Bk 1 Dracones Awakening

by Sheri-Lynn Marean

  Fury and despair settled deep inside him, and feeling so very alone, Sami pulled the blankets higher. He shivered with a bone-deep cold, trying not to give in to the hopelessness, but eventually, he lost the battle and tears escaped. As they began to trickle down his face, he broke down and sobbed for someone who meant everything to him, but whom he’d never even met.

  TIERNEY AWOKE TO THE welcoming scent of coffee the next morning, and slipped out of bed with a tired moan. She pulled on a robe, shoved her feet into her slippers and headed downstairs. Jax sat at the kitchen counter sipping coffee, and suddenly everything just seemed brighter.

  “Mmm, smells great.” She smiled and grabbed a mug from the cupboard, poured some wake-up juice, and sighed at her first sip. “What?” she asked, self-conscious under Jax’s brilliant blue-eyed gaze.

  “Hmm? Oh, nothing,” he said and then glanced away, but the glint of fire in his eyes, however, lit a spark within her. Ah huh. Sure, nothing.

  Heart pounding, she started into the great room and glanced back at him. “Come, sit outside with me,” she invited, unsure if he’d follow or not.

  But she could feel his eyes on her and forced herself not to look back as she pushed the French doors open, and stepped onto the balcony. Sami usually joined her as they drank their first brew of the day, but anticipation of Jax joining her today, stirred the butterflies inside.

  She sat in one of the comfy patio chairs, grateful a roof covered this part of the deck and kept everything dry. “It’s a little chilly but not too bad,” she said, thrilled when Jax settled in the chair beside her.

  “Yeah.” He gazed out over the lake with a pensive expression on his face. “I’m worried about Sami.”

  Tierney nodded, suddenly saddened once again. “Me too. I stopped and checked on him. He’s still asleep.”

  Jax sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I didn’t have any idea.”

  “Well, things happened, and none of us have been sharing much lately,” she said, then regretted the remark when Jax winced.

  “Yeah, and that’s my fault too,” he said sadly, and she knew he meant him running off, staying away, and not talking to them for six weeks. While she understood his guilt, she hated to see him down.

  As he stared out over the valley, she studied him, thinking that he seemed different and tired. “You okay?” she asked, suddenly worried. He had just gone through his awakening after all.

  Jax just frowned and glanced at her. “Ah, yeah, sure. You?”

  “I’m—I don’t—” She shrugged, and suddenly self-conscious, stared out over the valley herself, not sure how to explain what she was feeling.

  Last night, while unable to sleep, the desire to go to Jax had been so intense, it had almost driven her crazy. Fear kept her from doing so. The night of his Awakening—the amazing mind-sex—still left her giddy when she thought of it, and ever since, Jax acted like he wanted her. But what if he only cared for her like a sister or good friend? What if she bared her soul to him and he didn’t reciprocate?

  She didn’t think she could handle another rejection from him, and while his actions yesterday led her to believe he felt more for her than he let on, almost dying could make people say or do things they normally wouldn’t. So, just because he didn’t want to lose her, didn’t mean he loved her in the same soul-deep way that she loved him.

  Besides, she already decided to wait, and no matter what she might want, she wouldn’t push him. She had tried that before and it backfired. But if Jax didn’t love her the same way, then she would need to let him go. That realization hurt deeply. Still, Jax’s happiness meant more to her than her own did. She would find a way to be happy for him and find someone to make her happy. With her infatuation for him consuming her, Tierney had never even looked at anyone else. But after seeing how precarious life was, she no longer wanted to take anything for granted.

  Yes, they may be immortal, and hard to kill, but they could be killed, or hurt. She shivered as she thought about the captives, and Sami’s woman. What did the Ilyium want with all the Supes, and the homeless they were capturing?

  She could feel Jax’s eyes boring into her and contemplated how to explain. Finally, she sighed. “Yesterday sucked.” Pursing her lips, she stared down into her mug. Suck it up, do not cry.

  “No one should be treated like Thaniel, or those captives, and you’re right, the Ilyium aren’t going to stop.” Jax’s anger tingled over her skin as he agreed with her.

  Tierney took a sip of coffee to compose herself. “We saved who we could, but everything we witnessed, we’ll never be able to erase from our minds. I feel like we’ve let Sami and Kyrian down.” She closed her eyes for a second, then peeked at Jax. “After they tossed Sami’s female on the fire, I wanted to rip them to itty-bitty little pieces and make it hurt.”

  “Me too,” Jax said quietly and glanced at her. Then he shook his head. “Damn, Tiern, when you stopped and went back—fuck!” He turned away and sniffed. “Shit, I—”

  Tierney bit her lip, she hadn’t meant to scare or worry him. “One of the guards screamed. I needed to see what was happening.” She glanced at Jax. “Soroyan knocked one guy down, and then ripped the other guy’s throat out.”

  “Tiern—”

  “No.” She cut him off. “I was glad.” She stared into Jax’s brilliant blue eyes, and waited for him to say something, but he didn’t say a word. With a nod, she continued. “Soroyan, he ripped that man’s throat out and blood sprayed everywhere, and I was glad,” she repeated, heart pounding, afraid he’d think she was a monster.

  Instead, he surprised her. “I get it.”

  Staring into the depths of his gaze, Tierney realized he did understand. She closed her eyes for a moment, grateful as she struggled with her feelings about what she’d witnessed.

  Jax sighed, lay his head back and she watched his eyes close, but a few seconds later he opened them and studied her. His eyes had darkened from their normal brilliant blue, and now the faintest light filled them. “Damn Tierney, first Serena, the bitch, almost kills you. Then those men start shooting at us. My power fails, and you stop and go back—” At the horror in his eyes, her heart sped up. “You really scared me,” he finished, sending a thrill through her. Could he care more than she thought?

  “I’m sorry, Jax,” she whispered.

  Jax nodded, licked his lips and glanced up at the white billowy clouds.

  Tierney sighed and stared out over the lake. Gods, her emotions flitted from one extreme to another.

  “We did save Thaniel, and Mark, and many others,” he said, startling her out of her reverie, and when she glanced at him, the intensity in his eyes made her shiver deep inside.

  “Yeah, we did, didn’t we?” she said.

  A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth, and the desire in his eyes set her body on a slow burn. Licking her bottom lip, she waited, anticipation fluttering inside her as he leaned close. Then sweet, demanding lips met hers, and nothing she’d experienced before tasted so wonderful. Caramel coffee and Jax’s own unique masculine scent, set her pulse racing. Heady with desire, Tierney moaned as his tongue delved inside her mouth, touching, tasting, claiming her.

  The sound of a floorboard squeaking drew them apart, breathless with passion, as Thaniel stepped onto the deck. They glanced up, flustered at the interruption as the Were-leopard gazed out over the valley below

  “Oh wow,” he whispered, inching further outside and while his timing sucked, and ended a wonderful, toe-curling kiss, Tierney smiled at the wonder on his face. The dark, cloudy evening before had prevented him from seeing the view until now.

  “Amazing, isn’t it?” she said.

  Thaniel jumped, then turned pale blue eyes on her and Jax in alarm. “Ah, yeah, ah, I’m s-sorry to bother you.”

  “You’re not bothering us,” she said, but felt her face turning red at the thought of the kiss she and Jax just shared.

  “No, you’re good.” Jax cleared his throat and nodded, agreei
ng, though Tierney sensed his eyes on her.

  Although she planned to give Jax time, the surprise kiss had thrown her, sending her in a tailspin of hot and heavy emotions. She still wanted to take things slow, but at the same time she wanted more—now. But like a low flame on simmer, she waited while they cooked and ate breakfast, satisfying herself with sneaking peeks at Jax instead.

  As Thaniel helped them clean up, Tierney couldn’t stop thinking about getting Jax alone, and continuing where they left off. To hell with waiting. His kiss proved he felt something for her.

  Distracted at the sight of muscles flexing in Jax’s back as he put the peanut butter in the cupboard, Tierney let a plate slip out of her hand. “Shit!”

  “Got it.” Thaniel grabbed the plate before it could shatter on the floor.

  “Good reflexes,” Jax remarked, grinning, as Thaniel placed it in the dishwasher without saying anything.

  “Thanks, Thaniel.” Tierney’s face reddened in embarrassment, and she turned away, but not before she caught his perplexed glance.

  “You okay?” Jax asked and Tierney glanced up at his shit-eating grin.

  Oh crap, he knows I was staring at him! “Yes Ja—” She rolled her eyes and started to say something sarcastic, when Kyrian’s voice popped into her head.

  “Tierney, we have a problem. You need to come outside.”

  “What’s wrong?” Jax asked, seeing the grim look on her face.

  “Sure, give me a minute.” she said to Kyrian, then met Jax’s worried gaze. “Somethings happened. Kyrian wants us outside—” she said as Sami rushed into the kitchen, eyes red and puffy.

  Sami pulled a hand through his hair and snatched up a mug. “Surveillance vids show wolves pacing around outside.” He poured some coffee, then, without looking at them, took a gulp and strode to the mud room to put on shoes.

  Outside, they found Kyrian and Mark in human form, surrounded by fifteen wolves, with Soroyan standing a little distance away from everyone. “Kyrian, what’s happened?” Tierney glanced around.

  “I’m afraid we have a problem,” he repeated his earlier words, clearly unhappy.

  “What?” Panic started to build, they so didn’t need more bad news.

  “A dead Were-wolf is lying behind your barn,” he said.

  “What?” Crap!

  “Come, I’ll show you.” Kyrian turned to lead them to the body.

  Tierney shivered with dread as she stared down at the dead Were-wolf. He lay gutted in human form, behind the old barn not two hundred feet away from the house, and they hadn’t known anything was going on.

  “You’re sure he’s a Were—” Jax asked, right before they caught a whiff. “Right, forget I asked.”

  “That’s—” Mark started to say when Thaniel, staring at the body, interrupted him.

  “Daven.”

  “You both knew him?” Tierney glanced from Mark to Thaniel, worried when he nodded and turned away, but not before she caught the hatred in his eyes.

  “He’s one of Arlow’s buddies. Kissed Arlow’s ass, did whatever Arlow wanted,” Mark sneered.

  Kyrian, in a silent conversation with his brother, finally nodded, and Tierney frowned when she saw Soroyan walk away. “Soroyan caught the scent of another with this one, he’s going to track the scent trail,” Kyrian told her when he caught her staring after his brother.

  “Oh.” She scanned the forest surrounding them with new eyes.

  “Don’t worry. I have set some wolves on guard duty,” Kyrian said.

  “Thanks.” Relief filled her at the news.

  “What happened to him?” Sami asked dispassionately as he studied the corpse.

  “This isn’t a wolf or animal attack,” Kyrian said.

  “You’re sure?” Tierney almost wished otherwise. Did this mean the Ilyium had found their home?

  “Yes, I’m sure. Those are knife wounds,” Kyrian explained.

  “The Ilyium use knives and swords,” Tierney murmured, unhappy at the turn of events.

  “Don’t forget tranquilizers and guns,” Jax added. Mark nodded agreement.

  “Yes. Though I don’t understand what they gain in killing one of their ally-soldiers and leaving him here,” Kyrian contemplated.

  Tierney frowned. “A warning maybe?”

  “Maybe.” But he didn’t seem convinced.

  “Well, we ran into this girl yesterday.” Tierney glanced at Jax, wondering how to describe Genna, but Jax just shrugged. His eyes lingered on her a second and made her blood heat.

  “She’s not human.” Tierney thought about how Genna resembled Jax.

  “More like a mouthy she-devil,” Jax remarked and then grimaced.

  “Genna said someone called the Master wouldn’t be happy that we freed everyone,” she said, wondering who the hell this Master, was.

  “Yes, I am aware of the Master.” Kyrian’s eyes narrowed and something told Tierney if he ever met the Master, things would not end well. Then he changed the subject. “Would one of you be able to take Soroyan back to the city, to the club you visited yesterday?”

  “Oh, yeah, sure.” Tierney said, when Sami interrupted her.

  “I’ll take him.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t mind,” she said.

  Sami shook his head. “No, I’ll take him. I need to pick up some more surveillance cameras.” At her frown, he waved around them. “I didn’t catch this. We have too many blind spots.” He turned and headed back toward the house.

  They watched him for a moment, then Tierney turned to Jax. “I’d take him.”

  Jax shrugged. “I think he needs to get out, take his mind off things.” Jax watched Sami walk away. “Anyway, I guess we need to bury the body.”

  “My wolves will deal with him,” Kyrian said.

  Tierney thanked him, then she and Jax started back to the house with Thaniel trailing behind them. Tierney slowed and waited for him to pull up beside her. “Thaniel, are you okay?”

  “Daven, he—” Thaniel glanced at her, started to say something and lowered his eyes in shame, his hair falling into his face again.

  “Thaniel.” His pain settled on her like an immense weight. “It’s okay. You don’t need to explain. We understand,” she whispered. From his reaction, she figured Daven had been one of the guys that had hurt him.

  “Am I bad if I’m happy he’s gone?” Thaniel peered at them nervously, as if afraid they’d stop liking him.

  “Hell no,” Jax stated, but Thaniel’s question broke Tierney’s heart.

  “No, I think anyone would feel that way about someone who did what they did to you.” Once again, she ached to hug him.

  Thaniel stared at them a second longer before lowering his head again. “I think I’ll stay outside for a bit.”

  “Well, we’re here for you, okay?” Her heart ached as she watched him wander over to the picnic table and sit down.

  “C’mon.” Jax slung an arm around her shoulders and led her inside, and although she knew Kyrian’s wolves stood guard around the property, she still hated leaving Thaniel alone. Her protective instincts seemed to have kicked into high gear, as if she’d claimed him as one of her own. Now the demand that she protect him was overwhelming. Holy ancestors, now I’m thinking like the wolves with a pack. Still, she couldn’t stop worrying about Sami and now Thaniel, and she hated that they were hurting.

  When he came down stairs a little later, Sami looked agitated and she nodded at where they sat. “Come, sit with us. We need to talk.” As much as she wanted to soothe him, she realized that nothing she said would help. “Sami, did you get any sleep at all?” she asked when he sat down on the couch beside Jax and across from her.

  Sami just shrugged.

  “I don’t mind driving Soroyan to the club,” she offered again, but he shook his head.

  “No,” he said without looking at her.

  “All right.”

  “Where’s Thaniel?” he finally asked with a frown, as he glanced toward the kitchen.

 
; “He needed some time alone. I think Daven was one of his torturers,” Tierney said, and Sami pursed his lips.

  “That’s some shit—one of the assholes who hurt him, ending up dead behind our barn,” Jax said and they nodded. “So, I’m sure Mark will be gone once he’s regained his strength, but what are we doing about Thaniel?” Jax looked at the both of them.

  Sami shrugged. “I like him. Too bad we didn’t find his friend.”

  Jax nodded.

  “Thaniel needs us. He’s been through a lot. He’s scared and uncertain and I—” Tierney blushed. “I find myself wanting to protect him,” she said, embarrassed. Gah, what’s with all this blushing?

  “I feel the same.” Jax gave her a tiny smile, making her heart patter in her chest.

  “Yeah—” Sami tensed up and then fists clenched before his eyes rolled back in his head.

  “Oh shit, Sami!” Tierney jumped to her feet and hurried to his side.

  “No, don’t touch him,” Jax warned. “I think he’s having a vision.”

  Settling in on either side of Sami, they waited, and after a couple of painfully long seconds, they relaxed when his eyes went back to normal.

  “Sami?” Tierney rubbed his back worriedly.

  “They’re coming for Thaniel and Mark.” he said, shaking.

  “What? Who’s coming?” she and Jax asked simultaneously.

  Sami sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Arlow and his pack, they’re coming for them.”

  “The Pack? Thaniel’s not even a wolf.” Tierney didn’t understand why they’d even bother.

  “They want Mark, and believe that Thaniel’s theirs.” Anger flashed in Sami’s eyes.

  “No!” she snapped. They couldn’t have him, she wouldn’t let them take him back.

  “When?” Jax growled.

  “Not sure. Days, weeks. I’m sorry, I don’t know.” Sami dragged a hand through his hair.

  “Is the Pack aware that they’re here?” Jax asked.