“Don’t let him scare you,” Derek said, clenching his fists, angry with the young ‘house parent’ for upsetting his mate. “I got the feeling he was trying to frighten us.”
“Why? He seemed really helpful,” Leah said, surprise coloring her voice. Then she grinned up at him. "He's also gorgeous. He must be nearly seven feet tall and did you see those dimples?"
“No, I didn't. I've got a gut feeling he was putting on an act,” he said grumpily, unsuccessfully trying to smother the growl which rumbled through his words. “Plus he kept going on about how deadly the creatures in the preserves are. He was trying to frighten you." And, more importantly he thought, 'helpful Jacob' also couldn't keep his blasted – perverted – eyes off Derek's precious lifeMate. Surely, Leah didn't honestly think that dork was gorgeous!
“Hmm, true,” Leah nodded in agreement, her eyes twinkled with laughter and he realized she had been playing him.
“While you picked out our paint guns, he told me a pretty gruesome story. It seems the mint is so thick, because a few years back they had a pack of werewolves and a few Sasquatch escape from a quarantined area. They went on a killing frenzy, hunting and eating four kids before being stopped.”
Derek’s dark growl hardened his words into gun metal. “That was a stupid thing to tell you before we left on a hike in the same forest. He’s not fit to be in charge of an entire cabin of young people.”
Leah’s gentle touch on his arm surprised him. Looking down, he smiled into her worried face. “Afraid I’ll go back and rip his head off?” he asked jokingly.
“Maybe just a bit,” she admitted with a big grin.
“It’s tempting, but the dragons probably wouldn’t like it,” Derek said with a wry smile.
They walked in companionable silence, but after a while, Derek really wanted to hear her voice. He said the first thing that popped into his head. “Tell me about your mom.”
When she remained silent, he kicked himself, remembering Mort's comment about her mom being insane. He seemed to be making mistake, after mistake with her. Until her synth sang for him and they mentally bonded, he would probably continue sticking his foot in it.
~ ~ ~
The hat was driving Leah nuts, the brim kept flopping; with each step it flopped right at the edge of her vision.
For what felt like the thousandth time she pushed it up.
Derek chuckled and slowly pulled it off her head.
"Thanks, it was driving me crazy." She waved at the heavy forest, a mixture of Sídhí and Earth born plants and trees. “Anyway, it's totally shaded through this area.”
They stopped and Derek tied the hat's bandanna around a strap on her backpack. When he finished he said, “I could tell from your voice, your mom means a lot to you.”
“She does,” Leah said, blinking back a sudden rush of emotion. She didn't like talking about her mom, but Derek seemed different than most people. A feeling of unease weaved through her stomach; she didn't want to like him, but with every word he spoke, she liked him more and more. “She’s the only person in the world I love or that loves me.”
She sighed, giving in to her desire. She'd wanted to talk with him, but didn't know what to say, not without making him think she was attracted to him. “I’ve never even seen her face.”
“You've never met your mom?” he asked, shock twisted his face.
Leah hesitated, not sure what she should tell him. Admitting she was half dragon was not an option. The other Sídhí races believed dragons never had children outside their race. How they kept that secret for this long still amazed her, but she'd promised her mom that she wouldn't tell. And promises were made to be kept, especially this one.
The 'big secret' was critical to Dragon Valley's safety or her mom thought it was important. Leah wasn't too sure.
“When Mort said she was a prisoner, he wasn’t just being nasty. Was he?” Derek asked quietly, his voice reflected his serious gaze as she glanced up at him.
“No, she’s actually a prisoner.”
He growled and she smiled at the sound; his anger, on her behalf, made her feel better. “They have her chained in silver, but somehow - until about five years ago - she was still able to reach my mind.”
His next words took her breath away.
“We'll figure a way to get her out,” he snarled.
“I don’t know how. She’s in the TèVarrn Prison. It’s a mass of underground cells and passageways that go on for miles.” Leah took her frustration out on a small pine cone, kicking it off the path, startling a small pink fluttle bird that chirruped and ran under a thick cluster of mint plants.
Derek touched her shoulder with a gentle hand and gazed into her eyes. “We’ll find a way to get her out.”
Leah shook her head; he couldn't give her what he promised, but she knew he meant every word. Then she remembered exactly who his sister was.
“You don’t believe me, do you?” he asked, as they followed the trail curving around a patch of prickly fiskberry bushes; the unripe fruit had bright red centers visible through the clear flesh of the knuckle sized berries.
She glanced up, only to find him watching her with an intensity that belied his playboy image. She gave him a sad smile. “I know you mean every word, but what you promise is impossible. You’re related to your valley’s ruler. Attacking TèVarrn would cause a war between the Dhark Valley and Haven Valley.”
“Anyway, if I had someone to teach me how to locate and port to a specific destination by relying on a mental voice as a beacon, I could port in and get her myself.” Leah growled in frustration. “Since the first day I could port, I’ve cautiously hunted through the tunnels of that horrid prison. There are underground chasms a mile wide, Sasquatch and packs of wild werewolves are released into some tunnels, and other tunnels are booby-trapped. One night I nearly lost my head to a hidden blade.”
At his rumbling growl, she lightly laid her hand on his arm. “Maybe we should change the subject.”
He continued growling and violently shook his head. “You definitely won’t be joining the rescue party.”
She chuckled. “Other than me nearly losing my head, did you hear any of what I just said?”
“You didn’t tell me anything Haven Valley doesn't already know. I’ve seen reports on how bad TèVarrn is.” His face grew serious. “It won’t be easy and it may take a while, but I have faith in my people. We will get her out.”
“I know I shouldn't believe you, but I can't help but hope you're right.”
“Where did you get the idea you could use a mental voice as a beacon to port by?” Derek asked.
Leah kicked herself for slipping up – using a mental voice as a beacon was believed to be a myth, but dragons had the ability.
Rejected
Three days later, Derek was dwelling on Leah's comment about teleporting. Vampires and dragons had the ability to port, but not by focusing on someone. He was worried about the blind spots in her training. Her father should be shot for raising her in such ignorance. It was a wonder she hadn't gotten killed porting blindly into the bowels of TèVarrn.
The thought of losing her made all the blood rush from his head. Over the past few days they had become friends, laughing and teasing each other over the simplest of things. Last night, he introduced her to s'mores. She insisted she didn't want to taste what looked like - in her words - 'black oil smeared on cardboard with white goo in the middle.' Her complaints increased after chocolate dripped on her fingers. When he finally convinced her to taste the dripping mess, she began oohing and aahing, and licked the dripping chocolate from her fingers as fast as she could. He laughed at her expressions of delight until his ribs hurt.
She paid him back in spades.
Every night of the hike, they didn't set-up a tent, but spread their bedrolls out, watching forest sprites as they darted between the branches of the high trees. Their tiny wings leaving a trail of sparkling dust mundanes mistakenly called fairy dust.
As they headed
toward bed the previous night, she acted so innocent, he never suspected a thing. She said goodnight and crawled into her bedroll, which was several feet from his.
He did the same, sliding his bare feet between the thick layers of material. His warm toes touched cold scales. With a shout, he scrambled out of the zippered sack.
Peals of laughter erupted as Leah watched him dance around the campsite as he tried to untangle the snake vine from his ankle. The harmless purple vine had scales like a snake and grew in the tops of the tallest trees in a bid to reach the sunlight.
The thought of her climbing that high sent shivers of fear down his back, but one look at her grinning face and he couldn't be upset with her, not when he'd played the same trick on his sister the year before.
They stopped for lunch near a multi-tiered waterfall. The natural layers of rock and vegetation towered twenty feet high and had water streaming down moss covered rocks.
Leah silently accepted a cold hot dog. Not for the first time, he was glad for the fairy sack that kept food ice cold for months at a time. He briefly wondered how mundanes managed to eat on long camping expeditions.
“What's it like to change shape?” Leah asked, her eyes reflected genuine curiosity.
He exhaled a sigh and relief flowed through him. He had wanted to show her his other shape, but feared it would freak her out.
“It's the most awesome experience you could ever imagine. When I shift, I see and hear and smell things I never notice when I'm in my human form.”
She smiled, encouraging him to continue.
“In Haven, we don't think anything about shifting at the drop of a hat since about fifty percent of the population are shifters,” he said, grinning at her gasp of surprise.
“Does it hurt?” Her lips twisted in a grimace and he wondered why she looked so fearful.
“No, not even the first time,” he said, trying to reassure her, but she didn't look convinced. “I can show you.”
Her face brightened with a wide smile. “I've wondered what type of shifter you are, but some races are so odd about what they think is rude.”
“Had you asked anyone else, it would have been the ultimate rudeness.” He chuckled, rolling his shoulders. “But I don't mind if you ask me.”
“Okay, so what are you?” Her eyes sparkled, turning deep purple as she looked up at him.
He didn't answer her; at least not verbally. He focused inward, centering his mind on shifting his human form into four feet with fur. Heat flowed through him, warm and welcome. Instantly, the transformation tingled through every cell in his body as the synth crystal shifted under his direction.
Her mouth dropped open in shock.
He grinned, revealing a mouthful of deadly teeth. His tail flicked back and forth as excitement flowed through his body.
Rushing forward, he butted his head against her raised knee. OMG! She smelled good enough to eat.
~ ~ ~
When they stopped for lunch in a beautiful glade, Leah couldn't relax enough to enjoy the beauty of the giant mound of moss covered rocks. Her birthday loomed and still no dragon in sight. Last night she wondered if she should turn around and head back to camp, but she knew it was too late. For better or worse, she was stuck in the middle of a forest without a dragon anywhere near, and she didn't want to dump her mess in Derek's lap.
She knew something was happening within her body. It started yesterday. Every few hours she became flushed, growing hot and tingling from the inside out. Earlier that morning it grew worse, tremendously worse as her body ached and her muscles spasmed each time a hot flash hit her.
She had a really bad feeling the pain would grow a lot worse before it got better. If her mom's cryptic remark was anything to go by, she'd be dead.
She sighed, trying to yank her mind from such a morbid thought, but reality loomed ever bigger and closer. She needed to warn Derek. She should have disappeared into the forest, but she had a feeling he would hunt her down if she did.
Talking to Derek about shifting into another form was her only other option. She had argued with herself for most of the night, but arrived at the same answer every time.
Yeah, she also needed to warn him, she might drop dead any minute. She was sure he'd love hearing that.
The last few days had been the best of her entire life. Resisting his gentle teasing had become impossible. Every time she turned around he gave her a flower or told her a funny story. She liked him more than anyone she'd ever known. The thought of hurting him left an ache in her chest that wouldn't go away.
They ate lunch, talking about how long it would take before reaching the 'approved' campsite when she maneuvered the conversation, bluntly asking about shifting. To her relief he seemed pleased she asked, but she didn't expect what happened next.
Without warning, his human body shifted, changing shape without a sound or a flash of light. He shifted too fast for human eyes to follow. One instant, Derek's muscled body sat across from her and the next, a huge khatt stood staring at her through Derek's amber eyes. The khatt was about the size and shape of a mountain lion, except his face looked more like a lynx. The similarity ended there. His paws didn't look normal instead they resembled fur covered fingers tipped with retractable claws. The short fur along his legs was like bitter chocolate, while his body color was more chocolaty brown streaked with every color of blonde from white to golden honey. His chest was dappled with odd shaped dots and splotches as was his face, only much smaller.
He leaped forward and she squeaked in alarm as his head butted her raised knee. With tentative fingers, she stroked his head. A loud purr rumbled and she jerked her hand back.
He grunted and she knew he laughed at her.
Reaching forward, she curled her fingers in the short, thick fur of his neck. His purr intensified and she groaned with pleasure at the feel of his silky soft pelt. Like chinchilla fur, it felt like a cross between silk and velvet.
~ ~ ~
Derek watched Leah return from the pool of water. They finished lunch nearly an hour earlier, but sat around talking. He sensed something was wrong, but every time he started digging for information she shut down.
He schooled his features, hoping she couldn't see exactly how much he adored her. He didn't doubt she'd run backward.
She dropped down beside him and grinned at him.
Without warning, the synth crystal in his blood bloomed into life, literally shrieking through his body in its eerie symphony. It weaved through his extremities, pounding in an urgency that demanded a response.
Leah's mouth dropped open and sharp color burst through her stormy gray eyes, turning them a vivid purple. She squeaked in alarm and shoved her body away from him in a burst of arms and legs. She landed in a bare patch of packed dirt, staring at him with horrified eyes that quickly filled with tears.
“No, no, no, please, oh God, no. This can't happen, not now,” she said, mounting fear filled her voice. “
His heart broke at her words.
“Leah,” he said gently, reaching for her as the music continued its cascade through his mind, knowing it sang through her mind in a dual harmony.
“No!” She shrieked, jerking away from his outstretched hand, wrapping her arms around her body. “I can't have you as a bonded lifeMate. I won't do it!”
As if sensing her rejection, the eerie sound of the music stopped cold.
He froze; all the blood left his face, stripping his mind of all thoughts except one. His destined lifeMate refused him. Leah didn't want him.
“Being a shifter matters that much?” he said in a snarl of accusation, pain laced his voice.
“No, yes, I mean, it's not that simple,” she said, waving her hands at him. “If I bond with you, you'll die when I do.”
“Of course I will,” he said snappishly.
“And if I die today? What then?” she asked as tears slid down her face.
“That's not funny and it's a stupid excuse for refusing me. You're my mate, but obviously you
can't stand the thought of bonding with me.”
“It's not stupid. I've been trying to figure out a way of telling you, but I couldn't find the right way,” she said, earnestly looking into his face.
“That's it,” he said in a whisper. “When I overreacted to Jacob's actions, you figured out we're lifeMates and you've tried forcing yourself to like me even when you can't stand me.”
“No! That's not it at all.” She choked on a sob. “Later you’ll understand why I’m refusing you. Please remember I didn't want to refuse you, but I couldn't take you with me.”
He ignored her answer. What good would it do to listen to her excuses?
The jagged pain of her refusal knifed through him like a machete. He threw his head back and roared his agony into the wind as it blew past the huge trees of the forest.
In mid-roar, his human voice changed into the harsh guttural sound of a khatt.
~ ~ ~
When Leah refused him, her chest felt like it was going to implode, shredding her to pieces. She didn't think the pain could get any worse. It did.
When Derek roared, the blaring noise was filled with such soul-rendering agony it ripped through her chest, smashing and destroying her from the inside out.
She clenched her arms tightly around her chest in a vain attempt to keep her body in a single piece. She hated herself for hurting him, but she refused to be the cause of his death.
She had grown more than a little attached to Derek. Truthfully, she had slowly fallen in love with him. When the synth in her blood sang for him, she knew an instant of such intense joy she could have flown to the moon. Then reality smacked her in the face.
If she bonded with him and she died during her first shift, he would die as well. She couldn't tell him what might happen, not now. He would insist on bonding with her. All that would accomplish would be his death.
She watched as he shifted into the most beautiful khatt she'd ever seen. Roaring, he flung his lethal form toward the tree line. He raced past trees and bushes, quickly disappearing into the surrounding forest.
A Dragon's Dream of Love (Song of the Sídhí Series #2) Page 6
