“So you will come?” Rafe smiled at her. The crazy guy did have a charming way about him. She would allow him that much.
“I don’t know what you’ve heard about American girls, but we’re not going to run off with strange men to foreign countries because of a cute accent, handsome face and some Hollywood induced notion of romance.” Jenna relaxed when he did not act aggressively toward her. “I don’t know why you picked me for your little game, but—”
“You like cats,” he stated. “And you are very beautiful.”
“Cats.” Jenna gave a small laugh “You are a very strange man, sir.”
“My name is Rafe. I am a prince.”
“Oh, I don’t have the patience for this.” Jenna leaned over to pick up her ruined food. The bag dripped and she tossed it down the alley into a nearby dumpster. It was her fault for forgetting to eat, but knowing her plan to inhale a sandwich on her way home wasn’t going to happen left her more than a little lightheaded. “Enjoy your flight home, Prince Rafe.”
“I am not saying this right.” His hand lifted as if to stop her from going back into the diner. “I find you very beautiful and when I saw you I felt what the dragons call a bonding connection start to form. You like cats so it must be a sign from the gods, and I wish to finger shackle you because I am a cat, and you will make a fine princess.”
Jenna couldn’t help herself. She started laughing. “English really is not your first language is it?”
“No,” he answered. Rafe followed the acknowledgment with a series of strange sounds that could only be some obscure Scandinavian dialect.
When he finished, she said, “I think you’re asking me on a date? But I’m not sure what dragons have to do with that. And I don’t believe you are actually a cat.”
“No, I am,” he assured her.
“I think you mean you’re a cat person.”
“Yes. I am a cat person.” He sighed and looked relieved that she understood. “And I promise to explain it better, but you must come with me now. I don’t have a lot of time before the portal closes.”
“Oh, ok, then,” she said a little too dismissively. Lightheaded hunger was turning into grumpiness. “Don’t want you to be late.”
“Rafe,” a man yelled before speaking very quickly in the same raspy language Rafe had used moments before. He appeared from down the street and walked purposefully toward them.
Rafe answered in kind, gesturing at Jenna and then at himself.
“Is he a cat person too?” Jenna asked, more to herself than to him.
“No, Finn is a dragon,” Rafe said.
Jenna’s patience was at an end. Food. Shower. Bed. That’s what she needed. Not this crazy theatrical sideshow. Her heroes came in books, not real life. “Of course he is the dragon. And you’re the cat. I would love to see that performance.” She began to turn toward the diner to re-order. “But for now, I—”
“As you so decree, m’lady.” Rafe’s green eyes flashed with flecks of gold. His skin rippled, sprouting black fur over tanned flesh. His mouth changed, filling with fangs. He reached forward with hands that thickened and sprouted claws. A low sound started in the back of his throat.
Cat person.
Human cat.
Jenna’s heart pounded wildly and for a moment she couldn’t force her legs to move. Lightheadedness easily turned into dizzy hyperventilation. This entire situation couldn’t be real. Stumbling back, she turned to run from the shapeshifter. A human dragon stood in front her. Brown flesh formed a shell over the dragon’s body, protruding from his forehead to frame golden eyes. She gasped in panic.
“Drag…drag…” She tried to speak.
“We are draqueens,” the dragon said, his tone harsher than before.
In an effort to get away, Jenna caught her foot on a sidewalk crack. The dragon reached for her and grabbed her wrist. She jerked violently out of his reach.
“Jenna,” Rafe said, seconds before hands touched her from behind. She jerked again in the other direction, losing her footing as she stumbled. Her head struck a metal streetlight with a reverberating clang and in the seconds following she felt herself plummeting into blackness.
Chapter 3
Rafe stared at Prince Finn in shock. They held Jenna awkwardly as her body dangled just inches from hitting the sidewalk. Finn slid his arm behind Jenna’s back to lift her to a better position. The men stood, holding her between them.
“Did we break her?” Finn asked, glancing around. “What just happened?”
“She said she wanted to see the shift,” Rafe answered. “She likes cats, so it must have been you that scared her.”
“You told me to shift for her,” Finn said, clearly not willing to take the blame. “Are we in trouble here? The elders can’t find out we shifted on Earth. They’d never let us come back. Should we put her somewhere?” The dragon prince leaned over, looking at a small passage between the two buildings. It smelled like garbage. “We have to go. I don’t want to remain trapped on Earth. Our parents will never forgive us if we don’t return, and the people will panic. Not to mention your brother will probably kill us for sure this time.”
“I can handle Ivar,” Rafe said, not terribly worried about his older brother.
Every place that he touched Jenna tingled. The smell of her hair teased his senses. Her lips parted slightly and he had the strongest desire to kiss her. He wouldn’t, of course, not without her active participation, but the urge was very real. “I’m not leaving her here.”
“Then where? We have to leave her somewhere safe. Do you wish to prop her against the door where her people will find her?”
“I’m not leaving her at all,” Rafe clarified. “This is my wife, Jenna.”
“Did she agree?” Finn appeared doubtful. “I mean, does she know? It didn’t look like you talked to her for very long. I won’t kidnap a woman. Eve has told us that we don’t always understand Earth ways. Women do not wish to be kidnaped, even if we are royalty.”
“We met when I was getting Princess Eve’s food. I told her I wished to be with her, and she said ‘oh, ok, then,’ which Eve said ok means yes. So she is willing,” Rafe answered. “The gods were every clear. She told me she likes cats. I saw her and, well, your brother will understand.” He paused a little dismissingly. An unmated man surely couldn’t know what he did now. “Prince Kyran has mated. He will understand what I mean.”
“I can’t understand, but you know all because you have been mated for three seconds?” Finn arched a brow. “Are you serious? Just this evening you were telling me that you were going to delay that final moment and enjoy our trips through the portal. In fact, I believe you wagered me that you would be the last prince to marry.”
Rafe grimaced. “Oh, yeah, I forgot about the wager.”
“You can bet I’m collecting on it.” Finn shifted Jenna’s weight away from Rafe. “If you reached an agreement with her, then let’s go. I’ll carry her so you don’t get distracted gazing all lovesick at her like that.” Finn nodded to where Rafe had set the food bags down. “Fetch Eve’s food.”
“Definitely don’t want to forget that,” Rafe agreed as he grabbed the bags. He also took the satchel Jenna had dropped. Though he wanted to keep holding his woman, Finn was probably right. If he did, he’d never make it back to the portal. Even now, it felt like she was in his arms. In that one touch, he’d known everything he needed to know.
“Eve may not be a dragonshifter, but I’m sure that one can breathe fire when she’s upset,” Finn said.
“A fitting future queen.” Rafe grinned at Jenna. “I think my Jenna will make a fine Var princess.”
“We better run.” Finn led the way home.
The portal was hidden from view on the Earth side and only those who knew where it was could find it. The sound of cars speeding over a big roadway greeted them as they hurried under an overpass. The manmade hill leading to the underside of the bridge was steep, and it became too short to stand near the top.
; “Where were you?” Prince Ivar demanded. He didn’t sound pleased, but then that was hardly new. Rafe’s brother never sounded very happy. “The portal is about to cl—what is she?”
“She is a Jenna,” Finn answered, stopping on the incline. “Here, take her through the portal.”
Ivar grimaced, even as he reached for her. He cradled her into his lap and then pushed forcibly back into the concrete footing. He disappeared into the portal, taking Jenna with him.
Finn waited a few seconds before diving forward after Ivar. Rafe cradled the food against his chest and fell more than jumped into the invisible barrier. The trip itself had no feeling, but afterward, as he was spit out on the other side, his entire body tingled as if tiny knives stabbed his skin. It wasn’t painful, just unpleasant, and it kept him immobile for a moment.
“Get your gbwor off me, Finn,” Ivar yelled. The sound was followed by a series of thwaps and Finn’s laughter. “Ow. Stop that, woman.”
The soft purple glow of the portal lit the black stone of the cave. Dragons and cats were carved into the stone chamber, leading away from the portal. They were symbolic of the shifters’ exodus from Earth long ago. Jagged rocks littered the floor from when their ancestors had caved in the chamber after they first arrived on Qurilixen. The portal light was weak, a sign that it would close soon. The passageway leading out of the caves into the valley was open, and a cool breeze made its way into them. Rafe took a deep breath, shaking off the aftereffects.
Jenna swung an old staff at Ivar, hitting him across the back. Rafe’s brother did not defend himself. “I’m leaving and you can’t stop me.”
“Fine,” Ivar growled. He grabbed the shaft mid-swing, tore it from her fingers and tossed it aside. Then, in a swift move he had her pinned to his chest. Jenna kicked and thrashed violently, trying to get free from her captor. Ivar took her blows, not hurting her. “Out of the way, Rafe. I’m tossing this one back. Finn does not seem to want her anymore now that she is awake.”
“Unhand her,” Rafe demanded, springing into action. The portal glow faded by small degrees.
“Let me go!” Jenna demanded.
“What is it to you, Rafe?” Ivar asked, clearly confused.
“She is my wife,” Rafe said. He lifted his hands as if to accept Jenna into his arms. “And she said she wanted to be with me.”
“You?” Ivar said doubtfully. “Stop playing games. Let me push her back to Earth. She’s clearly not suited for our world. I will not be a part of your immature rebellions. If you will not take marriage seriously, then you have no business joining us on our trips. I will not let you have Finn’s discarded bride.”
Jenna thrashed against Ivar’s hold.
“It is no joke, brother. She is my mate. If you push her through that portal, I will leave with her, and you will have to explain why I didn’t come back with you to our parents. Where she goes, I go. We have something you cannot understand.”
Chapter 4
Jenna didn’t know what the strange men were saying in their gruff and growly voices. All she knew is that one minute she was on the streets of Kansas City and the next she was in some mammoth guy’s arms in a cave beside a giant swirling purple light being welcomed to the planet of Qurilixen.
Planet.
Of Qurilixen.
What the hell?
Rafe stood with open arms, smiling at her. She kicked harder, only to stumble in surprise when the giant man abruptly let her go. Jenna brought her joined hands up and hit the big guy across the side of the head. He looked stunned at the attack.
“Touch me, and I’ll kill you,” Jenna warned. The purple light faded, casting shadows over the cave as a softer light came in from an unseen source. Adrenaline filled her veins, and she tensed, ready to mount another attack.
“She has fire,” a man said. She stiffened as she understood him. “Well chosen, Rafe.”
“Quiet, Finn,” the big guy answered.
“Well, she does,” Finn mumbled. If she wasn’t mistaken, it sounded like the man laughed. “Queen Lassairfhina will like her.”
“Jenna likes cats,” Rafe said. Suddenly, she remembered what had scared her so badly that she’d run into a pole and knocked herself unconscious.
“Catshifter,” she managed weakly. “And man dragon.”
“We are called Draig,” Finn corrected. “Not man dragon.”
“We are Var,” Rafe said. “And you are correct. We are catshifters.”
With the last of the purple vortex fading away, darkness loomed all around. A softer light crept through the opposite side of the cave. Facial features became shadowed mysteries. The fear inside her grew. Her heart pounded hard. The men didn’t move.
“Don’t touch me,” Jenna warned.
“No one is touching you,” Rafe said. He sounded confused. Or was it concerned? “Do you feel like you are being touched?”
“What are you going to do?” Her head throbbed and she gingerly fingered the large bump that had formed beneath her hair.
“We should greet the Draig elders,” the big man said. “They will be waiting for us.”
“What are you going to do with me?” Jenna insisted.
“We are going to bring you to meet the elders.” Rafe enunciated his words as if that would make her understand. Then to the big man, he said, “I think your accent is too thick, brother. You should pronounce your words better.”
“Why did you bring me here?” Jenna edged away from them toward where she had witnessed Rafe appearing out of the purple light. She felt along an engraved stone. Finding a loose rock, she grabbed it with a shaking hand. She focused her attention on the shaded outline of the big man who’d restrained her. Her arm twitched as she tried to decide how best to defend herself. “What do you want?”
Rafe’s brother moved, and she threw the rock at him. A shadowed hand shot out and caught the rock with seemingly little effort. “You are right, Finn, she does have fire.” He chuckled. “But very bad aim.”
“Leave her be, Ivar,” Rafe told his brother.
Ivar dropped the rock and turned toward the small stream of light coming into the cave. “Take a moment with her before we begin the journey home.”
Finn walked with Ivar out of the chamber.
“What are you going to do?” Jenna continued to feel the wall, looking for a lever or a button, anything that would activate the portal so she could go home.
“Do you not understand?” Rafe asked.
Her head ached where she had struck it on the pole. Abandoning her search for a portal switch, Jenna pressed her hand to her temple. “Something’s not right. I need to go back.” She pushed to her feet, swaying as she stumbled toward the inert portal. Her vision blurred as she tried to see in the dim light. “I need a doctor.”
Jenna felt her body move by an outside force. The world spun violently but then she found herself in Rafe’s arms. “I didn’t know you were ill. Forgive me.”
“What are you going to do?” she whispered. Her body jostled as he ran with her. Jenna closed her eyes tight, unable to take the motion. “What are you going to do?”
Chapter 5
“What is wrong with her?” Rafe stared at Princess Eve, willing her to help her fellow human.
Hazel eyes stared back at him like he was insane. When he had first met Eve, she’d had a blue streak in her brown hair and had been screaming songs on a stage to angry dancers. Though the blue was gone, the wildness it represented was not. It was there in her eyes and in her wry tone.
“What’s wrong with her? For one, she’s not hardheaded like the rest of you.” Eve turned her attention back to the unconscious Jenna and carefully cleaned the large knot that had formed in the woman’s hairline before dropping the rag into the water basin next to the bed.
Rafe swallowed nervously. “Fix her. She’s my mate, and I don’t like her like this.”
Eve arched a brow. For a moment, he thought she was going to say something about his demanding tone, but then seemed to think be
tter about it. “What happened?”
“She fell into a column,” Rafe said. “The portal was closing and there wasn’t much time, so we carried her through.”
“Was she awake when you carried her through?” Eve asked.
Rafe shook his head in denial. “No, but she woke up after we came through the portal and threw a rock at my brother and then fell asleep again. I know what you’re going to ask. She does want to be my wife. The gods’ signs were clear.” He gave a small smile. “She likes cats.”
“Actually, I was going to ask if she vomited, complained of a headache, dizziness, seemed confused?” Eve pulled open one of Jenna’s lids and then let it close.
Rafe’s stomach tightened in worry at Eve’s tone. “She kept repeating the same question. And she stumbled as she asked for a doctor.”
“I’m guessing she has a concussion,” Eve said, pressing on the wound. Jenna moaned and opened her eyes. “Ah, there she is. Hello, Jenna. I’m Eve. Looks like you’ve bumped your head.”
Jenna furrowed her brow. Her eyes moved from Eve to Rafe. “Is this a hospital?”
Eve glanced around the Draig marriage tent. The servants set it up every time the dragon princes when through the portal in hopes that Finn would need it to finish the dragon marriage ritual. Rafe’s people were much simpler in their mating process. The bond happened naturally and only took the will of two people, not endless formalities.
“I think you might have a concussion. I am no doctor, but I am pretty sure we should keep you awake until that swelling goes down,” Eve said.
Jenna’s dazed eyes stared at Rafe, and she touched the bump on her head. There was so much he wanted to say to her, but now was not the time.
“You are beautiful,” he told her.
Jenna frowned, her eyes focusing in on him and becoming clearer.
“Ok, there, lover boy, why don’t you wait outside?” Eve gave him a push toward the tent flap.
Rebellious Prince Page 2
