The Island Of Dragons: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (18 page)

When I arrived at the council meeting with Melissa and Dan, Warren was already seated at the head of the long, polished table in the council lodge, and I took a seat on his left, whispering hello with my heart feeling as if it were breaking. Warren said hello back in a low voice, avoiding my eyes just as he’d done the day before.

Soon the rest of the council members arrived, followed by two men Warren introduced as Eric and Holden, the leaders of the wolves and the bears, respectively. They were tall, muscular, and very good-looking. Apparently, being unbelievably attractive was a prerequisite for being a village leader on the island. However, of the three leaders, I thought Warren was the
most
handsome, by far. There was just something about his physicality that I found magnetic, almost mesmerizing at times, though this wasn’t entirely just because of his classically handsome looks.

There was also something else I just couldn’t put my finger on, but it might have been the way he moved, deliberately and confidently, head always up and broad shoulders always back, though without even a hint of arrogance. It might have been how a tiny crescent-shaped pale scar on his chin made him appear somehow vulnerable yet rugged at the same time. Whatever it was, it was something I found almost impossibly potent and irresistible.

To my dismay, Dalton wasn’t present in the lodge, nor was Hugh, and I’d hoped that they both would be, even though Hugh wasn’t a council member, and of course, Dalton wasn’t exactly Warren’s favorite person.

Seeming to read my thoughts, Melissa briefly brought her mouth to my ear and told me in a low voice that she thought Dalton would be coming. “I ran into him earlier, and he said he had to fix something on the seismograph thing real quick or something.”

Relieved, I nodded and thanked her, hoping he would be coming prepared with some brilliant alternative to preventing the self-destruction of the island.

Once everyone was seated, Melody ducked into a narrow alcove on one side of the circular, stone-walled and floored room, and in this small, kitchenette-type place, she began fixing drinks for everyone. All of women present opted for passion fruit wine, except for Melissa, who asked for whiskey, like the men were drinking. She and Warren were the only two who requested theirs neat.

Once everyone had been served, Warren drained his whiskey in one long gulp without so much as a faint grimace, and then got right to it. “Thank you all for coming, particularly the two of you, Eric and Holden. Now, the reason I called this meeting is not to tell any of you anything new, but simply to reiterate to you all my plan of action, confirm that my mind is made up, and then tell you all exactly how and when I’m going to execute my plan, which will be soon. I’d like some time to settle up a few things and say a few final goodbyes, though at the same time, I’m mindful that if these earthquakes were to go on for the full month they’re expected to, there would likely be further damage to our dwellings, more injuries, and possibly even deaths. So, therefore—”

“But, wait. Please.” Melody had spoken, her soft, musical voice quiet but insistent. My heart seemed to leap up in my chest a few inches, and I prayed she was about to suggest a different way the island could be saved. She’d gotten everyone’s attention immediately, and now she continued, all eyes on her. “I apologize for interrupting, Chief Knight, but is that
all
this meeting is for? Just for telling us the details of your planned demise? Can’t we spend at least some of this time discussing alternate plans?”

Expression unreadable, Warren dipped his head in a slight nod. “All right. What’s your idea?”

A faint wash of color rose to Melody’s oval-shaped face, and she shrugged. “Well, I didn’t mean that I have an idea in particular, I just....”

While Melody shrugged again, clearly struggling, Melissa finished a sip of whiskey and set her glass on the table with a thunk, gaze on Warren. “
I
have one I thought of earlier today. Instead of trying to prevent the closing of the wormhole by creating another Form, a
you
Form, why can’t we make another of those golem things, but just maybe a smaller and more easily contained one? Like, for example, we throw a bunch of palm fronds in the lake, and we make a ‘palm man’ golem. Or, if leaves aren’t a sturdy enough material for the lake to magically make another golem out of, why don’t we just use stones again? Worked well enough the first time, when you and all you men did it accidentally.”

Warren shook his head. “I’ve already discussed this idea with Dalton, and he says it isn’t possible at present. For one thing, the lake
can’t
create a golem out of non-human organic matter, like palm fronds, and as far as rocks, the idea still isn’t possible. Something about how it takes much more stored energy from the lake to create a golem out of stone than it does to create a Form out of a living human or shifter, and right now, on the heels of the massive stone golem we created, the lake’s stored supernatural energy is too depleted to....” Warren trailed off because a new attendee had just arrived at the meeting. It was Hugh. And the suggestion he was soon about to make would just about have everyone’s jaws on the floor.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Hugh stood before the council table with beads of water glimmering in his salt-and-pepper hair and beard. A white sling around his left arm, which he’d been wearing to take pressure off his still-healing shoulder, was also dripping. The evening sky had been overcast earlier, and now it seemed that it had started to rain.

Looking a little sheepish, he began to address everyone without even taking a seat. “Look. I know I’m not a council member, and I’m sorry to barge in here like this. But I just wanted to tell you, Chief Warren, that you don’t have to do this.
I’ll
do it. I’m an old-timer with a busted wing now, and you’re of much more value to this community than I am. I’ve had a good life, and I’ve had many wonderful years with Sadie, both before the island, and after.
I’ll
make the sacrifice myself, and Sadie will understand. She’ll have to, because my mind’s made up. I’ll go in the lake and become a Form to save us all.”

“No,
I
will.” Dalton had spoken. Stunned, I recognized his voice but was confused because I couldn’t see him at first. Seeming to have arrived at the lodge and come down the short, darkened hallway right after Hugh, he now stepped out from behind Hugh’s burly form and away from the shadows so we could see him. “I’ll go in the lake. My father created this whole mess by setting the island to self-destruct, so it just makes sense that I should fix it.”

Across from me, Melissa drained the rest of her whiskey in a gulp and set the glass on the table with a bang. “Oh my God. This island shouldn’t be called Black Lake Island, it should be called Martyr Complex Island.” She chuckled, obviously pretty pleased with her joke, but within a second, her chuckle was cut off by her making a little yelp of pain. It seemed that Melody, who was sitting across from her, must have kicked her in the shins or something, because Melissa glared at her, shrugging. “What? That was pretty funny.”

Ignoring her, Dalton took a step closer to the council table, gaze on Warren. “Please let me do this, Chief Knight. I’m not really one of your people, so you’re not technically responsible for protecting me, so you shouldn’t feel compelled to hold me back.”

Now Hugh sidled up next to Dalton, looking at him with what appeared to be a mixture of exasperation and pity. “You’ve got your whole life ahead of you, kid, and a sister here that you’ve only barely gotten to know. I think she needs you to stay in her life. So, for that reason, my offer should be the only one Chief Knight considers.”

Conflicted, to say the least, though maybe more horrified than anything, I didn’t know
who
I wanted to go into the lake. I obviously didn’t want either of them to, simple as that. I just wanted to find a different way than
anyone
having to become a Form, but if Dalton hadn’t even been able to think of one, I doubted I could, either.

Wearing an expression resembling a mix of exasperation and pity himself, Warren looked from Hugh to Dalton. “Thank you both, but as I’ve previously stated, my mind is made up. As an island leader, it would be cowardly of me to let one of my own people, meaning you, Hugh, or a guest of this village, meaning you, Dalton, to go in my stead, and that’s not the kind of leader I strive to be.”

Momentarily, I thought about begging Warren to just let one of them make the sacrifice, but then I immediately felt terrible. I’d grown to love Hugh as a father figure, and I’d begun to love Dalton as a brother, but Warren was, of course, the one I loved the most. Though that didn’t mean I knew I could live with myself if I actively lobbied for either of them to go in Warren’s place. I just wanted there to be another way to solve things than someone having to become a Form.

In response to what Warren had said, both Hugh and Dalton began to protest, but, rising from the table, Warren cut them off with a raised palm. “Stop. Both of you. I appreciate what you’re both trying to do, but I’ve made my decision, and it is final. Any further offers, from the two of you, or anyone else, will result in jailing and removal from the community until my plan is executed.” With his dark brows furrowed, he shifted his gaze from the two of them to the rest of the group. “I’ll be going into the lake ten days from now, and this meeting is adjourned. Eric and Holden, as village guests, you’re both welcome to join me at my castle for another drink if you’d like. The rest of you, goodnight.”

With that, he began striding out of the lodge without so much as giving me a backward glance. Frustrated, heartbroken, angry, sad, and even a half-dozen other emotions I couldn’t even describe, I wanted to follow him, wanted to grab him by the shoulders, shake him, and make him look at me. I wanted to yell at him, telling him that he couldn’t go into the lake because I couldn’t live without him. But, before I could even rise from my seat, Eric and Holden were already up and following him out of the lodge, and I knew it wasn’t the right time to confront him. But I
was
going to soon. I was going to make him look at me.

***

Over the next several days, I didn’t get the chance. Warren was near-constantly away from the island, either surveying the lake or meeting with Eric and Holden in their own villages, and when he
was
home in Knight’s Shore, he was busy having meetings with Josh, who, as his right-hand man, would succeed him as village chief. A few times, I texted Warren asking to see him, but each time, his response was the same:
Not yet
. I knew what he was thinking. He was going to see me one final time to say goodbye, but not until time was nearly out. He didn’t want to draw out our goodbye or make it harder than it was already going to be. I just knew it. My heart ached perpetually for him, and
us
.

No one in the village was happy about his decision, and in fact, the general collective mood became one of people attending a days-long funeral. Everyone seemed to wear a firmly-fixed frown, and a few women cried openly at random times doing different tasks out and about in the village, which, in turn, made me start up the waterworks as well. Dalton reported that he’d even spotted one man, one of Warren’s strongest shifters, having a good cry alone in the jungle, head in hands. It was clear that Warren was an incredibly beloved leader.

Several women came up with a desperate plan to kidnap a woman from the village of Clearwater, a woman named Hannah that apparently no one liked, and toss her in the lake to become a Form, beating Warren to the punch. However, the plan was abandoned after Melody had given these women a stern talk, using words like
cruelty
, and
murder
, and
sick
.

The day after this horrible murder plot unraveled, Hugh took me out for a walk along the beach, eventually hinting that just because Warren had refused his offer, that didn’t mean that he still couldn’t do what he’d volunteered to do.

Curling my toes in the warm, comforting sand with each slow step we took, I looked over at him, wondering if he meant what I thought he did. “Do you mean that you’re thinking about going into the lake anyway, without Warren’s permission?”

Hugh just shrugged, and I came to a stop, grabbing his sleeve to stop him, too. “Hugh, please, please don’t. I don’t want Warren to make the sacrifice, but I don’t want you to, either. You’re like the nice, loving father that I never had, and I care about you. A lot. I don’t want you to turn into a Form. There’s just got to be another way... something that no one’s thought about yet. And we’ve still got some time. So, please. Promise me you won’t do this.”

He shrugged again. “All right. But I just want to let you know... all you have to do is say the word. Chief Knight’s not the only one around here who feels duty-bound to protect the ones he loves. See, some of us feel duty-bound to protect their neighbors, their chief, their wife, and the young woman they’ve grown to love like the daughter they never had.”

I was suddenly overcome by a pretty strong sniffling fit, and Hugh wiped away my tears with his thumb, something my own father had never done, then grabbed my hand and began leading me down the beach, telling me that we were only going to talk about happy things, like some children playing nearby in the shallows with their mothers, for the rest of our walk.

In contrast to Hugh, Dalton confessed to me that while his offer had been genuine, he’d been deeply relieved that Warren hadn’t taken him up on it, because he wasn’t sure if he would have been able to go through with it. I understood, and I asked him if there wasn’t any other way he could think of to stop the island wormhole from closing.

“Just,
any
other way that doesn’t involve someone having to become a Form to ‘plug’ the lake. Any other way involving science or technology, maybe, or anything else we can think of. Like, what are we missing, here? We just have to
think
... just brainstorm. Like, what if we tried to put some kind of a ‘cap’ over the lake? Maybe something made of cement, or heavy wood, or—”

“I’m so sorry, Ellie, but that just won’t work. That’s just not the way our father designed the lake. The only way to avoid the island self-destructing is to ‘plug’ the lake with another Form. That’s the only thing that can be done.”

We had a variation of this conversation at least once a day, every day. I began feeling as if my feelings of frustration and powerlessness were driving me half-insane. I developed insomnia. I couldn’t eat more than a few bites of food at a time.

I needed to see Warren. I needed to try to talk him out of his choice. I needed to do
something
. All I knew was that I needed to see him, and I needed him to look me in the eyes, something he still hadn’t done since he’d made his choice.

But, a few more days passed, and he still only responded via text:
Not yet
. So, I took matters into my own hands. I decided to do something that I was sure was underhanded and sneaky, but that I was equally sure would be effective. I decided to stay in my castle during the next quake. After each one, Warren would circle around in dragon form above the beach, checking to see if everyone was all right, and seeming to check, specifically, for me, so I knew I’d be missed if I weren’t there. I wasn’t worried about a quake bringing my castle down on my head, at least, not enough to let that stop me from attempting my plan.

So, when the quake sirens went off three days before Warren was set to go in the lake, I remained in my castle, sitting on the couch. The quake wasn’t that bad, only making my castle tremble on its foundation for mere seconds. As I’d predicted, several minutes later, Warren came charging in the front door, shouting my name.

When he saw me calmly sitting on the couch, he stopped dead in his tracks, coal-gray eyes narrowing. “So, you’re fine. It was just an immature, incredibly dangerous stunt to get me to see you.”

I nodded, gratified to see him finally looking into my eyes. “Yes.”

Jaw clenched, Warren marched over to the couch and pulled me up by the hands, and not exactly
roughly
, but gripping my small hands in his large ones in a way that could have definitely been described as
exceedingly firmly
. “How dare you.”

He’d uttered the words in a near-whisper, through gritted teeth, and in a voice that shook with what I could only guess was rage.

Shocked, because I didn’t think my little “stunt” had been that egregious, I just sputtered for a long moment before I could form words. “Well... well, most of the quakes have been pretty minor, and I just figured that—”

“How dare you make me look you in the eyes again.”

He fell silent, breathing heavily, and I noticed that his hands were trembling just slightly. When he spoke again, it was in a husky voice thick with emotion. “I was only planning to see you the morning that I left, so that I wouldn’t have to spend much time living with the pain that I knew looking into your eyes would cause. And now you’ve made me... you’ve made me...”

He suddenly pulled his hands from mine and moved them to cradle my face. And then he kissed me, and not just a peck, either, but a powerful, slow, hungry kiss that left me nearly breathless when he pulled away after at least a minute, breathless, and more than a bit turned on, that is. The sensation of him probing my lips apart with his tongue, and then the sensation of him thrusting his tongue against my own, had actually already made me slick down below, I could feel. Also, my nipples had stiffened and were now aching, as was some tight, uncomfortable spot deep within my lower belly.

Even in the midst of our strain and troubles, or maybe because of them, I wanted Warren badly, maybe even more than I’d ever wanted him before, which was saying something. And, just judging by the feel of something already long, thick, and rock-hard pressing against my front, he wanted me badly, too.

“Pick me up and take me into my bedroom, Warren. Please.”

I expected him to fight me on this, protesting that we shouldn’t spend any further time together, or at least hesitate, but he didn’t. Now kneading my well-rounded rear over my shorts with a low growl rumbling his in chiseled chest, he seemed to be possibly past the point of declining my request.

I was right. After giving me another passionate, hungry kiss, sliding his hands beneath my shorts and underwear to caress my bare rear, he scooped me up and carried me into my bedroom, planting slow kisses along the length of my throat the entire way, making me sigh. As soon as we reached the bedroom, he put me down and we practically ripped each other’s clothes off, our hands just as eager and hungry as our mouths had been but then, the pace got slower, much slower, to my agony and ecstasy at the same time.