Draakar became aware of something else. He could no longer sense or track his son. The woman before him consumed all of his senses. His link to Talon led him straight to her.
She stared at him with large almond-shaped eyes, shining with an intelligence to match his own. He returned her stare, imprinting every nuance of her into his memory. A warm brown color coated her skin, in stark contrast to his paleness. Funny, though his dragon hide was deep black, his human skin was white. But this mate of his, while very beautiful as a human, would be magnificent as a dragon. The power flowed true and strong in her blood. He could hear it coursing through her body. The magicks lay dormant no more as they rose to consciousness beneath her skin.
His truemate.
He watched her inhale, taking air deep into her lungs as her chest expanded. He did not need to read her mind to know she wrestled to try to bank the unreasonable and puzzling anger she felt toward him—a stranger.
“You…you must be Talon’s father. He’s not here.”
Ah, Talon. What have you done?
“Stop that.”
Draakar stepped farther into the room and blocked his thoughts from her. Without taking his gaze off her, he removed his jacket and tossed it onto the chair beside him.
Maya's gasp and reaction to him almost had him grinning. She guessed he could read her thoughts, but she hadn’t managed to block him before he pulled her attraction to him from her mind. He reminded her of one of those Olympic ice speed skaters she’d seen on television, all broad-shouldered with a narrow waist. His clothing both covered and showcased lean sleek muscle. She wanted to touch him, and imagined his body would feel like steel beneath her fingers. She had to forcibly wrench her thoughts away from his looks and back to her many questions. He could no longer suppress his smile at the things filtering through her mind and his pleasure in her.
“Talon told me to let you know he’s fine, but he won’t be returning home with you.” The words came out in a rush, then she paused and took a deep breath before continuing. He sensed she wanted answers and facing him, a being she was unsure of, seemed the only way to get them.
Draakar patiently studied the woman before him reading the thoughts she verbalized as well as those she didn’t. He found it interesting how easily she could read his dragon mind. He had to concentrate to block his thoughts from her. Some mated brethren claimed there were no secrets between truemates. Perhaps they spoke the truth. Once they were mated, he would never be able to hold anything back from her. He would not want to.
As Dragon Lord he wanted to claim his queen immediately, but, as human brethren, she would not understand—not yet. He needed to wait a little while, and he still grieved for his first mate. Sierran may not have been his truemate but he owed her a time of mourning. He would also require time to get past Maya’s anger. All very real and justified.
“Can you tell me what’s going on? Who are you—people?” She left unspoken in the air but very much on her mind the last part of her question: Were they even human?
The heat of her anger lay banked in her eyes, and he could hear and feel the confusion in the tone of her voice. She did not understand how she could harbor such anger toward a stranger. Although he and she weren’t strangers, not really. They were just a long time in coming. The blame rested entirely with him. He had a lot to answer for, but he would try to make it up to her, he’d spend a lifetime doing it. Gentleness existed within her heart, and he would need it. She would forgive him. She must.
But her anger toward him would have to be addressed. Nor would it be easy for him to get past it and get her to accept him, to accept herself and her true nature. Her brethren blood ran very strong. He couldn’t even sense her until he had gotten close because she unconsciously blocked him. She hadn’t responded to his call, to him, as her Dragon Lord; or maybe she had and it explained the reason why Talon had found her first. His call had awakened her. But then, why could he not locate his son?
“I am Draakar Akgon,” he finally responded, “and yes, I am Talon’s father.”
He continued staring at her with unblinking eyes, waiting for her to say something.
“Ah…your eyes.” She gestured with her right hand in his direction. “They glow just like Talon’s.”
“Yes, we share that trait. What is your name?”
“I’m sorry. I should have introduced myself. My name is Maya Trent. Did anyone tell you what happened?”
Ah, a fitting name. It meant ‘power,’ the power to create phenomena. The Fates had chosen for him a rare creature indeed.
Unlike other brethren, Dams or Queens only had one mate, could only have one mate. The male must be stronger than they to be able to handle the magicks of a Dam. Only one brethren mate existed for a Dam— a Dragon Lord.
Although not uncommon among their kind, truemate bindings almost consistently held true for Dragon Lords. Even though a male could mate with any strong female, they usually waited for their truemate. He being the exception. He had not, could not. If his powers had not been released through a mating, their race faced extinction.
Dams are rare, and do not have such a choice. They cannot mate with just any male. They die and are reborn over and over until they find their truemate, and they suffer through each rebirth. Her dragon had been reborn many times in this world and died many times over because he had not been on earth to sustain her, just as she had not been there to sustain him when he needed her. She’d come into being too late.
Unlike her, he’d survived with Sierran’s help. Her powers sustained him so he could give the brethren a chance to survive. Only, the internal powers Sierran helped him release through their bond wasn’t enough. It didn’t last.
His Queen, however, had no chance when he left Earth and he knew it. She had not been born yet. She may not have been born for hundreds of years and the brethren could not wait. The imminent extinction of their kind did not afford him the luxury of waiting.
He’d condemned his unborn mate to continuous rebirths and lonely deaths when he left, sacrificing them both. No longer. He had come for her and he intended to claim her. It would just take a little longer than expected. He would have to give her time, give them both time. He hoped they had it.
He finally answered. “No, I have spoken to no one at the hospital.” He didn’t add he already knew what had happened to Talon. The Stones told him. Draakar began to suspect how Talon hid from him. He had to swallow his smile at his son’s cleverness.
“He was found…I found him, unconscious in the middle of a circle of stones in the mountains. But he’s fine now. Look can you just tell me what’s going on?”
“I will answer all of your questions…in time, if you answer three for me now.” He paused as she tentatively nodded. “Did Talon link with you?”
“Yes.”
Draakar heard the hesitation in her voice.
“But he’s fine,” she hurriedly added. “He said I would be able to let you know he’s doing all right and I can sense he is. He just seemed to be a little worried about someone.”
Draakar sighed. “Yes, I know.” This complicated matters, but Draakar had faith in his son. Talon didn’t realize, however, as soon as Draakar mated to Maya he would be able to find him through their link.
“You said three questions.” Maya’s voice drew him out of his reverie. “What are the others?”
“First, I want to thank you for helping Talon, and I will tell you all you need to know but not here. Are you visiting the area?”
“Yes. I’m an American. I’m staying at the Sperrin Inn. Are you from around here? I can’t quite place your accent.”
“Ah, an American—I would like to visit your country soon. My family has claimed these lands for a long, long time, but my accent is not one you would have ever heard.” He paused as he grabbed his coat. “I’ll have my driver take us to the inn to get your things.”
“What! Wait a minute! What are you talking about?”
“I would like you to come and
stay with me at Akgon Castle for the remainder of your stay.”
She frowned. “Castle! Where is this castle? I-I can’t possible stay with you. You’re a stranger! I thought you were going to answer my questions.”
“Only if you come with me now. Don’t be afraid of me, Maya. Never be afraid of me.”
Huffing, Maya crossed her arms over her chest. “Afraid! No. I’m just being prudent.”
Draakar raised one skeptical eyebrow and watched in fascination as Maya raised her hand and ran long slender fingers through the loose curls in her auburn hair. He wanted to reach out and grab one of her locks. He wanted to know if it felt as silky as it looked; he wanted to feel her. Taking a deep breath, he inhaled her scent. She smelled like no scent he had ever encountered before, a mixture of sunshine, earth, rain and woman. The erotic aroma ignited his blood, and he would never be able to forget it.
“Look,” Maya huffed again, distracting him from his perusal of her scent. “I don’t know you. Yes, I helped your son but that doesn’t mean I’m going to go off with some stranger. Especially one that can do….” She waved one hand in the air. “The things you do. So just tell me what’s going on and then we can go our separate ways.”
A knock sounded on the door and Dr. Donovan walked in. He took one look at Draakar Akgon and froze for a full minute. He shook his head and extended his hand with a bemused expression on his face before it was quickly replaced with a smile lighting up his eyes in recognition.
“Mr. Akgon,” Dr. Donovan said. “I see you’ve heard. Sorry about that but Talon’s already gone. I…I released him this morning. He’s fine. Everything is fine.”
Chapter Six
Maya’s mouth stood wide open as she watched the interaction between the doctor and Draakar. “What?” she finally managed to blurt out. “I-I thought you didn’t know Talon?”
Dr. Donovan finally turned to look at her. “Oh, Ms. Trent, I see you’re here. Sorry for the confusion. The nurse called the inn and left a message for you, too. I’m sorry you came down here for nothing.”
“What are you talking about? I’ve….”
Draakar spoke up, not giving her a chance to say more. “Thank you Doctor. I’m glad to know everything’s fine. Talon’s already on his way back to school. Please say hello to your wife for me.”
“I will.”
The doctor turned around and left. Maya couldn’t believe her eyes and ears. She shouldn’t have been at all surprised. The mere sound of his voice caused Maya’s brain synapses to fire off neurons in all of her pleasure centers. She couldn’t place his accent but it wasn’t Irish or American like Talon’s. It didn’t matter. Regardless of his accent, his mere presence caused havoc to her equilibrium. In the last twenty-four hours she’d seen the improbable and the impossible. Compared to everything else, this looked like just a drop in the bucket. She could be Dorothy but instead of landing in Oz, her original destination, she’d fallen down a rabbit hole with neither Queen nor Wizard in sight. And forget about following any yellow brick road or even flying off to Witch Mountain. According to the populace, none of these places existed. Except in fairytales.
Maya sighed. “Just take me back to the inn please.”
“All right. My car should be right outside.” Before she could reach for it, he picked up her jacket and held for her to put on before grabbing her backpack. “Are you ready?” he asked.
Not like he’d given her much of a choice other than to leave without him, without answers. Not happening, besides she didn’t think he’d let her leave anyway.
“Yes.” Silently she followed him from the hospital room. At the elevator she stepped on first and plastered her back against the rear wall. Draakar leaned back beside her. Even with a couple of feet separating them she could still feel the heat of attraction between them. They rode down to the lobby in charged silence, neither willing to break it as they stepped outside to the waiting Rolls and the man standing beside the opened rear passenger door.
“You!” Maya exclaimed upon seeing the tall handsome man with red hair. “But…didn’t you fly us here in the helicopter? I thought you didn’t know Talon? Yet, you work for his father?”
Ian glanced sheepishly at Draakar.
“Ian works for me,” Draakar answered. He didn’t bother to elaborate. “Maya, this is Ian McNeil, my right hand. Ian, this is Maya Trent.” My Queen. Two pairs of eyes, one a bronze set, the other set blue, snapped around to look at him. Ian gave a low bow as Draakar guided Maya into the car.
Queen? What queen? Maya knew Draakar hadn’t spoken, yet she had heard him. She heard him in her head. Just like Talon. Draakar had called her his queen. It hurt her heart to hear him call her that. Why could she hear him in her head, and why did she feel so much anger and hurt toward him?
Ian got in and started the car.
“Ian, please stop at the Sperrin Inn, Maya has to pick up her things. She will be staying with us at the castle,” Draakar instructed.
She swung her head around to stare at Draakar. “I didn’t agree to that.”
“Ah, but you’ll still come.” The dividing glass panel between the driver and the passenger section of the car slid soundlessly closed.
But Maya heard it click softly into place. “Look. I am not going with you, and another thing, stop calling me your ‘Queen’ in my mind. I’m not your anything. In fact, stay out of my head.” She blew out a breath. “I need answers and with Talon gone, you seem to be the only one capable of giving them to me. So why don’t you just tell me now what’s going on? Start by explaining what you are, and why am I so angry with you? Then we can each go our own way.”
“It’s not that simple and I think you know it.”
“I don’t know anything!” she exclaimed angrily. “I wish both you and your son would stop telling me I already know the answers to my questions. If I did, I sure as hell wouldn’t be sitting here asking them! All I know is what I’ve already told you.” She sighed in frustration. “I found your son unconscious in the middle of these stones that no one else, other than a guide, seems to know about. Stones with dragons etched into them one minute and smooth the next, and which, by the way, glowed just like your son’s eyes. Just like yours do.”
She took a deep breath. “Still, a lot of this could have been explained away. Not easily but I’m sure there was some sort of ‘reasonable explanation.’ Then everything changed when your son did the unexplainable. He up and disappeared. Yep. Poof.” She waved a hand in the air. “Not a mirror in sight. Just, now ya see him now ya don’t, disappears. That can’t be explained away. Now, who are you people? Are you even people? And don’t you dare give me any bull about me already knowing the answers to my questions.”
During her tirade, Draakar watched the rise and fall of her breasts and the way her eyes sparked golden fire the angrier she got. By the claw of the first Dragon Lord, he wanted this magnificent woman. The brethren would not be in the predicament they found themselves in if he had simply waited for her birth. Too late for regrets, and he could not regret his son. He had come for Maya now, and he would make things right between them.
The dragon responded to the anger in his mate. I’ve missed you. Every day of my existence, I’ve missed you.
He watched as she stopped talking. She heard him. While he could say anything to her, he could never lie to her. The dragon would never lie to her. Somewhere deep inside herself she felt the truth of his thoughts.
His words echoed through her soul and from the depths of her soul she responded. Then why did you leave me to be born time and time again without you?
Maya grimaced and shook her head from side-to-side. “What’s happening to me? Why am I hearing voices in my head, and why is one coming from inside of me?” She gasped leaning right up against the interior door. “What have you done to me? This isn’t right.”
The car pulled up in front of her inn and before Ian could get out of the car to open the door, like a bat chased by the fires of hell, Maya opened the door and
ran into the building. With Draakar right behind her.
“Maya, wait.”
She never even slowed. Instead she increased her pace as she crossed the foyer, passed the lone desk clerk behind the counter, and headed for the stairs.
Do not run from me. Never run from me.
One foot on the stairs, she stopped dead in her tracks at the command in his voice. Although it was not exactly ‘his voice’ she’d heard. Something else had spoken in her mind. Something with the power to make her pause. The same something else inside of her, a part of her, responded to the command.
She didn’t turn around. She felt Draakar move up beside her. He took her arm above her elbow. Her already accelerated heart rate cranked up even more at his light touch. Maya glanced down at his hand loosely wrapped around her jacket-covered arm. A faint glow surrounded his hand where he touched her. No wait, the glow appeared to be emanating from them both. She was too stunned to tell him to unhand her.
He moved forward and having little choice, she moved too. Together they walked up the stairs to her room on the second floor. There were six rooms there, but Draakar stopped at the second door on the left, her room. Maya, keeping her eyes on him, never saw him reach to open the door. In fact, like at the hospital she’d swear he never touched the doorknob, but the door opened anyway. Her mind screamed, If you cross the threshold with him, your life will be forever changed.
“You…you never asked me your third question,” she said. “What is it?”
“Later. Let’s get your things.”
Maya faced the truth. She’d lost control, and her life had already changed.
It didn’t take her long to gather what she needed. Two suitcases stood beside the bed. She’d already packed most of her things for her trip to Paris, which it seemed was never going to happen now. She didn’t bother to reason with herself or explain away why she went with Draakar; this had to be done. He’d awakened something in her back at the hospital; she could feel it. She needed answers and she would not get them if she didn’t go with him.
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