Fury of Affliction (Dragonfury 2.0)

Chapter 1

1

MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA—IN A SMALL HOUSE BY THE BAY

H e’d told her to stay away.

Said it flat out. Tone firm. Gaze steady. Expression set. The warning clear in the line of his body as he made her promise to run far. To run fast. And never return.

His rejection had been a tough pill to swallow.

She hadn’t wanted to leave then. But this was now. And given the seriousness of her situation, Natalie Kristiansen knew doing what he asked wasn’t feasible anymore. The longer she stayed away, the worse things got. Which meant she needed to be brave and follow her heart. One more time. No matter how much his reaction to her return cost her in the end.

Picking up the duffle bag at her feet, she glanced toward the bank of windows. Tall panels. Framed in black. An uninterrupted stretch of glass that showcased a world class view.

She paused to enjoy it for the last time. West coast currents churned under sunlit water. Rolling waves curled into whitecaps, frothing at the tips near the shoreline. An ache tightened her chest. The ocean understood up and downs, all the peaks and valleys life threw at a person. As she watched the rise and fall, it seemed to her, dark waters mirrored her heartache. Every bit of pain and uncertainty. All her worries as she stood still and silent, struggling to understand the depths of it herself.

Clutching the house keys in her hand, she dragged her gaze from the Pacific and turned to leave. The quick pivot made her dizzy. Nausea kicked up, throwing bile into the back of her throat. A horrible taste surfed into her mouth. She stopped, fighting the need to throw up, and reached out to steady herself.

Keys jangled as her hand landed on the kitchen island. Cooled by the hum of a powerful air conditioner, the quartz countertop slid across her palm. The solid surface helped her breathe through the upheaval. Inhale through her nose. Exhale out her mouth. Wait for the spinning to stop. A circuit she navigated daily in recent weeks.

The topsy-turvy settled.

Her equilibrium returned.

Relieved by the quick rebound, she left the keys where they landed for her landlord, swung the bag over her shoulder, and moved down the narrow corridor to the front door. A quiet click, a sharp tug, and the weathered wooden panel swung wide, releasing her into open air.

The smell of saltwater hit her first.

Warm afternoon sun stroked over her next, chasing away the chill, as she stopped on the landing and looked out over the gravel drive. Toward her truck. Toward escape. Toward what she hoped would be the rest of a very long life.

Something that was never guaranteed.

Something she believed Hamersveld had the power to make happen.

Breaking her word to him didn’t come easy. She understood the danger—the threat her reappearance in his life represented—but refused to turn away. Dire circumstances dictated the path. She needed him now. Was in the worse sort of trouble. The kind instinct warned she wouldn’t survive without him by her side. Staying away, living her life without him in a small house overlooking the Bay of Monterey, was no longer an option. The only one available to her now involved finding and convincing him before she ran out of time.

A death-grip on the railing, she adjusted the duffle bag strap on her shoulder, and feet tapping on wooden treads, made her way down a steep set of stairs. Carefully. Slowly. Terrified of taking a tumble and splitting her skull open on the flagstone path below. A distinct possibility given her shaky state. To be expected, she guessed, given she carried?—

Her phone rang.

Halfway across the driveway, she tugged the iPhone from her back pocket. Flipping it upright, she glanced at the locked screen. Dread rose hard. Her stomach clenched as she went nine rounds with unease, flipping through a deck called Worse Case Scenarios. She debated a moment. Ignore the call? Let it go to voicemail or answer it?

The ringtone trilled again.

Blowing out a long breath, she settled her emotions and tapped go.

“Hello?”

“Natalie?”

“Hey, Doc.”

“Ah, hey,” Dr. Angles said, a note of hesitancy in the voice. OB-GYN to the rich and famous, the doctor had a reputation around town. She was the best of the best. Competent. Professional. Personable while bringing excellence to her work. Natalie liked Dr. Angles the instant she met her. “Just checking in to see how you’re feeling.”

“Pretty crappy.”

“I need you to come in.”

Natalie frowned. “To the clinic?”

“Community Hospital off Highway 68. I want to run more tests.”

“Why?” Stupid question given she’d had blood work done two days ago. Her levels must be off. Irregular. Off baseline. Or something. Made sense given the way she felt—and what intuition kept telling her. “How bad is it?”

Silence came over the line, then…

“I’d like you to come in. How soon can you get here?”

All right, then. No need to sugarcoat it.

Whatever was in her bloodwork landed north of bad. Really, really bad. Which meant she didn’t have time to spend in a hospital. Human medicine wouldn’t help. As good as she was, Dr. Angles, and her tests, wouldn’t save her. She needed Hamersveld—his touch, his time, his bio-energy—to sustain her through the coming months. To stop her slow slide into a nasty decline. She’d delayed long enough, wanting to be sure before she broke her promise, rolled back into Seattle, and disrupted his life.

“Natalie?”

“Give me an hour,” she said, lying through her teeth to get off the line and on the road. “Where am I meeting you?”

“The ER. Give the nurse at reception your name. She’ll bring you to me right away.”

“Okay.”

“And Natalie?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered. Everything’s going to be all right.”

“Thanks, Dr. Angles.”

“See you in a bit.”

Bleeping the locks on her F-150, Natalie popped the door open and swung inside. What she didn’t do was answer. She’d already lied to Dr. Angles once. No need to compound the issue and do it again. So instead, she signed off by saying a heartfelt “goodbye”, then fired up her truck and pointed it north. Toward Seattle. Toward the man-dragon who’d wanted her once, but might not anymore. Weeks had passed without contact. Doubt had crept in, eroding her confidence, making her question every moment she spent with him.

Would he be happy to see her again? Or annoyed?

Would he want their child? Or ask her to?—

Natalie shook her head to shake the horrible thought loose. No. No way. She refused to entertain the possibility. A smart decision given she couldn’t go back and change it. Didn’t want to either, so…

Onward.

Into the fray.

Barreling straight into the jaws of uncertainty. Hearing the miles fall away beneath the hum of oversized tires. Closing the distance between her and Hamersveld, regardless of the fact he’d warned her to never come back.