Page 11 of Unforeseen Mate
Fallon shook her head. “No, I don’t believe you. The man behind this will only let me go if I never see him and can never identify this place, which I’m perfectly happy with. But make no bones about it, Horace, once I see him or he thinks I know where I am, it won’t matter what Nora does; he’ll kill me.”
Horace paused as if he wanted to argue or reassure her, but they both knew she was right. “I’ll ask about the mug and the other things.”
“Thanks, Horace. I appreciate it.”
He stopped at the door and turned around. “You cannot defeat the Master. He isn’t human.”
“What do you mean he isn’t human?”
“He’s a dragon. More specifically a dragon-shifter.”
“Dragon-shifter?”
“A creature that can shift from human to dragon and back again. He has lived for thousands of years. You cannot escape him. If you try, he can incinerate you.”
“I find it hard to accept what you’re telling me,” she said hesitantly.
“I know, and I don’t blame you, but it’s true. Shifters of all kinds exist. The Master is a dragon.”
He seemed to regret what he’d told her and quickly withdrew.
Was he nuts? He hadn’t seemed so in their brief acquaintance, but a creature that could shift from man to beast? There was no way that was possible. And yet, there were caves up in the furthest reaches of the Scottish Highlands that had paintings that seemed to depict just that. A triptych depicting a fully armored knight and then a swirling mist or tornado of some kind and then a dragon.
Could it be? Could dragons exist and was there some kind of hybrid creature that could be both? How utterly fascinating, unless, of course, it was holding you prisoner. Dragons. No.She began to think about little pieces of arcane legend, myth and pictographs she’d seen, and as Horace had said, not just of dragons, but other shifters. Did he mean there were other species—such as wolves, cave lions, tigers, bears and others—that could shift from man to beast all over the world? It had been the subject of more than one dinner and gathering of those who looked to the past and tried to make sense of what they’d seen.
That night he came to her again. She heard his howl and then saw the form of a large wolf-like creature. Too big to be even a timber wolf—perhaps a dire wolf, but the head shape and fur were off, and no dire wolf had ever been described or depicted with glowing eyes or fur tipped in flames.
This time, Fallon watched closely as the large hound disappeared, but not completely. It wasn’t as if she could see him, but she could most definitely see the air where he had been shimmer before the tall, naked man appeared and stepped toward the bed. She opened her arms in invitation and sought safety and oblivion in his embrace.
Two days later, she had a small table, a chair, a battery-operated lantern, and a mug. Fallon set the table and chair in the corner and made sure any time she heard the key in the lock to take a seat in the chair where she could be seen. Then suddenly, she heard the key in the lock outside the normal mealtimes.
“Pull the chair into the center of the room and take a seat, placing your hands behind you,” said Squire.
This was the first night since she’d been kidnapped that she’d seen him. Fallon did as she was asked, and her hands were bound behind her. A gag was forced into her mouth and secured. She wondered why suddenly she was being treated this way. She had been a model prisoner up to now.
Her eyes widened as a man who could only be described as tall, dark, and elegant entered the room. He was a striking, impressive man with a silver mane of hair and a well-groomed goatee, dressed in flannel trousers and what appeared to be a cashmere sweater. There was something old-world and sophisticated about him. Fallon had no doubt she was now face-to-face with the Master—a man Horace was convinced was part man, part dragon.
“I am Abraham Strode. I can see by your expression that Horace has informed you of my unique physiology.”
Fallon nodded.
“Mrs. Crane thought as much and reported it to me. Horace will not be attending you in the future.” Fallon tried to keep from revealing the horror she was feeling. “Let that be a lesson to you that I am not a man who suffers betrayal. Those who are not absolutely loyal to me pay the ultimate price for their sins. Your friend Nora should have known as much, as she was often the instrument of my will.”
Nora? Her friend Nora was a travel writer. Despite what Horace had told her, Fallon refused to believe Nora was some kind of stone-cold killer. And yet, there was a small possibility it could be true. After all, Nora travelled all over the world, had a gun safe and had taught Fallon how to defend herself both with and without weapons. When Fallon had questioned her knowledge and skills, Nora had told her they were a product of her ‘misspent youth.’
Strode chuckled. “Good. You are intelligent. I can see you beginning to question all you knew about your friend. She was my best acolyte, but she has forgotten her place and now refuses to do as she is told. But I think the bond with her mate is too new; too tenuous. I’m betting her ties to you are far stronger.”
The dragon-shifter, if Horace was to be believed, approached with her phone camera’s video turned on. Fallon knew the picture she presented—bound, gagged, and scared to death.
“As you can see, your friend, Fallon, is currently in residence here at the fortress.”
She could hear Nora growl and then a voice—cold, calculating, not at all like the best friend she knew, spoke. “I want to speak to her, and you will install her in a comfortable room and see that she is cared for.”
Squire ripped the gag from her mouth, and Fallon knew that if Strode was telling her the truth regarding Nora’s true vocation, he meant to force Nora to assassinate someone with the unspoken threat being that if she didn’t, Strode would kill Fallon. She had no doubt that the dragon-shifter would kill her. There was also no way he would hold up his end of the bargain; Fallon wasn’t going to make it out alive. She would be damned if she would be used against her friend.
“Don’t do whatever it is that he wants, Nora. Do you…” she cried out but was cut off as the dragon backhanded her before replacing her gag.
“Do that again, you bastard, and I’ll remove your hand,” Nora snarled.
