Page 6 of Fated to the Dragon King (Alpha Dragons’ Fated #4)

Alaric

Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead.

Frantic, near panic, I yelled Hayley’s name as I ran from my truck to the wreck. I cared nothing for the driver, the idiot who yanked her off the street and into his car. Only Hayley mattered.

“Hayley, are you okay?”

From the dimness of the car’s interior, Hayley asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Don’t ask,” I snapped, reaching both arms as far down as I could. “Are you hurt? Can you move?”

“I think so.”

Witnesses to the crash also tried to help with one bro ineffectively trying to grab the unconscious or dead driver. “Can’t get him.”

I ignored him as Hayley inched her way up until I seized her wrists. “Easy now,” I muttered, carefully assisting her through the door. “Take it slow, that’s it, I’ve got you.”

I helped her to stand on the street’s asphalt. The car had slammed sideways into a parked car before rolling onto its side. Glass glittered in Hayley’s hair and dotted her shirt. I held her upright by gripping her upper arms while I searched her for any obvious injuries.

“She okay?” asked a bystander. “Called 911.”

Hayley nodded. “I’m okay.”

“Dude’s waking up.”

“Leave him for the cops,” I said, sliding my arm around Hayley’s shoulders. “I’m taking her home.”

“You’re not supposed to,” said another bro. “Cops need her statement.”

“That guy kidnapped her,” I growled. “If I stay here any longer, I’ll kill him.”

“Whoa,” the guy said, backing away from me. “Okay, you take her, man.”

Sirens howled in the distance as I half carried Hayley to my pickup. She drooped against my side, stumbling often, and made me think she was in fact injured. I helped her onto the front seat, and pushed her hair from her waxy pale face.

“Do you need the hospital?”

She offered me a wan smile. “No. Just some aspirin and a soft bed.”

“You got it.”

Not caring if the bystanders, now busy helping the driver from the wreck, noted my truck’s plate number, I turned it around and drove us both the back we’d come. Hayley, her head resting on the seat’s rest, rolled her face toward me.

“You followed me,” she murmured. “Right?”

“I did. And it’s a good thing, too.” I glanced at her pale features illuminated by the dash lights. “I saw him hit you and push you into the car. But I was too far away, and it happened so very fast.”

“Yeah.”

“Who was that?”

“Brad. My ex. He’s been stalking me.”

“I should have killed him.”

“Then you’d go to jail.”

I barked a short laugh. “Not me, little girl.”

***

Though I’d promised Hayley a soft bed, she only made it as far as my plush and oversized couch.

She lay curled on her side, her face more pale than I liked.

She wasn’t bleeding anywhere and as far as I could tell, she hadn’t broken any bones.

I sat gingerly beside her, brushing her silver gilt hair from her face.

“You’re really nice right now,” she muttered.

“I do have a nice side.”

“Why haven’t I seen it before?”

I chuckled. “I like to hide it. It keeps people guessing.”

“Too bad. I sorta like it.”

“Now that you’ve seen it, I expect I can’t keep it hidden any longer.”

“May I have that aspirin now?”

“Sure.”

From a cabinet in my kitchen, I fetched her the aspirin and a glass of water. I assisted Hayley in sitting up so she could swallow them without spilling. She lay back down. I sat once again, and began picking shards of glass from her hair.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re covered in glass.”

With her eyes shut and her breathing slow and even, I thought she’d gone to sleep. So when she spoke, she startled me.

“Brad’s a narcissist and probably a sociopath,” she said. “A control freak. And abusive.”

“How’d you fall in with a guy like that?”

“He hid his true self from me.” A tiny smile curved Hayley’s lovely lips. “Sound familiar?”

“I refuse to answer on the grounds my answer may incriminate me.”

“He’s been following me, and planned to keep me in his apartment. His sex toy.”

“Bro is a loser.”

This time, Hayley did fall asleep. All the vodka she’d drunk finally worked against her.

Though it wasn’t truly cold in my house, I covered her with a light blanket, and left her to rest. Shutting off the table lamp near her, I walked from my home, locking the front door behind me.

Doubting Brad could find her here, once he escaped police scrutiny that was, I felt confident Hayley was safe from him.

The darkness was nearly absolute. I picked this house for its isolation from neighbors, and its close proximity to the sea. Naturally, it cost me a small fortune, but well worth the money spent. I walked part way down the long driveway before shifting.

Spreading my wings in a long luxurious stretch, I gazed up at the stars. They gleamed more brightly here, not obscured by the city’s lights. They called to me.

I answered.

I leaped into the air and caught the sea breeze under my wings.

I flew higher, gaining altitude, aiming for those very stars.

Thousands of feet over the restless ocean, I soared.

Far below, ships’ lights dotted the black sea.

I listened to whales’ breaching, the burst of their breath before they splashed below the surface.

For hours I flew, flying high only to fold my wings and drop toward the waves at a speed only an eagle might match. If I encountered the occasional light plane or helicopter, I beat my wings hard in order to fly high above them.

My kind must remain unknown to humans.

Only when dawn flushed the eastern horizon a dull pink did I return to my house and my two-legged form. I paced quietly inside, not wanting to awaken Hayley if she still slept. She did. She lay right where I left her, snoring peacefully, on my couch.

In the kitchen where my voice wouldn’t rouse her, I left a message on Willow’s cell. “Hayley was in an accident and won’t be coming in today. She agreed. Start working on the contract. Talk soon.”

***

Hayley examined the contract with the intensity of an attorney.

Frowning she pored over every word, often returned to what she’d already read to reread, then continued on.

I shared an amused glance with Willow as we sat in my office with the door shut.

Bertie answered the company phone in addition to her work while Richard added new listings into the computer.

“Is this for real?” Hayley asked, displaying the numerical amount I offered for her “bride price”.

“Of course,” I replied. “Is it not enough?”

“It’s –” Hayley flushed a bright crimson. “It’s a lot of money.”

“Read to the end, dear,” Willow suggested. “Make certain you agree with all of it and the money will be transferred to your account this afternoon.”

“I’m not seeing any requirement that I cook and clean as part of my wifely duties,” Hayley commented, still blushing.

“You can continue to work here if you wish,” Willow said. “Or not. It’s your choice. Though I do hope you’ll stay on with us.”

Dropping her face to the contract, Hayley continued to read. “I’m to make a will stipulating that in the event of my death the money will return to Alaric.” Hayley raised her head. “Interesting.”

“Do you object?” I asked.

Pursing her lips, Hayley pondered. “No. I suppose that makes sense. If I’m dead, I sure can’t use it.”

“It’s comparable to a pre-nuptial agreement,” Willow explained. “If Alaric dies before you, you will also receive an additional yearly amount as support for the rest of your life. More if there are any children.”

“That’s fair.”

Hayley signed her name with a flourish, then passed the contract to me. I also signed, then offered it to Willow for her to witness.

“This contract is legal both in America, as well as my country,” I told Hayley. “Though I doubt either of us will be forced to sue one another.”

She smiled. “Now that I’ve seen your nice side, I’m not worried about you becoming another Brad.”

“If at any time Alaric isn’t nice to you, Hayley,” Willow said with a warning glance in my direction, “you tell me. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“I promise my nice side will always be prevalent,” I said dryly. “Now, may we discuss the ceremony?”

Hayley glanced between us. “Doesn’t that take time? You know, arrange for a justice of the peace or a minister?”

“In our land, Willow is a high priestess of our deity, the goddess Lanokota. She can perform the rituals. If that’s all right with you.”

“Well, sure,” Hayley answered doubtfully. “But what about rings?”

“We don’t exchange rings in our wedding ceremonies,” I said. “But I can buy one for you, if you wish.”

“Uh, no.” Hayley laughed lightly. “I think you’ve spent enough money on this deal.”

“Then, how about this evening?” I eyed Hayley with humor. “Is tonight a good time for you to marry me?”

“Sure. Why not?”

Willow stood up. “Then I have things I must see to, including transferring funds to Hayley’s account. Both of you, back to work.”

***

Just at sunset, on the private beach near my house, I stood hand in hand with Hayley as Willow spoke the ritualistic phrases that bound Hayley and I together.

Willow wore the traditional loose-fitting gown of silver and gold, the colors of Lanokota.

Both Hayley and I were crowned with flowers as a part of the mating ritual.

“Under the Sky Goddess’s holy light,” Willow intoned, “in Lanokota’s presence and favor, I bind you, Alaric, and you, Hayley, together in sacred marriage.”

Willow held up a slender silver rope toward the setting sun. “By Lanokota’s decree, you shall have your hands bound until after you have consolidated your oaths in holy consummation.”

I held our hands out for Willow to lightly tie my wrist to Hayley’s. Hayley watched, bemused, as Willow tied the knot.

Stepping back, Willow bowed to the last of the sunlight. “Great goddess Lanokota, bless these two, Alaric and Hayley, with happiness, health, and many children.”

She turned to us, smiling. “Go on, my children. Blessings be upon you.”

My hand still in Hayley’s, I led my wife toward the staircase that would take us up from the beach to the house. At the bluff’s top, I glanced back and down.

Willow was gone.

“Where’d she go?” Hayley asked.

“I don’t know,” I answered, though I suspected I did indeed know.

As we crossed the vast yard, I glanced at Hayley. “Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Smiling, she lifted our bound hands. “You people are literal when you say marriage is tying the knot.”

“I’m afraid we’re something of a literal people.”

Hayley displayed no signs of worry or unease as I took her upstairs to my massive master bedchamber. I turned on only a single small light near the bed in the hopes of creating a romantic ambience. In the faint illumination, her hair gleamed like silver moonlight.

Without speaking, Hayley stepped close to me, sliding her free arm around my neck. Her small breasts pressed against my chest while she turned her face up to mine to kiss.

Holding her firm waist, our bound hands at our sides, I slipped my tongue into her mouth.

As before, erotic sensations, emotions, flooded me at such a simple connection.

My cock filled, engorged, throbbing in perfect time to my pounding heart.

I pulled her tighter against me, making her feel my erection, my desire for her.

My need for Hayley rose far beyond just sex. Beyond my inheritance.

I needed Hayley as a starving man needed food.

I wanted her. Not just to consummate our marriage.

I wanted her love.