Deep inside of Brighid, she heard her Dragon begin to do something she had never known it to do. It settled in as if it were curling into a ball for sleep, a low vibrating purr echoing from its chest. It was strange, she had never heard her Dragon do that before, not even during some of the calmest moments in her life. It was as if her Dragon had found a missing link, and was utterly and totally at ease. It was hard for Brighid not to feel the same way considering her Dragon had always been more suspicious than she was.
The Phoenix stepped forward, his bright red hair blowing wildly with the breeze that circled the top of the island pedestal. "Brighid. You need not be nervous. As you can tell from your Dragon, we are not here to do you any harm. In fact, we're quite the opposite. My name is Ash, and I'm a Phoenix Shifter."
"And I am Zevi, a White Stag Shifter," the man to Ash's right said as he stepped forward, shaking down his pant leg.
Brighid uncrossed her arms and stepped down off the porch. "You're the Stag that visited me in my dreams just a couple nights ago. How is that even possible? I've only ever heard of three different types of beings that can travel within dreams. There are the spirits, like my mother Omera and the Council of Elders in the Fields of Moribund. Then there are the shaman of the Bear clan, and the Griffin who I've heard can send out warnings in the forms of visions. But it was no vision; it was a dream."
Zevi nodded with a smile. "It was kind of teamwork, really. Ash, being a Phoenix, has the ability to move through the Veil of Dreams. Because our bond is so strong, he was able to take me with him and bring me to you."
Ash nodded. "That's right. I'm naturally the protector of souls, and the soul itself travels between the planes of existence on a regular basis. Because I protect the souls, I can travel as well and can be affected in all areas in between. I'm able to pick Zevi's consciousness from him with ease and carry him through, placing him in the dream world. It's an ancient Phoenix ability, and it's been passed down from my Ancestors."
“Wow,” Brighid whispered. “And that was you trying to talk to me in my dreams.”
Ash ran his hand through his blonde hair, nodding his head. "That's right. Your consciousness was confused by it. While your Dragon understood, you were not fully awake or fully asleep, so it took a little bit for me to get through to you."
Brighid glanced over toward the Wolf Shifter. “And you, you’re the Wolf that I saw last night by the Hot Springs.”
"Yes," he said. "My name is Finn, and I'm a Wolf Shifter."
Unlike his Wolf, Finn's had a clean-shaven head, his eyes a grayish, and his features dark but handsome. He had a broad chest with tattoos, and his arms were large and muscular, leading into an even stronger abdomen. He easily stood a foot above the others and as wide as two of Brighid.
"You ran off last night. You were so fast," Brighid said, taking another step forward. "I've never seen a Wolf move that quickly."
He put his hands behind his back, clutching his fingers together and standing tall and straight. "That's right. It's just the same as with your Dragon. When you moved quickly to save that girl during one of the earthquakes. I, too, am able to use that type of magic. And I'm sorry about the other night, I didn't mean to frighten you on the cliffs, I was only trying to protect you."
Brighid pinched the bridge of her nose and furrowed her brow. "I'm sorry, I'm just having a hard time taking in all this information. Just a month ago, everything was normal here, and then I get back from my mother's services and things are spiraling out of control."
Brighid stepped forward again, bridging the open space between the four of them. She looked from one to the other, all with kind eyes staring back at her. "Who was that man you pounced on? And you, Ash, why didn't I see you in my dream?" She turned to Zevi. "And if you were in my dream, how was someone able to shoot an arrow at us? Surely, I didn't make that up in my own head? And what about on top of the cliffs? That wasn't a vision, and I was awake, so it couldn't have been a dream. Somehow though, when I opened my eyes, I was in the castle running toward my sisters. What does this shadowy figure have to do with all of this?"
Brighid was spouting off questions, not bothering to pause in between to give the men a chance to answer. She had so many questions that needed answers. Still, her mind was too overwhelmed to pause for even a second. Ash walked forward and reached out, putting his hand on Brighid's shoulder. The words faded off from her lips as a blanket of comfort enveloped her. All the anxiety she had been feeling up to that moment just disappeared. She felt calmer than she ever had before, and it wasn't only on the surface; she could feel it deep down in her soul. It was as if Ash had reached inside of her and stroked the anxiety into submission. She could once again hear the purring of her Dragon.
"It's obvious that we all have a lot to talk about," Ash said in a soothing tone. "You have so many questions, and though I'm not sure we can answer all of them just yet, we'll do what we can. I know this is a very confusing time for you. That's why we didn't come forward sooner. We wanted to give you a chance to acclimate to your new lifestyle as the High Alpha. But unfortunately, darker forces are at work, and they aren't allowing us the time that we had hoped for."
Zevi and Finn both joined them, giving her comforting looks. Zevi nodded his head. "That's right. There's a lot to talk about and unfortunately not a lot of time to do it in. We have many, many things that your father left for us to tell you. They are vital to your future."
Brighid's brow immediately wrinkled, and she shook her head, putting up her hands. "Whoa, did you just say many things that my father left for you to tell me? How in the world do you know my father?"
Ash and Zevi looked at each other, Ash giving Zevi a head nod. Zevi glanced up at the vibrant colors in the sky as the sun began to settle. "I don't know if you know much about the Wolves, but we have the shortest lifespan of all the Shifters. Though the shortest, we can still live a very long time. Finn and Ash could, in theory, live forever."
Brighid lifted an eyebrow. "So, are you trying to tell me that you're old men?"
All three of them chuckled, and Ash shook his head. "No, while we can live very long lives, none of us are much older than you. We met your father when you were just a little girl, and we were just children. None of us really had much of a family, and your father was the one that brought us to the island. He took care of us, he raised us, and he showed us the way of the Ancestors of the Fire Sigil."
Finn put his hands in his pockets, his arm so big he could barely keep them in. "The cottage on the beach wasn't for guests; it's where we lived as children. We trained there, we slept there, and we learned how to control our shifting abilities. Your father was instrumental in this."
Ash turned his hand over, palm up, and Brighid watched as he created a small red flame that floated just above his skin. "On top of that, he educated us in the way of the Shifters. He taught us about the different clans, about the dark magic, and about your mother, Omera. He taught us about the history, as well as the visions for the future."
Brighid let out a long deep sigh and turned away from them, crossing her arms over her chest. She began to pace back and forth as she often did when in deep thought. "I barely remember my father, and though there are photo albums full of me as a child here, I have no real recollection of when they were taken. I did notice the other day though, in each and every picture, one of you is there watching from the background. Why would my father keep you a secret from me?"
Ash glanced over at the others. "Well, because you couldn't know about us until it was time."
Brighid turned back toward them. "Time for what? Why would my father spend all of this time raising three children that weren't his own, teaching them the ways of the Shifters, none of them a Dragon? And why would he have you stay hidden for all these years? It just doesn't make any sense to me."
Ash’s eyes flashed a radiant golden color as he grinned, putting his hands out to both of his sides, pointing at the other two. “Don’t you see? He did all of those things beca
use we are your destined mates.”
Chapter Seven
The sound of the teakettle whistling loudly pulled Brighid from her thoughts as she stood over the stove lost in the sea of information she had just been given. She turned off the burner and walked the kettle over to the table, filling each one of the mugs in front of the men, and then her own. She took her teabag and dipped it into the water, watching as the others did the same. They seemed so foreign to her, yet so familiar at the same time. Brighid was curious, but she knew she had to take it one step at a time, or she would not only overwhelm them, but she would overwhelm herself as well.
After they fixed their tea, Ash took a sip and closed his eyes for a moment as Brighid watched him curiously. When he opened them again, he smiled directly at her. “So, it would make sense that you don’t have a lot of memories of your father, you were very young when he died. Your father was a Dragon Shifter, as you know, but he also held several other gifts and duties in his lifetime. Your father was a great warrior, fighting with the Dragons hundreds of years into the past, saving Shifters, and helping to create peace.”
"This very island was a gift to your father from the current Dragon Alpha who fought next to him during one of the great wars," Zevi added.
Brighid stayed quiet, listening to her mates explain precisely where her father came from and how it led to where they were right then. Finn cleared his throat, his large hands making his mug look tiny compared to the rest of them. "But beyond a great warrior, your father was also a spiritual guide. His gifts were similar to that of the Phoenix though he could not travel as easily between the realms."
“But how did he find you?” Brighid asked. “Was it just a feeling? Or did he randomly pick you out and hope for the best?”
Finn laughed. "Not at all, nothing like this is left up to chance. When your father was traveling in the dream world, he had a meeting with the Council of Elders right at the cusp of the veil to the Fields of Moribund. They showed him who your mates would be. They instructed him on exactly what he had to do. They told him that he needed to find us and that when he did, he needed to bring us back to the island where he could ensure that we would be safe."
Zevi clasped his mug with both hands, taking in the warmth of the tea. "Once we were old enough to understand, your father gave us the job of protecting you, both when you were a child and would visit, and when you finally moved here. And once you have arrived, we had to stay hidden until the time was right."
Brighid pursed her lips. "So, this island was given to my father as a gift a long time ago. Where did this island come from? It's baffled geologists for years, and quite frankly, I don't understand it either. The way the lava flows, no real deep eruptions, at least not any since I've been alive, yet it's very active."
Zevi chuckled. “I’m sure you’ve heard the stories.”
Brighid scoffed. "Yeah, about how there was a battle between a Giant and another Shifter, and it created this island. But come on, that's ridiculous."
Finn smiled, and it looked kind of odd from a man so serious. “We’re a bunch of people sitting around a table that can shift into animals, and you find that ridiculous?”
Brighid thought about it for a moment. “Maybe you have a point. But that’s it? The Giant theory?”
Zevi nodded. "Thousands of years ago, there was a battle between one of the first Dragon Alphas and the Giant Alpha. You have to remember what you think of as a Giant is small compared to what they used to be. They battled back and forth, and the Dragon was thrown into the ocean by the Giant. He thought for sure he had won, and he waded out into the deep waters to pull the Dragon's body out as a trophy. What he didn't realize was that the Dragons were extraordinarily magical beings, and the Dragon came charging out from the depths of the ocean tackling the Giant. They fought back and forth for many days, neither taking any type of break. By the end, they had burrowed the ground so deep that the lava began to flow, creating the island. Over time vegetation grew, life emerged, and magical creatures made a home on this island. It was a sanctuary for them."
Brighid blinked at Zevi. "So, all the magical misfits moved to this island, and that's how things came to be as they are now? Why this island? In the whole world there are multiple places that magical creatures can go for sanctuary."
Ash took a sip of his tea. "Because this island holds a magical power deep in its core. It is unmovable, yet it flows like it's all interconnected. It's nature at its very core. It's the universal culmination of one being. Everything feeds something else, including the magical creatures that are here."
“Man, I wish the more tolerant magical creatures had heard about this place,” Brighid laughed. “It’s like the island of annoying magical beings. You’ve got the faeries which just love to destroy everything. You got the wood nymphs who steal anything that’s not nailed down. I’ve seriously replaced chairs, wood planks, roofing, just about anything you can imagine. I know it’s them. I can hear their nasty little feet in the middle of the night.”
The guys laughed. “Yeah, they can be assholes. We’re pretty sure that the Wood Nymphs and the Faeries live here because no one else will tolerate them.”
Brighid rolled her eyes. "I guess everyone needs somewhere to go. But I'm gonna tell you right now if I ever find the Wood Nymph that steals my underwear… we're going to have words. In fact, I'm pretty sure my Dragon will have no problem tracking him down and having him as a snack."
Ash laughed loudly. "So, what you're saying is somewhere on this magical island there are not only rivers of lava, but there's a pile of underwear."
Brighid folded her arms over her chest and nodded teasingly. "It's probably the most magical part about it at all."
They all sat around the table laughing, feeling completely at ease with each other. Brighid wasn't used to that kind of connection, but she couldn't help but go with the flow. She felt as if she had known these guys for years, and in some ways, she guessed she had. They had been looking out for her since she was a child. It did make her kind of sad though, the fact that her mates had spent their entire life looking out for her, and they weren't much older than she was apparently.
As the laughter simmered and the quietness fell over the cabin, Brighid cleared her throat and glanced up at each of them. "What happened to my father? My mother always told me these amazing stories about the Dragon that my father was. Still, she would never tell me what actually happened to him. She kept it a secret. I stopped asking when I got older because I realized that obviously there was a reason she wasn't telling me, but I've always wondered."
The men went silent for a moment, staring out at their cups of tea, a feeling of sadness washing across the room. Finn shrugged his shoulders. "Unfortunately, none of us really know all the details as to what happened to your father. We wished that we did, he was like a father to us as well. We know that he took a special mission from the Dragon Alpha, Zerrit, the Loud. The two of them had always been close. I could still remember when he came here to ask your father to go on that mission."
Ash leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. "It was a stormy day. The seas were rough, the skies were gray, and even the Faeries and Wood Nymphs were hiding from the rain. We had been stuck inside for a couple of days working on our studies as your father feared that we weren't strong enough to handle the winds."
Zevi nodded. “We were going stir crazy inside that cabin.”
Brighid leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table. “So, what was the special mission?”
Finn cleared his throat, looking as if he didn't want to speak about it. "All your father told us was that he had to leave, that he was to hunt specific types of dark creatures. None of us had ever heard of them before."
Brighid narrowed her eyes, feeling a ball forming in the pit of her stomach. "What were they called?"
Finn glanced around the table, but the other two looked away. He wouldn’t look at Brighid in the face. “They called them the Keepers.”
Slo
wly Brighid picked her elbows up off the table and sat up straight in the chair. She could feel her face go white, and for the first time in a long time, she felt a chill run down her spine. Goosebumps covered her skin, and her eyes stared off in the distance. A touch from Ash brought her back to the table. "What is it?"
Brighid took a deep breath. "Before I came outside to see you, I sat down to meditate. I went to the veil, and I spoke to my mother. It was the first time I'd ever seen her fearful. My mother told me that I have to go visit the Dragon Alpha and I need to ask them about the Keepers. She said it was important."
Brighid's eyes focused back on Finn, who didn't look surprised by what she was saying. "It makes sense. I told the others, I think that whatever was watching you on the cliffs was a Keeper."
Brighid shivered. "Then, I guess I need to get to the Fields of the Dragon to speak to the Alpha, and I need to do it fast."
"Have you met him before?" Ash asked with excitement in his voice.
Brighid nodded. "Just once, when I was a teenager. He came to the Castle for a meeting with my mother. She told me that he had been my father's best friend, but for reasons unknown to her, he had never been a huge fan of Omera. I remember him telling me when I saw him that I was bright and full of my father's glow. He would always send me gifts, and not even on my birthday but just randomly."
Zevi wrinkled his brow. “Your mother, the Queen of the Shifters, Omera the great, she didn’t know why the high Dragon Alpha disliked her?”
Brighid shrugged. "I suppose she probably did, but it was easier just to tell me she didn't. I do remember her whispering with one of the other Council Members when I was a girl, and she didn't know that I was hiding. She had said that the Dragon Alpha believed that she was the reason that my father died. I asked her about it later, but she told me that I was mistaken, and we never brought it up again."
Her Fire Mates: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Shifters Of The Elements) Page 4
