Audrey Wright

The floor of the cell was bitterly cold as I stirred from the most incredibly vivid dream I had ever experienced. It hadn't felt like a dream but so very real. I could almost cry when I sat up and realized I was alone after all, that Damon wasn't here, that we hadn't just made love.

The location hadn't been ideal at all for our first time, but it hadn't mattered. He had been here. He had been all right. I had felt every inch of his sinewy body, all muscles, all man, and he had no wounds, clearly felt no pain. He had been so very tender at first, almost too tender, but when he opened up, when he entered me, when he filled me, everything just faded away. My fear, my worries… all gone. He was all that mattered.

It didn't feel wrong to make love to him. It didn't. I didn't feel guilty a bit.

I hadn't even thought of Miguel or Francesco.

I sat up now and touch myself, feeling how very damp I was, wetter than ever before. My fingers brushed beneath my nose. Weird, I knew, but I wanted to smell, hoped to have a reason to believe that it hadn't been a dream, that Damon had somehow been here.

And I did smell him mixed with myself. It was a mix of him and me, and I knew that it had happened somehow.

He and I, we were connected. Through his blood, yes, but beyond that.

It was then that I thought of Miguel, of Francesco. It was then that I felt guilty.

Because as wonderful and amazing as it had been with Damon, I wanted to experience the same with the others. Not as a threesome. Not like that. Not to compare either. I wanted them all. Each was different, but each called to me just the same.

Selfish. I was so damned selfish that I wouldn't choose one. I wanted them all. I didn't want to use the "L" word already, but I would give my life for any one of them. That had to count for something.

Damon and his dominating personality. Francesco and his flamboyant, fun ways. Miguel and his fiery temperament.

Even though I was torn because I wanted all three of them, I was happy. Thinking about them helped to banish my fear.

My thoughts drifted to the kiss I shared with Francesco or what it would be like to roll around in bed with Miguel. With a start, I realized I was fingering myself, so very close to coming, but I stopped.

If I wanted to be with the dragons, I had to get out of here. I needed to stop daydreaming about them and actually do something about my situation.

I stood and glanced around. There was a bucket in the corner. That was it. Nothing else. The window was too far up for me to reach. The bars were too close together for me to do more than fit my arm through. I had tossed the disgusting food and spilled the rotten milk when I threw the cup between the bars out into the hallway after the tongue-less man had left. It had taken him hours to. Maybe he finally realized that I meant it when I said I would rather starve than eat that. At first, I had feared he would remain until I ate it, but that wasn't going to happen. Even if I literally was starving to death, I wouldn't be that desperate to it that.

He hadn't given me a plate, not even a paper one. The cup was plastic, so that wouldn't help any. There was nothing for me to use that was sharp. The bars might be thin, but they were strong, metal, and would never bend.

Melt maybe, from a hot enough fire, but I wasn't a dragon so no luck there.

The walls… I touched them, my fingers grazing the soft, smooth surface. Metal too.

There was no way that I could escape, at least not while inside the cell. Outside of the cell, though…

Isolation washed over me, thick and oppressive. My chest grew tight, and I felt as if the walls were closing in. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe. I used to hate tight places as a child, but what I hated even more was the thought of being abandoned, of being alone.

My parents had been good ones, but they had worked long hours. They would leave me home alone all day since I had been four. I hated it, feared they would never come back. They always had, but it had changed me.

And I was alone here. There were other cells, but no one else was captive. I had tried to talk to anyone who could hear me, but no one answered. As the time passed, the sun rose, and the light increased enough that I could see into a few of the others cells. They were empty.

I was all alone here, a captive, isolated, far from home with no means to break free.

My worst nightmare.

Before I could descend into panic, I heard dim voices. They were muffled, sounding far away. The more I strained to hear, the more I could make out.

"They don't have the numbers," a woman said. She sounded gruff and stern, and for some reason, I pictured a woman with pursed lips.

"We'll clobber them in one fight," a male said. He sounded so very pleased that I wanted to punch him in the face.

"When do we leave?"

"You never listen, do you, Gloria?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but someone was rubbing his cock against my ass during the debriefing. Excuse me if I was a little distracted thinking about you fucking my ass!"

The man chuckled. "Yes, well, your ass is perfect." A slap sounded.

"Come on," she answered. "I'm sore from last night."

"Too sore?"

"Maybe not… but after the fight."

"Come dawn, the Three-Tailed Clan will be without any tails," he said.

Giggles brought out, a shriek, and then the sound of making out and moaning.

A battle was going to happen. An ambush? Did the three leaders know? Was Damon truly okay? He had been fine when he came to me, but that hadn't truly been his body. It couldn't have been. He had been hurt when I had been captured. I was certain of it. I could feel his pain. Yes, dragons could hear quickly, but that pain I had felt had taken away my breath.

If he wasn't ready to fight, the other two would have to step up. Would the Three-Tailed Clan be will to listen to only two of their leaders? How would they fare against the Fanged Serpents? I had to assume the leaders were the strongest of the most powerful dragon shifters.

Francesco, Miguel, I know you can handle this. You can do it. If you can hear me, please prepare for a battle. Damon, you just concentrate on getting better. As for me… I'll do my best to learn what I can and get free. Don't you worry about me. I can handle myself just fine.