by Lacey Denair
Frederico stood, walked to Kelley, looked down, and said, “I will not leave you here. You belong in my bed at night. I am your mate. You will come home with me now.”
Frederico was embarrassed when he heard his bodyguards run toward the apartment when they heard yelling, screaming, and glass breaking as it hit walls. When they entered, they found Frederico standing there with cold cappuccino dripping from his silk shirt. Kelley stood on the other side of the room getting ready to launch another object. Mason, the king’s personal guard wasn’t sure what to do.
“Get out,” the king yelled to his men and women.
The guards immediately left to go stand, what his personal bodyguard considered to be out of the line of fire.
“I have had enough of your nonsense, Kelley! Since you think I’m an old-school male chauvinist, I will show you what one looks like. I suggest you put on something warm. You’re going to require it since I intend to show you how things were done in my day.” With that, Frederico hauled Kelley into his bedroom, kicking and screaming. He dug out some appropriate-looking clothes and dressed his defiant little mate. The king didn’t notice when Kelley’s cell phone slipped out of his pocket onto the carpeted floor. When the king was satisfied with his job, he dragged Kelley back into the living room and out the hall to the front doorway where his guard stood. “Return home. We will not be requiring your services until I reach Saibina with my mate in tow,” Frederico said smugly.
The royal guards didn’t want to leave, but after being commanded by their king to close out Kelley’s affairs here, they did as they were instructed. With mouths gaping open, they watched their king shift, pick up his mate, and soar off into the air.
Mason watched in astonishment. Mate retrieval? That custom went out several centuries ago. Mason thought the king was acting most strangely, but he wasn’t going to argue with his orders.
Mason watched as one of the royal guards handed a twenty-dollar bill to another guard, having lost a bet on how long it would take the twosome to start fighting again.
Along with the rest of the research he did on dragons, Kelley had researched their traditions. He knew of “mate retrieval.” It had died out at least two hundred years ago. Dragons used to locate their mate, abduct them, and fly their mate to the dragon’s den, usually a cave in the face of a high cliff. They guarded their mate as their most treasured prize. Humans didn’t like the practice and had started taking revenge on dragons indiscriminately.
Kelley realized he had made a mistake. The cappuccino, perhaps? Well, whatever it was, he was now looking at very large, razor-sharp talons holding him, and he was afraid. He didn’t think Frederico would hurt him intentionally, but those things were scary with a capital S.
They had flown for a couple of hours, and Kelley was freezing. The king flew high enough stay out of the range of low-flying objects. He also flew low enough to stay away from airplanes. Without high mountain gear, however, Kelley was in danger of hypothermia. He started yelling, but Frederico ignored him. So he did the next best thing. He started kicking.
Frederico suddenly grunted and began to land. Once on the ground, he shifted.
“Kelley, it is very dangerous for you to kick a dragon in the balls when he is flying,” the king said, looking serious.
“How am I supposed to know where your balls are. They’re sheathed, and I can’t see them,” Kelley said, pointing at Frederico’s nether region.
“While you do have a point, just don’t kick me while I’m flying, please?” Kelley’s mate requested.
“Okay, I’m sorry, but I’m really cold. See?” Kelley showed the king his hands.
His fingers were beginning to turn purple. When the king saw them for himself, he quickly agreed to take Kelley to the nearest sporting goods supply. They flew much lower this time, with his mate holding him much tighter to his chest. As soon as Frederico saw what he was looking for, he landed.
Kelley knew people were very excited. Not too many of them had ever seen a dragon, and all thought he was totally awesome!
Kelley was glad he had his credit card with him. He went in and got proper gear and a backpack full of stuff. Two hours later, he returned to Frederico, outfitted. Frederico took one look at Kelley’s stuffed backpack and told him he didn’t need all that “junk.”
Once again taking off, they continued to soar through the sky, which Kelley secretly thought was a blast.
Chapter Seven
Meanwhile in Saibina
Margaret Dragonslight had never forgiven King Frederico for stripping her of her title and sending her home in shame. Her father immediately disinherited and disowned her for embarrassing the family with her behavior.
She had agreed to, and given her signature on, a contract to be Prince Domenic “Saber’s” surrogate to continue the royal line. In dragon culture, it was considered a great honor for a female dragon and her family. By honoring the agreement, she and her family would have been treated with the greatest of respect for the rest of her life. When her royal duties were completed, she would have received a huge “breeder’s” dowry, been granted her freedom, and be financially set.
What she and her mother had secretly plotted was for the lady to take the throne and become queen. It was an ambitious plan that didn’t quite work the way she wanted. With only two weeks before the wedding, her dress made, and with arrangements all in place, Margaret had made a mistake. She thought she was secure and could no longer be replaced. She was wrong. Once Prince Domenic discovered her plan, revealed by her own temper tantrum, she was exposed and sent home. It was considered such a travesty of royal manners to betray the surrogate trust, females had actually been executed for it.
The prince married his predestined mate instead, an insult made even worse by the fact that the prince’s mate was a dog shifter, of all things, and a man!
Female dragons bore the young, but they took no part in raising them. It was just the way things were done. For some strange reason Margaret couldn’t comprehend, there were actually female dragons out there who mated with nondragons and raised their own children.
Margaret knew that titled female dragons were a devious lot who could not become queen unless born to it, so they schemed, plotted, and coveted the throne anyway they could. Thankfully, Margaret’s mother had not deserted her daughter. She still fed funds discreetly to her so they could come up with an alternate plan. As far as Margaret was concerned, she had every right to be queen, and so she would!
Margaret had located mercenaries to assassinate the king. Then she planned to apologize for violating the surrogate trust to the new King Domenic “Saber,” telling him she had learned her place. As disgusting as it was, she would beg if she had to. She would say she wanted the king’s children. She would be docile and have a baby or two, and then she would poison the king and his whore, leaving her queen! Margaret already had the six men in place, so she could seize the opportunity when it presented itself. They were said to be experts in assassination. She had paid them well. Once they completed their mission, they would be killed by her brother, who was loyal to Margaret. Male dragons were bisexual by nature. Bruce, the Lady Margaret’s brother, had already tried to get the king to marry him. When that failed, he went after Prince Domenic. He had his own score to settle with the royal family. They would have their revenge.
Yes, she could see herself sitting on that beautiful gold throne now.
Chapter Eight
King Frederico was enjoying this, and so was his dragon. It had been centuries since he had flown for any length of time. He was a little sore from unused wing muscles, but not enough to stop. Besides, his mate wasn’t aware of it, but the king could now feel his emotions since they had bonded. Kelley was having a ball. He loved this as much as Frederico did. Perhaps they did have something in common after all. He hoped so. Now that the king had finally found his beloved, he wanted him happy. Kelley being male was no longer an issue for some reason.
Frederico felt something in quick or
der, four pops one after the other. What the—? Then he felt it. Pain and his right wing started to fail. He was only flying at approximately a thousand feet, but that was still a very long distance to fall. He felt Kelley started to fidget, knowing something was wrong but not what.
The ground was coming up to meet them much too fast now as the king’s wing completely failed. Frederico made a decision that cost him dearly, but at the last second it saved his beloved’s life. He rolled, placing Kelley above him so he wouldn’t be crushed between the earth and his body. He felt horrible pain, and then everything went dark.
Kelley knew what Frederico had done. By rolling at that last second, he saved his mate’s life. How could he possibly not love someone who did that? The king had also released him on impact. He slid down the big dragon, bringing his attached backpack with him. What he saw broke his heart. His beautiful royal-blue dragon was down for the count at the moment. Kelley knew something happened to cause this, but what exactly he didn’t know yet. Four inches of broken talon lay in the dirt, so Kelley grabbed it. That would be useful. He needed to go into medic mode now, find the source of the problem, and fix it. Frederico’s shape-shifter genes would take care of the rest. He just had to see to his dragon’s needs for a little while.
Frederico thought Kelley had bought junk at the store. Designer clothes and such. Boy was he in for a surprise! Kelly had two dads who were experts at survival tactics. Ex-military both of them, army rangers. After discharge, they had developed their own survival expertise. They were crack shots who could live off the land forever with nothing. Experts in guerilla warfare. The two men had taught all seven of their kids everything they knew. As a plus, Kelley had done two tours in Afghanistan as an army medic, hence the respect of his family. Kicking into full survival mode, Kelley’s flamboyant tendencies retreated into the background.
Kelley grabbed his pack, got out some extra-long needle-nose pliers, alcohol, plastic bags, and other tools. He took a slow, careful look over his dragon. Beginning under the king’s right wing, going up to the top of his shoulder, he found four large bullet holes. Kelley looked at the other side. Rats, they hadn’t come out. Dragons were not easy to shoot down, with scales tougher than any armor plating. Whoever did this knew what they were doing and must have used armor-piercing rounds. Hit in the right spot, it would hurt them. It was the only thing short of a missile that would bring the big guy down. Kelly cleaned his hands then started digging with his fingers, pushing his entire hand into one of the holes. He really had to push on Frederico to get deep enough, so he was glad his mate was unconscious, as it would have hurt like a bitch for both of them. His mate didn’t know it, but Kelley knew they now shared feelings. There were times when sharing emotions was not a good thing. He located a bullet then slid the pliers in beside his fingers, grabbed the bullet, then pulled it out. He had found moss growing on trees, so he used that to mop up the wounds. Once he got the bullets out, he cleaned his dragon up and watched as the holes closed, not having to worry about infection. Shape-shifters didn’t get infections. He placed the moss in a plastic bag then sealed it. Kelley kept the bullets, as he knew Frederico would want them as evidence. Then he went looking for other damage. He cringed when he saw the king’s left leg. It was lying at a weird angle. After he prepared straight limbs from trees, he used them to splint the dragon’s leg as much as he could. It was a very large leg, but he had to try to keep it straight until Frederico shifted back so he could set it properly. The king unexpectedly shimmered, and dragon body parts changed into human. It was really strange to watch as he shifted. One minute he was an enormous animal, and the next he was a large human being. Kelley pulled the splints off quickly so it wouldn’t harm him as the king shrank in size, as the tree limbs now ran the length of his entire body. After he finished working on his mate’s leg, cleaning everything up, he hid the king as best he could, then covered the crash site so it was difficult to find. Now Kelley went looking for resources. He knew moss grew on different sides of trees, depending upon where he was in the country, so he dug out his compass, took bearings, and then set off.
About a mile and a half in, Kelley found a good-sized stream. He took the moss out of the bag and washed it, not wanting to have blood scenting the air, and he threw it in the stream. Blood would draw predators, and the king didn’t need that right now. Kelley filled the inflatable canteens he had, took a good drink, and filled it back up. Off to find shelter, about an hour later he hit pay dirt, a sheer rock face with a dark spot. He knew, from the time of day and the placement of the shadows, what that dark spot was. A cave. After taking a survey of the land to make sure there was no easy access, he took out his climbing gear. Kelley climbed his way up, finally throwing his pack into the hole. He pulled himself up, sat down, and looked around. Yeah, this would do. Kelley got up, walked around, and found a good spot to lay Frederico so he would stay warm and not reveal his scent too badly. Lucky thing about dragons, they didn’t have too much of a scent, being closely related to reptiles. Even experts could easily miss it.
Kelley only took what he would need back to his mate and left everything else in the cave. On his way back, he discovered some large cat scat and deer droppings, so he bagged it. He would use it to mask both their scents, mainly his own, later. Right now he just needed to get Frederico inside the cave and bedded down, and then he’d do cleanup and find dinner.
Getting back to his mate, Kelley was glad to see the king was still out cold. Good, he wouldn’t be a hindrance trying to help. As a medic, he quickly discovered it was sometimes easier to work with an unconscious patient.
Kelley complained about his mother’s gene pool, but it came in handy more than once. Even though he couldn’t shift, he carried the gene and had shifter-enhanced senses with more than their fair share of strength. Kelley’s dads had been blown away when they discovered he could pick up and carry more weight, greater distances than his brothers. Including the wolves. Kelley may smell like a human, but he wasn’t. He was a shifter.
Having been a medic, Kelley learned the skill of correctly carrying twice his weight across his shoulders. So after loosely tying the king’s arms down so they wouldn’t drag the ground, one-hundred-twenty-five-pound Kelley picked up three-hundred-pound Frederico, placed him across his shoulders, and carried him over a mile. When they arrived at the rock face, Kelley went about the task of preparing the harness. After he got his mate rigged up, he climbed up to the cave then hoisted the king up the ten yards to the entrance. He slid Frederico over by the far wall, maneuvered him into the sleeping bag, and secured his leg. By the time he was finished, Kelley was sore and tired, but it wasn’t enough to stop him from finding that dinner, having worked up an appetite.
It was still early enough in the day, thank goodness, so he went back to the crash site, cleaned everything up to make sure it was properly disguised. Not leaving any tracks on his way out but a conveniently large cat track here and there. His dad, John, loved that one. The kids used to have contests to see who could make the best “tracks” and Kelley was proud he was really good at it because he had small hands. Kelley smiled, thinking of his dads. They would be proud of him right now. He’d tell them about his adventure when they got home, wherever that ended up being.
After making sure he didn’t leave any trail, he started working on that dinner. He had a hook and string with him, courtesy of his pack. He discovered that by digging around with Frederico’s broken talon at an angle, it looked like a bear was digging for grubs. He found some nice worms. Leaving a hind foot “track,” he went back to the stream, cleaned up, and caught several nice fish.
Packing everything up, he went back to the cave.
When Frederico woke four hours later, Kelley had him all squared away in an extra large man’s sleeping bag, with fresh raw fish to eat and water to drink, and he was looking out over the terrain with a Nightforce NXS riflescope. The scope was a little much for his needs, but his dad, John, really wanted one, so he’d give it to him for
Christmas.
“What’s going on? Where are we, Kelley?” asked Frederico, still trying to clear his mind. Boy did his head hurt, not to mention his left leg. It wasn’t the worst he’d ever had, but it still throbbed, not being completely knitted back together yet. Add that to the right shoulder and other assorted deep bruises, and the king was not a happy camper.
Kelley got up and gave his mate some cool water. Then he handed him some moss, lightly soaked in water, to clean up with, and fish to eat. “How did you get all this?” the king asked, highly confused. His “twink” had everything under control, it seemed, including one currently helpless dragon.
“While you slept I went shopping,” Kelley cracked then gave the king a big smile.
“Why do I think you’ve been up to no good while I was unconscious?” Frederico raised his eyebrow at him.
“Hey, ‘screaming queen’ here. Love to shop.” Kelley pointed at himself while saying it. Then he looked at Frederico seriously, sighed, and said, “I did two tours in Afghanistan as an army medic. They had me with a team of shifters, so I learned a lot. That and both my dads were army rangers. That was before they met my mom. They met her, became a threesome, and the rest is history. Dads taught us everything they knew about survival. It helps. Besides, I’m really sorry, but I think when we were fighting back at my place, I must have lost my phone. It’s gone, so we’re on our own here.”
“Here, I got you a present.” Kelley handed the bag with the bullets to Frederico. “I found these in your shoulder and under your wing. Whoever shot you was no Sunday hunter. They knew where to hit you and what it took to bring down a dragon.”
“Someone was actually trying to kill me?” The king looked at the bullets, paling.
“I don’t know too many people walking around with armor-piercing ammo and the ordnance it takes to fire them a thousand yards, do you? You piss anyone off lately?”
