Dagon's Ride [Brac Pack 19] (2 page)

“What happened?” he asked as he scooted further back. He wasn’t gay, no matter what Josh was convinced of. But there was something about Dagon that drew him like a moth to a flame, or a psychotic man to meds. Yeah, that fit better because he was crazy for feeling this way.

“When you, Josh, and Melonee were taken, Melonee’s scent clung to you. That was a vampire down there, lured to that very smell.

Vampires are drawn to the elven scent.”

“O h great, I’m a magnet for vampires now. I knew Melonee was trouble the moment she opened her mouth.” Taylor crawled over toward the ladder. He had to get out of here. He liked the idea of men changing into wolves—when Josh first told him he thought it was the coolest thing—but vampires were a whole different kettle of fish.

They drank blood, something that made Taylor shiver with the grotesqueness of it.

“Slow down, Taylor.” Dagon quickly came after him.

Taylor didn’t want to stop. Besides the fact that he wanted to run for the hills because of his mom and vampires, Dagon confused the hell out of him.

He didn’t know what to do with the feelings he had for the man.

Any time he was near, Taylor’s bells and whistles went off and his head swirled with thoughts he knew he shouldn’t be having.

Even though he worshipped his brother Josh, being gay was wrong. It was drilled into his head by his mom and was stuck there now. He felt dirty for feeling this way, feeling like he wanted to crawl in Dagon’s lap and purr, just wrong.

“It’s not safe for you to be on your own. There may be more than one, and I’m not willing to chance that.” Taylor stopped dead in his tracks at those chilling words. He sat at the edge of the loft instead, swinging his legs and wondering why
12

Lynn Hagen

Dagon’s voice pulled at him. His breath caught when the big biker man sat down next to him. The urges were conflicting with who he thought he was, with what he was taught by his mom. Her voice was a constant in his head, telling him he was an abomination for wanting Dagon.

No, he didn’t want him. Yes, he did.
Hell!
Taylor didn’t know what to think.

“Why did you leave home this time?”

“I couldn’t take my mom talking about Josh like that. It isn’t right.” Taylor would never tell anyone that he worshipped his older brother, but it made him mad as hell when someone talked about him or made fun of Josh.

He had heard it in school, how Josh’s butt was too big or how he acted like a girl. He got into many fights defending his brother, and would do it again in a heartbeat. All this gayness and man-love confused the hell out of him, but Josh was in a class all of his own.

Taylor never looked at him that way. He was just…Josh.

“You have to tune it out. I know that doesn’t sound right, but having you wandering around isn’t safe. I worry about you. It would hurt my heart if something happened to you.” Dagon picked up a piece of hay, rolling it around between his fingers. Taylor was shocked at his confession.

Why would someone as big in stature, seeming to need no one, worry about him? It didn’t make any sense to him. Now Taylor had something else confusing to think about.

“I don’t want to be there,” he confessed in a childlike voice, hating the fact that he sounded that way. He was a grown man and needed to sound like one.

“Then I’m sorry, but you have to go back.” The words tore at him, even though he knew them to be true. “I’ll only leave again.”

“No,
cachorro
. Now someone will be in the shadows guarding your house twenty- four-seven.”

Dagon’s Ride

13

“What?” Taylor jumped up, glaring down at Dagon. “That isn’t fair. You have no idea what it’s like to live with her. Try it. I bet after a few hours you’ll think cyanide poisoning is a better alternative.” He paced back and forth with anger.

“I don’t want to send you there. I’d rather have you with me so that I can protect you better, but we have no choice for the next few days.”

“She doesn’t have to know where I am. Josh could hide me.” Hope sparked in him.

Dagon shook his head, and Taylor knew he was going to lose this argument. That little spark flickered and then died. “That wouldn’t be fair to your mom. No matter how she is, not knowing where your child is, that is a parent’s worst nightmare. I won’t do that to her.”

“Fine, side with her.” Taylor turned around and climbed down the ladder, dropped to his feet, and walked away, ready to get the hell out of here.

He took a step back when Dagon’s brother walked through the barn door. Tryck made him leery. The guy didn’t have kind eyes like Dagon did. His were mistrustful. He watched Taylor walk by, no smile or greeting.

He could hear Dagon climbing down the ladder and catching up with him. “Taylor, I told you it wasn’t safe,” Dagon said as he caught Taylor by the arm and spun him around.

“I’d rather deal with vampires than my mom. What does that tell you?” He yanked his arm away, walking over to Dagon’s bike. Okay, riding on the man’s motorcycle was one thing he
did
like. It was fun as hell. A small part of him laughed with giddiness at the thought of getting to ride it again.

“Will you talk to me?”

Taylor shoved his hands in his front pockets, kicking at the dirt.

“About what?”

“Not running off any more, about keeping yourself safe. Promise me you won’t try to run again.”

14

Lynn Hagen

“I can’t. If she starts her stuff, I’m outta there.” Taylor watched as Dagon reached into the inside of his leather, pulling out a cell phone.

“I bought a brand new one for you and programmed in everyone in the Den’s phone number. If she starts in on you or talking about Josh, go to your room and call me, or anyone else. Just don’t leave the house.” Dagon held the shiny black phone out to him.

Taylor took it. He didn’t want Dagon to see how excited he was at having his very own. Dagon had tried to give him his own phone before coming back here, but at the time Taylor was too pissed off to take it.

This one was
his
though.
Cool
. It seemed trivial with everything going on, but Taylor wanted to play with it and see what all it had and could do. Maybe he could finally get on the internet. They didn’t even have that in his stinking house.

“Come on. Let’s get you home before you’re discovered missing.”

“She called a reverend over to make sure Josh didn’t rub off on me,” Taylor said to the phone, unable to look up at the gorgeous man.

His thumb slid over the sleek casing, embarrassed at his mom’s actions. Why couldn’t he have a normal mom that baked cookies and drove them around to soccer practice when they were younger instead of what they had to deal with?

“Man, that’s harsh. Just keep in mind that you have only a few days more of this, and then you can come live at the Den.” That was the only thing keeping Taylor sane at the moment, knowing he could live with Josh again soon and be around Dagon.

Whatever these mixed-up feelings were, he knew being around this man excited him. The guy was fascinating to him and made him feel safe. Taylor didn’t know what to think anymore.

He shrugged, playing it off. “I guess.”

“Come on,
cachorro
, let’s get you home.” Taylor climbed onto the back of Dagon’s bike, watching Tryck get onto his. They rode down the dirt road, Taylor bouncing on the back of the bike. This was so much fun. He wanted Dagon to take him
Dagon’s Ride

15

on a long trip just so he could spend more time on the back of it. He felt a sense of freedom like no other when Dagon rode him around.

All too soon, they were back at his mom’s. He would never refer to it as home. It didn’t feel like a home should. He climbed off of Dagon’s bike, wondering where the warden was.

“Go upstairs to your room. I’ll take first watch.” Dagon smiled at him, and Taylor’s insides became all knotted up. Maybe it was just some kind of hero worship? The guy seemed to be everything he would want to be. Or it could be idolizing. He wasn’t sure what it was, but the man stayed on his mind constantly since meeting him.

Taylor climbed in the sunroom roof, not wanting to explain to the warden why he was coming through the front door when he was supposed to be in his room, that and the fact he didn’t want to be un-demon-ized. He climbed back through his window, noticing his bedroom door open. So she had come to take him downstairs, not happening. He closed and locked it, and then he sprawled across his bed.

Taylor thought about Dagon being outside and watching his room.

Why did that thrill him? He played with his new phone, debating on whether he should call his guard or not. Pulling the chair from his desk, Taylor set it by the open window and then kicked his feet up on the sill, staring into the night and trying to spot Dagon.

He jumped when his phone rang. Taylor hurriedly hit the send button before his mom heard it. “Hello?”

“Are you okay?”

Taylor looked out over the backyard but couldn’t see the man.

“No, I don’t want to be here.”

“I know.”

Taylor pulled at the hole in the knee of his jeans, thinking that, since Dagon wasn’t standing right in front of him, maybe he could ask some of the questions that were plaguing him.

“Dagon?”

“I’m listening.”

16

Lynn Hagen

Taylor’s palms became moist at the low and rough voice. “Why is it every time I’m around you I feel…funny?”

“It’s called a pull,
cachorro
.”

“Pull?”

Dagon sighed deeply into the phone. “I’d rather tell you this in person.”

“I’m a chicken in person.” Taylor laughed.

“Really?” Dagon chuckled softly. “You don’t seem the type.” Taylor shrugged, forgetting Dagon couldn’t see him, or maybe he could. “What’s the pull?”

“Fate seems to think you and I would be compatible.”

“Like a gay couple?” Taylor squeaked.

“Or a team.” He offered an alternative that Taylor was more comfortable with at the moment. He was still trying to work all of this out in his head. The word
team
was better in his opinion.

They sat there on the phone for a while, not saying anything, lost in their own thoughts. Taylor noticed how comfortable the silence was. He didn’t feel any pressure to say anything. But a question did pop into his head. “Dagon?”

“Yes,
cachorro
?”

“Did fate say why?”

Dagon chuckled softly again. “No, but the pull is what tells us that fate has paired us together.”

“O h.”

“Do not be frightened of it. I will give you time to adjust to it, to get used to the idea. Don’t think that you only have a few days. Take all the time that you need.”

“Thank you.” It
had
felt like he was under a countdown. Taylor relaxed knowing Dagon was willing to wait. The idea of being with him didn’t repulse him. That was the most confusing thought of all.

Josh’s gayness is rubbing off on you. I told you it would.
Taylor shuddered at his mom’s voice in his head. Why couldn’t he rid his mind of her mental criticism? He could probably sort his feelings out
Dagon’s Ride

17

a little better without her lectures constantly running through his mind every time he thought of Dagon.

“I’m not difficult. I know what it’s like to be confused, to not know who you are. I’ve been there, questioned and examined it, unsure and sure at the same time.”

It stunned Taylor that someone as fierce- looking as Dagon questioned himself. It made talking to him easier, made the wolf seem reachable. He once again tried to pinpoint Dagon’s location but only saw shadows in the yard. The wolf was good.

“I just don’t know what to think right now.”

“Life is sometimes confusing. The forks in the road aren’t always clear. Take your time,
cachorro
.”

“Thank you.” Once again they fell silent, the phone placed at his ear as Taylor thought of a hundred things and nothing at all. He closed his eyes when a warm summer breeze blew through his window. He wished he was riding on the back of Dagon’s bike instead of being stuck in his old room.

“Can we go for a ride?”

“I see you like my bike.” Dagon laughed. “We will have time for that as well.”

“’Kay.”

Silence.

Taylor was really beginning to like the guy. He wasn’t hard to get along with. Dagon was even willing to give Taylor the time he needed, and he was kind of nice- looking.

For a man.

Taylor didn’t think it was only this
pull
that attracted him to the biker man. Dagon had a sense about him that made Taylor want to know him better, be around him all the time. He began to wonder if he really was gay and denying it because of his mom.

He felt himself nodding but couldn’t bring himself to hang up. He liked Dagon’s deep, accented voice. It was soothing. “How old are you?”

18

Lynn Hagen

“Two hundred and ten.”

“Holy crap!” He sat up a little with the revelation.

Dagon snorted. “I’m young compared to some of the others.

Maverick is almost four hundred.”

Taylor’s head was spinning. A wide grin spread across his face.

“Did you used to shoot it out in the O ld West?”

“At sundown.”

Taylor liked that. He closed his eyes once again, cradling the phone between his shoulder and his ear, listening to Dagon talk about what he had experienced over that last two centuries, his mate’s voice lulling him to sleep.

His last thought, before he dozed, was that he had thought of Dagon as his mate. Maybe he could get used to it after all.

* * * *

Taylor woke with a start, a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Melonee standing next to him with a smile on her face. She placed her index finger over his lips, indicating for him to be quiet.

He grabbed the cell phone that was stuck to his face from the summer’s humidity, seeing that the battery had died. Shoving it into his pocket, he stood, shimmering out with the little elf girl’s help.