Page 14 of Bound to the Dragon

Once the truck was loaded, the driver came over to introduce himself as Gregory and to insist that the next time I was at the diner; the pie was on him. Then he was gone and soon after, the Sheriff and his deputy departed too. Leaving us with a giant boulder as a lawn ornament and a few extra furrows along my yard.

“So,” I said as I watched the taillights of the police cruiser disappear, “That just happened. Now what?” There was some damage to the yard, and I wriggled my toes in the dirt beneath my feet as I imagined smoothing that out. In a heartbeat, the earth seemed to ripple and then gently do exactly that. That was followed by a wave of mild exhaustion, though nothing as severe as I’d experienced the day before when I restored the cliff.

“Now you rest while I finish painting the house,” Chardum said. “And then I’ll fly a patrol to make sure there are no intruders on our land.” I liked that, ‘our land’. It sounded right. It sounded so definitive, like he and I were already a couple who’d lived here for years. As I wandered back to the porch, I watched him pace around our yard, staring off into the distance.

When he shifted and took to the sky, I realized that the urge to patrol had won out. I watched with awe as his giant golden dragon form sailed through the sky like it was nothing. He didn’t go high, which he’d told me was because he didn’t want to show up on any human radar. So I could still see his gleaming black claws, the texture of his scales, and even the glimmer of his golden eyes.

He disappeared behind the trees, headed toward the prison he’d taken me to earlier that day. Thinking about that place gave me the willies; I’d never come in contact with anything that felt as evil and vile as that. But even a few hundred feet away, I could no longer sense it, not here at the farm, and when I walked around the house to stand in the by now completely cleared vegetable patch, I didn’t sense it there either.

I was tired, but I felt hot like a live wire, my head spinning with all this new knowledge. Most prominently, I kept circling back to my feelings for Chardum, and the bond he said was between us. Was I ready for that? That we had lust between us was undeniable, but was I ready to open myself up to more?

Truth was, it felt so comfortable and right to spend time with him. I enjoyed our conversations, was scintillated by our steamy moments, and honestly intrigued by the way he could project his touch to me. When I threw in the bit about how he thought we were made for each other, perfect soulmates… I really just wanted to believe that. Believe that giving in to loving him would be choosing happiness for the rest of my life.

Standing in the vegetable patch, I held out my hands and focused on the plants instead of my wild thoughts. Could I bring this to life? Find the kernels of seeds and plants left here fromprevious harvests and start my own garden again with just a nudge of my mind? I wanted to try the moment the idea had sprung fully-formed to the forefront of my thoughts.

Could Chardum and I nurture this land, this place, together? Just like I was now bringing life to this little patch of a garden, could we work together to restore the farm and the town? I’d discovered a box with old pictures when I was cleaning out the upper bedroom. I knew how verdant and beautiful the town had once been. Could I bring all that green back? Was that my father’s work? And could I really follow in his footsteps?

I wanted to try. So I let that powerful, endless source fill me up through the soles of my feet, and I let that power seek out the kernels of the seeds I wanted. I stood for a long time, rooted in place, while the earth crawled up my legs and held me, steadied me, welcomed me.

When I felt like I was ready, I opened my eyes and witnessed rows of tomato plants sprouting delicately to my left, and cabbage and squash on my right. And ahead, entire rows of raspberry plants eagerly pushed for the sky. Each plant was still fresh and young, just past sprouting from their seeds, but already proudly unfurling their first little leaves.

Now I felt truly exhausted, and with no sign of Chardum yet, I went inside for a shower and a nap. I figured I’d earned those, and when he came back, I’d convince him to nap with me. That sounded lovely.

Chapter 18

Chardum

My stomach was in knots after our last confrontation with the vampire and her henchmen. I had sensed that they were shifters such as me, though none were dragons. That was why I’d been willing to call her bluff. A tiger and a pair of coyotes were no match for a dragon; I could squash them with a single paw or scorch them to cinders with a breath.

The vampire was more of a wildcard. I did not know how old she was, and every vampire was different. They gained powers as they aged, and those could vary a great deal. There were even vampire witches, though I did not smell witch magic on this particular vampire, so I was fairly certain we were safe from that.

The tiger was the one with the familiar scent, something that I’d confirmed when I’d grabbed his wrist when he dared to attempt to grab my mate. He’d been in the rubble with me when the rock slide came down twenty-six years ago. He must have managed to escape, avoiding the curse that trapped me, and now he was back, working for a corporation that was only a flimsy cover for their real purpose.

I did not recall if any such cover was used last time; Zachary was always the one that handled the contacts in town, the legal threats and such. I just did the destroying whenever it was called for, and on the side, I worked with my hands to fix things, because I liked that just as much.

My thoughts spun toward the half-human at the house, my mate. I envisioned her curled up on the mattress in herbedroom. Pictured how the afternoon sun was streaking across her pretty mahogany skin, giving it a glow. Her body was all soft and warm in relaxation. It was so tempting to just turn around and climb those stairs to join her, but I had promised I would not cross that boundary. Not until I was invited in.

I landed in the prison clearing and used my dragon senses to sniff around, only relaxing when I discovered no new scent trails. It was quiet, and the trail of the vampire had grown old and stale. She had not been here in weeks.

I circled the woods and checked as close to town as I could without showing myself to the villagers. Only when I was certain there was no sign of the creatures did I turn around. This time, I gave myself permission to let my thoughts wander back to my mate. Would she be sound asleep or lightly slumbering as she waited for me?

Could she feel my thoughts manifest when I imagined stroking my hands along her arms and down her hips? I could vividly picture lapping at the pulse point at her throat; her taste would be so pure and sweet. What would it be like if she let me between her thighs so I could lap at the well between her legs? How would she react if I shifted my tongue just a little so I could reach deep inside?

I groaned, the sound deep and harsh as it rumbled from my giant dragon's chest. I was eager to return home and find out the answers toallthose questions. But when my eyes landed on a small figure standing in the middle of the road, I knew I had other duties to fulfill first.

I landed with less grace than I normally might, thudding to the ground in front of the bright green, little car and the gray-haired woman standing next to it. Lizzie was waiting for me, propping her hip against her vehicle with a pensive frown on her face as I shifted.

Now that I had a spot I neatly kept with my clothes inside the farmhouse, shifting and directly pulling my clothing back onto my flesh had become easier. Still, I only bothered with a pair of pants, aware that the werewolf alpha would not be bothered by any kind of nudity.

“So you heard, huh?” I said, in lieu of a greeting. I vaguely recalled that she used to scold me for being rude that way, but this afternoon, she didn’t comment and simply nodded. She looked worried, even a little scared, and that was not a good sign. I recalled Lizzie as one of the fiercest werewolves around. In all our time together, she had never backed down from a challenge and always been ready to offer support to Zachary and me when intruders visited.

But her pack had dwindled to half its size, many members had left as the town had withered in Zachary’s absence. I was a dragon, a fighter, and a destroyer, not a lifegiver like my friend had been, without his powers keeping the valley and surrounding area lush. It was no wonder the farms had suffered and many had simply chosen to leave.

“You need to know that Sunworld and that vampire have been buying people out for years, quietly pushing out the humans first, and then the weakest links in my pack,” Lizzie explained as she stared in the direction I’d come from: the town. The sun was starting to sink toward the horizon and with my sharp eyesight, Icould make out the first signs of the handful of remaining shops closing down for the day.

“I see. When did this start?” I asked resolutely. I turned my back on the town to look in the direction of the farm. I fully expected her to announce that it started twenty-six years ago, on a night that had been a failure to Zach and me, resulting in the both of us trapped in a curse.

She ran her hands through her mane of springy hair, then tapped her lip with a bright pink fingernail. “I’d say about ten years ago? For a while, it was very quiet. We were worried, but Zachary was there. He said we were fine. Then he left, and the town started to wither… This female vampire, she’s not the same one who came here twenty years ago. But I do think she is connected to the last one.”

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