Releasing the Dragon: Myths and Legends, Book One (17 page)

Donovan's dragon is already stirring in his
sleep. If he believes his claim on you is being threatened, he may
not be able to hold the dragon back. The animal's instincts will
demand blood. But beyond the ingrained reaction of the beast,
shapeshifters do not play by human rules. It's more of a survival
of the fittest culture. If another male touches you it could be
seen as a challenge. If the challenge is left unmet Donovan would
be seen as weak. Shapeshifters do not follow weak leaders. As the
Dragon King he must meet all challenges with brutal force and
sometimes death depending on the circumstances. Anyone who tries to
take his mate will likely have his head ripped from his body."

I was stunned by her graphic description of
shapeshifter culture. "You don't sugarcoat anything do you?"

Claire shook her head. "That's not a luxury
you can afford. We live in a violent world and you need to
understand what's at stake. Shapeshifters are territorial and
possessive but they are also fairly predictable. They are fiercely
loyal and react violently to any threat. Most shapeshifters are
predators and love to hunt. Never make yourself seem like prey. You
will be their queen. If you want their respect you must show them
strength - not physical, but inner strength. Show them you won't
flinch when push comes to shove. Give them your love and your
loyalty and they will give you theirs in return."

"What do you mean I will be their queen?" How
could I, a human, be the queen of shapeshifters?

"You are Donovan's mate," Claire replied
simply as if that cleared everything up.

"But I can't be the queen of
shapeshifters..." I insisted.

"Serafina please let me explain something to
you. I'm sure you are aware that most males of any species believe
it is their duty to carry on their family name. That is why many of
them, especially royalty, are driven to produce a male offspring,
to produce an heir. In this, shapeshifters are no different. But
beyond that we are driven to produce any child, male or female to
ensure the survival of our races. You see, contrary to what
Hollywood would have us believe, shapeshifters cannot be created.
They can only be born to mated parents.

Historically speaking only half of all
shapeshifters will be lucky enough to find their mates. The rest of
them will give up and spend their lives with what we call a life
partner. Unfortunately, life partners cannot have children. Donovan
has always believed that a man in his position, first as heir to
the throne, then later as king, should not settle for a life
partner. He believes that our people deserve to have a king and
queen who can help the race persist.

That belief was reinforced by the events that
took place during The Great War. In the beginning, the vampires
were winning simply because they outnumbered us. Every time we
thought we might get the upper hand the vampires replenished their
ranks by turning every human they encountered into one of them. Now
that we have the ability to create vampires we can increase our
numbers as needed, but it's not the same. Many of our people will
never fully trust a vampire, not even if that vampire was
handpicked and changed over by one of our own. Even Donovan was
resistant to the idea of creating vampires. Eventually he came
around when we convinced him of the necessity, but he has never
sired a vampire himself, and he only allows a select few of us to
perform the actual transformations.

Before Donovan found you he could have chosen
any woman he wanted as a life partner and named her his queen. He
never made that choice and now it is no longer an option. He is
bound to you now and nothing will change that as long as you both
live. The mark on your body outweighs any crown he could place on
another woman's head. The supernatural community will not recognize
anyone else as his queen, not even if that's what he wanted.

"They told me I would be a target just like
the First Lady, but I don't think I really understood what that
meant until now. I'm not sure I'm cut out for this," I confessed
quietly

"Trust me dear, you were born to be the
Dragon Queen and you will do just fine," Claire assured me. "And by
the way, the answer is yes."

"The answer to what?" I asked confused.

"The dragon eye on your back is tied to
Donovan and will react to emotions felt by him and his dragon. If
anything were to ever happen to him the eye would close and remain
that way until you followed him into the afterlife." Some of the
light had dimmed in her eyes and I imagined she was thinking about
the eye on her own back.

"I'd completely forgotten to ask about that,
but since you knew I was going to I'm sorry to have made you
sad."

She waved her hand. "Nonsense. Now, would you
like to join me for lunch at The Dragon's Lair? I promise to tell
you embarrassing stories of Donovan's youth." She waggled her
eyebrows making me laugh.

"How could I pass up an offer like that?" I
smiled at her and couldn't wait to hear all about a young Donovan
Drake.

She took the mugs into the back room and I
put the paper with the poem in my pocket. Once she returned we
headed out to the restaurant where we enjoyed a good meal while
talking and laughing the afternoon away.

"I'm not sure that's a sight I would want to
see if I was in your shoes." Rook commented.

We were standing near the entrance to The
Dragon's Lair watching Claire and Serafina who were sitting at a
table near the back corner. They were both laughing uncontrollably
about something Claire had been saying. Whatever they were talking
about had caused such a shift in Serafina's emotions that I decided
to come investigate. I hadn't expected to find her with my mother,
but I supposed I should have.

"How long have they been here?" I asked.

"For a couple of hours, and they've been like
this the whole time," he replied as he studied the women. "Whatever
Claire is telling her seems to be extremely funny." He was having
trouble keeping a straight face.

"I think I'll go say hello since she's in
such a cheerful mood." I started towards their table.

"You're a brave man but I think I'll pass on
this one." Rook called from behind me.

When I reached their table they both looked
up at me and burst out laughing again. Serafiina covered her mouth
with her hands trying to smother her laughter. I took a seat and
waited until she could speak. I had my suspicions about what was
going on and couldn't blame her for her reaction to me.

"I'm so sorry. Claire was just telling me a
story and it was so hilarious. I just couldn't help myself." She
seemed really embarrassed by her behavior.

"Don't worry Serafina, I'm not offended." I
assured her with an easy grin. I looked at Claire and said, "Which
story were you telling her, the one where I caught father's hair on
fire or the one where I crashed into the lake?" I reached out and
plucked a grape from Claire's plate and put it in my mouth. She
chuckled, completely unrepentant and pushed her plate towards me so
that I could finish her fruit.

"That was actually the story where you
demolished the sorcerer's home when you lost control of your dragon
in his front room. I've already told her those other stories,"
Claire replied while dabbing the corners of her eyes with her
napkin.

"Someday you'll meet my mother and I'm sure
she will embarrass me with tales of my childhood, although mine
won't be anywhere near as exciting as yours," Serafina promised,
surprising me. I hadn't expected her to consider introducing me to
her family.

"I think I will leave the two of you alone
now. I need to prepare for this evening's show. It was very nice
talking with you Serafina and I hope that we can get together again
soon," Claire said as she rose from her chair. Serafina and I both
stood and hugged my mother before she left to return to her
studio.

When we sat back down Serafina said, "Your
mother is a wonderful woman. I'm sorry we were talking about you
but I just couldn't help myself. Her stories were so interesting
and funny. I know I would be mortified if my mother did the same
thing to me."

"There's no need to apologize. I want you to
get to know me and her stories will only help me reach that goal.
Besides, there's no stopping her once she gets something into her
head. If Claire wants to tell you every embarrassing thing I have
ever done then that is what she will do. I've learned to accept the
inevitable." I continued eating the fruit as we talked and Serafina
toyed with a bracelet on her arm - one that looked all too
familiar.

"Why do you call her Claire instead of mother
or mom?"

"It helps keep me from slipping in front of
the humans. Can you imagine what the media would think if I
accidentally introduced her to someone as my mother?" I could only
shake my head. "I try very hard to stay out of the human tabloids.
If they discovered she's my mother they would be speculating on
which plastic surgeon keeps her looking so young. So I call her
Claire and she calls me Donovan - no matter how many times I've
asked her to call me Dragon. Anyway, I know she means well and
she's only trying to help. I love her for that no matter how crazy
she makes me at times."

"I think all parents make their children
crazy and my mother is no exception. But, I think having a mother
who can see the future might be a little too much for most people
to handle." Serafina was leaning forward resting her arms on the
table as she spoke. It put her much closer to me and I was glad to
see she wasn't trying to keep her distance any more.

"I've had a long time to get used to her
quirks and it's all I've ever known. I think it would be odd if she
couldn't see the future."

Serafina chuckled. "I suppose that makes
sense. I bet you couldn't get away with anything when you were
young." Her cheerful mood was infectious. I wanted to know what was
responsible for making her so happy and relaxed. It seemed like all
the tension had drained out of her.

"You seem to be doing much better today.
Would you mind if I asked what brought on the change?" I hoped I
wouldn't ruin her mood by asking.

"I don't mind at all." The thoughtful
expression on her face made me think she was remembering something
and I felt affection coming through the bond. "Your dragon is
responsible for my mood and my new attitude towards everything that
is happening in my life. He came to me last night... in my dreams.
It was incredible. He helped me feel the bond as it should be, as
it would be if I truly accepted you as my mate. I didn't really
understand until he made it all so clear. I want to do everything I
can to help him wake up. Beyond that, I want to erase the sorrow
I've felt coming from you since we said goodbye yesterday evening."
Serafina reached out to hold my hand and looked me in the eyes.
"I'm not sure where we go from here, but wherever it is, we will be
together."

I was speechless. I'd had no idea the dragon
was able to go to her last night. I'd wondered why the marks had
gained color overnight but never dreamed the dragon had anything to
do with it. If he was strong enough to go to her he should have
been strong enough to pull me in too. I pulled her hand to my lips
and kissed her gently. Without releasing her hand I said, "I'll
have to thank him when he wakes up. Maybe next time he visits your
dreams he will invite me to join him."

"I'd like that, but in the mean time we could
spend some time together in reality. Do you have any plans for this
evening?"

I checked the time on my phone. "I have a
meeting to attend in about fifteen minutes. It should take an hour
or so, but after that I'll be free for the rest of the night. Did
you have something in mind?"

"How about a quiet evening at my place? I'd
like to make dinner for you and I saw a RedBox near the cafeteria.
I could pick up a movie."

"That sounds great. What time do you want me
to come over?"

"I think six thirty will give me enough time
to have dinner ready." She let go of my hand and pushed back from
the table. I missed the contact immediately. Maybe I could just
skip the meeting... Serafina brushed her fingers along my jaw
bringing my head up to see her standing beside me. "It's only for a
little while." Her hazel eyes said she already missed me too. She
leaned down to press her soft lips against mine and then turned and
walked away.

The emotions I felt coming from her were like
echoes of my own - longing, excitement, anticipation. I had to get
a grip. So many emotions spinning around in my head could be a
dangerous distraction. I needed to be focused on business and the
upcoming wedding. With a lot of effort I pulled my thoughts away
from my beautiful mate and made my way to the conference room. One
quick meeting then I would have all night to hold Serafina in my
arms.

I was pulling the chicken out of the oven
when I heard a knock at the door. I set the baking dish on the
trivets and went to greet Dragon. It was strange knowing who I
would find on my doorstep without having to look, but with the
mating bond I had no doubt it was him. I opened the door fully
intending to invite him in but my brain went on vacation as soon as
I laid eyes on him. I just stood there drinking in the sight of
him. He was wearing dark jeans and a casual shirt that emphasized
his muscular chest and arms. I saw myself running my hands over the
defined contours of his body; I actually felt the soft material of
his shirt under my fingertips. Then I realized it was another
vision. I shook myself to clear my head and looked into Dragon's
eyes. The mischief I saw there gave him away and I knew he was
responsible for the images in my mind.