Touch of Power - Jasmine B. Waters

Touch of Power Into the Darkness Book 1 Jasmine B. Waters The dark, little bar was no more than a hole in the wall. Every surface had a vaguely sticky quality, though the bartender stood at the well rubbing at it with a stained rag. Apparently just pushing the dirt and grime around in a circle, rather than cleaning it. Blake could feel his lip curling in disgust as he neared the grubby human. “Double whiskey, whatever single malt you have, on the rocks,” he sighed as his eyes flicked around the room. He was on edge, and couldn’t quite place it. His friend didn’t seem bothered by the dingy surroundings even in the slightest. His eyes slid skeptically to meet Riley’s with a slight raise of his eyebrows. Being out-and-about among the humans was not Blake’s idea of a good time. They were all so soft, and, frankly, just overwhelmed him with their general level of noise and filth. It was rare that his and Riley’s interactions with them didn’t find them in similarly dreadful conditions, and the women! They were the worst. They seemed to just ooze desperation at times, and, for some reason, would think it was okay to touch him. His

arms, the occasional smack on his rear, or worse his hair. Blake could never understand what made them think that was acceptable. He and Riley were friends and, ultimately, brothers in every sense of the word, except for being bound by blood. Blake’s parents had died at an early age, and it was Riley’s family that took him in, raising the brash, sullen, young dragon as their own. Blake and Riley were opposites, though, in every way. “This can’t be right,” Blake insisted as he gestured around the room, “There’s no way this is where we were supposed to meet them.” He raised an eyebrow as if challenging Riley to disagree. Riley laughed, shrugging his friend’s concern off as he leaned carelessly against the bar, seemingly unbothered by the sticky surface. He held up two fingers to the bartender pouring Blake’s drink. “This is the place,” Riley said with a nod before turning to face him, “She said to meet her at the Dry Goat Pub, unless you think there is more than one establishment by that name around here?” The bartender slid the two drinks towards the men, eyes narrowed. They stood out in the crowd, if you could call the small smattering of people a crowd. Blake passed him some cash and turned to walk away. There were three men in the corner staring balefully at some sort of sports game. Another, who looked like he was asleep or dead on the end of the bar, and

one small man sitting alone at a table in the back. Among the rather sad middle-aged humans, the two young men towered over the room, each nearly brushing the low ceilings with the top of their heads. Even with their understated tee-shirts and jeans, they looked more like models or body builders, than the normal patrons of the Dry Goat. The bartender seemed none-too-thrilled at the change in clientele and continued to eye the two suspiciously as they crossed the room. He seemed content enough to take their money, though, and went back to rubbing his spot on the bar without question, other than his continued staring, which grew increasingly awkward the longer it continued. “Bloody wolves,” Blake grumbled as he folded his long frame down to fit in a chair at a table, kicking his legs out to the side as they were just too long to comfortably fit under the table, “I don’t understand why we’re even doing this. Why can’t they solve their own problems?” He was sullen, sulking, and clearly annoyed at the whole prospect of having to work with another species for any reason. Blake could feel his dragon writhing beneath the surface, irritated at being suppressed and forced into such mundane surroundings. He longed for the outdoors and an escape from the claustrophobic atmosphere of the dank, little bar. A ripple of frustration furled through him, his eyes flashing a dangerous red for a moment.

“Hey, I don’t make the calls, I just follow orders, man,” Riley said after knocking back his drink. “Drink. Chill out. All we have to do is meet up with the wolves, complete the bodyguard gig for the night and we’re done. And we’re escorting young girls to a night club, how bad can that be? We sacrifice one night, and Selene gets what she wants from the wolves. Besides, girls. How bad can it be?” His bright grey eyes flicked to the door where two women entered. Riley would never understand why Blake was so vehemently against just letting things happen. Blake was wound tighter than anyone Riley had ever met, and didn’t even understand the concept of “go with the flow.” He was physically incapable of relaxing. Riley was sure that if Blake ever actually took the stick out of his ass, it would kill him. Despite the love he had for his friend, there was no denying that he was far too serious about things. The two young women approached their table with smiles on their faces. Riley rose from the table with a smile. Riley frowned down at Blake. Blake had pointedly shifted his attention to his glass, which apparently had a smudge on it that his focus. Riley sighed at him before turning his attention back to the two women. “Nina?” he asked, shaking the woman’s hand with his face and demeanor lighting up. The distinct smell of wolf preceded them, and there was no question in Riley’s mind that this should

be the woman they were sent to escort for the evening. Daughter of the most highly respected leader of the wolf clans in the East Coast. “Yeah,” she giggled with a smile as she looked up at him shaking his hand, “This is my friend, Emma. Such a pleasure to meet ya!” She had a thick New Jersey accent, and it made Riley laugh slightly. Honestly, Riley could think of a lot worse things the two of them could do with their evening other than take the two young women out and watch over them. How hard could it be? “I’m Riley. This is Blake,” he said, kicking his friend’s foot, attempting to get his attention. Blake was still absorbed in his glass and blatantly ignoring the people around them. Riley often wondered how Blake would have gotten by in the world without him. Blake’s eyes flicked up for a fraction of a second, and he saw all he needed to. He had been disinterested in who they were before they had even arrived at the bar. Both women looked like the typical young wolfshifters in their area. Their bodies were too muscular for women, tacky clothes, too much skin showing, and way too much makeup. Worst of all, they smelled like wet dogs. Blake’s eyes returned to his glass with a disappointed frown. He wanted the whiskey, but was under no circumstances putting that filthy glass in, on, or near his mouth.

The girls seemed to falter at Blake’s less than welcoming reaction. Riley waved a hand at him dismissively. “Ignore him. He’s always like that,” Riley explained before entering into what amounted to small talk about how it was Nina’s birthday. Blake frowned at the explanation from his friend. He didn’t understand why Riley was so ready to fawn all over the women. They were nothing but mutts. What was the big deal? They were told to keep them safe for the night, nothing said they had to be nice, or be their best friends. There wasn’t even a mention that he, technically, had to talk to them. The truth was Blake had never felt like he could make small talk with people. He wasn’t much for branching out socially. He could carry on a conversation with Riley and his adoptive parents, but they had spent so long with him that they understood him or at least accepted him. He felt awkward in his human form, like he didn’t fit. As a dragon, he felt free, alone but at least free from all the pressures that seemed to surround all the politics that went along with the shifter world. Riley clapped him on the shoulder, breaking him out of his thoughts. “Ready, Blake?” His friend looked down at him, pale grey eyes dancing with humor. Per usual, Riley was certain that he was going to have to drag his friend kicking and sulking through the entire night.

An exasperated sigh escaped from deep within Blake as he rose from the chair. He shrugged a muscular shoulder and glanced down at the females with them, feeling their eyes on him. Both women had that typical look of appreciation and shock on their faces. He averted his eyes, uncomfortable with the feeling of them tracing his figure with their eyes. He had encountered women of various species, and had yet to encounter any that didn’t react the same. They looked him up and down. Blake could smell the lust roll off them in waves, and, frankly, he couldn’t imagine a bigger turn-off. Blake turned leaving his full glass on the table as they headed for the door. Riley with an arm around both females, and Blake felt himself trailing awkwardly behind. As much as Blake hated the attention, Riley ate it up. Riley had always embraced the good looks he was graced with, and played up the big, strong, dragon card every chance he got. Blake let the door to the pub swing closed behind him with a dull thud, echoing his enthusiasm for the night in general. At least being out in the night air helped Blake feel incrementally better than he had in the stifling, little pub. If it was that bad in the small, dingy pub, he had a bad feeling about how he would feel at the nightclub they were supposed to be going to with the girls.

Apparently, Nina had her heart set on a “normal human night out” for her 21st birthday and her father was influential enough to make it happen with the toughest escorts he could manage. Blake wondered idly what Selene could possibly want from the wolves, but that was above their paygrade. He had learned long before that there wasn’t much that he understood when it came to interspecies politics, or cared to know. They piled into Nina’s car, Riley and Blake working to fold their tall bodies into the small backseat of the sedan. It was bad enough being in human form and feeling like so much power and being was crammed into such a tiny form, to then be forced to crunch his human form into such a small space was downright insulting. Faint coils of smoke slipped through Blake’s nostrils as his frustration peaked. “I hate cars,” he grumbled under his breath. Riley shrugged a single shoulder and smacked him lightly on the shoulder, making the best of the situation like he always did. “It can’t be that bad, the girls said it’s just fifteen minutes away,” Riley explained in what he thought was a helpful tone, but realized it was useless as his friend continued to fume next to him. The faint smell of brimstone permeated the small car. Riley shot his friend a look that was supposed to clearly convey the message that Blake should chill out and knock it off. All

that he seemed to accomplish, was irritating Blake even more. Blake crossed his muscular arms across his chest and continued sulking. Blake huffed, shifted his weight yet again attempting to fit in the cramped space, and pointedly fixed his gaze out of the window. He kept reminding himself he just needed to get through the night. Just make it through this hellish night full of wolves and humans and he could go back home. He could fly and be far from this place. Blake desperately wanted to be left alone for a while, at least until Riley roped him into the next stupid mission he accepted.

Chapter 2 They arrived at the nightclub and waited in line attempting to blend in with the crowd, still standing out among the humans milling around. The bouncer at the door of the club frowned up at the two men. The bouncer seemed like he was not amused with the idea of letting the two large men in. He begrudgingly allowed them to pass after Riley did his best impression of a completely harmless human, charming his way through the distrust. The girls were bubbling with excitement as they entered the establishment, Riley matching their enthusiasm. Blake followed, quiet and working as hard as he could to simply maintain control.

Blake’s eyes swept back and forth through the room as they entered the crowded space. Hell. The crowded, noisy club was his own personal hell. The music was pounding through the room, people were milling about everywhere, bumping into Blake over and over. A permanent sneer plastered itself on his face and he crossed his arms in front of his chest, making him look every bit the bodyguard he had been hired to be. His senses were overloaded with the changing bright colors, the roaring noise, and the constant movement of the room. The girls dragged Riley off to the dance floor, and he seemed content to follow. He glanced back at Blake with an apologetic shrug. Riley seemed to be enjoying the attention of both females enough all on his own. Blake hung back, leaning against the wall. The pounding bass from the music made him feel like his whole body was vibrating. The overwhelming scent of lust and desperation in the air set his teeth on edge. Every time someone brushed past him, Blake glared at them accusatorily as if they were a threat. Every so often, a woman who would approach him, the same look in her eyes full of lust, and would try to talk to Blake. The few brash ones would place a hand on his arm, or try to make physical contact in some way. He said nothing, just glared at them until they would walk away

slightly confused, often an irritated, “Asshole,” muttered under their breath. Blake didn’t care what they thought. They were so far beneath his notice, why should he bother even talking to them? His eyes stayed trained on Riley and the girls as much as possible, occasionally scanning the room for threats. They were there for a single purpose, and that was all he would focus on. The night progressed much the same for an hour or so. Riley and the girls were drinking copious amounts of fruity drinks with vaguely suggestive names. Blake was still guarding the same square of space, bored out of his skull. Blake was certain all the music they were playing was the same. He felt as if the same driving bass was present in every song the DJ had played. He was contemplating just how satisfying it would have been to set the entire establishment ablaze, when he scented something altogether different enter the room. Blake’s eyes snapped to the doorway, where a female entered. He could sense power off her even from across the room, but for some reason couldn’t figure out what she was. His eyes were glued to her, following her path through the room. The woman seemed to weave her way through the humans, writhing against each other, without disturbing anyone, like a boat

moving through the water without causing a ripple. Blake found himself fascinated, despite some deeper instinct sending up warning flags. The distraction made him doubt the security of the room. Blake could see one of the females standing at the bar, head bent over the soft glow of her cell phone. His eyes traced through the crowd to find Riley, who was now completely lost in making out with Nina. Apparently, Riley was taking the whole escorting idea to another level all together. Blake reminded himself if the woman who had caught his attention were something they should be worried about, Riley would have sensed it too. Feeling incrementally less alert, Blake considered the mess that Riley was creating for himself. Blake was confident that having a dragon escort and ravage his daughter was the opposite intention that the girl’s father had for their actual evening, but that was for Riley to sort out. Not Blake’s problem in the slightest. His senses calmed, Blake found his mind drifting back to the woman, who had entered the room. Blake brought his eyes back to where he thought the woman would be, but had lost track of her in the swirling crowd. He knew she was still there as he could sense the power off her, but for some reason she had slipped past his view. Blake stood straighter, hands dropping to his sides trying to crane his neck around the room to find her, when he felt a small

hand on his arm. He froze and turned to look behind him and found the female standing at his elbow. She arched an eyebrow looking up at him. “Looking for someone?” She asked with a lilting, teasing voice. She was teasing but was not looking at him the way all other women did. There was no lingering, no salivating, and no lust there. She looked at him simply intrigued and friendly. It was something Blake was altogether unprepared for. He was taken aback a bit, and attempted to hide his surprise at himself. His eyes slid down to where her hand was on his arm in irritation. What was it with people and touching? “What are you?” Blake demanded, his voice low so as not to carry, though the music would have drowned out what they were saying to anyone overhearing anyway. He surveyed her small frame and thought perhaps she was Fae, if not something else. He had met Fae in the past a few times, but it was rare to come across them out in the human world, and, frankly, she didn’t smell anything like she should have if that’s what she was. Fae normally smelled like light, spring rain mixed in with an overwhelmingly earthy scent.

Blake inhaled deeply, his senses were far more sensitive than a human’s and it should have been easy for him to figure out what creature the woman was. He couldn’t understand it, and he felt the beast in him responding in the strangest way, urging him to just go…anywhere other than there in that moment. Blake normally had excellent control of himself, or at least had for a very long time. As he stood there though, he could feel power pulling at him surrounded by so many fragile humans, his dragon instinct pulling his mind in odd directions. He needed to be away from this woman, and away from these humans as soon as possible. It was a perfect example of why Blake avoided crowds, especially crowds of humans. Nothing good ever came from interacting with the humans. Blake turned to walk away and the woman grasped his arm, pulling him to a stop. She wasn’t overwhelmingly strong physically, but in that moment, he knew he had to stop regardless of what his intention to leave was. “Where you going?” She asked with a tilt of her head, “You don’t want to dance?” She seemed confused by his leaving, genuinely confused. He shook his head no slowly as his thoughts remained clouded somewhere between rational and instinctual. Blake was sure it was just that the chaos in the room was getting to him. Somewhere deep in his mind, the

dragon in him was still screaming that he needed to be out of that room, but, for some reason, he hesitated at her question. Blake narrowed his eyes examining the woman more closely. She had the brightest amber-colored eyes that looked too large for her face, and dark brown hair pulled back in a neat braid. Her body was nearly skeletal, she was so thin. She had small hips, and barely any curves to speak of. Blake was sure even in his human form he could snap her bones she was so thin, though he wasn’t sure how well he’d fare as waves of power rippled off her. The music seemed to amplify, driving the level of energy in the room up even further. The level of angst and lust in the room seemed to be increasing exponentially. Humans were grasping at each other hungrily on the dancefloor. He wasn’t sure if it was just their normal state in this setting, or if they were somehow sensing her power and feeding off it. It made the atmosphere of the room hang heavy and seductive around Blake. He met the woman’s eyes skeptically. “I’m not much for dancing,” he stated, unsure what exactly to say to her. It sounded vaguely combative, as most things did coming out of his mouth. Blake was taken aback when she smiled warmly, which made her face look gaunter. She was young and beautiful, despite the frailness of her body. Blake frowned at the thought

that she was beautiful. He didn’t do compliments. He wasn’t the type to notice one way or another if someone was attractive or not. “You seem so out of place here,” she commented in a sing-song voice, “How in the world did they convince something as magnificent as you to coop yourself up here with all these humans?” The flattery went to his head a bit. He was sure it wasn’t what she had meant, no one ever recognized him for what he was. Dragon-shifter yes, most other magical creatures could figure that much out, but it was rare that anyone beyond other dragons appreciated what he truly was. Even among the other dragons he felt discounted and underappreciated. No one thought there was much use for fire dragons any more. There were so few of his family left in the world, that the dragons had seemingly forgot what fire dragons were truly capable of. “Business,” he answered slowly, not really sure how much he should be sharing with her or not, “You never answered my question though. What are you?” His voice was transactional at best, clipping his words short with his sheer annoyance at the entire situation unwrapping before him. Blake was not accustomed to anyone getting him to feel flattered in the slightest, let alone getting him to carry on a conversation when he was so decidedly uncomfortable.

She leaned closer to him, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck to draw him down to her level with the pretense of talking in his ear. “Go ahead and take a closer look,” the woman said, leaning her head to the side below his. Rigid at the contact, Blake was unsure of exactly how to behave in that instant. He wanted to throw her hands off him and run, but was also beyond intrigued to know what kind of Fae this woman might be. Blake inhaled deeply and found himself overwhelmed with the smell of nature and what he could only explain as pure power. He had no idea what she was. Fae in some fashion, but something altogether more than Fae at the same time. Blake had the oddest sensation as he felt his body responding to the closeness of her form. A tightening of his muscles, the feeling of blood coursing and rushing through his body. Blake had not often felt himself truly aroused by a female, the experience was almost as uncomfortable for him as the idea of having a conversation with someone, but somehow this thin wisp of a woman was drawing him in. Blake could feel the pull she seemed to have. He hadn’t even thought to check on Riley and the girls, his focus was solely trained on the amber eyes of the woman before him. He stepped back

from her arms, reaching up and pulling her arms away from him. Blake turned to walk away again, the need to get away from her and the crowded place welling up in him. “Well,” she sighed, “You certainly are a surprise. Here I thought fire dragons were supposed to be full of passion. You are positively frigid!” She laughed, slapping him lightly on the butt as she fell into step with him. He frowned at the contact. What was it with personal boundaries? Did no one keep their hands to themselves? Despite his anger, she was pulling his attention back in again. Blake felt the sway she held on his attention, it was as if as much as he tried to fight, the stronger the appeal was. She seemed to understand Blake, or at least that was the impression that was flooding over him. The woman swayed lithely back and forth to the music as she walked, her hips keeping time with the driving bass that was still pumping through the room. The crowd seemed to press closer and closer around them, until she was dancing up against him. Blake was consumed with the urge to place his hands on her and pull her closer against him, but realizing just how bizarre a reaction that would be he fought it again. He side-stepped away from the woman, forcing his

way through the crowd without much care for if people would move out of his way or if he needed to move them. Whatever the woman was or wasn’t, he didn’t like the confined space and humans crowding all around him. Blake could still feel her influence pulling at him as he was walking away. He reached the edge of the crowded room and turned, looking for Riley and the girls. They were lost in the crowd. Riley should have been visible slightly taller than others in the crowd, but Blake didn’t see him anywhere. A frown drew on his face, and his eyes searched the room again trying to figure out where they had disappeared to. The strange Fae woman approached and stood casually at his side. “Your friends left already,” she offered in a helpful tone, “He seemed smitten with his wolves, and they all seemed to be having quite a bit of fun. I doubt you’ll hear from him for a while.” Blake fumed at his impulsive friend, smoke seeping through his nostrils despite his effort to control it. Leave it to Riley, he never could turn down women. In his frustration at Riley’s recklessness, Blake didn’t think to ask how the woman had known that they were his friends, or even that they had been who he was looking for.

Blake reached in his deep pocket, fishing out his cell phone. Cell phones were one thing that he had to admit humans had right. They at least had some amazing technology, though he wished they didn’t make them so fragile. Blake went through phones on a regular basis, either crushing them by accident, or forgetting they were on him when he shifted. Apparently, smart phones aren’t meant to be dropped from the sky. He sent a message to Riley’s phone, irritated with his friend. You’re going to end up with fleas…I’m going home. Blake shook his head as he glanced at the woman again. She was studying him with a look of fascination, devoid of attraction, just pure fascination. “What?” He snapped as he slid the phone in his back pocket and turned to head out the door. Blake wasn’t sure what she was, or what her deal was, but he was, frankly, beyond done with the human nightclub, and if Riley had taken the girls off to have some weird interspecies threesome, he was not needed anymore for the night. He scowled as the woman followed him out the door. “Want to go get some coffee?” She asked with a sly grin, “Or are you too good for coffee?” The way she spoke was like being challenged and flattered at the same time. Every time she spoke to him, he could feel her power pulling at the

edges of his mind. He was conflicted. His dragon was telling him to go, as far and fast as he could from the place, but some secret place inside his mind was intrigued by the woman who seemed to be so unimpressed by him yet could flatter him at the same time. It was strange, and he couldn’t deny wanting to figure out just what her angle was.

Chapter 3 Blake had begrudgingly agreed to coffee with the odd female, though he wasn’t sure why he would willingly subject himself to yet more humans. He still couldn’t quite put his finger on why the woman made him so uneasy, but the longer he was with her the less he could think about it. He told himself it must have just been too much chaos around him with all the humans, and the music, trying to quiet the part of himself that was still so on edge. She led him down the sidewalk to a small diner that was open all the time. Out of the stifling atmosphere of the nightclub he felt less overwhelmed, and was feeling better and better the longer he was away from the place.

She sat across from him at the diner, her legs crossed neatly under the table. Her thin fingers wrapped around a cup of coffee, amber eyes dancing over the top of the cup as she inspected him. “So, you really were out babysitting wolves for the night?” She asked quietly with a laugh, “They have you so wasted here! Mmm, I bet you’re magnificent.” He could feel the flattery working on his ego, and felt himself warming to the attention slightly. “Hardly,” Blake replied after taking a sip of coffee, “I just follow orders. No one cares much for what we can and can’t do any more. They just try to keep us manageable and in our place, no rocking the boat. I don’t make waves, I’m just happy they leave me alone most of the time.” It felt odd to him to be speaking so freely with the woman. Her influence on him was still palpable, making him feel more and more at ease as they sat there having what amounted to a friendly conversation for him. Blake was taken aback when the woman leaned forward and placed a hand on his arm, intense warmth beneath her touch. His eyes flashing with the simultaneous urge to pull away but also yearning for the contact. His usual reaction when people he didn’t know touched him was to recoil, but he could feel the soft pulsing of her power beneath her touch. Blake’s eyes

met hers as she smiled up at him. “What are you?” He asked again, sincerely wondering just what kind of Fae he had stumbled across. She laughed, dismissing his question with a wave of her hand. “Oh, you know close enough what I am,” she explained with a smile, “I’ve just got a little extra. A small bonus…je ne sais quois.” The French phrase rolled off her tongue effortlessly, betraying a definite familiarity with the language. For the first time in his life, Blake found himself genuinely interested in learning more about someone. The longer they spoke, the more fascinating he found her. He had lived an extremely solitary life even with his adoptive family, and his dislike and distrust of other species made it rare that he encountered anyone, who he found interesting enough to talk to like that. She somehow put him at ease, melting his generally frigid exterior, and he found himself relaxing more and more into the conversation. His mind clouded in a comfortable warmth he was unaccustomed to, and unable to explain. “So, what am I to call you then, my fiery new friend?” She asked with a wink before sipping her coffee.

Blake shifted uncomfortably, his long legs brushing hers under the table as he did so. The small amount of contact broke his attention for a moment. His mind flashed with the urge to touch her again, in every place he could imagine. It spoke to all the darkest corners of his mind, and he liked it. It struck him just how odd this whole night had ended up. Blake considered that maybe Riley wasn’t so crazy after all, if this is what it was like to meet a female he desired. “Blake,” he said deliberately avoiding his last name as it was a source of deep shame for him. He frowned when she continued looking at him expectantly. She raised one thin eyebrow, gesturing with her hand for him to continue. “Blake. Just ‘Blake’. No last name? You go by one name, like Cher, or Prince?” She asked, clearly teasing with the sarcastic expression on her face. His face fell in annoyance back into a scowl, irritated that she seemed to be demanding him give his full name. People in the shifter world generally knew his family name, and associated it with what happened to the rest of his family. Not many species were in the dark, when it came to a dragon losing control and killing himself, his wife, and several humans.

Blake had grown wary of the look in peoples’ eyes when they made the connection that he was one of “those” Kerrigan dragons. “I have no idea who that is,” Blake admitted, trying to reason out who the people were she mentioned, “But no, I don’t have just one name. That would be ridiculous, really. My full name is Blakemore Kerrigan, if you must know.” He muttered the words reluctantly as he met her eyes in a challenging glare. He watched her carefully, expecting to see the realization cross her face as it did with most in the shifter community. He was confused when instead she broke out in a sly grin. “Hmm, makes you sound like a pompous asshole,” she laughed as he squirmed uncomfortably, “Or some sort of soap opera character.” She was pulling crumpled dollar bills from her pocket and tossing them down on the table. She rose from the table before he could process her reaction. She made such odd references to him all the time. Blake felt like she was half speaking in French again. The small Fae woman was by far the strangest creature he had ever encountered. A small part of his mind was amused that even standing she

was nearly the same height as him when he was seated at the table, she came up just a few inches taller than him. “Soap opera character?” He asked, frowning at her statement. He had never been told that his name made him sound pompous. Blake had heard of opera before, but he had no idea what a soap opera was. He wasn’t sure what influence washing could possibly have on an opera, and he certainly had no idea what that would have to do with his name. “What is a soap opera?” A smooth, quiet laugh escaped her as she leaned on the table bringing her face closer to his. “Melodramatic human television shows that lonely human housewives watch. Just think of me as your very own Ms. Carter,” she whispered while holding his eyes with her own. She reached down, pulling his wrist up to examine his watch, her face still a hair’s breadth from his own but her eyes turned down to the watch. Her face was so close he could feel her breath on his lips, and his body was screaming for her touch. The feeling of her hand on his skin was electric. Blake inhaled a slow, ragged breath. He was unsure what was happening, but was painfully aware he didn’t want her to stop touching him.

“Look at the time,” she sighed before straightening up, “See you around, Blakemore.” His named seemed to linger in her mouth, rolling off her tongue as if it were something secret. The woman turned and walked away from the table, making for the door of the diner quickly, without passing him another glance. He had no idea who she was talking about with Ms. Carter, having never heard of a soap opera, much less watched one. Before Blake could untangle himself from the low table they had sat at, she was out the door. He felt strangely empty, intrigued, and vastly confused by the whole encounter. Blake frowned. He had no way to contact her, no way of seeing her again, and didn’t even know her name. He simply could not let that stand. Before he had even made up his mind, he was rising from the table and was walking after her. She was far too interesting to just let her disappear off into the night without even knowing her actual name. For the first time, Blake found himself actively wanting to talk to someone. He made his way for the exit with a feeling of intense need surging through him to find her. His blood was rushing with an intensity he was used to only when actively hunting, his vision blurring slightly, and the urge to shift was pulling at the edges of his consciousness. Blake suppressed the urge as he

was in the middle of a very busy human street, but with a great deal of effort. His eyes swept up and down the street as he inhaled deeply attempting to catch her scent. It was distinct and didn’t take him long at all to pick up. He pivoted and headed down the street, his arm warm where she had touched him previously. The direction she had gone was in the opposite direction from the night club. Blake was torn. One part of him desperately wanted to find the woman, the other urgently wanted to go the opposite direction. A faint vibration from the pocket of his jeans broke his concentration as he made up his mind to go after her. He frowned, pulling the device from his pocket and flicked irately at the screen to unlock it. He had three missed calls from Riley. He hadn’t even felt the phone going off. A frustrated sigh escaped Blake as he dialed his friend. “Where are you?” Blake snapped at his friend as soon as the he picked up the phone, “What do you mean they’re gone?” If the girl’s father didn’t beat his friend into a pulp, Blake was sorely considering it himself. He reluctantly pivoted and headed off in the direction his friend was, though he could feel the pull from the woman urging him to continue his search for her.

Chapter 4 “How in the actual fuck did you manage to end up tied to a bed naked?” Blake asked as he examined the room with skeptical eyes blazing. The door to the apartment had already been broken in by force when he arrived, the bedroom door simply slammed back on the wall as he flung it open. Blake’s face showed genuine shock as he tried to process finding Riley was handcuffed spread eagle on the bed naked, his phone propped up on the bed beside him. “I’m really not sure I even want to know how you managed to dial the phone.” Riley squirmed uncomfortably against the handcuffs that had him secured to the bed. “Oh, there’s a voice thing you can use,” Riley explained looking down at the phone, then back up at his friend though he was blushing a bit, “Just get me out of here, so we can go find them. We’re so screwed.” Blake fumed, smoke coiling out of his nostrils. How his friend had managed to get himself into this situation was just beyond him. “We’re screwed? I don’t think so. I think you made this mess. Why didn’t you just shift and break free?” Blake corrected Riley with a single hand raised in frustration. Blake hadn’t moved from the doorway and was

still standing, arms crossed, staring in disbelief that his friend could be so gullible. It wasn’t altogether surprising for Blake, it was sadly not the first time he had to come to his friend’s rescue in some precariously naked situation that was unrelated to shifting, and he knew it would hardly be the last. “There’s a key somewhere over there on the dresser,” Riley said with a nod of his head in the direction he intended as he continued his explanation. “Don’t think I didn’t try, they’re freaking iron cuffs.” Blake laughed wryly, shaking his head as he made his way to the dresser, searching for the keys. Iron was, unfortunately, an effective barrier for dragons, not that he could tell what kind of cuffs they were under the pink, leopard print fabric that encircled his friend’s wrists and ankles. “And how is this all my fault? Where were you that you left me to my own devices with them? The one time I actually need you to be a big stick in the mud, and you’re nowhere to be found,” Riley whined as he rattled the cuffs against the bed posts, “And see how that turned out?” “You’re an idiot,” Blake laughed as he snatched the key and headed across the room, “And, frankly, for the number of times I’ve had to come

find you in some freakish compromising position, I’m inclined to think that you just like it.” Blake rolled his eyes as he unlocked the first cuff, then tossed the keys at his friend to let him unlock the remaining cuffs himself. “So, what’s the story?” He leaned back against the dresser, wondering just what the heck his friend had gotten them into. It wasn’t so much the nakedness that bothered him, shifting required a certain level of comfort with nakedness, but it was the circumstances that lead to Riley’s nakedness that bothered Blake at a deep level. “Hey, you could do with a little more nakedness and women in your life. Maybe you’d loosen up a bit,” Riley quipped as he made short work of the locks. His clothes were scattered in a trail through the room, otherwise not much in the room looked disrupted. The whole situation raised several questions in Blake’s mind, though he could still feel the pulsing need to find the strange, Fae woman. Blake felt his power riding close to the surface, urging him to find her. “I really don’t know what happened, to be honest. The girls were having a good time at the club, then they wanted to come here and…have a better time. Things were going just fine. Well, more than fine if you know

what I mean,” he paused to waggle his eyebrows suggestively before his face fell to a more serious look as he recalled the event, “Then, out of nowhere, a group of White wolves burst in. They grabbed the girls and took off before they could do much other than scream about it. I was just lucky we had my phone nearby. Why’d it take you so long to answer, anyway?” Riley was up and off the bed, finding his pants and quickly pulling them on. His eyes darted left and right trying to find the rest of his clothes. Blake snatched his friend’s shirt up from the ground and tossed it to him. “Let’s go,” he sighed as he felt himself rankled at the direction their night had taken. If he hadn’t been so distracted, this wouldn’t have happened. He was supposed to keep Riley in check, instead he had wandered off with some Fae woman and let this mess happen. He paused for a moment, considering what his friend had said. He chose to pointedly ignore his friend’s question about where he had been and why he hadn’t answered right away. “Why was your phone there?” Blake asked raising an eyebrow as he tried to reason out why anyone could have possibly needed their phone during a threesome. Riley laughed deeply as he pulled his shirt across his muscular body. “Man, if I have to explain that one, you’re a lost cause,” Riley sighed as he shook his head. Riley was convinced that Blake would die alone, a several

hundred-year-old virgin. He pushed past Blake through the doorway, his eyes scanning the room with a bit more seriousness, an amused grin still pulling at his mouth despite the seriousness of the situation. Leave it to Blake to make even this situation funny. “Come on, we need to pick up their trail and end this quickly.” Blake was pondering the whole phone situation when Riley brought his attention back to focus. “Yes, right,” Blake muttered as he followed his friend out of the apartment. As Blake worked to regain control of his mind, he could feel the need to shift pulling at him. He was still riding high on the urge to use his powers that seemed to have intensified with his encounter with the Fae woman. It would be so much faster to find the girls if he could just fly. Blake settled for allowing his power to reach out around him, inhaling deeply as he picked up the scent of wolves easily. At the edge of this consciousness, he could still faintly scent the woman he had talked to. The image of her eyes just before his flashed in his mind, distracting him. He took a few slow deep breaths trying to clear his mind, ground himself and refocus. Blake couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. It was not like him to be so distracted. Riley nudged him in the elbow and nodded in the direction the wolves had gone. They both broke into a run, keeping pace with each other for the

first few blocks. As the scent increased, a sure sign they were nearing the wolves, Blake couldn’t continue to hold back. He had so much pent up frustration from that night that he felt himself pushing forward with as much power as he could. His mind was pulling back the carefully constructed restraints he usually placed on himself and his power and just letting loose. Riley was trailing him by half a block when he rounded the corner to a dark alley way and came upon the group of wolves. A group of seven moderately large, male shifters turned, eyes flashing as they saw him. Before they had even responded, Blake felt a roar of power escape him. There was no decision to shift, it just happened. Riley shouting caution behind him fell on deaf ears as the rush of blood and magic took over his body. The wolves tightened their ranks, closing in around the girls as if they thought they stood a chance in that moment. Blake could feel the unbridled power coursing through him, bones stretching and deep ruby colored scales rippling over the surface of his body. He couldn’t have held back the change if he had tried. The need to let his power loose was pulling at him stronger than it ever had before. Every inch of his body extended, sharpened, and hardened as his dragon took over, long crimson colored tail flicking dangerously from side to side. The

power was rolling off him in waves. He was minutely aware of Riley catching up behind him, still in human form. The group of wolves had reactions ranging from shock to awe, and even a little irritation. The large form of a hulking dragon blocked out what light was visible from the street. The large dragon’s body was too large for the alley, at his tallest his head reached over the tops of the two-story buildings. The wolves scrambled for a moment, the one nearest to Blake was snatched in a powerful grasp of his talons, the satisfying crunch of bones feeding into this need for more power as he tightened his grip on the creature. His head snaked down to nearly ground level inspecting the creatures before him. They were so weak, and such insolent fools that they thought they could take something from a dragon. He inhaled deeply, fire billowing up behind his jaws, pale fins flaring out around behind his jaw. He was ready to unleash hellfire on the entire alleyway; uncaring what destruction was left in the process. Before he could let lose the fire, Riley stepped in front of him still human and frail looking. It was enough to give Blake a moment’s pause. If nothing else Riley was familiar, and that was enough to slow Blake’s reaction for a moment, at least.

The dragon’s dark mind was working through just how he could manage to burn them all without endangering Riley in the process. Smoke billowed forth as Blake bit back the fire. He was seething that Riley would dare get in his way. A threatening growl slipped from between Blake’s jaws as one of the wolves turned to move towards Riley. The panic clear on the shifter’s face as he froze in place, hands thrown up in the air in a sign of sure defeat. Even in his human form, Riley could have taken the whole group of them on and not have been overmatched. The smattering of wolves against a fully, shifted dragon wasn’t just an unfair fight, it would have been a massacre. Blake could feel the edges of Riley’s frigid power inching closer to him, though unable to overpower him, trying to diffuse what was a massive over-reaction on his part. “Put the wolf down, Kerrigan,” Riley commanded with emphasis on his name. Using his name accomplished two things that Riley knew before the words even came out of his mouth. He knew that the wolves would realize just how big a pile of crap they had stepped in, and he would snap Blake out of operating on base dragon instincts. Blake’s family was one of the few things that seemed to connect most with his human side, and it was an underhanded way of getting through to

Blake, but more effective than any other option. Even in his shifted form, Riley was not even a fair match to his friend and had lost more than a few fights throughout the years they’d known each other. The fire dragons were notorious anyway, but in their region, the name Kerrigan was synonymous with a wrathful, painful death that most couldn’t even imagine and had only heard tell of with hushed voices. One large garnet eye rolled to inspect the creature hanging limply in this claw. Blake shook the creature lightly watching with satisfaction as its head lolled to the side like a ragdoll. With a huff of smoke, he flung the creature back in the direction of his companions. The wolves scrambled to pick up their fallen pack member, shifting back against the alley wall as far as possible from Blake. The girls limped forward, clearly having been hurt in the attempted kidnapping. Blake could feel anger sweeping through his friend, and his eyes lit with the prospect of a proper fight. He let loose a low growl again, attempting to egg Riley into joining him. His friend leveled him with a calm, cool stare. “I am taking these two home,” Riley announced for everyone’s benefit, “I would suggest you head back to whatever hole you slunk out of tonight and not attempt anything further as my friend here will be following us from above. I can’t promise that I can keep him back a second

time.” He aimed the warning at the wolves and they seemed happy to comply with whatever he said so long as they got to leave the alley with their bodies intact and not singed to a crisp. Riley turned to usher the girls back out of the alley behind Blake and paused to catch his friend’s eye for a moment. “No need to actually follow,” he muttered quietly, “Just get out of here, and don’t get seen or you’ll have the Fae knocking down our door in the morning.” Blake huffed another cloud of smoke in the general direction of the wolves, who were beginning to scatter before pushing off from the ground with all his might. His wings beat strong, moving him up into the cloud cover rapidly. Even in his current state, he knew his friend was right. He was not supposed to be shifting among humans, especially not in the middle of downtown streets lined with humans. The cool night air was rushing around him, the feeling of freedom calming whatever overwhelming tension had been riding him all night. He closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply, the night air filled his lungs, and held only the vaguest hint of anything remotely magical. He couldn’t find the woman’s scent anymore. He found a part of him deep down was

hoping he would have been able to pick it up again, find her, and see just what that extra she seemed to have was really all about.

Chapter 5 Dark hair swept against his chest, as she leaned over him to kiss him, teeth nipping along the line of his chest. A pair of sultry amber eyes peered up at him as the woman snaked her way slowly down his chest, thin hands pulling nimbly at the waist of his jeans. She looked up at him with an intense look, holding his eyes before reaching down and drawing him into her mouth. Blake woke with a start, frustrated at the waking world pulling him back from such a dream. He ran a hand through his long, dark-auburn curls, brushing them from his face. He collapsed back against the bed with a sigh as he recounted the events of the night before, the woman’s eyes haunting him still even in his woken state. As his thoughts swirled around the woman, he felt desire coursing through his veins and was uncomfortably aware that the dream had been cut short far too soon. Her eyes, her thin hands wrapped around his wrist. He could easily picture those same thin hands elsewhere on his body, touching and

teasing. He was contentedly letting his mind wander, his hand reaching down and working rapidly to relieve the tension left in the wake of the dream, when the door burst open.Blake cursed, as he shifted in the bed to try and mask what he’d been doing. Riley stood at the doorway with an amused but distressed expression pulled on his face, even in his seriousness he was unwilling to let his friend so easily off the hook. “Really? I didn’t think you could even find yours with both hands and a map,” he laughed lightly before regaining his seriousness, “Hate to interrupt and all, but we’ve got to go see Selene. We’re late. Although somehow, I don’t think she’ll appreciate that kind of salute, so you’d best get that in check.” Riley turned and closed the door behind him, laughter echoing through the wooden door. Blake fumed at the cheekiness that seemed to flow forth from his friend so easily. It wasn’t like he wasn’t in the privacy of his own room at least. With the embarrassment and frustration that resulted from his friend’s untimely interruption, Blake found he was quite capable of regaining his composure to face Selene.

There were no lingering thoughts or temptation when the thought of facing the dour and downright miserable leader of their clan was placed before him. If anything, all one had to do to lose an erection was imagine her withered face and your manhood would nearly shrivel up and fall off. Ghastly female that she was, she was their leader, and powerful enough to command respect even from him. He rose from his bed, leaving the sheets in a pile where they slid to the floor. He pulled on jeans and a fitted tee shirt, sliding into shoes. He ran his hands through his hair, pulling through what few tangles were there. He opened the door to his room to find Riley leaning against the wall looking thoroughly exhausted. “What happened after I left?” Blake asked in a quiet voice as they turned and headed down the hall out of the living quarters. “The girls were in pretty bad shape, but overall should be fine. The pricks had beat the crap out of them, cut Nina with a silver blade, so she’ll be permanently scarred from it,” Riley muttered in a pained voice, “I got them back to Nina’s place, and it was like all hell broke loose. I got out of there fast after her dad showed up. He was pissed, saying he was going to declare war on the White wolves, and on us for failing to uphold our agreement. We’re screwed.”

Blake wanted to correct his friend in that the thought it was still mostly his fault that they had gotten into this predicament to begin with, but he was sure there was very little use in arguing the cause of the blame, as he just as importantly should have been aware enough to stop Riley from heading off with the girls alone. They approached the doors of Selene’s office, and they were opened by her assistant, who looked upon the two young dragons with pity. They stepped into the room and found Selene leaning over her desk, a phone in clasped in her hand with a look of wrath clouding her wrinkled face. “I don’t care what you think you know, Vito, there was more going on here than two of my dragons being idiots,” she was fuming, clearly trying to keep from instigating things further, “Yes, they will be dealt with, and yes, there will be retribution. No, we can’t let Alexi continue his threats. Let me call you back. I have two ashamed idiots to deal with before the Fae get here.” She tossed the phone down on her desk and took a slow breath before leveling the two males with a cold glare. “Sit,” she snapped at them pointing to the two chairs opposite her desk, “Explain.” In the high-backed chair, her excessively tall frame still looked deceptively small. She was taller than either Blake or Riley in their

human forms, though her human form was wasted from the decades of shifts she had undergone. Her hair was a violent, white mess of spikes that stuck out in all directions, giving her a slightly frantic look. Scars laced her leathered skin, and her vibrant, white eyes were staring daggers at the two of them. Beneath the wrinkled skin, she had high cheek bones and a refined face, though it was hidden by years of age. She had been beautiful, if a bit fearsome in her younger years, but time and power had visibly taken a toll on her body. Riley and Blake folded themselves into the chairs. Riley shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. “Well, what happened was…really, it was just a mistake,” he explained unable to gather his thoughts coherently. She silenced him with a hand, her other pinching the bridge of her narrow nose, as if their mere presence was giving her a headache. “Kerrigan,” she sighed in frustration, “You explain, if you can do so without mumbling through it like a frightened toddler.” Her hand fell and she locked eyes on Blake and he felt his dragon squirm uncomfortably under the surface.

Much as he may have been powerful, and more than a match for nearly any other dragon in their area, Selene was stronger. The fact that she could sit in the room with them angry, without overwhelming them with her power was a testament to just how much control she had. Blake could feel it barely skirting the edges of his consciousness, like a snake coiled ready to attack. “It was a failure on many levels,” Blake sighed, explaining the facts in a frank manner, unapologetic, “I was distracted with the chaos of the human club. I let Riley and the wolves out of sight. They returned to Emma’s apartment and were ambushed by several of the males from the White wolf clan. Riley was left restrained in iron, and they took off with the girls. By the time we caught up with them, they had roughed up the females significantly. I lost control and shifted in an alley, possibly injured one of the White wolves in the process. Riley returned the females to Vito, I returned here to regain control and hopefully avoid being seen by any humans.” Riley seemed to relax moderately in that Blake had failed to mention just what circumstances he had been “left behind restrained,” though from the look on Selene’s face he could see that she was not overwhelmingly convinced there wasn’t more to the story that what she was told.

Her nostrils flared as she inhaled a slow, steadying breath, assessing the two impertinent dragons before her. She shifted back in her chair, scowling at them. “Possibly injured? You possibly injured one of them?” She repeated with a sound of disbelief that he could possibly be so thick headed, “Even a shifter has a hard time recovering from half their bones being crushed in their human form, you idiot. That was Alexi’s son you flung around last night. And Nina apparently has sustained silver scars. Vito is having a tantrum; Alexi is calling for you to be brought before the Fae. I can’t stop it at this point. He’s already made the call.” “I recommend you get your story straight, and explain just what the hell you were thinking when you decided to shift in a populated area, and attack a wolf in such a way,” she sighed observing Blake with a calculating expression, “I don’t pretend to understand you, Blake, but you know I’ve always allowed your continued residence here with the expectation that you maintain control. This is not control. The actions you took last night are dangerously like how things started with your father. I would hate to see you head down that path. Frustration at losing the girls does not explain how you lost control of yourself like that. I’ve known you to be under extreme stress and still maintain control. What the hell happened?”

Shame swept through Blake with her words. His father was the reason that his name had such a strong reputation in their area. His father had lost control of his powers in a fire-surge, his body was calcined and turned to ash. The resultant surge of fire killed his wife, who was nearby, and started a devastating forest fire that killed dozens of humans in the process. Fire dragons had to suppress the surge of their power for fear of overwhelming their body, some of the deadliest volcanic eruptions and fires in history were caused by a fire dragon turning to calx. Perhaps the most disturbing thing Blake realized was that the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind last night. He had been completely out of control and hadn’t even realized it. “I take sole responsibility. I still don’t really know, myself, how it happened,” Blake offered, bowing his head as he thought about how easily he had been overcome with his power the night before. Even sitting in her office, feeling how depleted he had woken that morning and the shame of how close he had come to losing control, he still could feel power coursing beneath the surface of his consciousness, calling to him. Situations like that were exactly why he tried to stay by himself often. If he hadn’t been so distracted by the Fae woman, none of it would

have happened. As he sat there, self-flagellating over his responsibility over the events a thought occurred to him. “How was it that the White wolves knew where you and the girls went?” Blake asked Riley with a crease in his eyebrows. It made sense that once Riley was contained in the iron cuffs, he’d been unable to prevent the abduction, but there should have been no fathomable way that that many wolves could have trailed him and the girls without Riley noticing. Even distracted, he would have caught their scent easily. Riley met his eyes, connecting the dots as he did with a nod. “I think the girl, Emma, may have betrayed their location. I saw her by herself on her phone at one point before it all happened. She had iron restraints in her apartment, and there’s no way that they could have been tailed to that location without Riley or the females noticing the scent,” Blake explained quickly, leaning forward as he realized how right he was, “This was a set-up. Vito needs to start by looking at that female, and how their location was given away to begin with.” Selene nodded in agreement at his reasoning. A chime on her phone pulled her attention. She flicked at the screen of her phone with a frown. “Blake, the Fae are here to meet with you,” she sighed, “You need to head down to the hall to meet with them. I suggest you come up with a better

explanation, as they will need much more convincing that you’re not a risk. I need to get in touch with Vito and see if I can figure this out before the Council gets involved. Riley, make yourself scarce. Think the two of you can manage that without screwing this up more?” The two males rose from their chairs, nodding in agreement with Selene. Blake was filled with a sense of dread. He’d been called before the Fae one other time when he had lost control briefly, he’d been so young that they had let him off relatively easily, giving Selene the responsibility of taking over his training. He felt like he had disappointed her in his loss of control, and he couldn’t even offer a suitable explanation. He had no idea what he was going to say, when faced with a team of Fae set on figuring out what happened the night before. Chapter 6 It was rare that Blake found himself among creatures that were taller than him, but the three Fae enforcers, he was faced with, were a few inches taller than him. Taller yes, but he was still more physically demanding than them. They were lean, elegant creatures, whereas he was bulky and broad through the shoulders and chest. He knew that physically they were deceptively strong for their size, though. There wasn’t much that would win

in a hand-to-hand fight against a physical Fae, even Blake wasn’t sure he would like his odds, especially against three of them with unknown powers. He knelt before them, waiting on their additional team member to finish speaking with Selene. The urge his dragon had to fight and flail against the formality of humbling himself before them was strong. He wanted nothing more than to break free of the whole situation, but he took a steadying breath and fought back the instinct. He knew he had done enough damage as it was, he would be lucky if he could escape this encounter without further consequences for his actions. All he could do was hope that no humans had been witness to his shift. The door of the hall creaked open as a much smaller, thin Fae male entered the room. He had light blond hair that hung in a long braid down his back. Unlike the other Fae in the room, this one was barely taller than Blake while he was kneeling. The smaller male approached him with silent footsteps, which Blake couldn’t tell if it was because he had a specific talent for stealth or just weighed so little that he was that light on his feet. Kind, grey eyes gazed down at Blake, searching his own for some sort of answer to a question that had not been asked yet. “Blakemore Kerrigan?” the Fae asked, though it was clearly a formality.

Blake was sure they knew exactly who he was. He nodded, one single curt nod in response to the question. The other Fae moved several steps closer to the two of them, fanning out in a circle around him in the open room. “We have been called today to question you in regards to an incident that occurred last night, in the Eastern Region, in New Jersey. The events in question relates to your shifting into your dragon form in the midst of a human populated area, and causing undue harm to another shifter in the area. Please, think back through the events of the evening. I will place my hands on either side of your head and will be able to see the memories as you see them. We will establish your guilt or innocence based on the memories in question. Do you agree to submit to this manner of questioning?” Blake paused, blinking a few times before he formulated an answer. This was a different kind of interrogation, than he had experienced in the past. The last time he had been questioned by the Fae it had been someone who could read thoughts, not memories. He wasn’t sure that there was much difference, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to have someone poking around in his memories like that. The hesitation must have shown clearly

on his face as the small Fae took a step closer, giving him a reassuring smile. “I assure you, Mr. Kerrigan, I will only be able to see the memories that you focus on. So long as your thoughts focus on the events of last evening, there will be no further prying,” he offered as explanation, his hands folded harmlessly in front of him. Blake still wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to partake in this kind of interrogation, but he wasn’t sure he had much a choice. He was well aware that there were far more powerful Fae that he could be faced with, that wouldn’t be nearly as nice about it. He took a steadying breath and nodded. “I agree,” Blake responded slowly, watching the Fae approach him with no small amount of trepidation still. The Fae raised both his hands with one finger extended closer to Blake’s temples. Before touching his skin, the Fae paused. Blake could feel gentle power easing off the Fae, and it was in no way malicious or overwhelming. He seemed like a genuinely kind and gentle creature, if ever Blake had encountered one. It helped Blake take one more steadying breath to regain some calm.

“Very good then, Mr. Kerrigan,” the Fae offered as he could see Blake minutely relaxing, “I’ll ask you to begin with the events as they transpired from the time you remember leaving here for the evening, and simply think back through your evening.” Blake took a slow breath and did as he was asked, the gentle touch of fingers on the side of his temples was warm, and he could feel the gentle pulse of power there. He allowed it all to show clearly in his mind. He thought back through every detail, from the pub, the small sedan, the woman at the bar, coffee, finding Riley, shifting when they found the wolves, and all the way through this morning. Selene had warned him when he was younger that being interrogated by the Fae was nothing to be taken lightly, and that the best approach was simply to be as honest as possible, as they had ways of extracting truths from individuals, who they found to be lying, some more painful than other methods. As soon as his thoughts returned to his time entering the hall and waiting for his questioning, the Fae removed his fingers and stepped back. The small male had a strange, perplexed look on his face as if he wasn’t sure what he had just seen. “I’ll be honest Mr. Kerrigan, that was most interesting for me,” he admitted with a light chuckle, “Your friend is quite the character.” He turned to face his counterparts and gave them a

small nod. A strange look crossed the Fae’s face as he considered what he had seen, much like he had seen a ghost. “I don’t see the need for further trial,” he explained, “There were no reports of human witnesses. The aggression towards the injured wolf was in defense of the female shifters, though a bit extreme in reaction, it was still not as unwarranted as they made it out to be.” The three taller Fae stepped back, relaxing their stances now that they had been given the all clear. Blake felt a small sense of relief flooding through his body. He was about to raise up from the kneeling position on the floor, when the small Fae turned back towards him with a questioning look. “I wonder, Mr. Kerrigan,” he asked tentatively, “Would you permit me to see one more time, the memory about that woman that you encountered?” The other gathered Fae seemed visibly confused by the request for him to see again, but were apparently his subordinates as no one verbally questioned him. Blake hesitated, unsure what it was about that particular part of the memory that had the Fae so interested.

“May I ask why, and is it actually my choice now or not?” Blake asked, attempting to keep his tone respectful and measured, though he wanted nothing more than to demand why the heck he had to submit to yet more pervasive reading. It wasn’t so much that the reading had been in anyway unpleasant or he felt the Fae had intruded, he just wasn’t sure he liked the idea of letting someone poke around his head more than he had to. “No, not a requirement at all,” the kind Fae answered with a small forced smile, “It’s just that I thought I recognized the woman, but couldn’t be quite certain. She reminded me of someone, but it shouldn’t possibly be the woman I’m thinking of. She was killed years ago. I just wanted to be certain of what I saw is all.” He waved his own nonsense away as if he had been silly to even suggest such a thing. “So, to be clear, me showing you again has no sway either way? I’m free to go, whether I agree or not?” Blake asked one more time, just to be sure he wasn’t in danger of risking the Fae changing his mind. “You have my word, Mr. Kerrigan,” the Fae said with a bow of his head, “You have been cleared of the charges, which were brought for today, and regardless of what you show me again you will be free to go once we are done. If it would make you feel better, or more reassured, I can have my sons wait outside, if you prefer?” The three other Fae nodded in

understanding and began filing out of the room. Blake frowned in confusion. The fact that he was their father was perplexing, but not as interesting as it was that the strange reader was so intent on the woman he had met. Blake nodded in agreement. He wasn’t sure what harm it could do if he allowed the man another look at his memory, especially if he was willing to let him off with no charges, something that Blake was highly confused about to begin with. “May I ask a question first?” Blake asked with a pause before the man raised his hands again, nodding with an encouraging smile. “Why are you letting me off without any consequences here?” Blake asked with a frown, “If you saw what I did, you know that I was reckless with where I shifted, I was losing control, and I did knowingly injure that wolf. It’s only sheer dumb luck that I didn’t have half a dozen humans involved.” Blake had a moment of regret as he laid out what he had done in such simple terms, sure that the man had potentially misread him and was going to change his mind suddenly. The man sighed lightly. “Ah, I understand I think,” he offered as his features softened, “You question your own innocence still? I could see your memories as you did. I could feel what you felt, and frankly the fact that we are standing here, or well…kneeling in your case, having this conversation

is a testament to just how much control you still showed when you were being egged on by forces outside your control. You may not realize it, but you were very much at the mercy of someone else’s power the majority of your evening, and you fought it admirably, my friend. With no witnesses from the humans, you’re in the clear this time.” Blake frowned at the statement that he had been influenced by someone else’s power. He wasn’t entirely sure that was the case. He was fairly certain it was his own power, his own dragon that he was fighting against the whole time, but if it helped the strange Fae man find him innocent, he figured he should probably not question it. Why argue with the man who was granting him innocence? Blake nodded, with a small gesture towards his head. “I suppose you can look again,” he said with a small shrug. “Please, just focus on the interaction with the Fae woman you encountered. Start from your first memory speaking with her, and go just through her leaving the coffee shop,” the small man explained just before placing his fingers back on Blake’s temples. Blake did as the man asked and thought back through the memories, amber eyes flashing in his mind’s eye more vividly, than he had experienced the last time. The Fae faltered a step back from Blake, shaking his head in an effort to regain his composure.

“Thank you very much for your cooperation, Mr. Kerrigan,” he offered in a quiet voice, “I would just ask if you happen upon your new friend again in the future, please do reach out to me directly. I would so love to meet her.” The whole statement was a bit stunted and odd. Blake was sure that based on the tone in the Fae’s voice he either really didn’t want to meet her, or there was something he was hiding in his intention. It was almost too civil, too forced an answer after such vague answers. “I’ll keep that in mind,” Blake replied, the gears in his mind spinning trying to make heads or tails of the whole situation. “Who is it that I should contact?” He realized he hadn’t even caught the Fae gentleman’s name with all the formality the evening had been wrapped in. His eyes followed the small man carefully, noting that he looked like he was more than a little lost in his own thoughts over the encounter. “Ilwyn Auberyn,” he offered with a strained smile, “If need be, just let Selene know and she can get in touch with me. I lead the council here in the east.” Blake was taken aback for a moment. He hadn’t realized that the actual council leader had come down to interrogate him. Perhaps this had all been much more serious that he had thought. To his knowledge, it was supposed to be a rare occurrence that anyone saw the council leaders

outside of their actual compounds. The fact that he was standing face to face with one was highly unusual. Blake rose to his full height and realized just how small the Fae before him was. The top of the man’s head came just up to his elbow; he couldn’t have been 5 feet if he was standing on his tip toes. “I really do thank you for letting me look again, Mr. Kerrigan,” the small man said looking up at him, “I understand that for someone in your position, the idea of having someone look into your memories is no small thing to ask. I assure you, I wouldn’t have asked if it weren’t important.” There it was, that look of overwhelming sympathy that many people seemed to offer when they realized who he was, but it seemed to be mixed with a look of concern that Blake was unused to seeing. Blake was ready to be as far as possible from the Fae. Whatever curiosity he had over why there was so much interest in the woman he had met was gone the instant that look crossed the man’s face. “We’re done here, right?” Blake snapped, ready to simply be away from this man and this place as soon as possible. A small nod from Ilwyn was all the signal he needed. Blake pivoted and took long, quick strides out of the room, fleeing for the outdoors and the peace he could find there. His mind wandered

back to the woman he had met and how she had looked at him without that veil of sympathy, and with something altogether more intense. Chapter 7 Selene’s estate covered several hundred acres of land in upstate New York. The main building with living quarters was a large, Tudor-style building that looked like a conglomeration of rooms that were added on over the years as the need to expand the building arose. The hall opened to the back courtyard that was lined with cherry trees that were in full bloom arching over the walk way. The scenery was lost on Blake as he strode through the courtyard fuming. He could feel the anger and frustration pulling at the edges of his control. He was so tired of people thinking they knew anything about him based on a name alone. The courtyard ended with a stone path that lead out to a rock shelf that overlooked a small stream feeding a nearby lake. Blake flung himself down on the stone, his long limbs spreading out on the cool stone. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The crisp air, the coolness of the stone against his body all worked slowly to calm the fire in his veins. He reached an arm up and folded it behind his head, staring up at the green trees above

him with a sigh. Alone with his thoughts, he tried to process what had just happened. He was still floored that he hadn’t been given further consequences by the Fae. He was sure he would be detained for a time, at a minimum or worst case had his power bound temporarily while he underwent another training regimen, as he had been warned that would be the case the last time he had slipped with his power. The soft grey eyes of the Fae that had interviewed him seemed so concerned, and he couldn’t understand why. His mind drifted over the events of the evening again, but were soon fixated back on the pair of intense amber eyes that had haunted his sleep. Well on his way to a repeat of his dream the night before, Blake found himself wrapped up in thoughts of her eyes, hands, and thin body in all manner of positions when the sound of footsteps on the gravel path snapped him out of his day dream. Blake grimaced in a moment of frustration. “Coming to check on me?” He sighed at Riley who was lowering himself to the ground next to him, sprawling his long form out on the rock. Blake made the idea of someone checking on him sound like it was as miserable a prospect has having a dislocated joint put back in place.

“Well, you haven’t been arrested,” his friend offered in a congratulatory tone, “So that’s a plus. Who else would be broody and sullen if they hauled you off?” Blake slid his eyes to inspect his friend’s face for signs of any actual valuable addition to the conversation. As usual, he found an expression of jovial teasing and nothing else. It was apparently their normal state. Blake shook his head lightly, the rough stone rubbing against his hair. “You’d have everyone here caught up in naked orgies the minute I left,” Blake quipped as he laid an arm over his eyes, blocking out the sun that had shifted through the trees and was illuminating his face. “No, not hauling me off. Apparently, they’re doing nothing. He said that the story checked out with the wolves, and that it was defense, no human witnesses so they’re letting it slide. I don’t know.” Blake half expected the Fae to come rushing back and change their minds any time. “I heard it was Auberyn, himself, who came to do your read out, is that true?” Riley asked with a sound of awe in his voice. He was aware of much more of the inner workings of the ruling councils, than Blake was, more because his family actively worked with the local council.

Blake was more intent on simply keeping his head down and blending in, he had no wish to work in the politics of policing the magical world. “I guess so,” Blake responded with a shrug, “He must be delusional, though. I’m still not sure how they didn’t do anything over that. It all makes no sense. He didn’t seem to really care about it all and was more focused on some woman I met last night than anything else.” The mention of her stirred something deep within him, a yearning to see her again that was pulling at him beneath the surface. Even just the mere mention of her, caused flashes of her intense amber eyes in his mind. “A woman?” Riley demanded, sitting up to inspect his friend more closely as if checking to see that he was ill, “Wait, a real one? Talking, walking, not inflatable in anyway? Details man, Details!” Riley’s enthusiasm was enough to make Blake instantly regret even mentioning the woman. Blake was more than aware that his friend had an ongoing wager with some of the other young dragons as to what Blake’s sexual orientation was, with the options ranging from men, to women, to goats. Such an appropriate reminder as to why he loathed anything that involved interacting with the other dragons.

“Inflatable? That’s actually a thing?” Blake asked with a measure of disgust, “That is just… revolting. Yes, I met a woman, a Fae I think. She was different.” Blake’s thoughts drifted back to how she had seemed so indifferent to meeting him, unimpressed with his name, and devoid of any sympathy or preconceptions about who he was. Riley chuckled lightly at his friend, he suppressed the urge to continue prodding at his friend’s expense. While he may occasionally joke about his friend’s lack of romantic life, he knew Blake well enough to know that he was far beyond a mood to be made fun even more. The prospect of his friend talking about any woman was almost interesting enough by itself. “Different how?” Riley asked as he flopped back down on the rock staring up at the sky. He could feel the wheels turning in Blake’s head and was curious what kind of woman this must have been to have such an impact on his friend. “I don’t know,” Blake explained their meeting the night before. He sighed with a dismissive wave of his hand, “I think the biggest thing that I liked about her was she was kind of unimpressed by me. She didn’t know my name, didn’t have any of the baggage that comes along with someone knowing the story. But she was just magnetic. I can’t explain it. Even when I was looking for you, I was still drawn to her. I can feel it pulling at me

even now. Being around her just made everything feel…more. It was like peeling back layers that are there to keep everything in, and just having it all exposed. I need to find her again. I wish I had a name or phone number to make it easier, but I think I can find her anyway.” Riley frowned at the description and manic approach his friend had taken to describing the woman. He had been hoping for something about a woman, who was just drop-dead gorgeous or something, not someone, who sounded like they were so potentially dangerous for his friend. Riley was well aware that Blake maintaining control wasn’t just important from a standpoint that he didn’t want to risk being exposed to the humans, but the risk that he ran if he let the powers get the best of him had lethal consequences. The idea of a woman, who from even as brief an encounter as they had could have such a strong impact on him was setting off alarms in Riley’s head. “I don’t know,” Riley offered with a small shrug, “She definitely sounds interesting, but sounds like you need to be careful with that one. Maybe it’s for the best that you don’t know who she is and just leave well enough alone.” Riley could feel the shift in his friend’s mood as he mentioned the idea. Riley could feel the anger rolling off Blake in a slow

rush. Riley pushed himself back up to a sitting position to face his friend, hoping he could explain himself a bit better before Blake lost his temper. “You don’t understand,” Blake insisted as he pushed himself up as well, “You can’t understand how it feels to have to live buried under so much control. She was freeing, and I thought you, of all people, would be the one to encourage me to go back and find her. I have to find her.” Blake picked at a small patch of moss on the rock beneath him. Blake had been so sure he wanted to find the woman again. He could feel the need to find her welling up inside him like a growing storm. He still was sure he wanted to find her, but that Riley of all people would be discouraging him, was difficult for him to understand. Riley was known for his stance that you should simply do what feels good and deal with the consequences later. Blake was frustrated that now, the first time he’d ever felt this way, Riley was suddenly wanting him to play things cautiously. “I’m just trying to get you to take a second and listen to what you’re saying,” Riley insisted with his voice pleading for his friend to understand where he was coming from, “She sounds like she’s got some unknown sway on you. You said she’s Fae but more powerful than a Fae? The council leader from here was so interested in finding more information about her that he let you off with no consequences for your actions last night, just to

get another peek at your memories. Something is off here, and you’re too blinded to see the warning signs. Slow down, think this through.” “You are unbelievable,” Blake huffed with a coil of smoke escaping his nostrils, “You’re always telling me to stop sulking. Just the other day you told me to get out there and meet women. Now I finally meet one, one who doesn’t make me feel like a charity case or some sort of freak, and you don’t want me to try and find her?” Blake rose to his feet glaring down at Riley. He couldn’t understand why Riley of all people was going to discourage him in this. “Blake, I’m just saying that you’re not acting like yourself right now,” he sighed as he pushed himself up off the ground, “This is the most conversation you’ve had with me in months. All because you suddenly have to find this woman? There’s a lot here that’s not adding up.” “Look,” Blake said with a shrug as he took a few steps towards the edge of the trees, “Don’t worry about it. I’m not the man-whore who ends up naked and shackled to a bed. I am more than capable of controlling myself, it’s all I do. I’m not like you, I don’t just lose control over the first pair of boobs that walk through the door. You don’t know the first thing about it, so, clearly, I don’t think you’re really the best source of advice here.” The words were biting, with no hint of teasing. A flash of contempt in

Blake’s eyes hinting at the underlying anger he was feeling towards his friend. Riley stepped back with a small look of shock. He raised his eyebrows, shaking his head as he threw his hands up. “Right,” he sighed in a small voice, “You do what you want. Best of luck with all that.” Riley was visibly deflated by the comment, and somewhere in the back of Blake’s consciousness, he knew that he had crossed a line in their friendship. He had never been the one to judge his friend like that, and the words hung heavy in the air. The small, nagging thought that his friend was hurt was overshadowed though, as in his frustration the need to find the woman had crept back up to a boiling point. He had to go, and he wasn’t concerned with how his friend dealt with it. That wasn’t his problem. He flicked an irritated glance in the direction of his friend as his back retreated up the path to the house. Blake turned away from the house with a sense of resolution. Blake was completely fine with letting Riley sulk. He was done with the conversation, with being made to feel like he was out of control again, and most importantly, done with being around anyone.

Chapter 8 Wind rushed above and below his powerful body as his strong wings beat effortlessly among the clouds. Every breath that Blake took helped bring peace to his mind and calm his anger. There were still nagging thoughts at the back of his mind as he circled, closing in on the small patch of woods, where he could land undetected. The Fae had provided for so many magical creatures over the years, dragons included. They had made safe spaces for them to be able to stretch their wings, use their powers, and keep from exposing themselves to the humans. It was something that Blake, at times, fought against, but had been raised to be grateful for. Sun glinted off the ruby scales that covered his body, and he felt warmth to his very core before his body dipped below the tree line. His strong talons sunk into the earth beneath him as he landed soundly. He exhaled a frustrated puff of smoke as he pulled his power back within him, folding layers of it back within himself until his body began to follow suit. Wings collapsed in on themselves folding back against his back and absorbing in. His tail shrinking as it withdrew into his body. His large powerful legs also began shrinking, scales melting away to his dark-tan skin. Within moments, he stood in his human form and naked in the midst

of the clearing. He strode over to a small storage building, punching in a code on the padlock on the door. The door swung open to reveal what amounted to a large oversized closet. One side had women’s clothes of various sizes, the other men’s clothes. Blake strode to the rather small section of men’s clothes that fit his rather tall and muscular build. He grabbed a pair of jeans and a fitted black tee-shirt, before stopping to snatch up a pair of boots in his size. He had never questioned his work that went to pay for his use of such facilities. Not having to worry about strapping human clothes to himself, so that he wasn’t stuck naked was a huge relief, when traveling in his dragon form. He exited the small building and let the door shut behind him. He frowned as he looked in the direction of the night club and diner. He was sure that was the right place to start his search for the woman. He wasn’t sure why he wanted to find her so much, perhaps for nothing else than to spite Riley, who seemed to be so against him having anyone, who made him feel remotely normal to be around. The mere thought of his friend set his anger on edge, flaring beneath the surface. His thoughts flickered back to the image of the woman. He was certain finding her would help it all make sense again.

He walked off towards the small back streets that led to the town. His long strides making it a quick pace as he made his way. He passed by a few humans along the way. The women gaped at him, eyes appreciative of just how fitted the tee shirt seemed to be as it showed every muscle beneath the thin cotton fabric. Men seemed uneasy about him and would react by either avoiding him all together or trying to glare some sort of challenge at him. All of it went largely unnoticed by Blake as he made his way through the side streets to the diner. He was wrapped up in his thoughts fluctuating between irritated with his friend, confused about the Fae’s reaction to the events of the prior day, or compelled to find the woman, who seemed to be the source of all his frustration. He was distracted, to say the least, as he rounded the corner near the diner, he was snapped forcefully out of his distraction by a sudden intense burning on his forearm. He looked down, inspecting the body part as if it were some sort of foreign object. In the middle of the skin on his arm was a small, violently red mark in the shape of a thin hand. The mark was pulsing beneath the surface of his skin, white-hot and searing him from the inside out. He frowned down at the arm. The small outline was exactly where the odd woman had laid her hand on him at the diner the night before. He frowned, looking up at the

diner. He had been so sure this was a good idea, but as the flesh on his arm continued to burn, he faltered for a moment in his resolve. He still had no idea what this woman was, but clearly “Fae” didn’t cover it. He turned and headed off in the direction the woman had headed from the diner the night before. An overwhelming need to find her seemed to be building again beneath the surface of his mind. The pulsing on his arm increasing in intensity as he walked down the street. He was perplexed. The hotter it burned, searing his flesh away in layers, the stronger his need to find her seemed to become. It wasn’t a need to find her to make the pain stop, it wasn’t a need to find her because he wanted to spite Riley, just a pure unadulterated need that was consuming him. He could feel his own power churning just beneath the surface as he walked down the street. His control was paper thin as he passed by a group of humans. They all seemed to at least sense the otherworldly power rolling off him, and quickly scrambled to the other side of the street with worried glances. He couldn’t see it but his eyes were flashing a dangerous, ruby red. It wasn’t something that was typical for him in his human form, unless he was about to shift. The necrotic mark on his arm was reaching a fever pitch of searing pain as he turned a corner on a small secluded street. He knew it was the right place before he even started up the steps of the front porch.

Every inch of him was pulsing with the need to find her as he knocked forcefully on the door, his power welling up inside him. He heard movement from behind the door, feet shuffling lightly on wood floors before a series of locks and charms were undone to allow the door to swing open. The small figure before him was dwarfed in the doorway, where Blake seemed too large for it. “What took you so long?” The woman asked with a sly grin as she stepped aside allowing him in. “What did you do to me?” He snapped as he shoved his arm in her face. The skin was in a state of decay that shouldn’t have been possible. Where the handprint had once been an angry red, was now left black and rotting away from his arm. He glared at her with every intention of just snapping her in two unless she fixed his arm. She met his gaze with what he could only interpret as fascination, one thin, brown eyebrow arched in question. She reached up slowly, her eyes never wavering from his and placed her hand precisely over the former hand print. Pain ravaged through his body as she gripped into the muscle of his forearm. Her power scorched through him, leaving him breathless as he fell to his knees in front of her. She released his arm and let it drop to his side

with a small chuckle. His eyes fell to his arm frantically, the skin returned to its previous unmarred state. He felt every ounce of his need to find her billowing up in his body, his thoughts were soaking up nothing but the idea of her and the sheer feeling of power permeating the room and every cell of his body. “What the hell are you?” He asked shaking his head as he looked up at her. It wasn’t a far way up, but he could feel just how insignificant his power seemed compared to her and was torn between being in awe of it, and terrified. A small voice in the back of his head was telling him to run, telling him that Riley had been completely right. The nagging voice was tied to his dragon’s instincts and he fought through his muddled thoughts trying to hang onto that small glimmer of rational hope. Overwhelming that voice was the sheer power he was soaking in. Every breath he took seemed to quiet the voice more and more, before he was completely lost in the power around him. His eyes inventoried the thin, jade tank top and black skirt she was wearing, lingering just a little longer than he usually would. She had been shielding her true capabilities in the diner, and he wasn’t even sure that he was seeing her true power still. How so much power could be wrapped up in such a small form was baffling to him.

She inhaled deeply with a self-satisfied smile creeping over her face. “Aw, it takes all the fun out of it if we don’t play the game, darlin’,” she sighed turning away from him. He watched, helpless, with his eyes glued to her as she walked into another room. He wasn’t aware of the choice being made in his mind to get up and follow her, but he found himself crawling a few paces before rising off the floor with no small amount of effort as he followed her into the other room. His body felt heavy and clumsy, like he was moving through molasses. She folded her small form neatly onto a couch, fitting perfectly into the small corner of the couch, every bit the image of a spritely faerie. Her short skirt rode up a bit, broadcasting that there wasn’t much under the skirt either with a small flash of black lace barely hiding what was beneath. She propped a thin arm up on back of the couch, resting her chin on her hand as her eyes traveled over him in a disinterested inspection. He felt like he was being sized up more than anything. The draw her power seemed to have on him brought him to a stop before the couch. There was an odd thought to simply fall to his knees before her again dancing through his mind, with the slightestshake of his head, he fought the idea. He instead took a few steps back and sat on the opposite side of the

couch, long legs stretched out before him, with his eyes glued to her. His thoughts were such a muddy haze; he couldn’t quite make heads or tails of much. “I thought for sure you were going to come find me last night,” she replied as if nothing particularly out of the ordinary had occurred between them moments before, “To be honest, you wouldn’t have had it nearly as bad if you had. The enchantment really builds if you wait too long.” His eyes fell to the skin on his arm, still unsure if it was healed. There was no lingering pain at all, and as he reached his fingers up to inspect the surface of the skin, it felt even and smooth just as it had before. “Is it still there?” He asked as his eyes found their way to meet hers again, “I don’t understand. Why you would do that? What are you doing to me?” He blinked trying to clear his thoughts, he could feel his vision starting to swim slightly. He felt his body relaxing incrementally into the couch, though the tension within him was still nearing a boiling point. His power was riding just beneath the surface, itching for release. He watched with wide eyes as she unwrapped herself and crawled the small length of the couch towards him. He held his breath as she placed a hand on each of his shoulders and straddled his lap, her thin legs sliding easily

over his and folding neatly on the couch until she was seated in his lap facing him. His breathing was shallow and the closeness was even more scorching, than simply just being in the room with her. His normal aversion to having any sort of contact with people had melted away with whatever thoughts of caution had been pulling at his mind. Blake was completely lost in her eyes, and in every point of contact between their bodies. There was nothing else in that moment but her, and the small rational voice in his head questioned that he didn’t even know her name. Her lips curved in a sultry, self-satisfied smile as if she knew she had him completely on the hook. Her eyes met Blake’s as she silently seemed to challenge him to stop her. She slid her hand down to the same spot on his arm and pulled it up between them. Heat singing from her fingertips to the core of his being. “It’s gone,” she sighed longingly, “Effective for a one-time gig, but not really the most effective for anything long term. It actually takes a bit more energy than you’d think to keep it up that long.” The light weight of her body on top of him and the touch of her hand on his arm was pulsing even more energy into him. There should have been

more hesitation in this moment and Blake knew it, at least at some deep subconscious level. He was not someone who just casually had random women he didn’t know sitting on his lap and touching him. “If you’re worried about what I’ve done so far you should run now, darlin’. Things are only going to get bumpier on this ride,” she purred as she shifted her weight more comfortably on his lap. The motion was enough to remind him that there was nothing more than a few layers of fabric between them, not that she wore much to begin with, judging by what he’d seen of the black bit of lace that flashed below her skirt previously. The desire within him was crashing over him in waves. The power riding through the room was at a boiling point, and it was taking every scrap of his consciousness to restrain himself. His thoughts were beyond what he thought he should do, and he was giving over to the feeling that he simply needed this. His thoughts were consumed with that need and the power welling up between them. The woman slid her hand back up to Blake’s shoulder slowly, heat and power trailing behind her touch as she continued up his neck and to a rest on side of his face. Her fingers on the skin of his neck sent a shiver of electricity through his body. He could feel himself growing hard, his jeans

pulling uncomfortably tight beneath her light form. Her hands snaked lightly up into his hair winding in the thick black curls. His thoughts were adrift. Blake completely lost any rational kind of thought, all he could think of was her and the overwhelming need he seemed to have to have his hands on her. Blake’s hands slid up the small length of her thighs, gripping against the curve of her ass as he pulled her even closer. His large fingers firm and demanding against her soft skin. He leaned forward awkwardly in attempt to kiss any part of her he could find, but she gripped his hair tightly and pulled his head back firmly. He frowned, unsure why she had stopped him. His breath caught as she leaned forward, rocking against his hardened cock and she leaned over his face nipping at his bottom lip. He felt as if power was coursing through every vein in his body, he could feel it pulling at the edges of his control. Her hands ran down his chest, nails biting against his skin as his hands clumsily explored her thin frame. Much as he tried to feel any sort of contact between them, she kept shifting just far enough away to keep him frustrated.

He wasn’t sure if it was his lack of experience or just her toying with him, but he was sure this level of teasing was just downright cruel. With a low growl, Blake pulled her firmly against his lap, grinding his hips up to meet hers. Her breath caught, and the sound awakened something low and primal within him. He hadn’t seemed to be able to have much effect on her previously, and the fact that something finally gained some reaction from her spurred him forward. He thrust firmly against her again, as he pulled her against him. She laughed lightly, bringing herself to a standstill, and leveling him with a challenging look. She leaned her weight forward, palms flat on Blake’s chest to balance herself as she unfolded her knees from the couch and stood squarely in front of him. Moving slowly, she pulled the thin fabric of her shirt up and over her head, discarding the shirt on the floor. She reached down and began working to remove Blake’s jeans. As she worked, Blake’s eyes traced the thin, sheer, black bra she wore that left nothing to the imagination. The soft curve of her breasts was visible through the sheer fabric, small, pink nipples rock-hard. Another jolt of desire coursed through Blake. He had never wanted something or someone so much before in his life. He was consumed with his need to have her. His jeans were quickly flung to the side, anticipation rising in him

along with the heady sense of power rolling between the two of them. A thin, gold chain hung down around her neck, a single, large quartz pendant hanging perfectly between her small breasts. Blake made to move and join her standing, and she pushed forcefully against his chest, slamming him back into the couch. His breath caught in a gasp as pinned him there. She leaned over straddling him again, this time nothing but that thin layer of lace between her and Blake’s now bared rockhard erection. She was kneeling over him, her eyes dark and challenging as she shifted in front of him. Blake raised his hands to explore the bare skin before him. His fingers ghosting over every surface of her skin and hiking her skirt up to caress every inch of her ass. She leaned over trailing teasing nips along his neck and ear. Blake buried his face in her chest brushing light kisses across the pale skin. The gold chain pressing hot against the side of his face, her scent mixing with the gold, metallic smell and a faint sheen of sweat glistening across her skin. Blake moved to hook his fingers in the small straps of fabric beneath her skirt, groaning as she bit hard at his shoulder as her fingers trailed nails across his collarbone. Blake inhaled, one hand splayed across her hip, while the other slipped between her legs and gently massaged beneath the lace.

She shifted, grinding her hips hard against his hand, her body tightened around him and he let a small grin pull at his lips as it caused her to cry out. His fingers wound around the lace with his other hand and pulled it down. Blake wrapped his arm around her waist, steadying her on the couch as she stepped out of the scrap of fabric. Her eyes were boring down on his, and he could taste the tension and power rising between them. “I need all of you, or nothing,” she whispered, lowering her face so that her lips were a fraction of an inch away from Blake’s. She held him there wrapped in her gaze for a few moments, their breath exchanging back and forth with a dizzying feeling swirling in his already hazy thoughts. He wasn’t entirely sure what her meaning was, but was positive he would willingly give her anything and everything in that moment. Blake moved to close the marginal gap between their lips and she pulled back ever so slightly. Keeping the small, dangerous gap between them that seemed to be charging the power between them past the boiling point. He could feel her willing him to say the words. “Take it,” he murmured huskily as he closed his eyes, “Anything…everything.” Her lips closed over his, fire igniting in every inch of skin between them that touched as she lowered herself down around

him, enveloping him as deep as she could. Her body tensed and clenched around him in an unimaginable feeling of friction. The world was spinning into a cloud of white noise for Blake. He felt her riding him, her hips rising and falling in rhythm as he ground his hips up to meet her. His hands gripping onto any piece of her he could to keep himself in that moment. He felt blood rushing through his body as she cried out with every thrust of Blake’s hips rushing to meet hers. The need to shift to his dragon form was overpowering, he felt his body pulling apart at the seams as he attempted to resist it, the friction between the two of them building to a fever pitch. Her breath was coming in loud gasps as she called out to various gods. Blake could feel the pain of his body resisting the change, and somehow in that moment, it was even more pleasure than he could have imagined. Blake felt his skin, shifting over with ruby scales rippling over the surface of his body, while burying himself deeply in her, hitting against the very deepest parts of her. The feeling of her writhing against him, her thighs clenching against him. It was building his need to simply give every part of him over to that moment.

The pressure and sheer need seemed to pool deep in his core, bursting forth inside her and throughout his body as her nails raked down his back. Blake cried out as he felt himself lose what little control he had left. In a flash, he felt every ounce of his power and every ounce within him poured out into her as his vision faded to black. The room swirled around him as he drifted in emptiness. Chapter 9 Blake’s face was pressed against the cool hard ground beneath him. Every inch of his body was crying out in pain. There was a crushing emptiness inside him. Where he could normally feel his power and his dragon just beneath the surface, unseen but ever present, the sheer absence of it in that instant terrified him to his core. His eyes flew open, scanning the dark room around him. He was in a basement by the looks of the tall cement walls around him, narrow windows looking out at ground level on a darkened street outside. He pushed himself up to a seated position against the wall, his mind reeling as it attempted to catch up with how in the world he had gotten here and what had happened to him. He mentally retraced his thoughts back to what he could remember last. He remembered the argument with Riley, storming off in search of the Fae woman. He could remember searching for

her, his arm burning, and then everything seemed to just be shrouded in the thick fog of confusion. He raked a hand through his curly hair. His blood was pounding in his ears as panic began to rise in him. He attempted to reach out with his power and there was nothing. No answer, no spark, no inkling of any kind of power in his body. He heard footsteps on the floor above him, and scrambled back up against the wall behind him as they began padding down the stairs. The wall was cold against his naked body, and he looked up frantically to find the small, Fae woman traipsing down the stairs before him. Confusion and anger coursed through him, but it was a hollow feeling. He was used to being consumed by his emotions, a sweeping fire burning through him. It felt more like a single match being struck in an empty cave now. He lunged towards her but was restrained by hard, cold leather cuffs around his ankles. “What the hell did you do to me?” He demanded as she chuckled at him like he was an errant puppy. He was pulling against the cuffs, but there was no use. He felt weak, useless, and lost in the void, where his power once had filled him. “I didn’t do it,” she insisted, “You did. That was all you, doll. I can’t take someone’s power, it had to be given. And my, if you can’t give it.” Her eyes traced over him appreciatively.

Blake cringed and fell back against the wall, curling in on himself. What had he done? He was unable to fully wrap his head around just how stupid he could have been to allow this to happen. He felt like a shell of himself, empty and useless. She stood there waiting for him to say anything, and he simply retreated further and further into his own thoughts. The void inside him enveloped his thoughts. If he could simply cease to exist in that moment, he would have been grateful. As it was, he couldn’t even accomplish that. The words the Fae woman was speaking to him were muddled with the rushing sound of blood in his ears, he couldn’t have understood her if he had tried. He was gone, lost somewhere in his own emptiness. She walked forward, grabbing him by the chin. Blake’s eyes slid slowly to meet the woman’s amber eyes. “Hey,” she snapped, “I need to know that you’re hearing me. Speak, and acknowledge it or you’re going to have to sit down here and starve.” She looked at him expectantly, but his eyes simply slid out of focus as he relaxed back against the wall. She could do her worst, there was nothing more torturous that he could ever endure, he was sure of it. His world faded to black again, reeling

in the headiness of what he had just done to himself as her steps echoed back up the stairs. Blake woke a few more times, and found himself drowning in the emptiness around him and would simply fall back into a fitful sleep. All he could see in those moments was crushing, endless darkness. The Fae woman brought food, leaving it before him after attempting to talk to him again multiple times, and every time was met with the same disconnected stare and him sliding back into his state of non-existence. ~ Blake was awoken days later by a sharp smack across his face. The skin on his face burning with the imprint of the back of the woman’s hand. “Wake up,” she snapped as she wound her hand firmly in his matted hair and pulled his head up off the ground, “I don’t have time for this shit.” She pushed him up against the wall to a seated position and held him there. His eyes lulled in his head and she smacked him again. The force of her hand meeting his face resounding in the empty basement with a sharp snap. His eyes slid up to meet her amber eyes dejectedly. “What?” he muttered with annoyance that she wouldn’t simply let him rot in peace. Blake couldn’t fathom how taking everything that he was,

wasn’t enough. His mind struggled with trying to think of what more someone could possibly want from him now. There was nothing left. He was nothing now, without his power and his dragon. He was less than a human, just an empty shell. The woman reached in a pocket with her free hand, the other still being used to keep Blake’s head held up. She fished a ring with a piece of quartz set in an old-fashioned silver ring out of her pocket and held it before his face. Her face was lined in annoyance, frustration, and downright disgust at the sight of him before her. “You are going to take this. It’s a small taste of your power back. You’re going to take this and wear it and realize that you must get your ass up off this concrete floor and live some sort of a life. You will not rot here in my basement, a useless waste of space. I don’t have time for this. The whole point of all of this is that I need you functional,” she snapped at him as she flung the ring down at him and released her grip on his hair. Blake’s head smacked back hard against the wall behind him, as the ring fell to the floor with a slight clink. His mind was slow to realize the depth of what she had said. Blake sat staring at the ring for a few moments, while she tapped an irritated foot, her arms crossed defiantly in front of her thin body.

“Put the damn ring on,” she fumed as she turned and walked away, stomping angrily up the stairs and out of sight. Blake’s eyes focused slowly on the ring, wondering what she meant about him getting a taste of his power back. He frowned as his fingers fumbled at the ring attempting to pick it up off the floor. Lack of food and anything else seemed to be taking a steep toll on his body. Blake gained purchase on the small, metal ring and brought it up before his face to inspect it. He felt nothing from holding it, no sense of power, and no inkling of anything like what he remotely felt like before. As he slid the wide, metal band around his index finger, he felt power flame to life in him. The rush of power was beyond intoxicating. He felt it crash over him in a wave as he was swept out of his black void and felt as if he was being carried out by the tide. He drew ragged breaths and braced himself against the floor. He couldn’t feel his dragon in that moment, but at least there was some hint of it at the edges of his mind, like an old friend waiting to welcome him back with open arms. In an instant, he flexed his power in a surge of frustration and rage at the situation he found himself in, setting the leather cuffs around him ablaze as they fell away from his body. He was done sulking here with the wretched woman.

Blake was certain if he could just get back to the nearest safe house, he could contact the Fae who had questioned him, Auberyn, and turn the wretched slut in for whatever it was she had done to him. Maybe they could fix him. He staggered up the stairs, his power rolling in and out of him in small waves. He was still incredibly weak from the lack of food, and the entire ordeal he had been through. But he pushed his way up the remaining stairs and shoved the door open with the intent of just getting as much distance between himself and that woman as possible. He staggered out the door, the power fleeting as he made it to the very human street, naked and stumbling along. He tried to call out to his power, but it was edging further and further away from him as the void crept closer back up in his consciousness. He felt his vison blurring at the edges again, taking in the site of a frantic, human woman, who was rushing towards him as he collapsed onto the sidewalk in a heap. Chapter 10 Bright light played against Blake’s eyelids as he slowly drifted back towards consciousness. As his eyes fluttered open, everything around him

in the room accosted his senses. The sharp smell of medicines was flooding his nose, and the light was overwhelming his strained eyes. He realized he was back home but in the medical wing. His body was dead weight on the hospital bed beneath him. Every attempt Blake made to raise himself up was futile as he just collapsed back down, ineffectually. His eyes drifted to the slim band on his finger, the white quartz looked as if it was partially clouded with smoke. The emptiness was pulling at him from every angle as it washed back over him, but the steady hum of power from the stone reassured him, though it was faint. His eyes drifted across the room to find Riley asleep in a chair, long legs stretched out before him. Blake was vaguely aware that he was at least clothed, which was more than he could remember from his last coherent thoughts. “What am I doing here?” Blake asked, his voice rough with disuse. He watched as Riley woke from his sleep and realization dawned on him that Blake was the source of the question. “Holy crap, you’re awake!” Riley exclaimed jumping up from the chair and crossing the room in a few short strides. Riley’s eyes inventoried his friend with a look of genuine concern. “What do you remember?”

Blake wasn’t sure what was causing Riley to inspect him so carefully, but it was like Riley was looking at a wounded animal. It should have been such a simple question, but the idea of opening his mouth and explaining the ridiculous chain of events that had led him there, and how little it seemed to matter in the long run. Blake was empty again. The only idea he had for how he could rid himself of that feeling again was to find the Fae woman again. The mystery woman had been able to give him just enough of his power back, but there wasn’t much left it seemed. “I don’t remember much,” he sighed wanting anything other than a deep heart to heart with Riley in that moment, “Just that I woke up, my power was gone, and stumbling out on a sidewalk.” “You’re at least not dehydrated and starving now,” Riley offered with a small shrug, “But you’ve been gone for weeks. I had been looking everywhere, lucked into finding you at a hospital in a little town where they had you checked in as a John Doe. You’re right, your power is gone. The entire council for our region is here. They’re all waiting to talk to you, wanting to figure out how this happened. They were hoping you’d remember more.”

“I’d like to say you can get some rest,” Riley offered apologetically, “But that councilman, Auberyn, has come to see you once he heard about what happened. He’ll be in here to question you in a few minutes.” Riley’s eyes surveyed Blake as he shared the news. There was such a lack of emotion on Blake’s face that Riley was beyond concerned for what was happening to his friend. He saw no remnants of the fiery dragon he’d grown up with, just emptiness staring back out at him. The feeling caused Riley to back up a step. He had never been afraid of Blake while they grew up, but in that instant of meeting his empty gaze, Riley couldn’t help but fear what Blake would do. A faint knock at the door announced another visitor, and Riley strode across the room to open the door, revealing the small frame of the Fae gentleman that Blake had encountered previously. There were no escorts with him this time. He stood in the doorway alone with a drawn, solemn expression across his face. “If I may have a moment with Mr. Kerrigan in private, please?” he asked politely as Riley stepped aside from the doorway to let him in. Riley glanced between the two with uncertainty plain on his face, before he turned and closed the door behind him with a small catch.

Illwyn Auberyn strode slowly to the edge of the bed inspecting the form of Blake as he lay sprawled out on the bed before him. Auberyn’s hands trailed above Blake’s body sensing the gaping vacancy left from his power and the small inkling of power that was prodding at the surface of the young dragon’s consciousness. “What small amount of your power that was imbued in that stone is fading,” Auberyn cautioned with a nod towards the band on Blake’s finger, “You think you feel bruised and beaten now, within a day of that running dry, I would fear to see what you would be willing to do in search of your power. Having one’s power stripped is like having a piece of what makes you…you, taken away. It shouldn’t be done this way, and I’m not even perfectly sure what will happen.” Blake processed the words slowly, blinking up at the strange man before him. He tried to make sense of what he was saying but struggled with fully understanding what the implications of what Illwyn was saying would mean to him. Blake could already feel the weakening of the power from the ring and the crushing void of where his power should be, but had no urge whatsoever to find the woman. The odd sway she’d seemed to have on him after their first meeting was completely gone. That damned evil Fae

woman. All she was to Blake now was the image in the back of his mind that seemed to just taunt him if he thought too hard about it. “I hate to ask, Mr. Kerrigan, but I must ask and insist that you permit me to view your memories of the past few weeks,” he explained in a kind, but straightforward, statement. Blake wasn’t sure if there was even an option based on the way the statement was given, and frankly he wasn’t sure that there was anything worse that the Fae could do to him if he chose not to go along with the reading. Ultimately, Blake didn’t mind either way if the old Fae man wanted to poke around for a ride in his memories or not. He was completely void of caring either way. Blake offered the smallest of nods he could manage. Illwyn stepped closer to Blake’s bedside and pushed the thin sleeves back from his hands, taking a slow steadying breath. “Please just relax and think back from the last time that I saw you,” he explained as he placed his fingers on either side of Blake’s temples. Blake would have loved to protest more, but in his state of sheer exhaustion he didn’t have much fight left in him. His thoughts traced back to the fight he’d had with Riley, his need to find the mystery Fae woman,

his whole encounter with her, and his attempt at fleeing from her. The first time he had met Illwyn, the process of having his memories read had not been anything other than odd. This time was an entirely different experience. It was as if his memories were fighting him, or Illwyn, or the whole process. He felt his mind drift, before being raked back to the last thought that Illwyn had seen. It was a tug-of-war with a shard of glass in his mind. Blake’s mind was shattering around him, and he couldn’t make heads or tails of any of it after enough exchanges back and forth. Blake gritted his teeth, pleading silently to any god or spirit that would listen for it to stop. Blake gasped with relief when the torture was suddenly finished. He shakily drew a slower breath after, trying to calm the searing pain that was ripping through his mind. In that instant, he realized that what he thought he knew of the Fae was a complete underestimation of what they were capable of. He wasn’t sure if it was Illwyn’s power or the woman’s that caused it, but it was excruciating and he was shaken to his core. If Blake never met another Fae, it would be far too soon. Blake’s eyes snapped up to the small creature beside him. The vague thought that if he had his power, he would have attempted to crush the man was not lost on him. As it was he lay exhausted, and shaking, such a

pathetic excuse for the beast he had once been. He noticed a visible shift in how the Fae was carrying himself. He seemed shaken as well, drawn in on himself and wrapped up in his own thoughts. “I need answers,” Blake sighed with an expectant glare. “I’m sure you do, Mr. Kerrigan,” Illwyn replied in an exhausted voice, “Though I’m sorry to say, I’m not sure I can provide much clarity. We are caught in the web of something that is different than anything I’ve ever seen, or heard of. It shouldn’t be possible. You shouldn’t be before me without your power. That woman should not be alive. I saw her die with my own eyes many years ago.” “I assure you, that woman I met was very much alive,” Blake replied bitterly, “Not that I even know her damn name. But you mean to say that the best you can tell me, is I had my power ripped away by a ghost? That’s about the most useless pile of shit I’ve ever heard. How do I get my power back? How to you fix this?” Somewhere dull and buried in his thoughts, Blake knew that he should be treading lightly. He couldn’t bring himself to push the fury down long enough to be polite with the creature. Illwyn seemed to take a few moments to pause and collect his thoughts but his expression was an unreadable mask.

“The unfortunate reality is I don’t know the answers to any of your questions, much as you’d like me to,” the Fae responded in a measured tone, “The best advice I can give you now, is to stay as far away from that woman as you can. I fear you may struggle with that, but I can tell you it is necessary, absolutely necessary. I need to confer with a couple other council members, then I’ll be back. I’m sorry but this may not be the last time we have to do this.” The seriousness in Illwyn’s voice was clear, and he looked at Blake with a mixture of confusion, concern, and fascination that caused Blake’s teeth to set on edge. The small man turned and moved towards the door, consumed in his thoughts. Blake was railing against it all internally, but he couldn’t seem to muster enough energy to do much about it. He wanted to demand answers. He wanted to at least demand information, anything. Hell, he’d settle for just knowing a name for the bitch that did this to him. He felt power surging up from his hand through his body, weak but still enough to lash out towards the Fae’s retreating back. “You didn’t answer how you’re going to fix this. Answer me, damn it!” Blake growled as the thin whip of power cracked through the room.

In a flash, the small frame of the Fae seemed to consume the room in the brightest white light that was blinding, expanding into every crevice of the room. The power flowed over Blake seamlessly, engulfing him and easing him back onto the bed. He felt every muscle in his body relaxing, it felt as if the cells in his body were slowing, his mind calming despite his wish to rage against the inequity of it all, but there was nothing but light and stillness around him in that moment. The last thought he had before unconsciousness overtook him again, was that the ring on his finger had turned from smokey white to the darkest black.

Chapter 11 Blake was moving through the darkened room, empty and lost. A pale, yellow light was glowing in the distance beckoning him. As he neared the light, it grew bolder and bolder. The light was blinding him with its intensity and warmth. He wanted to look away, but he was like a moth to the flame. As he inched closer and closer he could make out the form of a small, but curvy woman. He couldn’t make out any features. Every time he tried to look closer the light seemed to flare and he was

forced to look away again. He could just make out the small shape of a hand extended toward him. Thin, delicate fingers extended out reaching for him. He reached forward and brushed his fingertips against the small woman’s, and with a flare of pure white energy, was ripped back to reality. ~ Night had fallen outside of the medical room that Blake was being kept in. Blake shifted in the bed, his body aching with the sheer weight of power that he had been subdued under. His eyelids fluttered open and his eyes assessed the room dejectedly. He felt emptiness flooding over him, replaced only by a craving so deep it was pulling at his very core. He still wanted answers, but the burning craving that was pulling at the seams of his consciousness was overwhelming his thoughts. Blake pushed himself up to a seated position before swinging his long legs over the side of the bed to rest his feet on the cold floor. He was shaking, his muscles craving what they couldn’t have. Inhaling deeply, he quieted the shaking for a moment, but as soon as he exhaled, his body was wracked with the shaking again. The sinking emptiness in the pit of his stomach was nauseating, and his thoughts were buzzing. He needed to be far from wherever Illwyn expected him to be. There was simply no way he

was going to stick around to be subjected to having his mind ripped apart even more. He rose to a standing position, but swayed on his feet collapsing his weight over onto the counter nearby. His energy was sapped. The emptiness within him was so complete that he felt as if the room around him was crushing him and would shatter him into a million pieces. Blake’s mind kept flailing, attempting to focus on a thought but spinning into uncontrolled white noise every time he came close. He raised a hand to rake his fingers through his hair that was hanging in front of his face like a curtain. The cold metal of the ring on his finger passed across his skin and sent a jolt of clarity through his mind. The idea snuck into the corners of Blake’s mind. If he could just find the woman, he could make her fix him. For whatever reason, the idea stuck in his mind, clear as a bell while his other thoughts faded away into the static. He made his way across the room, propping himself up along the counter until he reached the door. His hand hesitated at the knob, wondering if they had locked him in or not. Relief flooded through Blake as the knob turned beneath his hand and opened into the darkened hallway. He needed to find the Fae woman, that much was clear to him that and putting as much distance between himself and Illwyn as possible, but

his mind swam in and out while he tried to reason out just how he was going to accomplish that without his power, without the enchantment she had put on before, and most importantly without being able to fly the vast distance to the small town they had been in. He made his way down the hallway using the walls and doorways to keep himself upright as he made his way towards his and Riley’s living quarters. A flash of inspiration struck him. Riley had a car. Blake had never seen the sense in keeping one, because he flew anywhere he needed to go or walked, but Riley had insisted on keeping one so that he could take girls out on “proper” dates. Blake also lacked much excess human cash and knew that Riley kept more on hand as well. With a sniff of petulance, he made his mind up to take what he needed from Riley. Blake would figure out some way to make it back up to him at some point, at least that’s what he was telling himself. It took far longer and far more energy to cross the large building than Blake would have thought. He reached his room and flung himself down on the bed with an exhausted sigh. His muscular body was wracked with waves of uncontrollable shaking again. He could feel every ounce of exertion it had taken him to make it to his room, pulling further on the emptiness at the very center of his being. He was ready to lay there on the bed and just

be done. His mind was content with that being the answer to his problems in that moment, until a flash of amber eyes locked on his lit up his mind. His thoughts drifted from her eyes to her head thrown back in a moment of passion, the long thin lines of her neck, her small but perfect breasts. He had to find her. The thought was consuming him again. He couldn’t pull himself out of the battle between needing her, needing to be done with everything, and needing to gain his power back. He pushed himself up and began pulling clothes into a bag that he grabbed off a shelf. His mind was functioning on some sort of survival mode, ignoring packing anything of any sentimental value and focusing on simply the barest of necessities. He turned to leave his bedroom, leaving every memento of his life behind him as he closed the door. He crept across the hallway unsteadily to Riley’s door. He was unsurprised to find it was already unlocked. Regardless of what night it was, Riley was rarely in his own room and never seemed to think that locked doors were important. Blake let himself into the room and began rummaging through a drawer in Riley’s desk, finding car keys and several, small stacks of bills that would be the best chance he had at making it far enough to find the woman. His mind was consumed with the task of simply

getting out of there as fast as possible and propelled him forward towards the garage that held all the cars, including Riley’s. His progress was slow going, but he made it to the garage as the sun was starting to peak behind the horizon, splashing the sky with a smattering of pinks and oranges. Blake settled into the driver’s seat of the old, blue mustang and tossed his bag on the seat beside him. He would have to figure out more about how to get to where Fae woman was, but he at least knew enough to get to a nearby shopping area, where he could get directions or a map of some kind. He turned the key in the ignition and sighed in relief as the car roared to life beneath him. Blake was sure that he was going to find her again. He had done it once; he could do it again. He had to find her in his point of view. He had no other options, and simply could not take this kind of existence. This endless pulling inwards that made him feel like he would collapse in on himself if he pressed too hard for just a moment. It was too much, and at the very core of it, he wanted nothing more than another taste of his own power back. Chapter 12

It had happened again to Blake as he made his way through the strange, human, suburban streets. He had been driving nearer to where the woman should have been, and he could feel a white-hot, burning sensation, but this time not on his forearm, it was located solely on the finger that held the ring the woman had given him. Blake adjusted his course based on the intensity of the cues the enchantment was giving him as he neared the familiar street. The blue car came abruptly to a stop outside of the house. He looked at the unassuming building with a small sense of trepidation. He wasn’t sure if this was the best idea, but it was, frankly, the only idea that he’d been able to hold onto. The absence of it was gnawing at him from the inside out. It felt like pieces of his mind were shattering with the missing pieces of what made him…him. The woman had taken his power; she could give it back. It must be that simple, he reassured himself. He pushed himself shakily out of the car and slammed the door shut behind him before he made his way up the small walkway to the house. Before he reached the door, it was pulled open, revealing the thin woman he had grown to loath so intensely. “Back again?” She asked with that teasing, lilting tone that had seemed to work so well on Blake the first night they met.

An irritated growl slipped from his lips as he fumbled up the short stairs. She stepped out of the way as Blake made it to the doorway, allowing him to stumble back into her house. The door shut behind them with a dull thud. Blake turned, glaring at her as she stood in front of the door surveying him with a look of disgust. He moved shakily towards her, backing her up into the doorway. He raised a hand with the intention of gripping it around her throat and squeezing until there was no flicker of light behind those teasing amber eyes. His hand landed flat against the door, leaning over her with his body dwarfing hers bringing his face down to mere inches from the woman’s. “Fix it,” he demanded as he leveled her with a desperate look. Blake had never felt desperate before in his life. The consuming need he had to regain his power was crippling his senses. His head buzzed with the emptiness, and his thoughts seemed to swim up to the surface through a pool of something thick and heavy. The woman tilted her head to the side as she looked up at him, trying to get a closer look at him. “It’s not that easy,” she purred as she laid a hand

flat against the smooth muscle of his chest and let it explore, “Comes with all sorts of strings.” The look she gave him seemed to darken, and despite the feeling that he should be revolted by her, Blake couldn’t help but feel his body tighten, his blood rushing a bit faster, and his breathing quickening. Blake inhaled deeply, hanging onto his rage like it was a life line. “Fix this, you miserable bitch,” he snapped. His free hand snatched hers away from his chest and pinned it to the door. His strength was gone, but she didn’t seem to fight him all that much. If anything, he thought the look in her eyes darkened even more, hinting at something altogether more seductive. He stepped closer to her, confining her between his arms, his body and the door. “Mmm, doesn’t work that way, love,” she purred looking up at him with a dangerous smile pulling at her thin lips, “I can give you a little again, but you’ll feel twice as bad next time when it runs out.” Her eyes dipped down tracing along the muscles underneath the tee-shirt he was wearing, before turning back up to his with a fiery glint. Her body writhed slightly against him, pulling her wrist against his strong hand.

The throbbing need that Blake felt was a mixture of rage, the need to reclaim his power, and a need for her despite himself. The sheer thought of her was both intoxicating and revolting at the same time. Blake could feel every inch of his body tensing. Blake’s lip curled, another low sound escaping him. “I don’t care,” he growled in her face, “Just fix it.” His arm started to shake from the strain of holding himself up against the door. The small amount of energy he was expending to stay up right had been bolstered by his frustration and anger, but was waning every second he stood there. He dipped slightly closer to her and she took the opportunity to slip her hand up and around his neck. The touch sent a fissure of heat rippling through his body, setting his nerves on fire. Blake could feel his vision starting to fade around the edges, unconsciousness pulling at him from every direction. Blake barely registered the small laugh that escaped the woman as she took her free hand and reached it up to pull his hand from the door above her, entwining their fingers as she pulled him closer. As soon as the contact was made, Blake could feel power coursing to life within him. Heat pooled through him from his hand through every inch of his body. The intensity of the power building in him made him feel incredible,

indestructable. He inhaled deeply as it filled him to the very brim, his head swimming as the power riding through his body consumed him. Without much conscious decision, he brought his lips to hers crushing them beneath his. He released her hands and let his own wander the length of her slim body until they found her hips. He slid his hands roughly around the small curve of her ass, feeling nothing but skin under her skirt. The lack of any clothing obstructing him seemed to spur him on further. Blake gripped her firmly and lifted her towards him, correcting the difference in height between them that made it impossible for him to bury himself in her like he wanted. As he lifted her towards him she wrapped her short legs around his waist, her hands making use of their freedom working at the waist of his jeans, tugging his clothing down just enough to free his rigid cock from its confines. Blake thrust, slamming himself into her with as much force as he could manage. She cried out, her head slammed back against the door as she threw it back. He wasn’t experienced enough to know that she wasn’t quite ready. Her shoulders hit the door with each thrust as he continued without much regard for her. As her body warmed to him easing the friction, she ground

her hips down to meet his. Their breathing was shallow and she groaned as he hit the deepest spot in her every time. Blake’s fingers raked roughly across her, he was torn between the urge to rip her apart and the intensifying energy between them that was making his head swim. Her nails dug into the skin on his back, and with a quick circle of her hips he was undone and exploded into her, his vision fading as he lost himself, feeling her body pulsing around him as she cried out his name. He could feel power draining from him, weakness taking over again as she unwound herself from him and he sunk to his knees, collapsing forward on all fours. Blake’s body was slack, weak and empty as the small amount of power she had given him was replaced by the now familiar gnawing emptiness. He felt the edges of his sanity pulling apart. He couldn’t go back to that void. It wasn’t living, just existing. Blake dropped his head to the floor, shaking as the reality of his situation wrapped back around him, smothering him with the heaviness of it. The woman walked away from him leaving him at her doorway like a discarded, beaten dog. “We’re definitely going to have to work on that,” she called casually from across the large room, “You’re so…over eager.”

Blake could hear noises from the room behind him, but the idea of doing anything, even moving in that moment, was just more than he could handle. He could hear her footsteps nearing him again as she hummed an unfamiliar tune under her breath. She sunk to the floor, her back against the door and leveled him with a studious gaze. “I’ll give you more power back, but it will cost you. There are terms to this arrangement, you see.” Blake was unmoving. The woman’s words drifted through his mind, lost in the void that seeped over him, pulling him deeper with every breath he took. He felt the pressure of her hand over his, and the searing heat of his own power washing over him. It was recognizable to him, the difference between what she had done to him when he arrived and the feeling of his own power washing through him. It wasn’t fixed completely; he could feel that. It was an echo of what he should be, but it was familiar enough that he felt that warmth he was so used to at the corners of his soul, instead of just an empty shell. “I’m going to need you coherent to understand me,” the woman explained as she settled herself back against the door, “That will not last if you try anything stupid. Calm yourself, or you’ll burn through it again.”

Blake pushed himself back onto his knees, eyeing her like the predator she was. He pushed himself upright, realizing that his pants were still well below his hips he set to the task of putting them back on correctly. Focusing far too much on the task of closing a zipper than was necessary. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he didn’t want to meet her eyes. He didn’t want to see how pathetic he was reflected there. “Right,” the woman exhaled, pulling a cigarette out of the pack on her lap and lighting it, “You’re going to need to stick around. I can give you back a bit of your power, or any power but only in small pieces. I’ll give you these small pieces, so you stop feeling like a strung out junky, and in return you’re going to help me.” She exhaled a small puff of smoke, watching it curl up lazily above her. There was a small voice in the back of Blake’s head that told him he should decline her offer, and simply try his luck without his power, but the overwhelming peace that settled over him had an intoxicating effect on him. His senses were heightened again, his body felt strong, and more than anything he felt more like himself. He wasn’t sure that he could turn away from that, no matter what the cost. He was not willing to go on existing as a shell. It was more than he could handle and he knew it.

“Help you how?” Blake asked the question, already making up his mind that he wouldn’t like the answer, regardless of what she said. The woman could have asked him the most innocent favor in the world, and he was certain he would still view it through a veil of distrust. He was committed to carrying it through, though. He needed it. He needed his power like he had never known before. He was consumed by the sheer weight of that necessity for his power to remain even marginally intact. “Does it really matter?” The woman turned her intense, amber gaze at him as he looked up from his lap awkwardly. A knowing smile curved at the corners of her lips. She knew she had him. He felt as if she was staring straight through him to the very center of his soul. Blake settled back onto the floor, his long legs bent in front of him to give him somewhere to prop his arms up. Blake was aware of just how much sway she had over him in that moment, feeling the ties between them as if she had tethered herself to the very center of his being. “What do you want me to do?” Blake sighed, his voice resigned and distant. He wasn’t sure how he could ever think of looking back at his old life anymore, when all he knew for certain was that he needed to stay close to this woman to not lose himself again. He knew that truth to very core, and the realization rattled him.

“Well,” the woman laughed, “For just how flippant you started out that wasn’t so hard now, was it? I thought for sure you’d take a few more hits back and forth before you caved. Your power is one of the purest I’ve ever found though; I’ll give you that. I can’t imagine how much it must hurt to have it stripped away.” Her eyes danced as she teased him over his situation. The smallest voice in his head was rankled by her, and wished to throw her against the wall and crush her, but he was overwhelmed by the sheer feeling of his power and his reason won out knowing that he couldn’t bring himself to jeopardize that. The woman fished a small piece of paper out of the plastic wrapper of her cigarettes and the box. She tossed the small slip towards him, letting it slide across the floor into his boot. “I need you to bring me that,” she explained as she inhaled deeply, “You have one shot at this, if we don’t get it this time, it’s going to be unattainable for, I don’t know how long. You have maybe a day before that power wears off. You bring it to me, you’ll get more. You miss the deadline; we’re done and best of luck living your life without your power.” Blake picked up the piece of paper with a wave of apprehension pouring over him. He opened the small scrap of paper, his eyes glancing

over the text with the sinking realization that it was a person she wanted, not so much a thing as she made it sound. The bigger problem in Blake’s estimation was that this person was also related to Illwyn Auberyn. Whoever Nyal Auberyn was, Blake was determined to bring him to the woman. His eyes flickered up to meet hers that were studying him seriously from across the small distance between them. “You can intercept at the time and location listed there. Should be minimally guarded. Do you have a problem with that?” She asked, as she crossed her arms over her chest. Blake blinked, looking back down at the paper in his hands, then back up at the woman across from him. “Problem? No. But a few things. One, I’ll do it, but this is going to mean I have nowhere to turn anymore, no home, nowhere to live, no resources. It’s not like you’re exactly offering to pay in cash here. How exactly do you see that working?” He paused leveling her with as arrogant a stare as he could muster, “Two, I don’t even know who the hell you are. Do you have a name? Or should I stick with calling you ‘The Evil Bitch’ like I have been in my head?” It was the closest he’d felt to himself in so long, and it was a relief just to get the words off his chest, though he was uncertain if he would end up regretting them or not. His eyes assessed the woman carefully, unsure just how she would respond.

Her collected façade seemed to crumble as she broke out in a fullbody laugh. “That’s perfect. I’ve literally screwed you in the most literal of ways and you don’t even know my name,” she mused as her shoulders shook with laughter, “You can stay here. I like you, and your disproportionate arrogance amuses me.” Blake felt an echo of his ego rankle at the fact that she was laughing at him, and so blatantly in how much amusement she seemed to gain from destroying his life. He reminded himself that it was necessary. If he didn’t learn to deal with her and meet her demands, he would be left to rot. He knew for certain that was far worse a fate then being her enduring joke. “Come on,” the woman sighed as she pushed herself up from the floor and stood before him, “I’ll show you a room. There are a couple other people around, but they may or may not have much to say to you just yet. You’ll meet them when you meet them.” Blake fumed silently and rose from the floor glowering down at her. He was baffled how something so insignificant and small could cause so much chaos and destruction. The woman started off up a staircase without checking to see if he was following.

“And what the hell am I supposed to call you?” Blake snapped up the stairs at her before following her. He was irritated at the fact that she was right. That he had given her access to so many parts of his life without even knowing her name. It wasn't like him, but perhaps the thing that should have bothered him the most, was how little it had mattered to him throughout it all. “I’d try and get you to do something silly like ‘My Queen’ or ‘Mistress’, but, somehow, I have a feeling I’m going to like you too much for that,” the woman replied in a lilting voice, “My name is Kali. That’s more than any of the others know. Don’t make me regret telling you. You do, and all your special treatment comes to an end.” She turned in front of a doorway, gesturing into the dark room as Blake neared her. “Special treatment?” He asked with an arched eyebrow, “If this is special treatment, I’d hate to see what you do to someone, who you are bored with.” The thought resonated between the two of them and Blake was absolutely certain he wouldn’t want to find out. Something in the power she had rolling off her made him quite certain that he would try to do everything he could to stay on her good side. “Sleep,” Kali commanded him with a perturbed tone, “He won’t be able to be intercepted until later in the day tomorrow anyway. You only

have until tomorrow night, though. Just because I like you doesn’t mean I won’t leave you out in the cold.” She turned and sauntered off down the hall, skirt swishing with the motion of her hips as she walked. Blake was overwhelmed with the reality of what he’d done, what had happened to him, and what he was about to do. There was simply no turning back now. Chapter 13 The room Blake was in seemed to be filled with a heavy, black fog. He was chasing that small, yellow light again, seeking it out frantically in the dark. As he neared, he could see her silhouette in the light. It was as if that warm, yellow light could purify him from the inside out, if he could just reach it. He finally neared the woman, steps away. He extended a hand, palm out to meet hers. His long fingers dwarfed the woman’s, the space between their palms was miniscule, but he could feel a gentle warmth pulsing between them. He reached to close the distance between them, fingers entwining between her small ones. A fire was lit within the very core of his soul. His heart was racing with the intensity of the flow of power between them. He moved to take another step closer, but the woman was ripped away from him, swallowed up by the fog. He searched frantically through the endless fog, not finding her again.

~ Blake woke from sleep, his hand clutching his chest. His heart was still racing as it had been in the dream. He couldn’t explain why it was having such a profound effect on him. He was half convinced that it was just Kali playing with his mind, or warping his emotions again in some way. As much as he wanted to write the dreams off as yet another way she was trying to play puppet master with his head, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something inherently warm, and different in the dreams. Raking a hand through his tousled black curls, Blake pushed himself from the creaky, decrepit bed that was now his. His eyes swept around the dingy room with disgust. He couldn’t fathom how he had ended up there. Defeat was weighing on his shoulders like a boulder pressing him ever further into the ground beneath him. He gathered what few belongings he had before heading down to grab the car he had arrived in. He felt the power Kali had given him ebbing slightly, the longer it was that he wasn’t near her. Of all the people that Kali could ask for, it had to be someone related to Illwyn Auberyn. The brief glimpse of the Fae’s power had been more than enough to assure Blake that he had no wish to be blatantly on the bad side of the man. Blake was hoping that he could plan and execute his

abduction without getting spotted. If he could manage to snatch the other Fae without someone recognizing him, he was certain he could at least keep the option of returning home a remote possibility. Blake slid behind the steering wheel of the baby blue mustang with a sigh. He figured he would have to return Riley his car sooner or later. His friend was equally obsessed with his car as he was women. He was sure that Riley was going to be livid with him when he realized that he had taken not only his stockpile of cash, but also his car. Blake tapped the location from the note Kali gave him into the GPS in his phone, before taking off with his mind completely lost in thought again. The robotic voice of the GPS cut through his thoughts to let him know that his destination would be on his left. Apparently, his destination was a crossroads in the absolute middle of nowhere. His long fingers wrapped against the steering wheel in agitation. Blake was a little early. He had been afraid to arrive late and miss the opportunity. He could feel how thin his grasp on his power was this far away from Kali, and with how long it had been. It was inundating his thoughts and pulling at every ounce of his attention. He had to do this. He had to abduct this Fae and return them to her. He was certain that if he didn’t, she would stay true to her promise and send him away without his power and he could

not take it. Even the idea of returning to that empty shell of himself shook Blake to his core. Blake’s eyes swept the area around him, narrowing in on a small building off the side of the road. He didn’t recognize the safe house as one where he had ever been before, but he could sense the wards that were in place around it. He exited the old car, the door closing heavily behind him. He hadn’t taken more than a few steps before he heard voices, carrying through the trees. Blake faltered as he recognized a familiar voice nearing him. He swore under his breath as he saw Riley step out of the tree line opposite him, a miniscule Fae traipsing along beside him. This could not possibly be a good thing, he thought. Blake stepped towards the other men, quickly. His long stride closed the distance quick enough that Riley hadn’t registered there was anything wrong with him. His friend even turned to greet him with a confused, but enthusiastic smile. As Blake closed the last few steps between them, the smile fell from Riley’s face replaced by nothing more than undeniable confusion. “Blake? What are you doing here, man?” Riley asked with anxiety dripping from his voice. Panic seemed to sweep through Riley, connecting the vacant

expression his friend had worn the last time he had seen him with the menacing one that graced Blake’s face as he approached. “I am taking this Fae,” Blake announced not caring what Riley thought about the matter, “I need him. It’s the only way I can get any bit of my power back, and without him I’m finished. So, he’s coming with me.” Riley was not as much of a slouch as Blake made him out to be typically, and he knew enough to sense how very wrong everything with Blake was in that moment. The frantic tone to Blake’s voice betrayed the underlying desperation that was lurking within him. Riley stepped physically between Blake and the Fae, his stance and body threatening and already rippling with the potential of a shift to his dragon form. “You need to get out of here,” Riley explained to the Fae, “Get to the safe house and throw up whatever you can for a ward. I have a feeling this is going to get messy.” In the time Riley was taking to address the Fae, Blake had begun calling on what little power he had. Blake felt as if he may have enough to shift to his dragon form, but probably not for long. The thought that was prevalent in Blake’s thoughts was that he was going to have to end this fight quickly, and decisively, or he would not get another chance at this.

The small, Fae man seemed rooted to the spot in fascination as he watched, awe-struck, as two men warped, stretched and expanded into their dragons. Beasts erupting forth with enough force to shake the ground beneath their feet. Blake made a mental note of where the small creature was to avoid him ending up as any sort of collateral damage. Blake’s ruby scaled dragon dwarfed Riley’s aquamarine dragon by almost half. Even with Blake bleeding power by the second it was nowhere near a fair fight, though Blake was sure that he couldn’t use his fire without either injuring the Fae or tapping out what power that Kali had granted him. The two dragons launched at each other, talons griping and tearing at the other’s body. Both were fighting with the intent on subduing the other, more so than outright destruction. There were some common rules of etiquette that dragons observed when fighting, the most important being that they would never knowingly damage another dragon’s wings, as their wings were particularly difficult to heal. Blake was desperate, and in that moment he didn’t care about etiquette. Blake shifted his weight unexpectedly, and upended Riley, pinning him squarely to the ground with a ground shuddering thud. Blake’s powerful talons spread open, hesitating over Riley’s left wing. Their eyes

were locked in a soundless glare, nothing between them but the heaving of their breath and a faint growl rumbling from the depths of Riley’s chest. The small Fae seemed to think that was the best opportunity to make a break for the small safe house. Blake’s eyes snapped up to see the Fae, then dropped apologetically to Riley’s. With a swift and unyielding motion, he tore a massive rend in Riley’s wing, from the joint to the edge of the wing. Riley’s body shook as a painful cry emitted from the dragon, altering to the scream of a man as his body shifted back to human form despite himself. Riley was left human, naked, and writhing on the ground as blood poured out from the wound. Blake moved with two short strides to cut off the Fae. He felt his power waning, and knew that he could not sustain his dragon form long enough to fly back. They would have to take the car. “Blake!” Riley cried out, his voice straining through pain, “Don’t do this. You can’t come back from this.” Riley was attempting to rise but a huge gash ran the length of his arm and back, blood seeping out of him and staining the ground around him.

Blake cast a pained look back at his friend. He was sure that Riley would never forgive him. There was a very real chance that Riley may never be able to fly again, let alone if he survived the sheer loss of blood that he was experiencing. Blake cut off the Fae’s escape with the edge of a wing. He flung the Fae back towards the ground, causing him to stumble and fall, striking his head on a rock and knocking him unconscious. Blake resumed his human form, pulling what little power was left back within himself. Blake worked to tune out his friend’s pained cries. “I wish there was another way,” Blake offered as he picked the small Fae up and slung him over his back like a rag doll, “There just isn’t. I have to do this.” Blake strode back towards the car and opened the trunk, tossing the Fae in like a sack of potatoes more than an actual living creature. The shift back to his human form spent much of the remaining power Blake had left. He felt his hands shaking, the lack of power eating at the edges of his concentration.

The sound of the trunk closing caught Riley’s attention, he groaned as the pain over took him. “Fucking stole...my car. We are done, Kerrigan,” Riley groaned as his consciousness began to fade, “Done.” Chapter 14 There was a piece of Blake that knew he should have some sort of guilt or shame how things had gone down between himself and Riley. The emptiness that was threatening the edges of his mind was washing any of that rational reaction away. It was replaced by the calm and callous realization that Blake was going to do whatever it took to maintain his power from Kali. He had to have it. Blake was not capable of withstanding life without his power. He approached the house that was becoming increasingly familiar to him. He had meant to sling the small Fae over his shoulder again to bring him up the small steps to the house. Blake’s plan had to make an abrupt adjustment as his power waned fifteen minutes out from the house. He was shaking and empty again, this time the world was swimming around him. He could barely focus his eyes on the road as they reached the house. He exited the car and pried the trunk open, bracing himself against the lid. He stared idly down at the body of the unconscious Fae beneath him

in the trunk of the car. Blake could barely keep himself upright, he wasn’t sure how he expected to get the small creature inside, even with as small as he was. He sighed and pushed the lid of the trunk down with a snap, before turning and heading up the walk to the house. He entered the front door without knocking this time. He pushed it open and wandered into the kitchen where he found Kali perched on a bar stool. She glanced up at him expectedly. Her expression fell as she realized that he was alone. “Are you serious? I was certain you’d be able to take on that puny friend of yours,” she sighed as she unfolded her legs and hopped down off the stool, “I don’t know why you’d bother coming back then. You know the deal, you had one shot.” Blake held a hand up, showing her the ring that should have been glowing with his power but was the deepest of blacks in the absence of his power. “Check the trunk,” Blake muttered as he tossed her the keys, “I’ll move him later, when you give me more.” The change in expression for Kali could not have been more night and day. She went from irritated to gleeful, like a kid in a candy store as she heard the news.

“You actually got him?” She asked, dancing back and forth, “You don’t even understand how big a deal this is. We can do it now. We can take on more of the council. He is the key we needed to get in.” Kali clasped him on the shoulder, squeezing the muscles beneath her hand slightly as if he were her confidant. She seemed so absorbed in her plans, that she had forgotten just how desperate Blake was for more power. He swayed on his feet, the lack of power and emptiness taking an exponential toll on his body. His vision blurred and he slumped unconscious to the floor. The last thing he heard was the muffled curse Kali muttered under her breath as she watched him pass out. ~ Blake was lying, shaking on the floor of the dark, foggy room. He lacked the motivation to even move. He was sure that he was going to simply sink into the shadows, where he obviously belonged. He had been prepared for that emptiness, but not for how fast it had washed over him. The feeling of fingers tracing the curve of his face made him open his eyes. He was momentarily blinded by the bright, warm light that swept over him. He was sure he could relax into the light forever. It was perfect peacefulness. His breath caught as the soft pulse of power eased over him,

gentle and full of warmth. It swept over him, building a pure longing within him. ~ Kali smacked hard against Blake’s cheek ripping him out of his dream, her thin legs straddling either side of his chest. His eyes fluttered as he fought for consciousness. Kali laid a hand over the ring on his hand and watched with satisfaction as he awoke beneath her. “Welcome back, sunshine,” she teased as Blake shoved at her trying to get her off him, “You’re going to have to learn not to burn so fast, love. You’re burning through everything I give you twice as fast as you should be.” Blake groaned and simply rolled to his side attempting to ignore her and avoid having to make eye contact with her. He was overwhelmed, the power crashing over him. It wasn’t a gentle sweeping of warmth like his dream had been, but a fire burning its way through him and ravaging everything it encountered. Kali stepped away with a sigh of frustration. “That’s your problem, love. You let your power ride you instead of the other way around,” she quipped as she flounced out of the room.

“Oh, please just go fuck off and leave me alone,” Blake groaned as he rolled flat on his back and stared up at the ceiling, “I did what you asked. You have your Fae.” Every place the cold floor touched his body seemed to anchor him back to reality as the flood of power set his thoughts swimming. Kali stepped forward looking down at him with a look like a cat that had just caught the mouse. Blake had the sinking feeling that the wheels were turning in her mind, and he was certain that he was not going to like whatever it was that Kali had planned for him next. “Technically I don’t have my Fae, you left it in the trunk, but that’s okay you can leave him there for now. We need to get him out of here anyway,” Kali explained, “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Get whatever it is you think you need ready, we’re getting out of here. You can transport the Fae; he’s going to be your responsibility. One of the others will ride with you too.” The fact that Kali was collecting various creatures and referred to them as a thing struck Blake. He was not a person, not a shifter to her. He was just another thing she had collected. An altogether different kind of emptiness tugged at his mind. He was just a tool to her, a means to an end. His thoughts drifted momentarily to Riley, and what it would mean for him

to recover from what Blake had done to him. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he deserved everything that was happening to him. “Where are we going?” Blake asked with little interest. He wasn’t sure why she was so intent on leaving, or why it was so important that he have this Fae with him now. He wasn’t sure if there was a reason that he was asking or just more that he was trying to hang on to anything that made any sort of sense. The wash of power was beginning to calm as he laid there staring up at Kali. She cast an exasperated sigh his direction before turning on her heel. “Colorado, if you must know. There’s something I need there,” she called over her shoulder as she walked out of the room. Blake was sure that something was another someone. Blake felt like that fact should bother him more than it did, an echo of what conscience he used to possess, but all he felt was a resounding nothingness. He was not excited for the trip, fearful of the trip, disturbed by Kali. He was simply just existing, but it was enough because at least he had his power, and if he at least had that, he could manage anything else that came along. Epilogue

The body of the young woman shivered visibly as Blake’s body drew closer. His eyes drank in every inch of her pale skin as he closed the distance between them. The air between them felt like it was charged with electricity. He watched as she drew a slow breath and could feel her body responding to his need before he even touched her. He had never wanted someone so completely, with such pure unadulterated desire before. He had to have her. He drew another step closer, her face masked by the bright, warm light that seemed to pulse from within her, nearly closing the distance between them. He was as close as they could be without actually touching. His chest was a fraction of an inch from her own. He held the moment, drinking in every ounce of the nearness, driving himself slowly mad with it. Every part of his body was aching to touch her, or for her to touch him, or for any kind of release from the tension that was palpable between them. He slowly raised a hand, cupping the side of her face, to draw her in for a kiss. As his skin brushed lightly against the side of her cheek and neck, he felt her body respond, shivering beneath his touch. With a flash of the purest, white heat and desire, he felt his entire being consumed by the light as his lips inched closer to hers. He ached for her in the deepest way

and could feel her need echoing back to him. Every fiber of his body craved her touch, he wanted all of her. ~ Blake’s eyes flashed open as the small, irritating Fae he was with smacked him upside the head. Blake scanned the area around them as disappointment crowded his thoughts. His dreams had become so real to him; they were his only escape from what his life had become. The small caravan of cars was pulling off the side of a small, barren highway somewhere in the endless expanse that made up Kansas. Blake was certain that they were stuck in some sort of time loop, where all they did was drive past the same fields, single tree and cow repeatedly. Nyal, the Fae that Blake had been tasked with keeping track of, raised his hand as if to strike again. Blake’s eyes snapped to the little creature who cowered back against the opposite car door. “If you touch me again, I’ll tie you to the roof, you miserable, little troll. She said I have to get you there. She never said anything about how you got there,” Blake spat as he pushed himself up higher in the seat of the dirty car. Blake had found his new, traveling companion to be the most singularly, frustrating creature in existence. The wave from the shifter

driving the car front of him indicated they would all be moving on their way soon. “Why do you always have to take it there?” Nyal asked, indignant, “I’m not a troll. And frankly, all I did was try to wake you up, so that you wouldn’t get us left here. Not my fault you sleep like the dead.” Nyal’s voice was high pitched for a male, and he tended to sound like everything he said was whining. His voice grated on Blake’s nerves endlessly. Blake wished he could just knock the Fae unconscious again, things were so much more peaceful, when Nyal had been suffering from a head injury. Thank goodness their other traveling companion did nothing but sleep and snore. Blake sighed, turning the key in the ignition. The only good thing he could see from their trip to obtain Kali’s next prize, was the longer their trip drew on, the stronger Blake’s dreams about the woman became. They were his sole consolation prize in his new lot in life. He smacked at Nyal’s hand as he tried to turn the radio on for the hundredth time. Blake preferred to stew in his thoughts in silence, clinging to the feeling from his dreams as the power always slowly seeped from his body. He tried to tune out the complaints from Nyal as he stared out the

window ahead of him. His thoughts flickered to his choices that lead him there, where he was going, and how he would live with himself the longer he did this.

Touch of Fire Into the Darkness Book 1 Jasmine B. Waters

Chapter 1 Mari shivered with the feeling of another body drawing closer to her. She could see the ripple of muscles as the extremely masculine form took another step closer. The air between them felt like it was charged with electricity. She drew a slow breath and could feel his passion, tugging at every corner of her body. She had never experienced having someone look at her with such a pure desire before, dream or not, she was certain this was something new. The man drew another step closer, his face ever in shadow, nearly closing the distance between them. The man seemed to simply embody the darkness around him, making it a part of himself. He was as close as they could be without touching. His chest was a fraction of an inch from her own. Mari felt if she could just take a deep enough breath, she would feel her breasts brush against his smooth skin in the most delicious way. Every part of her body was aching to touch him. Or for him to touch her, or for any kind of release from the tension that was palpable between them. He slowly raised a hand, moving to cup the side of her face, to draw her in for a kiss. The man moved slow and deliberately, as if he feared her touch. His hand was massive in comparison to her own. As his skin brushed lightly against the side of her cheek and neck, Mari felt an immeasurable shiver run through her body and straight into her soul. With a flash of the purest white heat and desire, she felt her entire being truly awaken for the very first time as his lips inched closer to hers. She ached for him in the deepest way and could feel his need echoing back to her. Every fiber of her body crying out for his touch.

˜ “The Council will hear Mari Elwood on the matter of Kiln, the tiger, and his transgressions,” a clear voice rang out through the open, glass walled hall. Eyes shifted around the room and settled on a mess of white-blond hair at the back of the room. The large mass of curls hung over the woman’s face, obscuring much of her body from view, but the form remained unmoving other than drawing heavy, deep breaths. A few uncomfortable coughs slipped through the room. The council leader on the dais frowned and looked up from his tablet, “Mari Elwood?” His voice boomed, sending a reverberating wave of power through the room with it that caused a visible shudder in the assembled crowd. The pale, blond, mass of curls jerked up with a gasp, revealing a young woman who looked startled, and rather embarrassed as she flushed a deep shade of red. Her hand grasped at her neck with an odd expression crossing her face. Her otherworldly pale skin seemed to rouge the deepest shade possible from top down. Her bright violet eyes flickered around the room meeting the accusatory glares that met her with yet more embarrassed flushing. “Yes! Uh, apologies. Coming,” she spouted awkwardly as she made her way through the crowd. She turned sideways attempting to slide through the crowded benches without bumping into other onlookers with her short, but curvy, body. She felt a small flood of emotions as she passed by a few of the men in the row of seats she squeezed past. There was no good way to pass them in her mind. Either way front or back she was likely to feel their less than gentlemanly feelings projected loud and clear. She frowned for half a second before pushing the thought from her mind, front it would be. She squeezed passed the men, her ample chest the focus of several pairs of eyes. Focusing on the task of reaching the podium kept her distracted enough to miss the confused and disapproving looks that were passed through the room between some of the female elders. There

weren’t many in their area who understood the odd young woman. Her skill was something of a rarity after her mother passed. Mari Elwood was a well-respected member of the Fae community despite her oddness. She was generally seen as one of the kindest beings that you could encounter, just very distant and a bit spacey at times. Not many understood that it was her own defenses against them that made her seem so odd. She had soft, blond curls that always seemed to have a life of their own, cascading down to her thin waist. Her hair seemed to give her a rather frazzled and chaotic look even on its best days. She was beautiful, just had an aura of chaos and differentness around her that made it difficult for other Fae to get to know her well. She was often called before the council to provide evidence incriminating or defending various creatures who were accused of bending or breaking the law. Typically, other empath’s readings could be challenged as their abilities could often be clouded, but the consensus was that if Mari had been party to an arrest and passed on her readings, her word was final. She was known among those in her region as an incredibly strong empath, capable of picking up on even complex emotions. Despite her rather odd personality, she was not known to be the type to fall asleep on the job, let alone in the middle of a council meeting. Mari approached the podium and drew a steadying breath before addressing the council before her. She had never enjoyed this part of her job. Standing up in front of a crowd took a tremendous amount of energy for her to not let everyone’s emotions wash over her. Mari understood the necessity, and knew that given her family’s role as a governing family, she was expected, if not required, to carry out this part of her responsibilities. “Sir,” she said with a solemn bow, “I am here to provide evidence against the shifter in question. Kiln was approached by a team of enforcers after reports of a man who could turn into a tiger were circulated through the town of Gunnison. After questioning, I can attest that he did willfully deceive the enforcement team when they asked if he was the tiger in question. He was overcome with guilt, shame, and fear at being caught. He is guilty of both charges. Endangering exposure to humans, as well as giving a false statement.” Small whispers were exchanged by a few of the onlookers, while the rest tried to respect the formality of the occasion. The council exchanged a few brief words, acknowledging Mari’s validity as evidence for passing judgement on the shifter. In all, there seemed to be a consensus that the tiger was most definitely guilty. “Very well,” the head councilman announced in the same solemn voice. His long, thin grey hair hung in two sheets down the side of his face. His dark eyes surveyed the young woman with a perplexed look. He was reading her expression for a little longer than was warranted before he called for the other members of the team who had apprehended the tiger to come forth. Mari met the councilman’s eyes and faltered for a moment as he gave her an encouraging smile. Confusion crossed her face, which had returned to its natural state of paleness. Her complexion was so white it was nearly translucent, patched with the lightest of freckles all over her body. Mari found it strange that he would break his usual stoic form in the middle of a meeting. It was rare her father showed anything even close to a smile during council meetings. Mari waited quietly as the team recounted the details of the tiger’s arrest with a factual tone, including his abduction of a human witness, before they were all excused back to their seats without any additional questioning. The council conferred and the tiger was sentenced to having his powers stripped and being sent back to his clan for containment before the meeting was dismissed. Of their laws, risking exposure was one of the most serious. The removal of one’s supernatural powers, leaving the individual a bit like a shell of their former self, was one of the worst experiences that a shifter or Fae could endure.

After the formality of the meeting ended, the social atmosphere broke out. Voices rising as dozens of conversations started up. Bodies milled about the room as everyone began chatting, gossiping, and in general catching up on the latest rumors from the mountain region. Mari met a few polite greetings with a quiet smile. She hated the council meetings. So many people all in one place. The whole process of shielding herself from so many people was simply exhausting. She was about to slip out of the exit when a hand stopped her gently on her arm. “I know,” Mari said with a sigh as she turned to meet the head councilman’s inquisitive gaze, “I am sorry. It really was an accident, Father.” She knew the role of leading wore on her father, and she was growing used to seeing his age displayed in the faintest of lines of his face, and a faint shadow of exhaustion lingering behind his eyes all the time. Her father’s face softened as he listened to Mari. Berengar Elwood still looked like a young man facially, but his once raven-black hair had faded to the lightest grey over the preceding years, and his eyes always seemed to show the deepest signs of his age. More wisdom and power stored behind them, but all just beneath the surface, like a storm brewing in their grey interiors. “I don’t mean it like that at all, dear. It’s just not like you, and you seemed so out of sorts, but I couldn’t really tell what the matter was with all of this going on,” he mumbled with an absentminded gesture towards the room behind them. The sheer chaos that any council meeting brought to their family was undeniable and anyone with even latent telepathic abilities could feel the strain of it. Mari inhaled as if trying to figure out how to accurately explain herself, but before she could finish a council woman approached, beckoning to her father. Mari gave him an apologetic smile as she moved to excuse herself. “I’m just going to go lay down,” she whispered before brushing a quick kiss on his cheek. Berengar frowned as she slipped out of the room, unable to get a good read on her, but his focus was quickly pulled away to intrusive questions by the woman, who had approached. He often worried over how much pressure was put on his daughter after his wife had passed, but he couldn’t do much about it in that moment. Mari walked down the hall feeling the tension of being in a crowded room slip from her the further she got from all the people. She headed towards the door that led from the council hall to the courtyard, inhaling deeply as soon as she was outdoors. Nature always helped her feel better. Just inhaling the crisp mountain air was enough to start boosting her energy back up. She still felt drained, but Mari could feel herself grounded to the earth beneath her, energy reaching up from beneath the soil. The Elwood family was one of the nine Fae families that were spread out through North America to help govern the local magical community. The region they were responsible for spanned across from the southern edge of Colorado where the Rocky Mountains began to the Pacific coast, and clear up into Canada. They had their home built high in the mountains of Colorado, nestled in a valley secluded from humans. The scenery was referred to as the Swiss Alps of North America. Their home was more of a compound than a home, with an exterior wall patrolled by other Fae pledged to their family, and several buildings contained within. The main house, where the immediate family lived was a large modern home, with large windows and polished metal accents, separated from the council hall, shops, and other housing by a large courtyard with an intricate garden. Mari loved her home, but it could, at times, feel like more of a prison than a home with the number of people always around and watching her every move. She was appreciating the time in the garden, attempting to collect her thoughts, as she made her way towards the main house. Mari simply could not explain to her father why she was so drained. She had been spending all her energy blocking out everyone in the room, and keeping any prying minds out of her own, that she hadn’t even realized that she had slipped into such a deep sleep. The sleeping he may forgive, but under

no circumstances could she possibly tell her father why she was so exhausted even before the meeting. How could she possibly explain such a dream to her father of all people? Her hand reached up to the side of her face where the man had touched her in the dream. He had slid his hand so lightly across the skin there, as if she were made of glass and was going to shatter. Mari shivered, just with the thought of it, as her body tightened in response. The skin on her neck was hot to the touch, almost like she had been in the sun too long, but cool everywhere else. She sighed wistfully, looking up at the trees above her, as if they would give her the answers she was looking for. Mari was enjoying her commune with the trees, though getting no answers, when a hand reached around her waist and shocked her out of her own thoughts. She gasped and jerked out of the hands with an indignant look. “Fin!” She gasped in frustration as her mind made the connection with who had approached her. Her violet eyes narrowed at the tall, lean man before her. Arrogance rolled off him in waves, and it was oppressive for Mari to even be near him. How her father even remotely thought that he was a viable option for her to marry would never make sense to her. Fin was one of the four men that her father had chosen to court her, and was sadly, the least repellant of them all. He was at least close to her age, and Fin was attractive, the problem was he clearly knew it. Fin’s pale blue eyes drifted down her small form, lingering far too long on the curve of her breasts above the fitted shirt she wore, before traveling down and back up again. The smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth betrayed enough of what he was thinking that even a human could have gathered the intention in his eyes. He looked at her the way a predator eyed down prey, his eyes full of unseemly intentions barely beneath the surface. Mari could feel the shift in his emotions from arrogance, to lust, to a need to own and dominate. She stepped back at the physically revolting reaction that he caused. Mari mentally worked to shield herself from him, continuing her retreat as he continued stepping toward her, failing on both accounts as he continued closing in on her. She felt panic rising in her chest as his need to dominate seemed to roll over her as a need to consume her entirely. “Please, I am really not in any kind of mood to talk right now. I’m tired, exhausted, and I just want to go sleep it off,” Mari pled with him, trying her best to stay polite. She couldn’t afford to offend Fin outright. Fin’s family had influence. They weren’t a council family, but they were one of the highestranking families that defended the mountain region and Mari understood the importance of that. While she understood it, she didn’t like it. In fact, the very idea of him touching her in any intimate way made her want to run in the opposite direction as far and as fast as possible, but she had to at least give the impression of not spurning him outright, though that was becoming increasingly difficult. “Hmmm, sounds like fun,” Fin purred in a low voice, trying again to close the gap between them, “I could join you.” He grinned as if his suggestion needed some sort of additional layer of creepiness added to it. Mari wished dearly she could tell him that she knew his intentions loud and clear, and that she wasn’t interested. She could guess that someone as arrogant as he was would take strong offense to being rejected so quickly. Mari took a slow, deep breath to steady herself and remain calm. Fin was trying her patience, but, above all, she had dealt with enough awkwardness for one day. “Hmmm, not so much. You’ll have to excuse me, I really do need to go lay down,” she said in a measured, polite voice trying to step to the side to go around him to the door that led the main residence. Fin stepped to the side blocking her way with his large form. He towered over her by about a foot. He seemed to draw more confidence from that fact, enjoying the feeling of overpowering someone smaller than him.

Mari was short, as were most of the women of her family, and she had to look up at him to meet his eyes. Something about having to look so far up to him made her realize it just added to the feeling that he viewed her as an object to be dominated into submission. Mari felt another wave of his domineering, frankly aggressive, intentions wash over her. With the level of exhaustion she was fighting, she couldn’t stop it from affecting her. She swayed slightly on her feet, as he extended his hand yet again for her waist and tried to pull her towards him. Mari’s face contorted in a look of revolt that she couldn’t help even if she had tried. Before Mari could even piece what was happening together, her brother, Valentyn, was pulling her away, the large hulking form of her other brother, Magni, was behind him dwarfing Fin. If Mari had felt small compared to Fin, her brothers were another story all together. The largest of her five brothers, Magni was formidable. Looking more like a human basketball player than anything else. He was lean and muscular, but could easily take someone the likes of Fin, if he had a mind to. They weren’t quite as broad as some of the other shifters she’d seen but were deceptively powerful. Compared to the wiry frame that Fin presented, it would have hardly been a fair fight. Mari’s brothers had inherited the physical traits that ran through their father’s bloodline, while Mari and their younger sister had gained the more sensitive traits from their Mother’s side of the family. Her brothers were exceptionally strong and had the fastest reflexes she’d ever seen. She was confident that Magni would be able to sort out the situation with Fin in some way. “You need to be more careful with that one,” Val murmured, as he ushered her quickly out of the courtyard, with an arm protectively around her shoulders, “I don’t hear great things about him from some of the other women.” She looked up at her brother’s dark eyes with a dry laugh as they entered their home. The benefit of dealing with her brothers was they didn’t even have any latent psychic or empath abilities. She didn’t have to worry about shielding herself from them, at least, she just ended up picking them up loud and clear. She could sense the true concern in her brother and it was reassuring that they looked out for her. “You have no idea,” Mari sighed, as she attempted to release more of the tension that was weighing her down. She could tell Val was looking for an explanation why, and Mari sensed his need to know, but she just couldn’t handle him in that moment. Mari desperately needed to be alone, and if she was honest with herself, she wanted desperately to fall back asleep and see where that dream left off. “Mar,” Val said with a tentative look as he let his arm fall, “You ok? You haven’t been yourself all day. Normally, you would be bouncing all over the place trying to catch up on the gossip. I know council meetings are hard, but you look like you’ve been running yourself ragged. Maybe we need to leave you here when we go out for the next assignment.” His eyes were searching hers, genuine concern there. Mari loved her brothers dearly, and all five were equally protective, but Valentyn was probably the worst. He was closest to her in age, and they had always gotten along well. Even he had the idea that she was someone to be protected, though she had proven herself time and again out on assignments. She desperately wished she could tell him the truth, but feared even he would think she was starting to go crazy. Mari knew that one of the biggest problems she had was simply not knowing what was wrong with her. The last thing she wanted to do was try and explain something she didn’t even understand, or something that felt intrinsically so wrong and right at the same time.

Chapter 2 She could feel his need rolling off of him in waves. It wasn’t a dominant need, but came from some sort of deep place she couldn’t put her finger on. It was as if he was reaching out from his very soul and trying to convince her of how much he needed her. There was a hunger beneath it all. The hunger that she felt was unlike any she had ever encountered. A hunger for power, a hunger for freedom, a hunger for release, and for…her. Each step the man took towards her in the dark room caused her breath to grow shorter and shorter. She felt the rise and fall of her chest straining against her bra. She pulled against the restraints that had her splayed across the bed, firm and tight against her wrists and ankles. She looked down her body at his form as he neared the edge of the bed, prowled up the bed towards her. She could see his huge, muscled body looming closer, but not his face, never his face. Long hair swept against her legs as he leaned over her. His body was massive compared to her own. The hair caused a shiver to run up her spine as she writhed, anticipating his touch. Her body ached as she pulled against the bonds. Her own need was matching the intensity of his as it crashed over her. He raised a hand, one finger gently grazing the inside of her thigh and sending a tremor of fire through her body. A passionate sigh escaped her lips, despite herself, as his finger neared her hip. She arched her back, and as she lowered herself back down, she attempted to lean up as much as she could to meet his lips for a kiss, but her body was ripped from the room just as they came together.

˜ Mari’s eyes snapped open with a panicked gasp. She bolted upright in bed attempting to catch her breath. She was still riding the wave of passion and need that had crashed into her like a brick wall. Her breathing was ragged as she pushed her hair from her face. She winced as she shifted in the bed, causing her legs to rub together. She peeled back the covers on the bed, looking down at her pale leg. A lingering, angry, red line echoed the touch from her dream, leading from her inner thigh just to the edge of her hip. She touched it gently with the tip of a finger, pain searing through her as her finger made contact, causing her to inhale in a faint hiss as she moved her hand away. It was getting worse. The first few dreams had been mild by comparison. A hand on her face or neck, left with the faintest of warmth. Somehow the dreams were growing in intensity. She bit the corner of her lip out of habit. She had no idea what to do about the dreams. She didn’t know what to make of them and wasn’t entirely sure if this was normal for empaths or something she should be worried about. The only other Fae who had been as strong an empath as Mari, had been her mother, Maeve, and she had died giving birth to her younger sister years past. There were a few other people in her distant relatives that shared similar gifts, but none that she knew of who had ever even remotely reported such dreams. She took a few calming breaths that didn’t do much to cool her body. As soon as she closed her eyes, she could feel his heat inching closer to her again, a faint echo of feeling reaching out for her, faint but ever present. Mari rose from bed, letting her thin, silk nightgown fall, hanging around her knees. She retreated out to the balcony, bracing herself against the railing as the sharp, cold, mountain air enveloped her. The cold was a welcome friend in that initial moment, sweeping away the intense heat that she had been drowning in, and chilling her through to her core. She closed her eyes and drew a slow, deep breath again, focusing on centering herself. She felt a faint pull, but was at least able to open her eyes and not fear a dark figure closing in on her, clouding out all other thoughts.

The cold air started to be too much for the thin gown she was in. Her skin rippled in faint goosebumps. Mari wrapped her arms around herself trying to stay in the comfort of the cold air for a moment longer. She heard a knock at the door and spun with a questioning look as it opened before she could answer. Her eyes narrowed as a small, blond head poked in the crack of the door, familiar violet eyes peeking around the edge of the door. “Mari? You up?” Her younger sister, Rena, didn’t wait more than half a beat before pushing herself through the door. Her small, light form bounding in the room and flopped down on Mari’s bed with a pleasant smile at her sister. “Are you sure you have to leave with Val and Magni today?” she asked with a pout. “It’s not fair you get to go and I have to stay here. It’s boring here. I never get to go anywhere fun. Silas is so boring.” “Be nice,” Mari reminded her gently. “He’s who trained me. You’ll be out with us in no time.” Mari smiled at her younger sister’s musings. She knew the young girl was eager to get out and explore the world, but she hadn’t even had enough basic training to be able to have her powers unlocked. She still wore her pendant constantly to ensure that she didn’t bleed out powers all over the place. It was the only way that Fae with gifts such as hers could be around others at a young age, otherwise their powers were completely out of control. “Yes, Rena,” Mari sighed as she returned inside and closed the door behind her, “I have to go. It’s work. I’ll be back in a couple days though and we can do something fun. Okay?” Mari had an odd relationship with her sister as she had been responsible for quite a bit of Rena’s upbringing and daily needs. Rena attempted to give her sister the very saddest look she could muster in hopes that it would sway Mari into changing her answer. Seeing the effort was a lost cause, Rena shrugged and flipped herself over and hung her head upside down off the side of the bed, her blonde hair cascading underneath her head. She smiled up at Mari as her eyes took in her sister’s rather disheveled appearance. “You look like a crazy lion or something,” Rena giggled from her upside-down perch, “Oh! Yeah, I was supposed to tell you, everyone is ready in the dining room. We’re supposed to be down there already.” Rena began swinging her head lightly back and forth, allowing the tips of her blonde hair to graze the floor with each pass. Mari sighed as she turned towards the mirror and caught a glimpse of the bedraggled mess that peered back at her. She was sure if she tried to go down to dinner looking like she’d stuck her finger in an electric socket she would never hear the end of it from her brothers. With an exasperated sigh, she attempted to tame her curls with copious amounts of hair products. Mari listened intently as Rena rattled on about all the comings and goings of the council meeting and all the excitement she had seen. Mari was sorely disappointed to see that all her attempts at styling her hair had only seemed to anger it. With a frustrated grumble, she attempted to weave the wayward strands into a braid that would at least contain the bulk of the errant tresses. “Alright,” Mari sighed as she passed over to the closet that housed her clothes, “Out of here while I get dressed. I’ll be down in just a few minutes, okay? You head down, so we don’t both get in trouble.” Rena pushed her legs and body up and over her head, over the side of the bed in a half-roll. She grinned up at Mari as she passed by on her way to the door. Rena bounded out of the room, skipping her way off towards the hallway that would lead down to the kitchen area of their home. Mari felt exhaustion creeping back in on her, and attempted to fight the feelings back. She eyed the contents of her closet as she tried to figure out what to wear for the dinner. At least without a council meeting, her attire could pretty much be anything she chose as long as it wasn’t inappropriate

by her Father and brothers’ standards. She pulled on a thin, black tee shirt and jeans, moving carefully over the remnant burn from her dream. Mari winced as she attempted to walk in the jeans and felt the fabric rubbing against the tender skin on her leg. She knew there was no way that she would be able to make it through the entire dinner with the fabric rubbing against the angry red burn along her thigh. Mari spun back towards her dresser with an exasperated whine escaping her lips. Mari traded out the jeans for a long, flowy black skirt. She hiked it up above her knee and applied some salve to the mark on her thigh, wincing as her finger came in contact. She couldn’t understand how in the world a dream could be doing this. She felt like the answer was so beyond her knowledge and familiar skills. Mari just couldn’t figure out how she was going to go to someone for help with it. It was just a little too embarrassing for her to just outright discuss with anyone she knew. Mari finished getting ready for dinner and left her room heading down the hall towards the large dining room where everyone was already assembled. She prepared herself, making sure that she was mentally shielding herself enough given how tired she was. It seemed like no matter how much sleep she was getting, when she had these intense dreams she felt twice as tired when she woke up. Tired was a recipe for disaster for most empaths. Mari’s eyes scanned the room as she entered, and her face lit up into a warm smile as she saw her favorite uncle sitting at the far end of the table, engrossed in whatever conversation he was having with her father. She made her way down the length of the table, stopping briefly to give Rena’s hair a small ruffle before she settled herself into her regular seat. “Ah, there she is,” her uncle smiled as she began serving her plate from the assembled dishes before them, “I was wondering if I was going to get to see you at all or not this afternoon.” Her uncle was a wisp of a man, barely taller than Mari herself, but who had kind eyes and looked strikingly like Mari’s mother. “I’m so sorry,” Mari offered as she added a spoonful of vegetables to Rena’s plate, “Today’s council meeting was just a lot, I guess. It took a more out of me than usual.” She shushed her sister who was protesting the additional vegetables, and began to poke at the food on her own plate with her fork. Mari wasn’t entirely sure how hungry she was, so she pushed food back and forth to give herself something to do while she decided. Mari raised her eyes to see her father and uncle exchanging a knowing, worried glance. It gave Mari the irritating impression that she had been what they were discussing so seriously as she entered the room. She pushed the thought back in her mind, trying not to worry about how much this must be impacting her if everyone was so worried about her. “Right, well, I’m certainly glad you’re feeling better now,” Mari’s father offered as they all began eating, “It seems more important now that you go along with Valentyn and Magni.” He made a small nod in the direction of the two sons he mentioned, who were involved in a deep conversation of their own at the opposite side of the table. “Who exactly are we looking for again?” Mari asked quietly before taking a bite of the food on her plate. She hadn’t been given details of exactly what or who they were looking for on their next assignment, but she was hopeful getting out of the house would help her take her mind off things and hopefully stop the dreams she was having. She hoped she may be able to work a stop in to visit with her friend, Ben, before returning. She hadn’t seen Ben in several weeks and was looking forward to getting to catch up with her odd human friend. “This will be a little different than what you’re used to,” her uncle explained in between bites of food, “You’re really just tracking down a witness at this point. We were told that a bear shifter who had been seen last in the eastern region had encountered someone who is taking people, or people’s power, and we need to bring him in to get a better understanding of what he remembers. Apparently, he

injured a human, and his brother may be able to identify his location. You will be needed to see if the brother will help us and to try to make sure that it’s not too dangerous to bring him back to the residence. I’m worried about just what you’ll find once you do catch up with him.” Talk returned to much more mundane topics, as everyone settled in and began enjoying their food and drinks. Mari could easily sense how worried her Uncle was, and it seemed like such an odd thing to be so worried about, but she was confident there was nothing that she and her brothers couldn’t handle together. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was much more to the situation than her uncle and father were letting on, but she knew better than to push the subject. She was very interested to see what this was all about. Mari wondered if all she needed was just a good distraction to keep her mind off things. That should surely help stop her unconscious mind of traveling to such odd places when she dreamed.

Chapter 3 Mari and her brothers approached the small cabin where the bear shifter they were looking for was supposed to live. They had spent half a day tracking him down and looking for information based off the lead they had. They had found someone in a small mountain town who had thought they had seen him at their local safe house just the day prior and pointed them in the direction of a small, secluded cabin up the side of a mountain. Magni rapped his knuckles against the door a few times in a powerful, insistent knock. He settled himself back with his arms crossed across his chest. They were all slightly relieved and surprised when the door opened minutely. They hadn’t been very hopeful that this was the right cabin and all relaxed at feeling like they were on the right track. “William Franklin?” Val asked with a hopeful tone, as the large man peered around the edge of the door at them. “Yes sir, that’s me. Have I done something wrong?” The man responded through the crack in the door with a thick southern accent. He seemed uncertain about whether he should open the door the rest of the way or not, which was a reasonable reaction to the two looming Fae standing on his door step. “Not at all,” Val explained quietly, “We just had some questions for you about something you may have seen involving your brother. May we come in?” Val was a bit more outgoing than Magni, and had a much more pleasant demeanor than Magni, who seemed to have a constant scowl when out in public. “Sure, I guess,” the shifter muttered as he looked between the two of them. He seemed to latch onto Val’s kindness, while trying very hard to ignore Magni. He stepped back, pulling the door open wide enough for the Fae to enter, and his face registered surprise upon seeing there was a third person. He had not even seen Mari standing behind her bothers, but didn’t seem overly disturbed by the addition as his eyes traced down and back up her body. Mari took a steadying breath and worked a little bit harder to keep herself guarded. She was in no mood to feel anyone else’s lust washing over her. She had surprisingly had a decent night’s sleep with no dreams at all. She could feel herself incrementally more rested, and felt the least tired she had been in a week. She entered the small cabin behind her brothers who ducked to make it through the doorway. Val and Magni moved to either side of the room and tried to let Mari have focal point for the conversation with the shifter. Val motioned to his sister with a small, polite smile at the shifter, silently indicating that she was the one who would be asking the questions. He settled back against the kitchen counter, with his long legs kicked out in front of him, looking every bit as comfortable as could be, while Magni scowled from a rigid stance near the doorway. “I’ll be the one asking the questions,” Mari explained with a warm smile. “It’s very simple. We’re just trying to find out what happened to your brother Max? All you have to do is answer the questions, talk to me a little bit and it will help me get a sense for where we need to go next. Just so you are aware, I will be able to sense any emotions you’re experiencing, and I will know if you lie. So just be honest and we’ll be done in just a few minutes. Sound okay?” Mari’s explanation was simple, at least for the shifter in front of her. If the man before her had been accused of some sort of crime, the spiel took on an altogether different tone. One of the laws that the Fae had put in place when they began policing the other magical species had been that no creature should be submitted to being read by a telepath or empath to determine their guilt without knowing what the process would entail. It was a right they were brought up to respect above all things. Mari noted the flinch that the shifter let slip at the mention of his brother. She took a deep breath to steady herself as she let her guard down, so she could sense his emotions fully, instead of

through the dampers of mental walls she built around herself. She raised her calm, violet eyes to meet the shifter’s as he gave her one tentative nod. She sensed that he was incredibly nervous. “My name is Mari Elwood,” she offered as she motioned to the two chairs at the small table in the middle of the kitchen. “Just start by telling me about the last time you saw your brother, if you don’t mind.” Mari could sense the apprehension rolling off the shifter in waves, with an undercurrent of anxiety and guilt. Her head fell slightly to the side as she listened to the shifter intently. “It was about a week ago, ma’am,” William explained as he settled himself into a chair, his eyes flickering between Mari and Val, who was behind her, “I had never seen anything like it. He had met some new woman, and suddenly he was just not himself anymore. He started talking about this chick all the time. It was like he was either strung out, or juiced up and had power he shouldn’t have been able to. I mean, we’re Ursa. I’ve never known of a Bear who had telekinesis, have you?” The shifter raised his eyebrows as he shook his head barely to one side recalling the events. “On the days he was amped up, he was doing crazy stuff like sending stuff and people flying around the room,” he explained with his panic and anxiety sweeping over Mari, “I didn’t know what to do. He ended up injuring some human girl in Durango. We had been out at a bar trying to let off a little steam. I was trying my best to get him to calm down, since I thought he was about to shift right in the middle of the damn bar. He tried to hit on the poor girl and she turned him down like any sane person would. He came off like some sort of deranged junkie. Next thing I know, before I can haul his sorry carcass out of the door, the girl gets thrown across the room. She landed on her head and ended up in a coma from what I read in the paper the next day.” William leveled Mari with a pleading look. She could feel how sincerely guilty the shifter felt over how things had gone, and she was surprised that he was so willing to tell his story so truthfully. She was impressed by the sheer honesty pouring out of the man before her. She gave him a small encouraging nod. “What happened after that?” Mari asked quietly. She didn’t particularly want to interrupt him, but he had paused and seemed very unsure of himself and how he was going to explain what happened next. The intensity of his guilt was making her sick to her stomach and she wasn’t entirely sure how much longer she would be able to keep up the reading. She was apparently not as recovered as she had thought. “Well, ma’am,” William sighed with an apologetic sigh, “Max just collapsed, he was blacked out cold. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to handle him. I picked him up, dragged him out of there. I left him outside a bus station with enough cash for a ticket and the clothes on his back. That was the last I saw him.” “That’s what you’re so worried about? That you’re in some kind of trouble for leaving him?” Mari asked but could feel the validity in it already. There was some other feeling that was pulling at him, and she was having a harder time pinning it down than she should have been. She adjusted herself in the seat a bit and took a slow controlled breath to refocus herself. “That and leaving the girl to be handled by a bunch of other humans,” William replied in full honesty again, “I just didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t control him. I didn’t know what to do to help the girl. I probably should have turned him in but he’s my brother. I just couldn’t. You understand?” Mari glanced up at both of her brothers in turn and a thin smile pulled at the corners of her lips. She could certainly understand where the shifter was coming from, especially coming from as close a family has she did. Her mind was still reeling with the amount of emotion flooding her from the shifter, but she could easily place herself in his shoes and understand why he reacted the way he had. She couldn’t imagine how hard a decision it had been for him to walk away from his family member in a moment where they were at their worst.

“I understand completely,” she explained in a conspiratorial whisper as she leaned forward, “I wouldn’t be able to turn my brothers in, either.” The shifter’s intensions shifted rapidly and Mari was caught off-guard by a wave of lust sweeping over her. Her eyes traced his line of sight straight down her shirt. Men. She leaned back in the chair, taking a moment to soak in everything that she had heard, and to put all her mental blocks carefully back in place before she continued. She hated it when male minds shifted so quickly at even the smallest hint of a view of breasts. She hadn’t even worn anything remotely revealing. Just a simple black V-neck tee shirt and jeans, but, apparently, it didn’t take much to elicit such thoughts from any man. Mari sighed deeply, attempting to compose herself after the feeling receded. Her face flushed a deep scarlet, and she crossed her arms awkwardly over her chest. She felt exposed and uncomfortable with the situation, but knew that she needed to finish questioning the shifter before her. It was imperative that they located his brother and quickly from the way that Mari’s uncle had explained the situation. “Just a few more questions. I promise we’re almost through,” Mari explained as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat as the shifter perused her with his eyes. “The woman that your brother met, did you ever meet her? Or did he ever give you a name?” William shook his head slowly side to side as he attempted to recollect any information that answered the questions. “No ma’am,” he replied cautiously, “I don’t believe he ever did. Just that there was this woman, and he couldn’t seem to help himself anymore. I honestly don’t know what the heck happened. The last time I saw him he was outside the bus station down there, passed out cold on a bench.” William squirmed in his seat, clearly growing uncomfortable with the situation and the questioning. “Thank you,” Mari said with an encouraging nod, “Do you mind if my brothers and I step out for a moment so that we can discuss what you’ve told us? We’ll just be a moment.” Mari and her brothers exited out to the small porch of the cabin and both of her brothers rounded on her with expectant expressions, though both tried to give Mari a moment to gather herself. The three of them had worked together enough in the past that they knew the process of opening herself up to someone’s feelings so completely was exhausting. It usually took her a moment to collect her thoughts and reestablish her control. “He’s telling the truth,” she explained after a moment, “Honestly, I’m not sure if we need to bring him in, though. I can’t explain it, but there’s just something about all this that doesn’t sit right and doesn’t add up. I would think though, he should be our best bet at tracking his brother as he would be completely familiar with his scent, right?” Her eyes searched back and forth between her brothers’ eyes for reassurance. “Your call as usual, Boss,” Val replied with a shrug. He was always willing to accept Mari’s take on a situation. He stretched his arms up over his head, stretching the muscles in his upper back until the bones popped faintly. He turned to Magni with a quiet, expectant shrug. “Whatever you two think,” Magni sighed, “I think we could find the missing bear without him, but if you think it’s best, sure.” Magni straightened up and began retrieving restraints from his pocket when Mari stopped him with a small hand on his arm. He looked down at this younger sister with a frown. “I don’t think those are necessary, Magni,” she explained with a small nod in the direction of the house, “He’s not responsible for how any of it went down, I just think he might be of help. I’ll just ask him, ok? Let me at least try my way before we decide to just haul him off a mountain.” Magni simply grumbled and shoved the iron cuffs back in his back pocket with a scowl. Magni always gave off this impression that he was simply jumping out of his skin to get in the action. He was the oldest, but rarely took lead on any of their assignments for the sheer fact that he would be inclined

to take the most forceful and final approach possible every time. He was an act first, ask questions later personality through and through. One of the better decisions that their father had made was grouping the three of them together as they all balanced each other well. Once she was certain she had locked down her mind, Mari knocked on the door again. She was pleased when the shifter opened it right away. She hoped it would mean that he was willing to comply with her request. She flashed a smile and rocked back on her heels looking up at the man. He still had a worried look creasing the lines of his face, and Mari did her best to appear comforting and nonconfrontational. “Mr. Franklin, we definitely appreciate you allowing me to ask you such intrusive questions. We are confident that you were not the cause of what happened to the human. Please understand that what I’m going to ask you next is completely a request and not a result of anything you’ve done wrong. We would like your help. If you would be willing to come back with us to our home, we could continue our investigation and attempt to track your brother with your help and get to the bottom of what has caused all of this,” Mari explained, hopeful that the shifter would willingly help them. Mari was sure that if the shifter put up some sort of objection, Magni would be impossible to convince to let him go. She would bet that he would insist on restraints and a full guard detail which would take ten times longer. She secretly pleaded with the shifter, hoping desperately that he would just agree to go with them and help them find his brother. Mari lowered her guard for a moment, attempting to figure out whether he was inclined to agree or disagree with her request. She was overcome with the realization that not only was the shifter going to comply with her request, but he was broadcasting the distinct impression that he seemed to think it would be a perfect opportunity to make a pass at her. Mari worked to suppress her facial expression. “I think I could be persuaded to help you,” the shifter said quietly. He met Mari’s eyes with an intense look that made his intentions just as clear as his emotions did. “I just need to get some things together and I’ll be ready.” Mari turned and gave Val a panicked look as the shifter returned inside the cabin to gather his things. “I need to travel separately,” she explained quietly, “He’s just too much. I’ll head back up to the town with you, but I’ll get a ride back with Ben later.” Mari needed very little reason to go visit her friend, but avoiding being confined to small spaces with William was as good a reason as she could ask for. Val and Magni’s demeanor shifted slightly, realizing that the shifter was making their little sister uncomfortable. Neither were particularly fond of her friendship with the human, but they would rather her spend time with a human that be subjected to the pervasive torture of having to be stuck in a car with the shifter for the next day and a half while he ogled her and she was made to sit and just experience every thought that crossed his mind. “You bet, Mar,” Val said with a firm nod, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure Magni keeps his hands to himself.” Valentyn was always the one to try and break the tension in a situation with a joke or some sort of sarcasm. It worked on Mari’s account as she let out a small giggle, though Magni seemed to think it was nothing more than a reason to be even more surly than usual. Mari pulled a slim cell phone out of her back pocket and tapped it against Magni’s shoulder. “I’ll be fine,” she reassured him as she stepped away, “It’s just too much. I just need to go make sure Ben is actually in town.” Mari shuffled off the porch a few steps and tapped her friend’s contact entry. She shuffled back and forth as the phone rang. A familiar voice answered and Mari felt herself relax incrementally just hearing his voice. They had been friends since they were small children when Mari’s mother would take her into town amongst the humans for a break.

“Hey, what are you doing later?” She asked with a laugh, “I’m about to be in town in a few hours. I need a place to crash and a ride back up the mountain tomorrow. Is that ok?” She smiled as her friend reassured her that she was always welcome, and with a short goodbye she hung up feeling better that she had a plan in place and would shortly be free of the pressure of a cramped and awkward car ride. For the first time in weeks, she was feeling more herself and looked forward to spending some time with her friend.

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