Claiming Carina

by Khloe Wren

  Once the females were out of sight, they all returned to their meals, finishing them off in no time.

  Hart chuckled. "Did you see how fast she ate?"

  "Yeah, she must have been starved. We’ll have to start keeping more food in our chambers for her to have between meals. She needs to keep her strength up."

  Phelan cocked his eyebrow at Denver's comment. "Keep her strength up, huh?"

  Phelan and his brothers all grew quiet. He assumed that, like him, they were remembering how sensual and responsive their Desired had been last night.

  "She's something else, isn't she?"

  Hart's comment confirmed Phelan's suspicions.

  "Do you think she'll be ready for all three of us after the bonding? I'm not sure I can hold myself back once we're mated."

  "She responded to all of us last night, not just me. I'm sure once she feels the bond take hold she'll be fine to take all of us. Hart started prepping her last night, and she responded beautifully. I think she's going to love having all three of us love her at the same time. She won't want it any other way after tonight, I'm sure."

  Phelan groaned. "Thanks, Denver, now I'm going to be hard all bloody day with that image in my head. How about we go see Dimitri about organizing the Bonding Ceremony for later today?"

  All three of them stood from their now empty plates and headed over to where Dimitri and Max sat drinking coffee. Dimitri spoke as they approached. "Morning, men. How's Carina doing? She certainly looks much better this morning."

  "We made a lot of progress with her last night. She's agreed to bond with us. Is it possible to have the ceremony this afternoon?"

  Dimitri barked out a laugh and slapped his thighs. "Well, isn't this the day for celebrations? We were already getting ready for a Bonding Ceremony for Drake, Savren, and Becky—assuming they can smooth over their colossal screw-up—it's easy enough to add another ceremony into the mix."

  "What screw up? And what else are we celebrating?"

  Both Dimitri and Max wore huge grins, and their eyes sparkled with happiness. "Eilagh is pregnant. The mark appeared overnight—"

  "That's awesome news! Congratulations."

  "Well there's more if you'd let me finish. Becky's pregnant, too—except Drake and Savren didn't tell her what the mark meant. They are currently off doing some major sucking up. I'm not too worried though. She's their Desired. She won't be able to stay mad at them for too long."

  Just then Eilagh strolled into the room and came over to them. She gave Dimitri a quick kiss before settling on Max's lap. She looked so comfortable with her men. Phelan couldn't wait to have Carina that relaxed around them.

  "Congratulations, Eilagh, such wonderful news."

  She smiled sweetly at Hart's comment before she uttered a quiet thank you.

  "Where are the others? Carina and Skye?"

  Phelan frowned at her question and looked over to Denver. "They have been gone for quite some time now. Think it might be a good idea to go round them up?"

  "Yeah, I've got a bad feeling all of a sudden. Grab Calix, Axel, and Owen, and we'll head out. Knowing Carina, they went outside for their chat."

  Dimitri grabbed Denver’s arm as he went to leave. “I’ve had warriors doing patrols of the castles’ borders several times a day since we rescued Eilagh and Becky. This morning they reported seeing a black and grey dragon fleeing the grounds. He was too far away to be caught, so they didn’t give chase. That doesn’t mean that Huro and Gyasi haven’t left something behind. I was planning on taking a team out after breakfast to search the area for traps. The dragon was spotted flying northwest from the castle, so you’d best start in that direction.”

  “That’s where we’ll start looking then.”

  With an increased sense of urgency, they raced outside, ready to go find their Desireds. Phelan listened as Denver and Calix formed a plan.

  "Calix, has Skye touched any of you in dragon form yet?"

  "No, not yet. We haven't got that far with her."

  "Okay, well we'll be able to zone in on Carina, and they should be together."

  As Denver closed his eyes, Phelan did, too. Focusing in a northwest direction and on Carina, searching for her life force to call out to him. To them. When he found it, he dropped to his knees and rasped out, "Found her."

  He opened his eyes to see Denver and Hart kneeling next to him, both with pain in their eyes.

  "She's scared. She's calling out to us."

  Phelan dragged himself up with his brothers. "Let’s go."

  "You two stay in human form. I'm going to take to the sky."

  Denver flashed to dragon and took off. The rest of them ran down the path toward where they knew Carina was.

  They still hadn't found her when he heard Denver's loud roar rip through the air. Phelan’s breath caught with fear, but he resisted the urge to shift and fly to her. Denver would handle anything that needed a dragon. His precious Desired would need at least one of her males in human form to comfort her. With Hart by his side, Phelan sprinted to find his female.

  ****

  Denver saw red as he flew over the trees toward where he could sense Carina was. He should have followed them. How could he forget Huro and Gyasi were still desperate to obtain a female? He was the oldest, so it was his responsibility to keep his family safe. He saw a flash of black moving through the trees and roared in anger. Swooping down below the tree line, he chased the black dragon. He got close to its tail and blew a jet of fire. He managed to singe the end of his tail, causing the other dragon to roar in pain. Just as he felt Carina close in front of them, the black dragon veered off to the left. Denver abandoned the chase to get to Carina. There were two black dragons after his Desired, and he wouldn't allow one to distract him while the other took her.

  Denver's heart stuttered when he saw Carina. About eight feet off the ground, she dangled in a net from a tree branch. She'd curled herself into a tight ball, and by the shuddering he could see, he'd guess she was crying. Sending a mental message to his brothers that he'd found her, Denver landed next to where she hung and rubbed his snout against her back through the ropes in an attempt to calm her. No doubt she'd feel better with him in human form, but he needed his dragon’s height to get her down and to keep her protected. She squealed and jerked at his touch, but Denver didn't take it to heart. She was scared out of her mind. Just as he reached out to wrap his arms around her, he heard Hart's voice come from below him.

  "Carina, it's us. Denver's got you. Just relax and let him get you down."

  Denver felt her body relax, and she twisted her head toward him. She gave him a watery smile as she pushed her arms through the net to cling to him. Holding her tightly against him with one arm, he reached up with the other, and sliced the rope attaching her to the tree with his claws. He lowered her and the net to the ground where Hart and Phelan stood waiting. His brothers quickly freed her from the trap, and she sprang up into Hart's embrace, sobbing into his shoulder.

  Hart, we need to get her out of here. I singed the tail of a black dragon on my way here. Huro and Gyasi are here looking for her. Tell her to come with me back to the castle, and then you two can go help Calix, Axel, and Owen look for Skye.

  Hang on, Denver. Let's ask her if she knows where Skye is first. She should be able to give us a direction at least.

  Denver nodded.

  Hart pulled Carina away from his body and pushed her hair back.

  "Baby doll, we have to get you out of here. The men that kidnapped your friends are back, and this is their trap. You need to go with Denver so he can fly you back to the castle where it's safe. Phelan and I will help find Skye. Do you know where she went?"

  "Oh no, Skye's missing? She went for help. She headed toward the castle to get you all. Didn't she make it?"

  Carina broke down into soul searing sobs. Hart picked her up and brought her over to him. Denver took her into his arms and cradled her against his chest. Once she was safely tucked in close, he took to the sky and heade
d to the castle, leaving the others to find Skye.

  As he came in to land at the castle, Dimitri was waiting for him.

  "What happened? Where's Skye and the other men?"

  Carina was caught in a rope trap, and Skye had left to go get help. The others are looking for her.

  Dimitri cursed under his breath before he looked back at him. "She’s trembling. Denver, pass her to me while you change to human. She needs you as a man."

  Denver handed his precious bundle over to his clan leader and stepped away from them to flash into human form. As soon as the light dissipated, he returned to them, taking Carina back from Dimitri before heading inside the castle.

  He entered their bedroom and laid the now sleeping Carina down on the mattress. Exhaustion had finally won as he’d walked through the castle, and she'd fallen asleep with her head against his chest. He gently stripped her down to her beautiful caramel skin, noticing she was covered in grime and had tear tracks down her cheeks. He covered her with a sheet before he quietly padded over to the bathroom to get a bath ready. Once he had the tub filled with warm scented water, he headed back to the bedroom. Carina was thrashing around on the bed whimpering, obviously in the throes of a nightmare. Denver stripped off his pants and scooped her up in his arms, making soothing noises as she clung to him in her sleep. He walked with her to the bathroom where he carefully climbed into the tub. He sat on the molded seat, submerging them both in the warm water.

  Carina began to stir as he stroked her face while whispering, "It's okay, sweetness. I've got you. Everything is going to be okay. Phelan, Hart, and the others will find Skye, you'll see. Just relax and let me bathe you."

  He took his time washing every inch of her skin. She was glorious naked, glistening from the water. As he gently washed her hair, his heart soared as she made small mewling noises of pleasure at his touch. He finally stood with her from the water when he noticed her fingers had begun to wrinkle. He stepped from the tub and carefully stood her on the mat before fetching a towel to dry her.

  "I can do that myself, you know."

  "I know, sweetness, but I need to touch you. To believe you're really here and are all right."

  The shy smile she gave him sent fire through his veins. Damn, their Desired was so gorgeous. Once he had them both dry, he picked her up and carried her to the bed. He laid her down before crawling in behind her, spooning up behind her back. He pulled her in close to his body reveling in the feel of her safe and sound in his arms. She held herself tense, and he stroked her hair and her arm, then her side in an attempt to relax her.

  "Try to sleep, Carina. I'll let you know if I hear any news."

  "How will you know, if you're in here with me?"

  "The telepathic link we mentioned earlier. I'll hear the news the second they find her."

  "Oh okay. I guess I could try to rest for a little bit."

  Her voice sounded so drained that Denver knew she wouldn't be able to hold out for long. As much as she wanted to wait up for her friend to be found, she'd worn herself out to the point she wouldn't be able to, he was certain. She proved his point, when moments later she snuggled back against him and went limp as she fell asleep.

  Chapter Four

  Carina woke to Denver's gentle fingers in her hair and his deep voice in her ear.

  "Sweetness, I have news."

  She rolled over and nuzzled against his chest, inhaling his scent and trying to wake her mind up.

  "Skye's been found, Carina. Everyone is on their way back to the castle."

  That got her fully alert in seconds. She bolted upright and stared down at him.

  "She's okay?"

  "I'm not sure, sweetness. I just know they're on their way back."

  "Can we go wait for them? I need to see her, to know she's okay."

  "Sure, sweetness. Skye will want to see that you’re all right, too, I imagine, before she'll let her men take care of her."

  Without thought Carina bent down and kissed Denver solidly on the lips. He quickly took control of the kiss but pulled back before they became totally merged in each other.

  "If we keep that up, you won't be leaving this bed for some time."

  Chuckling at Denver's threat, she bounced from the bed and headed to the dressing room. The amount of clothes she now owned still made her feel a little giddy. She'd never had much money or many possessions. She picked an emerald green gown that buttoned up the front so she could dress quickly, not wanting to waste a moment.

  She grabbed up a brush and quickly untangled her hair, leaving the black curls loose. She went back into the bedroom to find Denver dressed and ready to go. He held out his hand to her, and she willingly placed her palm in his before they headed out.

  Minutes later, she stood with Denver at her back and his arms wrapped around her waist on the front steps of the castle, watching for the dragons to return with Skye. Scanning the horizon, she finally caught a glimpse of blue.

  "I see them!"

  Denver's arms tightened around her as they watched the three large blue and magenta dragons fly toward them. Her men, their golden scales shimmering in the sunlight, were right behind them. All five dragons landed with grace and ease. There were a number of bright flashes of light, and Carina broke free from Denver's embrace to run toward Skye, who lay unconscious in the arms of one of the blue dragons. Before she reached her friend, another man, obviously related to the dragon as he had blue hair, took Skye from his arms. Another flash brought all three blue haired men to Skye's side. Carina ran straight up to them. She no longer feared these gentle giants, and her worry for her friend was foremost in her mind.

  "What happened? Why isn't she awake?"

  Her voice sounded breathless to her own ears as the men turned gentle magenta eyes on her.

  "Skye got lost on her way back to the castle, and then Gyasi closed in on her. He must have scented her as she did her best to hide from him. We found her just as Huro joined his brother to capture her. She slipped and fell down a ravine. We're not sure exactly how bad her injuries are, Carina, but she hasn't woken since she fell."

  Carina felt her legs weaken. Her friend, this strong woman who had guarded her and stood up to these giant men for her, was now the weaker one. Before Carina’s knees hit the concrete, she was wrapped up in a warm embrace. She turned her head up to see Phelan holding her. She closed her eyes and nuzzled against his bare chest. She felt the warmth of her other men as they came near her.

  "She'll be fine, Carina. Baxter and Zane will find the cause and heal her."

  She lifted her head to look at Hart as he'd spoken. "Can I go with her? Can I stay with her until she wakes up? It's what she did for me, and I won't abandon her."

  "Of course, baby doll."

  With Phelan carrying her securely, they all moved toward the clinic, and Carina couldn’t resist speaking her mind.

  "I'm so glad you and Hart returned safely. I don't think I can live without all three of you now."

  ****

  Hart could feel his heart thumping wildly in his chest. His entire body was buzzing with excitement at being bonded with Carina. He stood in the center of the circle of red dust the Great Wind had left behind with his two brothers, waiting for their Desired to walk down the row of apple trees toward them. He looked over at Diego, who stood with the two ceremonial glass bowls of honey. Honey was sacred to their Goddess, used in ceremonies to bring her blessing. His brothers' sharp intakes of breath snagged his attention. His own breath caught in his lungs as he watched the most beautiful female he'd ever seen float down toward them. Skye walked beside her, gripping her arm. That poor female was still recovering from her ordeal. This was the third morning after she'd been found and her first step outside the castle. Carina had refused to be bonded without her friend by her side, and while it drove all three of them a little crazy to wait, they agreed they would.

  Becky, with the aid of Eilagh, walked toward them, too. This was to be a double Bonding Ceremony. Hart was sure the Goddess
would be most pleased. Hart watched as Carina nervously stepped inside the circle to stand before them. The females had all witnessed Eilagh, Dimitri and Max bond only a few days before, but Carina had admitted that she had zoned out for most of the ceremony. Hart gave her a smile and a wink. Chuckling a little, her shoulders relaxed.

  Diego brought forward one of the glass bowls and placed it among the four of them.

  "We shall begin with the Bonding Ceremony for Dragon Warriors Denver, Phelan, and Hart to Lady Carina."

  Diego motioned for Carina to join them near the honey. As she came closer, Hart and his brothers stepped back, flashing to dragon form before returning to the bowl and their Desired.

  "Carina, do you accept Dragons Denver, Phelan, and Hart as yours?"

  "I accept Denver, Phelan, and Hart as my own."

  "To accept your dragons before all of us here and the Goddess above, you need to begin the ritual. Because your males number three you need to use your lips and your hands to form the bond. Use a finger to coat your lips in honey, then place both your hands—palm down—in the bowl then place a palm on the face of two of your dragons as you kiss the third."

  Hart could see the cute little frown form on Carina's sweet face as she processed the instructions. A heartbeat later, she reached forward and ran a finger through the thick golden liquid. Hart’s blood heated as Carina coated her lips. As she leaned forward to place her palms into the honey a drop of honey left her lush lips and landed in the bowl.

  Phelan was the lucky one in the middle, so he stretched over the bowl so Carina would be able to reach him easily. Hart and Denver came in close on either side. Hart's entire being vibrated with excitement as he watched Carina's hands and lips come toward them all. Closing his eyes as her hand met his scales, he purred as he felt the sparks flow through his body, heart, and soul, binding all four of them together. Hart opened his eyes to watch Carina. Her lips were no longer pressed against Phelan’s scales with a kiss. They were parted on a sigh, and her forehead rested against Phelan's scales. Lucky dragon.

  Slowly, Carina stepped slightly back from them, looking at each of them in confusion.