by Jan Dockter
Carrie continued walking toward the old woman, the water to her chest. She became motionless for a minute. She thought she felt danger. The old woman noticed and beckoned to her again.
“Come to me, Chosen One. Let me help you take away your gift of sorrow. I can make you normal. Come to me.”
Carrie continued walking. She was almost to the old woman, just a few more steps. As the water reached her mouth, Carrie heard a roar and felt herself being lifted high in the sky. She could hear the old woman scream in frustration, her victim being taken when she was so close.
Malcolm didn’t see or hear anything but was surprised to feel invisible power in the water near Carrie that almost caused him to drop her, making him tighten his grip.
The farther away Carrie got, the clearer her mind became. She suddenly realized she was in the air being held in the talons of a huge, blue dragon.
“Malcolm, is that you?” she said. “What’s happened? Why are you in dragon form with me in your talons?”
Malcolm sent her soothing feelings as he landed outside his mother’s house. He gently set Carrie down before shifting back.
“Carrie, what were you thinking? Why were you trying to drown yourself? What made you do such a thing?” Malcolm held her close to his body, shaking from the thought of almost losing her.
Carrie looked at him in shock. “What are you talking about? I was having a bizarre dream about some old woman wanting me to come to her in the water but I—” She noticed she was soaking wet. “Oh, my God, it wasn’t a dream, was it? I was really walking into the water!”
Malcolm grabbed her by the shoulders. “You don’t remember? Who was the woman you were trying to reach? I didn’t see anything other than you almost going under.”
Carrie was shaking as much from almost drowning as the cold. Her lips were turning blue. Malcolm quickly whisked her inside where he was able to build a fire and cover her with a warm quilt.
As Carrie started to warm, she told him what happened. “I was sleeping when I heard a woman’s voice call out to me. I noticed you were sleeping by my bed, so I was quiet. I didn’t want to wake you. I remember following the voice to the dock. There was on old woman with white eyes in the middle of the water. She was telling me she could take away my ability and make me a normal woman. I don’t remember much else until I was up in the air with you holding me in your dragon form. I—I thought it was a nightmare.” She shuddered and had a wild look in her eyes. “What’s happening, Malcolm? I’ve never done anything like that before? If you weren’t there to save me, I would be dead.”
Malcolm was just as confused. It was like she was under some kind of spell or sleepwalking. "Did you say she had long gray hair and white eyes?”
Carrie felt Malcolm stiffen. “Do you know who she is?”
Malcolm, not wanting to scare her more, hugged her and said, “I think so, love, but before I know for sure, I need to consider this a little more.”
Malcolm carried her into her room, found some clean night clothes for her, and tucked her into bed. He stayed by her side until the sun came up.
The next morning, Carrie walked into the kitchen where Malcolm and Magda sat. She looked gorgeous, wearing a shirt tied across her stomach and shorts that showed off her beautiful short but shapely legs. Malcolm’s heart flipped when he saw her. To him, there wasn’t a woman on earth as beautiful as Carrie.
Malcolm hugged her. “Well, I have to say, lass, you look lovely after the night we had.”
Magda raised her eyebrows. “What kind of night might that have been?”
Malcolm didn’t want to go into details just yet with his mother, so winking at Carrie, he said, “It seems Carrie sleep walks. I caught her at the boat dock but managed to get her home safe.”
Carrie smiled at him. “That you did, my hero,” she said as she pecked his cheek. She wasn’t used to showing displays of affection. She’d never had someone she cared enough about to show how she felt in public before now. It would just take time for her to get comfortable doing that.
She asked if anyone had checked with the hospital to see how Bobby was doing.
Magda smiled. “I called this morning, and he is demanding to go home. They finally tracked his parents down. They were in Edinburgh visiting relatives. His parents want to meet you to thank you for saving him. He wants to see you too. I told them when you were up to it, they could come over and we would have a little gathering for dinner. You just let me know when you’re ready and I’ll let them know.”
Carrie smiled. “That would be great. Xan we have them over on Saturday?”
Magda didn’t see why not, so she went to call the Adairs to see if that day was good for them. They were excited to meet Carrie, and Saturday worked for them. As Magda spoke to them, Malcolm told Carrie that he had some business with Aldain.
“I have to go see Aldain today,” he said. “I have some things to discuss with him. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’m sure Ma and you will be getting things ready for Saturday, so she will keep you busy. I’ll miss you while I’m gone.” He grabbed Carrie and drew her to him. His kiss took her breath away. It felt like he was branding her; she kissed him back just as passionately.
Carrie knew she would miss him, but it was just for a day. She had a feeling Malcolm was going to discuss what happened last night. She would be anxious to know what he found out.
It didn’t take Malcolm long to fly from the island to Aldain’s castle. Aldain knew he was coming, Malcolm had telepathically told Aldain to expect him. Malcolm landed behind the castle in the glen. Aldain wasn’t far away; he was heading up to the glen from the castle as he landed.
Tori had been feeling ill for the last few days and was inside resting. Aldain tried not to worry about her, but it just wasn’t like her to be so lethargic. He was glad to see Malcolm. Maybe his visit would help keep his mind off his mate and keep him from worrying about her so much.
Aldain put his arm around his friend’s shoulders as they walked to the castle. “So, is everything okay with the Clan, Malcolm? Are there any major problems I need to know?”
Malcolm cleared his throat, “Well, there might be a major problem you need to be aware of.” Malcolm felt Aldain’s body tense.
“Okay, let’s go to my den and you can tell me what it is I need to know.” They were quiet the rest of the way.
Malcolm was thinking how much he should tell Aldain. He knew having a possible Chosen One was a huge thing, not to mention Carrie almost drowning herself.
They went into Aldain’s den and got comfortable. Aldain sat, waiting for Malcolm to tell him why he was there. Malcolm ran his fingers through his hair. Aldain could tell he was agitated, which was very unlike him.
“Come on, Malcolm, spill it. It can’t be as bad as you are making it seem. You can tell me, then we’ll talk about it and fix it like we always do.”
Malcolm sighed. “Well, first, I want to tell you that Carrie is my mate. She knows what we are and is actually thrilled to find out we exist.”
Aldain smiled and stood up to shake his friend's hand. “I’m happy for you both. I don’t understand what the problem is with that. What aren’t you telling me?”
Malcolm sat back down. “You should know that when she first met us, she started dreaming of dragons. She saw mine out of the corner of her eye—a blue one to be exact. She’s had the gift of sight from an early age. When we were in the woods, she heard or felt someone calling for help. I didn’t hear a thing. She found a severely wounded young man. She said she heard his life force calling to her. Ma thinks she may be a Chosen One and wants to take her to see the Cailleach but Carrie also seemed to be under a spell last night. I found her walking into the middle of the water at the boat dock. She had no idea what she was doing. It was as if she was being compelled by someone I couldn’t see. She said a woman’s voice was calling her name, so she followed it. She thought she was dreaming. When I grabbed her out of the water, I could feel some kind of energy force in front of her. Wh
en she described the woman calling to her, she described the Cailleach.”
Aldain tried to process what Malcolm just told him. “Is Carrie okay? Was she injured in any way?”
“Yes, she’s fine. I got to her just in time. She was obviously shaken up, but I told her I was coming to talk to you, that I wanted to investigate further. I didn’t want to tell her about the Cailleach yet.”
Aldain thought there hadn’t been a Chosen One for hundreds of years. Was it possible they were coming back? He wasn’t even sure what part they played in a dragon clan. This wasn’t something to take lightly. Also, why would their Cailleach want to harm Carrie?
“I have the original tome that tells about the Chosen Ones,” Aldain said. “I’ll read it and see what it says. It’ll take a few days. The tome is huge. Tori is her best friend. I can ask her questions about Carrie and see what she says regarding these abilities of hers.”
“Whatever it says, I want to have the mating ritual with her first,” Malcolm said. “I want to have the mind link with her before anything is decided. I must know I can protect her, and I want to know if the Cailleach was trying to kill her and why. I’m not sending her there to be harmed. If it was the Cailleach, we need to know.”
Aldain agreed.
Malcolm continued, “We’re having a small gathering on Saturday. The parents of the boy Carrie saved want to meet her, so they’re all coming to my parents’ house. Would that give you enough time to read the tome? We could discuss it then, and I’m sure Tori and Carrie would like to see each other. It would also give me enough time to tell Carrie what we think she might be. I haven’t told her yet because I didn’t want to overwhelm her after just finding out we were mates and I was a shifter.”
Saturday was almost a week away, and Aldain agreed that would give him enough time to read the tome and talk to Tori.
Chapter Six
Malcolm left directly after their discussion. He needed to get back and start thinking how he was going to tell Carrie that she might be something a dragon shifting clan hadn’t seen in hundreds of years!
When he arrived, the sun was just starting to set. It was a beautiful sunset. The sky was awash in pink and orange.
Carrie saw him walking toward the door from the garden and ran to hug him. “Oh, Malcolm, I missed you so.” She bent his head down to give him a kiss.
Malcolm’s body reacted at once to hers. He kissed her deeply, wanting to make love to her all night. But he knew they had some things to discuss, so he reluctantly pulled away.
“Ah, lass, you have no idea how it fills my heart to have you meet me with such sweet lips. Let’s take a walk to our special place and talk.” Carrie knew something was weighing heavily on his mind. She placed her hand in his as they walked to the place they first made love.
Malcolm sat down under their shady tree, pulling Carrie between his legs so her head was laying against his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair.
“Carrie, you know I love you with everything I am. You know from the bond we have that we are mates. Would you do me the honor of going through the mating ritual with me? I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy and keep you safe.”
Carrie turned around and cupped her hand over Malcolm’s chin. “Oh, Malcolm, nothing would make me happier or prouder than to become your mate.”
Malcolm could feel the love emanating from Carrie. It was like a warm blanket that enveloped him. “I love you so much, Carrie Demarko. You have made me a happy man and my dragon a happy dragon.”
The kiss they shared was bittersweet to Malcolm. He knew there was more to tell her, and he was terrified she would run away if everything was too much for her.
He drew in a breath before he started. “Carrie, love, I have more I have to tell you. Please hear me out before making a decision.”
Carrie looked into his worried face. “I promise. Just tell me!”
Malcolm wrapped his arms around her, needing to feel her near him. “As I told you earlier, we were made by the goddess Athena, but she also made sure we had a woman we called the Chosen One. For whatever reason, they were always female and always human. We didn’t know why, and we never questioned it. The Chosen One lived among us and always mated a dragon shifter. The Chosen Ones could see things before they happened, like you do. If there was danger heading our way, she would always warn us who the enemies were and where they were coming from. If one of us became ill, she knew why and how to heal that individual. Clans had them for hundreds of years.”
Malcolm touched Carrie’s face.
“When humans decided to turn against us, the Chosen One warned if we didn’t leave, we would go to war with them and we would have to kill them to protect ourselves. Athena made us to protect the humans, to keep them safe. The idea of killing them wasn’t something any of us were willing to do, so we dispersed throughout the land. There are dragon clans worldwide. When we left, there was only a handful in each group. As each clan grew, a lot of shifters took humans as mates. You would think that the gene pool would become less dragon and more human, but the dragon gene is strong.”
Carrie listened carefully.
“The first mate of the first Paragon Dragon was a human woman,” Malcolm said. :The dragon gene was strong in their children. The males could shift, but the females never could. Each clan had a Chosen One. For some reason, over time, they disappeared. What has taken their place is a person called a Cailleach. She is comparable to an oracle. She doesn’t live among us. She lives alone. She doesn’t come to us with warnings—we must go to her and ask her a question before she gives an answer. It’s been so long since a clan had a Chosen One that the younger dragons believe them to be a myth.”
Malcolm paused.
“When you told me you started dreaming of dragons after you met me and Aldain and saw my dragon, it makes me believe that you are a Chosen One,” he said. “All your abilities point toward helping a dragon clan. I can’t explain why now, after all this time, that they might be coming back. If they are, you will be the first one in hundreds of years to return. If you truly are one, and you agree to be our clan’s Chosen One, then you’ll go through a ceremony. I want you to know, whether you want that responsibility or not, I still want you to go through the mating ritual with me. I love you.” Malcolm took a deep breath before continuing. “I also think the woman calling you was our Cailleach. I don’t know why she would do such a thing, but right now Aldain is looking into it. If it was our Cailleach, we may have to take you to her so you can let us know. I promise you, I will keep you safe, but we can’t have someone that dangerous to us here.”
Carrie was shocked to think she might be a Chosen One. She wasn’t sure if it was a responsibility she wanted or could even handle. “I don’t know, Malcolm. That sounds like some serious responsibility. I would have to know more about what a Chosen One does before I could make any kind of a decision like that. My first instinct is to say no. I can’t stand the thought that I might put someone in danger by telling them the wrong thing. I don’t think I want to be responsible for someone’s life that way.”
Malcolm hugged her close. At least she was still with him. She didn’t run like he thought she might. “I’d never want you to do something you feel so strongly about, but I just want to point something out. If your grandmother would have listened to your warning, she wouldn’t have been shot. You weren’t wrong, love. You were right. It was the person you warned—who ignored it—who was wrong. Aldain has a tome about Chosen Ones at his home. He is going to read it. I invited him and Tori over to our gathering on Saturday so we could learn more. This is all new to us too.”
Carrie squealed with delight when she heard that Tori was coming. She had so much to tell her friend. “I can hardly wait. Saturday can’t come fast enough. If you’re good with it, Malcolm, can we just forget about all this Chosen One stuff until then? Can we just concentrate on us and the gathering?”
Malcolm laid her on the ground as he started raining kisses down her
neck. “We can forget whatever you want until then.”
Chapter Seven
Aldain was in his study reading the tome on Chosen Ones. He was so intent on getting it finished before Saturday, Tori was missing him. She’d barely seen him since Malcolm’s visit.
Tori knocked lightly on the study door.
“Come in.” Aldain knew it was Tori, and he felt guilty for ignoring her. He put the book aside as she walked in. He stood up and put his arms around her. She laid her head on his chest as he said, “I’m sorry, sweetheart, for ignoring you. I’m going to put the book away and spend the rest of the day with you. Why don’t we put something together and go out to our favorite spot in the glen?”
Tori looked up at him. He must have read her thoughts. That is exactly what she was wanting to do. Since the mating ritual, they could feel each other’s feelings and hear each other’s thoughts. She had been able to telepathically reach him when Alec Russell was attacking her after their mating ceremony. He had been able to reach her before Alec could kidnap her like he had planned.
“You read my mind,” she said with a smile.
Tori’s sister Becca and her husband Cade had left to travel Europe. Becca had always wanted to visit Europe, so Tori and Aldain were the only ones left living in the castle. Tori and Aldain put some food together and walked to their favorite spot in the glen. After setting everything out, they sat quietly for a few minutes listening to the birds and enjoying the beauty of their surroundings.
