Authors: Dahlia Rose
She
weighed her choices. Either
stay
and be at the mercy
of a serpent dragon with a vendetta or go with Raul and find out more about his
world and culture. “I’ll go pack,” she said and went to the only bedroom in the
small cabin. There she threw some clothes in the suitcase she’d brought. All
her research material and flash drives with pictures, notes, and research data
went into the carrying case that held her laptop. She’d learned how to pack
light from her mother. Raven reminded herself to call her mom and let her know that
she was okay. As much as she wanted to tell her mother everything, she knew
that to gain Raul’s trust she had to keep it all to herself. Besides, her
mother might just think she was crazy anyway. Still, it was her adventure and
Raven was willing to embrace it wholeheartedly. She zipped her bag and walked
out to the small living area where Raul waited.
“I’m
ready,” Raven said.
“So
little?” Raul asked.
“Yeah,
why?”
“Women
tend to travel with many things to primp and look pretty,” Raul said.
“You’ll
learn soon enough that I’m not an average woman,” she said and moved past him.
“This
is going to be very interesting,” he murmured, but she still heard him and
couldn’t help the grin that crossed her face.
They
got into the truck and she gave him a sidelong glance before starting the
engine and pulling away from the cabin that had been her home for the past few
weeks. Raul was still shirtless and barefoot in the chilly night. He didn’t
complain, but she turned up the heat in case he was cold. The night had been an
interesting one and there was still more to come it seemed. She was on the way
to the home of a dragon.
Chapter
Three
Three
days later as the sun rose to light a cloudy sky, Raul was very aware of the
woman living in his home. It was one of many that the Paladin dragons owned. It
was one of the things that Orin made sure of when they breached this realm.
When they were in their human guise and living among the people they protected,
they had to fit in with their surroundings. The large brown and tan brick house
had more floor-to-ceiling windows than actual walls, earning it the nickname
“glass castle” by many. The house was built on a cliff that overlooked acres
and acres of dense forest. This made it easy for him to fly home in his dragon
form without being seen.
He had no problem living the solitary
life and even enjoyed it, but now there was this problem of the female named
Raven who saved his life and he was in debt to her for that. Raul didn’t know
how he felt about that either. If she was just another human he had to save
from the
Shen
then so be it, but somehow he knew
Raven was different and he didn’t like it in the least. He saw his brothers
succumb one by one to love. First it was Orin, then
Kalv
,
and then Hawke. His king, even, still longed for his mate, the love he lost over
two hundred years ago. Because of this, he saw how emotions were a weakness
that could defeat even the strongest of men. He would protect Raven with his
life, but never would he allow her to invade his heart.
“I’ve
never seen anything so…” Raven seemed at a loss for words.
He followed her gaze to the view through
the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. He’d seen that view so many times he almost
forgot how majestic and beautiful it was.
“Is
it not to your liking?” Raul asked.
“Are
you kidding? It’s a freaking glass palace.” She whirled around to face him. “Seriously,
not a day goes by that this place doesn’t surprise me.”
“We
dragons like to see the world around us,” Raul explained. “This is smaller than
some of the other homes that we own here in your realm. Hawke owns a mansion
twice this size on the British aisle.”
“Even
so, how do you manage to own a house like this? Do you have a job?” Raven
asked.
“No,
Paladin has abundant natural resources, especially jewels that are very valuable
here in your world,” Raul explained. “Hawke has a head for numbers, and, using
his knowledge, he has managed to make us quite wealthy in human terms.”
“Do
you mine your resources?” Raven questioned as she walked around the room.
“No,
we only take what is needed. You humans have injured your planet so much by taking
its natural resources that sometimes we wonder how long your race will survive,”
Raul said. “On Paladin, there is no war other than protecting our home from the
Shen
. There is no hunger or want because each family
has a fair share. A dragon courting his mate can go into the mountains and find
a gem and take it to the black smith to be made into a bonding gift for his
woman. We live in peace the best we can.”
“It
sounds amazing,” Raven sighed. “I wish it could be like that here.”
“I’ve
found that the majority of humans love to hoard their wealth instead of helping
others; the rich keep getting richer while others struggle to survive.” Raul
shook his head sadly.
“It’s
easy for you to say when you have all this,” she pointed out sourly.
“Hawke
makes sizable donations regularly to food pantries and other resources for the
poverty-stricken humans of your world. This is done all over the world by
dragons that protect each sector.” Raul smiled at the tone she had just used. One
of the things humans hated most was their
faults
being
pointed out to them.
His
house was similar to the one Orin owned. Huge picture windows faced panoramic nature
scenes and landscapes both upstairs and down. The blinds were a deep maroon color
and remote controlled. A flick of a switch could open or close them to allow for
privacy. Raul usually kept them open because he loved to watch the
sun rise
and set. In a fierce storm, he would stand by the
windows and watch lightning slice through the sky. Nature at its fiercest was
one of his favorite times. Raven took a seat and sat back in one of the
cream-colored
microsuede
chairs that graced the
living area. The house had been built on the foundation of an older house that had
stood there previously. The natural hand-carved marble fireplace was the
centerpiece of the room. He walked over to it and in a few minutes had a
roaring fire going. Outside, the clouds looked turbulent and instinctively he
knew the day would be filled with rain.
“How
is your room? Is it to your liking? I notice that you stay up most of the
night. I’m sure you are tired,” he said.
“My
room is wonderful, but, remember, even though I’m on the run from a serpent
army, I still have to work on my thesis. I really could go for a nap right
about now though. Do you mind if I sack out in front of the fire? It’s gorgeous
and calming.” She yawned and raised her hands over her head.
Raul
noticed when she yawned how her shirt rode up, exposing a small swath of
chocolate brown skin and accentuated the curve of her breasts. He swallowed
thickly and desire made his cock thicken between his legs.
“Very
well. Blinds closed or open?” Raul asked.
“Open.
It’s going to start raining soon. I love weather like this.” Raven smiled.
“Imagine,
you could have been stuck outside while it poured,” Raul teased.
She
shrugged. “I would have still enjoyed it. I was practically raised in a tent, digging
for the past with my mom.”
“Explain
to me why it is so enjoyable to search for relics in the dirt?”
“Because
I believe our past can help explain and define our future. Maybe even help us
to avoid some of the mistakes that were made long ago.” Her eyes lit up as she spoke,
and Raul saw just how much she loved what she did by the excitement clear on
her face. “The city of Pompeii was wiped out by a volcano, yet some researchers
have found entire houses preserved in the volcanic rock. They found people in
different stages of panic and some not panicked at all. Some mothers were found
holding their children to protect them, some families were gathered in one room
as if they resigned themselves to their fate, and others were doing everyday things
like cooking. One has to wonder why they didn’t flee. The volcano just didn’t
erupt over night. There had to be signs, right? Maybe they were told nothing
would happen and they were caught unawares. Who knows, unless we study them?”
“What
were you searching for when you found me?” Raul asked.
“Signs
that the American Indian Mohican Tribe migrated to these areas,” Raven grinned.
“I already found a few arrowheads and some other things that could be from that
time. If I can find something more definitive from their lives it will give me
an answer that I’m on the right track.”
“I
think I would like to join you on this exploration after this is all over. You’ve
made me curious now, and I always give into my curiosity,” Raul said with a
wink.
“Really?
I…I mean on the exploration part, not the curiosity part…” Her face turned a
bright shade of pink and she let her words drift off as she looked down at her
lap.
She
was flustered and knowing that made a slow
smile
cross
his face. “You’ll find out, now won’t you?” He went over to a chest in the
corner of the room and brought out an afghan and spread it over her lap.
“Sleep, Raven. We’ll talk more later.”
“What
will you be doing?” she asked.
“I
have to call my dragon brethren and let them know what has happened over the
past few days. Maybe the
Shen
king is close by.
Either way, we’ll investigate in hopes of ending this war before it gets any
worse. Then, like you, I shall rest.”
“Okay,
later tater,” she said and lay back against the sofa.
He
watched her eyes droop and close before he went upstairs. In that fragile,
supple female body lived a warrior. How many women would have seen what she saw
and still run to help instead of run the other way, screaming? Raul entered the
master bedroom and sat on the king-sized bed heavily. His shoulder was healing,
but it still gave him a dull throbbing pain off and on. He vowed to find the
Shen
serpent that injured him and rip him limb from limb.
He scooted back until his back was against the headboard. He pulled his cell
phone from the drawer of the bedside table.
Who’s
in this realm?
he
thought. Orin was in Paladin
with Valencia and so
was
Kalv
and his mate. Hawke was at his mansion in England, plus
Lleau
and Aki. Raul hit the speed dial for Hawke and waited.
“Raul,
this had better be good,” Hawke practically snarled.
He
heard
Daisye’s
sultry laugh and rolled his eyes.
Those two were in a constant state of honeymoon bliss and it was getting
nauseating.
“If
you could hold off on getting your noodle wet for a few moments, I thought
you’d like to know that I was attacked by a
Shen
a
few nights ago,” Raul said dryly.
“I’m
going to the study.” Raul heard Hawke say in a serious tone and heard him kiss
Daisye
. “Be back soon, darling. Okay, tell me everything,
Raul, and why are you waiting until now to contact me?”
“Because
I have everything under control. I was coming back to the Wisconsin house when
I was intercepted by one of them. Got me in the shoulder and collar bone, and
dislocated my shoulder,” Raul explained.
“How
badly were you injured?” Hawke asked.
“Fixed
and healing. A human female was in the woods on an archeology dig when she came
along with a gun. The
Shen
left promising retribution
of course,” he answered with a chuckle. “She shot the abomination in the
shoulder.”
“Tell
me you have her with you now,” Hawke demanded.
His
tone instantly made Raul angry. Sometimes they treated him like a child,
probably because the rest of the dragons were older. He had as much fighting
skill as the rest of them and no woman to cloud his judgment with emotions
thrown into the mix.
“I
am not stupid, Hawke,” he said between gritted teeth. “I know the
Shen
dog has her scent. She is downstairs sleeping and has
been under my protection for the last few days. And before you say anything,
she is downstairs not because I didn’t offer her a comfortable room, but
because she wanted to hear the rain while she slept and be close to the
fireplace.”
Hawke
sighed. “I know you are not stupid, Raul. If you were, you would not be one of
the twelve of the court. You are young—”
“Yet
have fought alongside you more than once,” Raul cut him off. “I would not take her
life as any less important than another’s.
Kalv
came
back after a hundred years and you acted like he never left. Give me the same
courtesy to know I can do the job of being one of the twelve or petition Orin
to have me replaced.”
“It
would never come to that, Raul. I would fight alongside you any day and trust
you with my life,” Hawke replied firmly. “I am sorry I offended you. I still remember
walking away from your father’s house with you in my arms.”