THRAX

by Bonnie Burrows

  The four shifters were fighting fairly close to my backpack. Far too close for me to think I could get it without being attacked or roasted alive by a jet of fire. Cursing again, I turned and began running into the forest.

  But not more than a dozen paces in, I stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn't do it. I couldn't return to Stone River without the herbs that could save Matthew. And so, gritting my teeth, I turned and jogged back out of the forest.

  Now it seemed as if the two dragons, a dark gray one and a jade green one, had the upper hand. They'd both landed and were taking swipes at the wolves with their thick, scaly arms, sending the wolves flying. But the wolves were getting back up and charging each time. I knew the fight could last another couple of minutes. It had also shifted a little farther away from my backpack. And I knew I had to make my move.

  While keeping one eye on the four battling shifters, I sprinted back across the valley to my backpack. And by the time I reached it, I actually thought I was going to make it. But the moment I snatched it up, the wolves began retreating to the forestland on the other side of the valley. The dragons launched themselves into the air again, mighty wings flapping, and the jade green dragon began chasing them. However, the dark gray one didn't. He began heading straight for me. I made a run for it anyway. But I only was able to dash a half-dozen paces before the dark gray dragon landed in front of me, blocking my path. And pretty much blocking out the sun.

  I clutched one of the straps of my backpack, bracing myself, hoping that my death from a blast of fire would be fairly quick and painless. Hoping I'd be incinerated instantly. The dragon took a deep breath, and I squeezed my eyes shut reflexively. And what happened next wasn't at all what I'd expected.

  I heard a man speaking near me, maybe just a few feet away.

  "Oh, you can open your eyes. I'm not going to fire-blast you or anything, if that's what you thought. I just took a deep breath because honestly, I'm a little winded. Too many cookies and glasses of wine lately and not enough exercise while in dragon form. Happens to the best of us shifters. Well, maybe not to my brother. He's perfect. But it happens to me."

  Fearing some trick, I slowly opened my eyes. And found myself looking at the most attractive man I'd ever seen in my life, hands down, without a doubt. He was broad-shouldered and tall, maybe an inch or two above six feet, and had dark gray eyes and hair so dark it was nearly black. It was rakishly tousled, and one hank of it hung over his forehead. He appeared to be around thirty. And to my surprise, though maybe I shouldn't have been that surprised, considering that the wolf shifters had seemed to shift into human form with clothes already on, he was fully dressed. In jeans, black boots, and a black t-shirt fitted just enough to reveal the outline of an extremely chiseled chest and trim waist beneath. He definitely didn't look as if he'd been indulging in too many cookies.

  I didn't know what to say. I had no earthly clue. I could barely remember my own name.

  He gave me a dazzling half-grin, revealing white teeth that sparkled in the sunlight. "I'm sure this is probably all a little shocking and disorienting for you. Just seeing shifters up close and everything."

  I finally found my voice, though it came out in a squeak. "A little."

  Seeing shifters up close actually wasn't the thing that had my head spinning most right then. It was him, and his grin.

  His grin got even bigger. "Very understandable. I myself am actually a little shocked and disoriented, just seeing a human woman outside of Stone River. I say this in the least creepy way possible, but my brother and I have been watching you from the moment you left. And I have to admit, from that very first moment...." He clutched his chest with a look something like faux rapture on his handsome face. "I've been just a bit rattled. Might need a cookie and a few glasses of wine later, just to calm myself down."

  I actually cracked a smile. I was smiling two feet away from a dragon shifter.

  He smiled in return, seeming to run his gaze over every inch of my face. And he really did look a bit disoriented and rattled. He didn't speak again right away, and when he did, his voice was a bit lower and huskier than it had been.

  "You have a...a really, really beautiful smile."

  I gave him another little smile while heat rose to my cheeks. "Thank you."

  He studied my face again for a long moment, appearing kind of dazed, before suddenly clearing his throat and offering me his hand. "I'm Damien, by the way. It's nice to meet you."

  I shook his hand, the feel of his skin on mine making my cheeks even a bit warmer. "It's nice to meet you, too, Damien. I'm Daisy."

  I could not wrap my brain around the fact that I was having a friendly conversation with a dragon shifter. And an extraordinarily handsome one. After narrowly missing an assault by a pair of wolf shifters, I was sure.

  But just then, before Damien and I could become any better acquainted, his brother walked up to us, also in human form and fully dressed. And I saw that Damien wasn't the only extraordinarily handsome man in the family. Not by a long shot. There was now a tie for the most attractive man I'd ever seen in my life.

  Seeming a little irritated by his arrival, Damien introduced him as Nicholas. And like Damien, he was tall, well-built, and very muscular. He was also dressed in jeans, boots, and a t-shirt, and they definitely shared some facial characteristics, like the same strong, square jaw. But that's where the similarities ended. Nicholas had deep green eyes and hair that was a warm, honey-toned shade of dark blond. Or maybe light brown. It was just a few shades lighter than my own.

  He extended a hand, looking deep into my eyes. "Please. Call me Nick."

  I shook his hand, thinking how Heavenly might be a better name for him. His touch was firm and warm.

  "I'm Daisy. It's nice to meet you, Nick."

  I gave him a little smile, and he smiled back, seeming to be just as dazed as Damien had been.

  "Likewise, Daisy. You have the most beautiful-"

  "Smile." Damien folded his arms across his chest. "She already knows. I told her that, like, ten minutes ago."

  Nick released my hand, frowning at his brother. "Oh. That must have been just around the time that I was driving Ezra and Oliver into the forest. On my own."

  Damien shrugged, his mouth twitching with a smile. "Had to make sure Daisy was all right."

  Nick responded with just the hint of a glare before turning his focus back to me. "And are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?"

  I shook my head. "No, not at all."

  That was true, though his deep green eyes were kind of piercing my heart right then.

  Nick smiled. "Good. Though I'm sure you're in a bit of shock and very exhausted. Would you like to sit down and rest for a few minutes?"

  While I thought about the question for a second, I shifted my feet, making my large backpack, which I was still holding, bump against one of my legs. And that's when I remembered that there were herbs in my backpack. Herbs that I needed to get back to a dying little boy as soon as possible.

  I gasped, picking up the backpack with both hands. "No! No, sorry, but, no. I don't even have time to sit down and rest for a few minutes. I have to get back to Stone River as soon as possible." I slipped my arms through the straps of the backpack, one after the other, hoisted it up on my back, and began walking backward away from Damien and Nick. "So sorry. You've both been really lovely, and it was so nice to meet you both. But I have to get back right this second. Thank you so much for your help. Thank you both so much for saving me from those wolves."

  I began turning, intending to dash off, but Damien closed the distance between us and grabbed one of my backpack straps to stop me.

  "Oh, no, you don't. You're not going back to Stone River. No way. You're coming with us. You're our prisoner now."

  CHAPTER 2

  I stared at Damien, shocked, my mouth going completely dry for the second time that morning. "What do you mean I can't go back to Stone River? And what do you mean I'm your prisoner now?"

  Before he could
even answer, Nick sighed, wincing. "Don't listen to him, Daisy. You are absolutely not a prisoner."

  I sighed myself, relieved. "Well, okay. Good.”

  Damien gave me just the hint of a grin. "I was just teasing. Sorry."

  Now angry, I wrenched his hand from the strap of my backpack. "Well, that wasn't funny! And you just lost me precious seconds!"

  I began stomping away to the forest, but this time, it was Nick who grabbed one of my backpack straps to stop me.

  "Daisy, please wait. Just wait."

  I whirled around to face him. "What is it? I don't mean to be rude, but please be quick."

  He winced for the second time. "I'm very sorry, and what I said before is true. You're absolutely not a prisoner. However...." He paused briefly before continuing, his handsome face taking on an expression of sympathy. "You can't go back to Stone River. You have to stay with us. So, I guess maybe in a small way, just in a teeny-tiny way, you are somewhat of a captive, and you don't have a choice. And I really am very sorry about this, and-"

  "What are you talking about? I'm your captive? I have to stay with you? Don't you understand? I can't! I have to go back! And right now. Or else a little boy will...."

  The events of the morning, which had started very, very early, suddenly caught up with me, and tears began welling in my eyes.

  I took a deep, steadying breath while both Nick and Damien watched me, their expressions seeming equally sympathetic. "A little boy will probably die if I don't get back to Stone River, and fast. My backpack is stuffed with a special medicinal herb for him, the only kind of herb that can help him. His name is Matthew, and he's only six years old. He likes helping take care of his baby sister, and running races against the other kids, and brushing the horses that the mayor keeps in a barn down by the farmland, and...."

  A tear ran down my cheek, and I wiped it away, annoyed to be getting so emotional in front of the two extraordinarily handsome shifter dragons.

  "And Matthew, and his great-grandmother, and his parents are counting on me to return with the herb." I sniffed a few tears into my nose, stood up a little straighter, and looked at Nick and Damien. "And I don't intend to let them down. At least, not until I've done absolutely everything I can do. And so, if the two of you won't let me go back to Stone River, for whatever reason, I'll fight you both. I don't even care that you're both dragon shifters and that I'm just a regular woman, and I don't even care if you kill me. I'll fight you both." I wiped several more tears away, beyond irritated with myself for crying. "Because I'm not just going to quit trying when a herb that could save a little boy's life is right here in my backpack. I'm not going to go down without a fight."

  Nick's deep green eyes radiated compassion, and when he spoke, his voice was soft.

  "I don't think it will come to that."

  Damien frowned at me, his own expression seeming to radiate a little tenderness and compassion. "Is this little boy a relative of yours? Or the son of a close family friend or something?"

  I shook my head, sniffing a few more tears into my nose. "No. No, he's not a relative of mine. And in fact, I don't even have any family left anymore. And I really don't even know his family that well. They're one of those families in town that I know of without really knowing them."

  Damien frowned even harder, drawing his dark brows together. "And you still did this for them? You still left your town, knowing full well you could be attacked by shifters and killed?"

  "Yes. I didn't really want to do it, but I couldn't really not do it, if you know what I mean. Especially when none of the men in town would volunteer. Just because most of them have families and stuff. Which I understood."

  Damien's frown softened; his dark brows angled upward to the center, and his gray eyes widened a bit.

  "Well, I think that's very kind."

  Nick took the tiniest of steps closer to me, his gaze locked on my face. "I think that's incredibly kind. And noble, and unbelievably selfless. And now...now I can see that your inner beauty matches your outer beauty perfectly."

  He was standing so close to me that I could detect just the faintest hint of his woodsy, masculine scent. And it was absolutely incredible. A little heat rose to my face because of this, and also because of his complimentary words.

  "Well, thank you. And now that you understand why I have to get back to Stone River, will you let me go? Please?"

  He frowned, his deep green eyes becoming twin pools of pain. "I'm so sorry, but I still can't. Now that the wolf shifters know that you're a Woman of the Star, they'll make plans to capture you, which I'm sure they're doing already. And for many reasons, not the least of which being that I want to keep you safe, I can't let that happen. I can't let them capture you. So, no, Daisy. I'm so sorry. But I can't let you go back to Stone River."

  Flooded with anger, desperation, and determination, I suddenly turned and took off running, backpack bouncing. "Then, you'll have to catch me! You'll have to catch me, because I won't give up!"

  Nick and Damien both called out for me to stop, but I paid them no attention. I ran full-out, as hard as I could, over lush green grass and patches of wildflowers for at least two dozen strides before being tackled by I wasn't even sure who. And tackled wasn't even exactly the right word, though I wasn't sure what was. I'd been grabbed from behind or pounced on, though in a gentle sort of way, with strong arms encircling me. Then, whoever had "tackled" me had lifted us off the ground, turned in mid-air, while at the same time kind of turning me in mid-air, and then landed on his back. With me on top of him. With the front of my body pressed against every long, hard inch of his. And now, I saw that it was Nick.

  He turned his head and spit a little blade of grass out of the side of his mouth before turning his gaze back to me. "I'm very sorry I had to do that, but I just can't let you go. And I mean...we can't let you go. My brother and I. For your own safety, as well as other reasons."

  He was still holding me in his strong arms, his hands beneath my backpack on my back, and the feel of him holding me close like this, combined with the feel of his hard body against mine, was making thinking difficult for me. And forming words. The woodsy, masculine scent emanating from his chest wasn't helping matters, either.

  He continued, still holding me. "And before you took off, I was about ready to tell you that while my brother and I can't let you go back to Stone River, one of us can certainly go to deliver the herb to the little boy."

  "Oh, let her up, already! You probably hurt her tackling her like that."

  Damien began pulling me up and off of Nick, and I let myself be pulled up to my feet, a little reluctantly.

  Damien brushed a few blades of grass from the sleeve of my t-shirt, frowning. "Did he hurt you? If he did, I'll tackle him right here, right now, just so he can see how it feels."

  I shook my head. "No. No, he didn't hurt me at all." I glanced at Nick, who'd now gotten to his feet as well. "Do you shifters have some special athletic skills or something, even while in human form?"

  I was definitely on the heavier side, and "tackling" and flipping me in his arms as gently and as deftly as Nick had, surely would have been an impossible feat for the average man.

  He nodded. "Yes. Even while in human form, we shifters have increased speed, stamina, and strength. That of several regular human men."

  For some reason, this made a few butterflies flap their wings in my stomach.

  "Oh."

  Damien looked at Nick, narrowing his dark gray eyes just a fraction. "All right. Enough of you trying to be impressive, brother. Why don't you take Daisy's herbs and run along back to Stone River now."

  Nick narrowed his own eyes just a fraction. "Well, I do agree that we need to get going, brother, but it's you who'll be taking the herbs back to Stone River. I'll be escorting Daisy to Crystal Falls. Unless you want to explain to Uncle Marshall and the rest of the council why you've rebelled against my authority yet again."

  Damien took a step closer to Nick, jaw clenched and dark eyes nar
rowed, and I thought there might be a fight. Nick held his ground and stared at Damien with his own jaw clenched and eyes narrowed.

  But after a moment, Damien just scoffed. "Hey, whatever. I'll take the herb back to Stone River. I've actually been wanting a little time away from Crystal Falls, anyway."

  Knowing that time was of the essence, I quickly got the canvas bag of herbs out of my backpack and handed it to him. "Thank you. There should be someone posted inside the gate that can take this. And if you don't mind...well, do you think you could hang around for a day or two, just to find out if the herb really cures Matthew? I just won't be able to live not knowing if he pulls through."