Saved By Her Dragon (19 page)

He stayed linked to his mate and watched more of her
childhood memories until the constant growling and chuffing of his
dragon drove him from her bed. Several laps around the house and
more than a few strong words to the beast he had shared his soul
with for over a hundred years proved useless. It was not long
before Devon found himself walking the path that led to what Kyndel
had named the Town Square.

As he looked at the darkened store fronts and empty wooden
carts the artisans used to display their goods, the enormous stone
fountain at the center of the square caught his eye. Devon had no
idea how many times he had passed the beautiful sculpture in the
fifty or so years since it had been placed in the Square, but for
the first time the giant stone dragon with his wings wrapped
lovingly around a beautiful woman and two children gave him pause.
The speech the Head Elder, Carrick, had given on the day it was
dedicated had brought to light the symbiotic relationship between
the dragons and their mates.

It was then that he read the beautiful words written in the
old language, embossed on the brass plague, secured at the dragon’s
feet,
E’adrom ar a anam. Is brea’ ar a
chroi. Ta’ su’il anseo.
All those years
ago he had simply thought of the words as a nice sentiment but now
he truly understood their meaning. Anya was the light to his soul,
the love to his heart, and the hope to his future. She was
everything
and he
wondered how he had ever lived without her.

The sound of a door closing came from the alley between the
jewelry store and one of the bakeries. Using his enhanced speed,
Devon moved towards the sound sure to stay under the cover of
darkness. The sounds of footsteps echoed against brick walls and
the shadow of a person lengthened onto the sidewalk. He opened his
senses to make sure it was someone from his lair but only heard
static. Shaking his head he pushed harder, but still only scratchy
sounds that reminded of a poorly tuned radio came back. He was
poised to attack when he heard the mumblings of a familiar voice
and a scent he recognized as one of his favorite people.

Not wanting to scare the young woman, he cleared his throat
and called out, “Emma? Everything okay back there?”

“Oh, shoot!” She squeaked, obviously startled, then she
quickly recovered, “Devon? Is that you?”

Thankful for his enhanced vision, Devon saw her face right
before he answered, “It is. What are you doing out so
late?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” she muttered under
her breath.

“Try me,” he chuckled.

“
Damn
, I
always forget you can hear everything.”

He could tell she was stalling and decided to wait her out.
She kept walking in his direction but refused to meet his eyes
until she was right in front of him. As Emma looked up, she
stretched out her hand. A long gold chain flowed over her palm and
Devon caught sight of one of the young artisan’s beautiful
creations–a pendant glowing in the moonlight made out of one
of
his own
dragon
scales. Obviously damaged, but exquisitely refashioned into a
smaller version of its original shape with just a slight
lop-sidedness that gave it character. The scale had been polished
to a high sheen and on its own was eye-catching. However, it was
the tiny bell hanging from a delicate golden chain of only two or
three links directly in the center that drew his eye. It had been
made from one of the reddest scales he had ever seen and appeared
as more of a heart-shape than a traditional bell.

Emma spoke, her voice taking on a faraway quality, “Two days
ago I awoke with an undeniable urge to create
that
pendant. Now don’t get me
wrong, I’ve been inspired before, but this was almost like a
compulsion. I
had
to make this exact pendant. When I realized I didn’t have any
white scales available, I tried to work with others and none of
them worked. Several hours later, I gave up and headed out for a
walk.”

She pointed over her shoulder at a wooded area that had been
built into a large park with walking trails and playground
equipment for the young
drakes
and
vibrias
. “I was walking over there,
completely focused on the design that would
not
leave me alone, when I
found
this
scale
lying atop of pile of leaves. I have no idea how it got there, but
since you are the only white dragon in existence I
know
it’s yours, and I’m
pretty damn sure that I was supposed to find it.”

Emma shook her head and continued, “If I have learned
anything, it’s that when things happen around here that are
completely and totally crazy, it’s best to follow them through to
the end.” She looked down at her hand, still holding the necklace
between them, and then back up at him. “I have worked pretty much
every minute since then and was actually headed to your mom’s to
leave this for you.”

She held up her other hand to stop the comment that he was
just about to make. “I know what you’re thinking…how did I know it
was for you and your mate? Well, let me ask you a question
first…”

Devon nodded his head for her continue.

“Does your mate have light green eyes?”

“Yes,” was all he could say.

“Does her name start with the letter A?”

He nodded, unable to speak at the woman’s
accuracy.

“Then this is for her,” Emma nervously
giggled, turning the pendant over in her hand.

Devon smiled at the tiny tinkle the bell
made as it rolled in her hand. His eyes widened as he saw the
perfectly painted ‘A’ in the exact color of his mate’s eyes on the
underside of the charm. “How…?”

After a moment’s pause, he looked up to see Emma’s intense
stare taking in his every expression. Her smile was slow but sweet,
followed by a shrug. “I have no freakin’ clue, but I know that for
the first time since I awoke with this design in my brain, I feel
like I can go home and finally get some rest.”

She grabbed his wrist with her empty hand, turned it over,
and gently laid the necklace against his palm. Her smile grew as
she winked and said, “Give it to your girl. Hope she likes
it.”

Devon was just about to thank her when Lance’s voice sounded
in his head,
“Dev, you up?”

Signaling with the index finger of his empty hand for Emma to
wait a minute, he answered his brethren,
“Yeah. Everything okay?”

“Not really. Sam just got a call from Charlie at the
hospital. Seems like a man just showed up there asking about Anya.
He didn’t know her name but gave an almost perfect description. Of
course, Charlie gave him the SOP about giving out information being
against the rules and told him nothing. The guy seemed to accept
that but did ask repeatedly if she was okay. He left without
causing any trouble but she was freaked and wanted us to know. Sam
was just about to hang up when Charlie laughed and said the guy had
one blue eye and one brown eye.”

“
Fuck!
”
Devon spat.

“My sentiments exactly. The little son of a bitch must be
desperate to be out in the open without his lackeys.”

Devon looked to Emma, thankful her house was on the way to
his mother’s because getting back to his mate was all he could
think about. “Thank you. Anya will love it, and I apologize for
cutting our visit short but something’s come up I
have
to take care of.
Let me walk you home on my way.” He placed his hand on her
shoulder, turning her around and directing her towards their
homes.

“Oh, that’s okay…,” she started to argue.

Shaking his head, Devon cut in, “My mother will kick my ass
if I let you walk home alone in the dark, not to mention, I’d feel
like shit.”

They both chuckled as he hurried them along. Although it only
took a few moments, it seemed like forever before they reached
Emma’s quaint red brick cottage. He had been talking to Lance,
Aaron, and Royce through mind speak the whole time and knew his
brethren were all just a few seconds from Siobhan’s home. With his
link to his mate wide open, he watched as the young woman
disappeared into her home, and then using his enhanced speed, ran
towards his mate.

He saw Royce standing just inside the backdoor and called
ahead,
“Everything okay?”

“Yep. We knew there was no way the shithead could be inside
the lair, but Kyra wanted to check on Anya and we all agreed.
Better safe than sorry.”

“Thanks, old man,”
he answered as he made his way to the
front of the house.

“Everything cool up here, Bro?”
Devon asked Lance as he rounded the
corner.

“Yeah. Aaron’s out in the woods on the north side just to be
sure nothing and no one is there that shouldn’t be. We’re not as
confidant as you and Grandpa that the little fucker can’t get close
to us.”

“I heard that, you pain in
the ass,”
Royce growled through
their combined link.

Heading through the front door, Devon chuckled at his
friends’ constant bickering and called to Aaron,
“See anything out of the ordinary out
there?”

“Nothing,”
was the only response.

Expecting more, Devon waited until he reached the door to his
mate’s room before speaking to them all,
“Thanks you guys. I’ll be out as soon as I check on
Anya.”

“Take your time, I’m heading in to make
coffee and find something to eat,”
Lance
replied.

“Damn, do you ever get enough to eat?
Royce asked.”
And Kyra
already has the coffee on.”

“No and thank the Heavens,”
Lance laughed.

Tuning out his brethren’s banter, he entered Anya’s room,
gently closing the door behind him to find the woman of his dreams
still asleep, blissfully unaware of the commotion going on all
around her. He had been linked to her all evening, even more so
after Lance’s call, and knew that she was sweetly dreaming the
night away but his dragon would take nothing less than actual touch
and scent before he would stop his growling and
chuffing.

Devon moved to her bedside, carefully sat on the edge of the
bed, and lifted her hand to his lips. The incredible spark of
recognition flared between them as he touched her soft skin, and
the calming scent of sand and sea washed over him and his beast,
making his dragon back down from the constant pushing to be free.
The beast was pacified for the time being but sat ready to attack
at a second’s notice. Movement under the fingertips that gently
held Anya’s wrist sent a flood of electric shocks down his arm and
the mark that signified his dragon pulsed in response.

Turning her hand in his, he saw the marking was fully formed
and darker than before. He remembered the necklace in his pocket,
shifted slightly, and pulled it out into the open, the tiny bell
sending its clear tone into the air. Devon had been so lost to his
own thoughts and then surprised by Emma’s appearance, not to
mention her amazing story of how the pendant had come to be, that
he hadn’t even realized it
also
resembled a heart scale. Gently returning the
necklace to his pocket for safe keeping, he then kissed the mark on
her wrist. Pulses of recognition filled his entire being and caused
his cock to jump. He smiled to himself, thinking of all the ways he
planned to love her for the rest of their very long lives
together.

Satisfied that his mate was fine and in no imminent danger,
Devon placed a chaste kiss on her temple, reluctantly stood, and
headed back towards the kitchen before he gave into temptation and
joined her in bed.

He entered the kitchen to find every member of his Force and
that of the Blue Thunder Clan crowded around the kitchen table
discussing what to do next. Rian commented on his arrival first,
“Hey, Dev. Guess it’s a good thing we let Max and his crew take the
first pass tonight, huh?”

“Definitely was. I just wish one of us would’ve been at the
hospital to catch that fucking asshole.” He looked around the room
and watched everyone in attendance nod in agreement.

He turned to Lance, “And I’m damn glad Sam wasn’t working
tonight.”

“You and me both, Brother, you and me
both.”

It was then that Devon realized Aaron was absent. “Where’s
Aar?”

Aidan answered from across the room, “He said he had one more
thing to check on and then he would be back. Sounded kinda weird
but wouldn’t tell me where he was going.” The Guardsman shrugged as
he added sugar to his coffee.

“Well, he’ll have to catch up when he gets back,” Rayne
commented as he walked in from the dining room. “I just got off the
phone with Max and it seems you were right. Andrew and about fifty
others are holed up in the mansion we researched. From the magic
surrounding the place, it seems they are mostly novice and for the
most part, just humans that are being magically trained; which goes
along with what Anya has been able to tell us and what you have
seen in her memories.” The Commander nodded to Devon before
continuing, “The Leo has no doubt we will be able to get in and out
before any of them, including that piece of shit, knows what hit
them. We’ll go with our original plan. Everyone good with
that?”