Love of A Dragon (Exalted Dragons Book 1) Read online

  Chapter Two

  Wearing a robe and slippers, as it was getting colder out at nights, she padded over to him and hugged him. Aldain hugged her back then put her away from him and said, “Well thank you, but what was that for?”

  Becca looked up at him with worry in her eyes. “I know something is going on with you. I figured maybe you could use someone to talk to, my shoulder is all yours.”

  Aldain lifted a brow, “Well thank you for your kind offer, but I think you are a little confused. It is my shoulder you should be using not the other way around.”

  Becca laughed, “Wow does that sound sexist or what? Who made the rules that only women use a shoulder to cry or whine on? Men aren’t machines, they need to talk too.”

  Aldain smiled at her, “I will let you in on a secret. When men need to talk; if it isn’t something they would dare talk to a man about; would rather be holding a woman he cared for in his arms as he vented. A shoulder wouldn’t be enough.”

  Becca gave him a questioning look, “Seriously Aldain, you know you can talk to me about anything. I love you. You kept me alive during a very dark time. I will always be here for you.”

  Aldain would never talk to Becca about what was bothering him, so he offered to talk about something he knew she would be interested in. “How about I tell you the story of the Dragons of Paragon? That is the name of my clan.” Becca immediately took him up on that offer. After he made a mountainous sandwich, filled a party bowl with chips and took a two-liter container of orange soda out of the fridge, they both sat at the table. Becca sat opposite him, her blue eyes big with a look of excitement on her face. Aldain smiled, she loved hearing stories about anything magical or supernatural. Becca was still learning about that world since becoming a vampire herself.

  He sat back and started telling her the story of his clan. “Thousands of years ago, when the Gods lived on Olympus…….”

  Becca interrupted him, “What! Wait! They actually existed? The Gods of Olympus? Zeus and everyone?”

  Aldain sighed, “Yes Becca they existed, and still do as far as we know. No one knows where they have disappeared though; when religious beliefs started changing, they decided to leave Olympus. Since humans were getting to the stage where they didn’t believe in the Gods anymore, they felt they were no longer needed nor wanted by mankind so they left. They just never told anyone where they were going.

  Before I begin my story where I left off, maybe you will want to grab a notebook and take notes on anything I say. That way you can let me finish my story without interruption or we will be here forever, and you can ask me questions when I am done. Hmmm?” Becca took the hint and ran and grabbed a notebook and pen and promised Aldain she wouldn’t interrupt anymore and to please continue with his story.

  “When the Gods lived on Olympus, the goddess Athena, who represents military strategy and generalship as the goddess of intelligence, fell in love with a mortal man. He was a general in her army who was a well-liked general and a man whose military strategy was unparalleled. His men would follow him anywhere. He, on the other hand, stayed by Athena’s side and made sure they won their wars because he was so in love with her, he wanted to keep her safely by his side. His name was Paragon. Athena kept her love for him a secret from the other Gods for it was forbidden to love a mortal. They could have relationships with mortals, but not a loving one. Mortals were considered beneath the Gods by Zeus. He and other gods used them more like toys but Athena felt in her heart that the only difference between them and the gods were that mortals died and that they had no powers, but the feelings of the heart were the same. Their relationship went on for almost ten years; then the day came when the unthinkable happened.

  Paragon was mortally wounded in battle. Athena loved him so much that she just wanted to heal his wounds and keep him with her, but if Zeus was to find out not only would he punish her by taking away her powers, he could also destroy Paragon’s soul. He wouldn’t even exist in Hades which is the place where souls go. She could always visit his soul there, but she just couldn’t stand the thought of his life being totally extinguished. She made a decision. Instead of healing his wounds; she turned him into a dragon and named him Paragon which stood for virtue. He earned that right by always being her protector, even though she was a goddess. She bid the dragon to always help the helpless and be loyal to those he served, and to have a powerful sense of right and wrong. He must never ever harm an innocent, whether it be human or shifter. She also commanded that once a year, Paragon could turn into a human. She looked far and wide to find a woman she felt was worthy of Paragon and begged him to mate with her; he needed to keep his bloodline alive.

  He loved Athena so much that he just couldn’t think of mating with any other woman. She then weaved a spell where he fell in love with this woman to the very core of his being. The love he felt for Athena was all but forgotten. She was the first soul mate. You see, Athena loved him enough to be able to let him go. All that mattered to her was that his bloodline be continued. She would share her love of Paragon with his descendants by always watching over them.

  It is said from that time forward; every dragon that meets his soul mate will love her with his whole being, protecting her unto death and have no longing for any other woman but her. He would be incomplete without her. All dragon shifters are male; females don’t have the ability to shift. Some dragons go their entire lives never finding their soul mate. Those dragons either will marry just to keep their bloodline going, or never marry and die quicker than they normally would if they had found someone. The majority of us all are honorable men and dragons, but like mortals, we have some that have turned bad. When we find them, we kill them. They are not allowed to mate and spread evil within a clan. We were even knights at the round table; we take what Athena asked of us very seriously. Honor, other than the love of our soul mate is the code we live by, no other is acceptable.

  Becca blinked, her tablet was empty. She was so engrossed in the story Aldain was telling her that she didn’t even think to write anything down. She realized what was bothering Aldain but didn’t want him to know she had figured it out. She got up and walked over to Aldain and kissed him on the forehead, thanking him for that wonderful story, then she told him she was going to her room to write down as much as she could before she forgot anything.

  When she got back to their room, she told Cade that Aldain was lonely. That is what was bothering their friend. Cade hoped that night that his friend would be as lucky as him and find his soul mate, he deserved it. Thinking of mates, Cade remembered he was a lucky man that has one and for several hours he forgot about Aldain needing one and concentrated on his own mate.

  Chapter Three

  Cade and Becca tried to keep Aldain’s mind occupied by including him in some of the things they did. They went on late night picnics and hikes exploring caves near the surrounding area. Aldain went with them on most of their jaunts but he passed at the cave exploring. There wasn’t a cave in Scotland that he hadn’t explored. While they were cave exploring, Aldain was seriously considering taking a vacation, maybe the south pacific. He just wanted to get away for a while.

  Becca decided she wanted to make something she found online for dinner. Cade and Aldain went into the den to watch a show as she cooked. She hated having anyone in the kitchen when she was preparing a meal. This was fine with the men; they would rather do something else. Cooking wasn’t at the top of their list as the most enjoyable thing to do.

  As they were talking about the day during dinner the phone rang and Becca got up to answer it. They heard her greet her mother, and then they heard her voice raise several octaves. “What! Oh, my god is she o.k.?” The silence was grating on both men’s nerves. They decided to join Becca in the study.

  They both walked in to see that Becca had a death grip on the phone and tears were falling down her cheeks. Cade walked over to her and put his arms around her waist. He wanted her to know that whatever was happening he was there for her. Becca
then said, “Mom I will be on the next flight out. Tori will be alright. I promise.” Becca hung up and when she turned around her eyes were red and her fangs were out in full force.

  Cade holding her close asked. “What happened Bec? What is wrong with Tori?”

  Becca growled, “That bastard of a boyfriend of hers beat her so bad she is in the hospital. Mom said she is going to be alright, but Tori is pressing charges and Tom, her now ex -boyfriend has sworn he is going to get even with her. The police said he will probably be able to post bail, even though it is probably going to be a stiff one. His parents come from money.”

  Aldain growled; he has never understood how a ‘man’ could ever hit a woman. In his mind, there wasn’t even a name low enough to describe such scum. He looked at Becca, “Let me go!”

  Becca looked at him like he grew another head. “What? Why? You don’t even know her. She has never met you and after what happened I don’t even know if she would go anywhere with a strange man. I think it’s best if I go alone.” Becca turned to go upstairs to pack.

  Aldain stopped her to plead his case. “Listen Becca. Why don’t you let me go? While you are a vampire and able to take care of yourself her ex doesn’t know this. If he sees just the two of you; he may decide to do something stupid and then you would end up giving yourself away when you protect you and your sister. Look at me, men like him never mess with men my size. They prey on the weaker person, someone whom they know they can beat. Like he did with your sister. I can go get her and stay there a few days so she can get comfortable around me, then I will bring her back here. It’s a win win situation for everyone.” Becca really wanted to see her sister, and what Aldain said made sense. She knew he would keep her sister safe. He could fly as a dragon at night and she knew he would keep her sister safe. Flying as a dragon would save him the worry of taking night flights. In the day, he could take a regular plane.

  Becca picked up the phone to call her mother; she told her of the change of plans. She assured her mother that Tori couldn’t be in better hands than Aldains’. She also pointed out that Tom would never go after Tori while a bigger man than him was around. The idea that Tori would be safe seemed to placate her mother. Her father was wanting to beat the hell out of Tom and it took her mother everything she had to keep him from taking a bat to Toms head and beating him half to death. Becca was sure he could do it too, but he wasn’t a young man anymore. Tom wouldn’t think twice about cheap shotting him. Becca didn’t want her dad hurt next.

  Aldain said he would arrive the next morning; he planned on flying all night. Her family lived in Boston so he could just go under the radar while it was still dark and shift back before anyone would see him. Becca’s mother told her Tori would still be in the hospital when Aldain got there so he should go there when he got into town. The doctors wanted to keep her for at least a couple of days but Tori was fighting that idea tooth and nail. She hated hospitals and insisted she was fine, the doctors begged to differ. To calm her down they knocked her out with a sedative. She wasn’t going to like that when she woke up.

  Becca stopped Aldain from leaving right away. “Maybe you should go and put a few clothes in a bag. You are going to be there at least a day or two. You did say you were going to give Tori a chance to feel comfortable around you before you brought her here.” Aldain agreed and shoved some clothes in a bag. He hugged Becca telling her he would protect her sister with his life. If it would have come from any other man, Becca would have rolled her eyes. Coming from Aldain, she knew he meant it.

  Aldain took off from the back of his castle, his mind a chaos of thoughts. This was the get-away he so badly needed, but he wasn’t planning on company. When he heard that Becca’s sister was hurt, he felt a pain deep down in his heart. He figured it was because he loved Becca like a sister and her family became his family. He always protected his family, this wasn’t going to be any different. He had never met Becca’s family but he would make sure and let them know he considered them family as much as he considered Becca family.

  Chapter Four

  The flight to the United States was uneventful. He was able to stay out of sight of any planes in the air and he was careful to stay below their radar. He landed just as the sun was coming up; he found a car rental and rented a car. He made a short stop at a truck stop on the way and took a quick shower and changed his clothes. He punched in the directions to the hospital in the car’s GPS and was there in no time.

  He knew which floor she was on and which room she was in because he got all that information from Becca before he left. Becca’s mom was standing outside the room. As he walked towards her, her face lit up. “You must be Aldain. My name is Amanda; I’m Becca and Tori’s mother. Thank you so much for coming.” Tears started to fill her eyes. Aldain’s heart went out to her.

  He gave her a quick hug. “It’s going to be fine Mrs. Robinson I promise. I won’t let that bastard near your daughter.”

  Amanda sniffed, “Please call me Amanda and thank you for coming. It is good of you to come all this way to keep my daughter safe and keep her out of harm’s way. Tom is crazy and I have no doubt he meant what he said when he said he would get back at Tori. I never liked him but we tolerated him for her sake. I don’t know what she ever saw in him.”

  As Amanda was telling Aldain what happened a man walked up to them. Aldain could tell right away it had to be the girl’s father. He was the exact opposite of Amanda. Amanda’s hair was brown but her eyes were the same color as Becca’s, she was very petite in build. Her husband had salt and pepper hair, was about six feet tall and stocky build. His shoulders were wide and he seemed to be in decent shape for a man in his fifties. His eyes were what some would consider gun metal blue.

  Amanda introduced Aldain to her husband Andrew and he held out his hand, “I am pleased to finally meet you Mr. Kincaid. Becca talks so much about you I feel I know you already.”

  Aldain laughed. “Don’t believe everything she tells you and please not Mr., just Aldain.”

  When the nurse came out of Tori’s room the three of them walked in. What Aldain saw made him stop short, there in the bed was a tiny young woman. Both of her eyes were black, she had some cracked ribs and you could see hand prints across her throat. Her lips were swollen as well as one side of her face. That bastard really did a number on her. Her eyes were so swollen and bruised she could barely see out of them.

  Amanda brought Aldain closer to Tori in order for her to meet him. Tori might have looked like hell but she was in total control of her faculties. “So, this is the man that is going to take me off to places unknown? I must say I didn’t expect you to be so uh big. Thanks for coming all this way to get me. The farther I get from that asshole, the safer I will feel. Pardon my language.” She held out her hand to shake his. He gently shook her hand and he noticed she had a strong hand shake for a tiny woman.

  Aldain smiled, “I promise you Tori. No matter where we are that ‘asshole’ as you call him won’t get near you. You are perfectly safe with me. I do plan on staying a few days so you and your parents can get to know me better. After all, if you were my daughter I wouldn’t just hand you off to some man you didn’t know.” Tori got a wicked smile on her face. Aldain didn’t know what was going through her mind but when he got the chance he was going to ask her. He was extremely curious to know what caused that smile.

  Just as Aldain was about to say something the doctor walked in. “Well how are you feeling today Miss Robinson?” he said in a cheery voice.

  Tori perked up, “I feel well enough to go home doc,” she said just as cheerily.

  The doctor frowned, “I would like to keep you at least one more day in order to make sure we haven’t missed anything.”

  Tori frowned. “Mom would you hand me a mirror please?”

  Her mother wrung her hands, “Tori honey I don’t think you need to worry about being presentable to anyone right now. Maybe later hmm?”

  Tori looked her mother straight in the eyes. “Well if y
ou won’t give me a mirror I will just get up and get one myself. How bad can it be?” Everyone else in the room just looked at each other. Amanda sighed, she rummaged in her purse and handed Tori a mirror. Tori looked at herself and said, “Holy Shit! I look like hell. Trust me doctor it looks worse than it feels. My face might look like a side show attraction but I feel fine. Seriously; if you try to keep me here against my will, I will just leave when no one is watching. Even my body guard over there won’t be able to stop me.” As she looked towards Aldain.

  Aldain raised his brows at that remark but held his tongue. Tori was a little spitfire and he couldn’t help but enjoy her little outbursts. He looked at the doctor to see what his next plan would be. Would he dig in his heels or cave? Tori’s face looked like a storm cloud. Aldain believed she would do exactly as she said.

  The doctor cleared his throat. “I will let you go home against my better judgement but you have to promise me to not do anything strenuous for the next couple of days.”

  ‘Cave’ thought Aldain to himself. He couldn’t help but smile that Tori got her way. Tori had a winning smirk on her face too. She shooed Aldain and her dad out of the room so she could get dressed.

  While they were out in the hall waiting, her father ran his fingers through his hair. “Tori is pretty strong willed. She is very athletic and has always been sort of the tomboy of the girls. I have to warn you, she is a handful she might be more than you can handle.” Aldain smiled and told him not to worry everything would be fine as he secretly thought to himself. ‘I am looking forward to it’.

  As Tori and her mother walked out of her room, Aldain’s breath came out in a whoosh. Tori is five foot nothing with a stocky build, her legs are short but muscular as are her arms. You could tell she is athletic, as her legs are very shapely. Her hair is a light brown with streaks of blonde in it and you could tell it was her natural hair color. Her shoulders are broad and her stomach is flat. Her waist is small, her hips flare and are nicely rounded. Aldain’s hands itched to feel those hips in his hands, she is the sexiest woman he has ever seen! He felt his blood start to flow south and his dragon got excited. He had no idea what was happening but he wanted to get away from there before he embarrassed himself.