Lilith knew she had to pack, but found herself procrastinating. She was off the next four days to take a vacation in the mountains, but unlike most people, she didn’t relish the thought. She found social interactions difficult—work was easier than trying to make small talk around some pool at a ritzy resort. She avoided such situations whenever she could and thus had accrued so many vacation days that her boss had ordered this time off.
As an attractive, intelligent young woman just turned 24, Lilith Sayer was sorely lacking in a normal social life, had only one friend in fact. She didn’t even know how she had managed to have had two boyfriends in her life. Her latest therapist labeled her with “attachment disorder” stemming from a childhood spent constantly moving, being swapped from place to place.
At the tender age of five she had become a child of the system. Both her parents and she were the victims of a drunk driver—Lilith was the only survivor. Her memories of her father and mother were few and far between. One that kept resurfacing, especially when she lay alone at night trying to sleep, was of her father telling her this story of valiant princes who could turn into dragons… She had learned the hard way there were no princes in her world. With no other family to go to, she went from foster home to foster home, learning that you can’t trust anyone and it is safer to keep to yourself. Especially when you are different. She survived by keeping to herself. The one benefit of the isolation was she spent all of her time studying and graduated from high school with honors. She got a full scholarship for community college and graduated from there at the top of her class.
She finally threw a few things into her little flowered suitcase (one of the few things she had managed to keep from happier days), and jumped into her hybrid to get on the road. The drive was uneventful, and she let her mind wander to her last relationship. She had thought he was the “one” if there was such a thing. She had trusted him, had given him all of herself. But he had proved to be just another lying, hurtful prick. Just another male out for what he could get. Lilith was not going to give him any more space in her head, and she resolved to use these next few days to purge him once and for all.
Lilith found the scenery beautiful as she progressed further and further from the city. The leaves had just started turning and the road ran through a brilliant gold, red and rust canopy. She spotted the hedges lining the front yard first—so far so good, just like in the ads—and put on her right turn signal even though she was the only car on the road. As she pulled up to the little single-story stone cabin she had rented online, she was relieved to see the porch light was left on in anticipation of her arrival. It was a little strange, as it was only late afternoon, but she put it down to the owners being extra friendly.
She parked her hybrid in front of the steps, eager to get out and breathe the clean crisp mountain air. As she climbed stiffly from her car and stretched her lithe body to the sky, trying to get the kinks out, she felt a shiver run up her spine. Something wasn’t right. She had always had a sort of sixth sense, ever since the accident. A built-in warning system she liked to think her parents gave her when they departed this world. Then there was a rustling in the bushes behind her.
Suddenly spooked, she grabbed her suitcase and sprinted to the cabin door. There it was again, but now beside her. Her hands went numb, all thumbs, fumbling to grasp the doorknob. Her heart practically jumped out of her chest as the front door jerked open, a beefy arm reached out and she was hauled across the threshold by the front of her shirt. As the door slammed shut behind her, she spun around in time to connect her petite right fist with the chest in front of her. You weren’t raised in the system without picking up a few moves.
“Who the hell are you? And what the hell do you think you are doing?” She slowly raised her head, her bright green eyes stormy as they climbing up the wide expanse of chest (that would have impressed her had she not been so pissed off) enclosed in a flannel shirt. The top three buttons were missing, giving her a glimpse of a promising musculature. He seemed to find it amusing that she was shaking with rage and shock.
“Saving you,” came the deep reply.
“From what? Never mind. Get off me!” She fiercely pushed his hand from her shirt collar, disengaging herself from the unwelcome grip. Lilith didn’t like to be touched without warning, and certainly not without her permission. She felt her heart flutter in her chest. Born of years of living waiting for the next shoe to fall, on guard for the next slap from a foster mother or inappropriate touch from one of the foster fathers or brothers, she was not afraid—she was angry.
“I am Sam. Sam Tinder. Owner of the cabin and at your disposal.” With a slight bow of his head and a grin across his face, he swept his arm out as if displaying some game show prize behind her.
“Well thank you Sam for…‘rescuing me’ as you put it. But you can leave now. I did rent the cabin for three nights, right?” She hoped she didn’t mess up somewhere. That would be embarrassing.
“No, you have it right. It is rented through Sunday.” He paused. “But, I’m staying. In fact, I have people all around guarding the cabin. You will be safe for tonight—I’m not going anywhere.” She looked at him with wide eyes. Was he serious? She thought perhaps he had her mistaken with some woman on the run from a violent husband. Maybe they got a lot of that here? Whatever was happening, she was going to straighten him out and in no uncertain terms.
“Fine. Then I will. Leave, I mean. I will be expecting a refund on my deposit since I won’t be staying here. Have a good night.” Realizing he had managed to maneuver her so that he was between her and the doorway, she tried to skirt around him as nonchalantly as possible. Of all the things to happen… Her thought was cut short when Sam, with a smooth swift movement, clasped her elbows and lifted her completely off the floor. “You’re not going anywhere. You are staying here and that is final.”
“That is final?!” She sputtered. “Look here buddy, I don’t give a rat’s ass who you are. I haven’t had a man to protect me in a long time and don’t need one now,” she yelled into his face. “PUT ME DOWN!!!” Her volume increased as she was becoming more frustrated and a little more fearful of the situation now.
He looked at her without flinching and set her back down on her feet. “There. Now you need to go to the bedroom,” he said flatly.
“Go where? To the bedroom? What is this caveman? ‘Me Jane….. Go to room?’.” Her sarcastic tone was bravado at this point. She needed to buy some time to assess her options. This man must be unbalanced. Have there been any insane asylum escapes recently? Why didn’t I pay closer attention to the radio on the way up here? Whatever his mental state, he was blocking her only escape route at the moment. Maybe if she played along, went to the bedroom, it would have a window she could crawl out of. As long as he didn’t follow her in, she’d be ok…
He wasn’t budging so, with another “don’t you dare touch me again” glare, she went in the direction he indicated. She paused at the doorway, glancing back to see where he was—good, you just stay there crazy person—shuffled in and set her case on the bed. Turning back to the door and realizing there was no lock, she closed it anyway and slid a little desk chair she saw in the corner over to rest underneath the knob. This was a trick she had used many a lonely night as a child.
Forgetting her present dilemma for a moment, she noted that the room was worth the money for a nice country getaway. As well as the quaint quilt-covered bed, and the antique desk and chair, there was a vintage Persian rug covering the worn wood floor. And an en suite bathroom. Excellent. And a big window. She walked into the bathroom and turned on the faucet for some cover noise, then tiptoed over to the window and tried to push it up. It wouldn’t budge. She tried again harder, putting her full 120 pounds under it, and still not a crack. When pounding up on the frame produced only fast developing bruises, she realized the window must be nailed shut. Of all the crazy shit in the world, what had she gotten herself into? She covered the distance between the window and the door in about
three steps, tossed the chair to the other side of the room, and stormed out the door. This asshole is going to get a generous piece of my mind.
Lilith marched back into the front room and came to an abrupt stop. The man that was standing there was not the man who had met her at the door. This man had longish brown hair, brown eyes and, for some reason, a smile from ear to ear. He must have heard her in the other room trying to open the window and throwing the chair.
Trying to keep up her ruse—play along to stay safe—she tried to sound nonchalant as she questioned, “What? Is my cabin open to everyone? I really need to find somewhere else to stay. Who are you?”
“My name is Josiah. Younger brother to Sam. You will meet the others shortly.” He bowed with the same archaic gesture that Sam had used.
“Others? You mean there are more of you?” How many more was she going to have to deal with to get to safety?
“Yes. There are five brothers and two sisters.” Josiah spoke as if he was at a family reunion, just filling in the long-lost cousin on the family’s size. “There is Sam, the oldest, whom you have already met, Lucius, Klaus, myself, Dean, and the twins Breanna and Brindle.” Lilith raised her eyebrows, feigning interest.
“The dragon Clan up here in the mountains totals 26,” he said as if that should impress her. Impress her it did, but not in the way he hoped probably.
“D-d-dragons?” What in the hell was he talking about? Please, please let me get out of here!
“JOSIAH! You can go. Tell Brindle to give us some privacy too. It is time to explain things to Lilith.” The booming voice came from the one called Sam. She jumped a little at the shout and turned her attention to him. Sam stood there with his hands on his hips, steely blue eyes staring directly into hers. She found herself looking him up and down, trying to appear unfazed and bold, but she ended up only taking in his low-slung, light-colored jeans and the black T-shirt that fit snugly on his large biceps. She had to admit he was an excellent specimen if she ever saw one. What am I doing? She shook her head. This man broke into her cabin and was pretty much holding her hostage. Strange how the mind will do anything to distract itself from reality.
“Can I leave now?” She mimicked his stance, planting her hands on her hips.
“No. Sit. We need to talk,” he said a little more sternly than he’d intended.
“No. I will stand. It will make it easier to leave that way,” she said as gruffly as she could muster, moving her hands up to cross over her chest.
Sam heaved an exaggerated sigh and grabbed her by the arm to force her down on the couch. An electricity sparked at his contact. He was as surprised as Lilith and he eyed her warily as he planted her on the seat cushion and sat heavily beside her. She quickly made to get to her feet, but fell back down at his next words.
“We will start with your parents.” He knew that would get her attention.
“What do you know about my parents?” This man she had never seen in her life knew her parents. What in the world did I walk into, The Twilight Zone?
“Your parents were part of our Clan.” He said it so matter-of-factly it was as if he thought she should know this already.
“How do you know who I am and how did you know my parents?” She could feel the panic welling up. Did she have family she didn’t know about? Why hadn’t they come forward after her parents died? Why had they left her in foster care all those awful years?
“First, let’s start with me telling you that you are in danger. You cannot go anywhere without me or one of my brothers. There are other not so noble people looking for you and you will not like the consequences if they find you.” It was all just getting more and more surreal.
“What do you mean the consequences? Just what the hell is this? Look I have been on my own since I was five. I don’t need your help or your guidance or whatever the hell you are trying to give me. I want to leave!” And now.
“Let me tell you the story and then we will decide what to do after.” He patted the couch. Lilith knew he was getting angry but she didn’t give a rat’s ass. She was fuming and confused. What gave him the right to keep her prisoner, no matter if he knew her parents or not?
“Fine,” she said as she sat stiffly back down.
“Many centuries ago, in the Carpathian Mountains, there lived a man called Alistair. Alistair was a shape-shifter. As one legend goes, it was because he contacted a virus. Another legend claims that God himself made him that way. No matter the one you believe, Alistair could take two forms—one a man and one a dragon.” He continued even though Lilith choked at this statement.
“In the beginning, he was unable to control the power, changing from a man to a dragon at random. Trusted by none and fearing for his own life, Alistair took refuge far from humanity until he could master the skill. On his return to civilization, Alistair met a woman, a human, by the name of Fiera. The two fell madly in love and soon he felt he must share his secret with her. She didn’t care what he was for she had a secret of her own. She was a witch. She just accepted him and they eventually had a family.”
“On their first child’s birth, they were visited by a wise woman who told them that Alistair’s gift would be passed on to all their male descendants, but would not surface until the age of 18. Any female children would not be shape-shifters themselves, but would carry the gene. They would also be born witches. If ever the female child of such a union should mate with a male of pure blood, they would be assured of producing a male dragon-shifter. Those women are known as ‘breeders’ in our community.” He paused to make sure she was still listening. She was, and she had cringed at such an archaic and sexist term. “The line has lived on like that, until the generation living today. We are almost all that is left.” He sat back and let her take it in.
“You are saying that you and your family are from this shape-shifting line and can turn into dragons at will? Really? Come on, do I look like anyone who ever believed in fairy tales?” Lilith stood up, her eyes darting to the door.
“Oh no, not just us. You as well. Now sit down again, so I can tell you about your parents.” Annoyance was creeping into his voice.
She hadn’t seemed to have registered what he had just said about her—she was still thinking about getting out of there. “What if I just try to leave? What will you do then?” She was leaning toward him, determination in her eyes.
“I will stop you. And if you did manage to get away, I would bring you back,” he said with a confident smile. “Your parents were part of the Clan, Lilith, please listen.”
“My parents part of a clan?” Lilith could not resist hearing this…
“Yes. You need to understand. Your father was a pure blood and your mother was a human witch.” He went silent letting her come to her own conclusion as to what that meant for her.
“You mean I am one of those ‘breeders’? Have you lost your damn mind?” She wanted to run now more than ever. He was not only delusional, he was a definite threat to her safety.
“On the contrary. I am very sane and you need to understand, you are a treasure to me, to all of us. In fact, you are the most important person to all of the dragon-shifting families —you are the last breeder to carry your father’s lineage. You will want for nothing with us. I am protecting you from those who would use you for their own amusement or kill you to ensure you cannot carry on your father’s line.”
“Ok, so I am not in danger from the crazy-ass man sitting beside me, but I am in danger from other crazy-ass men who think they are dragons.” She had to get out of here. She jumped from the couch and bolted for the door but didn’t get far. Like lightening, he was in front of her and his arms were wrapped around her waist, trying to pull her to him. She pushed and pounded futilely on his wide chest, unable to avoid feeling the steady beat of his heart under her right hand. She finally went limp and looked at him with complete fury.
He just kept trying to explain, to reassure her that he wasn’t the enemy. “There are others who knew where you were and be
lieve me they would have had no problem tossing you from one to the other till you were with child, produced that Clan’s child, and then you would have been eliminated. Our Clan cherishes our women. We do not abuse them.”
“You will not be made a ‘breeder’ like your world interprets the word. It is just an old word! Your father was the last of a royal blood line in another Clan. You will be made a Queen for God’s sake! My Queen.” Sam looked desperate to make her understand.
“How do you know who I am and how do you know I am part dragon?” The question took him by surprise. Maybe she was coming around.
He grinned sympathetically as he said, “We have been watching you since your parents’ deaths. Your father was a good friend of my father’s and long ago had entrusted your welfare to my father. Also, I know you are part dragon because of your smell.”
She didn’t have time to think before his lips descended on hers. Lilith didn’t know if it was because she was so exhausted or confused but she let him kiss her. His lips were so soft, so warm. She felt his hands settle on her waist. She gasped at the touch and he took the advantage, slipping his tongue between her pink lips. A moan came unbidden to her throat as he gently explored. He pulled her even closer. Her arms moved of their own accord to wrap around Sam’s neck and soon she was kissing him back. His hands traced up and down her back, then slowly ran over the curve of her buttocks. Their embrace was interrupted by a loud knock at the front door. He pulled away and assured her, “We will finish this later.”
She felt a blush spread from her chest up to her cheekbones. “That will never happen again.” She stepped back as much to gain her composure as for emphasis.
She was feigning tidying her hair as two girls entered. She took them for about 18 and she was struck by their beauty. Both wore radiant smiles. She could tell by the look they gave Sam as they entered that these were probably two more members of the family Josiah had mentioned. The twins, Breanna and Brindle.
The light-haired girl rushed to her, bubbling with excitement. The dark-haired girl held back a little. “Oh finally we get a big sister.” The squeal was of the pitch that shatters fine crystal. “I am so excited. You will love the family and Sam, even though he is overbearing sometimes.” She was a little overwhelming, chattering and dancing around.
Romance: Scifi Romance: Mated by the Alien (Abduction BWWM Paranormal Romance) (Interracial First Contact Space Romance) Page 16
