by Leela Ash
Once home, they collected the few belongings they’d left behind. Tess had dragged her battered lawn chair out for one last time.
Now she relaxed, watching as Darian paced the last of his adrenaline away.
“Arnage is okay. He saved my life, remember? Letting him go was the right thing to do.”
“He joined the Fangs.”
“He made mistakes,” Tess corrected. “Like we did.”
“Very well. You may be right.” His grimace showed that he agreed. Yet he never stopped moving. Back and forth he strode, hands balled into fists. “We’ll give him a second chance.”
Why didn’t he calm? They were safe now. She patted the chair beside her. “Come sit down.”
“I can’t.”
“What’s wrong?”
That halted him. With a harsh bark of laughter, Darian turned to face her. “What’s wrong? You left me, Tess. You Claimed me. You promised to be my Mate. Then you dropped a note on my pillow and walked out of my life. Now I don’t know if you’re back for good or if you’re going to leave again.”
This was it, then. Tess drew a shaky breath and said, “You’re right. I owe you an apology. Sneaking out was a cowardly, shitty thing to do. I knew I couldn’t persuade you, though, and… and I had to go.”
“Why?” The anguish in that one word broke her heart.
He deserved the truth. Without it, he would blame himself. Honesty was the last present she could give him before she left for good. “Because when I recovered those memories, I learned something about myself. Something bad.”
“So? We both knew you’d made mistakes. You wouldn’t have dumped those memories if they were good.”
“These aren’t just mistakes, my love. I’m…” She hesitated, unsure how to explain the depth of her evil. “I’m not a good person. My Kind? We’re foul. We’re the ones who closed the portals between the worlds. The Wellsprings died because of us.”
“So?” Darian scowled, hands planted on his hips.
How could he be so dense? Tess rose and scowled back at him. “So the Wellsprings died because of us. Dragons lost their power to find Mates because of us. Darian, my people fought Dragons and killed them.”
“Did you do any of that?” he demanded.
With a shiver, Tess glanced down at the box of rocks that lay on the grass. “I don’t know. That’s what terrifies me. What if I did?”
The love and pain in his face was too much. She longed to comfort him, to find the words that would make him understand why they couldn’t be together. “Love,” she finally said turning to face the woods, “you deserve better than me.”
“Really?” A rough hand, strong and warm, cupped her chin and tilted her face back toward him. Tess flinched, yet in her heart she knew this was right. She needed to say this to his face. To look him in the eye as she left, rather than sneaking off in the night like a thief.
“Yes, really. For all I know, I could be a Dragon-slayer myself.”
The sad echo of a smile crossed his lips. “I happen to know that I am a traitor to Dragonkind. A Dragon-slayer might be just the Mate I deserve.”
“You’re not a traitor!” Her fingers rose of their own accord to stroke his cheek. Tess felt a flash of annoyance with herself. Loving caresses? Seriously? Oh, sure, that was going to make leaving easier.
His smile warmed at her touch. Rather than falling to her side, her treacherous hand drifted down to his shoulder and remained there. “Yes, I am a traitor. I had my reasons, but the fact remains that I abandoned my Flight. I accept that. I acknowledge it. And I am going to return to them and make amends.”
Her heart swelled with pride at his conviction, his unflinching honesty. Finally, at long last, he’d remembered himself.
He was a Dragon once more.
Somehow, as he talked, her left hand had stolen up to his shoulder too. His arms slid down around her, pulling her closer. Now they stood inches apart.
Dammit, this was not the way you said goodbye! In another minute, they’d be hugging!
“Darian…”
“Tess, listen to me.” Now the space between them did disappear. He held her in his arms, the warmth of his body rousing a longing, an aching need within her. “My Dragon knew damn well what you were when I Claimed you. If you’re so ‘evil’, why would it call you my soul-mate?”
Words failed her. It was a simple fact, but one she had forgotten.
He kissed her forehead, lips brushing across her skin. “I love you.”
Three words. That was all it took to destroy her arguments and defenses. Her eyes burned, then hot tears began to spill down her cheeks.
“I love you,” he said again. “You are my Mate, my better half. Yes, you made mistakes. We both have. But the past doesn’t rule us. We can be different. We can change.”
“Do you believe that?” she whispered.
He kissed her on the cheek, drying her tears with his love. “I do. Together, we can choose to be better. Will you do that? Be my strength, the compass for my life?”
Oh, she wanted that. Longed for it, with a yearning that made her shiver. But… “Do you really believe I can change?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he asked, “Do you believe I can?”
“Oh, yes! Of course! Hell, you’ve already changed so much, and…”
“And so have you.”
She couldn’t see that. But the love in his eyes said he wasn’t as blind. Tess swallowed, wanting desperately to believe him.
“Don’t you see? This is why we need each other. This is why we’re Mates. Because each of us sees the good in the other. I hold hope for you, and you for me. Apart, we’re flawed. Together…”
“Together…”
Silently, they rested in each other’s arms, letting old wounds slowly melt away. Taking the first step on a path that would, she knew, probably take years.
But they would walk that path.
Together.
Chapter 17
Two weeks later, sitting on a porch and sipping lemonade, Tess decided that this little slice of Upstate New York might be Heaven.
Ethan tore across the lawn laughing, in the midst of an animated game of tag football. The teen who chased him (Danny? Was that his name) was letting him win with gentle tolerance. But the little boy didn’t notice, too dazed with delight at finally having a playmate.
“Dad!” he yelled. “Come help me!” Proving that even after months of solitude, dads were still always welcome in any game.
“In a minute,” Darian called. He sat beside her, one arm slung across the swing’s back.
A small family farm, neat and homey, surrounded them. Somewhere in the woods beyond it lay the mythical Wellspring. Neither Tess nor Darian had visited it yet. There were still a lot of fences to be mended with his Flight.
And yet, they had received a warm welcome from Brandon Lorde, Darian’s Alpha, and his wife Hannah. Oh, sure, a certain coolness lay between her Mate and his First. You’d have to be blind to miss that. But Hannah had made them feel at home from the moment they’d arrived. Even Brandon was gracious, if somewhat reserved.
Looking out over the gentle land, Tess felt its peace softening her heart. She could live here. These were good people, people she’d love to aid and protect.
There were just a few details that needed to be worked out before that.
The front door opened. Brandon Lorde stepped out, brushing at the sleeve of his shirt. A deep, discontented frown darkened his face. At the sight of it, Darian tensed beside her.
Tess gulped. What was wrong? Surely, the Flight hadn’t decided to send them away after all?
Still glowering, Lorde stomped over to them. “I fail to see why I need to change dirty diapers,” he grumbled.
From somewhere inside, Hannah sang out, “Because you’re her father, that’s why!”
Tess and Darian both burst out laughing. “I’m afraid it is part of fatherhood,” her Mate confessed.
“Mmm.” The Alpha’s noncommi
ttal grunt suggested he wasn’t ceding that point.
Lorde leaned against the railing. Tess expected some pleasantries or small talk, but the Alpha wasn’t a diplomatic man. Instead, he turned immediately to the Flight’s last remaining problem.
Her.
“We have a decision to make. You,” he nodded at Tess, “have information that may threaten my Flight and the Wellspring.”
“Yup.” No sense trying to sugar coat it. “Those weird rocks I brought? They contain many of my memories. The Fangs of Apophis seemed to believe that I know how to make Dragon-killing weapons and close Wellsprings.”
“Or open them,” Darian added. Trust her Mate to always see the positive in her.
Lorde ignored him. “And I also understand that you, Miss Everlyn, believe these stones should be destroyed to protect us.”
“I do.”
“You’re willing to make this sacrifice?”
“I am.”
“You.” Now his piercing gaze turned on Darian. “You believe that destroying Tess’ memories is wrong. Why?”
“They’re not just memories. They’re part of her soul.” Love, fierce and protective, warmed his words.
“They’re dangerous,” she countered.
“They’re you!”
Lorde cleared his throat and interrupted. “Those two things are not mutually exclusive. Explain – simply, if you will – why this knowledge should not be destroyed.”
Darian rose to his feet, meeting his Alpha’s gaze with a firm, unwavering stare of his own. Tess thrilled to see his strength. How far he’d come in just two short weeks!
“I do not think they should be destroyed because I am a Dragon! This is my Mate’s soul we’re discussing. I won’t see any part of it destroyed.”
“Babe.” Tess stood up and slipped her hand into his. “This is the bad part of me. I won’t miss it.”
Probably…
His grip tightened, almost painfully. “I love all of you, not just the ‘nice’ parts. I want all of you beside me. Good and ‘bad’.”
“That’s sweet, but…”
With a wave of his hand, Lorde signaled that the discussion was over. “Lady, your Dragon makes an excellent point. I will not ask you to destroy your memories.”
Tess had to laugh at that, despite the gravity of the situation. “What do you mean, he ‘made an excellent point’? He didn’t make any argument. He just said, ‘I’m a Dragon.’”
“That was sufficient.”
Baffled, she stared at the calm Alpha. What the hell did he mean? “Sufficient for what? Look, I’m dangerous. To you guys and your Wellspring. Nothing he said changes that.”
Lorde never smiled. He simply regarded her with supreme, sedate certainty. “He did not need to change anything. It was sufficient for him to remind me of a fundamental truth.”
“Which is?”
The Alpha’s chin rose, proudly. “That we Dragons are not ‘safe’ creatures. And we do not expect our Mates to be ‘safe’ either.”
Tess blinked, puzzling over the unflinching confidence that lay behind that statement.
Now Lorde did smile, as he held his hand out to her. “Welcome to the Wellspring, Miss Everlyn. I think you and your Dragon will fit in well.”
THE END
Dragon’s Nanny
Dragon Dreams book 3
Tabitha St. George
Leela Ash
Copyright ©2018 by Tabitha St. George & Leela Ash. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Chapter 1
The house wasn’t the scariest thing Ariel McDunnah had ever seen… but it came close.
From the moment her chauffeur turned onto the elm-lined drive, her stomach sank. Lower and lower it went as acres of neatly trimmed lawns and hedges scrolled past. A barn and full equestrian arena on the left. Four tennis courts on the right.
By the time the mansion came in sight, with its white pillared porch and a swimming pool the size of a small lake, Ariel was ready to jump out of the car and flee.
I do not belong here!
Oblivious to her fear, the driver pulled up in front of this palace. Its great oak doors swung open and a portly man in a neat uniform emerged.
There was a word for men like that. She wracked her memories of old British tv shows, struggling to find it. Butler? Valet? Were those two different things? How did you tell them apart?
With a click, the chauffeur swept her door open, leaving her no choice except to emerge from the safety of the town car.
“Miss McDunnah? Welcome to Windhope Hall.”
The house had its own name? One hand dropped to the side of her Goodwill dress and brushed at it, as if she hoped it could brush her invisible. Once more, she wondered why on earth she’d come.
“Thank you.”
“This way, please. I’m George Summers.”
Still no answer to the ‘butler/valet’ conundrum. Ariel followed him meekly through the double doors, down a polished marble hall, and to a sunny sitting room filled with flowers. In the distance, she heard children’s laughter. That sound – the first normal thing in this terrifyingly elegant place – gave her a touch of relief.
“Have a seat, please. Master Jackson is… delayed.”
Was it her imagination, or did his eyes narrow in disproval? She didn’t know. She also didn’t know if it was Mr. Jackson’s tardiness or her dull, frumpy clothes that annoyed George.
Well, she wasn’t going to worry about it. That way led to paranoia and if she got any more nervous, she’d make herself sick.
“Tea?”
She shook her head.
“Coffee? Water?”
Two more shakes.
Now his lips definitely did grow pinched. “Very well. Let’s get to business then, shall we? I believe you have a letter of recommendation?”
“Oh! Yes, of course!” From within her purse she produced a parchment letter covered in elegant script. It was slightly rumpled; in her nervousness, she’d throttled it a bit.
George took it from her, smoothed it with a faint frown, then read silently.
“Brandon Lorde sent you.” Despite his reserve, one eyebrow rose. Few Shifters were as famous as the Alpha of the Dragons’ First Flight. “Impressive. Have you known him long?”
“No,” she had to admit. “I’ve never met Mr. Lorde. However, my parents knew him well.”
“I see.” Some of his approval evaporated. “Your parents were Bear Shifters, yes?”
“Yes. They died last year.”
She could say that now and stay dry-eyed. When a hurricane threatened the town they warded, her parents had driven their boat, time and again, into the teeth of the storm. Two dozen people were snatched from the rising water. Two dozen lives saved. But that wasn’t good enough for them. Bears to the end, they went back one more time, fighting to reach an isolated nursing home.
They never came back.
They were heroes.
Unlike her.
Ariel wasn’t a Shifter. Mom and Dad never said a word about that, but she knew that it broke their hearts when her first moon’s time came and she didn’t Shift. They never called her a ‘failure’ but she knew better. She was just Kin. Useless. Always the protected, never the Protector. When the skies grew black and wind tore the trees from the ground, they sent her with the other evacuees. She’d cried, demanded they let her help. They refused. And when, in the end, she wouldn’t accept that, they told her the ugly truth.
She wouldn’t be any help. She’d be a burden.
Those were their last words. That was how they parted, forever.
“Miss McDunnah?”
George’s voice dragged her away from those despairing thoughts. Ariel found the man staring at her in annoyance. “Yes?”
“I asked w
hat your qualifications were.”
“Oh. Yes. Right.” Her cheeks burned and she licked her lips. “I have an Associate of Child Care degree and two years experience in a nursery school.”
“Did you care for younger siblings?”
“No, I was an only child.”
“I see.” Clearly, her limited experience did not impress him. “What, precisely, makes you believe you’re qualified to care for the children of a Dragon?”
She’d prepared for this question. Dragons were the princes of the Shifter world, the strongest, most noble, most powerful of the Shifting kind. Only a handful remained now. Caring for a Dragon’s children was a calling worthy of a full Bear.
So why should she, a mere Kin, think she deserved a chance like this?
Suddenly, all of her carefully crafted responses vanished. Ariel sat, mind blank. Seconds ticked past, painfully long in the silence. Finally, she blurted out the only thing that came to mind: “I, uh, I like children. A lot.”
George didn’t even need to sneer ‘I see’ again. The disdain was far too plain in his face.
Seriously? ‘I like kids.’ As if no one else on the planet likes them too?
Oh, she was an idiot for thinking she ever had a shot at this job! Ariel’s gaze fell to the floor, and now, the first sting of tears burned in her eyes. No skills, no experience. Even her recommendation was second-hand. Brandon Lorde just wanted to repay her parents.
As she opened her mouth to apologize, however, the front door slammed open. A second later, a man bounded into the sitting room – and Ariel’s heart skipped a beat.
Skin-tight jeans and a tight t-shirt showed off every muscle in his tall, athletic body. Ripped calves, six-pack abs, and a tight, hot…
Her cheeks burned again and she quickly tore her eyes away from his buttocks. Ogling your prospective employer was not a good way to get a job! (Even if it was so terribly tempting.)
“Heya, George!”
“Mister Jackson.”
So, this was a Dragon? He was more slender than she’d imagined. Bears like her father tended to be heavy-set and she’d expected something like that. Owen Jackson, however, looked like a sprinter, not a linebacker. Rangy, lean, and powerful.
