nothing would stop him, except, apparently, for Nadia’s misguided attempt to save him.
The burn on his chest from the swipe the bear gave him, he barely felt, but the terror in Nadia’s eyes burned as clear as the love that had given her the strength to stand up to something she was obviously afraid of.
His brave, beautiful woman, he’d have to make an honest woman of her, and soon, but not before the unpleasant task before him.
Within seconds, he was on the bear’s back, his hands around the heavily muscled throat, and for a few terrifying moments, Drake wasn’t sure he could end the animal’s life, despite the rabies. But one glance into Nadia’s fearful face told him this had to be done.
Calling on every particle of his power, he roared, and grabbed the bottom and top jaws of the bear, pulling in opposite directions. The heavy beast fought bravely, but when Drake popped his jaw, it fell to the ground, dead, within a matter of seconds.
Feeling horrible for having to take the life of something so majestic, Drake knelt over the beast, praying for its soul, promising to see it resting somewhere permanently safe in its second life.
Tearful hiccups intruded in on his thoughts. Drake glanced up, and saw Nadia sitting on the ground, looking lost and somewhat dazed. He got up and made his way to her, going slowly because he knew the scratches on his chest, the blood and the change he was wearing might also scare her.
“Angel? You okay, honey?”
He barely had a second to brace himself before she came barreling at him and flying into his arms. So, she must not be put off by the blood and his animalistic nature, Drake assumed.
“You crazy, beautiful man.” Her words were hazy and indistinct against his throat, but Drake didn’t care. He had her right where he wanted her.
“But if I’m your crazy, beautiful man, I must also lay claim to a bit of stupidity to nearly let you get away.”
She stiffened slightly against him. So Drake went for it, letting her have what she wanted so badly.
“You are going to be mine forever, Nadia. There is no way I’m giving you up. If I have to change you to have you, then I’ll willingly do it.”
His air was cut off as she hugged him to her, but he didn’t mind the chokehold one bit.
***
Drake made her wait until Friday night to get things started.
Nadia had thought she would expire from anxiousness when he informed her that he needed some assistance from a few other Druids. She thought they could have done the deed the day after that horrible fight, with each other and then the bear; Drake had informed her otherwise. She would need a couple of days to regroup. She might miss work for an untold amount of days because her newly rewired system might throw her off a bit. The actual biting process was not what he was worried about. He was more worried about after, when the changing would set in and her body, soul, and mind would go through the transformation. He reminded her that for some the transformation was horrid, painful and sometimes deadly. Others felt no ill reminders of their time during the change. Some, he told her, passed with no ill effects and days later were right as rain. There was no way to tell how Nadia’s change would go until it began, which is why he wanted help to fall back on, incase they would need it.
Nadia wasn’t worried one bit. Love that was returned and felt by Drake flowed in her veins. She knew that she looked crazy happy on the outside, but even if that was the case, she didn’t want to dim that. She wanted everyone to know how she felt about Drake, even if he was being a bit more honorable than she liked at the moment. He hadn’t touched her sexually since Monday night. Instead he had gone over and over again some of the things she might expect from her transformation, during and after. Nadia was more than ready for that to happen, and since she was being honest to herself, she was also more than ready to jump his bones at any given moment.
It wouldn’t be now though, she mused as she watched him go to open the door to his house. She had come over with a bag packed, and ready to go, as per his instructions. Back up for Drake would be three other Druids. He had only told Nadia their specialties and their names, but she knew deep inside she was thankful for them being here and helping both her and Drake through this.
After shutting the huge door and murmuring a few words, Nadia watched from the corner of the sofa when Drake finally ushered his guests into the living area where she was waiting. When she caught her first glance of all three men, she swore Druidism carried a gorgeous gene. Every single man was simply breathtaking. How they were all unattached was a miracle to her.
Two tall, dark haired men broke away from another tall, silver haired giant and made their way towards Nadia. She instinctively stood, and calmed her rapidly beating heart. This was all starting to seem very real to her.
With an outstretched arm, the first dark haired man with stunning blue eyes grabbed her hand and gave it a vigorous shake, “Nice to meet you Nadia, I’m Brenan McKinnon.” God, he was devilishly handsome, with a dimple in one lean cheek, and a seductive Scottish brogue. Nadia wondered if every woman in New York was blind.
Looking way up, she remembered to smile in the face of such charm, as he picked up her hand and kissed the back of it, not to mention his deep Scottish brogue when he spoke her name had given her the goose bumps. “Nice to meet you too,” she murmured as she pulled her hand back in.
The other dark haired man had flashing green eyes, and was a bit taller than Brenan. “Ramsey McMurray, lass, it is so good to meet you.” His voice was a deep brogue also. He didn’t kiss her hand as boldly as Brenan had done, but when his fingers touched hers she felt immediately calmer. When he let her hand go, he whispered, “My cousin has the charm, but I have the touch.” His green eyes twinkled, and Nadia smiled as she remembered what Drake had told her about his special ability being ‘touch.’
Drake charged in between the two Scottish devils, and gave them the hardest looks that Nadia could ever remember him giving anyone. “Okay you two, back off.” He smiled at Nadia and grasped her hand in his. “This is Kale. He is the other one I was telling you about with the ability to stop blood flow.”
The tall man approached her, and Nadia saw what she had thought was silver hair was actually a light blonde. He was tall, with autocratic features, and a commanding air that implied he was just as stubborn and harsh as he appeared to be.
“Hello, Nadia. I hope your transformation will be pain and problem free. We are all here to ensure that.” His silver eyes flashed at her as he shook her hand. His voice held no accent, which she thought was odd but interesting.
The next hour was spent getting everything ready. Nadia joked with Drake that he was only making her upcoming trial even harder, but deep down she understood his hesitation. He wanted everything to go smoothly. Now as everyone crowded
inside the huge master bedroom, she gulped deeply, knowing what was coming, but not quite sure if she was ready.
After Drake positioned her on the bed, lying comfortably, Nadia licked dry lips and watched as the men conferred at the foot of the bed. She could hear them talking about pain, symptoms from previous changes, and other things she should be listening to, but as of now all she could focus on was Drake. He was big, bigger than the two dark haired men and at the same height with Kale, but what caught her attention the most was the camaraderie he shared with the other men. It was easy to see they were brothers in arms. At that moment Nadia closed her eyes, said a prayer, and let her love for Drake pour through her. This was no mistake. She loved this man, she would be with him forever, and nothing would happen during her transformation to stop her future with him.
Minutes later, Drake came to the side of the bed. Sitting down beside her she noticed his eyes changing right before her.
“We’re about to start soon, love. Are you sure this is what you want?” His hand grasped one of hers while his other hand went to the side of her face, pushing away her hair.
She said the only thing that needed to be said, “I love you.” She knew that was what he needed to hear when his eyes closed and it seemed to her that he relaxed somewhat. When he opened his eyes she noticed he was serious. Then Kale spoke from the foot of the bed.
“Nadia Mali Morales, you have extended your wishes to be ‘gifted’ into the world of the Amber Druids. This matter is not to be taken lightly. Many instances of your life will change and you have been informed of these instances, have you not?”
At Drake’s nod, she answered, “Yes.” His grip on her hand tightened. His eyes burned into hers as Kale continued.
“Ramsey, Brenan, and I, have come today as witnesses to this induction into our world. We are also here to provide help, if needed, and a shoulder to lean on should things turn unexpectedly.”
Her Druid Desire (The Amber Druid Series) Page 29
