Chosen Destiny Read online

  “You didn’t do anything like that. I didn’t say ‘no’ once, did I? I wanted you as much as you wanted me.” She made no move to cover herself. She didn’t want him to think she was afraid of him in any way.

  “I didn’t give you much of a chance.” He shook his head and looked away from her.

  “You’re an idiot.” She rose to her feet and put her hands on her hips. “Who did this to you?”

  He blinked and looked a little confused. “I’m a— What do you mean?”

  “I mean that you’re an idiot. You didn’t hurt me.” She held out her hands and turned. She gritted her teeth and struggled not to scream at him. “You wouldn’t. And if I’m going to pay for what someone else did, I deserve to know what happened.”

  “There are scratches on you. I did hurt you.” He looked at her thighs.

  She looked down and saw the scrapes on her thighs. She’d had worse from thorns and bramble in the forest. He was making something out of nothing. She wanted to shake him, to make him see that there was absolutely no reason for him to feel guilty.

  “Then I hurt you the last time we had sex. I know there were scratches down your back. Maybe I should never have sex with you again.” She tossed back, waiting to get some kind of reaction.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” He took a step toward her.

  “You’re the one who’s being ridiculous. You didn’t even come close to raping me. Even at your wildest, you made sure I wanted you. You didn’t throw me down and jump on me.” She threw her hands up and began pacing. “I wanted you even before we landed. I was just angry with you and confused.”

  “I could have hurt you badly.” He looked down at his hands. “When I’m in that form, I’m so much stronger than I am now.”

  “You just don’t get it. You may be physically stronger, but the dragon’s instincts are stronger too. If he was as destructive and violent as you think, I’d be lying on the floor whimpering now.” She scowled at him.

  “You don’t know that for sure.” He looked at her.

  “Yes, I do and I know another thing. I like that wild dragon a lot more than I do the controlled man I first had sex with. The dragon’s honest and not afraid of himself.” She magically clothed herself in fresh clothing. The other shirt and pants were covered with dust and smelled of smoke and she didn’t want to get back in them until they were clean. “Now tell me who did this to you. What happened?”

  “The dragon’s all feeling and is dangerous.” He took another step closer.

  “Stop it. The dragon might make love to me until I’m ready to do nothing more than sleep, but his instinct to protect his mate would never let him hurt me. I don’t think he’d hurt any woman.” She ran a frustrated hand through her hair. By the Lady’s mercy, she wished she could make him see the truth.

  “The dragon has…”

  “If you’re going to tell me that the dragon’s hurt some woman you’d better mean more than the scrapes on my legs. What happened? Broken bones, gouges, blood everywhere?” She deliberately tossed out the worst options available. She had a feeling it wasn’t going to be anything like that.

  “No, of course no bones were broken or any gouges or blood.” He looked offended.

  “Did the dragon not stop when a woman told you no?” She raised her brows.

  “No, nothing like that,” he growled.

  “Well, you’re not telling me what happened. I can only make guesses at why you won’t let yourself really enjoy anything. If you didn’t badly hurt her or keep going when she said no, what happened? Did the woman get scared when you were making love to her and partially changed?” She turned to face him, but couldn’t stay still. When she spotted her dusty shirt on the floor, she picked it up and folded it, needing to keep her hands busy otherwise she might just try shaking him regardless of whether or not it would really work.

  His eyes narrowed. “It happened.”

  She knew then that she’d guessed right. Some witch had gotten scared and turned on him viciously. She just didn’t know how to get through to him. He wasn’t going to hurt her and she wasn’t going to walk in fear of him because some other woman had panicked.

  “I don’t know what happened. I hope you’ll tell me about it some time. I already told you that I won’t accept the little that you gave me the first time. I’m not going to run from you no matter how scary you think you are. Let that settle into your head.” She smiled tiredly at him a little depressed. If he didn’t see that she could take his lovemaking after what had just happened, she didn’t know what would do it.

  “You say that now, but…”

  “You were half man, half dragon when you came to me earlier. You growled, you barely said a word. If I was going to run, I’d be running right now.” She glared at him. Did he really think that a day or so from now she was going to get so scared of him that she couldn’t even stay in the same village with him?

  “Your doubts about yourself and your dragon, I can’t do anything about that. Your doubts about me, I can do something there.” She turned to the cave entrance.

  “What are you going to do?” Samiel asked. She heard the tension rising in his voice.

  “Prove that I’m not going anywhere. Dealing with you until you decide to trust me will probably make me want to scream, but I’ll handle it.” Meagan put her shirt on one of the couches. She was a little surprised. She actually hadn’t known what she was going to say until it had come out of her mouth. When it had, she’d known that it was right. The only way to convince him that she wasn’t afraid of him was to be with him.

  “How are you going to do that?” He walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

  “I’m going to move in here with you. You wanted it and I held back from saying yes to it.” She shrugged, but she felt far from relaxed or uninterested.

  “Is it safe to come in?” Jaeson asked from the doorway.

  Meagan turned her head and scowled at him. Did he buy into the dragon’s beliefs too? He should know better than anyone else that in any form the dragon would only protect them.

  “Of course, it’s safe. I’m just trying to get through to him. It’s going to take some time.” She glared at Samiel. The fact that she hadn’t been able to put even a doubt in his mind frustrated her.

  “He’s stubborn and doesn’t listen. Are you all right?” He strolled over and hooked an arm around her waist.

  “Of course, I’m all right. Samiel wouldn’t hurt me and you should know that.” She was tempted to drive her elbow into his ribs.

  “I knew he wouldn’t physically hurt you, but I thought that you might have been a little shocked. He doesn’t exactly offer explanations.” Jaeson smiled. “Don’t get angry.”

  “Oh, it was shocking, but I soon realized that as angry as he was, he was also focused on me. So it was kind of impossible to be really scared.” She leaned into him. She looked from Jaeson to Samiel. She felt at ease with them and she hadn’t expected that. She’d thought it would be strange to be with both of them. It was different, but she didn’t feel as awkward as she expected. There was something right about being with them.

  “Is everything settled?”

  “As settled as it’s going to be until he realizes I’m not the witch who panicked on him. But if he keeps as much control when he has sex with me as he did the first time, I might just have to do something intentionally to make the dragon come out again.” She put a hand on Samiel’s chest and met his eyes.

  “You already know about that? He didn’t tell me anything for months.” Jaeson’s voice held clear astonishment.

  “Not the details, but I learned enough.” She kept her eyes on Samiel. She expected some kind of reaction to her ultimatum.

  “No provoking the dragon. Rule number one.” Samiel raised a brow but a small smile curved his lips.

  “I want you to have fun when you’re with me. Whether I’m tied down and at your mercy or you’re making slow love to me, I want you to enjoy every moment. You barely ev
en let go of your control to come that first time. I won’t be afraid of anything you do.” She wanted to move closer to him and snuggle against him, but knew that she couldn’t soften her position.

  He had to know she was serious about this. Her temper was near the breaking point. She’d faced him at what he probably considered his worst and that hadn’t shown him she didn’t need him to control himself at all times. She wondered just what would finally show him that she wouldn’t ever run in fear and that he wouldn’t hurt her.

  “So what are you going to do? Any plan to make him see that you’ll be safe with him?” Jaeson asked.

  “I’ll be staying the night here or wherever you two are. That’s the first plan. After that, I’ll have to reconsider. I’ll stick with it for awhile.” She glanced at Jaeson. She had no idea what she’d do if it didn’t show some kind of results. She couldn’t force him to have faith in her.

  Samiel’s hand covered hers. “Give it time. We’ll come to some accord.”

  “Like you have with Jaeson. It’s not going to work with me. Maybe I’m greedy, but I want everything including laughter and play as we make love. Get used to it. I like having my way as much as you do.” She turned her hand in his loose hold.

  Samiel laughed. “You’re moving your clothes in here as well as staying here, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I should go get that as well as a few things I don’t want to leave.” She reluctantly stepped back. Even for what might be a temporary stay, there were a few small things that had belonged to her parents that she wouldn’t be leaving in the sect house.

  Chapter Eleven

  Meagan leaned a hip against the table in the witches’ council room and looked at the missive. Considering it had been delivered by one of the high witches from the coven in Dicsin, the neighboring town, she’d known before Elder Sarash had invited her to look at it that it was important. She read the letter, hardly believing what it said. They had a generator. Well, part of it. It had been part of a tool used to protect the village nearly a thousand years ago. Meagan had no idea what had happened to the other parts of the generator, why it had been broken apart or if the witches even knew where they were. That would have to be discovered later. They had to keep the Dark Sorcerer from getting it. Any part of it. After she had a moment to think, she started to wonder why the witches hadn’t contacted the dragons and vampires helping to defend Dicsin. Then again, they’d been isolated for a while and probably wouldn’t trust outsiders.

  “We can’t just move it and hide it. It has to be hidden and it’s obvious someone knows about it,” Elder Sarash said. “We have to make sure no one can get to it. Do you understand? Then we have to get the other pieces.”

  “I understand.” Meagan nodded.

  No one from the coven could know where the piece of the generator was put. And finding those other pieces was a priority. First, she’d need help. She hadn’t been outside this area in years. Well, aside from claiming the blades. Having that generator in the area was too much of a risk. She didn’t have the first idea where to hide it or where it would be safe. The only people she knew of who would know that were the dragons and vampires.

  “I’ll do this immediately. The Dark Sorcerer seems to want this very badly. When I get back, we need to discuss how to get this coven’s piece and find the other pieces before they fall into the wrong hands.” Meagan put the parchment back onto the table and straightened.

  Elder Sarash held the missive up between two fingers. A moment later it burst into blue flames. She let it fall. The flame consumed the missive before it reached the table. Not even a fine ash remained of the paper.

  Meagan turned and left the room. Now she had to find some dragons and vampires and go to get that piece of the generator. She’d need more than Samiel and Jaeson. If the Dark Sorcerer had somehow learned of its possible move then just getting to the sect house might not be easy. She just hoped the Dicsin sect been as careful as it seemed. Even if they had, a group of dragons and vampires arriving in the village would draw attention. If she was more certain of the precautions she’d go alone, but losing that generator wasn’t a chance she was willing to take.

  She left the coven house and looked up and down the street. She sighed. It figured. Just when she really needed to find a dragon or vampire, not one was anywhere in sight. She began walking looking for them. She was really hoping to see Samiel or Jaeson, but any dragon or vampire would do. They’d planned on checking the walls again. They were concerned about the village’s defenses. She didn’t see any near the wall at first, but she climbed the steps to the walk along its length. She saw a dragon in human form walking outside the wall apparently making sure it was intact. The green streak in his black hair made it easy to identify him. Not wanting to yell her request, she formed a tunnel and came out in front of the man. She took two quick steps forward as the momentum of the tunnel carried her.

  “You really shouldn’t be outside the wall. Samiel won’t like it.” The dragon’s head tilted and he frowned at her. His dark brown eyes questioned her.

  It took her a moment to remember his name from the brief introductions that had been made during the battle. Maxim. His name was Maxim. The green crystal dangling from his ear caught the light as he studied her.

  “Being outside the town’s wall isn’t going to hurt me and Samiel should know it.” She shook her head. Lecturing this man wasn’t going to make any difference. She needed to get this discussion under control. “I need to find him or Jaeson. Do you know where they are or how to contact one of them?”

  “I can get Samiel here. It’s important?” Maxim asked.

  “Very important.” She tapped her foot. She could already be at the village and getting the generator piece, but she knew this had to be done with care.

  “All right. You might want to cover your ears.” He gave her a very serious look and then stepped away from her.

  She put her hands up to her ears not quite sure if he was playing a joke at her expense or not. She knew how loud a dragon could be so she wasn’t going to take any chances. Maxim’s head tipped back and a booming roar came out. Even with her hands covering her ears, the sound seemed to echo and bounce around her head. She felt the sound all through her body. When he finally stopped, she pulled her hands away from her ears. Her ears rang and her head pounded. She waited a moment until the worst of it had passed. Lady, her hands hadn’t helped. She should have used a spell and moved to the opposite end of the wall before Maxim called.

  “Is that supposed to be Samiel’s name in dragon?” she asked, hoping that she wasn’t speaking too loudly. Everything sounded as if it was muffled by something. She just hoped her hearing eventually returned to normal.

  “Yes, that’s a call specifically for Samiel.” Maxim turned to look at her. “He should be here shortly. He was supposed to be somewhere in the village. Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  “Other than wondering if my hearing will ever be the same, not really. I just need some help with something. If it was possible I’d try to handle this myself, but there’s too much at stake.” She shrugged. That was as much as she was going to say about it here. Someone could be listening.

  Arms came around her and pulled her back against a hard body. She looked down and saw the rich, golden brown skin. She relaxed. Samiel. She knew it wasn’t Jaeson, his skin was lighter.

  “What did you need?” Samiel asked.

  “How do you know I need something?” Meagan asked.

  “Maxim wouldn’t have called me if you just wanted to talk and you don’t look as if you’re in trouble.” Samiel’s teeth grazed the shell of her ear.

  His tongue played with the four studs along the upper curve of her ear. She had a feeling that he liked the jewelry there. Maybe later she’d put in a few of her hoops and give him something a little different to appreciate.

  “We need to talk privately and then you’re going to have to talk with your friends.” She took a deep breath. With each moment that passed she be
came a little more nervous.

  “All right.” He lifted her off her feet. She saw a tunnel open up in front of them just before he stepped forward. The feel of movement and momentum was less than it usually felt, but it was there.

  The gate opened and she saw a bed in front of them. She recognized the blankets and realized he’d brought them to the lair. He released her, but took her hand and led her over to the couch.

  “What did you want to talk about?” Samiel asked, tugging her down onto the couch.

  “We’re going to have to go to Dicsin. The coven’s become the target of the attack and we need to remove the reason before the Dark Sorcerer gets any closer,” Meagan said.

  “Gets closer to what? We’ll go. I need more information before we go. I’m not going to go into the situation blind.” Samiel put his hand on her leg, squeezing gently.

  “The coven in Dicsin has part of an old generator. The Dark Sorcerer wants it. It needs to be moved and hidden again. Since the Dark Sorcerer knows of it, someone in their coven told of it.” She met his eyes.

  “What did the generator do?” He straightened, his attention suddenly focused completely on the matter.

  “I only know the legend. It’s the only story of a generator I know so I think it’s part of that generator. It was created by the witches of three covens in these mountains. It created a giant shield around the three cities hundreds of years ago before the Kings.” She bit her lip.

  “There are only two cities now,” Samiel prodded.

  “The other town fell just after the first Kings began their reign.” She’d seen the ruins on the mountain as she’d traveled during her duties, but she’d never had time to explore.

  “You said there was only one piece of a generator. Where are the other parts?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t even know how many pieces they broke it into or why they felt they needed to do it. First, we have to get that piece and move it to somewhere it can’t be found.”

  “You’re right. We don’t want a Dark Sorcerer getting his hands on it.” Samiel nodded. “We’ll go back to town and I’ll gather up a few more dragons as well as Jaeson. Then we’ll all go get it.”