by J. S. Wilder
“No, it’s okay. Just needed to get some excess energy out.” She gave him a smile. “Can I finish up or do you need to clean in here now?”
He scratched his chin and the gesture reminded her of Kohl. She clenched the eraser so tight it cracked and let out a poof of smoke. Would she ever stop thinking about Kohl all the damn time?
“Sure, no problem.” He winked. “I’ll swing back around once I finish this floor.”
“Thanks.”
An hour later, Isabelle walked to her car. The overcast sky hid the moon. Her steps slowed as she made her way through the dark parking lot. Bats flew overhead, and she ducked. She should've asked the janitor to walk her out. Don't be silly.
She'd worked late many times before without any problems. But that was before aliens and demons...and Kohl. Stop thinking about him!
Inside her car, she let out a relieved chuckle. No one was after her. Kohl didn't care about her...didn’t want her or the babies. She wiped away tears. So why was she crying? Who cared if she was knocked-up by an alien dragon who left her in this mess. Pull yourself together. No guy is worth this misery.
Overhead, the streetlights flickered and she put her car in gear and drove home. Weariness wove through her. If she wasn't starving, she'd just crawl into bed and sleep. At least then she wouldn't have to fight her thoughts. No Kohl, no heartache nothing.
She needed a vacation, that's all. A trip to Mexico during the school holiday. Julia would be up for it. Yes, a girl's vacay would be just what she needed. Isabelle turned into the burger drive-thru. Minutes later, she pulled into her driveway and had already devoured her meal. Now for a shower and bed.
She climbed out of the car when a movement on her porch caught her attention. Wha—? A man rose, and she grabbed her pepper spray on her keychain. Her breaths grew shallow as she crept forward. Was it the demon? He knew where she lived since this was the spot he'd kidnapped her from.
Maybe it's just a salesman...at eleven o’clock at night. Right.
She skittered a step to avoid a sleeping cat stretch across her porch. Traitor. Here a strange man was on her porch and the stray she'd fed was taking a nap. Come to think of it, the cats had all scattered when the demon showed up hadn't they?
“Who's there?” her voice shook. “I have spray...pepper spray.”
“Isabelle!” Kohl dashed forward off the porch and stopped short when she raised both hands and held up the pepper spray.
“Don't come any closer. H-how do I know you’re you?”
“I've been waiting for you all evening. Where have you been? I've got to tell—”
“No, I'll ask the questions. Why are you here? You’ve made your feelings pretty clear.”
“May we go inside and speak?”
She stiffened. Was he trying to get her guard down? “I don't think that's a good idea.” Last time she let him inside her home, he ravaged her all night long. The memory of his touch and his kisses sent heat scorching through her body and pooled in her gut.
He smacked the side of his neck and his brow furrowed. “Please, I'm being eaten alive by your Earth bugs.”
She squinted as he waved at a swarm of mosquitoes. “Fine, but you step within a foot of me and insect bites will be the least of your worries.”
After he stepped aside, she rushed to the door, keeping her hand ready on the mace. Inside, she flicked on the kitchen light and stood with her back to the sink. Her hand on the pepper spray trigger.
He pulled out a chair and sat down. Her stray cat purred and rubbed around his legs and the chair in a zigzag pattern. Tomorrow she was getting a dog. It was obvious this animal was a terrible judge of character.
“You going offer me something to drink?” He raised an eyebrow. “I've come a very long way.”
“Why are you here?” Probably to torment her if this was the real Kohl. Or did he want to ensure she had terminated the pregnancy?
He swallowed and nodded. His expression turning grim with shadows underneath his red-rimmed eyes. “I've wronged you. I'm so sorry and if there is anything I can do to make amends…”
“You came all this way because you're having a guilty conscious?” This had to be Kohl. The demon would've just snatched her up or killed her by now. She lowered her hand, but didn't let go of her protection. If he tried anything, she was still macing him.
“I said what I did in order to protect you. I thought you having my baby would kill you.”
She snorted. “Right. Women have been giving birth for centuries everywhere. Even your planet I'm sure.” Or were they hatched from eggs?
“My mother died giving birth to me.” His voice choked. “I-I was worried the same would happen to you and I couldn't bear it.” When he stood and stepped toward her, she raised her hand and he paused. “H-have you...have you terminated…”
“No. Not yet.” She'd debated after their fight, but she wanted to have these babies. Even if their birth did kill her. They were a miracle and she craved seeing their tiny faces. Would they have Kohl's chin and dimples? Her eyes and fingers? Would they be able to transform like Kohl or breathe fire? She would need to fireproof the cribs and everything.
He heaved out a shaky sigh. “My father didn't tell me the truth about my mother's death. At least not the whole truth.” He crossed his arms. “My father tried to turn her at her insistence. Something forbidden in our laws. Then she went into premature labor with me. Hemorrhaged and they couldn't save her.”
Isabelle set her keys and mace down on the kitchen counter. “I'm so sorry.”
“Trouble is, I still don't know for sure if I was responsible for her death or not.” He plopped down on the kitchen chair. “Like if my dad had turned her before she was pregnant with me, she might have survived. I constantly wish I could go back in time and tell her to have an abortion. To save herself.”
Isabelle’s heart shattered with sympathy. She rushed to him and wrapped her arms around him. “It wouldn't matter. I doubt she would listen as I'm certain she'd want you to live and not blame yourself for her death no matter what.”
He buried his head against her chest and let out a choked sob. “I know it's selfish of me, but I couldn't let you think there's not a risk involved to having a baby with me. I can't lose you. Even if you never wanted to see me again, I would take care of you and our child.”
Her heart overflowed with happiness. “Well, every pregnancy and birth have risks. How about we take it one day at a time.”
He leaned back and looked at her. “And if—”
“Then,” she placed a finger over his mouth, “I expect you to take care of our children and tell them I loved them so much. That I chose for them to have life.”
“Them?” His eyes widened.
“Twins. I got the ultrasound yesterday. Sorry, it's not a litter or anything, but I'd probably get as big as a house.”
He rose and scooped her up in his arms. “Twins!”
“Yes.” She laughed as he twirled her around.
Then he paused and the heat in his gaze froze her breath. She couldn't stop staring at his mouth, just inches from hers. He leaned in and she met him halfway. Kissing him after all this time apart made her lust blossom into full-drive. She clung to his shoulders as he placed her butt on the countertop and ran his hands up under her shirt. His lips and tongue stroked hers. She let out a moan against his mouth.
He traced her nipples with his thumbs. Circling the tiny buds into hardened pebbles. She pushed him back to remove his shirt when a cat outside yowled like a dying banshee and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
“What is it?” she asked.
Kohl inhaled, his nostrils flaring. “A Tryn.”
“How did it get to Earth without your blood?” Her body turned to ice, and she shivered.
“They took vials of it when I was imprisoned by them…before the Tryn leader brought you.”
“Give me the girl,” the demon shouted from outside, “And I'll let you and your brother go.”
> “Taurian,” Kohl whispered, leaning his forehead on hers briefly. “I will not give you up. Not ever.”
He turned to leave, and she grabbed his hand.
“What are you going to do?” she asked. Her body trembled with terror. She doubted the monster's word and he'd kill Kohl and everyone he could when the moment was right. “Maybe he's bluffing. You can't trust him.”
“I know. But I have to end this or he'll keep returning and I'll not have you or our children in danger.” Before she could stop him, he pulled from her grip and disappeared into the night outside.
Her feet were stuck to the floor as dog howls wailed in the distance and what sounded like fists pounding on flesh.
Kohl! He wasn't healed enough to take on a seven-foot demon. And she wasn't going to stand by and do nothing. She grabbed her mace, running out the door before logic caught up with her.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Kohl barreled outside into the night. His dragon vision allowing him to make out shapes and a few colors despite the overcast sky.
The Tryn had a human man by the throat, dragging the body behind him.
Inhaling, Kohl detected his brother's scent of sandalwood and smoke. His heart hammered against his ribcage as he shook his head to process what he was seeing. His brother was a dragon, not a human. Dragons couldn't shift. This man couldn't be Taurian. It wasn't possible.
A blunt force hit him in the back and Kohl groaned. He twisted around, spotting another Tryn who held a piece of wood fence in its grasp. Two of them? Kohl shot to his feet and rounded his shoulders and brought up his fists. He wished he could teleport them all somewhere else and away from Isabelle’s front lawn.
Another Tryn stepped out of the shadows. This one topping eight feet tall. Holy Shit! How many of these bastards were there?
The largest Tryn laughed. “You're our warm-up before we fuck your human bitch. Our seed will possess yours and do our bidding. Your offspring will call us fathers and gods and do our bidding here on Earth and your miserable planet. Their bite will be able to kill both of your species.”
“Touch her and die!” Rage snapped through his veins. Behind him, a metal pop sounded. Black blood flowed from the Tryn’s chest. Kohl glanced over his shoulder to find Billy holding a rifle.
“Don't know why you’ve summoned demons, dragon or whatever the hell you are, but you owe me for taking my meteorite and wrecking my safe.”
The Tryn chuckled. “Ah, I've missed these simple-minded humans who can't perceive anyone else in the universe but them.”
Billy fired again, the bullet wedging into the creature’s stomach.
“Let's have a little fun.” The Tryn holding his brother smirked.
“Kohl!” Isabelle shouted dashing down her front steps. The pepper spray mini-can she had threatened him with earlier in her hand.
“Come and taste a real alien prince,” the Tryn who had hit Kohl with the fence post bragged.
“No, thanks.” She stopped beside Kohl.
“You're siding with the dragon?” Billy’s eyebrows rose up to his white hair.
“Believe me, you don't want to be on the side with those monsters.” She nodded toward the Tryns.
Kohl had to get them out of here. Even with the weapon, no human was a match for a seven-foot-plus Tryn. First, remove the humans, then fight with everything he had to kill these bastards. “Isabelle, I'll hold them off. You and Billy get out of here.”
“No way, dragon.” Billy narrowed his eyes. “I spotted you flying this way and tracked you down when I remembered my bouncer said he saw you dancing with her. You owe me a new safe and my meteorite!”
He didn't have time for this right now. “Get her to safety,” Kohl growled. “Later we will discuss payment.”
“I'm not going anywhere.” Isabelle shook off Billy's hand on her arm. “There are three of them and only one of you.”
“Come Vespar,” the Tryn tossed Taurian aside like he was a wet coat, “Let us remove these two obstacles from our woman.” The Tryn shifted, its black fur changing into hard, dark scales. A dark, mirror image of Kohl's dragon form. Its eyes bright crimson and its mass larger than his father.
“Now!” Kohl shouted. “Take Isabelle out of here now.”
“I think we need a shield.” Vespar, the first Tryn giant who captured Isabelle earlier, looked up as a plane flew overhead. “Can't have Earth knowing about us too early.”
“Run!” Kohl pushed Isabelle into Billy.
The bleeding Tryn clapped its hands together, then wiped its wounds. When it tossed the blood into the air, a blackish dome appeared over them.
Isabelle and Billy bounced into the side of the force field and flew backward from the impact. Neither moved.
Isabelle! Kohl shifted so fast into his dragon form that it felt like acid hollowed out his bones. He ached all over, but he didn't care. Targeting the injured Tryn, he let out a column of fire. The burning Tryn stumbled forward and Kohl snatched him up, chomping him in two with a bite. Venom burned his mouth. He spat out what he could, sparing a glance at Isabelle. Was she all right?
The Tryn dragon crashed into Kohl's side, knocking them both down. Its talons digging into his back and shoving his head into the mud.
Vespar strolled in front of him. “Watch while we make your woman ours. She is the first of our broodmares who will bring a new age.”
Kohl clenched his talons and allowed his rage to boil inside him.
This was the Tryn who had abducted Isabelle from Earth, locked Kohl in a dungeon, and stolen his identity and killed members of his family. Kohl would put the Tryn's name on his tombstone along with his own so every Tryn who saw it would know who had killed the bastard.
Kohl whipped his tail to add momentum to his push with his back legs. The Tryn flew over Kohl's head. Vespar leaped to its feet. Its black claws lengthening. It snapped its teeth at Kohl. He let loose his fire in a stream, focusing it on the Tryn. But even then, the grass beneath the creature caught fire, but the Tryn came out unscathed.
Impossible.
Only dragons were immune to fire, even Kohl wasn't entirely immune in his human form. He could withstand higher heat than humans, but not a direct blast like this.
“Deal with the Renjer scum while I satisfy his woman.”
The dragon-shaped Tryn smashed his talons onto Kohl's wings. The injury on his wing from earlier sent pain ripping through him. He yelled through gritted teeth.
Billy pushed up on his hands and knees groaning. At seeing the flames, he shook Isabelle’s shoulder, but Vespar punched him alongside the head and the old man crumbled when he hit the ground.
“No,” Kohl roared.
But Vespar didn’t stop. He slicked his tongue up Isabelle’s cheek. Her body lying in a heap on her side. The Tryn rolled her over, wedging himself between her thighs. He tugged at her pants, pulling them down her hips.
No! Kohl clawed at the dirt to reach her.
“Let me give you a real taste of alien loving.”
Isabelle jerked her arms up to protect herself. Kohl roared, the sound scraping his throat raw. The Tryn tore Kohl’s injured wing and blood shot against his back and cheek: hot and sticky. Isabelle!
A stream of liquid shot out her hands and into Vespar’s face. The Tryn screamed and clawed at his face. Isabelle rolled over and yanked her pants up. She stood and kneed him in his privates.
“Bitch!” the dragon Tryn stomped toward her. His breath spewing fire straight at her.
“Isabelle!” Kohl crawled forward and hamstrung the monster.
The Tryn bellowed and fell face forward. Kohl leaped onto its back. Its claws sinking into his flesh as the creature tried to dislodge him. He strained, grasping the monster around its neck and choking him.
The Tryn bucked and tossed its head side to side. But Kohl stayed latched on. Slowly the dragon changed shape into its normal demon-like form. Claws sliding off Kohl’s scales.
With a grunt, Kohl broke its neck. He pushed it away from
him, panting. An inferno stood before him where Isabelle had been. Was she blackened ash now? Billy was unconscious, but his skin was blistering being so close to the heat.
Kohl rushed forward and dragged the old man out of the flames with his teeth latched on the man’s boots.
Isabelle. No way could she have run fast enough to escape the blast. A direct hit. His heart shattered into a million pieces that would never re-fuse. He never got to tell her that he wanted to know all about her. What she liked, her favorite food and music, her favorite color. Never got to go out on a date with her or just listen to her talk about her day. Or what she did for a living. Or the fact he fell in love with her at their first kiss.
The barrier the Tryns had constructed deteriorated and the flames grew with the fresh oxygen. There would be nothing left of his beloved from dragon fire except ash. He shifted to his human form, not even caring about the pain of transformation, and fell to his knees before the flames. His children were dead. He’d never see their faces. Never know if they were girls or boys or hear their laughter. His only love, Isabelle was gone and it was all his fault. He never should’ve come to Earth and she’d still be alive.
Burning pain lanced his heart so deep that the fire before him seemed cool. He would never forget the woman who meant so much to him in so small amount of time.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Isabelle! Kohl’s heart...every fiber…screamed her name. He glanced around, hopeful that she’d rise from some safe place in her yard and tell him not to shout and wake the neighbors. Luckily, it seemed one set wasn’t home as cars were gone and lights out. But the flames didn’t stop chewing away at anything in their path. The earth foliage blackened and ash floated in their wake.
He’d lost her. The devastation made him feel as if he was buried alive under the weight of despair pressing down on him.
It was all his fault that she got trapped between his enemies and him. He should've never gotten involved with her. Should've walked away when he first met her instead of spending the most perfect night of his life with her. Memories. That's all he had left now. He would find every last Tryn and crush them. But he refused to believe he’d lost her. He’d search the galaxy until he found his Isabelle.
