Damaged Pack Shifters: The Complete Paranormal Collection

by Leela Ash

  Kathy’s eyes sparkled at the prospect, “That might work. It would be like dousing fire.”

  Drake didn’t want to examine what she meant too closely. He glared at Klyana, “I’m not getting wet.”

  Kathy shoved him into the water and he gasped as he hit the icy surface. He came up sputtering, “What the hell did you do that for?”

  She laughed at him, pure joy etched into her features.

  Drake treaded water, determined to get his revenge.

  As he climbed out of the water his clothes were plastered against his body and Kathy’s humor faded, to be replaced by quick and forbidden desire.

  His white shirt was plastered against his hard broad chest. She could clearly see his dark, flat nipples as well as his strong, corded mid-section depicted by the thin material of the wet shirt. His hair half-covered his face, dripping water down his chiseled features, and emphasizing the slimness of his face.

  He walked up to her, his hands at his sides, “Ready for your own dunk, Kitten?”

  A wholly unwelcome and unfamiliar sensation ricocheted through her and she barely swallowed a gasp.

  “I’m not a cat.”

  He grinned, “Oh, but you are. Those green eyes, sinuous graceful movements, svelte frame, and…”

  He trailed off, leaving the words unspoken in the air.

  Her heart thudded in her throat as she was caught up in his gaze, totally forgetting Klyana’s presence. He reached out a gentle hand and slowly traced the curve of her cheek, leaving a trail of moisture and heat in his wake.

  “And?” she whispered, unable to help herself.

  “Skin like silk,” he answered, his own gaze trapped in hers too.

  One of them moved; she couldn’t be sure whom, but in a nanosecond, she was plastered against his body. Her hands shook and she barely managed to keep them at her sides, but her breasts pressed against his hard, sinewy strength, their nipples budding into tight points in response.

  His thumb stroked her lower lip, slowly, surely and Kathy moaned, her eyes drifting closed as she willed him to take her lips.

  Her eyes flew open when he was wrenched from her with supernatural strength. Her alarmed gaze flew to where Klyana was arching her wand through the air and flinging him into the lake again. He came up sputtering. Klyana lifted her wand and drove it downwards with force, dunking him again. He came up sputtering again. Klyana repeated the motion, looking more angry than Kathy had ever seen her.

  “What are you doing?” Kathy cried when Klyana had dunked him for the sixth time.

  Klyana’s eyes were cold with rage, “Cooling his jets, as you youngsters would say. What does it look like?”

  Klyana flung her arm high in the sky again and Drake jetted out of the water. She slammed her hand downwards and he dunked into the icy water yet again.

  Kathy grabbed her mentor’s shoulders. “Stop it. You’ll kill him.”

  The entire lake caught fire before Kathy could respond and both witches looked in alarm.

  “What are you doing?” Kathy demanded, shaking her.

  Klyana shook her head, “I didn’t do that.”

  “But the fire…” Kathy protested, her heart in her throat and feeling perilously close to tears.

  “He’s a dragon. Controlling fire is what he does. He must have started that fire to burn off the effect of my hex,” Klyana informed Kathy. She flexed her wand again in an upward motion; nothing happened. She looked at Kathy, “See? He isn’t under the control of my wand anymore.”

  Drake erupted from the water with supernatural speed, coated in fire from head to toe, his clothes burned to a crisp. He levitated in the air for a fraction of a heartbeat, then he landed in front of them, stark naked and furious.

  He flexed his hands at his sides, modesty forgotten in the face of his murderous rage.

  Kathy’s wide eyes drifted downwards to his proud, jutting member and she almost swallowed her tongue.

  Klyana followed Kathy’s gaze, and with a muttered oath, she waved a wand in his direction and conjured clothes onto his body, covering him completely.

  She grabbed Kathy, and gave her a small shake, “Now do you see why I did that? Every time you get within three feet of him, you forget what you are and who you are. I have to protect you from yourself where he is concerned.”

  Drake frowned, trying to follow what they were talking about now.

  “And who’s going to protect him from us?” a booming voice asked.

  All three of them turned as one.

  Seven women stood in the higher area of land surrounding them and the lake, their arrows pointed straight at them. Drake could tell at once that they weren’t human; they were balkwants. Their ears extended beyond their heads, like rabbits; they had small whiskers lining both sides of their faces, their legs were scaly and their feet were like eagle claws.

  The tallest of the creatures who seemed to be their leader had long streaming red hair and a face split in half by a horrible scar as though one side of her face had been burned off.

  She flicked a stick between her teeth as she spoke, “We normally kill witches for fun, but since you brought us dragon meat, we’ll let you live. I mean, we haven’t seen this delicacy in hundreds of years.”

  Dragon meat? They ate his kind for breakfast? Literally?

  Drake growled, “I’m not a dragon.”

  The woman smiled, “Nice try, Dragon. We smelled your fire and came running. Dragon fire smells different.”

  He hadn’t known that, he thought. But he had no intention of dying. The sun wasn’t high up in the sky yet which meant it wasn’t noon and Klyana’s spell grounding his flight should still be in operation. But he knew he had burned that off, along with her dunking spell when he’d started his Cleansing Fire in the lake.

  He looked at Kathy and Klyana, letting Klyana hear his thoughts. She obediently edged closer to Kathy, clutching her arm as though she were scared.

  He zapped towards both of them with supernatural speed, enfolded his arms around them and shot straight up into the air. As he started to fly, he felt something sharp and painful pierce his leg. He almost lost hold of Kathy as he yelped in pain.

  “What is it?” Kathy demanded, looking down at the rapidly disappearing Balkwants who were cursing and shooting arrows at Drake.

  Klyana swished her wand in the air and a cloud appeared, covering them from view. Drake kept flying until they were past the Balkwants territory and then he crashed to the floor in a ravine, his breath coming in short painful gasps.

  6.

  Kathy grabbed his leg and turned it to examine the poisoned arrow. Drake followed her gaze and his heart sank. Few things could penetrate his skin so easily and from such a distance and as he saw the green blood spilling from his cuts, his fears were confirmed. The Balkwants had used specially poisoned arrows. They were as deadly to dragons as to vampires. He had two arrows sticking out of his leg and one sticking out of his opposite thigh.

  Kathy carefully yanked out all three arrows and he screamed each time. Klyana moaned with regret.

  “I should never have grounded your powers of flight until noon. I am so sorry, Drake.”

  He looked up with a smile. It was the first time she’d used his name. His eyes drifted shut when he remembered his mission: he had to get the witches to Weirna to heal the tear between the veils otherwise many other more people would die.

  Kathy shook him and he realized he had been falling asleep, “Stay with me, Drake. Open your eyes. Listen, we’re still in danger.”

  Nothing.

  Klyana shook him, “Listen son, Kathy is still in danger.”

  His eyes popped open immediately searching for the source of the danger. Desperately Kathy silenced the stirrings of her heart. She absolutely refused to dwell on why the thought of her in danger got more reaction out of him than the thought of himself in danger.

  “Klyana is right. The Balkwants cannot fly, but they can run like hell. If they track you, with your smell, they could be
here in minutes. We need to fly away.”

  He gasped, “I’m sorry, Kathy. I never meant to endanger you; both of you. Please just go. Take your broomsticks and fly out of here.”

  Kathy shook her head, “You have to show us the way to Weirna.” Taking her cue from Klyana, she added, “It’s the only way I will be safe. Please help me, Drake.”

  He grunted, and with superhuman effort, he lifted himself from the ground. He spread his hands as he started to transform into his dragon form, pain etched onto his features from the injuries he had sustained.

  Finally, he had completed his transition and he looked at both women as he lowered himself onto his stomach. Klyana gingerly clambered onto his back and then Kathy followed.

  Once they had climbed, he spread his wings and started to lift into the air. A balkwant dashed into the clearing just then, and shot another arrow, aimed straight at the dragon’s heart.

  Klyana aimed a spell at it and it turned into a harmless rose, falling weightlessly back to the ground. She cast a second spell in quick succession and clouds hid them.

  Kathy stroked the back of the dragon’s hair as it tore through the sky, “You’re safe now, Drake. Just fly us to your home and we’ll get that poison out of you.”

  The dragon tossed its head and continued its flight. Regions of mountains and valleys and little villages streaked past underneath them and Kathy stared in wonder. Flying a broomstick was nowhere like this; they couldn’t fly as high or as fast.

  Her long black hair entangled even more in the rough wind and she grinned with joy and gladness as he started to fly faster, faster.

  After about two hours, he started to weaken seriously, coasting lower and lower as though he would crash.

  “No Drake, don’t stop now,” Kathy murmured, stroking and petting his head and shoulders. “Please keep flying. I’ll only be safe once you get to your home.”

  Every time she said that, his pace picked up again as though he had found a reserve of strength from somewhere. Kathy didn’t notice the tears forming in Klyana’s eyes as she watched both of them; she was too focused on the weakening dragon beneath them.

  As he neared Weirna, his wings ceased to flap, they were simply gliding, using the air for support. Grunts of pain were now constant from the poor dragon and as soon as the home he had known since childhood came into view, what little remained of his strength vanished.

  His eyes closed wearily, satisfied that he had completed his mission and he started to crash towards the house in a free fall at an alarming rate.

  The momentum carried them forward, lower, lower, lower, until Drake smashed into the ground in front of Joshua’s home and then he was frighteningly still.

  Kathy and Klyana scrambled off his back, already screaming. They need not have bothered; the front door burst open at once, with people pouring out in torrents, running towards them.

  Panic clawed at Kathy’s throat as she wondered who these people were and how they would react to seeing a dragon on their front lawn. But when she heard the tall, elderly man with faded blue eyes shout, “Drake, my son!,” as he ran up, she almost wilted with relief.

  Drake had done it then; he had brought them home to his family.

  A tall man with grey eyes and long black hair tied off at his shoulders in a ponytail carefully cradled the head of the dragon as he announced, “He’s hurt! Drake change back to human form so we can take you inside.”

  Kathy saw the dragon fix its stare on the man’s face, holding the image until with great effort the dragon form melted away and Drake lay in its place.

  “He’s wounded,” Kathy offered.

  Suddenly it seemed as though Drake’s family were only just noticing her and Klyana. But to her surprise they didn’t dissemble.

  One redhead with aquamarine eyes and a fresh unspoiled complexion said, “You must be the witches. My husband will take him inside and once he does, you can tell us what happened.”

  She looked expectantly at the tall man with the ponytail and he hefted Drake into his arms as though he were a child and without asking for help from any of the other gathered men.

  Kathy saw Joshua’s gaze fasten on the green blood and she saw him blanch before casting a quick glance at her and Klyana.

  Then he turned and followed his family indoors.

  Kathy stood watching them go. Then she nudged Klyana, “You don’t think they suspect us of wounding him, do you?”

  Klyana rolled her eyes, “We’re prime suspects until we tell them otherwise. Let’s go face the music.”

  “Oh, joy,” came the sarcastic response from her charge.

  Drake was carefully laid onto a low table in the living room. A pregnant woman with auburn curls and classic blue eyes, wrung her hands, looking down at him and then unexpectedly, she started to weep softly.

  A large bear of a man cuddled her in his arms, trying to tease her out of her sadness, “Jeanine, come on. It’s those preggy hormones, right?”

  She shook her head, “Drake looks horrible, Bo. Is he going to be alright?”

  Kathy’s heart turned over in her chest as she watched the couple and she started to feel that it might be possible to like these people. If they could love each other that much, they couldn’t be all bad.

  Longing swept through her and she curled her hands into a fist. She could never have what they had, she reflected. She could never be close to anyone like that, without…

  Her gaze dropped unexpectedly to Drake. There had been that one moment when he had laid flat on her in the hut back home, when she had thought maybe he was the one man on earth she could get close to without destroying him.

  Now he was at death’s door and all she could think about was how she badly wanted to feel his lips against hers just once.

  A man with midnight black hair used a wet washcloth to wipe off some of the green blood that had formed around Drake’s wounds. He looked up at her, “What exactly happened?”

  Kathy tried to speak, but she was so distressed that when she opened her mouth, no words came out. She tried again, nothing. Everyone was looking at her expectantly and tears welled in her eyes.

  A slim, ash-blonde woman walked up to her and took her hand comfortingly. “It’s okay to be worried about Drake. But we need you to calm down and let us know how he got injured so badly.”

  She seemed so kind and graceful and put together. Kathy searched her eyes, reveling in the kindness and understanding in their depths.

  “I’m Marissa,” the woman offered with a small smile. Then she jerked her head towards the man cleaning Drake’s wounds, “That’s Luke; he’s my mate. And that’s Bo and Jeanine, Derek and Kathy, Jack and Megan and that’s Joshua,” she finished, indicating everyone in turn.

  Kathy swallowed, shooting a glance over her shoulder to where Klyana was standing stock-still, as though she were listening to something other than the introductions.

  “I’m Kathy. And that’s Klyana. Drake asked us to —”

  “Yes, we know, help heal the rift,” Marissa interrupted gently. “So how did he get hurt so bad?”

  “Dragon Poison, shot into his body by the arrows of bloodthirsty Balkwants,” Kathy whispered.

  A startled hush fell across the room. Then Joshua roared, “Those demons must have escaped from the rift. They died out with the last dragons years ago.”

  Kathy blinked, “No, they didn’t. They’ve always been our unfriendly neighbors for as long as I’ve been alive and I’m twenty-two now.”

  “Balkwants have been killing dragons for years. If they did this to Drake, then he’s in serious trouble,” Joshua said with a worried frown as he slid onto the nearest seat, boneless.

  “D-Drake isn’t going to die, is he?” Kelly stammered, her eyes worried. “Tom is away at school. I can’t let him see Drake like this; he’s his favorite uncle.”

  Derek wrapped an arm around his wife, leaning his head against the top of hers.

  Finally Klyana spoke up, “Your Dragon has to live. We nee
d him in our efforts to seal the rift.”

  Everyone looked up at her in confusion.

  She continued, “The rift can only be sealed by mortal enemies coming together in agreement to do the rituals necessary for sealing it. The Keepers of the Gate honor the agreement of friends, but they are slaves to the agreement of enemies. Witches and Dragons are fierce enemies, cutting across ancient times. I need his help to seal it, so he has to live.”

  Silence.

  “And he wants to live, too,” she added, cocking her head to the side as though listening to something.

  Joshua erupted from the chair, “You can hear him?”

  She nodded, “He’s unconscious but he can hear you all and he’s trying to talk to you. He wants Joshua to know he’s sorry about the argument you had before he left.”

  The quiet words did what nothing had done in years. Joshua crumpled back into his seat and began to weep.

  “Now is not the time,” Klyana said softly. “We must heal him. He doesn’t have much longer.”

  Everyone perked up, “Can you heal him?”

  She looked at them, “Of course not. He is a dragon and that’s dragon poison in his blood. Only another dragon can draw out that poison.”

  Silence fell. Then with a low groan, Luke said what they were all thinking, “Drake is the last dragon. That means we cannot save him.”

  Klyana looked at them, surprise in her features, “No, he’s not actually. He didn’t tell you? He found a colony of dragons in the ancient woods of Greece and he’s been flying there to meet with them and train himself in his abilities. He is not the last dragon.”

  Derek cursed, “That can’t be. He’s always bemoaned the fact that he was the last of his kind. If he had found other dragons he would have said. He wouldn’t lie about it, not to us. Not to me.”

  “Believe me, he found a whole clan of dragons and he’s been working with them,” Klyana advised.

  In the silence that ensued, an ant’s sneeze would have been like a veritable trumpet.

  7.