Searching for Thanksgiving (Dragonlings of Valdier)

Chapter 18

18

T he sound of the woman’s snort of laughter struck Devon harder than any warrior’s blade… or his late father’s claws. He studied the woman with a growing sense of panic. His symbiot should never have brought her here. The act had doomed them all… especially her if he wasn’t careful.

The thought made his stomach clench with dismay. He muttered a silent curse at his symbiot and dragon. How could this happen? He had avoided all contact with others for years.

She’s… beautiful.

He warily watched as she slowly entered the safe haven he had taken refuge in less than a week ago. He originally believed it had been the solitude and isolation of the area that had drawn him here. Now he suspected it was something stronger, deeper, more… primitive.

“You are hurt,” he said, his voice rough, deep, and raw from disuse.

She paused. Her features were highlighted by the flickering torches he had placed around the cave. The torches were the only light he permitted himself, besides that of the moons and stars. He lived in the shadows, a ghost among the inhabitants of his world. If it had been safe for him, he would have left this planet long ago, but there was no safe place for him.

The moment his dragon caught her scent, he knew. His dragon had already sensed his true mate when he saw how protective his symbiot was, but when he breathed in her scent, and she touched his dragon… there was no turning back. He knew any resistance to accepting her would be futile.

Now, studying her in the firelight, he felt his chest constrict and acknowledged his own instant attraction to her as a man. Her hair was a layer of colors from dark brown to copper, and her features were delicate. Despite his resolve to try to ignore her, he couldn’t help but take in every detail of her slender body enveloped in an oversize woolen coat that had the faint scent of another male. A low grumble of displeasure slipped from him and he took a step in her direction.

She didn’t retreat, but he also didn’t miss the way her hand tightened on the strap to the pack she was carrying or the walking stick she clutched in a white-knuckled grip. His eyes flickered to the dark shape of his symbiot when it stepped in front of her. She unconsciously lowered her hand to stroke it.

Intense emotion swept through him and he realized it was a combination from himself, his symbiot, and the woman. He clenched his fists and forced himself to keep his distance.

“What… why are you here?” he forced out.

She lifted an eyebrow at him and returned his intense stare with a cautious, if curious, one of her own. Her lips curved at the corner, forming a rueful smile that surprised him. She was different. She wasn’t from Valdier, but was one of the others… a woman from the unknown world. His father had been furious when Zoran Reykill returned with a woman who not only accepted, but could bond with their species.

The memories of his father’s cruelty caused his expression to twist with anger. The movement pulled on the four long, jagged scars too deep for his tortured symbiot to heal.

His eyes flickered to his symbiot. The creature attached to his essence had been searching for food for him. Instead, it had brought back his true mate.

Shock and confusion swept through him when he noticed the streaks of gold appearing and fading along the coat of his symbiot. He was so focused on the stunning sight that he missed her response. Ripping his focus away from the faint glow of gold, he stared back at her as if in a fog.

“Your… symbiot. I thought you were hurt. Obviously, I was mistaken so I’ll just… go,” she stated.

“No!” he growled when she started to turn away.

He winced when his voice ricocheted off the walls of the cave. His symbiot shook its head at him, rubbed against the woman, before trotting over to lay by the fire. He fisted his hands again and breathed deeply to calm the raging fire that flared at the idea of her leaving as suddenly as she had appeared.

“Do you mind if I sit down? It was a long trek here and… well—” She motioned to her left leg.

“Yes, sit… please,” he stiffly added.

She gripped the hiking stick in her hand and limped over to the fire. She looked around at the different rocks and the long log. The wary, resigned expression on her face told him that she was less than impressed with the seating accommodations.

Form a chair for her, he ordered.

His symbiot flowed into a comfortable chair. He decided he liked the way her lips curved into a sexy, slight smile. They were a pale pink that made him wonder if they would darken if he?—

“Please sit,” he gruffly requested.

He took a seat across from her. It was probably better to keep the fire between them if his thoughts from a few seconds ago were anything to go by. He rubbed his hands along his trousers.

“My name is Crystal… Crystal Anderson,” she said.

He nodded. “You are not from this planet.”

“Is it that obvious?” she dryly replied.

He followed her movements, documenting everything she did as if she were water, and he was a dying man wishing he could drink from her spring. She propped her hiking stick against the rock next to her, removed her bag, and tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear. He frowned when she reached down with both hands and adjusted her lower left leg.

“You are hurt?” he asked.

She gave him a sharp look and shook her head. “No. I lost the lower half of my leg in an accident ten years ago.”

“You shouldn’t have walked here,” he said.

She glared back at him. “And you shouldn’t tell me what I can and can’t do.”

Her terse response took him by surprise. An unexpected bubble of laughter escaped him. The sound was raw, uneven, and completely unexpected. Her lips twitched, and she gave him a rueful, apologetic shrug.

“I’m sorry—” he began.

“That was rude,” she said at the same time. She straightened and rubbed her hands together. “I get a little edgy when people try to tell me what to do.”

Her confession struck him hard. She had people who loved and cared about her. He thought of the only person in his life who had once felt that way about him. It had been so long ago, he was surprised that the memory was so clear.

“They care about you.”

She nodded and lowered her hand to massage her thigh muscle. “Yeah, I know. It’s just sometimes it gets claustrophobic with everyone always trying to take care of me. You never told me your name. Is it some big secret?”

“Devon.”

She waited a second for him to continue. When he didn’t she grunted out something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Okay, just Devon’. Once again, an unexpected humor struck him.

“You never answered my question. Why are you here?” he asked.

She patted the symbiot she was sitting on. “You can thank your friend here. He’s been like a bug up my butt the last few weeks, following me around. I guess today he had enough and invited himself into my home.”

She wasn’t telling him everything. He connected with his symbiot. He silently grimaced when his symbiot shared its visit.

“I don’t need your pity or your help.”

He rose from his seat and paced back and forth in front of the fire. He needed to send her away. He paused and glanced at her. She was watching him.

It was dark outside. He couldn’t send her away in the dark. He would have his symbiot take her. Both his dragon and his symbiot bulked at sending her away.

She isn’t safe here.

We no send her away! his dragon mutinously growled.

Have you forgotten who… and what we are?

We no like him.

We are very much like him. She is human. She is bound to be here by decree of the royal family. If they know that we exist, we will be immediately terminated.

We no send our mate away.

“Is this a private conversation or can I join in?” she asked.

He stopped and glared across the fire at her. “I don’t know what you mean.”

She scoffed and patted the symbiot. “I hate to tell you this, but I’m connected to the party line here.”

It took a second for him to understand what she was saying. When he did, he could feel the heat rise in his cheeks. It didn’t help that his dragon and symbiot were enjoying his discomfort.

“Where do you live?”

She waved a hand toward the entrance of the cave. “About four miles that away. Christoff fixed up an old hut on the edge of his property.”

“The old hunter’s hut? It is in the middle of nowhere! How could he leave you unprotected? You are—” he demanded, waving a hand toward her leg.

Her eyes flashed with fire. She grabbed her hiking pole and rose stiffly to her feet. He knew immediately that he had said the wrong thing. The ice in her eyes was enough to chill him to the bone.

“I’ll repeat your earlier words. I don’t need your help or your pity,” she retorted.

He grappled with what to say or do next when she bent and picked up her bag. She shrugged the straps over her shoulders and turned. He rounded the fire and stepped into her path when she took a step.

“Get out of my way,” she gritted out.

“You can’t leave. It is… it is dark. You will get lost.”

He almost blanched at the desperation in his voice. He had to stop her. Fear that she might get hurt was part of the problem. Fear that he would never see her again was an even larger part.

“I’ll take my chances.”

“I’m sorry. Please… sit,” he said.

“No thanks. I need to get home.”

Devon jerked and reached for her. He didn’t know who was more surprised, him or her, at the sudden movement. He silently fought with his dragon who was trying to gain control over him. Silver scales rippled up his arms, torso, neck, and cheeks as his dragon tried to emerge.

Mark her, his dragon growled.

“I’m not going to mark her,” he gritted out.

“Mark…”

Pain exploded through him a second later when she brought the hiking pole in her hand up between his legs. Stars danced in front of his eyes. He slowly sank down to his knees in front of her as she awkwardly stepped around him.

“You can keep your… your marks and your… whatever. I swear guys are all the same no matter what planet you go to,” she snapped.

Devon held his breath, hoping the pain would fade… or he would just die. He wasn’t going to be picky at the moment. Even his dragon took the hint and retreated back to the quiet spot inside him. His symbiot came up to rub against him but he shook his head.

“Go after her. Keep her…” He breathed deeply. “Keep her safe until I can get there.”

He leaned forward and rested his forehead on his arms. His moan of pain turned to a chuckle. His mate had a bit of a temper.

And she knows how to wield it, he thought, pushing off the ground.